Dubai: Story Of The Tournement
The story of the tournament from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The story of the tournament from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
MOSCOW, Russia – Ekaterina Makarova is looking forward to Russia’s Fed Cup tie against Chinese Taipei this weekend for a very special reason.
It’s hosted at the Druzhba Sport Complex, in Moscow – the venue in her hometown where she first began playing tennis herself.
“It’s in the stadium where I grew up,” she told the official Fed Cup site. “I was practicing for 12 years there – I took my first steps in tennis in that stadium so it’s a special place.”
Makarova, 28, is the senior player in a young Russia squad; this will be her eighth appearance in the competition. It is an experience she enjoys.
“I love to play for a team, for Russia,” she added.
The World No.39 comes into the tie after losing to good friend and doubles partner Elena Vesnina 6-3 6-1 in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy round of 32. The pair were the 2016 doubles champions at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
They were seeded third in this year’s Australian Open doubles competition, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai, 7-5 7-6.
In the singles competition, Makarova boasted a stunning win against Dominika Cibulkova in the third round, coming through 6-2 6-7 6-3, before falling at the hands of Johanna Konta, 6-1 6-4.
DOHA, Qatar – Caroline Wozniacki survived a late wobble on Monday evening to edge past Ana Konjuh and into the second round of the Qatar Total Open.
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Success has proven hard to come by for Wozniacki this year, and getting over the finishing line against a hungry young opponent proved anything but straightforward.
Having weathered an early storm, the former World No.1, appeared to be cruising towards victory at 5-2 in the final set. However, liberated by the apparent hopelessness of the situation, Konjuh started to swing from the hip, clawing her way back level before eventually succumbing, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
By the time one of her thumping forehands finally found the tape, the Croatian had saved eight match points and put Wozniacki and her camp through the emotional wringer.
“It’s the first match and you just want to get going,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “I wasn’t hitting it well, and she was, but then I was 5-2 up in the third set. But I thought we’d give the crowd a little bit more excitement!”
After a sluggish start, the Dane tightened things up in the second set – in which she coughed up just four unforced errors – to turn the tide. She admitted that a faster start will be required next time out, when she takes on Daria Gavrilova, an impressive 6-1, 6-1 winner over Misaki Doi.
“Hopefully the next match is going to be better and I’ll get a better start,” Wozniacki said. “I’ve practiced with her a couple of times, but I’ve never played against her in a match.
“Yeah, she’s a fighter. She likes to come with a lot of different shots out there and she’s going to have you play that extra point.”
In the preceding match, Roberta Vinci celebrated her first day as a member of the Top 10 with a near-faultless 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lesia Tsurenko. Also advancing was her fellow Italian, Sara Errani, a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 winner over Tsvetana Pironkova.
An interview with Petra Kvitova before the start of the Qatar Total Open.
WTA Insider | Keep up with all the momentum swings of a thrilling 2017 season with the help of the Heat Index, ranking the top performers from each leg of the year.
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Kateryna Bondarenko in the second round of the Qatar Total Open.
The dust has settled after a breakneck first day of Fed Cup World Group action, with Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Bacsinszky among the day’s winners.
Here’s how the World Group ties stand after the end of today’s action:
Czech Republic 1 – 1 Spain
Spain faced a huge challenge in their first round match going up against the Czech Republic at home in Ostrava. The defending champions haven’t lost a tie since 2013, and haven’t lost at home in even longer with their last home defeat coming in 2009.
Spain’s No.1 Muguruza set out to break that streak though, defeating Barbora Strycova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 to silence the home crowd.
“I think I started really, really good, playing a great level,” Muguruza told FedCup.com afterwards. “I think Barbora started a bit slow, but then in the second set she came playing amazing.
“I was expecting a very tough match, I knew the 6-0 was a little bit strange.”
Spain captain Conchita Martinez told press earlier that a win in the opening match was crucial against the imperious Czech team, and Muguruza took the message to heart.
“I definitely felt a lot of pressure in this match. I mean, I’m the one on the team and I just had to go for my matches. That’s what I’m trying, to just give my best to the team.”
Spain’s lead was short-lived as Karolina Pliskova overpowered Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 7-5 to level the tie.
Switzerland 1 – 1 France
In Geneva, Timea Bacsinszky and Kristina Mladenovic notched a win apiece to leave things between Switzerland and France.
Bacsinszky gritted out a hard-fought win over Alizé Cornet 7-5, 6-4 to put the home side ahead in the tie.
“The whole match was pretty tight and I think we were both just playing amazing tennis,” Bacsinszky told FedCup.com after her victory. “We’re both big fighters so you know you’re going to get some interesting points when we’re playing a match against each other.
“I don’t have such a good win average against Alizé, so I’m really proud of how I managed to be more aggressive.”
In the second rubber, good friends Kristina Mladenovic and Belinda Bencic faced off. The Frenchwoman, fresh off her first WTA singles title at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy last week, continued with her great form and emerged victorious, 6-3, 6-4 to rescue a point for her side.
Belarus 1 – 1 Netherlands
Last year, it was Victoria Azarenka’s monumental effort in singles that took Belarus into the World Group, but even without the two-time Grand Slam champion they proved they could compete among the big names as they held the Netherlands to one win apiece.
Entering the tie decidedly as the underdogs, the hosts stunned the Dutch team with Aliaksandra Sasnovich defeating Michaela Krajicek 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the opening rubber.
They were one point away from a stunning 2-0 lead, with 18-year-old Aryna Sabalenka holding match point against World No.24 Kiki Bertens, but the Dutch player came back from the brink to win 6=3, 7-6(6), 6-4 and level the tie.
“I remember my first singles [in Fed Cup] and I was like crying before and throwing up because I was so nervous and she was not,” Bertens told FedCup.com afterwards. “For [Sabalenka] it was really good that she could just go out there and swing and go for her shots. If she can play like this again she will make it very difficult for a lot of players.”
USA – Germany (In Progress)
More to follow…
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Timea Babos in the third round of the Qatar Total Open.
All of the best shots of the third round at the Qatar Total Open.
DOHA, Qatar – Jelena Ostapenko prevailed in Thursday’s battle of the giant killers at the Qatar Total Open, seeing off Zheng Saisai in straight sets.
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Twenty-four hours on from her dismissal of two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, Ostapenko produced another scintillating display of baseline aggression to blow away Zheng, 6-4, 6-3, in an hour and 38 minutes.
While Zheng was unable to replicate the standards she set in upsetting top seed Angelique Kerber last time out, she battled away gamely throughout. After weathering early onslaughts in both sets – she trailed 3-0 in the first and 4-1 in the second – Zheng clung onto her teenage foe’s coattails to remain competitive.
However, her resistance was finally broken in a titanic penultimate game, Ostapenko converting her fifth break point when a clubbing backhand landed on the baseline. Moments later the Latvian arrived at match point, converting with another pin-point winner.
“First I thought I was going to be playing qualies, but then I was second in and got into the main draw,” Ostapenko said. “Then win by win, I was playing better and better. I’m so happy I’m still here!”
Ostapenko was prepared to take risks – 33 winners were outnumbered by 45 unforced errors – and her reward is a maiden Premier semifinal, where she will meet either Garbiñe Muguruza or Andrea Petkovic.
“They are both great players, so I’ll probably watch today how they’ll play and I’m looking forward to playing tomorrow.”
In the following match, Carla Suárez Navarro restored a sense of order with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over qualifier Elena Vesnina. The result takes Suárez Navarro into her second semifinal in Doha and also back into the Top 10.
The Spaniard has been one of the most consistent performers on tour in recent years and has been vocal about her hopes of rising even higher.
“Today was very tough, she has won a lot of matches and is playing really well,” Suárez Navarro said. “In the second set she was amazing! But I just fight and I also played a good match.
“It’s tough on tour, but I feel good on tour and this year I feel ready to go further.”