Rome: Begu vs. Azarenka
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Yulia Putintseva made another thrilling comeback at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, shocking BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion and No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. The Kazakh’s first Top 5 win helps reach her first WTA final where she’ll face Kristina Mladenovic, who also triumphed in three sets against Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
“It’s unbelievable,” Putintseva said after the match. “I’m very happy that the crowd was behind me this time around. Yesterday they supported more Svetlana and today they cheered for me. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
Putintseva was playing her first Premier-level semifinal and coming off her third career Top 10 win over No.3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, giving the more experienced Cibulkova the upper hand from the start. The Slovak worked through a few tense opening games to edge ahead by a break and take the opening set with the help of nine winners.
A well-executed drop shot by @PutintsevaYulia! ? pic.twitter.com/dJmVkAx15E
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
Cibulkova fell behind a break to start the second, but after winning three straight games to level the set, a first final of 2017, a career-high ranking of No.4, and a 399th career win all appeared on the cards for the reigning WTA Finals champion.
But the unseeded 22-year-old had other ideas, holding and breaking serve in quick succession to level the match, cleaning up her side of the stat sheet with 12 winners to only eight unforced errors; Cibulkova maintained an almost exact inverse, hitting eight winners to 13 errors.
.@PutintsevaYulia is pumped ? ? pic.twitter.com/W6ZBkZdqVB
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
The final set was reminiscent of Friday’s quarterfinal between Putintseva and Kuznetsova, as the World No.5 twice led by a break, getting within two points of a 5-3 lead.
“I never give up and always try to dictate my game no matter what. And this is what I was trying to do throughout this match.
But Putintseva continued to play her best tennis when her back was up against the wall, winning four straight games to book her first-ever WTA final in two hours and 19 minutes.
First #WTA Premier Final!
Knocks out Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/1qCILGIjIG
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
By match’s end, it was clear that consistency had gotten the job done for Putintseva, who matched Cibulkova in winners (27 each), but hit 11 fewer errors (43 to 32).
“It’s my first WTA final, but actually I don’t feel any pressure here. I am enjoying every moment I spend on the court.”
Waiting for her in the championship match will be Mladenovic, herself enjoying a career-best run that began with an emphatic win over Australian Open runner-up Venus Williams. The Frenchwoman back up the upset by dethroning defending champion Roberta Vinci and remained composed after losing the first set to Vikhlyantseva, a rising Russian set to make her Top 100 debut after reaching her first semifinal at a WTA Premier event.
“She’s really powerful, and all credit to her in the first set,” Mladenovic said after the match. “I was like, ‘Geez, this is going very fast.’ She was playing very heavy with her groundstrokes, and hitting a lot of winners.
“I just dug really deep and I was trying to stay positive. I said to myself that if she managed to maintain this high energy and intensity for the whole match, good job. But I’m very happy to have stayed in the match long enough to turn it around.”
Superb slice by @KiKiMladenovic! ? pic.twitter.com/pgmFWGqdDx
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
An unfamiliar opponent to many, Vikhlyantseva had previously pushed Mladenovic to three sets in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last summer, helping the unseeded Frenchwoman prepare for what became a three set battle.
“I think it was a very good match, high intensity from both of us. I think the difference today was my ability to maintain that intensity from first point to last. I felt that way mentally the whole match, but I could sense her start to drop her level physically, be it with footwork, and the legs. She became less precise, and because she takes so many risks from the baseline, she started to make more unforced errors.
.@KikiMladenovic advances to @Formula_TX Final!
Makes 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win over Vikhlyantseva! pic.twitter.com/uvDMsiXKr8
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
Mladenovic and Putintseva have played four times before, splitting their head-to-head at two wins apiece; Putintseva won their most recent meeting last year at the BNP Paribas Open in straight sets.
“She’s in great form, playing really well. She’s a big fighter, who runs down a lot of balls. I’ll have to keep playing the same way I have all week, being aggressive, coming forward, and trying to dictate play with my forehand. I’ll try to find angles and try to find my game towards the net.”
“I feel well, I feel fresh. I think that's a big improvement on my side.” -@KiKiMladenovic pic.twitter.com/bmxzehRxoV
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her win in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
St. Petersburg champ Kristina Mladenovic is within striking distance of the Top 30 while Russian teenager Natalia Vikhlyantseva made her Top 100 debut; who else moved up the WTA rankings?
Kristina Mladenovic talks about the significance of winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Kristina Mladenovic talks through her win in the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
TALLINN, Estonia: Heather Watson soared to a straight-sets win to give Great Britain the best possible start in the Fed Cup opener against Portugal.
Under the watchful eye of new captain Anne Keothavong, Watson made an impressive start to her country’s campaign, beating Ines Murta 6-1, 6-1.
? Boom! @HeatherWatson92 gives Aegon GB @FedCup Team a 1-0 lead after beating Murta 6-1, 6-1 #BackTheBrits ??? pic.twitter.com/L3nkghe6QZ
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 8, 2017
The 2016 Wimbledon mixed doubles champion then assumed her role as “chief supporter”, ready to cheer on her teammates – first Johanna Konta in the singles, then Jocelyn Rae and Laura Robson in the doubles. “I’ll get the pom-poms, and the tambourines!” she joked.
A smiling @HeatherWatson92 ready to cheer on @JossRae91 & @laurarobson5 in the doubles! #BackTheBrits ?????? pic.twitter.com/zl53deFe9G
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 8, 2017
Her cheerleading obviously worked – Konta cruised through her singles rubber 6-2, 6-4 against Michelle Larcher de Brito, giving Great Britain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was good preparation for the British No.1, who will be seen in WTA Tour action next in Dubai from February 19.
Shelby Rogers put a lyrical twist into the traditional Fed Cup rookie speech by performing her own version of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song.
Victories from Ekaterina Makarova, Elina Svitolina and Francesca Schiavone headlined a dizzying opening day of Fed Cup action in World Group II.
Here’s how the ties stand after day one:
Russia 1 – 1 Chinese Taipei
Ekaterina Makarova found herself leading a group of young talented Russians this weekend, with two of her teammates making their Fed Cup debut and the average team age just 20 years old.
“It’s a totally different situation because every time I was playing I was one of the young players, even when I had a good ranking. But it was someone like Elena Vesnina in the team every time teaching me,” Makarova told FedCup.com before the tie.
“Now there are two girls who are debutants and it’s a good experience for me. We have a great atmosphere the girls are very nice. We’re looking forward to this weekend.”
The 28-year-old survived a scare to defeat Lee Ya-Hsuan 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 and put Russia ahead in front of a delighted Moscow crowd.
But Chang Kai-Chen put Chinese Taipei back on track, brushing away Fed Cup debutant Anna Blinkova, 6-3, 7-5.
Romania 0 – 2 Belgium
Hosts Romania were stunned on day one as Yanina Wickmayer and Kirsten Flipkens’ brace of victories put Belgium firmly in control of the tie.
Without Simona Halep and Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania struggled in singles as Flipkens dominated the opening rubber against Monica Niculescu, 6-3, 6-4.
“I knew I had to be patient and wait for the right moment to move forward,” Flipkens told press after the victory.
“It would have been a lot more difficult against Simona Halep as she is a top five player. Against Monica, I was confident going forward as I created my chances and took them when they came.”
Cirstea had a golden opportunity to rescue a point for her side, leading 5-2 in the opening set but Wickmayer came roaring back to edge through in a tight battle, 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5.
Ukraine 2 – 0 Australia
The hosts Ukraine are in full control over Australia after Elina Svitolina and Lesia Tsurenko notched wins on day one.
Tsurenko opened proceedings with a comfortable win against Daria Gavrilova, easing past the Australian 6-2, 6-3.
“I’m very pleased with my game today,” Tsurenko explained to FedCup.com. “After the first games, the captain asked me to play deep. Don’t try to hit flat. That was the key. To play deep and wait for the right moment, and stay focused in the point whatever happened.”
Svitolina had a harder time against Barty, whose game made a mockery of her No.156 ranking as the Australian quickly took the opening set. Svitolina hit back just as strong, and finally tamped down the resistance to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
“I’m happy about today, although not about the score,” Barty said afterwards. “Elina is a tough player, with a lot of experience. She raised her level. The score of the second and third set doesn’t reflect how close the games where.”
Italy 1 -1 Slovakia
Fed Cup veteran Francesca Schiavone and Slovakian debutante Rebecca Sramkova left their countries level in Italy to close out day one.
At home and on clay, Schiavone fought past Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3, 6-1 to give Italy an early lead.
“I have to speak with my body, it’s not easy to handle three hours like before – but today I enjoyed my one hour and a half and I’m happy to bring the point to my national team. It’s my last Fed Cup so there are some big emotions,” said Schiavone, who will retire from professional tennis at the end of this season.
No.116 Sramkova took on Sara Errani, and came back from a set down to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“I was nervous in that first set but I just said to myself ‘I’m going to win it’. I just changed my thinking,” Sramkova told FedCup.com after the victory.
Photos courtesy of FedCup.com
With the French Open just days away, the WTA Insider team got to wondering: Is there really such a thing as a clay court specialist anymore?
Not since Francesca Schiavone’s French Open triumph in 2010 has a player won the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen with what would be considered a traditional clay court style. The slicing, the dicing, the grinding, have all given way to more powerful players, ones who already excel on other surfaces. The last four French Opens have been won by either Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova, with Sharapova in particular redefining what a clay court specialist looked like.
We sought to isolate the clay court results over the last three years to see who the best clay court players have been recently. To do that we looked at a player’s results at Premier-level events or higher over the last three seasons, using 100% of their points earned in 2016, 75% earned in 2015, and 50% earned in 2014.
Taking into consideration the players currently entered in the French Open, here are the Clay Court Power Rankings:
Takeaways:
– Serena reigns supreme: When you’ve won two of the last three French Opens, it’s hard to argue that you’re not the best. We did not include Sharapova because she is not entered in Paris, but she was behind Serena at No.2 by a little more than 400 points.
– Halep jumps to No.2: The former French Open junior champion benefits from her fantastic 2014 clay season, where she made the final of Madrid and the French Open, as well as her title-run in Madrid this year. If she can handle any changing expectations after Madrid, she’ll be in good form in Paris.
– Kerber holds firm: Kerber’s clay court power ranking at No.3 is slightly misleading. She has been a steady force early in the clay season in Charleston and Stuttgart, but her results have tended to taper off afterwards. She has made the French Open quarterfinals just once. But there’s no reason the Australian Open champion can’t flip the script this year.
– Radwanska and Azarenka slip: Two of the Top 5 women barely crack the Top 20 of our power rankings. Agnieszka Radwanska, who will be seeded No.2 in Paris, is down at No.20, while No.5 Victoria Azarenka, the most dominant player on hardcourts this season, is down at No.28.
Neither result is particularly surprising given their recent results on clay, which saw Radwanska lose in the opening round in Madrid and skip Rome, while Azarenka’s back injury hampered her clay preparation this year. Radwanska has been to the quarterfinals just once at the French Open, in 2013, while Azarenka’s best result was a semifinal in 2013.
– The Top 10 looks markedly different: Six of the women ranked in the Top 10 of our power rankings will be seeded outside the Top 10 in Paris: Petra Kvitova, last year’s French Open finalist Lucie Safarova, Carla Suárez Navarro, Sara Errani, Ana Ivanovic, and Madison Keys.
– Notable clay court darkhorses: In the Open Era, the French Open has been won by 15 first-time Grand Slam champions – the most of the four majors – something that encourages an extra-critical eye on the tournament’s underdogs. Irina-Camelia Begu, for example, has had a tremendous clay season, making the quarterfinals in Charleston, Madrid, and the semifinals in Rome. She’s up to No.11 in our power rankings, from a ranking of No.28. Daria Gavrilova is another name to keep an eye on, as she surges to No.19 in our power ranking. Elena Vesnina, Laura Siegemund, Christina McHale, and Louisa Chirico also earned big bumps.
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