New Haven: Radwanska Interview
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the quarterfinal of the Connecticut Open.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the quarterfinal of the Connecticut Open.
DUBAI, UAE – Another Dubai seed was sent packing in a day rife with upsets as Elina Svitolina notched one of the biggest wins of her career against No.2 Garbiñe Muguruza at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Muguruza, who had won the pair’s previous two encounters, came out of the gates looking dominant, imposing her powerful game against her No.21-ranked opponent. But as the first set progressed, Muguruza’s trusted groundstrokes began to misfire and Svitolina found her way into the match.
The Ukrainian emerged victorious after a tough opening set, but it wasn’t without a battle. Svitolina had several chances to close out the set – at 5-4 and again at 6-5 – but was broken each time, sending it into a tiebreak. After over an hour and 15 minutes – during which Muguruza hit 40 unforced errors and 17 winners to Svitolina’s 18 to six – Svitolina closed it out 7-6(3).
“It was really tough and as you can see for both of us it was really a battle,” Svitolina told Annabel Croft after the match. “I’m happy I could win that [first] set – because it was up and down, really a rollercoaster.”
The final set was all Svitolina, who tamped down all of Muguruza’s attempts at a late comeback to clinch the match 7-6(3), 6-3.
“It was tough, and even more fighting against the conditions, too, I think,” Svitolina said. “I think I returned really well today and that was the key – I was seeing the ball really well and moving well, so this was the main thing I was focused on.”
Not only is the win Svitolina’s second career victory over a Top 5 player, it’s also an early sign that her new coaching partnership is paying off. Last week she announced that former No.1 Justine Henin had joined her coaching team.
Awaiting Svitolina in the quarterfinals is American CoCo Vandeweghe, who overcame Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
More to come…
Julia Goerges takes on Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
An interview with Elina Svitolina after her win in the semifinal of the Connecticut Open.
Caroline Garcia has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
An interview with Sara Errani after her in in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Sara Errani takes on Madison Brengle in the quarterfinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Sara Errani takes on Elina Svitolina in the semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Dominika Cibulkova’s hopes of qualifying for a debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global came down to the wire. The Slovak needed to win the Generali Ladies Linz to assure herself a spot among the Greatest Eight, and did just that.
“It was really important for me that I won there,” she said in Singapore. “It’s not every day that I’m coming to a tournament and I have to win it to get somewhere, and then I actually won the whole thing.
“It was just a great week for me, and all happened so quickly. In two days I flew here.”
Cibulkova turned around a tough start in the round robin stage to stun 2014 finalist Simona Halep in straight sets, and overcame a 1/16 longshot of qualifying for the semifinals to knock out Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semis before overcoming World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the championship match.
“I cannot find the right word in English, but in the first match I played against Angelique, that gave me confidence that I can beat her,” she said of avenging her round robin loss in the final.
“My game is good enough to beat the World No.1. I was going into this final with these thoughts and I was feeling it from the first point until the last point.”
By beating the Australian Open and US Open champion, Cibulkova assured herself of a career-high ranking and a Top 5 finish for 2016, a place she sees as a launch pad for even greater success.
“Right now I don’t doubt myself anymore. I never doubted myself this year at all. I always had my coach to motivate me, to put the bigger goals for me. That was something I was dealing with; I never saw myself as such a great player, or a consistent player, somebody who could be Top 5.
“My coach said, ‘Domi, you had a great half of the season, but you’re able to have a great second half of the season. You just have to still stay focused and work hard. You can be Top 5 at the end of the year’.
“I really, really believed him for the first time in my life. I believed, ‘Okay, this is something I can do, I want to do.’
“I’m not saying I was coming to this tournament to win it, but when I was so close before the finals, I was convinced that I can beat Angie today.”
That new sense of determination paid off in Singapore, and it certainly helped her earn her the mantle of October’s WTA Player of the Month!
Final Results for October’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Dominika Cibulkova (55%)
2. Agnieszka Radwanska (33%)
3. Angelique Kerber (12%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
An interview with Sara Errani after her win in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.