Miami: Karolina Pliskova Vs Madison Brengle
Highlights from the Day 3 clash between Karolina Pliskova and Madison Brengle.
Highlights from the Day 3 clash between Karolina Pliskova and Madison Brengle.
Play will begin at Rio’s newly built Olympic Tennis Center on Saturday, but before then the WTA’s finest have been limbering up…
Venus Williams won gold in Sydney and was working hard ahead of her record-equalling fifth Olympics.
And after practice Venus was only too happy to fulfil her sisterly duties.
Fresh from her title run in Stanford, World No.13 Johanna Konta is a dark horse in the singles.
While British No.2 Heather Watson will hope to improve on her second-round showing at London 2012.
No.2 seed Angelique Kerber was all smiles ahead of her second Olympics.
Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova and Daria Kasatkina were also hard at work on the practice courts.
Kasatkina is one of just three teenagers in the singles draw in Rio.
Karolina Pliskova reflects on her performance at the Miami Open.
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Christina McHale in the second round of the Miami Open.
Chris Oddo | World No.1 Angelique Kerber will lead a quartet of Top 10 players into action on Sunday in Miami. We preview the must-see matchups right here at wtatennis.com.
WTA Insider David Kane | Barbora Strycova brought the sunshine on a rainy Saturday at the Miami Open, chatting about her earliest memories of the city and her season so far.
Ready? Set. Go! It’s Round of 16 time at the Miami Open and we’re previewing all eight must-see matchups right here at WTATennis.com.
Monday
Round of 16
[2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [15] Barbora Strycova (CZE #20)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Pliskova leads the tour with 175 aces in 22 matches thus far this season.
Karolina Pliskova took over the WTA lead with her 21st win of the season this weekend, and the 25-year-old is happy that she’s finding ways to win even when she isn’t playing her best tennis. She had to battle the ever feisty Yulia Putintseva and a three-hour rain delay on Saturday, eventually emerging with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
“I’m happy that I went through, and think I need these matches, the hard ones,” she said after the match. “Not only to win easy matches, but also the ones were I don’t feel really well like today.”
Will she have another tough one on Monday when she faces fellow Czech Barbora Strycova? The 30-year-old has been steady all year, but has lost her last eight against the Top 10.
Pick: Pliskova in three
[4] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #4) vs. Lucie Safarova (CZE #36)
Head-to-head: Cibulkova leads, 5-2
Key Stat: Cibulkova has won just four of nine three-set matches in 2017.
A pair of proven WTA commodities will look to sail into the quarterfinals on Monday when Dominika Cibulkova and Lucie Safarova square off for the eighth time. Cibulkova has held sway over the pair’s head-to-head, but since 2014 they’ve split their four meetings. Cibulkova breezed past Kirsten Flipkens in straight sets on Saturday while Safarova rolled past Ajla Tomljanovic behind six breaks of serve in eight return games. It is the Slovakian who carries the higher ranking into this meeting but don’t sleep on Safarova; the former World No.5 has racked up 15 wins already this season, and it feels like her best has yet to come.
Pick: Cibulkova in three
Dominika @Cibulkova did not let the three hour rain delay slow her down! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/tCrz3x4jlU
— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2017
[26] Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO #29) vs. [WC] Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA #158)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Lucic-Baroni is tied for the WTA lead in Top-10 wins in 2017.
Two surprising veterans are making big waves at this year’s Miami Open, but one of them will be sent packing on Monday as Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will match wits for the first time with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Mattek-Sands entered this year’s draw without a single tour-level win to her name in 2017. Three rounds later she has a Top 10 and a Top 20 scalp under belt.
Meanwhile, Lucic-Baroni’s fine form in 2017 continues. She blasted past No.5-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska behind 38 winners on Saturday to improve to 3-1 against the Top 10 this season and 11-4 overall.
Pick: Lucic-Baroni in three
[6] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #6) vs. [12] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #14)
Head-to-head: Muguruza leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Muguruza has gone 7-1 in deciders this season (was 8-7 in 2016).
Like Karolina Pliskova, Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza is taking comfort in her most difficult victories. At this year’s Miami Open she has already had a pair of them. She saved a match point on Friday to defeat Christina McHale and on Saturday she battled back from a set down to knock off China’s Zhang Shuai. While grueling, the wins have left Muguruza feeling confident about her abilities.
“Since I’ve started the year, I’ve had a lot of matches like this, and I’m expecting that every time I go on court,” Muguruza said. “A win is a win, I don’t wish to have matches this tough every day, but I’m very happy with the way I’m facing them.”
On Monday she’ll face another woman who knows a thing or two about grinding out hard-fought triumphs in No.12-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane comes in hot, having notched her 20th win of the season on Saturday night and should make life difficult for Muguruza yet again.
Pick: Muguruza in three
[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs. [Q] Risa Ozaki (JPN #87)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kerber improved to 9-0 vs. players outside the Top 50 with her win over Shelby Rogers on Sunday.
Could it be that Angelique Kerber is starting to find that certain je ne sais quoi in her game? The World No.1 fought past American Shelby Rogers in straight sets and will look to continue her run against a surprise Round of 16 participant from Japan. 22-year-old Risa Ozaki qualified for the main draw and had to win two three-setters in a row before taking out Julia Goerges in straight sets on Sunday. On Monday her reward is her very first match against a Top 10 player. How will she handle the pressure? Whatever the outcome, Ozaki stands to benefit tremendously in the experience category from her run in Miami.
Pick: Kerber in two
[11] Venus Williams (USA #12) vs. [7] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #7)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 5-4
Key Stat: Williams is bidding for her 60th Miami Open win today.
It has been a decade since Svetlana Kuznetsova won her lone Miami title in 2006 and more than fifteen years since Venus Williams won the last of her three Miami Open titles in 2001, but these two legends of the game are still gunning for the game’s most coveted hardware, and very much in the running to win it all. On Monday they will meet for the tenth time and just the second time in the last seven years. Kuznetsova recorded a straight-sets win over Williams at Wuhan last year, and the Russian also took the pair’s only meeting in Miami in 2008. Is it time for Williams to take a bit of revenge, or will last year’s runner-up keep rolling in Miami?
Pick: Kuznetsova in three
[3] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [14] Sam Stosur (AUS #19)
Head-to-head: Tied, 4-4
Key Stat: Halep has won back-to-back matches for the first time all season here in Miami.
It hasn’t been a banner year for Simona Halep or Sam Stosur – yet – but each could change the tone of their season significantly with a win on Monday when they clash for the ninth time. The pair have split their eight previous meetings – with Halep holding the 3-1 edge on hardcourts, where she has won the last three meetings.
But more importantly, both Halep and Stosur could really use a nice run in Miami to kickstart the remainder of their season. Stosur went 0 for Australia and is 3-5 against the Top 50 this season, but she notched a gritty three-set win over Peng Shuai on Sunday. Halep has won back-to-back matches for the first time this season in Miami and says she is pain-free and beginning to feel her game. With a prestigious quarterfinal on the line, it will be interesting to see which player comes up with the goods and claims a big win.
Pick: Halep in three
“I played my best tennis this year” -@Simona_Halep #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/HNTVf8WywX
— WTA (@WTA) March 27, 2017
[10] Johanna Konta (GBR #11) vs. Lara Arruabarrena (ESP #72)
Head-to-head: Arruabarrena leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Konta improved to 15-3 in 2017 with her third-round win over Pauline Parmentier.
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta has quietly put up a very impressive record in 2017. In just five events she has already racked up 15 wins, a title in Sydney and a quarterfinal at the Australian Open. In short, Konta appears to be prepared to back up her breakout 2016 with another wildly successful campaign. She’ll look to continue her positive momentum when she meets Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena for the first time since 2011. The Spaniard, who upset No. 8-seeded Madison Keys on Sunday, won that meeting (at an ITF event on clay), but it is Konta who will come in as the heavy favorite, based on her impressive run of play for 52 weeks and the fact that she will meet Arruabarrena on her favorite surface this time.
Pick: Konta in two
By the Numbers
4 – Number of unseeded players to reach the round of 16. 1
58 – Mattek-Sands, a former World No.30, is the lowest-ranked player remaining in the draw.
2010 – The year in which a wildcard made the best ever run – Justine Henin reached the semifinals.
36 – The age of the oldest player in this year’s draw, Venus Williams.
7 – The number of thirtysomethings into the round of 16 in Miami (Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Sam Stosur, Barbora Strycova, Lucie Safarova)
Highlights from the match at the Miami Open between Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
World No.9 Madison Keys is into the semifinals of the Olympic tennis event in Rio on her debut appearance. Earlier this week, the American sat down with the New York Times to discuss her beauty and health regimen and how she keeps it up despite traveling the world week in and week out.
For Keys, who is constantly under the sun, skin care is the most important thing:
The first thing I put on is sunscreen. I do it within 15 minutes of waking up so I’m protected by the time I’m out the door.
I use moisturizer only at night — Philosophy Hope in a Jar. Two or three times a week, I do a Caudalíe face mask. It’s a purifying one because I have combination skin, and I’m sweating so often. It can be really tough to keep clear skin, especially if you’re wearing a visor. It’s just sitting on your head, and you break out underneath it. It can be a disaster.
And here’s her sage approach to diet and exercise:
“I have to eat pretty healthy to stay in shape, but a big part of my diet is having that occasional dessert. My favorite is Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream. But I have to watch it. I’m lactose intolerant, so sometimes I’ll do the Ben & Jerry’s lactose-free line.
For a tennis player, the toughest part of training is the off-season. That’s when we’re doing tons of tough fitness — maybe two to three hours in the gym. Obviously as you get closer to the tournaments, you spend more time on the court. Right now, I’m spending two and a half to three hours on the court every day.”
Check out her New York Times feature to hear what the Olympic semifinalist has to say about hair care, her go-to makeup, acupuncture and more.