Clinical Cibulkova Storms Past Siegemund In Sydney
World No.5 Dominika Cibulkova was in clinical form against Laura Siegemund, dropping just two games en route to the second round of the Apia International Sydney.
World No.5 Dominika Cibulkova was in clinical form against Laura Siegemund, dropping just two games en route to the second round of the Apia International Sydney.
HOBART, Australia – Lucky loser Veronica Cepede Royg needed five match points but eventually prevailed over former World No.9 Andrea Petkovic to reach the quarterfinals of the Hobart International.
The Paraguayan recovered strongly from being blanked out of the second set, completing a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 comeback to book her place into her first WTA quarterfinal since June.
“Petkovic is a great player, she’s tall and so she has a great serve,” Cepede Royg told press afterward. “It was a tough match, but I’ve had tough matches before and I think I know how to play against the top players.
“I had to do my game, be aggressive and move. And I think I did.”
The No.129-ranked Cepede Royg opened the match with a break, playing confident and aggressive tennis against the former Top 10 German.
But Petkovic found her groove in the second set, cutting down on the unforced errors and dictating play with her backhand. And as the German’s lead grew, the Paraguayan’s confidence seemed to diminish, responding passively and second-guessing herself.
“It’s not easy to see the score at 6-0,” Cepede Royg said. “But my coach came and said to just relax, enjoy this moment, do your game and fight for every point.”
“You have to change your mentality. I was thinking too much in the match, so I focused more in my game.”
With that renewed mindset, the World No.129 turned it around in the decider and broke back to stop Petkovic’s run at 1-1 and keep the German under pressure.
They stayed on serve until a marathon final game, which saw Petkovic save four match points to keep herself alive but couldn’t serve it out. The Paraguayan eventually prevailed on the fifth time of asking, finally breaking the Petkovic serve to take the match and a spot in the quarterfinals.
“Oh man, I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’ve had five match points!'” Cepede Royg laughed. “I tried to be more aggressive and not think too much, just put the ball in the court and go for it. It was so difficult but I did it.”
The victory, her first WTA main draw win in almost six months, puts her through to the second quarterfinal of her career since last year’s Mallorca Open. She’ll play the winner between Australia’s Lizette Cabrera and Croatian qualifier Jana Fett for a spot in the semifinals.
SYDNEY, Australia – Johanna Konta ended home hopes at the Apia International Sydney with a straight set win over Daria Gavrilova.
Following the first-round exits for Samantha Stosur and Arina Rodionova, Gavrilova was the last Australian remaining in the singles draw. However, to the disappointment of a partisan crowd, Konta withstood a late rally to run out a 6-1, 6-3 winner and secure a quarterfinal meeting against Daria Kasatkina.
The No.6 seed made a flying start, breaking in the opening game and dropping only four points during a dominant first set display. Another early break in the second continued this momentum, and while Gavrilova fought gallantly until the end she was unable to prevent Konta closing out victory at the sixth attempt.
.@JoKonta91 advances to @SydneyTennis Quarterfinals!
Beats Gavrilova 6-1, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/zv5xD5EOnF
— WTA (@WTA) January 10, 2017
In the previous match on court, Kasatkina upset World No.1 Angelique Kerber to leave Konta as the only seed remaining in the top half. “I knew going into the match it was going to be an incredibly tough one, she’s one of the best fighters on tour,” Konta said to BT Sport.
“It’s such a strong tournament, such depth, I know going into every single match that it’s going to be a tough one and I’m just going to have to, first and foremost, take care of things my end.”
Twelve months ago, Sydney-born Konta was about to announce herself to the tennis world with a semifinal run at the Australian Open. Now she is perched at No.10 in the world and, having also reached the semifinals in Shenzhen, is enjoying another profitable start to the tennis calendar.
“I’m just happy I have accumulated already a few matches under my belt in the first few weeks of the season. I feel quite pleased about that,” she added.
“I'm right here in Sydney, enjoying my time, trying to enjoy my involvement in the tournament as much as possible” @JoKonta91 #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/FIWzCURaBZ
— Apia Intl Sydney (@SydneyTennis) January 10, 2017
All at once, World No.1 Serena Williams was the hunter and the hunted, in search of a 22nd Grand Slam title – which would tie Stefanie Graf’s Open Era record – while trying to fend off a rising opposition from challengers like Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza, who each defeated her at the Australian Open and French Open finals.
“I have definitely had some sleepless nights, if I’m just honest, with a lot of stuff,” Serena said in the latest WTA Insider Champions Corner. “Coming so close. Feeling it, not being able to quite get there.”
Turning around a tense three-setter against fellow American Christina McHale, the top seed shook off the disappointment of the last six months and roared to her seventh Wimbledon crown, not dropping another set and avenging her Melbourne loss to Kerber in the championship match.
“One day I woke and I felt different. I felt I can do better. I can do this. Not only can I do this but I’m going to do this and there’s nothing in this world that’s going to stop me.”
The win tied her with Graf and put her in pole position to break the record at the upcoming US Open, the site of her first major triumph in 1999 and where she began her second Serena Slam in 2014.
“I definitely feel like when I lose I don’t feel as good about myself. But then I have to remind myself that you are Serena Williams. Do you know what you’ve done, who you are, what you continue to do not only in tennis, off the court? You’re awesome. I think that shows the human side of me, that I’m not a robot. I only expect perfection.”
If it’s not perfection from the 22-time Grand Slam champion, it’s pretty close – and more than enough to earn her the mantle of June’s WTA Player of the Month!
Final Results for June’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Serena Williams (62%)
2. Dominika Cibulkova (21%)
3. Angelique Kerber (14%)
4. Madison Keys (3%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
GSTAAD, Switzerland – Top seed Timea Bacsinszky finally won her much-delayed second-round encounter against Mandy Minella at the Ladies Championship Gstaad.
After three days spent waiting for the rain to abate, Bacsinszky was clearly intent on making up for lost time, sweeping past qualifier Minella, 6-2, 6-2, in just 55 minutes. In the quarterfinals, the Swiss No.2 will face Johanna Larsson.
“We’ve been quite used to this for the past couple of months in Switzerland. You just have to be patient and you just have to have a good playlist and books with you,” Bacsinszky said. “And I’m also lucky to have a great team with me to help me pass the time quicker, so I don’t feel that I’m waiting so much.
“I’m happy that I was on court today and that I was able to catch the win. For sure it was a really good match for me and I’m looking forward to being on court again tomorrow.”
With the sun finally shining, Bacsinszky made the brightest of starts, a break in the opening game helping her to ease through the opening set.
“I started to be quite aggressive from the beginning on and I showed her that she would have to move me all around the court if she was to get some short balls. I was really focused on that and kept telling myself that if I kept the intensity up things would probably be okay!”
A lot of bang for the buck for the Swiss fans today! #WTAGstaad #SupportTheSwiss @TimeaOfficial pic.twitter.com/8MoHMil4LF
— Ladies Open Gstaad (@WTA_Gstaad) 15 July 2016
There was also plenty of home cheer elsewhere as Bacsinszky’s compatriots Viktorija Golubic and Rebeka Masarova both registered victories. Golubic overcame a slow start to defeat Evgeniya Rodina, 7-5, 6-1, while wildcard Masarova also finished strongly to defeat Anett Kontaveit, 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2.
“It’s a great privilege to be one of those three players, and also to play the first tournament in 33 years here in Gstaad. Who knows, hopefully we will all go further in the tournament,” Bacsinszky added.
There were busy days for Bacsinszky’s fellow seeds, Kiki Bertens and Annika Beck, both of whom were on court early to complete protracted first-round assignments before returning later on to book their place in the last eight.
No.3 seed Bertens defeated Claire Feuerstein, 7-6(9), 6-1, while Beck, the No.5 seed, eased past Katerina Siniakova, 6-2, 6-1.
NEWPORT, RI, USA – The International Tennis Hall of Fame officially welcomed two more WTA legends into the Hall of Fame family as seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin was joined by Class of ’15’s Amélie Mauresmo were honored on Saturday’s Enshrinement Ceremony. Former No.1 Dinara Safina was also on hand to celebrate brother Marat’s own induction into the ITHF.
An Australian Open and Wimbledon champion – both in 2006 – Mauresmo was voted into the Hall of Fame last year, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to the birth of her son, Aaron.
The Class of 2016 (+ Mauresmo '15) @TennisHalloFame pic.twitter.com/5DprrfLWCW
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) July 16, 2016
The official enshrinement proved more than worth the wait for the Frenchwoman, who was introduced by former manager and WTA President, Micky Lawler.
“My heart is beating faster than it was on championship point for Amélie’s legendary 2006 Wimbledon title,” she began.
“Amélie’s superior game at the net, her elegance, and ease of movement are greatly missed. Among her unique qualities are her intelligence, her continuous drive for excellence, and her passion for a happy life. She is an extraordinary mom, armed with great compassion and an unmatched sense of humor. Amélie is the Queen of Hearts.
“For those of you who don’t know Amélie: when you call her, you are 100% certain of getting her voicemail with a recording that says, ‘If you’d like to leave a message, fine. But I will never call you back!’ – with great emphasis on ‘jamais.’
“Many who think they know her mistake her so-called ‘nerves’ or ‘uncertain trepidation,’ when in reality, she is first, incredibly respectful of her opponent, and second, as courageous as a lion, and as strong as her beloved little Aaron over there.”
.@AmeMauresmo poses with former manager and WTA President Micky Lawler @TennisHalloFame pic.twitter.com/ppDNseXNMw
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) July 16, 2016
Lawler went on to tell the story of helping align Mauresmo’s unique appeal with Reebok.
“As the No.1 player in the world in 2005, she was playing without a footwear or apparel contract, which is unheard of in our industry – especially if I am the manager. Sitting on that grassy area, I could feel Amélie’s disappointment and sadness by a certain lack of acceptance that was completely unjust. She had done everything right, but felt that the industry didn’t really believe in her.
“Reebok had just launched the campaign, ‘I Am What I Am,’ and that campaign was made for Amélie Mauresmo. With the help and unwavering support of the Reebok team, led by our extraordinary Dianne Hayes, we had Amélie’s beaming face on thousands of buses in Paris. Her smile said to millions of kids, ‘Live your life honestly. Live it fully, and live it with passion. Play to win, work hard, and never give up.'”
Mauresmo later took the stage and showed off that signature sense of humor with aplomb.
“You guys can call me; I’ll call you back, don’t worry!
“I’d to thank the Hall of Fame for postponing my induction and giving me the opportunity to be here with you today with my family. I’m a bit late, but it was worth it!
The Frenchwoman closed with an emotional plea for peace in the face of the Bastille Day attack in Nice.
“In Paris, Brussels, Tel Aviv. It has to stop. The only thing we can do to continue to be free, continue to be happy.”
16 Slams between them, @Justine_Henin poses with @MonicaSeles10s on the famed Horseshoe Court. pic.twitter.com/a1GjBqaPeO
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) July 16, 2016
Henin closed the ceremony after being introduced by Monica Seles, the only other woman to capture a hat trick of French Open titles, and the first big name to practice with a then-17-year-old Belgian back in 1999.
“As a fellow competitor of Justine,” Seles said, “what I always respected about her as I watched her rise from a junior to professional is that she never changed as a person. Justine’s journey reveals the power of a single person’s desire to achieve greatness in his or her own way.”
At 5’6″, Henin stood tall as she took the podium to tell her story of watching Seles win the third of her French Open titles, where she defeated Stefanie Graf in 1992.
“At six years old, I grew up in a small village in Belgium. I’d jump up and down on the bed like I won the French Open. But watching these two incredible women fighting with respect, passion, and dedication, it was a wonderful inspiration for me. I turned to my mom and told her that one day, I too would compete for this title.”
Henin: “I wasn't the biggest or the strongest. But like Amelie said, impossible is nothing. You have to believe.”??? pic.twitter.com/hTfStddetQ
— Tennis Hall of Fame (@TennisHalloFame) July 16, 2016
Just over a decade later, Henin fulfilled the promise she made to mother, Francoise – who had died of cancer when she was 12 – by defeating compatriot Kim Clijsters in the 2003 Roland Garros final.
“We were very lucky to be there at the same time,” she said earlier in the press conference. “I always say I wouldn’t have been the player I was without Kim. It was challenging being from a small country and being almost the same age. We traveled a lot together when we were young and were pretty close. When we became rivals on the tour, it became more competitive, but the respect was always there.
“Because of and with Kim, I was able to accomplish a lot of things. Seeing her succeed made me think I could do the same. Being No.1 and No.2 from a small country made the story different and made it more beautiful. She pushed me to get better and improve. It made us better players than we might have been.”
Safina was sitting in the front row of that very press conference as Marat was asked which of the brother-sister tandem was the better tennis player.
“What a stupid question! Of course, sister! Unfortunately, we weren’t so close when we were younger, because when I left for Spain at 14, she was eight. We were seeing each other only at Grand Slams, and it was a real pity that we couldn’t spend so much time together. We didn’t know each other and after a while we didn’t feel like brother and sister at some point because we were separated.
“Now we’re having a great time and finally I get to know her. She had great potential. Too bad she couldn’t make a Grand Slam winner, but she understands tennis much more than me, and she’s a better person.”
“He was my idol…I'm very proud of him.” Dinara here at @TennisHalloFame to support brother Marat Safin. pic.twitter.com/su9epPtjdB
— Blair Henley (@BlairHenley) July 16, 2016
All photos courtesy of Kate Whitney Lucey.
Together the Chan sisters are a world class doubles team, but today on the WTA Frame Challenge it’s Hao-Ching vs Yung-Jan. Find out which sister came out on top!
Venus Williams faced off against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – CoCo Vandeweghe played impeccable tennis to continue a career-best run, dispatching No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the Australian Open semifinals.
“It’s amazing to be in a semifinal,” she said in her post-match press conference. “But, you know, not satisfying. I want to keep going, keep playing. There’s more things to do out on a tennis court that I’m hoping to achieve.”
Vandeweghe might have been forgiven for having a letdown less than 48 hours after defeating World No.1 and defending champion Angelique Kerber in the previous round.
But with the help of coach Craig Kardon, it was clear the unseeded American came to play from the outset, earning break points in the very first game against Muguruza, who was playing in her first major quarterfinal since winning Roland Garros.
“I thought I took care of the things that I could control, which is the most important thing: not letting outside factors affect anything that was happening.
“It’s kind of weathering the storm a little bit, knowing what Craig and I talked about before the match: the game plan is going to work, and believing in it, not wavering from it, which I’m very proud of myself for doing, especially early in the first set when I was kind of squandering quite a few break points.”
The first set came down to one break of serve, which Vandeweghe converted and never looked back, losing just one more game in one hour and 23 minute masterclass.
“Maybe I play better nervous and scared. I don’t know. I think I don’t shy away from a challenge necessarily. I never have. Growing up, I’ve always just been wanting to prove people wrong in a lot of different regards.
“I think it’s more that I take it as an enjoyable challenge. It’s what I want to do. It’s where I want to be. To face the best players is definitely an accomplishment, to say for myself that I’ve gotten to the point that I’ve beat and face these top players.”
By the end of the match, she hit 31 winners to 20 unforced errors, handcuffing the typically aggressive Muguruza, holding the Spaniard to only 14 winners against 16 errors.
“I was surprised,” Muguruza said after the match. “I think she played unbelievable. Three times we played in the past, she didn’t show this level.
“Her serve, her shots were there. She barely missed. So it was a pretty good performance from her.”
Standing between Vandeweghe and her first Grand Slam final is No.13 seed and former No.1 Venus Williams, who is playing her first Australian Open semifinal since 2003.
“It’s a dream to play someone you grew up watching. To play an unbelievable player, future Hall of Famer in Venus, and to be on the court with her, I’ve only experienced it one time before.
“But to do it at this stage of a Grand Slam is kind of crazy. I mean, I can’t really put it into words. Not only when I was younger, it was unknown if I even wanted to play tennis, because I was playing basketball as well, but it was kind of, like, you see that, you see it happening, but you more see yourself there. You don’t see who the opponent is on the other side when you get there.
“To definitely have two Americans against each other in the semifinal I think is pretty cool.”
.@CoCoVandey reflects on her game… “It was like a freight train, you couldn't stop it.” #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/CMzpFOK5H1
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2017
BRISBANE, Australia – No matter who wins Saturday’s final at the Brisbane International, one player will walk away with a drought-busting win. No.22 Victoria Azarenka is in her first final since Doha and aiming for her first title since Cincinnati in 2013, nearly two and a half years ago. Looking to stop her is No.10 Angelique Kerber, who will try and snag her first win in six tries over Azarenka.
The first week of the year began with much hand-wringing over the withdrawals and retirements of the Top 3 seeds in the tournament, with defending champion Maria Sharapova, World No.2 Simona Halep, and No.3 Garbiñe Muguruza exiting the tournament under a cloud of injury. It will end with a rematch of the best women’s match of 2015, when Azarenka got the better of Kerber in the third round of the US Open, winning 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in a grueling match.
“We always bring the best out of each other, I think,” Azarenka said. “I mean, I hope we do. It was a pretty amazing match, so I hope we can put on a good show. I think the final deserves that.”
Azarenka has been in blistering form all week. She has dropped just 13 games in four matches, posting two bagel sets along the way. Her run in Brisbane most assuredly puts her on the shortlist of favorites at the Australian Open – she is, after all, a two-time champion in Melbourne – but Azarenka doesn’t want to get ahead of herself.
“I’m feeling pretty good right now,” she said. “I’m not saying anything besides that. It’s irrelevant. Tomorrow is a match. I’m looking forward to that. I never jump ahead. It can seem so close, yet so far. Done those mistakes before, and I’ll stick to being present.”
Kerber has looked just as sharp this week. Aside from dropping the first set of her tournament to Camila Giorgi, Kerber has been untouchable, notching wins over Giorgi, Madison Brengle, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Carla Suárez Navarro. Most notably Kerber has unveiled a more aggressive gamestyle. A change of strings during the off-season – she now uses a Yonex hybrid and natural gut – has given her more pop on her groundstrokes.
“I was working a lot in the last few weeks on this, so I’m trying to transform it to the matches,” Kerber said of her newfound aggression. “It works good right now. Of course I must take the decision and just go for it and not hope that the other one will miss. I will try to make the points by myself.”
Looking towards Saturday’s final, the big focus point will be Kerber’s serve. Azarenka is one of, if not *the* best returner in the game when she’s at her best. Much of her 5-0 record against the German is a result of her ability to dominate Kerber’s second serve. Kerber hopes her off-season work on her serve will pay off now.
“I worked a lot in my off-season on my serve, and I’m feeling that the serve is also a little bit faster,” she said. “Also I’m trying to go for it with my second serve, not only pushing the ball. Of course that needs time. I think I’m on the good way. I’m feeling better on my serve.”
So will we see another three-set epic on Saturday? Kerber’s 2015 was defined by her participation in the year’s best matches. Earlier in the week Kerber’s compatriot and doubles partner Andrea Petkovic – the two are into the doubles final against Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza – was asked why her friend always finds herself embroiled in dramatic matches against the game’s best.
“I think one part of her game style is that she plays fast but just not too fast to make the other girls play well,” Petkovic said. “She’s too good for the lower-ranked players, but for the top players I think she [hits] exactly the pace they need to play really well.
“But Angie is somebody, when she gets challenged, she gets the best out of her as well. So I think these two things coming together just make for Hollywood, popcorn, great movie nights.”
Come back on Saturday as WTA Insider live blogs the final from Brisbane. The final begins at 7:30pm local time, 9:30am GMT.