Google Play App Download

Tennis News

From around the world

Kvitova Back Into New Haven Quarterfinal

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW HAVEN, CT, USA – Defending champion Petra Kvitova kept her bid for a fourth Connecticut Open title firmly on track as she powered past Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-2 to book a spot in the quarterfinals.

Watch live action from New Haven this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Much like in her previous match, it took a few games for Kvitova to get going and find her rhythm against Bouchard. The Czech surrendered the first break to give Bouchard a 3-1 lead in the first set. But losing serve first just served to galvanize the No.6 seed, who broke back immediately and reeled off 10 straight games to put herself up a set and 5-0.

Kvitova closed out the match after just over an hour and advanced to her fifth consecutive New Haven quarterfinal. It was also Kvitova’s tenth win in a row in New Haven, improving her record at the tournament to an impressive 17-2.

With the win Kvitova sets up a quarterfinal clash with Ekaterina Makarova, an opponent she’s all too familiar with. This will be the fourth time they’ll have met this year, with Makarova owning wins at Miami and Wimbledon and Kvitova getting her revenge at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.

“I feel like I meet Ekaterina every week, it’s really funny,” Kvitova said of the matchup. “I remember one year we played here as well and I beat her. So I hope that I can take some of the good memories from here and try to play my best again.”

Source link

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams broke the Open Era record for Grand Slam titles on Saturday night, beating her older sister Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 to win her record-setting seventh Australian Open title. Her 23rd major title moved her past Stefanie Graf’s record of 22 and puts her just one shy of the all-time record of 24 majors, set by Australia’s Margaret Court.

But in a career that has spanned three separate decades, having won her first major in the 90s (1999 US Open), 10 more in the 2000s, and 12 in the aughts, Serena stands alone as the greatest tennis player the game has ever seen.

Saturday night’s blockbuster final at Melbourne Park was a celebration of greatness, revolution, and longevity. There was nothing more poetic than for Serena to finally capture No.23 – she fell short in her last attempt at the US Open last fall – with Venus by her side. The Williams sisters took the sport by storm when they turned pro as teenagers in the late 90s. Venus got the ball rolling, but it was Serena who carried it.

“There’s no way I would be at 23 without her, there is no way I would be at 1 without her, there’s now way I would have anything without her. She’s my inspiration. She’s the only reason I’m standing here today, the only reason the Williams sisters exist. So thank you, Venus, for inspiring me to be the best player I could be.”

As Venus joked in her speech on court, she had a front row seat for Serena’s 23 major titles, whether because she was on the court – she is now 7-8 in Slam finals with seven of those losses coming to her sister – or playing the role of cheerleader in the players’ box. Together they now hold 30 major singles titles.

“I don’t think we’re going for the greatest story in sports,” Venus said, when asked how she reacts whenever the reference is made. “We’re just going for some dreams. In the case that we are, what an honor.

“What an honor.”

Melbourne belongs to Serena, who in addition to breaking the Open Era record for major titles, also reclaimed her position atop the rankings, overtaking last year’s champion Angelique Kerber at No.1. But 23 was the number of the day. Before taking to the podium to accept her trophy, Serena switched out her match shoes for a pair of Nike Air 23s, an homage to another great sporting champion, Michael Jordan.

“His Airness” wrote her a letter, delivered on the set of ESPN, congratulating on her record-breaking feat.

Aside from sending every record book back to the printer, Slam No.23 puts Serena firmly ahead of the woman to whom her domination is often compared in Stefanie Graf. Both women showed incredible dominance – Graf remains the last palyer to complete the Calendar Slam – and the German still holds the record for weeks at No.1, at 377 (Serena trails at 309 weeks). But this is where Serena’s longevity reigns supreme.

“My first Grand Slam started here, and getting to 23 here, but playing Venus, it’s stuff that legends are made of,” Serena said. “I couldn’t have written a better story. I just feel like it was the right moment. Everything kind of happened. It hasn’t quite set in yet, but it’s really good.”

Graf’s glorious career ended in 1999 at the age of 30. By contrast, Serena has won 10 major titles after the age of 30. At 35 years old she continues to be the standard against whom all others are measured, and given her performance over the fortnight in Melbourne, that window is not closing anytime soon.

En route to the title, Serena faced down four current or former Top 10 players and did not lose a set, never once even going to a tie-break. In five of her matches she finished with more winners than unforced errors.

This was a relaxed and focused Serena. And a stress-free Serena is a dangerous one.

“I feel like my game is good,” Serena said. “I was thinking yesterday on the practice court that gosh, I’m playing better than I have ever. I thought, man, I’m hitting pretty well. It felt really good to know that I’m playing better and I’m here to take this game pretty seriously.”

Numbers won’t matter much for Serena going forward. But they also don’t lie. As she repeatedly insists, she is playing with house money and everything from here on out is a bonus. From the outside, the focus will shift to the prospect of eclipsing Court’s record of 24 major titles. It’s a nice goal, but whether she beats it or not will have zero impact on her legacy.

“I’ve been trying to live it (play stress-free) for quite some time now, but definitely I agree that this tournament I was really able to do it even though I was trying to do it and trying and trying. I think having to play those two matches in the first two rounds, I had no choice but to be better.

“I really was OK with, not losing, but I knew that I didn’t have to win here to have to make my career. For whatever reason that settled with me this time. I don’t know why. I wish I could tell you. I want to know because I definitely want to do that next time,” she said with a laugh.

Outside of Billie Jean King, no woman – or women, if you rightfully include Venus – has had more impact on the women’s game. They introduced and perfected the power game. They forced the rest of the field to match their intensity and physicality. In elevating their status as pop culture icons they elevated the game, bringing what was traditionally considered a country-club sport to the masses.

And they did it by marching to the beat of their drummer, faltering and flying on their own specific terms. 

Source link

Strycova Downs Garcia For Final Spot

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE – World No.47 Barbora Strycova employed her brand of unpredictable tennis to power past Caroline Garcia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and reach her sixth career WTA final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Watch live action from Dubai & Rio de Janeiro this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

She was up against a very familiar opponent in the day’s second semifinal: Strycova and Garcia have played each other four times, with Strycova winning their last three matches in straight sets, including a first-round encounter earlier this year at the Australian Open.

The players started out this encounter very evenly-matched – and they stayed that way for most of the match.

Garcia played her trademark aggressive all-court game, sending Strycova on the defensive early on until the Czech grabbed the first break of the match at 3-2. Garcia used all of her weapons – even throwing in some serving and volleying – but Strycova’s unpredictable style was just too full of surprises, a two-handed backhand slice drop shot throwing Garcia completely off kilter and bringing up the break.

Strycova went on to win the next five games to take the opening set at 6-2 and go up 2-0 in the second.

Not to be outdone, the Frenchwoman held her nerve – and came up with some incredible service games – to win six of the next seven games to take the set 6-3 to level the match.

In the final set, the two were toe-to-toe, neither woman giving an inch: when Garcia broke to start the match, Strycova broke her right back; when Garcia held her serve at love, Strycova held serve at love in reply. They stayed deadlocked until Strycova finally broke for 5-3 – Garcia saved two break points to bring it to deuce, but after a 22-shot-rally Strycova emerged victorious. Serving for the match, Strycova erased both of Garcia’s break opportunities and sealed the match with an ace.

“I kept telling myself play your game and go for it – you have nothing to lose,” Strycova said after the match. “I wasn’t serving well the whole match but in that last game it was important that I pull it through.”

“That last game I was like, ‘Okay, pull something through. And then I made good serves. I’m so happy about it because it wasn’t easy match for me. But to be in the final it’s great.

Awaiting Strycova in the final is 2013 Dubai finalist Sara Errani, winner of the day’s first semifinal against Elina Svitolina. Errani leads their head-to-head record 5-1.

“We always have tough matches with Sara,” Strycova said of her opponent in the final. “Last time I lost from two match points.

“But it’s a final so I will enjoy it. Or I’ll try to enjoy it, actually.”

Source link