Acapulco: Monica Puig Interview
An interview with Monica Puig before the start of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
An interview with Monica Puig before the start of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova will round off a fantastic season by appearing at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for the first time in her career.
Victory over Viktorija Golubic in the final of the Generali Ladies Linz confirmed Cibulkova as the eighth qualifier for the season-ending showpiece, joining Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza and Madison Keys in the singles field.
The 2016 season has been a comeback year for Cibulkova, as the 27-year-old claimed three titles at the Katowice Open, Aegon International Eastbourne and most recently at the Generali Ladies Linz. Cibulkova reached three additional finals at the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL, Mutua Madrid Open and the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, which helped set a career-high ranking of No.8. The Slovak also advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
“I can’t describe with words what qualifying for the WTA Finals Singapore means to me,” said Cibulkova. “After such a tough year last year, this year has been amazing – so reaching the WTA Finals is a dream come true. It was my goal to be a consistently great player and I have achieved that this year. I want to enjoy it, play good tennis and end the year the best way I can.”
The current Road to Singapore Leaderboard as follows (as of October 10, 2016):
Serena Williams’ fierce competitive streak is what sets up apart and puts her on track to become the greatest female tennis player of all time, according to Roger Federer.
Speaking to Sport360 earlier in the week, the 18-time Grand Slam champion spoke of his admiration for his fellow Australian Open champion’s longevity.
“I admire everything she’s doing and has done,” he said. “I thought she was ready to check out there for a while. But she’s hung on and she’s found new ways of doing things. She’s gotten healthy again as well, she was very unfortunate on a few occasions.”
Serena’s success at the Rod Laver Arena was her 23rd Grand Slam success, which took her past the Open Era record of 22 she had previously held with Stefanie Graf and to within one of Margaret Court’s all-time record. Federer’s victory in the men’s tournament meant that both trophies were won by 35-year-olds.
“People who have done it for a long time and who are older now but are still super eager and super willing and Serena is exactly like that,” said the Swiss. “She’s a fierce competitor and on the way to becoming the greatest of all time. It’s wonderful to see her do it for sure.”
Federer’s comments come little more than two weeks after Andy Roddick called Serena one of the greatest athletes of all time. The American, who grew up training alongside Williams in Florida, described her as “not just one of the greatest women athletes of all time but one of the greatest athletes of all time.”
He added: “We need to enter her into the conversation with [Michael] Jordan and [Muhammad] Ali. I think that’s where the respect lies and where the conversation needs to go after the acknowledgement of what she’s done for women in sports.”
Yulia Putintseva takes on Venus Williams in the third round of the Volvo Car Open.
As the Kremlin Cup gets underway, the tournament’s stars, including Elena Vesnina, Ekaterina Makarova, Ekaterina Ostapenko, Shelby Rogers and Belinda Bencic have been mingling.
An interview with Sara Errani after her quarterfinal win at the Volvo Car Open.
Kirsten Flipkens had Thursday’s shot of the day at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Alizé Cornet in the second round of the Kremlin Cup.
ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.4 seed Monica Puig is into the quarterfinals at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel for the second time after a victory over Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-4.
“Today I felt a lot better on court than I did yesterday,” Puig said after the match. “I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my game during the past few days.
“And that’s really my goal, to improve every match and not feel pressure, and just go out on court and play the best I can.”
Hantuchova is currently ranked No.244, a position which belies the quality the former World No.5 can produce, and she employed her all-court game against the Olympic champion.
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Powerful backhand from @MonicaAce93! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/5HeWxwyEMu
— WTA (@WTA) March 1, 2017
Puig shook off a sluggish start in the opening set against Hantuchova, grabbing the lone break at 4-3. She had trouble closing out the set – a struggle she had yesterday against Francesca Schiavone as well. The Puerto Rican had two set points on Hantuchova’s serve, but was unable to convert. She fought off two breaks of her own before sending down a booming serve down the T to take the opening set.
“I’ve had a lot of matches these past few weeks, so having a bit of tension is normal,” Puig explained in her post-match press conference. “The body gets a bit tense after so many matches.”
The Puerto Rican’s big-hitting game clicked together in the final set, weathering five breaks of serve in the first six games to come away with the lead.
A trio of errors from Hantuchova gave Puig a look at three match points, but Hantuchova wasn’t ready to let go. She put together a massive effort to deny Puig five times with gutsy baseline play – and even earned a break point – but Puig took the match on the sixth time of asking for a spot in the Acapulco quarterfinals.
.@MonicaAce93 advances to @AbiertoTelcel Quarterfinals!
Tops Hantuchova 6-4, 6-4! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/GgL3uiJeQ9
— WTA (@WTA) March 1, 2017
Puig will take on Christina McHale for a spot in the semifinals after the American knocked out her countrywoman Taylor Townsend 6-1, 7-6(5) earlier in the day.
“Christina is a very good friend of mine, we train together a lot,” Puig said. “It’s going to be a tough match for sure. She’s been playing really well lately, and I expect a great match; I just hope to bring my best tennis.”
Also in action today, Kirsten Flipkens moved into the quarterfinals after her opponent Ajla Tomljanovic – author of yesterday’s stunner over No.6 seed Eugenie Bouchard – was forced to retire after the first set due to a right shoulder injury.
No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko advanced in similar fashion; she was leading 6-1, 2-0 against Julia Goerges before the German was forced to retire due to heat illness.
Daria Kasatkina takes on Carla Suárez Navarro in the second round of the Kremlin Cup.
