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Bouchard: Stronger Than Yesterday

Bouchard: Stronger Than Yesterday

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ROME, Italy – Eugenie Bouchard earned her first Top 10 win since 2014 on Wednesday, rallying from a break down in the third set to beat No.2 seed Angelique Kerber, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The rollercoaster match saw Bouchard nearly blow a 6-1, 3-0 lead over the reigning Australian Open champion, but steeled herself to get the late break in the third set to secure the win.

A French Open semifinalist in 2014, Bouchard has steadily shown signs of a solid rebound after a disastrous 2015 season, where she went through a stretch of losing 15 of 18 matches. This year she has already made two finals in Hobart and Kuala Lumpur and this week she’s battled through back-to-back three-set wins over both Kerber and Jelena Jankovic in the first round.

The pressure of following up her 2014 season goes towards explaining some of Bouchard’s results last year. But there were also a series of injuries and overall lack of fitness. Watching Bouchard grind away against Kerber in front of packed crowd at Court Pietrangeli, it was clear that the 22-year-old’s physique is much stronger now than 12 months ago.

“I agree with that,” Bouchard told WTA Insider. “I definitely did not feel strong enough last year. I felt a lot of pressure and stress and I think that made me lose a bit of weight without me trying to. It wasn’t a conscious effort but it just happened that way.

“I think I wasn’t doing enough gym work but at the same time I was feeling so nervous before matches. I wouldn’t eat. I just in general wasn’t eating enough because I felt so nervous and things like that. So I’ve learned now that even if I do feel that way I really do have to stuff my face. I might feel like it’s going to come back up but I have to get it in me. It’s energy. It’s energy for your body.

“The moral of the story: Just stuff your face,” Bouchard said with a laugh.

Eugenie Bouchard

Caloric intake has been one side of the story. Bouchard also says she’s restructured her training regimen to put more of an emphasis on getting stronger.

“In the gym, I did a mini-off-season in December and took some in February as well. I was hitting the gym every day, spending not the same amount of time in the gym as on the court but the ratio was definitely closer than what it was in 2015. So it has been a conscious thing to try and improve.”

Bouchard is 6-5 in three-set matches this season; last year she was 4-7. She’s also back to working with Nick Saviano, her coach from her youth who was also at the helm during her breakout 2014 season. While the road back to her best is far from over, she says she’s panicking less in grueling matches.

“If I’m not feeling my strongest, first of all that gives me a lack of confidence in a match because I don’t have that confidence that I can keep this level up or still feel good in the third set, or are my legs going to be gone in the third set. Being physically strong is a physical thing but it’s also so mental.

“I don’t worry if it goes to a third set now, how I’ll be able to handle it physically. It’s one thing I don’t have to worry about. But it’s a constant thing. It’s something I have to keep up. It’s not like you can just do it for a month and then you’re set for life.”

Bouchard plays Barbora Strycova for a spot in the quarterfinals.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – If Caroline Wozniacki scores just one more victory at the Volvo Car Open and defeats World No.66 Jelena Ostapenko, she’ll be rewarded with more than just a spot in the Charleston semifinals: she’ll be projected to break back into the Top 10 when the new WTA rankings come out, a happy ending to what has been an absolute rollercoaster last few years.

Wozniacki got her first taste of the Top 10 back in 2009, and has been a mainstay at the top of the rankings for the majority of her career – including a stint at World No.1, a ranking she held for 67 weeks.

In fact, from 2009 to 2014 she finished each year inside the Top 10, and her six year run had been the WTA’s longest active streak.  

But a struggle with injuries and recovery derailed the Dane’s progress, causing her ranking to plummet to as low as No.74 during the 2016 US Open.

It was during that US Open fortnight that Wozniacki’s comeback came together; she entered the tournament unseeded and went on to reach the semifinals, knocking out the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys along the way.

Once she got going, Wozniacki never looked back, and in the 14 events since her ranking dipped to No.74, she’s put together a stunning run which includes titles at the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, runner-up finishes at the 2017 Qatar Total Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Miami Open, and a semifinal finish at the US Open.

She’s reached the quarterfinals or better at 11 of her last 14 events and now, by virtue of her incredible consistency, Wozniacki sits one win away from a return to her beloved Top 10 – the first time she’ll be there since September 21, 2015.

It won’t be easy with Latvian teenager Ostapenko standing in her way; Wozniacki lost in straight sets the only previous match they’ve played at last year’s Connecticut Open. And due to extreme weather conditions in Charleston, Wozniacki found herself having to double up and play two matches on the same day to reach the quarterfinals.

“I think I’m well-prepared for tomorrow,” Wozniacki said after her win against Anastasia Rodionova. “I got some clay tennis in today and feel like I’m just going to go out there and have fun and do my best and see how it goes.

“I’m just playing right now. I had one practice session before the tournament started for me, and that was it. I just kind of run on experience and try and figure it out.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko stunned No.11 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in three sets to reach the final at the Volvo Car Open, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

With the victory Ostapenko is through to her third career final – and her first on clay – where he’ll face fellow-19-year-old Daria Kasatkina.

“It’s really nice to be in the third final, but first final on clay court, and especially here in Charleston,” Ostapenko told press after the match. “I’m really looking forward for tomorrow’s match.

“[Daria] kind of defensive player, and I think clay is her favorite surface, but I’m just going to try to stay consistent and be aggressive at the same time and just play my game.”

Just one point made the difference between Ostapenko and Lucic-Baroni during the tense, two-hour-and-seven-minute encounter. The Latvian employed her aggressive, fearless tennis against Lucic-Baroni, changing the direction in the ball and keeping her opponent on the run with her heavy groundstrokes.

Ostapenko was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second, but Lucic-Baroni had other ideas and the Croat put together a mammoth struggle to deny Ostapenko and break her serve.

She unleashed a barrage of winners against the Latvian, who had no response as Lucic-Baroni grabbed the next two games to take the match into a decider. But Ostapenko tamped down her nerves in the third and found her calm to make her way into her first final of 2017.

“I actually was quite emotional in the second set when I was 5-3 up and I couldn’t finish the set, but she liked when I was emotional,” Ostapenko admitted. “It kind of gave her confidence till then.

“In the third set I was just trying to be calm because I think it was tougher for her because I didn’t show any emotions, and it helped me, so I won the third set.”

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Rome Friday: The Rematch

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

A blockbuster quarterfinal between former Grand Slam and Roland Garros champions headlines an enticing slate of quarterfinals in Rome on Friday. We preview the matchups right here at wtatennis.com.

Friday, Quarterfinals

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #19)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 8-3
Key Stat: Williams has won 72 of her last 76 matches on clay.
Less than two months ago Svetlana Kuznetsova sent Serena Williams tumbling from the Miami draw in stunning fashion, winning 12 of the final 15 games to notch her seventh career victory over a reigning World No.1. That victory snapped Williams’ 20-match winning streak at Miami and put Kuznetsova into the quarterfinals at Key Biscayne for the first time since 2009. Here in Rome, Kuznetsova will try to do the unthinkable again. But three-time champion Williams, who owns a 13-match winning streak at Rome, is looking forward to the challenge of trying to make it 14 against one of the game’s hottest players. “I think right now she’s probably one of the best clay-court players,” Williams said of Kuznetsova on Thursday. “I couldn’t ask for a better match going into Roland Garros, so this is a big opportunity for me, win or lose, to see where I am.”

Pick: Williams in three

[3] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. [11] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #10)
Head-to-head: Muguruza leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Muguruza has lost just six games in two rounds in Rome.
Is Garbiñe Muguruza ready to put aside her early season frustrations and break out in a big way on the red clay of Rome? She’s been turning heads with lopsided victories in the last two days over Ekaterina Makarova and Jelena Ostapenko, and even the 22-year-old Spaniard has been impressed with her level of execution in Rome. “I’m thinking everything I tried, everything I did, was working,” Muguruza said after her second-round win on Wednesday. Things have been working pretty well for Timea Bacsinszky as well. The Swiss has won 15 of her last 17 on clay and she battled past last year’s runner-up Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals. Bacsinszky likes to dirty it up and frustrate her opponents with death-defying defense, changes of pace and a wicked backhand. To keep rolling, Muguruza will have to patiently deal with those tactics, paint the lines and look to close at net.

Pick: Muguruza in three

Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #35) vs. Misaki Doi (JPN #45)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Doi is the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist in Rome.
With three quarterfinals on her last four clay events, Irina-Camelia Begu is starting to look more and more like a Roland Garros dark horse every day. The 25-year-old Romanian has secured Top 10 wins in back-to-back weeks on the European clay, taking out Garbiñe Muguruza in Madrid and Victoria Azarenka in the second round here in Rome. On Friday she’ll face the week’s biggest surprise in Japan’s Misaki Doi. Japan’s No.1 had lost seven straight tour-level matches heading into Rome, but after three consecutive wins (including the two best wins of her career on the dirt rankings-wise) she has earned the best clay-court result of her career. Can she keep the dream alive against Begu or will it be the surging Romanian who moves on to the semis?

Pick: Begu in two

Madison Keys (USA #19) vs. Barbora Strycova (CZE #36)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Both Keys and Strycova have reached their first quarterfinal at Rome.
One immensely talented youngster is questing to live up to the hype in Rome, while a cagey veteran is playing some of her best clay-court tennis to date. Madison Keys and Barbora Strycova have each managed to play some scintillating tennis at the Foro Italico, and as a result they’ll meet for the second time in as many weeks with a spot in the semifinals on the line. 21-year-old Keys, who is in the early days of her relationship with new coach Thomas Hogstedt, defeated Strycova in straight sets last week in Madrid, and the pair have split their two previous meetings to date. Strycova, not known for her clay prowess, notched her first Top 5 win on the surface last week against Angelique Kerber and has not dropped a set thus far in Rome. Opportunity knocks for both Keys and Strycova in the Eternal City – who will answer the bell?

Pick: Keys in three

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

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Rome Saturday: Perfect Timing

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

All four semifinalists at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia are rounding into form at just the right time. But who will be the one to sign-off ahead of Roland Garros with the silverware.

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Williams Through To Fourth Rome Final

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ROME, Italy – Serena Williams returned to the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia after a comfortable victory over the unseeded Irina-Camelia Begu on Saturday.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!

The Foro Italico has historically been a happy hunting ground for Williams, who has reached the semifinals or better on eight occasions. Three times she has gone on to lift the trophy at the famous old venue, and judging by her performances this week she is in the mood to add to this tally.

Following on from the World No.1’s awe-inspiring display against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Friday evening, few gave Begu much hope of springing an upset. However, the Romanian has been enjoying a fine clay court season and acquitted herself well early on, recovering from an early break to draw level at 4-4.

Unfortunately for Begu, this was as good as it got. Two games later, a sequence of smart returns gave Williams the set and from there she rarely looked like being caught, wrapping up victory after an hour and 26 minutes by ghosting in to punch away a smart volley.

Standing between Williams and her 70th WTA title is fellow American Madison Keys. Earlier in the day Keys maintained her composure after a lengthy rain delay to defeat No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 7-6(5), 6-4.

Since losing to her sister Venus at Montréal in 2014, Williams has won 15 straight matches against Americans. Her match against Keys will be the first all-American final at the Foro in 46 years.

“I think it will be wonderful because, like I said last time I was in here, I feel like Madison is one of the players that really can be great and she has that potential, and now she’s showing that on all surfaces,” Williams said.

“You know, we’re an all-American final on the clay. It’s been a minute since that’s happened. That’s just – it’s great. It’s really exciting.”

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Serena Reigns In Rome

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ROME, Italy – Serena Williams emerged victorious in the first all-American final since 2012 – the first on red clay since 2002 – defeating countrywoman Madison Keys, 7-6(5), 6-3, to snap a nine-month title drought and win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the fourth time in her illustrious career.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!

“I feel like it was important for me to just go out there like usual,” she said in her post-match press conference. “It’s a totally new match, it’s a different week, you know, and hopefully just win one. If not, hope for next time, next week.”

Playing in her third final of 2016, Williams had spent the season in search of her first title since the Western & Southern Open last summer, and was the heavy favorite to break that duck against Keys, who was playing the biggest final of her career on what had hitherto been her least favorite surface.

“I think no matter how many times you play Serena, you always go in and you can just feel her presence,” Keys said after the match. “That’s always an extra thing that you have to be worried about during the match.

“But for me today it really wasn’t so much about how big the tournament was or anything like that. It was really just wanting to go out and do my best and give my best performance.”

None of that seemed to matter from the outset as Keys unlocked the early break, leading 3-1 in the first set. Williams steadied from there, winning the next three games and later grabbing the opening set in a tie-break.

“I think she’s such a powerful player,” Williams said, backing up her praise of Keys at net, when she predicted her opponent could be a future World No.1. “Obviously going in, I knew that, but I was just trying. I think I was pretty much able to just get back what I could, you know, and that’s all I was trying to do was just to go out there and be consistent, and, yeah, make my shots.”

Serving for the match in the second, there would be one final momentum shift as the 21-time Grand Slam champion was broken one game from the win, but the break was swiftly repaid in kind and Williams was the winner of a 70th career title – the fifth woman to achieve such a total in singles after Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, and Margaret Court. In all, she hit four fewer winners than Keys (13 to 17), but also eight fewer errors (24 to 32), and converted all but one of her six break point chances to seal the match in just under 90 minutes. 

Missing the Mutua Madrid Open due to illness, Williams was playing her first red clay event of the season; the win in Rome sets her up in good stead to defend her French Open title as she attempts to win her fourth crown there, as well.

“I have tried to defend there once, twice, three times before. Didn’t quite work so well. But this year is different. I’m going to definitely go in there and I feel more calm and I don’t feel stress to, like, have to win. You know, I feel like I just am happy to be out here.”

For Keys, it was a breakthrough run; recently pairing with new coach Thomas Hogstedt, the 21-year-old is set to re-enter the Top 20 at No.17 – not too far from her career-high of No.16.

“I think having a couple of Top 10 wins this week was really big for me and playing people who have done very well in Roland Garros and just on clay in general. But I think the biggest thing is just how calm I have stayed on court and really, even in tough situations, stayed calm and collected and just really focused on my game, and I feel like I’m just playing much smarter tennis.”

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