Tennis News

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Ashleigh Barty says the world is seeing her best performances on a tennis court so far as she celebrated a day of double delight at the Alya Malaysian Open.

First she secured a spot in the singles quarterfinals by beating fellow qualifier Miyu Kato, 6-0, 6-3 – and then she went one better in the doubles alongside Casey Dellacqua, progressing to the semifinals as they defeated Nao Hibino and Varatchaya Wongteanchai 6-4, 6-0.

“We have to say this is my best start, best career performances to date,” the 20-year-old told the press afterwards. “We’re happy to be playing well and enjoying our tennis.” 

.@AshBar96 books a spot in @alyawtamo Quarterfinals!

Races past Kato 6-0, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/Muq7rPmwBL

— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017

The Australian returned to tennis a year ago following a break during which she turned her sporting skills to cricket, playing in the first-ever Women’s Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat. She thinks that the time off has served her well.

“My tennis game this time is a continuation from my last career – I’m a little bit older, a little bit more wise, more mature, so I think that’s helped my game immensely,” she revealed.

That isn’t to say that putting her racquet down was an easy thing to do.

“I certainly missed playing tennis,” she admitted. “It’s what I’ve done since I was five years old. It’s been a part of my life for so long. It’s what I am born to do.”

Barty is proving that with her recent form, and she has an extra incentive to win – her best friend and doubles partner Dellacqua.

“I really am loving being out here, getting to play singles and enjoy some success, and then of course to be on the court with my best friend for doubles is a bonus as well – it’s nice to be back out here with Case and to see her happy as well,” she added.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Sorana Cirstea survived a rainy quarterfinals afternoon, continuing her road back from injury with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over No.3 seed Danka Kovinic and earning a spot into her first WTA semifinal since 2013.

The win is a big milestone for Cirstea, who is playing in her first WTA main draw matches since last summer in Bucharest.

“I´ve been injured for one year and a half, so to come back and play three matches and be fit and healthy is the most important for me,” Cirstea said after the win. “After you come back from an injury you start realizing how lucky you are when you are pain-free and you enjoy more tennis.”

Up next for the Romanian is the resurgent Shelby Rogers, who dashed Brazil’s hopes of a home champion when she ousted qualifier Paula Goncalves 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

“It´s going to be the first time I face Shelby, unfortunately I don´t know her very much,” Cirstea said of the semifinal matchup. “We haven´t even practiced together. It´s going to be a tough match and I´m going to try to focus on my side of the court.”

On the other side of the draw, Francesca Schiavone emerged victorious after a two-and-a-half-hour encounter against Cindy Burger 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-3. The Dutch qualifier was the author of an upset in the first round when she sent American Christina McHale packing in a three set thriller.

“It was a difficult match and the conditions were not easy today,” Schiavone said. “The ball kicks a lot on this courts here, so it´s quite challenging. The heat is also extreme, but I like to play on this conditions and I prepared well for that.”

Awaiting the Italian veteran in the semifinal is Petra Martic, who defeated Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

“It´s going to be a very tough match because Martic plays really well, especially on surfaces where the ball kicks a lot, like it happens here in Rio,” Schiavone said of the dangerous Croatian who stunned No.1 seed Teliana Pereira in the first round. “She is also tall and is definitely going to use that. It´s going to be a challenge, but I think I´m ready

“Of course we have to take into account the fact that at the semifinals we are all ready. We all have 25% chance of getting the title.”

ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko will take on Kristina Mladenovic in the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel after top seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire after trailing 0-5 in the first set.

“I was really shocked on court when she decided to retire,” Tsurenko said after the match. “I wish that she feels better. I’m pretty happy to be in the final, but shame that she’s not feeling well.”

Lucic-Baroni had been in imperious form this week in Acapulco – her first event since her dream run to the Australian Open semifinals – and she hadn’t dropped a set all tournament long. 

But on Friday night against Tsurenko, the Croat was noticeably subdued from the start, moving sluggishly and her usually booming strokes lacking bite. Tsurenko broke three times and, after a visit from the trainer and tournament doctor, Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire citing gastrointestinal illness.

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni retires in the opening set.@LTsurenko advances to @AbiertoTelcel Final! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/R3w2AjPf8n

— WTA (@WTA) March 4, 2017

“I was really unlucky; I picked up a virus, I vomited just before I went on the court,” Lucic-Baroni explained. “I tried. Because I’m not the type to retire, ever. I’ll just put on more tapes and play, and I can play through anything really.

“But I just felt extremely dizzy and like I was going to vomit all the time, and I just couldn’t continue. I’m really upset, because this is such a great tournament and I’m playing so well.

“It’s just a crappy way to end a really good tournament.”

For Tsurenko, this puts her through to her first final of the year; earlier in the season she made a run to the semifinals at the Hobart International. In fact, it’s her first final since September 2016 when she won the title at Guangzhou.

She’s set to take on Kristina Mladenovic, who came through in three sets against Christina McHale.

“I watched their match, it was really tough match for both of them,” Tsurenko acknowledged. “But this is not always a big advantage for me; sometimes when you play a long match you get stronger and feel the surface better.

“We’ll see tomorrow. I hope I’ll be fresher physically.”

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – It was twice as nice for Ashleigh Barty in Kuala Lumpur as she won the doubles title with Casey Dellacqua – adding that to the singles crown she had secured earlier in the day.

The Australian pair beat Nicole Melichar and Makoto Ninomiya 7-6(5), 6-3, coming back from 5-1 down in the first-set tiebreak to lift the trophy in straight sets.

“I feel great – very tired but great,” said Barty afterwards. “It’s been a monster week for me. I don’t think I could have physically have played any more matches. I’m very happy to come away with two titles today, but even if we didn’t it would have been a fantastic tournament anyway. Now it’s just an absolute bonus.”

Congrats @ashbar96 & @caseydellacqua #alyawtamalaysianopen #wta #alyakl #tpckl #mme #mymajorevents pic.twitter.com/XJWyHFEz2L

— AlyaWTAMalaysianOpen (@alyawtamo) March 5, 2017

Her partner Dellacqua admired the way that their opponents had played, giving them a tough time in the first set. 

“They were playing really good tennis, really good doubles,” she said. “We just had to play each point as best we could. That’s all we did, we just applied ourselves really well for each of those points in that tiebreak especially.

“In tennis, you’re never out of it, I think that was pretty crucial to get that first set, and then just to get a break in the second, to space that lead out a little bit. That tiebreak, we did really well after being 5-1 down.”

Dellacqua is enjoying her time on court with her good friend Barty, and was delighted that she won the singles title – even if she was not actually able to watch it.

“It’s pretty nice to play with someone that’s just come off and won the singles, that’s always good!” laughed the 32-year-old. “I’m just stoked that I’m back. I wouldn’t be out here and enjoying it as much if it wasn’t playing with Ash, so yes, I feel good, I feel very happy that I was here to witness her, even though I didn’t get to watch, win her first title. I know that there’ll be many more to come. For us to win the doubles is an extra bonus. It’s pretty exciting.”

The pair burst into laughter when they were asked post-match whether they intended to continue playing doubles together.

“No, I don’t want to play with her again!” grinned Dellacqua.

“We’re done!” added Barty.

Once the hilarity subsided, Dellacqua gave a more serious response.

“Yes, of course. Ash has got a big load, she’s playing singles, so we’ll play whenever we can. When we do play we always enjoy it, and we go out there to do our best.”

Winning a Grand Slam title, of course, remains their ultimate goal.

“It’s a big dream to win [a Slam doubles title],” agreed Dellacqua. “We’ve made three Grand Slam finals together and we’ve never won one, but we don’t talk about it too much any more!

“If that happens, it happens. It’s about each week, each journey, just trying to get the best out of ourselves this week, and if that comes along, we’ll certainly be trying our best to win.”

Top 10 debuts on the WTA these days are like London buses: wait ages for one, then two come along at once.

Hot on the heels of Belinda Bencic onto the Top 10 bus is the evergreen Roberta Vinci, who – in spite of an early exit at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – hopped aboard on Monday.

Having closed in on the Top 10 with victory in St. Petersburg, Carla Suárez Navarro’s second-round loss in Dubai and the absences of Lucie Safarova and Venus Williams saw Vinci leapfrog her previous highest ranking of No.11.

It is the latest highlight of a remarkable return to form for Vinci, who last summer was ranked as low as No.58 before reviving her career with that run at the US Open.

The Italian, who turned 33 last week, is the 117th – and oldest – player to make their Top 10 debut and on Monday celebrated her ascent by dismissing Lesia Tsurenko, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round of the Qatar Total Open.

At the Australian Open, Vinci dropped hints on potential retirement dates, but with relatively few points to defend between now and August, this topic of conversation is likely to be shelved for the foreseeable future.

And Vinci is not the only upwardly mobile Italian.

Sara Errani (+5, No.22 to No.17): On Saturday, Sara Errani defeated Barbora Strycova in the Dubai final to lift the ninth, and most significant, title of her career. After slipping down the rankings following two wins in her first three tournaments of the year, the 28-year-old’s return to form takes her back into the Top 20.

Barbora Strycova (+9, No.47 to No.38): Errani’s victim in the final also enjoyed a productive week, victories over Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Garcia taking her back into the Top 40 for the first time since August.

Francesca Schavone (+38 No.132 to No.94): Having been an ever-present just shy of 15 years, last summer, Francesca Schiavone finally surrendered her place in the Top 100. However, at the Rio Open the 36-year-old rolled back the years to lift her first title since 2013 and jump back to No.94 in the rankings.

Shelby Rogers (+23, No.131 to No.108): Also enjoying a productive first outing of the year on clay was Shelby Rogers, who saw off No.8 seed Andreea Mitu and former World No.21 Sorana Cirstea before being edged out by Schiavone in the final.