Garcia & Cornet Sail Into Limoges Semifinals
Top seeds Caroline Garcia and Alizé Cornet are one win away from an all-French final at the Engie Open de Limoges after fighting past a pair of tough quarterfinal battles.
Top seeds Caroline Garcia and Alizé Cornet are one win away from an all-French final at the Engie Open de Limoges after fighting past a pair of tough quarterfinal battles.
SEOUL, South Korea – Could we see an all-Romanian final at the Korea Open? Patricia Maria Tig kept hopes of that possibility alive with a 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-3 win over Sara Sorribes Tormo, while No.5 seed Monica Niculescu avenged the loss of defending champion, top seed, and countrywoman Irina-Camelia Begu by defeating conqueror Jana Cepelova, 6-4, 6-2.
Sorribes Tormo was coming off a big upset over No.4 seed Kristina Mladenovic, and though she was able level the match after losing a tight opening set, Tig held her nerve to reach her first WTA semifinal of the season. The young Romanian had made her Premier Mandatory breakthrough earlier in the year when she reached the last eight of the Mutua Madrid Open as a qualifier.
Up next for the 22-year-old is Lara Arruabarrena, who knocked out No.2 seed Johanna Larsson, 6-4, 6-0.
On the other half of the draw stands Niculescu, who is playing her first event since reaching the third round of the US Open. Deprived of an all-Romanian semifinal with Cepelova defeating Begu in the second round, Niculescu exacted revenge on the Slovak to advance in straight sets.
Awaiting Niculescu in the semifinals is No.3 seed Zhang Shuai; the Australian Open quarterfinalist ended the run of unseeded Camila Giorgi, 6-2, 6-4.
An interview with Roberta Vinci after her third round win at the BNP Paribas Open.
TOKYO, Japan – Agnieszka Radwanska kept her Tokyo title defense on track with an emphatic win over Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig, defeating her 6-2, 6-3 to claim her fifth semifinal berth at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
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As SAP’s Behind The Numbers revealed, Radwanska’s game flourishes post-US Open, and is especially lethal during the WTA’s Asian Swing. She holds the record for most matches and most titles won in the Asian swing since 2011, and looks set to add to her tally after straight sets victory over Puig.
“I definitely played my best tennis today,” Radwanska said in her on-court interview. “I was serving well and keeping the ball very well. Obviously I knew [Puig] is a really great player, playing in a very top form. So I’m really glad I could do everything today, in my game.”
Radwanska hit 16 winners and allowed just 10 unforced errors during the one hour and 16 minute encounter, not giving Puig much to work with as the Puerto Rican hit 19 winners to 30 unforced errors.
Radwanska’s serve played a decisive role in the match, bailing her out of tricky situations time and time again. She struck eight aces – including a rare second serve ace to bring up set points – and won 66 percent of points behind her first serve.
“I just felt like John Isner for a little bit there!” Radwanska joked with the Japanese crowd. “I think I was serving very well today, and of course that helped me a lot. Especially because from her side the ball is coming so fast, so the serve was the key today as well.”
Radwanska awaits the winner of the day’s second quarterfinal between Caroline Wozniacki and Magda Linette for a spot in the semifinals and a shot at a third Tokyo trophy.
5th @TorayPPO Semifinal for @ARadwanska! ? pic.twitter.com/7JjtpbhMFr
— WTA (@WTA) September 23, 2016
Ekaterina Alexandrova upset defending champion and No.1 seed Caroline Garcia to win the Engie Open de Limoges on Sunday afternoon.
Roberta Vinci takes on Elina Svitolina in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Highlights from the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Top seed Serena Williams powered through a tough, but decisive victory over 2015 BNP Paribas Open champion Simona Halep, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the semifinals.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!
With strong crowd support from her compatriots, Halep started strong with an early service break, but Williams proved undaunted throughout the 68-minute affair, putting down 28 winners and only 24 unforced errors, breaking serve four times to defeat the defending champion and reach her second straight Indian Wells semifinal.
“It’s a lot of love in this stadium, and a lot of Romanians,” Serena jokingly told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview, offering her apologies to Halep’s unflappable fanbase. “Sorry guys, but there’s definitely a lot of love here.”
Williams and Halep had played two tricky matches in 2015, including a three setter almost exactly 52 weeks ago in the semifinals of the Miami Open; with the Romanian beginning to show signs of improvement after a slow start to the season, the American admitted to being on her guard coming into the match.
“She obviously has been in good form the past couple years,” she said during her post-match press conference. “So, yeah, I feel really good just to get under there and buckle down and to win that.”
Up next for the World No.1 is soon-to-be new World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska, who eased past two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, 6-2, 7-6(3). The two last played in the semifinals of the Australian Open, which Williams won in two emphatic sets.
“She knows how to play in big stadiums and big matches, big games. Obviously she does everything so well, including running, and this is a good surface for her because it’s a slow surface. I think I expect there will be a lot of long rallies. Honestly, I will be ready.
“I really like Aga on and off the court. I think she’s super exciting to watch on the court, and off the court I think she’s really one of the nicest people. Regardless, I think it will be a really good matchup. Whoever wins will go into the final.
“It’s unfortunate it can’t be a final, but we’ll see how it goes. I don’t think she’s won this tournament yet, but obviously she probably wants to. We will see how that goes.”
SAN ANTONIO, TX, USA – Alison Riske began 2016 with a final at the Shenzhen Open, and stands just one match away from a second of the season after nabbing a 6-4, 6-4 victory over top seed Daria Gavrilova at the WTA 125K Series event, the San Antonio Open.
Gavrilova had beaten Riske in their only prior meeting – closer to home for the Aussie in Brisbane – and got out to an early advantage before Riske, a wildcard entrant into the BNP Paribas Open last week, pulled back and ran away with the win in straight sets.
“I got off to a slow start but it was only because she was putting a lot of pressure on me,” a breathless Riske said after the match. “I felt like that could only hold up for so long. I felt like I got into a groove a bit, and it worked in my favor.
“But she’s an amazing competitor; she is where she is for a reason.”
Up next for Riske is Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam; Friedsam was a lucky loser in Indian Wells who fell to eventual quarterfinalist Daria Kasatkina, and has earned some much-needed match wins, Thursday’s being over young Croat star Ana Konjuh in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Tsvetana Pironkova and Donna Vekic met just one week ago in Indian Wells, and the Bulgarian went two-for-two against the Croat in San Antonion, needing only 51 minutes to dispatch Vekic, 6-1, 6-1.
The last match of the day headlined the night session between No.6 seed Misaki Doi – the only remaining seed in the draw – who defeated hot-shot American Samantha Crawford, who reached the semifinals of the Brisbane International back in January, 6-3, 6-3.
In doubles, top seed Casey Dellacqua’s continued comeback came to an early end in the semifinals in San Antonio; with partner Daria Jurak, the Aussie fell to No.3 seeds Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Anastasia Rodionova, 6-4, 7-5. Jans-Ignack and Rodionova will play No.4 seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Nicole Melichar, who defeated No.2 seeds Liang Chen and Chuang Chia-Jung, 3-6, 6-1, 10-6.