Clinical Konta Makes Short Work Of Bouchard, Faces Radwanska For Sydney Title
Johanna Konta made short work of Eugenie Bouchard to take her place in the final of the Apia International Sydney.
Johanna Konta made short work of Eugenie Bouchard to take her place in the final of the Apia International Sydney.
SYDNEY, Australia – Timea Babos and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova hit through top seeds Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova, 6-4, 6-4, to win their first title as a pair at the Apia International Sydney.
Babos and Pavlyuchenkova were playing just their second event together, playing just once at the end of last season in Moscow. Babos ended her seven-month partnership with Yaroslava Shvedova after the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“I think at least we found a good balance on this,” Babos said after the match. “It was definitely a great week. We beat some really good teams, the best teams, the last two, three rounds.
“To start like this, our partnership together is important and promising.”
Pavlyuchenkova, by contrast, had opted to focus on singles for most of 2016, though the former Singapore alternate is more than capable on the doubles court.
“It’s amazing, because Timea, she’s more experienced in doubles,” said the Russian. “She has a lot more titles and done great in the Grand Slams, as well.
“I’m really happy, because it’s also nice to win a title in doubles. I feel like we had also been playing really good together.”
.@NastiaPav/@TimeaBabos playing strong! ?
Take a 6-4, 3-0 lead over Mirza/Strycova! #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/rLEFFMwdQW
— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2017
Mirza teamed up with Strycova last summer, and the duo were playing their first event of 2017 together after the former No.1 paired with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to win the Brisbane International, passing the top spot to her good friend after 91 weeks leading the WTA rankings.
Champs! ?@NastiaPav/@TimeaBabos win @SydneyTennis Doubles title!
Defeat Mirza/Strycova 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/ZyRBmWo2QE
— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2017
The first set came down to just one break of serve, whereas the second featured four.
“We just went out there and tried to do our game, tried to dictate and play how we always played before and tried, like Timea said, to enjoy and not put too much pressure,” added Pavlyuchenkova.
Babos and Pavlyuchenkova raced out to a 3-0 double break lead in the second set, and though Mirza and Strycova twice clawed the deficit down to one, the unseeded team emerged victorious after one hour and 14 minutes of play. For the fast-rising Hungarian youngster, it was her second title in Sydney.
“This was actually my first year when I played singles here,” said Babos. “Last year I only played doubles. It’s a great tournament. In general, Australia [is] one of my favorite countries if not the favorite. So I really enjoy being here. It’s great atmosphere.”
.@NastiaPav and @TimeaBabos strike a pose with their new @SydneyTennis trophies! ? ? pic.twitter.com/8dhFP412Js
— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2017
BEIJING, China – Agnieszka Radwanska reclaimed the China Open with a straight-set win over Johanna Konta on Sunday.
A dominant week, in which she did not drop a set was rounded off in style as Radwanska closed out a 6-4, 6-2 victory in an hour and 36 minutes.
Radwanska advanced to the final without dropping a set and early on she looked primed for another routine outing. However, from 5-2 down Konta finally began to display the sort of tennis that upset Madison Keys in the previous round.
She reduced her arrears to 5-4 and even had an opportunity to draw level. This proved to be the turning point, as Konta missed a routine drive volley and a few points later saw the set finally slip away.
The No.3 seed rammed home her advantage at the start of the second, planting a backhand onto the baseline to break in the third game. Konta battled away to the last but was unable to find a way through Radwanska’s defenses. The Pole would finish with just eight unforced errors, wrapping up victory with an ace out wide.
Asia has been a happy hunting ground for Radwanska, winning nine of her 20 career titles there. However, her success in Beijing, where she also triumphed in 2011, is of particular significance: “It’s a very special moment; third final and second title here. It was a really special week for me and it couldn’t be any better.”
“Every title means a lot, but especially here when you play against the best players in the world, in one of the biggest tournaments. It’s top players from the first round and I’ve been playing my best tennis all week so of course I’m very happy to win this tournament again, and this trophy is going to stay in a very special place.”
Radwanska becomes one of four active players to collect three or more Premier Mandatory titles, joining Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. Konta, meanwhile, was appearing in her very first final at this level and the disappointment will be tempered by the knowledge that on Monday she will become only the fourth British player to reach the Top 10.
“It’s pretty cool! I’m very pleased with my progress over the past few years and hopefully many more places to climb,” Konta said. “I’m just working hard towards playing matches like these, against players like Agnieszka.”
An even grander stage could await. Konta’s run to the final sees her edge ahead of Dominika Cibulkova and into the final qualifying berth for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
In today’s SAP Stat Of The Day, Johanna Konta shows just how dominant she was in her run to the Apia International Sydney title.
ZHUHAI, China – With the year’s final Premier-Mandatory event at the China Open done and dusted, there were a few key changes to the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai leaderboard.
By virtue of reaching the final in Beijing, Johanna Konta has moved out of the Zhuhai race and Dominika Cibulkova, a finalist at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, has stepped in.
Carla Suárez Navarro and Svetlana Kuznetsova have kept their spots near the top of the field, along with Wuhan winner Petra Kvitova and defending Zhuhai champion Venus Williams.
But while the top of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai leaderboard looks solid, the bottom spots could still be up for grabs after a busy three-tournament week.
Barbora Strycova, No.19 on the leaderboard, is 110 points clear of former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who has experienced a late-season renaissance. The Dane has carried her form into the Asian swing, and a run to the semifinals or better at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open could put her firmly in contention for Zhuhai.
The year’s final tournament will take place in Zhuhai, China and will run from November 1 to 6. Like last year, the singles draw will feature 11 of the top ranked players and one wildcard, with the winner collecting 700 ranking points.
The Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy announced last week that Asian No.1 Zhang Shuai received the wildcard to round out the 12-player field in Zhuhai.
Here’s the latest leaderboard update for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai as of October 10, 2016:
Highlights from the semifinals action at the Hobart International.
HONG KONG, SAR – Britain’s top player Johanna Konta christened her debut into the WTA Top 10 with a commanding win over countrywoman Naomi Broady to advance to the second round at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open.
Watch live action from Hong Kong all week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Fresh off her historic rise in the rankings, No.3 seed Konta kept to her winning ways and defeated Broady 6-2, 6-2, in a score that belied the difficulty of the matchup.
“The scoreline doesn’t really reflect the match itself,” Konta explained. “You can see in the length of the match how tight it was. I’m happy I was able to stay focused, stay level-headed and take my chances when they arose.”
The symmetrical match saw Konta breaking Broady’s powerful serve in the first and fifth games of each set. Broady struck five aces during the hour and twenty-minute encounter – an unusually low number for the big-serving Brit – but also hit eight double faults. Konta brought up fourteen break chances during the match, which was marked by lengthy games and multiple deuces.
“We knew going into the match that Naomi is a very good server and has a good strike, we really tried to utilize that as much as possible,” Konta said.
“I’m really happy with the level I’ve been playing and the amount of matches I’ve been able to play in succession. Hoping to stay healthy for the rest of the season and keep going like this.”
Konta kept her composure to see off Broady’s lone break chance early in the second set, and she powered through to a straight sets win.
With the victory, Konta takes a step closer to making her debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“I’m trying not to think about it, to be honest,” Konta laughed. “I’ve really got to keep myself present, especially since there’s so many variables with that. It really depends on how other players do as well.”
What happens when a serve is too powerful for the net to handle? Check out what happened at the Hobart International!
SINGAPORE – The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is under a fortnight away and once again fans have the chance to get closer to that action thanks to the Official WTA Finals Mobile App, Created by SAP.
The app provides access to exclusive tournament content, including:
* Virtual Replay – the ability for fans to view, track and replay ball movement
* Leaderboard Stats – a player comparison tool tracking aces, fastest serves and a whole host of other information
* Player Notifications – keep up to date with all the news about your favorite players
* Fan Zone – a social media hub where fans can participate in live polls and engage on Twitter and Facebook
