Charleston: Daria Kasatkina’s Shot Of The Day
Check out Daria Kasatkina’s shot of the day from the final of the Volvo Car Open.
Check out Daria Kasatkina’s shot of the day from the final of the Volvo Car Open.
Highlights from the quarterfinals action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Petra Kvitova and Dominika Cibulkova will meet in the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan final with a lot more than just the trophy on the line.
Earlier this week, Kvitova scored a win over current WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the third round at Wuhan, which, arguably, could be considered the WTA match of the year. Kvitova entered the week at No.21 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard. With an 11-1 record in Wuhan – she was the inaugural winner in 2014 – Kvitova will move to No.12 by reaching the final this week and will be either 897 points outside of the Top 8 – or within 582 points.
If Kvitova, a finalist at the 2014 China Open, could complete a Wuhan-Beijing double, she would vault into the Top 8 and be in position to qualify for the WTA Finals for the sixth straight year.
Cibulkova, who missed four months due to surgery on her Achilles last year, will move to RTS No.7 by reaching the Wuhan final as she attempts to qualify for the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. She can move as high as No.6 on the Leaderboard overtaking French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza if she wins the title.
SINGLES:
All Eyes on Beijing
Following the finals in Wuhan, all eyes will be on Beijing as the Road to Singapore heats up and enters the final stages – as the countdown to the start of the WTA Finals winds down.
In singles, three players have qualified – Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams and Simona Halep – leaving five spots on the table entering the China Open, a Premier Mandatory event awarding up to 1,000 points to the champion. Meanwhile in doubles, nine teams remain in contention for the final five spots.
Click here to check out the complete China Open draws.
Knocking on Qualification’s Door
Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwanska are closing in on qualification but they will need to reach the quarterfinals or semifinals (depending on the Wuhan final results). However, if some results fall in their favor, Pliskova and Radwanska could qualify as early as the opening weekend in Beijing.
HOW PLISKOVA & RADWANSKA CAN QUALIFY
1. Madison Keys fails to reach 3r AND Carla Suárez Navarro fails to reach SF
2. Keys fails to reach 3r AND neither Svetlana Kuznetsova nor Johanna Konta reach the final, nor Kvitova wins title (if she wins Wuhan)
3. Suárez Navarro fails to reach SF and neither Kuznetsova or Konta reach final nor Kvitova wins title (if she wins Wuhan)
NOTE: Kuznetsova, Konta, Kvitova are all in the bottom half
Six of Nine Players Ranked Inside RTS Top 12 on Bottom Half of Draw
While Pliskova and Radwanska are next in line to qualify, Garbiñe Muguruza, Dominika Cibulkova and Madison Keys round out the Top 8 of our live leaderboard. Carla Suárez Navarro is next in line followed by Svetlana Kuznetsova, Johanna Konta and Petra Kvitova.
Four of these – Muguruza, Keys, Kuznetsova and Kvitova are all in the same quarter of the Beijing draw, creating some exciting early round matchups at the China Open.
Road to Singapore Update:
Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep
Current Projected Top 8 (5 Spots Remaining)
Next in Line with points behind current projected cut-off (3137)
DOUBLES:
Mattek-Sands/Safarova Seek Wuhan Title, Singapore Qualification
Playing in their seventh tournament together this year, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova have a chance to qualify for the WTA Finals for the second consecutive year on Saturday, but they will need to defeat Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova in the Wuhan final in order to do so.
Wuhan will be the fourth final this year for Mattek-Sands/Safarova, having won titles at Miami and the US Open, while also finishing as runner-up in Charleston. They will move to RTS No.5 if they are runners-up in Wuhan.
Mirza/Strycova Closing in on Top 8
Although this is only the fourth tournament of the year for Mirza/Strycova, the two have posted a 15-1 record winning titles at Cincinnati and Tokyo. Their only loss thus far has been to Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline GarcIa, currently the top ranked doubles team in 2016, at the US Open in the quarterfinals.
Despite forming the late-season partnership, Mirza/Strycova are rapidly climbing the Road to Singapore leaderboard. By advancing to the final, they will move to No.11 and cam climb to No.9 with the Wuhan title.
Qualified: Garcia/Mladenovic, Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina
Current Projected Top 8 (5 Spots Remaining)
|
Shvedova/Babos |
3975 |
|
|
Mattek-Sands/Safarova |
3911 |
Qualify with Wuhan title (vs Mirza/Strycova in final) |
|
Hlavackova/Hradecka |
3775 |
|
|
Chan/Chan |
3760 |
|
|
Goerges Pliskova |
3270 |
Remaining Teams in Possible Contention with points behind projected cutoff (3270)
|
*Atawo/Spears |
-575 |
||
|
*Xu/Zheng |
-600 |
||
|
Mirza/Strycova |
-885 |
Close to 570 (and 9th place) with Wuhan title (vs Mattek/Safarova in final) |
|
|
*Klepac/Srebotnik |
-1130 |
||
*Atawo/Spears, Xu/Zheng and Klepac/Srebotnik are in the same quarter of the draw
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
WUHAN, China – Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova captured the Wuhan title on Saturday to secure their return for the second year in succession to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Despite starting the week in seventh place on the Road To Singapore leaderboard, Mattek-Sands and Safarova’s seventh title together saw them become the fourth team to secure a spot at the season-ending showpiece.
“Singapore last year was awesome. It’s the year-end championships, the best of the best. Only the best teams get to go, so I think it’s an honor to make it there in the end,” Mattek-Sands said. “I think everyone at this point is fighting for a spot because the rankings were pretty close.”
It is testament to the American-Czech’s partnership that they have managed to secure their place in Singapore from so few appearance; injuries and scheduling conflicts have restricted them to just seven tournaments together this year. However, when they have been on court, it has not taken long to rekindle the magic.
In their first event of the year, the Miami Open, they romped to the title without dropping a set, following this up with another final in Charleston. They lost out on the silverware there to fellow Singapore qualifiers Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic and suffered further disappointment at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, falling at the first hurdle on each occasion.
With their Finals hopes hanging by a thread, a big performance was required at Flushing Meadows. And they certainly delivered, gaining revenge on Garcia and Mladenovic to add the US Open crown to the majors titles won at the Australian and French Opens the previous year.
The current Road to Singapore leaderboard as follows (as of October 1, 2016):
Four of the Top 5 seeds will be in action on a busy Monday at the China Open. We preview the must-see matchups right here, courtesy of wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo.
Monday
First and Second Rounds
[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs. Katerina Siniakova (CZE #56)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Kerber has reached the quarterfinals in three of the last four years at Beijing, but has never reached the semis.
Angelique Kerber is hoping to continue her fantastic season in Beijing with a deep run and that all starts with a first-round matchup with 20 year old Czech Katerina Siniakova. It’s been a good summer and fall for Siniakova. She has reached her first two WTA finals and is playing just a sliver shy of her career-high ranking of No.53. Last week she qualified for Wuhan and upset Timea Babos before falling to Caroline Wozniacki in the second round. But facing World No.1 Angelique Kerber in this her career year? That’s a different level of challenge for Siniakova, who has only faced two Top 10 opponents in her career to date. Kerber, meanwhile, is just focused on keeping the routine and rhythm that has made her 2016 so successful. “I’m trying to going to each tournament thinking match by match, not thinking too much what’s happen around, just playing my best, practicing good during the tournaments, have good recovery,” she said. “Yeah, just go and play good matches.”
Pick: Kerber in two
[8] Madison Keys (USA #9) vs. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #54)
Head-to-head: Keys leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Keys won her 40th match of the season on Sunday in Beijing.
Madison Keys is looking to cash in on a golden opportunity to put some distance between herself and the rest of the pack when it comes to qualification for this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Yaroslava Shvedova’s upset of Carla Suárez Navarro in first-round action at Beijing means that Keys can stretch her lead over the Spaniard – currently ranked No.9 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard – with each victory she earns this week. On Monday, Keys will face Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic in a rematch of last year’s first-round battle in Beijing. Keys won that one in straight sets and also defeated Mladenovic at the Olympics in Rio this year, where she won the final four points of a third set tie-break to prevail. Mladenovic, who defeated Jelena Jankovic in three sets on Sunday, has seen her ranking drop outside of the Top 50 for the first time since last spring and has dropped five of her last six against the Top 10.
Pick: Keys in three
[2] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3) vs. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ #36)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Muguruza owns a 6-0 lifetime record at Beijing.
Defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza is looking for a late-season push to lock up her second straight WTA Finals appearance, and the 22 year old Spaniard is happy to be back in Beijing, the site of one of her biggest titles to date. “I think it’s very, very satisfying when you go to a tournament where you know you played well, you feel welcome,” she said on Saturday after defeating Irina-Camelia Begu in three sets. “But honestly, this was last year. Nobody really is thinking about who won last year. It’s all about who is going to win this year, who is winning. I’m not really thinking. I’m just going for my match, just concentrating on the next one.” The next one for Muguruza will come against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva. The fiery 21 year old notched her first Top 10 win of the season two weeks ago in Tokyo and she’ll look to claim another big scalp when she meets Muguruza for the first time on Monday. Muguruza has lost more matches against players ranked outside of the Top 20 than any other player in the Top 5, so she’ll have to be dialed in from the get-go to book her spot in the sweet sixteen.
Pick: Muguruza in three
[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #37)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 5-2
Key Stat: Radwanska will qualify for Singapore if Keys fails to win today.
Agnieszka Radwanska has always been a threat to win the title in Beijing, and 2016 is no exception. The Pole owns a 21-7 lifetime record at the China Open and has been to at least the semifinals in four of the last seven years. “I’m just feeling very well here,” Radwanska said after dispatching Chinese wild card Wang Qiang 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday. “I like the courts. I like the conditions. Everything suits me. So just, you know, very happy that I can really play my best tennis here.” Next up for the 2011 Beijing champion will be a meeting with Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova. Radwanska cruised past Makarova in second-round action at Wuhan last week to improve her record against the southpaw to 5-1 on hardcourts. Makarova has put up inconsistent results in 2016, but she has earned nine Top 5 wins in her career and is capable of defeating anybody when she’s at her best.
Pick: Radwanska in three
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the China Open.
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the second round of the China Open.
Plenty of the stars have been relaxing over the Easter weekend – as best they can.
Andrea Petkovic isn’t impressed with the tweets she’s seen from a certain music festival.
There's no worse time or place to be on social media than Instagram during Coachella. We get it, you're a hippie! Now move along.
— Andrea Petkovic (@andreapetkovic) April 16, 2017
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina have been at the soccer to see Spartak beat Zenit 2-1.
Ole ole oleole Спартак вперед!!✊?#холодинакакая#спасибозашарф @spartak_se pic.twitter.com/9s85liaRhB
— A. Pavlyuchenkova (@NastiaPav) April 16, 2017
Spartak-Zenit⚽️Спартак-Зенит⚽️Ваши прогнозы?Уже 1-0 Спартак? pic.twitter.com/Gn25OgWDaT
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) April 16, 2017
Christina McHale went to a different ball game – to watch the Yankees play the Cardinals.
Beautiful night for some baseball ??. Let's go Yankees !!!! pic.twitter.com/aT7Wbfbe2p
— Christina McHale (@ChristinaMcHale) April 17, 2017
Julia Boserup is just enjoying a beautiful view in Denmark.
Enjoying a few days in Copenhagen .. ? Cherry blossoms in full bloom pic.twitter.com/DMygMERzwP
— Julia Boserup (@juliaboserup) April 16, 2017
And Naomi Osaka is considering developing her tennis skills even further.
Does anyone know if mixed doubles is hard? Also, any opinions on it? Getting a bit curious.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@Naomi_Osaka_) April 16, 2017
Watch this space…
MIAMI, FL, USA – Eight-time Miami Open champion Serena Williams extended her dominant run in Key Biscayne with a win over Zarina Diyas, 7-5, 6-3.
Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Last time these two met, Diyas only took two games off of Williams in her 54-minute loss at Indian Wells last year. The Kazakh wasn’t keen to repeat the experience, and gave the American plenty of trouble throughout the match.
Diyas had Williams on the ropes early on, her pace and quickness around the court troubling the World No.1’s normally reliable game. But Williams hasn’t lost a match in Miami since 2012, and she wasn’t about to do it today. She punished any short serve that came her way with her powerful game and let the crowd fire her up to take the first set.
It's LIT. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/3UfXXowo2c
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 26, 2016
With a set under her belt Williams played more freely, finding her all-court game to get ahead 4-0. But Diyas had a second wind late in the match, playing more aggressively to rattle off three straight games and erode the lead to 4-3. The eight-time Miami champion remained unbothered, though, closing out the match in just over an hour and a half.
But beyond reaching the Miami Open fourth round for a whopping fifteenth time and extending her tournament win-loss record to 75-7, the win is a major milestone in Williams’ decorated career.
Williams now owns 750 career match wins across all levels, a 750-125 lifetime record. She currently sits seventh on the all-time list for match wins, closing in on Lindsay Davenport’s record of 753 wins. Martina Navratilova holds the all-time record with 1442 wins.
WTA All-Time Match Win Leaders
Martina Navratilova – 1442
Chris Evert – 1,309
Steffi Graf – 902
Virginia Wade – 839
Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario – 759
Lindsay Davenport – 753
Serena Williams – 750
Another milestone for @SerenaWilliams! ? #WTA https://t.co/ZwWDTy9bXY
— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2016
Petra Kvitova had Tuesday’s shot of the day at the China Open.