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Radwanska Eases Into Fourth Round

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska had little trouble overcoming Caroline Garcia in a tidy straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the fourth round of the US Open for the fourth time.

“To be honest, I expect, as always, a long and tough match against her,” Radwanska said of her No.25-seeded opponent. “I know what to expect. We know each other for a while. What can I say? Just very happy I could win that match that quick.”

Radwanska had Garcia overwhelmed from the word go, immediately breaking the Frenchwoman’s serve to start the match. Despite Garcia getting the break back right away, she wasn’t able to pressure Radwanska enough after that. The Pole employed her tricky game of slicing and dicing her way through points, breaking Garcia two more times to quickly take the opening set.

The second set unfolded much like the first, with Garcia unable to produce her usual tennis against her No.4-ranked opponent. The Frenchwoman hit 34 unforced errors against Radwanska’s five, and produced only 14 winners to Radwanska’s nine. One last backhand error from a frustrated Garcia sent Radwanska into the last 16 after an hour and twelve minutes.

With the win, Radwanska keeps her bid for the WTA’s World No.1 ranking alive. After Garbiñe Muguruza crashed out earlier in the week, Radwanska is now one of three women who could emerge at the top spot at the end of the fortnight, although she faces the daunting task of needing to reach at least the US Open final for the first time in order to do so.

The Pole has yet to make a quarterfinals at this tournament in her previous 10 appearances, and she will face the on-the-rise Croat Ana Konjuh for another chance to try.

“Obviously against Konjuh I played at Wimbledon kind of a drama match, it was not really that long time ago,” Radwanska recalled in her press conference. “For sure she make huge progress last couple of months and she’s really playing good tennis at the moment.”

“Well, just very happy to be in the fourth round, and we’ll see what’s gonna happen.”

 

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Former World No.9 Andrea Petkovic had a whirlwind start to her week at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, but is thoroughly enjoying her first visit to Russia’s cultural capital, into the second round as a qualifier.

“I just came back from Australia on Wednesday, and I had to get a Russian visa from Germany,” she explained before making the main draw. “I got it Friday at 1PM, and didn’t arrive to St. Petersburg before 11PM last night. I couldn’t practice here, so everything was a little fast.”

The German hasn’t dropped a set through four matches, all without new coach Sasha Nensel, who was held up due to visa issues. Traveling with her mother, Petkovic is instead drawing inspiration from seeing Mirjana Lucic-Baroni reach the semifinals of the Australian Open; the pair played doubles in Melbourne, reaching the semifinals.

“I feel like I still have so much more in me, and I think it was important for me to make a new commitment with a new coach to show I still want it. He’s really hard on me, and I haven’t had this before, so it’s a new thing for me. I like it so far, and we’ll see where it takes me.”

Andrea Petkovic

The 29-year-old has used the surge of veteran success as primary motivation of late, crediting another doubles partner, good friend and former World No.1 Angelique Kerber as the first to reignite her passion for the game.

“I didn’t know where my place was, but I kept going half-heartedly,” she said of an emotional end to her 2015 season. “When Angie won the Australian Open and started playing so well, I saw what an achievement it was and how happy it made her.

“It’s a different story from when you see Serena winning Slams, because she’s so far away from me. But Angie and I are good friends; we played doubles so many times, and it made me think about how if she can do it, I can do it.”

There would be no better place for Petkovic to start doing it than St. Petersburg, a city that played a prominent part of her childhood.

“One of my favorite authors is Dostoyevsky. I feel like I know the city very well; I’ve just never been here before. When we arrived, my mother saw the river and said, ‘Look at the water, what kind of river is it?’ I answered, ‘That’s the Neva,’ and she was like, ‘How do you know that?’ I said, ‘I read it, I know it!’

“It’s difficult because I came so late and I have to play, but I really hope that I can catch a day or afternoon to see the Hermitage. One day, when I’m done with tennis, I want to come back here as a tourist because this is one of the cities I’ve always wanted to visit. I have a picture of it in my mind, because I’ve never actually seen it!”

Andrea Petkovic

Her love for Dostoyevsky runs deep, citing Rodion Raskolnikov – the protagonist to Crime and Punishment – as her “first crush.”

“I always struggle because I really like The Brothers Karamazov but the first book I read of his was Crime and Punishment; I read it several times. I think I like Brothers Karamazov more.”

Her comfort on court in St. Petersburg was particular evident when she brought back some familiar dance moves after beating Begu – perhaps inspired by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova.

“Their dancing was so professional. I used to do a few dance moves but they had a choreographer! They were so in sync that I’d be a little afraid to be in competition with them.”

Regardless of choreography, Petkovic undoubtedly appears in rhythm ahead of her next match against No.6 seed, defending champion Roberta Vinci.

All photos courtesy of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2017

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US Open Wednesday: Halep Takes On Serena

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Serena Williams will continue her quest for Grand Slam glory on Wednesday as the top half contests its quarterfinals. Chris Oddo previews the matchups at wtatennis.com.

Day 10
Quarterfinal

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [5] Simona Halep (ROU #5)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 7-1
Key Stat: Williams struck a 126 mph serve in her round of 16 match with Yaroslava Shvedova. It is the fastest recorded serve at this year’s US Open.

Serena Williams has answered all the questions and then some about her health and form during her first four matches in New York. She has dropped just 20 games and not had her serve broken a single time. After passing Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer on the all-time Grand Slam wins list the 22-time major champion will set her sights upon major title No.23 as the business end of the tournament begins. It starts with a battle with No.5-seeded Simona Halep on Day 10. Halep has won 21 of her last 23 matches and has navigated a very tricky draw to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open for the second consecutive season. Now she must find a way to challenge one of the most daunting, indomitable players to ever step on the Grand Slam stage. Halep says she won’t be nervous to face Serena Williams—she has nothing to lose. “I don’t have to be afraid or to have emotions because I have nothing to lose,” she said on Sunday after defeating Carla Suárez Navarro in straight sets. “It’s just a huge challenge for me. Just playing my game; I will try to do that.” Williams knows that she’ll be up for her stiffest challenge of the fortnight when she faces Halep. The Romanian owns a win against her, which came at the 2014 WTA Finals, but since then Williams has taken three in a row against Halep. Williams says she’s just taking it day by day and hoping she can improve with every round. “I just feel like I’m going out there doing what I need to do,” she said after cruising past Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-2, 6-3, on Day 8. “I’m not overplaying, I’m not underplaying. I’m just trying to play my way into this tournament.”

Pick: Williams in two

Ana Konjuh (POL #92) vs. [10] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #11)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Both players are contesting their first career Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Surprise, surprise! A pair of first-time quarterfinalists are set to square off for a spot in the US Open semifinals, as No.10-seeded Karolina Pliskova will meet 18-year-old Ana Konjuh for the first time on Wednesday. For Pliskova, this opportunity has been a long time coming. The hard-serving Czech and her easy power have made waves on the circuit for two years, but she has been thwarted at the Grand Slam level and failed to reach the second week of a major in her first 17 appearances. That has changed in the last few days. Pliskova pummeled Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the round of 16 on Saturday and on Monday the 24-year-old Czech produced one of the most magical moments of the tournament when she saved a match point to defeat Venus Williams in a third-set tiebreaker. She’s just three matches from a Grand Slam title, but Pliskova is not thinking about anything but her next battle. “I know it’s still far,” she said. “It’s closer than it was yesterday, but it’s still far.” Her opponent is the lowest-ranked and youngest player remaining in the draw, but she’s also one of the most dangerous. Anyone who witnesses Ana Konjuh’s breathtaking victory over No.4-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska on Monday night can see why she’s being touted as a future star. Regularly approaching 120 MPH on serve, and striking with wicked pace from both wings, Konjuh had Radwanska on her back foot all night. Can the Croatian back up her stunning upset with another Top 10 win? Konjuh isn’t putting too much pressure on herself. “I’m still young,” she said. “I still need to experience things. I’m just trying to focus on each player for the day for the match and just give my best.”

Pick: Pliskova in two

By the Numbers:
34 – The age of Serena Williams, who is the oldest player remaining in the draw.
3 – Returning quarterfinalists from 2015 (Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci).
436 – Pliskova leads the Tour with 436 aces in 53 matches this year.
9 – Of the nine teenagers that started in this year’s US Open main draw, Konjuh is the only one remaining.
1993 – The last time that an American woman has failed to reach the U.S Open quarterfinals.

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US Open Thursday: Semis Set

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

And then there were four! Serena Williams will lead a strong quartet of semifinalists into action on Day 11 in New York. Chris Oddo previews the action for wtatennis.com.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan – Samantha Stosur overcame a stern second round test against Slovenian qualifier Dalila Jakupovic, needing to come back from a set down to reach the quarterfinals of the Taiwan Open.

The No.146-ranked Jakupovic was two games away from sealing the upset in the second set, but Stosur stormed back to close out the match 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

“I didn’t feel like I was playing too bad, because I had lots of chances to win many of the games,” the Australian explained in her post-match press conference. “I earned many break points but wasn’t able to convert them, and every time she had one chance she took it.

“It felt like I should have been leading in the first set, so it was tough to start out the second set thinking about how I was going to convert all these chances. By the third set, I feel like I was playing my best tennis.”

Stosur let four break chances go by before Jakupovic grabbed an early lead, breaking three times to take the opening set. The Australian finally converted to start the second, wrestling with the momentum as Jakupovic surged back to level the match at 5-5. Stosur grabbed the decisive break to close out the set with Jakupovic two games away from victory.

The Australian was in full flight in the final set, rattling off four straight games to make her way into the quarterfinals after two hours and sixteen minutes.

Her next opponent will be Peng Shuai, who knocked out the No.5 seed Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-3.

“We’ve played each other a few times, but not for many years,” Stosur said. “She hits the ball very hard, very flat – it really comes through the court. I know it’s going to be very difficult, and I’m sure she’s feeling very confident after her quick win today.”

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