10 Things To Know: Serena Vs Muguruza
Before the Serena Williams and Garbiñe Muguruza face off on Philippe Chatrier for the 2016 French Open title, here are 10 points to ponder…
Before the Serena Williams and Garbiñe Muguruza face off on Philippe Chatrier for the 2016 French Open title, here are 10 points to ponder…
STRASBOURG, France – World No.6 Karolina Pliskova will open the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup defense against Kristina Mladenovic on Saturday afternoon.
The draw, held at Maison de la Region and carried out by Paralympic wheelchair doubles champion Nicolas Peifer, contained few surprises, pairing Czech No.1 Pliskova and French No.2 Mladenovic in the first rubber, with Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia facing off in the second.
The Czechs have dominated the Fed Cup in recent years, lifting the trophy in four of the past five years. Is it a record that compares favorably with many of the other dominant sides in the competition’s history. Indeed, should Pliskova and Kvitova spearhead them to victory over a gifted French side, then they will cement their place alongside the great Australian and United States teams of years gone by.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Australians reigned supreme, Margaret Court and company winning seven of the first 12 titles. This was followed by the golden age of American tennis, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King integral to a group that won the cup on seven consecutive occasions.
Check out photos from the draw for the #FedCupFinal on our Facebook page: https://t.co/ntiKRdmxNX pic.twitter.com/yG4Di4BL8e
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) November 11, 2016
Fast forward to the 21st century and Czech captain Petr Pala has forged another dynasty, founded on tremendous team spirit and no little talent. And even away from the fortresses of Prague and Ostrava, they are a formidable proposition.
Pliskova has enjoyed the best season of her career, winning a couple of titles and reaching the US Open final to cement a place in the Top 10. Despite being overtaken in the rankings by Pliskova, two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova remains an integral cog, arriving in Strasbourg fresh from dominant victories at the big Asian events in Wuhan and Zhuhai. She will be further buoyed by her record against, Garcia, whom she has beaten in two of their three meetings.
The Czechs are not the only ones playing for a piece of history. French captain Amélie Mauresmo is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Court, King and Evert by winning the Fed Cup as both player and captain, and certainly has the players to spring an upset.
? Très contente d'être à Strasbourg pour la finale de #FedCup #TeamFranceTennis #J-2 pic.twitter.com/eJFSKuUadE
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 10, 2016
Garcia has enjoyed a quietly impressive year on tour, titles in Strasbourg and Mallorca helping her close in on the Top 20. Alongside Mladenovic she enjoyed an even more impressive doubles campaign, highlighted by a memorable victory on home soil at Roland Garros, forging an understanding that could prove decisive should the tie reach the decisive doubles rubber on Sunday.
Pliskova and Garcia, who have split their two career encounters, will step out in front of an expected capacity crowd at the 6,077-seat Rhénus Sport indoor arena at 2pm.
PARIS, France – Garbiñe Muguruza played the best tennis of her career to stun defending champion Serena Williams and claim her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
In a rematch of last year’s Wimbledon final, 22-year-old Muguruza once again came into the match as the underdog: Williams has won three out of their four previous meetings – all at Grand Slam level.
This time, the on-form Muguruza was not cowed by the occasion or by her World No.1 opponent, who was going for a record-equaling twenty-second major title.
“I think we both were very nervous,” Muguruza told NBC’s Mary Carillo after the match. “I was really going for the match so I was not really thinking of who I have in front or where I’m playing.
“I was just like, ‘Come on, go for the match.’ I just said [to myself], ‘Garbiñe be calm, don’t get nervous.’ I practiced all my life for this so you know, that’s the moment.”
Muguruza stayed poised throughout the match’s dramatic twists and turns, tamping down the nerves that have so often gotten the best of her in big moments. She earned the first break of the match for a 3-2 lead, then put a pair of double faults behind her to escape a 0-30 deficit and consolidate it. Williams broke back to level the score, but Muguruza stayed steady to earn a second break and serve out the first set 7-5.
The pair traded breaks to start off the second set, but Muguruza once again stayed composed and got her nose in front and built up a 3-1 lead. Williams fended off four of Muguruza’s championship points on her serve at 5-3, putting up a monumental effort to hold her ground and win a 16-point game to force the Spaniard to serve for the match. And the No.4 seeded Muguruza did: she served it out at love and claimed the match on a backhand lob winner to close out Williams, 7-5, 6-4.
Game. Set. Match MUGURUZA! Say hello to our newest #RolandGarros champion. ? https://t.co/X8PfeZ7S8V
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2016
With the win Muguruza not only claims her first Grand Slam title, she also adds her name to Spain’s storied history at Roland Garros: she’s the first Spanish woman to win the title since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario accomplished the feat in 1998.
Muguruza also climbs two spots in the rankings to World No.2, matching another one of Sanchez-Vicario’s feats by becoming the first Spaniard to hold that ranking since 1996. She sits behind Williams, who retains her No.1 ranking.
Both players were understandably emotional during the awarding of the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, presented by WTA founder Billie Jean King and French Tennis Federation president Jean Gachassin. Williams fought back tears as she delighted the Chatrier crowd by delivering her runner-up speech in perfect French, while Muguruza had only praise for Williams, a player she grew up admiring.
“I can’t explain with words how this day means to me. You work all your life to get here,” she said.
“I want to really congratulate Serena because she’s one of the best players.”
For Muguruza, a 22-year-old Venezuelan-born Spaniard of Basque heritage, the victory is not just for Spain but for every part of her multicultural background:
“I’ve grown up playing on clay so for Spain and for me this is just amazing,” she said. “I know [tennis] is very traditional in Spain, but Venezuela is in my heart also, I also play for them.”
? ? pic.twitter.com/oQz7Hyf4xl
— WTA (@WTA) June 4, 2016
STRASBOURG, France – Karolina Pliskova overcame France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the longest set in Fed Cup final history to give the Czech Republic the first victory, 6-3, 4-6, 16-14.
“I heard that it’s the longest one!” Pliskova told FedCup.com after the record-setting match. “I was just looking at the score and just counting the games and we were still continuing.
“Unbelievable match from both of us. My tennis was maybe not 100 percent, but it still counts as a win. Really happy that we got the first point.”
Walking into the first rubber of the 2016 Fed Cup final, Pliskova and Mladenovic’s head-to-head record was split at one win apiece and the pair had to set their long friendship aside in hopes of giving their team the early advantage.
Watch how Karolina Pliskova won the first set in the first rubber of the 2016 #FedCupFinal! pic.twitter.com/2IV046sEFk
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) 12 de noviembre de 2016
Mladenovic suffered a break of serve in the nerving opening game, misfiring a backhand and later double faulting to hand Pliskova the first lead. The surface seemed to suit Pliskova as well, as the Czech enjoyed the high bounce of the court at the Rhenus Sport Arena to wreak havoc with her big serve.
After Mladenovic leveled the set at 3-3, Pliskova found another gear and dropped just one point on her serve as she broke twice to take the first set 6-3.
The Frenchwoman had the home crowd roaring as she charged back in the second set. Mladenovic earned the first break at 4-3, and then weathered two consecutive breaks to emerge with the edge and the set.
Pliskova wrestled the momentum away as she quickly climbed to a 5-2 lead in the final set. Mladenovic was two points away from losing the match as Pliskova continued to hammer her vulnerable second serve and run her around the court, but she fended off the assault to claw her way back into the match and get back on serve.
With her back against the wall, Mladenovic rallied the French crowd and kept herself in the match time and time again and, with no final set tiebreak in Fed Cup, the match continued. Mladenovic fought past fatigue and cramping – and saved two match points with a gutsy dropshot and a zinging crosscourt backhand – to hold for 9-9, but the final set was barely getting started.
WHAT A THRILLER! ?@KaPliskova edges Mladenovic 6-3, 4-6, 16-14!
Gives Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over France! #FedCupFinal pic.twitter.com/qp1KRJjcyJ
— WTA (@WTA) 12 de noviembre de 2016
Pliskova stayed cool despite it all, trading breaks at 12-12 as the pair broke the Fed Cup final record for longest set ever played. After a monumental three hours and forty-eight minutes (two hours and 23 minutes in the final set), Mladenovic finally blinked in the last game, being broken to love to but an end to the thrilling match and hand the Czech Republic a vital 1-0 lead.
“I feel fresh, actually! But no it’s my longest match that I’ve played ever, so I’m really happy with the way I ended,” Pliskova laughed afterwards, speaking to FedCup.com.
“I was really waiting for my chance. And she was serving so well in the third set that I didn’t really have that many chances. I’m just happy with the win.”
– All photos courtesy of Getty Images
It’s time to crown May’s WTA Shot Of The Month. There were some incredible shots to choose from this month, and we narrowed it down to the five best – have a look at the nominees in the above video and cast your vote for your favorite shot before voting ends Thursday at 11:59pm ET!
The winner will be announced Friday, June 10.
How it works: five shots are selected by wtatennis.com, and the winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.
Monica Puig’s unlikely run to winning Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medal inspired the world, and now she’s received the ANOC Award for Best Female Athlete at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
The ITF has issued a ruling in the case of Maria Sharapova. An independent tribunal has found that Sharapova has committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, and has therefore been imposed a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on January 26, 2016.
“It is important at all times for players to be aware of the rules and to follow them,” says WTA CEO Steve Simon. “In this case, Maria has taken responsibility for her mistake from the outset. The WTA supports the process that the ITF and Maria have followed. The ITF has made its ruling and, under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, the decision may be appealed to the Court Arbitration for Sport. The WTA will continue to follow this closely and we hope it will be resolved as soon as possible.”
Sharapova released the following statement on her official Facebook page:
For more information, click here.
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Serena Williams in the final of Roland Garros.
Caroline Garcia saved a couple of match points to defeat World No.166 Natalia Vikhlyantseva and keep alive her hopes of retaining the Engie Open de Limoges.
HONOLULU, HI, USA – Top seed Zhang Shuai moved into the Hawaii Open semifinals on Friday with a hard-fought win over Samantha Crawford.
Watch free live streaming from Honolulu all week right here!
Breaks in the fifth game of both sets proved decisive as Zhang closed out a 6-4, 6-4 victory in an hour and 18 minutes.
Honolulu is the final event of a memorable year for Zhang that has seen her emerge as an unlikely standard bearer for Chinese tennis. Little more than 12 months ago, Zhang was contemplating retirement on the back of a dispiriting spell on tour. Sam Stosur talked her out of it and she has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
In January she ended her long-running Grand Slam hoodoo by making it all the way through qualifying and into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, building on this platform with credible showings in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Zhuhai to leave herself on the verge of the Top 20.
Meeting her for a place in the final will be No.6 seed Evgeniya Rodina, who posted a battling win over Sachia Vickery. Rodina, who won last week’s OEC Taipei WTA Challenger, was forced to dig deep against Vickery prevailing in a tense finale to triumph, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, in a fraction under two hours.
Another player on the up is CiCi Bellis, who confidently booked her final four spot by swatting aside Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-1, 6-1.
Bellis recently broke into the Top 100 for the first time after back-to-back titles on the ITF Circuit, and broke serve six times against Sorribes Tormo to extend her winning sequence to 12 matches. Next she faces Jacqueline Cako, who advanced when Sabine Lisicki retired with a shoulder injury.