Tennis News

LUXEMBOURG – No.1 seed Petra Kvitova and No.3 seed Kiki Bertens produced a pair of shutout performances to wrap up their quarterfinal matches comfortably. Both needed less than an hour – exactly 54 minutes, in fact – to book their spots into the semifinals of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open.

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It didn’t start out so simple for Kvitova against No.8 seed Johanna Larsson, who was into her seventh WTA quarterfinal of the year. They wrestled for footing at the start of the match, opening with four consecutive breaks of serve.

But once she settled, it was all Kvitova as the Czech reeled off 11 games in a row to power past Larsson 6-2, 6-0.

She’ll face the winner between Andrea Petkovic and American qualifier Lauren Davis for a spot in the final.

It was the opposite story for Bertens in her quarterfinal against Denisa Allertova, with the Dutch player advancing 6-0, 6-4.

Bertens was dominant on the return and broke Allertova three times, allowing the Czech to win just one point off of her services games in the 15-minute opening set.

Allertova finally held serve in the second set and stopped the rot after eight consecutive games, with Bertens up 6-0, 2-0. She put Bertens under pressure at the baseline with her powerful forehand, grabbing one of the breaks back to level the set at 2-2 and stay within touching distance.

But Bertens dug her heels in to bat away a break opportunity, breaking Allertova once more in the penultimate game to serve her way into the semifinals.

“Everyone is really tired at the end of the year, and so am I, so it’s really good to have short matches like this to get ready for the semifinals,” Bertens smiled in post-match press. “I’m just going to play here, have fun, and see how it goes.”

Monica Niculescu received a walkover into the semifinal after No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki was forced to withdraw from the match due to gastrointestinal illness.

“After the match yesterday I felt really ill and really sick,” Wozniacki explained to press afterwards. “I did everything I could to feel better today but unfortunately I’m not strong enough or feeling good to play today. I need to think about my health.

“Of course, I’m disappointed because I love to play here and of course was trying to win the tournament, but health comes first.”

More to follow…

SINGAPORE – No.3 seed Simona Halep kicked off her season-ending campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No.6 seed Madison Keys on Day 1 of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Read how the match unfolded in the WTA Insider Live Blog.

– Simona Halep relishes this match-up.

Halep moves to 1-0 in the Red Group after a remarkably clean performance against Keys, a player she knows how to beat. The two played three times this year, all in the second half of the season, and Halep won all three matches, two of which came on hard courts. There’s just something about Halep’s game that continues to puzzle Keys, who has yet to find the sweet spot between minimizing errors by not going for too much and being the first-strike aggressor.

“I think one of her strengths is making you feel like you have to go for more and taking the risk,” Keys said. “I think just going in and knowing she’s going to get the balls back but continuing to play my game is the big thing. I think sometimes she makes me uncomfortable and I back away from playing my game and start going for things in a way that I shouldn’t.”

On paper, Keys should be able to take advantage of Halep’s serve with her forehand return and open up the court with her heavy cross-court shots. But Halep always seems one step ahead of Keys. The Romanian, who is now 6-5 against Top 10 players this year, has a fairly simple game plan against the American: Keep the ball on Keys’ backhand, minimize errors, and, most importantly, run. Even in straight sets, these are physical matches for Halep, but she seems to have unshakable faith in her gameplan and she’s now 5-1 against Keys.

– Positivity the key for Halep.

After taking the first set in 27 minutes — with a big help from Keys, who hit 18 unforced errors in the set — Halep had looks to break early in the second set and did not capitalize. You could see her frustration begin to set in. The clouds began to gather in her head, but she snapped out of it after a great coaching timeout with Darren Cahill at 2-1.

Coach @darren_cahill talks to @simona_halep, encouraging her to keep her level, before closing with a “Sorry, Sorry!” #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/fnjhI1GEvf

— WTA (@WTA) October 23, 2016

“First game of the second set I had two break points and I missed that forehand very easy,” Halep said. “Yeah, I was a little bit pissed. I called Darren at 2-1. He told me to calm down, so [that’s] everything that I did.

“Then I just stayed more focused. I felt that she’s coming back, she’s playing better and better, so I had to stay for every point there. With Madison it’s always important to play every point and win every point.”

Halep immediately broke in the next game and took control from there. Even after Keys broke back to level to 4-4, Halep again stayed positive and got the break with the shot of the match:

A sensational backhand pass from @Simona_Halep to now serve for the match! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/Na7q8vXvfF

— WTA (@WTA) October 23, 2016

– Never underestimate the nerves of a first-timer.

If you successfully qualify for the WTA Finals, chances are you’ve gone through a few years on tour, so going to a new tournament in a new place is a rare experience. For a debutante like Keys, her experience in her first WTA Finals was markedly foreign. And it showed.

“It was obviously a very new feeling for me,” Keys said. “Then once I got on the court I definitely felt the nerves of the occasion.

“Definitely doesn’t feel like any other tournament. I think it’s been a while since I’ve gone to a tournament and it’s all felt new and it was new nerves and new occasion. So that was kind of difficult to deal with. I think at the beginning of the second set I felt like I settled in a little better.”

– Keys will likely need to beat Kerber for a chance to qualify for the semifinals.

Keys finished the match with 41 errors to just 16 winners. In a very telling stat, she hit just one ace in the match. Her return let her down in a big way, as she struggled to put any pressure on Halep’s serve, earning just two break points in the match. The Keys return against the Halep serve should go the way of the American, but her execution tonight was poor.

“I think today a big thing was this court stays really low,” Keys said. “The ball doesn’t bounce up very high. I think for me I was definitely getting caught either too far behind the ball or kind of running into it. I wasn’t timing it super well.”

The loss means her next two matches against Kerber and Cibulkova are virtually must-win matches. While she’s 3-0 against Cibulkova, she’s 1-5 against the World No.1.

– Halep could be the favorite to qualify out of the Red Group.

In a group that includes No.1 Angelique Kerber, Dominika Cibulkova, and Keys, Halep sent a strong message to the field with her steady play tonight. In addition to her performance tonight, Halep already had the best combined record against the Red Group. Going into this match, Halep held a 10-7 head-to-head advantage in the Red Group compared to Kerber (8-13), Cibulkova (7-9) and Keys (5-9).

“It’s not about the pressure,” Halep said, when asked about the effect of getting a win in your first match of group play. “I think it’s about the confidence. [Winning] gives you confidence. If you win you are more positive. When you go to the second one you say that you feel the game. You feel the court. You feel great here. So I can play my best tennis and…give everything without thinking of the score.”

SINGAPORE – There’s squad goals, and then there’s the WTA Legends, who were out in full force on Thursday morning to take in the incredible view from the top of the Marina Bay Sands before Day 5 action began at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

WTA Finals Ambassadors Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Monica Seles Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Iva Majoli, and Mary Pierce took to the highest peak of the world-famous hotel to pose for a series of photos at the Marina Bay Sands’ SkyPark, offering sprawling views of the city; they later enjoyed some Singapore delicacies at Spago, hosted by Chef Joshua Brown.

“We have a clear day today, so I’ve never seen this far away,” noted Navratilova to WTA Insider. “It’s an amazing, bustling city. I drove around yesterday, went shopping at the Mustafa Centre that’s open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day; it was amazing. There’s so much energy here.”

#WTA Legends were introduced to Singaporean delicacy chicken rice by Chef Joshua Brown @marinabaysands when they're in town for #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/4nP2mPkcPr

— WTA Finals Singapore (@WTAFinalsSG) October 27, 2016

Navratilova has been on hand for much of the week, looking forward to the start of the doubles event, where eight teams will compete for a trophy named in her honor.

“It’ll be interesting because Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia had the best year, but mostly because Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis stopped playing together. They had a bit of a falling-out, but they’re playing here. That dynamic between Sania and Martina, how they get along, will be crucial.

“If they can put whatever happened between them behind and play good tennis – because doubles is a team sport, and you really need to play together – I’m looking forward to that more than anything.

“At their best, Hingis and Mirza are the favorites because they have the biggest weapons and know-how, how to play the points. But Mladenovic and Garcia would be a close second favorite.”

The WTA Legends convene for a Skypark photoshoot: pic.twitter.com/PwmqfQcqSv

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 27, 2016

Evert arrived on Wednesday night, but is in familiar territory, having visited Singapore three times before.

“Oh my god, it’s beautiful!” she enthused. “The tough thing is getting here; it’s a long way from Florida – 21 hours – but once you get here, it’s breathtakingly beautiful, especially the Marina Bay Sands.”

A longtime commentator for ESPN, the 18-time Grand Slam champion tagged Angelique Kerber as her Player of the Year, and the one most likely to lift the Billie Jean King Trophy at week’s end:

“Angelique Kerber’s impressed me, winning two Grand Slams. No one’s done that in so many years besides Serena Williams, really.

“She’s been playing some really great tennis, more aggressively. She’s really stepped it up with her game. Mentally, she’s gotten tougher, and she’s looking tough here too.”

.@28dolfan #AskWTALegends pic.twitter.com/PXToIho17v

— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016

Navratilova echoed her old rival’s sentiments on Kerber, but gave an honorable mention to No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the first of Singapore’s semifinalists following her three-set win over Karolina Pliskova.

“It’s great to see because a couple of years ago, we all thought she was probably done, that she was going to fade away and retire. She kept coming back and, lo and behold, played some of her best tennis this year.

“It’s really good to see her out there, still fighting, still enjoying it and competing so well, emotionally, mentally, and most of all, physically.”

.@greensolo9 #AskWTALegends pic.twitter.com/eSFMcxjh1V

— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016

Qualifying on the last day of the regular season, Kuznetsova’s effort completed the closest Road to Singapore leaderboard in WTA history. Evert believes the photo finish presented a strong case for just how tough the tour has become.

“It just shows the depth at the top. In previous years, you’d have Serena, and then a gap between her and the other women.

“Now, there’s no gap; the Top 8 are all relevant, and are all capable of winning this WTA Finals. I’m really happy to see that the depth is finally there again at the top of the game.”

.@kvittycat53 #AskWTALegends pic.twitter.com/LuKfXceawd

— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016

With this season nearly in the books, Evert is already looking ahead to what promises to be an exciting 2017.

“Let’s put it this way. Victoria Azarenka is going to have a baby in December and she’s thinking about coming back; that’ll be interesting. Serena’s always interesting; can she break Stefanie Graf’s record? They’re both at 22 right now, and how much longer is Serena going to be at the top of her game? Maria Sharapova’s coming back in April or May.

“There’s going to be a lot of big stories.”

SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova staged a thrilling fightback to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova and take her place in the final of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!

In a week chock-full of dramatic moments, Cibulkova’s grandstand finish on Saturday evening will take some beating, as she hauled herself back from the brink to triumph, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.

“At the end I was lying on the court and now I’m so excited. It’s my first time here playing Finals and for me it’s one of my dreams come true – it’s just incredible,” Cibulkova told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview.

“I just played my tennis. First set, she was really, really aggressive. I knew I had to change things because I needed to play my aggressive tennis. In the end I won because I was the more positive.”

Having been blown away in the first set, Cibulkova displayed typical resolve to haul herself back into the contest. As the Russian’s level dipped slightly, Cibulkova upped the intensity, earning her first break when Kuznetsova sent a routine volley long. While Cibulkova was unable to hang onto the advantage, the momentum had swung.

The set was decided on a tie-break, Cibulkova taking charge in a series of brutal rallies. A thumping drive volley brought up set point, which she converted by guiding a backhand past her forlorn opponent.

So focused on the next point, @Cibulkova asks Kader Nouni in between games, “What's the score?” #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/1VAr3FnGfV

— WTA (@WTA) October 29, 2016

Kuznetsova was not done, though, and when she produced a sublime lob to move 4-2 ahead in the third set the match appeared hers for the taking. Somehow Cibulkova roused herself for one final push, reeling off the next three games amidst a stream of winners.

Three more brought her to match point. Kuznetsova looked to have escaped when she dragged her opponent to the outer limits of the arena, only to be bamboozled when the reply flicked off the tape and beyond her reach.

Cibulkova, who is making her debut at the year-end Finals and only won one of her three round-robin matches, will now face World No.1 Angelique Kerber or defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska for the title.

SINGAPORE – Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina produced a brilliant performance on Sunday afternoon to defeat Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and lift the doubles title at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!

A high-quality encounter was settled by a few moments of inspiration as the Russian pair closed out a 7-6(5), 6-3 victory after an hour and 38 minutes.

“It was such a great match. It was really a pleasure to play against Bethanie and Lucie and to be honest we really enjoyed playing it,” Vesnina told on-court interviewer Andrew Krasny afterwards. “We weren’t sure until the very end that we were going to win it. It was a really, really close match.”

Makarova and Vesnina have twice come up short at the year-end showpiece and more disappointment looked on the cards when they failed to serve out the opening set at 5-3. However, the ensuing tie-break – and ultimately the match – turned on a brilliant lob from Vesnina, leaving her partner with the simplest of winners. Two points later, Vesnina came up trumps again, her return finding the baseline to clinch the set.

They continued to make most of the running in the second, only to be denied by some wonderfully instinctive net play. At 4-3 the breakthrough finally came, Mattek-Sands sending a half-volley floating wide to surrender serve. There was still time for some late jitters, the previously immaculate Makarova firing long before swinging a serve out wide to close out victory at the fourth time of asking.

“It was a tough match and it was a little bit up and down. It was very important not to have a third set, because the deciding tie-break is a little bit tricky,” Makarova added. “Luckily we could stay solid and focused.”

The triumph comes on the back of a glorious summer in which the pair brought back Olympic gold from Rio. “This year for us has been amazing. The year-end Finals in Singapore is something we’ve been dreaming to win, so this is like a dream come true.”

For Mattek-Sands and Safarova, the result brings to an end an 18-match unbeaten run. It also denies Mattek-Sands the chance to overhaul Sania Mirza at the top of the rankings and finish as 2016 WTA Year-End No.1 Ranking, presented by Dubai Duty Free.