Tennis News

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Elina Svitolina booked her place in the quarterfinals of the BMW Malaysian Open with a topsy-turvy win over qualifier Risa Ozaki on Thursday evening.

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After breezing through her opening match, Svitolina, the No.2 seed, seemed on course for another routine victory when she took a one-sided opening set.

However, in the end she was made to sweat – by both Ozaki and the Malaysian capital’s humidity – before running away with the match, 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.

Struggling with a preexisting back problem, Svitolina lost a series of tit for tat games to drop the second set to her unheralded opponent. A visit from the trainer helped alleviate her discomfort and refocus the mind as the Ukrainian nipped the potential upset in the bud.

“My back was a bit sore. I had an injury at the Australian Open so I need to take care of it and that’s why today I was worrying a bit about my back,” Svitolina said. “After the timeout I came out strong and was playing great and playing my game. So I’m really happy and it was good that I came back strong.

“I was a little bit injured, a little bit off my game. But she started playing well and that’s why I was a little bit struggling. All the games were advantage, deuce, advantage, deuce, so it was just a few points the difference. But this happens sometimes so I was just trying to be focused – and of course the conditions were not easy, too.”

Also advancing in Svitolina’s half of the draw was qualifier Zhu Lin, a 7-5, 6-2 winner over Zarina Diyas.

In the top half, there was success for a couple more unseeded players, Naomi Broady and Cagla Buyukakcay. Broady beat Yang Zhaoxuan, 6-4, 6-3, while Buyakakcay defeated top seed Roberta Vinci’s conqueror, Chang Kai-Chen, 7-5, 6-3.

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – The unseeded Jelena Ostapenko put together a dominating performance to oust 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets and move into the Volvo Car Open semifinals.

At 19 years old and ranked No.66, Charleston-debutante Ostapenko was the youngest and lowest-ranked player left in the draw. But she backed up her results to reach the second Premier-level semifinal of her career with the 6-2, 6-4 victory.

“It feels amazing to be in the semis here,” Ostapenko told press after the match. “First time I’m in Charleston, and today was a tough match because Caroline is such a great player.

“I just tried, and I think it was not bad.”

Ostapenko closes out the first set 6-2! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/yi3oTfBt3f

— WTA (@WTA) 7 de abril de 2017

Ostapenko was dictating from the start against the former World No.1, fearlessly changing the direction of the ball and firing off winners from every angle. After an edgy few opening games as both players acclimated to the tricky, windy conditions, it was the Latvian who kicked into gear, breaking three times to reel off six games in a row and snatch up the opening set and start the second with a break to the good.

Wozniacki earned the break straight back with some rock-solid returning, but found herself down again a couple of games later as Ostapenko outpaced her to bring up a 3-2 lead. Wozniacki saved three match points as the teenager served for the match – she was even a point away from making it 5-5 – but Ostapenko wouldn’t be denied. She kept up the pressure and broke through Wozniacki’s defense, booking her spot into the Charleston semifinals after an hour and twenty-six minutes.

“I just knew before the match that I have to stay aggressive all the time and still be consistent,” Ostapenko explained. “And I tried not to step back, just to be like play in the court all the shots.And I think that’s helped me today.”

What an upset!

Ostapenko races past Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to book the last @VolvoCarOpen Semifinal spot! pic.twitter.com/Q4aOgbbi3w

— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017

Despite winning just 51% of her first serve points, the Latvian backed it up by firing 40 winners against Wozniacki’s 14, outweighing her 26 unforced errors to Wozniacki’s six. And the Dane will surely rue her missed opportunities – she only converted one of the five break chances she created, while Ostapenko converted four of eight.

“I really tried my best out there,” Wozniacki reflected in post-match press. “I was trying to grind everything down. I tried to change the pace when I had the opportunity, but I mean if she played like this every day, then she would be No.1 in the world.

“She really played well. She went for her shots. Everything was going in. She was hitting the lines. Everything that could go her way today was going her way.

“All I could do today was try my best, try my hardest to fight and try and get somewhat of a grip on it, but you know, it is what it is sometimes.”

The loss also denies Wozniacki a return to the upper echelon of the WTA rankings – she needed to reach at least the Charleston semifinals to guarantee herself a spot inside the Top 10.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Eugenie Bouchard’s resurgent form continued at the BMW Malaysian Open, where she’s into the final without dropping a set so far after a win over Naomi Broady, 6-4, 6-3.

Watch live action from Monterrey & Kuala Lumpur this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Earlier in the day, Elina Svitolina made her way to the final with a win over Zhu Lin, the No.2 seed dispatching the Chinese qualifier in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

More to come…

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Some players make their tennis breakthrough in a blaze of glory. For others, the path to the top is a slow and steady one.

Angelique Kerber has taken the second route and this Monday arrived at her destination: World No.1. As far as possible successors to Serena Williams at the summit of the women’s game, Kerber was not top of many people’s lists, even after her breakthrough victory at this year’s Australian Open.

By her own admission, the German has been something of a late bloomer – she did not win her first silverware or break into the Top 10 until her mid-20s. However, just four months from her 29th birthday, she is scaling new heights.

“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career, but I’m having the best year of my career and it’s still not over,” Kerber said earlier this summer. “It’s amazing what’s happened in the last few months – it’s just incredible!”

In January she stunned the tennis world by beating Williams to the Australian Open title, and after taking a while to come to terms with her achievement is now reveling in the limelight; at Wimbledon, she reached her second Grand Slam final, losing narrowly to Williams, following this up with a semifinal in Montréal, a silver medal at the Rio Olympics and now a second major, at the US Open.

Making light of this hectic summer schedule, Kerber was her usual indefatigable self in the final against Williams’ conqueror, Karolina Pliskova, scurrying to track down a succession of seemingly lost causes. This application served her well in the final set, hanging onto the Czech’s flying coattails before producing a characteristic late surge, winning 24 of the last 34 points, to claim the trophy.

Victory saw Kerber become only the second woman to win her first two major championships after turning 28. She is also the oldest player to make their debut at No.1, and there will be few quibbling that she is not there on merit.

“I knew that I have the game to beat the best players if I was just patient and worked really hard,” she said after the final in New York. “And now to see that the work pays off, this is actually the best feeling. Because I was a lot of hours on the practice courts, sweating and everything, and you are just playing for this moment to being on the center court in the final and with the amazing crowd. So this is what I was always dreaming for.”

It is fitting that her coronation came at Flushing Meadows, the venue where it first became obvious that she had something to separate her from the pack. Five years ago, Kerber, then ranked No.92, overcame Agnieszka Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta en route to an unlikely semifinal.

The following year, Kerber proved she would be no one-Slam wonder, consolidating herself at tennis’ top table with 60 wins, two titles and a Top 10 debut. For the next couple of seasons it looked like she had hit her ceiling, bobbing in and around the Top 10, registering the odd noteworthy result yet never launching sustained challenge for any of the game’s major prizes.

A familiar story seemed to be playing out at the start of 2016. After losing out to Victoria Azarenka for the Brisbane title, sixth-seeded Kerber found herself match point down to the unheralded Misaki Doi in the first round of the Australian Open.

What happened over the next hour – and then fortnight – will go down in German sporting folklore, Kerber negotiating a way out of this cul-de-sac, eventually going on to lift the most unexpected of titles.

However, even after the 2,000-point boost to her ranking tally, an assault at the No.1 ranking looked improbable. Indeed, at this point she still trailed Williams by over 3,500 points, making little inroads on this total as she struggled to come to terms with her newfound status over the coming months, a string of early exits culminating in a first-round exit to Kiki Bertens at Roland Garros.

This all changed over the summer months, a maiden Wimbledon final – in which she delivered a credible showing against a destiny-driven Williams – the start of a sequence of results that steadily chipped away at a once insurmountable lead.

By Cincinnati, top spot was in the crosshairs. While she missed out there, losing to Pliskova in the final, she made no mistake in New York, handling the pressure admirably. 

“I think I’m ready to have this pressure on my shoulder, because I think I get used to all of this, especially after my first Grand Slam in Australia,” Kerber said.

Famed for work-ethic off the court, the WTA’s new queen bee is unlikely to rest on her laurels. “I had so much pressure after the title. And to being No.1, of course now everybody will try to beat me and have nothing to lose. I will try to take this challenge, because it will be a little bit new situation for me. But at the end, I was always practicing and working hard to be No.1. Now I can also take the next step and try to stay as long as I can there.”

MONTERREY, Mexico – World No.1 Angelique Kerber battled past Carla Suárez Navarro in two sets to return to the Abierto GNP Seguros final for the second time, 7-6(6), 6-1.

Kerber will face three-time champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final, a rematch of the pair’s 2013 final here in Monterrey which saw the Russian defeat Kerber to claim her third title.

“It’s a completely new year, so I will not think about my last final here,” Kerber joked in her post-match press conference. “It was three years ago, and anything is possible. I’m going out there tomorrow to try to play my best tennis and try to win the match.”

Playing in her first Monterrey day session match of the tournament, Kerber had to contend with the different conditions as well as the determined Suárez Navarro.

What.A.Rally. ? pic.twitter.com/3A7wGPGlyv

— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017

The Spaniard came into Monterrey with just one victory all season long after shoulder injury kept her off the courts for much of 2017, but she brought her best tennis against the World No.1 in the opening set.

She stayed calm despite Kerber opening up a double break lead, climbing back from 1-4 down to 4-4. They traded breaks once more and sent the match to a tiebreak, where Kerber finally emerged victorious after a string of marathon rallies.

It was more comprehensive for the World No.1 in the second set, though, as she raised her level to outhit Suárez Navarro and find winners from every angle. She started the set with another double break lead to go up 5-0.

.@AngeliqueKerber ousts Suarez Navarro 7-6(6), 6-1!

Sets @Abierto_GNP Final vs @NastiaPav! pic.twitter.com/NNOaxbiLB1

— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017

Despite the Spaniard managing to get on board late, she couldn’t stem the tide as Kerber powered through to her second Monterrey final – and her first final of 2017.

“I think we both played on a really high level today,” she said. “It was a really tough match. It’s always tough to play against her, I know this because I’ve played her in a lot of tough battles in the past.

“I tried to stay focused, especially in the beginning of the second set, and I’m happy to be in the second final here.”

MONTERREY, Mexico – Heather Watson roared back from a set down to dispatch Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, to win her third career title at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme in just under two hours.

“I don’t know where to start,” the Brit said in her post-match interview. “I’m extremely happy today. I was nervous coming into the match, and I’ve never beaten Kirsten before – she’s a great player who really makes you work for it.

From losing the opening set, Watson looked well in control as she leveled the match and earned a 3-0 lead in the decider, but Flipkens fought back to level and set the stage for a tense ending. 

“I thought Kirsten was pretty flawless in the first set, and I was getting frustrated with myself. I just had to stay calm and try my best. I never looked past the next point.”

Watson served out the title and was at a loss for words after capping off a banner week for the Brits; with Johanna Konta also reaching the quarterfinals in Monterrey and Naomi Broady matching the effort in Kuala Lumpur, it was the largest contingents of British women in a WTA quarterfinal in one week since 1978 (Eastbourne).

“Mexico, thank you; te amo! I’m a big fan of Mexico; when I was six years old, we used to come to Mexico for Christmas for six years. I’m just so glad to be able to win a title here. I need to learn some more Spanish.”

Earlier in the day, top seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja won their second straight title and completed a Mexico sweep – having also earned the trophy at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel – with a tight win over Petra Martic and Maria Sanchez, 4-6, 7-5, 10-7.

Happy Mother's Day Heather's Mum! https://t.co/1NpU140Vk7

— WTA (@WTA) March 6, 2016