Tennis News

TOKYO, Japan – Christina McHale produced a stirring comeback to defeat Katerina Siniakova in the final of the Japan Women’s Open Tennis and lift her maiden WTA title.

A semifinalist 12 months ago, McHale looked in store for another near-miss when she trailed Siniakova by a set and a break. However, a timely rain delay and a run of eight straight games turned the match on its head as the American closed out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.

In a match of multiple twists and turns, McHale was very nearly foiled at the last, Sinaikova rallying from 5-2 down to set up a tense conclusion.

Ultimately, McHale’s nerve held steady, completing an emotional victory when Siniakova tugged a backhand wide.

McHale, whose only previous WTA final came at Acapulco in 2014, endured a marathon journey to the winner’s circle, spending over 13 hours on court after going the distance in each of her five matches.

“I don’t even want to put my trophy down – i just want to hold it all the time,” McHale said during the trophy presentation. “I’ve been coming to this tournament for a few years now and I really love it here. Thanks to all the fans and everyone here for sticking through all the rain delays – we’ve had a few, especially today!”

Sinaikova, who also lost in the Bastad final this this summer, was unable to hide her disappointment at witnessing what would have been her first title slip away. “I’m here in the final for the second time and unfortunately it was really tough for me, so I’m a little sad. But Christina played really well, so congratulations to her,” she said.

More to follow…

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Serena Williams wrapped up the top half second round action at the BNP Paribas Open with a straightforward win over German qualifier Laura Siegemund, 6-2, 6-1.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

Playing in her first match since reaching the final at the Australian Open and in the chilly nighttime conditions in Indian Wells, Williams found herself facing a break point right away in the first game of the match. Siegemund’s variety and a sneaky drop shot tripped her up, but the World No.1 shook off any lingering rust with ease to fend off the early assault.

From then on the match grew increasingly one-sided, with Williams simply outgunning the German qualifier, taking the ball early and attacking from every side of the court. A beautiful backhand down the line brought up set point for the top seed, which she took with one her signature swing volleys.

Siegemund continued to attack and even brought up another chance to break in the first game of the second set, but Williams roared back from 0-40 to brush it aside. Not taking the opportunity ended up being costly for Siegemund, and Williams won five straight games to wrap up the encounter in barely over an hour.

“My intensity was the key,” Williams said in her post-match interview. “[Siegemund] actually started out really strong in that first game when I was serving, she was close to breaking me.

“I knew right then and there if I wasn’t going to come out at 100% it would be a long match.”

Awaiting Williams in the third round is Yaroslava Putintseva, who earlier in the day knocked out the No.27 seed Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4.

The crowd loves @SerenaWilliams! ? ? https://t.co/g0y73sWbBh

— WTA (@WTA) March 12, 2016

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Denisa Allertova played fearless tennis to complete the day’s biggest upset, taking out No.2 seeded Angelique Kerber in straight sets in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

The No.64-ranked Czech had only notched one win against a Top 5 player in her career, taking out Halep last year in Guangzhou, and was playing in her first main draw match at Indian Wells. But she didn’t let the occasion – or Kerber’s rock solid tennis – get to her.

Things seemed to start off going the way of the reigning Australian Open champion early on in the match, Kerber breaking Allertova in the very first game. The German used her defensive counterpunching to keep giving Allertova one more ball until the Czech began to let the errors loose.

But Allertova quickly set aside any early jitters and settled into her trademark high risk game, employing her vicious angles and changing the pace to keep Kerber second-guessing. She broke right back and kept pace with the World No.2, making every game a long battle.

Just as it seemed like Kerber would serve to send the set into a tiebreak, Allertova employed some of her best tennis of the match to bring up a pair of set points. Kerber erased one with a pinpoint accurate crosscourt backhand, but she couldn’t withstand Allertova’s deadly line-to-line game, being dragged all around the court until getting caught by a passing shot to seal the opening set.

Things started to turn around for Kerber in the second set as the German broke to love to grab a 3-2 lead. That quickly became a 5-3 hole as Kerber found a way to keep Allertova’s high risk game in check; Allertova hit just 12 winners this set, compared to the 25 she hit in the previous one. But she did just enough, breaking twice and knocking out the No.2 seed 7-5, 7-5.

Still soaking it all in, the 23-year-old from Prague could barely put the win into words.

“I just tried to play and just focus on every point, tried moving and playing into the court… I don’t know, I just tried to play my best!” she said in her post-match interview. “Just amazing feelings right now because she’s an amazing player.”

“I tried to play my best and I’m so happy that I won today. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Huge win for Denisa Allertova!

Knocks out Australian Open champ Angelique Kerber! #WTA https://t.co/Wj8JhHSX31

— WTA (@WTA) March 12, 2016

The No.6 seed Carla Suárez Navarro wasn’t so lucky today as she saw herself having to bow out of the tournament due to a right ankle injury.

“I twist my ankle yesterday and today I tried to warm up but I’m not 100%,” Suárez Navarro told wtatennis.com. “So I will try to rest, recover and be ready for Miami.”

She was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Anna-Lena Friedsam, who’s set to square off against Daria Kasaktina of Russia.

TOKYO, Japan – No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova came back from a set down against Lucie Safarova to move into the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open after a two-and-a-half-hour thriller.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Cibulkova drew a tough first-round match against Safarova, last year’s French Open finalist. After suffering a bacterial infection that derailed her season, Safarova has slipped down the rankings and sits at No.43, making her a dangerous floater. But Cibulkova got the job done, edging past the Czech 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Under the roof at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park, Cibulkova pounced on Safarova’s vulnerable second serve to keep her under pressure throughout the first set. But the momentum soon shifted after Safarova finally won a second serve point to bat away Cibulkova’s break point chance. Safarova found another gear, breaking Cibulkova’s serve in the next game with a blistering cross-court backhand return.

Cibulkova rebounded in the second set, floating a drop shot just out of reach to grab an early break for a 3-1 lead. The drop shot was Cibulkova’s go-to weapon throughout the match, employing nine of them during the three sets. A double fault from Safarova cost her a second break as Cibulkova quickly rattled off five games in a row to take the second set.

Both players wrestled with the momentum in the deciding set, trading breaks twice and keeping each other under pressure before Cibulkova finally got the edge at 6-5. She hit her boldest drop shot of the match to clinch the victory after two and a half hours.

A drop shot on match point?!

Pome, @Cibulkova! ? #TorayPPO pic.twitter.com/KipGWe6RAA

— WTA (@WTA) September 20, 2016

Cibulkova sets up a clash with 18-year-old wildcard Naomi Osaka, Japan’s No.2 player and a hometown favorite, in the next round.

2013 champion Petra Kvitova is also through to the next round after scoring a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Madison Brengle.

Kvitova broke the American’s serve three times and fought off six of her chances to ease past her in an hour and thirteen minutes. She’ll take on Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig next for a spot in the quarterfinals.

More to come…

TALLINN, Estonia – Johanna Konta fought back from set a down to seal Great Britain’s place in the Fed Cup promotion play-off on Saturday.

The World No.10 and Heather Watson helped the British team beat Portugal 3-0 on Wednesday and Latvia by the same score on Thursday before facing Turkey in the final Pool C match today.

Watson, the World No.72, comfortably overcame Ipek Soylu 6-0 6-1 in the opener but says the match was deceptively hard.

“The score was 6-0 6-1, but it felt a lot closer than that in the games and she’s a good player but today I just felt that I was pretty flawless,” she explained after the match.

High ?! @HeatherWatson92 celebrates her brilliant win over Turkey in the @FedCup #BackTheBrits ????? pic.twitter.com/Q45lpUi0m9

— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 10, 2017

Konta was made to work harder for her success. After taking a 5-3 lead in the first set against Cagla Buyukakcay, Konta lost four straight games to hand the World No.86 the opening set.

But the 25-year-old raised her game after that setback to close out a 5-7 6-4 6-3 win and victory in the tie ahead of the final doubles match.

“I’m just really happy to come through that,” she said. “It wasn’t easy and she definitely played herself into the match and to give us the opportunity to go into the play-off tomorrow, I’m very happy for us and the team.”

? fight back complete! @JoKonta91 battles past Buyukakcay 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to keep the 100% record going #BackTheBrits ?? pic.twitter.com/Df1g6uSzzA

— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 10, 2017

Britain will face either face Hungary or Croatia for the prize of a World Group II play-off in April.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Upsets reigned supreme in the top half of the draw on Friday at Indian Wells, with seeds going only 7-9. Will the chaos continue on Sunday? We preview today’s third-round matchups here.

Sunday, Third Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA # 1) vs. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ # 56)
Head-to-head: Williams leads 1-0
Key Stat: Williams will bid for her 20th career win at Indian Wells against just one loss.

After her second-round victory over Laura Siegemund of Germany, Williams admitted that she’s a lot less nervous than she was last year, when she ended her boycott and played in the desert for the first time since 2001. “I was really kind of stressed out last year,” Williams told reporters. “It was a lot of emotions last year. This year it was a lot easier. I mean, obviously there is still something there, but it’s a lot easier to just deal with everything.” A more relaxed Williams could spell big trouble for Yulia Putintseva, but don’t expect the 21-year-old to lay down and play dead. She’s as fiery as they come and she’ll come out ready to take her shots at the World No.1.

Pick: Williams in two

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3) vs. [32] Monica Niculescu (ROU # 34)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Radwanska has reached the semis in all three events she has played in 2016.

Radwanska saved a match point in making a valiant comeback to dispatch Dominika Cibulkova on Friday. Next up, she’ll face a fellow slice-and-dicer in the quirky Monica Niculescu, who took out Heather Watson to reach the third round at Indian Wells for the first time. Though Radwanska comes in as the heavy favorite, Niculescu comes in with good form, having notched wins over Petra Kvitova, Sabine Lisicki and Jelena Jankovic this season.

Pick: Radwanska in two

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [30] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS # 32)
Head-to-head: Halep leads 2-1
Key Stat: Defending champion Halep was the WTA’s hardcourt match win leader in 2015 (41-11).

Jazzed after an inspiring hitting session with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in Las Vegas last week, Simona Halep came out and blitzed Vania King to reach the third round. But the competition stiffens for the Romanian on Sunday as 30th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova steps up. Halep owns the head-to-head edge over the Russian but Makarova won their biggest match to date at the 2015 Australian Open. To be honest, neither player has played anywhere near their potential this year, but a big win on Sunday could do a lot for the confidence of either player.

Pick: Halep in three

[8] Petra Kvitova (CZE # 8) vs. Johanna Larsson (SWE # 66)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads 2-0 (both meetings Challenger-level)
Key Stat: Kvitova has fallen against players ranked outside the Top 50 at her last two tournaments (Dubai/Brengle, Doha/Ostapenko).

Petra Kvitova narrowly avoided the upset in defeating Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in a third-set tiebreaker on Friday, and on Sunday she’ll look win back-to-back matches for the first time in 2016. The serve is the glue that generally holds the Kvitova game together, but in her last two matches the Czech has faced 26 break points. That’s too many. Kvitova will have to take command of her service games to go deep into the tournament, but if she can tighten up her game she may be able to ride her favorable draw all the way to the semis or beyond.

Pick: Kvitova in two

[19] Jelena Jankovic (SRB #19) vs. CoCo Vandeweghe (USA # 38)
Head-to-head: Tied, 3-3
Key Stat: 2010 champion Jankovic snapped a three-match losing streak versus Vandeweghe with a straight-sets win in Sydney over the American in January.

CoCo Vandeweghe is a bit of a wild card, and she can be prone to inconsistency. But when the hard-serving 24-year-old is on, she can be a terror to face. On Sunday the American will try to get past last year’s runner-up Jelena Jankovic, but beating the Serb in the desert has always proven to be a difficult task. Jankovic owns 24 career wins here, but she’s struggled to find her form thus far in 2016, going 5-7. Meanwhile, Vandeweghe has won six of eight matches—three of which came against Top 20 opposition—since dropping her first three tilts of the season.

Pick: Vandeweghe in three

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Their 41-match winning streak had come to an end at the Qatar Total Open, but Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s hopes of claiming a second straight BNP Paribas Open title were halted by an unseeded but dangerous pair in Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-6(7), 6-4.

“We had a game plan and I feel like we executed it really well,” King, who won back-to-back Grand Slam titles with Yaroslava Shvedova at the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open, said after the match. “We tried to take control of the points and not let them dictate the match play, and I think we did that really well. That’s why we won.”

King and Kudryavtseva are playing just their second tournament of 2016 – King sat out much of 2015 with a back injury – but already have a Grand Slam quarterfinal under their belt at the Australian Open. After edging past the top seeds in a tense tie-break, the American/Russian duo raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second set – eventually breaking at love to hand Santina their first straight-sets loss since the summer of 2015 (Rogers Cup).

“I’m feeling very glad that I have a partner like Vania; she had a great game plan. We stuck with each other through the goods and the bads, and it pays off for a doubles team to do that,” Kudryavtseva said.

“That’s what I’m useful for; I just have good game plans, and that’s all!” King added with a laugh.

“And she has good energy, and she’s a fantastic, phenomenal tennis player,” Kudryavtseva continued. “She’s really motivated. It’s nice to be around someone who has so much positive energy and love for tennis. I think we’re really enjoying ourselves on the court, good chemistry.

“We obviously complement each other well; Vania moves a lot, and I try to move a lot. We have good returns.

“I feel like as a team, all the pieces kind of fit together, and it’s only our second tournament, and we obviously have a long way to go – hopefully – but we’re playing well and we’re enjoying each other’s company; it’s great.”

Into their second straight quarterfinal, fast-rising duo face a rematch of their Australian Open encounter with Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova; the big-hitting pair survived a tough match against Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina – the very team who ended the Santina Streak in Doha – in a match tie-break, 6-1, 6-7(5), 10-4.

Deciding to pair up at the end of last season, Kudryavtseva has told WTA Insider that she and King are looking to make 2016 a season to remember; each have qualified for the WTA Finals before – King in 2010 and 2011, Kudryavtseva in 2014 – but are trying to keep a return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in the back of their minds for the time being.

“I think we have to take it match by match, tournament by tournament,” King said. “Our communication is really good, we get along on and off the court, which is important. We don’t feel any pressure to not say something to one another; we can easily talk to each other about how we feel on or off the court – if we want to work on something, or if one sees something and the other one doesn’t.

“Obviously we hope can get to Singapore. If we take it one match at a time, that’s how we will play our best at the end of the day, enjoying each day on the court, going for our shots and going from there.”