Tennis News

SINGAPORE – Top seed Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic were imperious in a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No.8 seeds Karolina Pliskova and Julia Goerges to advance into the semifinals at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

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

The reigning Roland Garros champions came to Singapore with a chance to unseat World No.1 Sania Mirza atop the WTA doubles rankings, but first had to overcome a team they’d lost to at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Playing in their second WTA Finals – their first as a pair – the French youngsters played clutch tennis throughout the 85-minute encounter, saving all 11 break points faced and winning 75% of first serve points.

Big backhand from @KikiMladenovic on break point! ? #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/AGYGvd4bLp

— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016

“Every game was tight; we saved so many break points,” Garcia said during the team’s on-court interview. “We knew things could change at any time, but we stayed very aggressive and played a very good match.”

Where last year’s championships was a round robin format and no-ad scoring, this year’s competition brought back the single-elimination knock-out from 2014, but took away no-ad, leading to some marathon games between the two teams.

“You don’t have space for mistakes, but the stats prove it; we saved 11 break points. I think it was a very close match; the girls are playing strong with big serves. It was tough to break each other, but I’m just enjoying my time with my partner; we’re so happy and lucky to be back here.”

To end the season as Co-No.1s, the French team will have to have a better result than Mirza, who plays her quarterfinal match on Friday with fellow No.2 seed Martina Hingis, and could next come up against Bethanie Mattek-Sands, the only other player in contention for No.1.

Seeded No.3 with Lucie Safarova, Mattek-Sands will have to win the title to nab the top spot, but the American will first have to take on No.7 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova on Thursday night; the winners play Garcia and Mladenovic on Saturday.

Describe your team in ⓵ word!@CaroGarcia: Awesome ?@KikiMladenovic: French ??#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/bIRjtanm9A

— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Elena Vesnina has the potential to make it into the singles Top 10, says Svetlana Kuznetsova – the woman she beat in an epic final at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.

“Why not? Of course, I mean, she did semis in Wimbledon last year. She won here now. She has to be much more consistent to be in the top 10, but she can make it, for sure,” said the defeated Russian of her compatriot.

.@SvetlanaK27 is moving up a gear! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/QO5bthevKE

— WTA (@WTA) March 19, 2017

Kuznetsova admitted that she had struggled with the daytime conditions, and felt rather frustrated that she had not played as well as she could.

“I didn’t feel comfortable at all today on the court,” said the 31-year-old. “I was trying to do the best I could, you know, but this is the type of day when you don’t play your best tennis and you’ve got to still give your best effort.

“I tried my best and she won because she was more aggressive than I did. I was too passive. That’s it. Too much behind and didn’t serve well, I think it was key points.”

Kuznetsova now moves on to Miami – and is confident that she can recover quickly from the loss to her countrywoman.

“I feel great,” she assured reporters in her post-match press conference. “I didn’t overwork. I think what really is difficult to handle, like, lots of stress. It’s, like, kind of waste you physically a little bit. But the rest matches didn’t get me so much tired. I feel great physically.

“I’m looking forward to have couple days off and hopefully get a good start in Miami.”

MIAMI, FL, USA – It was a personal milestone for Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella on Tuesday, as the 31-year-old won her first-ever main draw match at a Premier Mandatory event, defeating Kristyna Pliskova, 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5 in the first round at the Miami Open.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match,” she told WTA Insider after the match. “I’ve played her once or twice before, and I knew she serves really well. She goes for her shots, and I struggled to return her first serve. It was a tough match and big battle. I’m really happy I won it in the end.”

Playing in her first-ever main draw in Miami in her fourth career appearance, Minella showed few signs of nerves in the early going. The World No.74 broke Pliskova at her first opportunity in the second game, taking a 3-0 lead at the first change of ends, later extending her lead to 5-2 with a pair of holds without allowing Pliskova a break point chance.

Outrageous way to save match point from @KrisPliskova! ? #MiamiOPen pic.twitter.com/I5Lk2RtPzX

— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017

However, the Czech staged a late comeback, breaking Minella as she served for the set and delivering an emphatic love hold to knot the set at 5-5. She held to love once more to force a first-set tiebreak, but Minella proved more effective on return as the tiebreak wore on. Neutralizing the left-hander’s delivery and winning four points on Pliskova’s serve in the tiebreak, Minella secured the 59-minute opener as one final Pliskova backhand went long.

“I’ve been really good physically lately. I’m in good shape and can last for long matches. That’s a good point in my favor. I struggled a little bit today because it was quite hot and there was a lot of running. The balls are quite heavy, so that means there’ll be a lot of rallies. It was definitely tough out there today.”

After managing to win just two points on Minella’s serve to begin the second set, Pliskova secured the break in a sixth game which saw her dig in at deuce to move ahead 4-2. However, Minella hit right back in the next, passing Pliskova twice at the net en route to an emphatic break that got the set back on serve. Neither player had a look at a break point again until the final game of the set, in which Pliskova took advantage of a trio of Minella double faults to square the match at one set all.

.@MandyMinella battles past Kristyna Pliskova 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5!

Sets @MiamiOpen Second round vs @SvetlanaK27! pic.twitter.com/AQpf69rGBM

— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017

Playing a deciding set for the first time in three meetings, the duo traded breaks twice in the final set before Minella secured her third game off the Pliskova serve to put her in position to serve for the match. As the contest hit the two-hour, 30-minute mark, Minella brought up three match points on serve, only to see the Czech storm back and win the next five to level the match at 5-5, courtesy of some brilliant shot-making.

However, Minella kept her cool in the midday sun, breaking for a fourth time in the set and sealing the match on her fourth match point, closing out the two-hour, 38-minute victory as Pliskova’s final backhand return found the net.

“It’s good to start the season in this positive way; it gives you confidence for upcoming tournaments. I think I’m still on a roll, enjoying my tennis. I’m enjoying my matches and the traveling. I think that’s the reason I’ve been playing good, and because I love my sport.”

Minella, who improves to 3-0 lifetime against the left-handed Pliskova, advances to the second round where she’ll face No. 7 seed and BNP Paribas Open runner-up, Svetlana Kuznetsova.

“I think it’ll be really hard because she’s in great shape. She was in the Indian Wells final last week, and so I think she’s going to be ready. I’ll try my best to play as good as I can; I will fight, and will just try to do my best.”

The veteran has enjoyed a strong start to her season, reaching the semifinals of the Taiwan Open, but credits a career turn around by winning her first WTA 125K title in Bol, Croatia.

“Bol was where everything changed for me. I’d had some really miserable results up to that point, and I was about to stop my career at Wimbledon. I think I just relaxed and enjoyed being there. The city was fantastic; they had a nice hotel with a spa, and the sea was quiet. I really enjoyed it there, and it helped me play good enough to win my first title over there. It’ll always be in my memories for a long time.”