Charleston: Daria Gavrilova Pre-Tournament Interview
Hear Daria Gavrilova’s thoughts prior to the start of the tournament.
Hear Daria Gavrilova’s thoughts prior to the start of the tournament.
WUHAN, China – Simona Halep is aiming to end her hex in China this week at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. The World No.5 was forced to withdraw from last week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open due to a hamstring injury and she’s now struggling with every tennis player’s worst enemy: jet lag.
“I practiced two times already here,” Halep told reporters at WTA All-Access Hour on Sunday. “I feel good. On the court I feel a little bit tired. I cannot sleep like I do always.”
“Last night I slept four hours, so I am much better than the first night,” she said with a laugh.
Coming off a strong summer swing that saw her win two titles (Bucharest and Montréal) and suffer just three losses since the French Open – all to either No.1 Angelique Kerber or No.2 Serena Williams – Halep comes into the Asian swing looking to qualify for the WTA Finals for a third consecutive year. Currently No.3 in the Road to Singapore, the 24-year-old is in good position to lock it up sooner rather than later. But to do so she’ll need to break her sub-par trend of results in China at this time of year.
Although Halep won in Shenzhen two Januarys ago, she is just 6-6 on Chinese soil during the fall swing, with her best result coming in 2014, when she made the quarterfinals of the China Open. That also happens to be the only instance in four appearances that she made it past the first round there. In her two appearances in Wuhan, her best result came last year in the third round, where she lost to Johanna Konta.
“I don’t feel that it’s tough to find the motivation and the energy,” Halep said when asked about the Asian swing, who added that though her hamstring may not be healed, she’s been able to practice pain-free for two days. “I feel okay. But here everything is different: food, people, the country is different. It’s not easy to adapt so quickly.”
Halep will be without her coach Darren Cahill in Wuhan. He plans to rejoin the team next week in Beijing.
“I’m not tired mentally,” Halep said. “I’m confident. But you never know here. Every match is difficult at this level. I just want to give my best, to do as much as I can to this end of the season. It’s important, because last years, previous years, I didn’t play that good. So I want to change it.”
Halep will play her opening match against her countrywoman Irina-Camelia Begu on Monday.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.
TOKYO, Japan – 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open champion Caroline Wozniacki overcame injury and withstood a late charge from rising star Naomi Osaka, 7-5, 6-3 to win her first title of 2016.
Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It’s the last match of the tournament, and I just wanted to go out and enjoy it,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “It’s the final and both of us had great weeks. We both wanted to go out there and play well.”
Osaka was playing in the biggest final of her career, but acquitted herself well in the early stages of the match, twice leading the former No.1 by a break of serve.
“She’s going to be a great player, already rising in the rankings so fast. I’ve no doubt we’ll see her in many, many more finals.”
Wozniacki, by contrast, was playing in her second Tokyo final in the last three years and had a wealth of experience on which to draw, despite dealing with a tough season full of injuries and inconsistencies.
“I’m enjoying it at the moment. Injuries happen and you never know when you can be taken out of the game, so I’m just enjoying every minute.”
Despite needing a medical timeout after the seventh game, the former No.1 managed to pull off a stunning comeback, winning nine of the next 10 games to lead Osaka by a set and 5-0. The teenager and hometown favorite was struck with an injury concern of her own after the opening set, but nonetheless treated the crowd to a tense ending, nearly pulling level before Wozniacki served out the win.
A high-quality contest, Wozniacki and Osaka hit nearly 30 winners each (25 to 28), but it was the Dane’s trademark consistency that won the day, with just 16 unforced errors to Osaka’s 32. Clutch on the crucial points, she converted five of six break point opportunities and won an impressive 11 of 12 forays to the net.
First title of 2016 for @CaroWozniacki! #TorayPPO pic.twitter.com/16dw7UwMkR
— WTA (@WTA) September 25, 2016
Agnieszka Radwanska moved one step closer to a sixth straight appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
After reaching the final four of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, the 2015 champion moved back into the Top 4 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, bolstering her qualification chances as the Asian Swing gets underway. Switching places with US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, either woman could lock up spots in Singapore with strong results at this week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Pliskova reached the third round in Wuhan after a straight sets opening round win over Lucie Safarova, while Radwanska makes her Wuhan debut on Tuesday against Ekaterina Makarova.
Also into the third round of Wuhan is Simona Halep, who is ranked No.3 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Depending on other results, Halep could clinch her spot in Singapore should she reach the final – or perhaps the semifinal – in Wuhan. Halep is looking to qualify for the WTA Finals for a third straight year, having finished runner-up to former No.1 Serena Williams.
Tokyo champion Caroline Wozniacki rocketed up 13 spots to No.20 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, but the former No.1 faces an uphill climb should she aspire to make it back to Singapore for the first time since 2014. After winning her first title of the season in Tokyo, the Dane would likely have to win three more titles in Wuhan, Beijing, and Moscow to have a hope of qualifying – though her chances remain solid of making a second straight appearance at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Click here to check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard
WUHAN, China – It was always going to be a big week for Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears. The Americans qualified for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last year, and earned an important victory as they aim to return, knocking out Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8, in the second round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
“We’ve probably played at least a thousand 10-point tie-breaks,” Atawo said after the match. “They never get any easier, but if you can find a way to relax, it can help in the big points. We were able to do that today, where we were able to hit the shots when we wanted to in the important moments.”
Watch live action from Wuhan on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Recovering from losing the second set, the unseeded Americans triumphed in the match tie-break to book a last eight encounter with either Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan (ranked No.6 on the RTS leaderboard) or Slovenians Katarina Srebotnik and Andreja Klepac, who are ranked No.13.
“If we could make them play, we felt like we were in control,” Atawo said. “We just had to get that first ball in, and when we connected, it was really good.”
Atawo and Spears entered the week at No.10 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, and have had to overcome tremendous fierce opposition just to reach the second round, defeating No.9 Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai.
“It’s huge motivation, because we’ve been close the last three years, and it’s good experience. But we want to be back in Singapore, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get back there – so long as it’s legal!” Spears said as the pair laughed.
With today’s results, Atawo and Spears move into the No.9 spot and now trail Georges/Pliskova by just 575 points; to crack the Top 8 in Wuhan, they will need to win the title, thus unseating Goerges and Pliskova on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka moved up to No.5 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard after winning the Coupe Banque Nationale, and kicked off their Wuhan campaign in similarly dramatic style; the Czechs ousted Olga Savchuk and Wang Yafan, 4-6, 6-2, 10-4.
On the outside looking in – at least with new partner Barbora Strycova – is World No.1 Sania Mirza. Mirza has already qualified for Singapore with former Co-No.1 Martina HIngis, but has been making a strong push for a second qualification bid, winning a second title with Strycova at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
In need of another big result in Wuhan, the No.3 seeds came back from a set down to beat Gabriela Dabrowski and María José Martínez Sánchez, 3-6, 6-3, 10-5.