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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe looks to back up her win over the WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber with another big upset, this time against No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza. Venus Williams hopes to stay on course to another all-Williams final, but a tricky opponent stands in her way. Who will grab the first two spots into the semifinals?

We preview all the Day 9 matchups right here on wtatennis.com.

Tuesday, Quarterfinals

CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #35) vs [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Vandeweghe leads 2-1
Key Stat: Vandeweghe is the first American (other than Serena Williams and Venus Williams) to defeat a WTA World No.1 since Jennifer Capriati defeated Martina Hingis at 2001 French Open

Unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe is making her Australian Open quarterfinal debut in style, upsetting World No.1 Angelique Kerber in a commanding straight-sets performance.

The battle-tested Vandeweghe also comes into her quarterfinal matchup with an extra bit of confidence, having already defeated her next opponent Garbiñe Muguruza two times previously.

But both of those wins came on grass – Vandeweghe’s favored surface – and both came back in 2014, before the Spaniard rocketed up the rankings and claimed her maiden Grand Slam title.

“It’s an interesting matchup because [Muguruza] holds a different aspect to a playing style of she’s an aggressor, as well.She is going to play that way, and no other way,” Vandeweghe assessed after her win over Kerber.

“For me it depends on if I can match it, as well as if I can beat her to that punch of getting first strike, first play.”

Muguruza struggled with form earlier in the season, but in Melbourne she looks locked in. After overcoming her usual slow starts, Muguruza has rediscovered her lethal aggression, winning matches more decisively and as a result, hasn’t dropped a set all tournament long.

Venus Williams

[13] Venus Williams (USA #17) vs [24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #27)
Head-to-head: Venus leads 3-2
Key Stat: 2017 Australian Open marks Venus’ 73rd Grand Slam main draw appearance – the Open Era record

The oldest woman in the draw is turning back the years as Venus Williams is back into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the ninth time. And on the other side of the draw sits Serena Williams, with the sisters looking on course for yet another all-Williams final.

But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, because standing between Venus and a semifinal berth is No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Venus leads the pair’s head-to-head 3-2, with Pavlyuchenkova’s last victory coming in 2009.

But the veteran former No.1 understands that, at this stage of the tournament, everyone is a threat – especially the younger players.

“Today I played a qualifier, and she hardly ever missed. So it doesn’t matter who you come up against, they are coming and they want to win, too,” Venus told press after her win against Mona Barthel.

“They have nothing to lose. I’m going to be focused on winning one round at a time and focus on doing what it takes to be there.”

Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic

Around the Grounds…

The doubles tournament is heating up as the top seeded Frenchwomen Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are back in action in the quarterfinals, eying their first Australian Open title – and the doubles No.1 ranking. But they’re up against their biggest test of the tournament as they take to Rod Laver Area against the all-Aussie duo of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. The Australians harnessed all the home support in their second-round upset of No.5 seeds Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe, and will look to strike again on the tournament’s biggest stage.

Also in action, No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova take on No.11 seeds Raquel Atawo and Xu Yifan, and No.3 seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina square up against No.12 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai.

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Hercog & Minella To Battle For Bol

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BOL, Croatia – No.7 seed Polona Hercog storms in to the final of the WTA Bol Open 125K in dominating fashion. She dropped just two games in her 6-0, 6-2 romp over No.4 seed Nao Hibino and didn’t face a break point all match long.

Watch free live streaming from Bol, Croatia all week right here on wtatennis.com!

Disappointingly for the local Croatian fans, No.5 seed Ana Konjuh was forced to retire from her match against Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella due to a lower back injury. Konjuh was down 3-6, 1-2 before calling the trainer for a medical time out and withdrawing.

“I’m sorry for the fans and I’m sorry for the tournament,” Konjuh told Croatian media after the match. “I tried to go on but today it didn’t work. I hope it will not be anything serious.”

Konjuh also added that she hopes to be back on court in time for Nottingham next week, where she is the defending champion and has been drawn to meet Britain’s Laura Robson in the first round.

Minella is set to face Hercog in her first WTA-level singles final, which you can watch live right here at wtatennis.com.

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Bencic Back In Den Bosch Semifinals

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – Belinda Bencic returned to the semifinals of the Ricoh Open courtesy of a hard-fought win over qualifier Viktorija Golubic on Friday afternoon.

Watch live action from ‘s-Hertogenbosch this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Twelve months ago, Bencic made it all the way to the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Understandably given her recent injury lay-off her tennis is yet to sparkle this time, and against Golubic she dug deep to eventually prevail, 7-6(6), 7-6(2).

“Like yesterday I just fought with everything I had obviously. I think she played very well and it was a very intense match and I’m happy that I fought through it,” Bencic, who let leads slip in both sets, said afterwards. “It’s good for both of us that we’re in the quarterfinal here and I’m very happy to be back in the semifinals here.”

There she will face her good friend Kristina Mladenovic, a relatively comfortable 7-5, 6-3 winner earlier in the day over the draw’s other remaining qualifier, Elise Mertens. Coincidentally, their only previous meeting also came in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Bencic winning in three tight sets en route to last year’s final.

“It’s like every normal match – you try to prepare as best you can. It will be different because actually she’s my very good friend, but I’ll try and take it like a normal match and improve everything I can,” Bencic added when asked about putting their friendship to one side on Saturday afternoon.

The other semifinal will be an all-American affair, pitting the big-serving CoCo Vandeweghe against Madison Brengle. Vandeweghe continued her impressive progress by swatting aside Evgeniya Rodina, 6-2, 6-2, while Brengle defeat Kateryna Kozlova, 7-5, 6-4.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Former World No.9 Andrea Petkovic had a whirlwind start to her week at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, but is thoroughly enjoying her first visit to Russia’s cultural capital, into the second round as a qualifier.

“I just came back from Australia on Wednesday, and I had to get a Russian visa from Germany,” she explained before making the main draw. “I got it Friday at 1PM, and didn’t arrive to St. Petersburg before 11PM last night. I couldn’t practice here, so everything was a little fast.”

The German hasn’t dropped a set through four matches, all without new coach Sasha Nensel, who was held up due to visa issues. Traveling with her mother, Petkovic is instead drawing inspiration from seeing Mirjana Lucic-Baroni reach the semifinals of the Australian Open; the pair played doubles in Melbourne, reaching the semifinals.

“I feel like I still have so much more in me, and I think it was important for me to make a new commitment with a new coach to show I still want it. He’s really hard on me, and I haven’t had this before, so it’s a new thing for me. I like it so far, and we’ll see where it takes me.”

Andrea Petkovic

The 29-year-old has used the surge of veteran success as primary motivation of late, crediting another doubles partner, good friend and former World No.1 Angelique Kerber as the first to reignite her passion for the game.

“I didn’t know where my place was, but I kept going half-heartedly,” she said of an emotional end to her 2015 season. “When Angie won the Australian Open and started playing so well, I saw what an achievement it was and how happy it made her.

“It’s a different story from when you see Serena winning Slams, because she’s so far away from me. But Angie and I are good friends; we played doubles so many times, and it made me think about how if she can do it, I can do it.”

There would be no better place for Petkovic to start doing it than St. Petersburg, a city that played a prominent part of her childhood.

“One of my favorite authors is Dostoyevsky. I feel like I know the city very well; I’ve just never been here before. When we arrived, my mother saw the river and said, ‘Look at the water, what kind of river is it?’ I answered, ‘That’s the Neva,’ and she was like, ‘How do you know that?’ I said, ‘I read it, I know it!’

“It’s difficult because I came so late and I have to play, but I really hope that I can catch a day or afternoon to see the Hermitage. One day, when I’m done with tennis, I want to come back here as a tourist because this is one of the cities I’ve always wanted to visit. I have a picture of it in my mind, because I’ve never actually seen it!”

Andrea Petkovic

Her love for Dostoyevsky runs deep, citing Rodion Raskolnikov – the protagonist to Crime and Punishment – as her “first crush.”

“I always struggle because I really like The Brothers Karamazov but the first book I read of his was Crime and Punishment; I read it several times. I think I like Brothers Karamazov more.”

Her comfort on court in St. Petersburg was particular evident when she brought back some familiar dance moves after beating Begu – perhaps inspired by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova.

“Their dancing was so professional. I used to do a few dance moves but they had a choreographer! They were so in sync that I’d be a little afraid to be in competition with them.”

Regardless of choreography, Petkovic undoubtedly appears in rhythm ahead of her next match against No.6 seed, defending champion Roberta Vinci.

All photos courtesy of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2017

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Notes & Netcords: June 13, 2016

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

THE WINNERS

CoCo Vandeweghe overcame Kristina Mladenovic and the worst of the Dutch weather to recapture the Ricoh Open on Sunday afternoon. Vandeweghe, who also won the title in 2014, follows in the footsteps of Justine Henin and Tamarine Tanasugarn as only the third player in the tournament’s 21-year history to win it on two occasions.

“It was actually really difficult – we had three rain delay stops – so it was really difficult to get yourself back into the match and make sure you’re fresh and light and ready to go. Especially the last rain delay in the first set. I was really trying to get myself moving,” Vandeweghe said.

“I got myself in a bit of a pickle in the second set, but I battled my way out of it, and sometimes the name of the game is just battling through adversity and problems you cause for yourself.”

Read the full story here. | WTA Insider Champion’s Corner

Top seed Karolina Pliskova overcame Alison Riske in a rain-affected Aegon Open Nottingham final on Sunday to capture her fifth WTA title.

Afternoon showers pushed the start of play back a couple of hours, at one point even raising the possibility of a Monday final. When the clouds did eventually clear, Pliskova held her nerve to triumph 7-6(8), 7-5, in a fraction under two hours.

“It’s been a great week for me, I really didn’t count on having such early success on the grass so I am feeling good ahead of Wimbledon,” Pliskova said.

Read the full story here.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of June 13, 2016.

CoCo Vandeweghe (USA), +11 (No.43 to 32): Vandeweghe’s run to her second Ricoh Open title in three years earns her the biggest ranking jump of the week. She’s now back at her career-high ranking of No.32 after jumping up 11 spots.

Madison Brengle (USA), +8 (No.68 to 60): Brengle reached her first WTA semifinal at ‘s-Hertogenbosch of 2016 to jump up eight spots to No.60.

Alison Riske (USA), +8 (No.89 to 81): Riske’s run to the final of Nottingham, her second WTA final this year, inches her up to No.81.

Monica Puig (PUR), +6 (No.49 to 43): Puerto Rico’s Puig has been steadily climbing up the rankings all year long: she started off 2016 at No.92 and with her run to the Nottingham semifinals she’s up to No.43, just shy of her career-high ranking of No.41.

Kristina Mladenovic (FRA), +3 (No.32 to 29): Mladenovic backed up her French Open doubles title with a run to the Ricoh Open final and as a result she gained a spot in the Top 30, ever-closer to matching her career-high ranking of No.27.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Aegon Classic Birmingham
Birmingham, Great Britain
Premier | $780,900 | Grass
Monday, June 13 – Sunday, June 19

Mallorca Open
Mallorca, Spain
International | $226,750 | Grass
Monday, June 13 – Sunday, June 19

Aegon International Eastbourne
Eastbourne, Great Britain
Premier | $711,778 | Grass
Sunday, June 19 – Saturday, June 25

The Championships, Wimbledon
London, Great Britain
Grand Slams | – | Grass
Monday, June 27 – Sunday, July 10

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – Wimbledon
2. Garbiñe Muguruza – Mallorca, Wimbledon
3. Agnieszka Radwanska – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
4. Angelique Kerber -Birmingham, Wimbledon
5. Simona Halep -Wimbledon
6. Victoria Azarenka – Wimbledon
7. Roberta Vinci – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
8. Belinda Bencic – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
9. Venus Williams – Wimbledon
10. Timea Bacsinszky – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
11. Petra Kvitova – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
12. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
13. Flavia Pennetta
14. Samantha Stosur – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
15. Carla Suárez Navarro – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
16. Madison Keys – Birmingham, Eastbourne Wimbledon
17. Karolina Pliskova – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
18. Elina Svitolina – Birmingham, Wimbledon
19. Johanna Konta – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
20. Sloane Stephens – Eastbourne, Wimbledon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:

Venus Williams (USA) – June 17, 1980

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan – Samantha Stosur overcame a stern second round test against Slovenian qualifier Dalila Jakupovic, needing to come back from a set down to reach the quarterfinals of the Taiwan Open.

The No.146-ranked Jakupovic was two games away from sealing the upset in the second set, but Stosur stormed back to close out the match 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

“I didn’t feel like I was playing too bad, because I had lots of chances to win many of the games,” the Australian explained in her post-match press conference. “I earned many break points but wasn’t able to convert them, and every time she had one chance she took it.

“It felt like I should have been leading in the first set, so it was tough to start out the second set thinking about how I was going to convert all these chances. By the third set, I feel like I was playing my best tennis.”

Stosur let four break chances go by before Jakupovic grabbed an early lead, breaking three times to take the opening set. The Australian finally converted to start the second, wrestling with the momentum as Jakupovic surged back to level the match at 5-5. Stosur grabbed the decisive break to close out the set with Jakupovic two games away from victory.

The Australian was in full flight in the final set, rattling off four straight games to make her way into the quarterfinals after two hours and sixteen minutes.

Her next opponent will be Peng Shuai, who knocked out the No.5 seed Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-3.

“We’ve played each other a few times, but not for many years,” Stosur said. “She hits the ball very hard, very flat – it really comes through the court. I know it’s going to be very difficult, and I’m sure she’s feeling very confident after her quick win today.”

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RTS Update: Grass Court Gains

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Traditionally the start of the grass court season is the time for surprises, the well-manicured lawns paying scant regard to the reputation of tennis’ great and good.

This year’s opening two events, the Aegon Open Nottingham and the Richo Open, proved no different, throwing up a number of eye-catching results. Coming through the wreckage to lift the silverware were two a the game’s biggest servers: Karolina Pliskova and CoCo Vandeweghe.

Their success has resulted significant moves on the Road To Singapore leaderboard. Nottingham champion Pliskova, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for last year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, is up to No.18, while ‘s-Hertogenbosch winner Vandeweghe leapt from No.84 to No.43.

With many of the leading contenders for Singapore waiting until Birmingham and Mallorca to begin their grass court preparations, much of the movement was restricted to lower down the leaderboard. Belinda Bencic made a successful return from the back injury that forced her out of the French Open, reaching the semifinals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a result that took her from No.34 to No.27.

Bencic’s conqueror Kristina Mladenovic was rewarded for her eventual runner-up finish with a jump from No.70 to No.49 on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Alison Riske, the runner-up in Nottingham’s rain delayed final is up to No.55 from her previous position of No.72.

Wimbledon preparations continue apace this week in Birmingham and Mallorca, where Garbiñe Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber are all competing.

RTS Ranking Movers

Karolina Pliskova: No.26 to No.18 (+8)
Monica Puig: No.21 to No.19 (+2)
Belinda Bencic: No.34 to No.27 (+7)
CoCo Vandeweghe: No.84 to No.43 (+41)
Kristina Mladenovic: No.70 to No.49 (+21)
Madison Brengle: No.64 to No.54 (+10)
Alison Riske: No.72 to No.55 (+17)

Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following Nottingham and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

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