Indian Wells: Williams Interview
An interview with Serena Williams following her loss in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
An interview with Serena Williams following her loss in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova’s 41-shot rally at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open was Wednesday’s rally of the day.
THE WINNERS
Victoria Azarenka continued her near-perfect start to 2016 by showing vintage form against an out of sorts World No.1 Serena Williams to win the BNP Paribas Open final, 6-4, 6-4.
Azarenka is now the only player to defeat the American in more than three championship matches, and she had nothing but praise for her opponent after the match:
“I wanted to first address a personal thank you to Serena,” she said. “I know how emotional it was for you to be back here and you truly inspired so many people out there to see the type of commitment you have to the game. It’s truly inspiring.
“Thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. You are an amazing competitor who changed the game.”
With Sunday’s win, Azarenka will return to the Top 10 for the first time since the summer of 2014, at No.8. Meanwhile, Serena remains atop the WTA rankings heading into the Miami Open, a tournament she has won eight times.
Read the full story and watch highlights here. | As It Happened: Game-by-game analysis.
On the doubles side, Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe couldn’t have asked for a more perfect WTA debut to their newly-minted partnership – the pair rallied back from a set down to defeat Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-4, 10-6, and claim the doubles title at the BNP Paribas Open.
“All week long we’ve had great fan support, which is so cool,” Mattek-Sands said afterwards. “As two Americans together, the support was awesome.
“It’s always special coming back here to Indian Wells, it’s kind of like our home tournament. We’ll be back next year for sure.”
Read the full story here.
GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider
Game: Victoria Azarenka back where she belongs.
This is the start to the season that I hoped Victoria Azarenka would deliver in 2015 after her terrible injury-laden season in 2014. Now 16-1 on the season and beating No.1 Serena Williams to win the BNP Paribas Open – her biggest title since the 2013 Australian Open – Azarenka is not just playing like a top player but she’s back in the Top 10 for the first time since August 2014. Her run to her second title in Indian Wells showcased her fight, battling through three sets to get past Sam Stosur and Karolina Pliskova, and she capped it off by becoming the first woman ever to beat Serena in four tournament finals.
On a quick-hit Dropshot episode of the WTA Insider podcast previewing the final, the Insider team discussed the nature of rivalries and whether Azarenka’s rivalry with Serena, in which she came into Sunday’s final with just three wins in 20 matches, could qualify as such. Her win on Sunday confirmed that when she is near her best – and sometimes when she is not – she remains the most consistent challenger to Serena in head-to-head matches.
Champions’ Corner: Vika Azarenka
Set: Emotions are still raw in the desert.
It was plain to see from the first game. Serena Williams was tight and she was trying to hit through her nerves. I asked Serena after her semifinal win over Agnieszka Radwanska whether the walk out to Stadium Court in Indian Wells still made her nervous, or whether a year after her return she could treat the walk-out like any other walk-out. She said all those emotions were behind her.
So you could understand Serena’s surprise when the nerves came back like a ton of bricks on Sunday, when she took to the court 15 years after her terrible experience 15 years ago. “I was definitely a little nervous,” she said. “I did not expect to be, at all, like zero, and then when I walked out there I was like, Oh, man, I’m really nervous. And really excited. Those emotions I had a little bit last year I was having again. Definitely did not expect that.”
But once again the crowd made her feel the love and for a second year in a row Serena fought back tears, this time during the trophy presentation. Azarenka kicked off her victory speech with a heartfelt, emotional salute to Serena and the two respected rivals laughed and photobombed their way through the ceremony.
After the match they were faced with questions about the derogatory and unacceptable remarks made by tournament CEO Raymond Moore and both Serena and Vika handled them with unmitigated poise and class. The ripple effects of the off-court controversy may continue, but on this Sunday these two fierce competitors were unimpeachable in every way.
Match: Karolina Pliskova finds her legs.
After a breakout 2015 season that saw her soar through the rankings to make her top 10 debut, it was difficult to know what to expect from the 24-year-old Czech this year. On top of playing the heaviest schedule of any top player she played a played through a busy off-season exhibition schedule. How much gas would she have in the tank?
Pliskova told WTA Insider she was mentally fried after Australia and needed to put her racquet down for a few days and get away. She did just that, taking a week off in Monaco, and a rejuvenated Pliskova marched her way to the biggest result of her career, making her first Premier Mandatory semifinal.
RANKING MOVERS
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of March 21, 2016.
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), +1 (No.3 to 2): Radwanska has been showing a lot of consistency in the past few months – she’s reached the semifinals or better at every event she’s played since October. It’s been paying off, too, and after a semifinal run at Indian Wells, she’s equaled her career-high ranking of No.2 in the world.
Victoria Azarenka (BLR), +7 (No.15 to 8): Azarenka’s roaring start to 2016 continued in the desert at Indian Wells, where she defeated Serena Williams for the BNP Paribas Open title. She’s now ranked No.8, the first time since the summer of 2014 that she’s inside the Top 10.
Misaki Doi (JPN), +11 (No.55 to 44): After bowing out of Indian Wells early, Doi stopped over at the inaugural WTA 125K Series event in San Antonio, Texas. Her title at the San Antonio Open puts her inside Top 50 for first time in her career.
Daria Kasatkina (RUS), +21 (No.48 to 36): 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina turned heads with her impressive run to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, and as a result she earned a career-high ranking of No.36.
Nicole Gibbs (USA), +21 (No.95 to 74): Another dream run belongs to the American Nicole Gibbs, a qualifier at Indian Wells. Her run to the fourth round bumps her up 21 spots to her career-high ranking of No.74.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
Miami Open
Miami, USA
Premier Mandatory | $6,134,605 | Hard, Outdoors
Tuesday, March 22 – Sunday, April 3, 2016
Katowice Open
Katowice, Poland
International | $226,750 | Hard, Indoors
Monday, April 4 – Sunday, April 10, 2016
Volvo Car Open
Charleston, USA
Premier | $687,900 | Clay
Monday, April 4 – Sunday, April 10, 2016
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – Miami
2. Agnieszka Radwanska – Miami, Katowice
3. Angelique Kerber – Miami, Charleston
4. Garbiñe Muguruza – Miami
5. Simona Halep – Miami
6. Carla Suárez Navarro – Miami
7. Petra Kvitova – Miami
8. Victoria Azarenka – Miami
9. Roberta Vinci – Miami
10. Belinda Bencic – Miami, Charleston
11. Maria Sharapova
12. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
13. Venus Williams – Miami, Charleston
14. Karolina Pliskova – Miami
15. Lucie Safarova – Miami, Charleston
16. Elina Svitolina – Miami
17. Ana Ivanovic – Miami
18. Sara Errani – Miami, Charleston
19. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Miami
20. Timea Bacsinszky – Miami
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) – March 21, 1992
Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) – March 21, 1992
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) – March 22, 1994
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) – March 23, 1985
Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) – March 26, 1994
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the quarterfinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
1. Can Serena get back to her winning ways in Miami?
It has been an odd start to Serena Williams’ season. On one hand, she is clearly playing at a superior, more consistent level of tennis than her near-historic 2015 season. On the other han,d she has yet to win a title, losing back-to-back finals for the first time since the summer of 2004 – getting nipped at the finish line by Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open and Victoria Azarenka last week at the BNP Paribas Open.
There are legitimate explanations for both losses. Kerber played the match of her life in Melbourne, while the emotions from playing an Indian Wells final for the first time 15 years clearly led to her nervy, tense play against Azarenka. In other words, they weren’t “bad” losses. But they were losses nonetheless, and for a perfectionist like Serena, they were tough to swallow.
Click here to check out the Miami Open draw.
Now she returns to the tournament she has dominated like no other. An eight-time champion at the Miami Open, the familiar surrounds of Crandon Park may just be what Serena needs to get her hands on her first trophy since the Western & Southern Open. She leads the top half of the draw with Petra Kvitova as a potential quarterfinal opponent and Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep – both of whom she beat in Indian Wells – looming as potential semifinal opponents. She opens against either Misaki Doi or Christina McHale.
2. Can Vika go coast-to-coast?
Not since Kim Clijsters in 2005 has a player completed the Indian Wells-Miami double. With her sterling 16-1 record in 2016 – and riding a high after winning Indian Wells – Azarenka has a chance to cap off her resurgent spring hardcourt season if she can win her third Miami title. Drawn into the Spanish Quarter anchored by No.4 Garbiñe Muguruza and last year’s finalist Carla Suárez Navarro, she’ll play either Catherine Bellis or Monica Puig in the second round.
3. Can Simona Halep build on her Indian Wells form?
After a season start marred by injury and illness, Halep looked well on her way to regaining her form in Indian Wells, where she rolled into the quarterfinals without losing a set before bowing out to Serena. The No.5 seed is once again in Serena’s half but landed in Radwanska’s quarter. She could open her tournament against the surging Daria Kasatkina – who is making her Miami Open debut – and could face Sam Stosur and Sloane Stephens before the second week.
If Halep and Radwanska can take care of business in the first week, their projected quarterfinal would be a must-watch clash. Radwanska, the new World No.2, has made the semifinals or better at every tournament she’s played this year.
4. Can Garbiñe Muguruza navigate her tough draw?
The top players will breathe a sigh of relief once Dominika Cibulkova gets her ranking up and is no longer unseeded and looming. The Abierto Mexicano Telcel finalist narrowly lost out to Radwanska in three sets in the second round in Indian Wells and could be Muguruza’s opening round opponent in Miami (Cibulkova opens against Johanna Larsson). From there, the Spaniard’s draw could see her face one of either Kristina Mladenovic, Nicole Gibbs, or Yulia Putintseva, before a potential fourth round match against Victoria Azarenka. That’s a very tricky first week for Garbi.
5. Can Angelique Kerber hit the ground running?
Ranked No.3 but seeded No.2 this week – the draw was conducted before the new rankings came out on Monday – Kerber is about to embark on a stretch of tournaments in April in which she has a load of points to defend on clay. Miami offers her an opportunity to pick up some points to ease that pressure (she lost in the third round last year). The problem for her is she’s on a three-match losing streak, having won just one match at Fed Cup since her Australian Open win.
Kerber could open her tournament against the highest-ranked unseeded woman in the draw in World No.32 Barbora Strycova, who has had a fine start to the season. The Czech veteran beat Muguruza in Australia, made the biggest final of her career at the Dubai Duty Free Championships, and beat Andrea Petkovic en route to the fourth round in Indian Wells, where she retired due to illness. Kerber could also face Indian Wells semifinalist Karolina Pliskova – the pair had two thrilling three-set encounters last year, which Kerber won – with No.7 seed Belinda Bencic a possible Round of 16 opponent.
6. Can the teenagers do more damage?
In addition to main draw entries by Bencic and Kasatkina, the Miami Open awarded wildcards to five teenagers – Naomi Osaka, Sofia Zhuk, Paula Badosa Gibert, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and CiCi Bellis – all of whom are worth keeping an eye on this week.
Bencic is trying to get back on a roll since cracking the Top 10 in February. She’s been drawn into Kerber’s quarter and will play either a qualifier or 18-year-old wildcard Paula Badosa Gibert, the reigning French Open junior champion. Meanwhile, Kasatkina could face Halep in the second round, a fun potential match between two strong clay courters. Also notable: Jelena Ostapenko is the No.1 seed in qualifying. If she makes it through, watch for her placement in the draw.
Japan’s Osaka, 18, faces a qualifier in the first round. Get past that and she would face No.14 seed Sara Errani. At No.104 a win could put her into the Top 100 for the first time.
In addition to Badosa Gibert, another reigning junior champion is in the mix in 16-year-old Zhuk. The feisty Russian won junior Wimbledon last year and will face Zhang Shuai in the first round. Keeping Zhuk company in the 16-and-under category, Bellis will try her luck against Monica Puig in the first round.
Lastly, in the “What are the odds?” match-up of the first round, it’s an all-Brazilian battle between 19-year-old Haddad Maia and the veteran Teliana Pereira.
7. Can Caroline Wozniacki snap out of her slump?
Down to No.25 in the rankings – her lowest since July 2008 – the Dane has yet to get her season into gear. She has beaten just one Top 50 player this season and has taken losses to No.30 Sloane Stephens, No.76 Yulia Putintseva, No.66 Dominika Cibulkova, No.118 Elena Vesnina, No.84 Heather Watson, and No.69 Zhang Shuai.
Drawn into Serena’s quarter, she’ll open against either Vania King or a qualifier, and is projected to face Elina Svitolina and Petra Kvitova before a potential meeting with Serena.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Kirsten Flipkens weathered a strong start from wildcard Laura Robson to ease through to the second round of the Miami Open.
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Robson, whose bright career has been derailed due to injury woes since 2014, has been edging her way back onto the WTA in the past few months, and she put up a strong challenge against the No.65-ranked Flipkens, a finalist earlier this year at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme.
The 22-year-old Brit came out firing, grabbing an early break to race ahead to a 3-0 lead and allowing Flipkens to win just two points. The Belgian finally got on board and after three consecutive breaks, she held serve to level the score at 4-4. They hung tight and, despite Robson bringing up three set points, Flipkens held her nerve to send it into a tiebreaker.
This time it was Flipkens who grabbed an early lead to go up 3-0, and though Robson was starting to mount a comeback, Flipkens fired off five straight points to take the opening set.
After seeing her monumental effort come up short, Robson had nothing left in the tank to withstand Flipkens’ second-set dominance, and the Belgian reeled off four straight games to clinch the match 7-6(4), 6-2.
Earlier in the day, No.664-ranked Peng Shuai, whose career was similarly derailed due to injury, is back to her winning ways after a win over Van Uytvanck 6-3, 7-5. It’s Peng’s first victory since February 2015 in Dubai, and just her second singles match since last year’s French Open.
Nicole Gibbs and Madison Brengle, a pair of Americans, also advanced to the second round in straight sets. Brengle dispatched the always dangerous Camila Giorgi 6-4, 6-3, while Gibbs backed up her Indian Wells dream run with a straightforward win over Yulia Putintseva, 6-4. 6-2.
Also through to the second round are Zarina Diyas, Lesia Tsurenko, Margarita Gasparyan and Danka Kovinic.
Santina In The Sun: Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza come into the Miami Open at their most vulnerable since their partnership began, having won just won match since their winning streak of 41 straight came to an end at the Qatar Total Open. Santina took their first straight-sets defeat since last summer at the BNP Paribas Open, falling in the second round to doubles threats Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva.
King and Kudryavtseva once again find themselves in Santina’s quarter of the draw, but the good friends will have to first get past nemeses Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova. Runners-up in Indian Wells, Goerges and Pliskova have ended both of King and Kudryavtseva’s quarterfinal runs at the Australian Open and again last week in the California desert. With both potential quarterfinal opponents for Hingis and Mirza, the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions will have their work cut out for them as they attempt to regain their stunning ascendency ahead of the clay court season and win their fifth title of 2016.
Team Bucie Reunites: Bethanie Mattek-Sands just won her first title since last summer’s Rogers Cup with CoCo Vandeweghe in Indian Wells – taking out No.2 seeds and sisters Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan along the way – but while her countrywoman rejoins regular partner Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Mattek-Sands will be joined by former partner Lucie Safarova in Miami. Mattek-Sands and Safarova were the stories of the start of 2016, getting halfway to the Calendar Year Grand Slam with wins in Australia and Paris.
Safarova’s injuries and illnesses – most recently a battle with reactive arthritis – have kept the team apart, but No.3 seeds have a chance to reassert their presence in the hyper-competitive doubles field with a first round encounter with American wildcards Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens. Likely looming in the second round would be Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina, the very team who ended Santina’s streak in Doha. Drawn into the same quarter as Australian Open finalists Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, a lot will depend on the state of Safarova, who only returned to tennis a few weeks ago.
Second Chances: Timea Babos was already starting fresh in 2016 when regular partner Kristina Mladenovic opted for an all-French pairing with Caroline Garcia, but the Hungarian youngster was left adrift when she ended what was meant to be a season-long partnership with Katarina Srebotnik after the Australian Open. In search of a full-time partner, Babos had success with Julia Goerges through the Middle East Swing, and kept up her winning ways when the German reunited with Pliskova by partnering Yaroslava Shvedova, who finds herself available as partner Casey Dellacqua continues her comeback from a late-season concussion.
Reaching the semifinals in Indian Wells, Babos and Shvedova narrowly lost to eventual champs Mattek-Sands and Vandeweghe in a match tie-break; seeded No.4 in Miami, they are projected to face No.6 seeds Garcia and Mladenovic in the quarterfinals, but could play Dellacqua and new partner Samantha Stosur in the second round. A back injury to Garcia took the French Connection out of the California desert before the doubles event began; how will the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runners-up bounce back in Florida?
Wildcard Watch: Stephens and Keys are not the only singles players to give Miami a go. Simona Halep, who enjoyed a mixed doubles run at last year’s US Open with Horia Tecau, has entered the fray with fellow former BNP Paribas Open champion Daniela Hantuchova. They will play a hotly contested first round match with Doha finalists and Dubai semifinalists Sara Errani and Carla Suárez Navarro.
Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – who narrowly missed out on qualifying for last year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore present by SC Global and started the season with Vesnina – also earned a wildcard into the doubles draw, playing Chinese No.8 seeds Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai. Finally, youngsters Monica Puig and Heather Watson are ones to watch as potential second round opponents against Santina, should they get past Margarita Gasparyan and Monica Niculescu.
MIAMI, FL, USA – This episode comes to you from Miami, Florida where the Miami Open is already underway. Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen is joined by WTA Web Editor David Kane to discuss Victoria Azarenka’s big win over No. 1 Serena Williams at the BNP Paribas Open. What does the win mean for Vika and how well does it set her up for the rest of the season? You’ll also hear from Vika herself in our Champion’s Corner.
Then David and Courtney turn to the Miami Open and take a deep dive into the draw. Will Serena, who is 0-2 in finals this year, turn things around on familiar turf to win her 9th Miami title? Can Azarenka become the first woman since 2005 to complete the Sunshine Double and win both Indian Wells and Miami? Or is there a spoiler lurking in the draw?
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or any podcast app of your choice. Reviews are always helpful so if you like what you’re hearing leave us a review. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider and we’ll of course post the podcast on the WTA website at wtatennis.com.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Top seed Serena Williams nearly saw her quest for a ninth Miami Open title end in her opening match against Christina McHale, who saved a match point to force a deciding set; Williams nonetheless prevailed with her 12th ace, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
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Looking to shake off a runner-up finish at the BNP Paribas Open by playing in one of her favorite tournaments, Williams looked well in control through most of the match, taking a set and a break lead, serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. But McHale – who has enjoyed a solid start to 2016, including a doubles title in Hobart and a singles win at an ITF Challenger in Maui – ended up saving a match point to break back and win four games in a row to level the match.
“She definitely started to fight harder, and is clearly capable of playing great tennis,” Serena told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “She showed it today.”
Despite not playing her best tennis, the 21-time Grand Slam champion still managed 33 winners on the day and two more breaks of serve to clinch her spot in the third round, where she will play Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas, who took out No.31 seed Daria Gavrilova earlier in the day.
Before the start of the tournament, Williams penned an op-ed in the New York Times about how much she loves the Miami Open, which may yet move from its present location in Crandon Park. The American reaffirmed her love of what she considers a second home in front of an adoring crowd.
“Miami is such a special place for me. I live so close to here; in fact I was just home yesterday,” she said with a laugh.
“When I was younger, I used to watch so many people play here. I know a lot of the kids have that same experience. I grew up wandering the grounds like everyone here, and now I’m playing here and it’s always such a special moment.”
Williams’ good friend and former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki earned a much-needed win over a resurgent Vania King, 7-5, 6-2, setting up a third round encounter with No.12 seed Elina Svitolina. Svitolina recently added 2016 International Tennis Hall Of Fame Inductee Justine Henin to her coaching staff, and earned a solid win over Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai, who beat Wozniacki last week in Indian Wells, 6-3, 6-0.
Abierto Monterrey Afirme champion and wildcard Heather Watson allowed just four points from American Sloane Stephens in their second round match, winning 11 straight games to improve their head-to-head to 5-2 with a 6-3, 6-0 victory. France’s Caroline Garcia survived a topsy-turvy afair against No.21 seed Andrea Petkovic, earning the upset, 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(2).
MIAMI, FL, USA – Garbiñe Muguruza produced a thrilling final set comeback to defeat Dominika Cibulkova in an absorbing second-round encounter at the Miami Open on Friday.
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Two crushing returns helped Muguruza claim the decisive break in the penultimate game before she calmly wrapped up a 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5 victory.
“The match today was so tough but I’m so happy I’ve been through this against Dominika,” Muguruza said. “She played very well and I think it was a tricky second round because she’s really tough. But I’m very happy that I fight all the match – even though I lost the first set hard – and I was able to come back.”
Earlier this month in Indian Wells, Cibulkova came within a point of upsetting World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska. While she did not come quite so close to victory against Muguruza, she will be no less disappointed at her failure to get over the line once again.
After splitting two high-quality sets, Cibulkova looked to be heading for the third round when she surged 3-0 ahead in the decider. However, she was unable to hold onto the momentum, sending a backhand long to surrender her serve in the fifth game.
Considering her struggle for form this year, Muguruza showed tremendous poise with the match in the balance. Trailing 5-4, the Spaniard refused to wilt, a couple of pin-point serves fending off the danger. The same could not be said for Cibulkova in the next game, Muguruza jumping on a couple of short second serves to strike decisively.
Muguruza faces wildcard Nicole Gibbs in the third round. Gibbs reached the fourth round in Indian Wells and continued her superb spring by beating No.27 seed Kristina Mladenovic, 6-2, 6-4, earlier on Friday.
“I don’t know her that well. But she’s here because she’s playing great and feeling at home because she’s from the US. I’ll just do my stuff, prepare and fight until the last point,” Muguruza added.