Montréal: Strycova vs. Garcia
Barbora Strycova takes on Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
Barbora Strycova takes on Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Venus Williams after her win in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
Through to the quarterfinals at this week’s Rogers Cup in Montréal, British No.1 Johanna Konta is closing in on making her WTA Top 10 debut.
Konta will face Kristina Kucova, a qualifier fresh off a surprise win over hometown favorite Eugenie Bouchard Thursday night, in the second night match on Central. Depending on how the day unfolds, Konta could possibly secure a Top 10 spot with a win over Kucova.
But Konta’s climb also depends on Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded No.9 in Montréal, and her upcoming quarterfinal result against No.5 seed Simona Halep. A look at the scenarios:
• If Kuznetsova loses, Konta can secure a Top 10 spot with a win over Kucova tonight.
• A win by Kuznetsova, would mean Konta must reach the final this week to move into the Top 10.
• Konta would face the winner of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Madison Keys in the semifinals.
It has been 32 years since the Top 10 included a British woman, when Jo Durie graced the Top 10 (week of August 20, 1984) at No.10 before dropping out following a first round loss at the 1984 US Open.
Only three British woman have found their way to the Top 10: Virginia Wade (career-high of No.2), Sue Barker (career-high of No.3) and Durie (career-high of No.5).
Carla Suárez Navarro and Dominika Cibulkova will both drop out of the Top 10 after Montreal.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Following vastly contrasting semifinals, Simona Halep and Madison Keys will renew their burgeoning rivalry at the Stade Uniprix on Sunday afternoon. Here are 10 of SAP’s finest facts ahead of their showdown in Canada.
(5) Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs (10) Madison Keys (USA #12)
Head-To-Head: Halep leads, 2-1
1) An epic rivalry in the making?
Halep and Keys could well be contesting major finals for years to come. However, all three of their previous meetings have occurred with the silverware still some way off. Keys won in straight sets in the first round of Sydney in 2014, before Halep gained revenge at the same stage in Rome the following year. They most recently crossed paths earlier this summer in the last 16 of Wimbledon, where Halep fought back to win in three sets.
2) On top of their game.
Both Halep and Keys can stake a claim to be this summer’s form player. Since a surprise loss to Laura Siegemund in Stuttgart, Halep has won 22 of 25 matches, triumphing in Madrid and Bucharest along the way, Keys, meanwhile, has been every bit as impressive, winning 21 of her past 24, reaching a final in Rome and lifting the title in Birmingham during that time.
3) Halep holds a decided edge in big-match experience.
Keys is becoming an increasingly familiar presence at the business end of tennis’ flagship events. All four of her previous final appearances came at Premier or Premier 5 tournaments, picking up the title at two of these (Eastbourne (2014), and Birmingham (2016)). Halep, however, holds the upper hand in terms of big-match experience, having taken home a couple of Premier Mandatory titles in the past few years, at Madrid and Indian Wells, while also finishing runner-up at Roland Garros and the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in 2014.
4) Back-to-back finals no longer a regular occurrence in Canada.
Simona Halep is the first player to reach back-to-back Rogers Cup finals since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 and 2002. Interestingly, every final between 1996 and 2002 featured one player that reached the same stage 12 months earlier.
5) Keys is going for the biggest title of her career and first on hard.
Despite being raised on the hardcourts of the Chris Evert Academy in Boca Raton, Florida, this is the first time Keys has reached a WTA final on the surface. Her best showings prior to this week were semifinal runs at the Australian Open (2015), Sydney (2014) and Osaka (2013).
6) No stranger to big name upsets.
Keys will be facing off against a Top 5 player for the 16th time in her career on Sunday. Three of her previous encounters have ended in victory, against Li Na (2013 Madrid), Petra Kvitova (2015 Australian Open) and Garbiñe Muguruza (2016 Rome)
7) Keys could break new ground.
Earlier this summer Keys became the 118th player to break into the Top 10. She slipped out following Wimbledon but will return by virtue of reaching the final. Should the American lift the title, she will rise to a career best No.7 in the rankings. Halep will climb to No.3 should she leave with the title and No.4 without.
8) Montréal will have a significant impact on the Road To Singapore leaderboard.
Keys, who has never previously qualified for the WTA Finals, came into the Rogers Cup at No.9 on the Road To Singapore leaderboard but – regardless of the result – will leave no lower than No.6. Halep is guaranteed to rise to No.3.
9) Keys serving notice.
Keys’ imperious serve has been flowing this week, firing down 40 aces in five matches. Against Kristina Kucova in the semifinals, it was particularly dominant; she won 33 of 42 service points and did not face a single break point.
10) Doubles delight?
In a rare doubles outing, Halep has made it all the way to the final alongside compatriot Monica Niculescu. Should she lift both titles she will be the first player to achieve the feat at the Rogers Cup since Martina Hingis in 2000.
In 2004 the Olympics returned to its spiritual birthplace, Athens, and after three successive gold medals, the United States’ stranglehold on tennis at the Games was finally loosened by a brilliant Belgian…
Athens, Greece, 2004
Athens Olympic Tennis Center
Hardcourt
There is a school of thought that suggests peaking for a big tournament is all about preparation; carefully choosing how much to play and, more importantly, when, in order to maximize the chance of success.
In Athens, Justine Henin threw that theory out of the window.
Coming into the tournament on the back of a 10-week layoff due to a mystery viral infection, there were plenty of questions surrounding what sort of shape the World No.1 was in.
Answers from the early rounds were inconclusive – Henin was rarely forced out of first gear, sweeping past her first four opponents without dropping a set.
In the semifinals, though, any lingering doubts were well and truly extinguished as she battled life and limb with the mercurial Anastasia Myskina for nearly three hours, recovering from 5-1 down in the third before finally triumphing, 7-5, 5-7, 8-6.
Twenty-four hours later she had to drag her weary limbs back on court to face World No.2 Amélie Mauresmo.
Remarkably, there was not a hint of fatigue in her play, as she skipped across the baseline, her elegant groundstrokes at their fluent best. Instead, it was Mauresmo a step off the pace, chasing shadows as she was pushed one way, then another.
After just one hour and 15 minutes, Henin had arrived at match point. Fittingly, it was another textbook point that won it for her – a crisp backhand drive down the line, setting up the easiest of overheads, which the Belgian gleefully accepted to become her nation’s first female gold medalist in 20 years.
“I can tell you honestly that I was always dreaming about Grand Slams,” Henin said. “But now maybe I change my mind tonight, because it’s different.
“You feel like you’re playing for the whole country, for the colors of your country. That’s something really different. When you’re in a Grand Slam, you’re alone.”
——
Olympic Memories: Sydney
Olympic Memories: Atlanta
Olympic Memories: Barcelona
Olympic Memories: Seoul
CoCo Vandeweghe hits the practice court and gives us a taste at life in the Olympic Village on this episode of CoCo’s Olympic Video Blog!
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
Kirsten Flipkens tops Venus Williams in a three-hour epic: No.5 seed Venus Williams just couldn’t put Kirsten Flipkens away. Over the course of this three hour and 15 minute long tug-of-war match, Flipkens found a way to force Venus into playing on her terms. The Belgian’s backhand slice was effective into the corners and she used her guile to get Venus out wide and out of position before executing a pitch-perfect dropshot. It was a pattern Venus saw often and early, but one from which she struggled to break.
It was a disappointingly early exit for Venus, who also lost in the first round of doubles with Serena to the Czech duo of Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova. We know how much the Olympics means to her, and in many ways the event has been the buoy for her career whenever she was struggling and needed that bit of extra motivation.
What can I say.. Where should I start.. Rio, Brazil, u r AMAZING!! Goosebumps from the 1st untill the last second.. Which is actually 1/3
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
But this was also an incredible feel good moment for Flipkens. The 30-year-old missed out on the 2012 Olympic tennis event after her ranking slipped due to being diagnosed with blood clots in her legs. Outside the Top 200, her struggles worsened when the Belgian Tennis Federation revoked her funding. Left to go about her career alone, she rebuilt her team, and a year later she was into the Wimbledon semifinals.
quite long.. 11.580 sec 🙂 Best crowd ever.. Together with my quarter final match in Wimbledon '13 the most epic match of my carreer 2/3
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
Her career hasn’t reached the same highs since, but this win over Venus, in her Olympic debut, had to taste so sweet given her rollercoaster ride to Rio.
“I was already thinking in the third set that it was one of the most epic matches I’ve ever played,” Flipkens said in a television interview. “My dream was to come to Rio but to beat one of the greatest champions, that’s a second dream coming true.”
Ill never forget this match & experience. Enjoyed it so much to play on centre against one of the biggest champions ever. #thankfull #rio16
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
The biggest upsets did not come in singles: While the focus may naturally fall on the singles competition, the most surprising results of the weekend came in doubles, where the top two seeds and medal favorites bowed out. On Saturday it was Japan’s Misaki Doi and Eri Hozumi stunning No.2 seeds and French Open champions Carolina Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic 6-0 0-6, 6-4. No one saw this result coming – let alone that wacky scoreline. The French team were a heavy medal favorite before the competition.
Then on Sunday it was the veteran Czech pair of Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova who ousted top seeds and defending gold medalists Venus and Serena Williams, winning, 6-3, 6-4. The weekend also saw India’s team of No.1 Sania Mirza and Thombare Prathana lose to China’s Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai. The losses open up a doubles draw that was always tough to call. It should be a very exciting week.
Asian tennis had a big weekend: In addition to Doi and Hozumi’s doubles upset, two of the biggest singles upsets also came at the hands of Asian players. China’s Zheng Saisai stunned a flat and frustrated No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 7-5, and Zhang Shuai saved three match points to upend No.12 seed Timea Bacsinszky, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(7). Doi and Nao Hibino also scored solid singles wins, with Doi beating Yaroslava Shvedova and Hibino ousting Florianopolis champion Irina-Camelia Begu.
These are two crushing losses for Radwanska and Bacsinszky. I tapped both women at having a good look at the medal rounds after the soft draws they were dealt. For Radwanska, a combination of her three-day journey from Canada to Rio (via…Lisbon?), combined with a slow, gritty court that plays to the opposite of her strengths, spelled her doom.
Bacsinszky will also be kicking herself after playing three passive points on match point to surrender her lead in the third set tiebreak. Unlike Radwanska, her tournament continues. She rebounded later in the evening to score a win in doubles with Martina Hingis.
Daria Gavrilova’s spirited effort: She was outmatched on nearly every metric, but hat tip to Gavrilova, who scored the unlucky fate of being Serena’s first round opponent. The slow surface kept her in the rallies and she whooped the Center Court crowd into a frenzy with her tenacious defense. It ended in a 6-4, 6-2 loss, but that scoreline is a bit unfair. It was a great match and the perfect opening round test for Serena.
Slow and steady wins the race: Aside from the results themselves, the story of the weekend was the speed of the courts at Barra Olympic Park. They were described as being slower than the Rogers Cup, and after observing just a handful of early points it was clear it was a slow, high-bouncing court, not unlike the BNP Paribas Open, but with heavier balls and conditions. It’s not going to be easy to hit through this court, though the straight set wins by Serena Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys, and Petra Kvitova may indicate the big hitters can tee off.
Wardrobe Malfunction: After her disappointing loss in doubles, Kristina Mladenovic took to Twitter to explain the team’s frazzled state on court. According to Mladenovic, she and Garcia were ready to take the court when officials told them they could not wear kits of different colors. Luckily, Mladenovic had a second dress and Garcia wore – inside out, for sponsorship reasons – that so that they matched. But the entire ordeal was not the ideal match preparation.
Sloane Stephens bows out to Eugenie Bouchard: The Canadian won, 6-3, 6-3 to notch her first win as an Olympian. She will face Angelique Kerber in the second round. Kerber notched a scratchy opening win over Mariana Duque-Mariño, rallying from 2-5 in the second to win 6-3, 7-5.
First #Olympics win! ?? pic.twitter.com/ocGAKrpHlM
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) August 7, 2016
As for Stephens, after starting the year at 17-3 with three titles, she is now 5-7 since. Perhaps playing on home soil will get things back on track.
To Opening Ceremony or not: It’s always a tough decision to make for any tennis Olympian: Should I go to the Opening Ceremony or should I rest? For some, the schedule makes the decision for them. Those who did not have to play until Sunday jumped at the chance to walk out with the compatriots on Friday night.
In the end, there really is no science to the matter. Madison Keys went to the Opening Ceremony on Friday night and was first up on Saturday. She won. Heather Watson also went and she won both her singles and doubles matches on Saturday. Andrea Petkovic, Timea Bacsinszky, and Venus Williams opted out. They lost the next day. Reading too much into the decision is a waste of time.
But this tweet was one of the best of Friday night:
When you're not at the #OpeningCeremony ???? #swissteam #Rio2016 ??? pic.twitter.com/dfSu4hj5AO
— Timea Bacsinszky (@TimeaOfficial) August 5, 2016
Second round matches to watch: All second round matches will be played on Monday. Here are the one’s we’re paying particular attention to: Serena Williams vs. Alizé Cornet, Petra Kvitova vs. Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber vs. Eugenie Bouchard, Madison Keys vs. Kristina Mladenovic, Johanna Konta vs. Caroline Garcia, Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Monica Niculescu, Daria Kasatkina vs. Zheng Saisai, and Barbora Strycova vs. Sara Errani.
There in spirit: Simona Halep is not in Rio for the Olympics but that doesn’t mean she’s not celebrating the Olympic spirit. In her own way.
.@simona_halep practicing for the Perfect 10 with the @nadiacomaneci10 app ? https://t.co/R55RwRLrek pic.twitter.com/4e06KrJSTh
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) August 6, 2016