Tennis News

THE WINNERS

No.15 seed Karolina Pliskova stunned World No.2 Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-1, to win the biggest tournament of her career at the Western & Southern Open, and temporarily halt the German’s bid at becoming No.1 in the world.

Kerber came into the final looking to end Serena Williams’ 183 consecutive week stretch atop the WTA rankings, but will now have to wait until New York to have another shot at the top.

“Angie’s had an amazing week and has done a great job all year,” Pliskova said in her acceptance speech. “I know she was playing for World No.1; I think you deserve to be No.1, but maybe next time!”

Click here for match recap and highlights. | WTA Insider As It Happened: Game-by-game analysis.

In the doubles draw, World Co-No.1s Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis reached the Western & Southern Open final, but found themselves on opposite sides of the net as Mirza and new partner Barbora Strycova recovered from 5-1 in the opening set to beat Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe, 7-5, 6-4.

“I’m not going to lie,” Mirza said after the match. “It’s a very difficult situation. It’s not easy because, A, because we are still good friends, so it’s never easy. The first we tournament we split and we come and we have to play each other. Of course there is no better match to play than the final, so was difficult, I think. for both of us.

“But having said that we are professional tennis players. We have to come out and we have to give our best and we have to try and win. That’s all we can do.”

Click here for match recap. | WTA Insider As It Happened: Game-by-game analysis.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of August 22, 2016.

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), +1 (No.5 to 4): The Pole’s run to the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open earns Radwanska a small ranking jump that could have big implications when the US Open seeds are announced.

Karolina Pliskova (CZE), +6 (No.17 to 11): Pliskova pulled off a big upset in the final in Cincy, and as a result she jumps up six spots to No.11, putting her within striking distance of the Top 10 once more.

Alizé Cornet (FRA), +11 (No.58 to 47): Once ranked No.11, the Frenchwoman saw her ranking drop after an injury-plagued season. But she’s now finding her way back as her run to the second round of Cincy after qualifying puts her inside the Top 50.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Connecticut Open
New Haven, USA
Premier | $695,900 | Hard, Outdoor
Sunday, August 21 – Saturday, August 27

US Open
New York, USA
Grand Slam | $ TBA | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 29 – Sunday, September 11

Dalian Women’s Tennis Open
Dalian, China
125K | $115,000 | Hard, Outdoor
Tuesday, September 6 – Sunday, September 11

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams -US Open
2. Angelique Kerber – US Open
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – US Open
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – New Haven, US Open
5. Simona Halep – US Open
6. Venus Williams – US Open
7. Victoria Azarenka
8. Roberta Vinci – New Haven, US Open
9. Madison Keys – US Open
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova – US Open
11. Karolina Pliskova – US Open
12. Carla Suárez Navarro – US Open
13. Dominika Cibulkova – US Open
14. Johanna Konta – US Open
15. Petra Kvitova – New Haven, US Open
16. Timea Bacsinszky – New Haven, US Open
17. Samantha Stosur – US Open
18. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – US Open
19. Barbora Strycova – US Open
20. Elena Vesnina – New Haven, US Open

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

Olga Govortsova (BLR) – August 23, 1988
Maryna Zanevska (UKR) – August 24, 1993
Ons Jabeur (TUN) – August 28, 1994

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – 2009 French Open quarterfinalist Sorana Cirstea looked primed to crack the Top 20 in 2013 following a run to the final of the Rogers Cup, but a shoulder injury stunted her progress for the last 18 months – causing her to fall out of the Top 240 late last fall. Now fit and healthy, the Romanian roared into the quarterfinals of the Rio Open with a 7-5, 7-6(3) upset win over No.5 seed Polona Hercog.

“It has been a year and half that I was struggling with the shoulder,” Cirstea said after the match. “It was a frustrating time. But I’m very happy it’s over. I changed my team, a Romanian one from back home. I’m trying to settle everything down. I was able to practice very hard in the off-season; I was healthy and that’s the most important thing for me.

“This injury was also a lesson; I’m enjoying my time on the court more, being pain-free and being able to play on a high level.”

Cirstea began the year by reaching back-to-back finals on the ITF Challenger level, but her two wins in Rio are her first in a WTA main draw since last summer in Bucharest; by beating Hercog, the wildcard reaches her first WTA quarterfinal since 2014 (Tianjin).

“Playing the final in Guaruja and winning Bertioga three weeks and two weeks ago was a plus for me. I think everyone knows last year I was injured in my shoulder, so at this moment I’m trying to play a lot of matches.

“I was very happy to play ten matches before coming here and I already have two this week, so I’m quite pleased with the way things are going.”

Armed with a new philosphy and more positive perspective, Cirstea could next play No.3 seed Danka Kovinic, who first has to face Sílvia Soler Espinosa in her second round match.

“First of all, I’m trying to stay healthy. That’s the biggest thing; I’m still doing my shoulder rehab, so that will be my main key for this year. I also want to play a lot of matches, get that confidence from winning some.

“I’m seeing things from a different perspective; I’m enjoying traveling more and playing and I’m just trying to focus on the practice and getting better every day, and not on the results because if I practice well, the results will come.

“The objective is to get back to the Top 100. That’s the plan, and I like to go step by step.”

Earlier in the day, former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone survived a tough three setter against Mariana Duque-Marino, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, while resurgent American Shelby Rogers took out Veronica Cepede Royg, 7-5, 6-4. Cindy Burger won the battle of qualifiers by taking out Elitsa Kostova, 6-3, 6-0.

DUBAI, UAE – Sara Errani returned to the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after a hard-fought win over Elina Svitolina on Friday afternoon.

Watch live action from Dubai & Rio de Janeiro this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Despite trailing 3-1 in the second set, Errani produced a typically punchy fightback to prevail, 6-4, 6-4. The Italian, who lost to Petra Kvitova in the 2013 final, will meet either Barbora Strycova or Caroline Garcia on Saturday.

“It’s tough today – it’s hot and Elina hardly missed a ball at first – so I just tried to stay focused every point,” Errani said in her on-court interview.

Both players had their moments in the opening set, but it was Errani who held her nerve when it most mattered, some resolute defending helping her to the decisive break in the ninth game.

Struggling with a At times in the previous round, Errani had cut a forlorn figure, but there were no signs of fatigue against Svitolina. From 3-1 down in the second set she pegged back, then surged past her faltering foe.

Errani’s last title came exactly one year ago, in Rio de Janeiro, and she is excited about the chance to get her hands on some silverware again.

“It’s always unbelievable for me to play a final and I’m really happy to be here.”

More to follow…

The US Open draw is out and it’s a doozy. With No.1 Serena Williams chasing Steffi Graf in the record books and No.2 Angelique Kerber chasing down Serena in the rankings, here’s how the draw shook out.

At a glance:

Where did the top seeds land?

Top Half: No.1 Serena Williams, No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska, No.5 Simona Halep, No.6 Venus Williams.

Bottom Half: No.2 Angelique Kerber, No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza, No.7 Roberta Vinci, No.8 Madison Keys.

Potential Round of 16: Serena Williams vs. Samantha Stosur, Simona Halep vs. Carla Suárez Navarro, Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Timea Bacsinszky, Venus Williams vs. Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Johanna Konta, Roberta Vinci vs. Dominika Cibulkova, Angelique Kerber vs. Petra Kvitova.

Potential Quarterfinals: Serena Williams vs. Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Madison Keys, Angelique Kerber vs. Roberta Vinci.

Seven Thoughts on the Draw:

Tough opener, tough draw for Serena Williams: Earlier this week I took stock of Serena’s chances at this year’s US Open, which sees her come into the tournament with just three singles matches under her belt since winning Wimbledon and nursing a right shoulder injury. Despite the questions surrounding her lead-up getting a soft early draw might allow her to play into form in the first week.

That’s not the draw she got.

Serena opens her tournament against one of the toughest unseeded players in the draw in World No.36 Ekaterina Makarova. Two years ago this was a semifinal here in New York, which Serena won 6-1, 6-3 en route to the title. Makarova has beaten Serena at a Slam back in 2012 at the Australian Open.

“She’s a big fighter,” Serena said during media day on Friday. “She never really stops. I think one thing I think that’s pretty impressive is she gets a lot of balls back. You think she’s not super quick, but she is.”

From there the draw gets no easier for Serena. She’s in a quarter that includes last year’s semifinalist Simona Halep, who has lost just one match since Wimbledon, along with Wimbledon semifinalist Elena Vesnina, Carla Suárez Navarro, Sam Stosur, Daria Kasatkina, and Camila Giorgi. Potentially looming in the semifinals: Her sister. Venus Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Western & Southern Open champion Karolina Pliskova look to be the favorites to get out of the second quarter.

Simona Halep’s uphill climb: Of all the top seeds, No.5 Halep got the “draw loser” of the day. The World No.5 was a win away from securing a Top 4 seed last week in Cincinnati. She ended up losing to the only woman who has beaten her since the French Open, Angelique Kerber; as luck would have it, she may have to beat Serena to equal her semifinal result from last year.

The road to get to the quarterfinals will be a tough one, and Halep will need to be sharp from her first match, where she opens against Kirsten Flipkens, who is coming into New York with some confidence after making the quarterfinals at the Connecticut Open. Halep could then face either Lucie Safarova or Daria Gavrilova in the second round, with Timea Babos looming in the third round. That’s not an easy first week if those players play near their best.

Angelique Kerber has good look at No.1: Aside from a potential second round match against Alizé Cornet and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, this is a good draw for the German, who has a chance of taking over the No.1 ranking from Serena after the US Open. She opens against World No.116 Polona Hercog, but then has very winnable potential match-ups against Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova or Elina Svitolina (both are still playing in New Haven) in the Round of 16, with a struggling Roberta Vinci or Dominika Cibulkova in the quarterfinals.

Garbiñe Muguruza and Madison Keys anchor a balanced quarter: Muguruza and Keys headline the third quarter which is most notable for the number of Americans landing in this section as well as the overall youth and rising stars. No.8 Keys will have to go through two Americans in her first two rounds, as she opens against Alison Riske and Madison Brengle or wildcard Kayla Day in the second round. She could face a third American in the third round in No.28 seed CoCo Vandeweghe.

Muguruza, meanwhile, could see a rematch of her Olympic loss to Gold Medalist Monica Puig, who slid into the No.32 seed after Sloane Stephens was forced to withdraw with a foot injury. Those two could face off in the third round. Muguruza’s potential Round of 16 opponent is No.13 seed Johanna Konta. The Brit has a nice draw into the second week, though her opening round against Bethanie Mattek-Sands could be tricky depending on the American’s post-Olympic comedown.

Spoiler Alert: In total, the bottom half of the draw is fairly balanced and drama-free, but there are four veteran women who look primed to cause some upsets. No.9 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No.18 Barbora Strycova could derail Keys’ quest for a breakthrough run on home soil, while No.14 seed Petra Kvitova and No.12 seed Dominika Cibulkova could be the ones who knock Kerber out early.

Karolina Pliskova could finally snap her Slam slump: No.10 seed Pliskova tore through the draw in Cincinnati last week, easily beating both Muguruza and Kerber for the biggest title of her career. But she’s never made the second round of a Slam…anywhere. Her best result here was the third round in 2014. That should change this year.

Pliskova was drawn into a soft quarter with Radwanska, who has never played particularly well in New York, and Venus Williams, who can be a wildcard on any given day. Pliskova could face Venus in the Round of 16 and Radwanska in the quarterfinals.

The Olympic Effect: For players like Monica Puig, Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, Elena Vesnina, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, can they translate their Olympic success into Slam success? Kvitova is the only one to have played since Rio and she is already into the semifinals of New Haven. Understandably, Puig will be under the spotlight in New York. As the first athlete ever to bring a gold medal home to Puerto Rico, everyone will be looking to see if she can back it up with more strong play in front of a partisan crowd.

First Round Matches to Watch:

Top Half: Serena Williams vs. Ekaterina Makarova, Camila Giorgi vs. Samantha Stosur, Lucie Safarova vs. Daria Gavrilova, Simona Halep vs. Kirsten Flipkens, Eugenie Bouchard vs. Katarina Siniakova, Julia Goerges, Yanina Wickmayer.

Bottom Half: Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Francesca Schiavone, Petra Kvitova vs. Jelena Ostapenko, Alizé Cornet vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Johanna Konta vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Madison Keys vs. Alison Riske, CoCo Vandeweghe vs. Naomi Osaka, Barbora Strycova vs. Monica Niculescu, Yulia Putintseva vs. Sabine Lisicki.