Tennis News

BEIJING, China – World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska captured her third title of the season on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Johanna Konta to win her second China Open title. With a clean ace on match point, Radwanska capped off a dominant week, which saw her romp to the title without the loss of a set – the third time she’s done so this season.

Asia proves to be fertile ground once again for Aga.

Radwanska has no idea why she’s earned her best results in Asia. She has now won 10 of her 20 titles in the Asia-Pacific region, including the last eight finals she’s contested here. Last year her captured three titles in the fall Asian swing, including the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and the trend has continued this season. She kicked it off this year with a run to the Toray Pan Pacific Open semifinals, followed that up with the quarterfinals in Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, and now became the first woman to win Beijing twice since the tournament became a Premier Mandatory in 2009.

On the whole it’s been a frustrating season for Radwanska, who, after making the semifinals or better at five of her first six tournaments, made just one semifinal in her next 10 events, culminating in a surprise Round of 16 exit from the US Open to Ana Konjuh. To see her steel herself and get back to her winning ways in Asia is great to see.

“Seriously, the Asian swing is really the toughest for everyone, me as well,” Radwanska told WTA Insider. “But maybe because New York is not really for me so always I’m home a bit earlier and I have a bit of rest and I practice really hard to do good in Asia. There is always something good from losing earlier so maybe I’m just taking my chances here.”

Radwanska stepping up in finals.

With her Beijing win, Radwanska has now won her last six finals, dating back to her title in Tokyo last year. She can be vulnerable in the early rounds, as many top players can be, but once she gets to the business end of the tournament Radwanska has found a way to stay relaxed and play her best tennis. The most nervous Radwanska has ever been in a final came at Wimbledon in 2012, where she lost in three sets to Serena Williams. Every final after that has felt, at least emotionally, like a piece of cake compared to that.

“I think when you played couple of big ones, you go for the final like a normal match,” Radwanska told reporters. “I think this kind of feeling, it’s just helping you. When you too nervous, you want too much. It’s not really good. It’s not going your way. Sometimes the hand is shaking too much.

“I was relaxed pretty much from the beginning. I didn’t really feel any pressure. That’s why I could win that match in two sets.”

A happy Team Radwanska after @ARadwanska captures her third title of the season. #ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/fVVK31yhay

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 9, 2016

One step short, but progress made by Konta.

As Konta put it, she ran up against “the human wall” on Sunday. Radwanska gave her nothing, hitting just eight unforced errors in the match, and her defense kept the pressure on Konta, who fired 34 unforced errors in the match. She was able to muster just one break of Radwanska’s always vulnerable serve.

“Agnieszka, she was definitely a woman on a mission,” Konta told reporters. “Whenever I felt I could have got a little bit of a foothold in the match, she took it away from me. She played a consistently consistent match, to be honest. She hardly missed a ball. When she is so consistent and she moves the ball around as well as that, she’s very, very difficult to beat. So all credit to her.”

There’s no shame in losing to the No.3 player in the world and definitely no shame in what Konta was able to accomplish this week in Beijing. Making her tournament debut she knocked off two Top 10 players in gritty fashion, beating Karolina Pliskova in a third-set tiebreak and Madison Keys in another grueling three-setter. She will be the first British woman inside the Top 10 on Monday, ending a drought of 32 years, and she’s positioned herself well to qualify for her first WTA Finals if she can do well next week in Hong Kong.

Thank you @ChinaOpen for a week of unforgettable memories! Look forward to coming back and making many more. @ASICSUK @babolat #wantitmore pic.twitter.com/7t9jS1azbW

— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) October 9, 2016

Konta leaves Beijing at No.8 in the Road to Singapore leaderboard but the level-headed Brit insists she’s not too fussed about the qualifying chase. “The way that Singapore works, not all of it’s under my control. It also depends on how the other players do. From what I’m understanding and hearing, quite a lot of us are very close together. I think it will be what it will be once the deadline comes.”

Radwanska hits an elite milestone.

Not only did Radwanska’s third title of the season tie her with Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, Sloane Stephens, and Victoria Azarenka with the most titles this season, but she became just the fourth player to have won three or more Premier Mandatory trophies. The other three women: Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Maria Sharapova.

“The club is small because there’s not a lot of those tournaments,” Radwanska said. “It’s great to be a part of that group. It definitely feels like a small Grand Slam because everyone is playing it and it’s a big draw. I didn’t have a bye here. It’s a really tough week.”

????????????????????@ARadwanska​'s 20 #WTA Titles https://t.co/ir9KqNBo5a

— WTA (@WTA) October 9, 2016

Radwanska building steam towards Singapore.

Radwanska is currently entered in next week’s Tianjin Open, where she is the defending champion. Last year she won the tournament under pressure, needing the title to qualify for Singapore. This year she has far less pressure and can use the upcoming weeks to fine-tune her game and rest. She’ll arrive in Singapore refreshed and ready for her title defense.

“I think it’s more relaxed especially after a good three weeks,” Radwanska said. “I played a lot of good matches, I won a lot of matches against to players. Now it’s time to cool down and enjoy the matches and enjoy my tennis, and hopefully have a few days off.”

Hong Kong, SAR – No.2 seed Venus Williams eased into the second round of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Japan’s Risa Ozaki.

The No.2 seed suffered a slow start to the match. Forced to defend three break points in the opening game, a wild backhand handed the 22-year-old first blood. However, the veteran American soon struck back, levelling proceedings with a cross-court volley.

Ozaki proved to be a spirited opponent in the first set and moved up a break once more to take a 3-2 lead but again failed to consolidate her advantage, sending a forehand wide to allow Williams back into the set.

Williams finally moved ahead in the final game of the first set, with Ozaki sending a volley into the net on break point after valiant defensive play.

Firmly out of the traps, the 36-year-old cruised to victory in the second set, racing into a 3-0 lead after breaking thanks to another wayward volley from Ozaki. Williams’ advantage became all the more commanding after breaking once more, before wrapping up the match with a forehand winner.

“A win is a win,” Williams said after the match.

“She played really well with so many defensive shots, she was very competitive and she wanted to win. It didn’t matter to her that she was playing an opponent with much more experience.

“She really was motivated to win. I really respected her competitive spirit.”

Williams has played well in Asia of late, winning the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and WTA Elite Trophy last year, as well as reaching the semifinals in Hong Kong.

Elsewhere, Alizé Cornet beat Varvara Lepchenko, 6-3, 6-2, Louisa Chirico scored a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lee Ya-Hsuan, Daria Gavrilova defeated Zhu Lin, 6-0, 6-2, and Aleksandra Krunic cruised past Luksika Kumkhum, 6-1, 6-0.

What did the top WTA stars have to say before play began at the Volvo Car Open? Venus Williams, Lucie Safarova, Belinda Bencic, and Andrea Petkovic all held court during a two-day All-Access Hour…

Venus Williams

On being in Charleston without Serena…
As soon as I got here, I was sad because Serena wasn’t here. I’ve had a lot of great memories with her here, and we’ve had a lot of great times. There was one year where we played all the matches on Center, and if I played first, she played second and if I played third, she’d play fourth. I don’t think there’s ever been a day like that in tennis. So I was reminiscing about that too, and a lot of good memories. There aren’t a lot of tournaments left in the United States, so just taking advantage of playing at home a few times a year is a good feeling.

On a possible fifth Olympic appearance…
Is that five already? Oh lord! I mean, it’d mean everything to me. The Olympics has always meant so much and it’s just been a joy and an honor to be a part of it. It’s been just icing on the cake with a cherry on top to be able to bring home some medal some of the time for the States. I think it’ll be surreal, so long as I have the opportunity to go – and it’s looking good, so far – I think it’ll be very emotional for me this time.

On the equal prize money debate in tennis…
There’s always going to be people who don’t think that another person should be paid equally. I think it’s important for men to get on board, because these same men have daughters, wives, sisters, and they should want those same opportunities for those people in their families. They have women in their lives who are important to them and they need to realize that when they say these sorts of things that they are also saying these things about the women in their lives and they have to really come to grips with what that means.

At the end of the day, we’re all human. We really are. So can we just leave it at that? This is what I can’t understand, why mankind has to dominate each other. I thought we were a little bit further along, but in a lot of ways I’m happy it happened because it was a little bit of a wake up call for me to not sit still and it’s made me examine what I can do more across the board, not just for women’s tennis but for women around the world. The next step is to really get men involved; we’ve rallied, fought for the right things and we’ve got women behind us, but that’s the evolution that I see.

Political leaders, business leaders, sports leaders, all sorts of leaders, we have to get men as advocates and we have to change minds. This new generation of young boys coming up, we need to change their minds, and we need to also appeal to the current men in the world. That’s how I see the evolution happening, that we haven’t done enough work to change their minds and to help them see that this is their family that they’re voting against.

Lucie Safarova

On feeling more like her old self since injuries and illness disrupted her start to 2016…
Almost there. Yeah, I mean obviously the clay will be more physical, so it will be a good test for me. But in practices I’ve been feeling pretty good, yeah.

On how she spent the time away from the tour…
You know what, there’s always something positive out of the negative. I’m never able to spend enough time with my family, so I really enjoyed that time, spending time with my nieces and doing little silly things, playing little silly games where I obviously don’t have to move. And so yeah. I saw a lot of movies, read some books. It’s been like it gives you another point of view, and now looking back at it, it’s kind of opened up my mind more.

Belinda Bencic

On dealing with increased media attention…
I see it as a positive problem to have. It’s good because when you have the attention, it means you’re playing well. I think it’s part of the process and you need to learn it. From the juniors, I had some practice with press conferences, so it didn’t come all at once. It was just more, and more, and more. It’s what champions can handle, so I’m trying to do the same.

On what she enjoys doing off the court…
I love to read. I love reading. I actually like to take normal books with me on the tournaments; I don’t like the ebooks. I have two with me here this week. I love to read crime novels; sometimes it’s scary but it’s very interesting.

On the secret to her rapid rise up the rankings…
I wish I knew the secret, but it’s just hard work. I always believed in myself, but for sure I didn’t think it’d go so fast. I don’t look so far into the future, so I don’t have big expectations. For me, I’m happy about every win; I’m as excited as I was when I was No.200 in the world, so I don’t take it for granted. I want to stay in this mindset.

Andrea Petkovic

On her most vivid memory in Charleston…
When I won it, I had a superfan. She was there at every match and she was screaming so loudly after each and every point. Before the finals, I signed a ball for her and gave her tickets to the final. She was really nice and she cheered me on. We took a picture afterwards and that was very nice.

On how good friend Angelique Kerber has dealt with Grand Slam glory…
I think she’s handled it well. Of course, she had two tournaments where she didn’t play as well as she wanted. I was at Fed Cup and it was crazy. She had so many things to do and so many media requests, a lot of things outside the court going on that were probably new for her, so she had to adjust and learn to deal with new situations. I think she handled it really well; she only had a letdown for two tournaments and then played really well in Miami again. That’s pretty good, I think.

On being at a WTA-only tournament…
I always love this period of time because we have Charleston and Stuttgart. Those are both women’s only tournaments and the fans love them. They’re always sold out and two of the best tournaments in the whole season, no matter if it’s combined or not. They always have the best matches; a lot of the best matches that we’ve seen on either the men’s or women’s side, have happened in Charleston or Stuttgart. I think that’s the reason, because people just love watching us play and we always push harder. I think the performances speak for themselves; I don’t think we need to use a lot of words considering what a few guys have said in the past. I think we just speak for ourselves.

On whether she would recommend tennis as a career to a young person…
You have to be built for it, definitely. I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. I think you have to have a certain kind of character, be very independent and be able to embrace the loneliness at times – not only on court but also off it because there are a lot of moments where you’re just alone in the hotel room. It sounds sad, but it’s not that sad! I think it’s just part of being a professional tennis player that isn’t sold on all of the commercials.

KATOWICE, Poland – She needed six match points and more than two hours but No.5 seed Camila Giorgi is through to the quarterfinals of the Katowice Open with a win over Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Watch live action from Katowice this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The big-hitting Italian was under pressure from the word go, dropping her opening service game and letting slip five break back opportunities in the next game to allow Alexandrova an early lead. History repeated itself, but this this time in favor of Giorgi – the Italian broke Alexandrova’s serve then saved four break points to even up the score at 3-3. Aided by her huge first serves – she hit nine aces during the match – the Russian took the first set 6-4.

But Alexandrova, who was playing in her career first WTA main draw, couldn’t keep up the intensity against the two-time Katowice finalist. Giorgi quickly took back the second set, and the two traded breaks early in the deciding set. Alexandrova showed plenty of fight while serving to stay in the match – she relied on her heavy first serves to keep her in as Giorgi brought up match point after match point. In the end, the Italian converted on her sixth opportunity, booking her spot into the Katowice quarterfinals with a hard-fought win.

“I’m really happy for this win today,” Giorgi said. “It wasn’t easy in the third set and I really want to say thank you to the fans for all the support. I hope everyone can come back on Friday [for my quarterfinal] and I can keep going in the tournament.”

Giorgi is set to play No.9 seed Kirsten Flipkens, who also made her way to the quarterfinals today with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Andreea Mitu, in the next round.

Things were more difficult for No.2 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova after Pauline Parmentier dealt her the biggest upset of the day. The Frenchwoman defeated her soundly 6-2, 6-0 and sent the defending Katowice champion crashing out in the first round in less than an hour.

“I was very focused from the beginning of the match,” Parmentier said. “After breaking straight away in the first game, I was really feeling good in my game. I served good, was really aggressive, and obviously it worked perfect today.”

The rest of the seeds at the Katowice Open advanced with ease, with Dominika Cibulkova, Jelena Ostapenko and Timea Babos notching straight sets wins.