Miami: Wednesday Highlights
Highlights from quarterfinal action at the Miami Open.
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Johanna Konta in the final of the China Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Elena Vesnina has the potential to make it into the singles Top 10, says Svetlana Kuznetsova – the woman she beat in an epic final at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.
“Why not? Of course, I mean, she did semis in Wimbledon last year. She won here now. She has to be much more consistent to be in the top 10, but she can make it, for sure,” said the defeated Russian of her compatriot.
.@SvetlanaK27 is moving up a gear! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/QO5bthevKE
— WTA (@WTA) March 19, 2017
Kuznetsova admitted that she had struggled with the daytime conditions, and felt rather frustrated that she had not played as well as she could.
“I didn’t feel comfortable at all today on the court,” said the 31-year-old. “I was trying to do the best I could, you know, but this is the type of day when you don’t play your best tennis and you’ve got to still give your best effort.
“I tried my best and she won because she was more aggressive than I did. I was too passive. That’s it. Too much behind and didn’t serve well, I think it was key points.”
Kuznetsova now moves on to Miami – and is confident that she can recover quickly from the loss to her countrywoman.
“I feel great,” she assured reporters in her post-match press conference. “I didn’t overwork. I think what really is difficult to handle, like, lots of stress. It’s, like, kind of waste you physically a little bit. But the rest matches didn’t get me so much tired. I feel great physically.
“I’m looking forward to have couple days off and hopefully get a good start in Miami.”
See all of the best shots from this week at the China Open – right here!
Chris Oddo | Main draw action at the Miami Open begins on Tuesday and we’re previewing the key first-round matchups right here at wtatennis.com.
HONG KONG, SAR – Angelique Kerber will be forced to dig deep to reach the quarterfinals of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open after a gutsy second-set performance from Louisa Chirico.
The World No.1 and top seed breezed through the first set, which she eventually won 6-2 after a series of unforced errors from the 20-year-old allowed the German to race into a 4-1 lead.
However, Chirico returned with renewed vigour in the second set and Kerber did not look the same after a brief rain delay. An error-strewn service game at 2-3 gave Chirico the break and she held on to her lead, only for rain to strike at 40-30 when she was serving for the set. After a lengthy delay, she held her nerve to force a decider, despite being dragged into an epic 37-shot rally.
Kerber’s out-of-sorts form continued in the first three games of the third set, which remains on serve although Chirico was set to defend a break point when the bad weather returned, forcing the postponement of play until Thursday.
Jelena Jankovic continued her defence of the tournament with a routine straight sets victory over fellow Serb Aleksandra Krunic.
Having held her own against the former World No.1, the 23-year-old faltered on serve at 4-4, with two double faults and two weak shots into the net giving Jankovic a first-set lead she did not surrender.
The two compatriots exchanged two breaks apiece at the start of the second set but, serving for a 4-3 lead, Krunic sent a wayward drop shot wide and a backhand into the net to give Jankovic the advantage. The 31-year-old made no mistake from there, holding and breaking once more to book her place in the next round.
Eighth seed Daria Gavrilova’s match with Katerina Siniakova fell victim to the rain with the Australian leading 6-2, 1-0, with a break of serve in the second set. Venus Williams’ match with Alizé Cornet was postponed due to the bad weather.
MIAMI, FL, USA – It was a personal milestone for Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella on Tuesday, as the 31-year-old won her first-ever main draw match at a Premier Mandatory event, defeating Kristyna Pliskova, 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5 in the first round at the Miami Open.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match,” she told WTA Insider after the match. “I’ve played her once or twice before, and I knew she serves really well. She goes for her shots, and I struggled to return her first serve. It was a tough match and big battle. I’m really happy I won it in the end.”
Playing in her first-ever main draw in Miami in her fourth career appearance, Minella showed few signs of nerves in the early going. The World No.74 broke Pliskova at her first opportunity in the second game, taking a 3-0 lead at the first change of ends, later extending her lead to 5-2 with a pair of holds without allowing Pliskova a break point chance.
Outrageous way to save match point from @KrisPliskova! ? #MiamiOPen pic.twitter.com/I5Lk2RtPzX
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
However, the Czech staged a late comeback, breaking Minella as she served for the set and delivering an emphatic love hold to knot the set at 5-5. She held to love once more to force a first-set tiebreak, but Minella proved more effective on return as the tiebreak wore on. Neutralizing the left-hander’s delivery and winning four points on Pliskova’s serve in the tiebreak, Minella secured the 59-minute opener as one final Pliskova backhand went long.
“I’ve been really good physically lately. I’m in good shape and can last for long matches. That’s a good point in my favor. I struggled a little bit today because it was quite hot and there was a lot of running. The balls are quite heavy, so that means there’ll be a lot of rallies. It was definitely tough out there today.”
After managing to win just two points on Minella’s serve to begin the second set, Pliskova secured the break in a sixth game which saw her dig in at deuce to move ahead 4-2. However, Minella hit right back in the next, passing Pliskova twice at the net en route to an emphatic break that got the set back on serve. Neither player had a look at a break point again until the final game of the set, in which Pliskova took advantage of a trio of Minella double faults to square the match at one set all.
.@MandyMinella battles past Kristyna Pliskova 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5!
Sets @MiamiOpen Second round vs @SvetlanaK27! pic.twitter.com/AQpf69rGBM
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
Playing a deciding set for the first time in three meetings, the duo traded breaks twice in the final set before Minella secured her third game off the Pliskova serve to put her in position to serve for the match. As the contest hit the two-hour, 30-minute mark, Minella brought up three match points on serve, only to see the Czech storm back and win the next five to level the match at 5-5, courtesy of some brilliant shot-making.
However, Minella kept her cool in the midday sun, breaking for a fourth time in the set and sealing the match on her fourth match point, closing out the two-hour, 38-minute victory as Pliskova’s final backhand return found the net.
“It’s good to start the season in this positive way; it gives you confidence for upcoming tournaments. I think I’m still on a roll, enjoying my tennis. I’m enjoying my matches and the traveling. I think that’s the reason I’ve been playing good, and because I love my sport.”
Minella, who improves to 3-0 lifetime against the left-handed Pliskova, advances to the second round where she’ll face No. 7 seed and BNP Paribas Open runner-up, Svetlana Kuznetsova.
“I think it’ll be really hard because she’s in great shape. She was in the Indian Wells final last week, and so I think she’s going to be ready. I’ll try my best to play as good as I can; I will fight, and will just try to do my best.”
The veteran has enjoyed a strong start to her season, reaching the semifinals of the Taiwan Open, but credits a career turn around by winning her first WTA 125K title in Bol, Croatia.
“Bol was where everything changed for me. I’d had some really miserable results up to that point, and I was about to stop my career at Wimbledon. I think I just relaxed and enjoyed being there. The city was fantastic; they had a nice hotel with a spa, and the sea was quiet. I really enjoyed it there, and it helped me play good enough to win my first title over there. It’ll always be in my memories for a long time.”
HONG KONG, SAR – There were contrasting emotions on display after Alizé Cornet beat Venus Williams 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in Hong Kong.
Cornet could not have been more delighted to reach the quarterfinals by beating a player who had always bested her previously.
“We have played many times and I was losing in straight sets. Now I can beat her in Hong Kong!” the French player enthused. “It means I used a good tactic, I played a very good match, and I believed in it.”
Her American opponent, unsurprisingly, was very downcast.
“My opponent played well, there wasn’t much I could do against her,” said Williams. “You work hard to win matches – it’s always disappointing [to lose].”
Cornet will face Jelena Jankovic next up — and is anticipating a very difficult match.
“I’m expecting a really tough battle,” she admitted. “She has a really solid baseline game. I expect some good rallies from both of us.”
Describing her current mood as “great, tired, happy”, Cornet said that she still had some trouble with the same heel issue that has plagued her for the past four years — but that she would be running with just as much energy in the morning.
She added that she was enjoying her time in Hong Kong — the city and the tournament.
“The welcome is really amazing and the city is great,” she said. “For me, every match [on tour] is the same intensity.”
Earlier in the day, Caroline Wozniacki took less than an hour and a half to secure her quarterfinal spot, beating Great Britain’s Heather Watson, 6-3, 6-3.
Neither player looked solid on her serve – Watson won three of her four break points, but Wozniacki broke her six times in return. Next up for Wozniacki is Wang Qiang, who received a walkover after Johanna Konta withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury.
MIAMI, FL, USA – South Florida’s own Monica Puig took to Crandon Park to have fun with the next generation of tennis stars at the Miami Open Kid’s Day.
The Olympic Gold medalist was joined by ASB Classic champion Lauren Davis and ATP stars Jack Sock and Grigor Dimitrov, as well as legendary tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. Hundreds of kids got the chance to learn tennis from the professionals with interactive drills across eight different stations.
“If you do everything you can and give everything you have, then you’re a winner,” Bollettieri told the kids. “That’s the attitude. No matter the result, you’re a winner.”
Check out the best photos from Miami Open Kids’ Day right here!
– Photos courtesy of the Miami Open
HONG KONG, SAR – On Thursday the race for the final qualifying spots at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global took another twist when Johanna Konta withdrew from the Hong Kong Tennis Open.
Konta currently occupies the final qualifying berth for Singapore, just 10 points ahead of Dominika Cibulkova. However, after pulling out of Hong Kong with an abdominal injury Konta may now be left relying on other results to go her way if she is to reach Singapore.
“Obviously it’s never the ideal way to finish a tournament, and definitely never the intention when you come to play,” Konta said. “I really enjoy playing here in Hong Kong and I was really looking forward to making this week last as long as possible. Unfortunately it wasn’t as long as I would have liked but I need to look after my body first – I’ve only got one – so I really have to make sure I make the right decisions for my health.
“I’m looking forward to hopefully coming back next year and making it a full week here.”
Three places at the season-ending showpiece remain up for grabs. Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys and Konta are in sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively, while Cibulkova, Carla Suárez Navarro and Svetlana Kuznetsova remain hot on their heels.
All six contenders entered tournaments this week, and with Cibulkova and Carla Suárez Navarro also scheduled to play next week’s Kremlin Cup, in Moscow, for the second year in a row the battle is likely to go down to the wire…
• Cibulkova would need to reach the final in Linz this week to pass Konta
• A semifinal for Cibulkova in Linz would put Konta and Cibulkova in a tie*
• Cibulkova’s 16th best result is currently 100 points, so she would need to reach the semifinals at Moscow to add any points to her total
• Suárez Navarro can also pass Konta, but will need to add points in both Linz (where she is through to the quarterfinals) and Moscow
• If Cibulkova loses in Linz and Muguruza can qualify for the WTA Finals by beating Monica Niculescu on Thursday
* When two or more players have the same number of ranking points, the first tie-break is the player with the most combined points from Grand Slams, Premier Mandatory, Premier 5 and WTA Finals (as outlined on pg.215 of the Rule Book). In this regard, Konta (2685) has the edge over Cibulkova (2180)
