Miami Open: Top 16 Seeds’ Histories
How have Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and the rest of the Miami Open contenders fared in the past?
How have Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and the rest of the Miami Open contenders fared in the past?
Agnieszka Radwanska had a second shot of the match in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.
DALIAN, China – Jana Cepelova ended Peng Shuai’s campaign at the Dalian Women’s Tennis Open at the first hurdle after a three-set win on Wednesday.
Watch live streaming from Dalian all week right here.
In a closely fought encounter, No.6 seed Cepelova held her nerve during a tense conclusion to close out a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory in a fraction over two hours.
Exactly two years ago, Peng produced some of the best tennis of her career to reach the semifinals of the US Open. However, since then success has been thin on the ground after a debilitating back problem forced her to miss nearly all of 2015.
Progress since her return has been slow, struggling for wins away from the ITF Circuit. Against Cepelova she had her chances, threatening to get edge ahead in the deciding set only to surrender the solitary break in the seventh game.
Elsewhere, there were wins for Cepelova’s fellow seeds, Wang Qiang, Duan Ying-Ying and Tamira Paszek. Top seed Wang withstood a late rally to defeat Nigina Abduraimova, 6-4, 7-6(4), while Duan, the No.3 seed, provided further home cheer with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Sara Sorribes Tormo.
No.4 seed Paszek was pushed even harder, but finished strongly to see off You Xiaodi, 7-5, 5-7, 6-1.
MIAMI, FL, USA – It was a bad day in the opening round of qualifying for two of Britain’s hopes in the Miami Open as Katie Swan and Naomi Broady fell at the first hurdle.
British No.3 Broady lost 7-5, 6-4 to New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic in what was expected to be a close match with only 15 places between the pair in the WTA rankings.
It was a similarly tight affair in the match between Swan and Risa Ozaki, the Japanese winning 6-3, 6-3, although the discrepancy in the rankings of over 250 places meant that this was somewhat of a more expected result.
Not the result I was hoping for…had a lot of chances but still loved being out there!! Let's keep it going ??? #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/QlTC5BdUSq
— Katie Swan (@Katieswan99) March 20, 2017
Elsewhere, WTA Insider reported a popular victory for 15-year-old Anastasia Potapova over rising Greek star Maria Sakkari and in-form second seed Magda Linette survived a second set blip to overcome Asia Muhammad in three tight sets.
There were also notable wins for Donna Vekic (d. Kayla Day 4-6, 6-2, 6-4), Varvara Lepchenko (d. Silvia Soler-Espinosa 7-5, 6-1), Madison Brengle (d. Sachia Vickery 6-1, 6-2) , Mona Barthel (d. Jaqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-1) and Francesca Schiavone (d. Kateryna Kozlova 6-3, 6-0).
WTA Insider | In the latest Daily Dispatch, hear Italian journalist Luca Baldissera’s take on his compatriot Roberta Vinci as well as a preview of the remaining fourth-round clashes.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Newly-minted World No.1 Angelique Kerber has officially reclaimed her spot at the top of the WTA rankings on Monday, a day before the Miami Open kicks off and where she’ll also be the No.1 seed for the first time.
But the big question for former World No.1 Chrissie Evert is how Kerber will cope with the pressures of having the target on her back once again.
Kerber is still searching for her first title of 2017 after falling in the fourth round of Indian Wells to eventual champion Elena Vesnina. The German went into the match leading 4-1 in their head-to-head record, but started off flat and allowed Vesnina to dictate the rallies, a contrast to the game she showed during her run to two Grand Slam titles last year.
She’s also yet to defeat a Top 20 player in 2017, falling to Elina Svitolina twice (Brisbane, No.14; Dubai, No.13) and later Vesnina (No.15).
“For me it’s nothing really to do with the physicality of her game,” Evert said in an ESPN phone call. “It’s not that the game is not there, the same game that she won the Australian Open with and the US Open with.
“I think it’s all in her head, and it is a big adjustment to have that No.1 bullseye on your back and to continue to play with the fearlessness that it took for her to get there. She went out of the box in big matches that she won last year; she took more chances. She played more fearless tennis. She went for more shots. She went for bigger serves. She went for bigger second serves.
“She really, to me, this year has gone back into the type of tennis she played two years ago when she was Top 5 in the world, but not No.1.”
Evert drew a comparison between Kerber and the resurgent Caroline Wozniacki – who’s added a bit more aggression to her counterpunching game to help her climb back on top following an injury-riddled 2016 season and consecutive slide down the rankings.
“She has to do what Wozniacki is trying to do now: taking a few more risks and being a little more aggressive,” Evert explained. “Those two, I see their games similar as far as their unbelievable defense and counterpunching, and it goes against their nature to really wind up and to attack right from the start. But they’ve got to learn to do that a little bit more.”
Evert, who was the year-ending World No.1 singles player in 1974-1978 and 1980-1981 and held on to the ranking for a total of 260 weeks, had some words of advice for what it would take for the German to regain her fearlessness.
“[Kerber] has to get back that aggressive mentality, and she’s got to really force it on herself because she’s not going to be No. 1 until she plays like she did at the US Open and like she did in Australia.
“The tennis is there, but she’s got to get back into that frame of mind, and she’s got to work on that. Only she can do it. You can listen to a thousand people or the best coaches in the world, but only she has to come to terms with that.”
– Photos courtesy of Getty Images
The stars of the WTA – including Hsieh Su-Wei, a champion here in 2012 – are gracing the courts at the BMW Malaysian Open this week.
But before the competition started it was time for the player party. Czech doubles partners Karolina Stuchla and Lenka Kuncikova were wore matching jumpsuits.
Several players – including Asia’s best – were among those at the Kuala Lumpur player party.
Roberta Vinci, the newest member of the WTA Top 10, hit the catwalk for the annual player party fashion show.
The resurgent Eugenie Bouchard walked the runway…
…as well as Ukraine’s No.1 Elina Svitolina.
Vinci, Svitolina, Daniela Hantuchova and Bouchard were the stars of the night.
The BMW Malaysian Open started in 2010 and is currently in its seventh year on the WTA calendar.
MIAMI, FL, USA – The top 8 seeds at the Miami Open answered fans’ questions via Twitter – was yours one of them?
“How much do you love your fans?”
.@orangegreatness #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/VUKBar2R89
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“If you could have one superpower, what would it be?”
.@popalorena #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/bzRut5rMck
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“What’s your favorite emoji?”
.@Halepenthusiast #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/42FDJNP8tl
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“What keeps you motivated to play tennis?”
.@carnesy56 #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/NXBiNpNJUw
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“Happy birthday, Karolina! How are you celebrating?”
.@AllThingsGenie #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/0apTlCySBQ
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“What’s your main goal this year?”
.@FaabiHola #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/FcV7frPEPn
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“Do you get to hear more Latin music in the Miami clubs?”
.@Erin_clp #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/SACVDRv0fg
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“What’s your favorite thing about Miami?”
.@ballbasher_ #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/2B78SYlQ0W
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“Do you like your fan pages on Instagram?”
.@SilkyPhilippe #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/Bk0Bzi4hVg
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“How do you stay mentally positive?”
.@k9lvCSGO #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/hKdFLpbWqc
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“How long do you see yourself playing for?”
.@tennisaddictdon #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/IESP1cHrAm
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“What is your favorite holiday destination?”
.@tulasipavan #AskMiamiTop8 pic.twitter.com/WFGmERbExA
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
Watch all of the best shots of the Qatar Total Open – right here!
NEW YORK, NY, USA – It’s finals weekend at the US Open, as new World No.1 Angelique Kerber looks to solidify her spot atop the WTA rankings with a second Grand Slam title.
Standing in her way is No.10 seed Karolina Pliskova, who kept the German from hitting No.1 at the Western & Southern Open. Pliskova became the first Czech woman to reach a US Open final by becoming the fourth woman to ever beat both Williams sisters at a major tournament – the first since Kim Clijsters in 2009.
Hear from both finalists in their own words in the latest Daily Dispatch from the WTA Insider Podcast:
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