Tennis News

DOHA, Qatar – Andrea Petkovic played some of her best tennis of the year to maintain a perfect head-to-head record against No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open.

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“It’s very special,” Petkovic said of her first Top 5 win in three years. “It was so tough; Garbiñe is such a talented and dangerous player who put me under pressure.

“I was a little lucky in the end, but I’m just happy to be through.”

Each woman hit 29 winners, but while the German played cleanly throughout – hitting just 16 unforced errors – Muguruza had more issues with consistency, hitting 38.

“I’ve been playing really well the past few weeks. Everything is coming together and I’m getting my match focus again,” Petkovic continued.

“I’m really happy I’m on the right path and really looking forward to the whole season.”

Up next for the former World No.9 is teen sensation Jelena Ostapenko, who dispatched China’s Zheng Saisai in the first quarterfinal of the day.

“I watched both of her matches, and she’s been playing great. I had her on the radar, before. I saw her in Linz qualifying and thought this girl is really good.

“She’s showing her talent, and hopefully I can recover well from today’s match and put on a good performance tomorrow.”

DOHA, Qatar – Carla Suárez Navarro produced 62 minutes of immaculate tennis to swat aside No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and take her place in the final of the Qatar Total Open.

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In one of the best performances of her career, Suárez Navarro outthought and outplayed the WTA’s resident magician to run out a surprisingly comfortable 6-2, 6-0 winner.

After an even start, Suárez Navarro laid down a marker in the fifth game, flashing winners off either wing to get her nose in front. A few games later she had the insurance break before calmly serving out the set.

A nasty tumble in the first game of the second set briefly halted the Spaniard’s charge. But after dusting herself down, normal service was immediately resumed: a whipped cross-court forehand and then a wonderful instinctive volley handing her the break.

In stark contrast, Radwanska cut a forlorn figure, the brilliance that decorated her three-set victory over Roberta Vinci the previous evening conspicuous by its absence. The Pole’s mood darkened in the following game when she netted a routine forehand to spurn a rare break opportunity.

With Suárez Navarro’s groundstrokes now in full flow, Radwanska was soon put out of her misery, the final four games flying by in a flurry of winners. 

“Today I feel really, really good,” Suárez Navarro, who hit 20 winners and just eight unforced errors, said. “I think also she was a little tired from yesterday.”

Suárez Navarro is also hoping to reach the doubles final with partner Sara Errani, and was quick to dismiss any suggestion that her visit from the trainer would jeopardize their chances. “I’m running a lot, I fight a lot, and sometime I finish like that,” she said when asked about the after effects of her second set slip. “But now I feel good and I have doubles – I’m feeling better!”

By reaching the semifinals Suárez Navarro guaranteed a return to the Top 10 and her latest win will see her rise to a career-high No.6 in the new rankings. 

“You work for a long time for this. And to be in the Top 10 is obviously good. I feel good, I feel happy and I think I’m ready for tomorrow.”

MONTERREY, Mexico – No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki dodged a stern second-round challenge from Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme 6-4, 6-4.

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“It was very tough,” Wozniacki said after the match. “[Lucic-Baroni] plays really strong and really hard from the baseline and I didn’t have much time to get ready for my shots. So yeah, I’m very happy to be through.”

Wozniacki found herself in trouble early on – she quickly found herself down 4-2 in the first set, overpowered by Lucic-Baroni’s heavy groundstrokes and returns. After a word with her coach, Wozniacki came back with more aggression, winning the next four games to take back the set 6-4.

The pair contested a tight second set, holding serves and trading breaks at 3-3, staying level until Wozniacki sealed the match with a final break to Lucic-Baroni’s serve as the Croatian sent a forehand wide.

“I think I just kept my head cool and just got that extra ball back, try to get a little extra pop in my shots when she was attacking me,” Wozniacki said of her first-set comeback. “I got a lot of returns back and I kept the ball deep.”

Wozniacki is set to face Britain’s Heather Watson in the Monterrey quarterfinals.

Earlier in the evening, No.1 seed Sara Errani was no match for the inspired performance of 20-year-old Anett Kontaveit, who sent her packing 6-1, 6-3.

Kontaveit’s first-round win over Cibulkova – a former Australian Open finalist – fired a warning shot to her Monterrey rivals, and although Errani had never played against her she knew to expect a challenge.

“No, I have seen her on television in a couple of games but I don’t know her,” Errani said ahead of their match. “I have seen her play very well, hit the ball very hard, but let’s see.”

Errani was confounded by Kontaveit’s short-angled forehands and pace, and once the Estonian found her footing in the match there was no looking back. After Errani’s service hold in the first game of the set, Kontaveit won the next six to win the first set 6-1 in barely 22 minutes. Errani’s troubles continued in the second set; though Errani broke Kontaveit’s serve twice, the 20-year-old kept the pressure on and kept the points short, marching to a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Christina McHale caused a minor shock in the bottom half of the draw at the BNP Paribas Open, knocking out Caroline Garcia in straight sets.

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In Thursday’s second match on Stadium 1, McHale produced an impressive display to defeat the higher-ranked Garcia, 6-4, 6-4.

McHale made the perfect start, securing a break to love in the first game when she skipped around to punch a forehand winner. However, the cornerstone of her victory was the serve, which bailed her out of trouble at several crucial junctures.

Serving for the opening set, the American sent a stinging serve out wide to erase the second of two break points, before a couple more well-placed deliveries got her safely to the changeover.

“I knew I had to serve well because Caroline is so aggressive and I knew I had to get a lot of first serves in today, and it worked today so I’m excited,” McHale said.

Although there were a few empty seats in the stands, those present certainly made their presence felt, helping McHale withstand a late Garcia rally.

“You guys helped me pull through that match. I love the atmosphere and I love being at Indian Wells!”

Her reward is a meeting with No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, a player whom she has enjoyed mixed fortunes against: “I actually lost to her the last time we played and she’s obviously playing really, really well. I’ll try to play my best tennis and I’m looking forward to that match.”

Other early winners in their section included Yanina Wickmayer, Magdalena Rybarikova and Lauren Davis.

Rybarikova ended Laura Robson’s return to top tier tennis with a 7-6(3), 6-2 win, while Davis defeated Nao Hibino, 6-2, 6-4. Wickmayer’s path into the second round was less straightforward, hauling herself back after a nightmare start to defeat Polona Hercog, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.