Hobart: Friday Highlights
Highlights from the semifinals action at the Hobart International.
Highlights from the semifinals action at the Hobart International.
BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain – Ricoh Open champion CoCo Vandeweghe notched the biggest win of her career on Wednesday, vanquishing top seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, to advance into the second round of the Aegon Classic and win her sixth straight match.
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Vandeweghe had never taken a set from the World No.3 in all four of their previous encounters – three of which took place in 2015 – but the big-hitting American edged out the only service break in a 57 minute opening set – one that had begun on Wednesday – to snap the Pole’s seven-set streak.
“She’s a tricky oponnent any way you slice it – I mean that as a pun and literally!” she joked during her on-court interview.
Radwanska held off Vandeweghe’s charge into the second set to hold serve just as the rain came to interrupt play once again.
“You have all these rain delays, a lot of breaks. It about keeping your mind on the game, which isn’t easy. But you have to do your best; I try to keep myself quiet, away from everybody. I don’t start thinking about other things, but hopefully this rain stays away for the rest of the week so we can play a full set all the way through. That would be nice!”
Rain…
…Again ☔️ #AegonClassic pic.twitter.com/hbT5ph8wyS
— WTA (@WTA) June 15, 2016
Losing serve to level the match, Vandeweghe rebounded well in the decider, racing out to a double-break lead; though she failed to serve out her first Top 5 win, she closed things out one game later to book a second round encounter with fellow American Christina McHale, hitting 48 winners to 33 unforced errors – forcing the issue far more than Radwanska’s 20 winners to 13 unforced.
Showing the sort of grass court efficiency that already earned her a title in the Netherlands, Vandeweghe also won 17 of her 24 forays at net, moving forward in the hopes of rushing the crafty Radwanska.
“I just stuck with my gameplan; I got myself into a little bit of trouble here and there in the first second and third set, but I just managed through it. Definitely the confidence from last week and winning the title helps get you out of that tricky situation. You’ve done it so well the week before that nothing really phases you and it’s just another match.
“She takes power and moves it around the court, but I didn’t think she could sustain it if I was able to be consistent with my power and pace. I thought I would overpower her, so that was my gameplan.
“She was going to hit some amazing shots, but I think overall if I stuck with it, I was going to beat her.”
Speaking later in her post-match press conference, Vandeweghe admitted to having to overcome a crisis of confidence in her first round in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, one that largely stemmed from failing to qualify for the US Olympic team.
“My first match on the grass, I was really extremely nervous. I was playing a local wildcard, and I never heard of her. You never know what you’re going do get with a wildcard. I mean, I’ve been a wildcard before.
“Whether it’s someone that crumbles in front of their home, can’t perform to their abilities, someone that plays out their mind because they’re rising to the occasion, like, Holy cow, I’m finally in the WTAs.
“I’ve played the part in both of those scenarios. I was kind of thinking in the wrong mind frame of, I’ve had such great results on grass, I’ve got to do it again, points and seeding for Wimbledon.
“I was also kind of dealing with a major letdown of I didn’t make the Olympic team and that was one of my biggest goals. So it was definitely a hard moment for me that I really internalized. I didn’t talk to anyone on my team. It was just kind of a disappointing moment for myself, heartbreaking moment for myself.”
Hear more from Vandeweghe in her Champion’s Corner interview on the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:
Disappointed in defeat, Radwanska nonetheless spoke well of her opponent in press after the match.
“She was really consistent and solid. No free points from her,” she said in her post-loss press conference. “You can really see how she won the tournament last week.
“She was really playing good game and very consistent for all three sets. That’s surprised me a little bit as well.
“For me, was tough. First match is always tricky pretty much without the practice on the grass. I think I needed a couple more days to adjust. Hopefully Eastbourne will be better.”
? ? ? https://t.co/AdWIOXMh8I
— WTA (@WTA) June 15, 2016
What happens when a serve is too powerful for the net to handle? Check out what happened at the Hobart International!
Highlights from the first and second round action at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
MELBOURNE, Australia – The first Grand Slam of the year is almost here as the Australian Open kicks off in Melbourne on Monday. The doubles draw is out, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands reunites with Lucie Safarova in hopes of defending her No.1 ranking against a trio of challengers.
But Serena Williams and Venus Williams threaten to blow the draw right open as they will take the court together to compete in doubles for the first time since the Olympic Games.
Click here to see the full singles and doubles draws.
POTENTIAL QUARTERFINALS:
[1] Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic vs [5] Martina Hingis / CoCo Vandeweghe
[3] Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina vs [7] Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova
[8] Vania King / Yaroslava Shvedova vs [4] Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova
[6] Chan Yung-Jan / Chan Hao-Ching vs [2] Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
STORYLINES TO WATCH:
Garcia & Mladenovic are making their 2017 debut: The No.1 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are set to play together for the first time in 2017 at the Australian Open. The reigning French Open champions have always been adamant that their focus was on the singles competition, and at times seemed almost baffled by their continued doubles success. But the pair are back together for the first major of the year, and even have a shot at becoming co-No.1s.
“As we repeated well enough, we are singles players, our priority is singles,” Mladenovic told WTA Insider at the WTA Finals, where they reached the semifinals. “[But] even if we are singles players, just to be able to say that you’ve been No.1 in the world in doubles, is such a pride.”
The French team will play Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh in the first round.
The No.1 ranking could change hands again: Newly-crowned World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands has barely had time to savor her rise to the top before her ranking is back into play. Garcia, Mladenovic and Elena Vesnina all have a shot at becoming World No.1 by the end of the fortnight.
Of course, should Mattek-Sands and Safarova take home the Australian Open title, the ranking will stay with the American. But that’s easier said than done….
Serena Williams and Venus Williams join forces: Looming in Mattek-Sands and Safarova’s side of the draw are Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The veteran doubles team is joining forces for the first time since the Olympic tennis event, where they lost in the first round to Czech duo Safarova & Strycova. Between the two of them they’ve amassed 14 Grand Slam titles in doubles, making them a veritable threat in any major tournament.
Seeded No.15, they could potentially book a third-round clash with Mattek-Sands/Safarova, throwing a wrench in the works for Mattek-Sands’ defense of her newly-gained top ranking.
– Photos courtesy of Getty Images
Yanina Wickmayer takes on Johanna Konta in the second round of the Aegon Classic.
Shelby Rogers handed No.4 seed Simona Halep her second straight first-round loss at the Australian Open, rolling through in straight sets.
Angelique Kerber had Friday’s shot of the day at the Aegon Classic.
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Madison Keys takes on Carla Suárez Navarro in the semifinals of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.