The two top seeded teams – Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova and Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic – had little trouble reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe looks to back up her win over the WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber with another big upset, this time against No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza. Venus Williams hopes to stay on course to another all-Williams final, but a tricky opponent stands in her way. Who will grab the first two spots into the semifinals?
We preview all the Day 9 matchups right here on wtatennis.com.
Tuesday, Quarterfinals
CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #35) vs [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Vandeweghe leads 2-1
Key Stat: Vandeweghe is the first American (other than Serena Williams and Venus Williams) to defeat a WTA World No.1 since Jennifer Capriati defeated Martina Hingis at 2001 French Open
Unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe is making her Australian Open quarterfinal debut in style, upsetting World No.1 Angelique Kerber in a commanding straight-sets performance.
The battle-tested Vandeweghe also comes into her quarterfinal matchup with an extra bit of confidence, having already defeated her next opponent Garbiñe Muguruza two times previously.
But both of those wins came on grass – Vandeweghe’s favored surface – and both came back in 2014, before the Spaniard rocketed up the rankings and claimed her maiden Grand Slam title.
“It’s an interesting matchup because [Muguruza] holds a different aspect to a playing style of she’s an aggressor, as well.She is going to play that way, and no other way,” Vandeweghe assessed after her win over Kerber.
“For me it depends on if I can match it, as well as if I can beat her to that punch of getting first strike, first play.”
Muguruza struggled with form earlier in the season, but in Melbourne she looks locked in. After overcoming her usual slow starts, Muguruza has rediscovered her lethal aggression, winning matches more decisively and as a result, hasn’t dropped a set all tournament long.
[13] Venus Williams (USA #17) vs [24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #27)
Head-to-head: Venus leads 3-2
Key Stat: 2017 Australian Open marks Venus’ 73rd Grand Slam main draw appearance – the Open Era record
The oldest woman in the draw is turning back the years as Venus Williams is back into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the ninth time. And on the other side of the draw sits Serena Williams, with the sisters looking on course for yet another all-Williams final.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, because standing between Venus and a semifinal berth is No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Venus leads the pair’s head-to-head 3-2, with Pavlyuchenkova’s last victory coming in 2009.
But the veteran former No.1 understands that, at this stage of the tournament, everyone is a threat – especially the younger players.
“Today I played a qualifier, and she hardly ever missed. So it doesn’t matter who you come up against, they are coming and they want to win, too,” Venus told press after her win against Mona Barthel.
“They have nothing to lose. I’m going to be focused on winning one round at a time and focus on doing what it takes to be there.”
Around the Grounds…
The doubles tournament is heating up as the top seeded Frenchwomen Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are back in action in the quarterfinals, eying their first Australian Open title – and the doubles No.1 ranking. But they’re up against their biggest test of the tournament as they take to Rod Laver Area against the all-Aussie duo of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. The Australians harnessed all the home support in their second-round upset of No.5 seeds Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe, and will look to strike again on the tournament’s biggest stage.
Also in action, No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova take on No.11 seeds Raquel Atawo and Xu Yifan, and No.3 seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina square up against No.12 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai.
Madison Keys takes on Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals of the China Open.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the semifinal of the China Open.
Venus Williams talks about her celebration on reaching the Australian Open final – and praises the game of opponent CoCo Vandeweghe.
MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA – On this special Dropshot episode of the WTA Insider Podcast, hear from WTA founder Billie Jean King and 18-time major champion Chris Evert. King and Evert held an impromptu press conference last week at the Miami Open to discuss the issue of equal prize money and equality, which were brought to the fore once again after former BNP Paribas Open CEO and tournament director Raymond Moore’s comments in which he told reporters the WTA Players “ride the coattails” of the ATP when it comes to prize money. Moore has since stepped down from his post.
King and Evert, along with current WTA player Nicole Gibbs, discussed their reaction to the comments, which triggered an unfortunate avalanche of discussion regarding the merits of equal prize money at tennis’ biggest tournaments. The 45-minute conversation was educational, enlightening, and inspiring, and given the fan interest in the press conference, we’re posting the discussion in full.
Evert on the progress in women’s tennis: “If there is a silver lining to all this that’s gone on in the last week, it’s the fact that there has been such outrage from the players and from the media and from the public defending the women’s game. I think from time to time we all need a reminder of the evolution of women’s tennis and the great (indiscernible) and sacrifices every generation has had to make, from Billie Jean to myself and Martina, Steffi to Monica, to Williams sisters. What we’ve done to get the credibility, the respect, and equality that we have now.”
King on the need for inclusion: “To have equal prize money in the majors sends a message. It’s not about the money, it’s about the message. Any time you discount another human being by gender, race, disability, however, we’re not helping ourselves. You want everyone to make a lot. At least I do. We want to make the pie bigger, the marketplace bigger for all, for all of you so you have jobs.
“To argue over the prize money issue, what about when Chris and Martina were playing and their ratings were better than the men? We didn’t go, Oh, we deserve more than the men. No. Let’s just keep it equal and help each other. It’s not a “he” thing or a “she” thing; it’s a “we” thing. I’m telling you, this is the only way the world is going to make it.”
Gibbs on carrying forth King’s message: “I think our generation is very privileged sometimes because we just kind of take it for granted. We think, Okay, it’s all better. We just have to focus on our tennis. That’s what we are told from a very young age, and very few of us feel a responsibility to continue on a path of equality. You have to use the platform to continue down that path of equality. Quality and fairness — many right now think we’re so far down the road and in reality we are not necessarily. There are still so many people, men and women both, making comments that are very counterproductive to our mission of growing the game of tennis, using it as a platform.”
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app of your choice and reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka continues her climb back to the top, overpowering Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2 in the final to claim the Miami Open title and secure her return to the WTA Top 5.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Miami right here on wtatennis.com!
Azarenka, a two-time champion here in Miami, won her third title of 2016 in dominating fashion without dropping a set. Even more impressive, her back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami complete the Sunshine Double, a feat last achieved 11 years ago.
The on-form Belarusian, who has only lost one match all year, broke in Kuznetsova’s opening service game and quickly held for a 2-0 lead. That lone hold of serve would turn out to be vital, as Azarenka was able to weather the seven consecutive breaks that followed and still hang on to the lead.
In the second set Azarenka’s powerful game came together as she wore down Kuznetsova from the baseline, running the Russian all over the court. Azarenka kept up the intensity throughout the match, hitting 23 winners to Kuznetsova’s 8 while Kuznetsova struck 22 unforced errors to her opponent’s 18.
Sunshine Double ☀️
Indian Wells AND Miami champion, @Vika7! ? #WTA https://t.co/hYMG1vBWcI
— WTA (@WTA) April 2, 2016
After Azarenka claimed the match and the Miami title in an hour and 17 minutes, Kuznetsova had nothing but praise for her in-form opponent in her runner-up speech.
“I’d like to congratulate Victoria for doing such a good job this year and in these four weeks,” Kuznetsova said, delighting the Miami crowd by delivering the speech in both English and Spanish.
Azarenka was similarly effusive in her praise for Kuznetsova, who she’s played nine times since 2007.
“I want congratulate Sveta for the great result,” Azarenka said. “I know you’ve had a lot of ups and downs in your career and I’m so happy to see you again in top form producing some great tennis.”
The Belarusian also had an emotional dedication for the win, her twentieth career title:
“I want to dedicate this win to my family, for my parents, who I don’t see very often but my parents taught me some really great things.
“They gave me roots so I always know where I come from and they gave me wings so I can fly, so I can be here. Thank you so much.”
With the win, Azarenka also cements her position as No.1 on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard, leapfrogging Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber for the top spot.
The WTA hit the South Carolina Aquarium for the Volvo Car Open player party – who had the best moves under the sea? See for yourself…
Angelique Kerber headlines the only green clay court stop on the tour, while Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova returns to the site of her big breakthrough.
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Volvo Car Open.