Indian Wells: Azarenka Interview
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her win in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her win in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – Nao Hibino stayed on course to defend her Tashkent Open title after Lesia Tsurenko retired from their quarterfinal on Thursday.
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Tsurenko arrived in Tashkent fresh from a run to the title in Guangzhou, and against Hibino this hectic schedule finally took its toll when a back injury brought her seven-match winning streak to a sudden end.
The anticlimactic conclusion to the contest was all the more disappointing given the competitive nature of the set they did play; after trading breaks, Hibino fended off two set points to take it 7-6(6). “I’m relieved after winning the first set. It was very close and I managed to hold on and fight in spite of being down,” Hibino said.
Standing between Hibino and another final in the Uzbekistani capital is World No.114 Denisa Allertova, a surprise 7-5, 6-4 winner over No.2 seed Kirsten Flipkens. Allertova produced the steadier tennis to edge the opening set, before claiming the decisive break in the final game of the match courtesy of a brilliant running passing shot.
In the top half of the draw, Kateryna Kozlova reached her second semifinal of the year after taking little over an hour to defeat Stefanie Voegele, 6-3, 6-3.
“I’ve played here before and made it to the quarterfinals last year, it’s great to play here,” Kozlova said. “I started to play aggressively from the word go and put my opponent under pressure early. I think I played brave and aggressive tennis, I’m happy with my level.”
Her reward is a meeting with big-serving Kristyna Pliskova, who fired down 12 aces during a 6-3, 6-4 win over Irina Khromacheva.
Watch all of the best shots of the BNP Paribas Open – right here!
WUHAN, China – Simona Halep has secured a spot at this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Romanian joins Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams in the singles field.
Halep has secured her third consecutive qualification at the WTA Finals by reaching the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Madison Keys at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open on Thursday. Both of her previous appearances were in the first two editions of the WTA Finals held in Singapore – highlighted by her win over then World No.1 Serena Williams in the round-robin stage in 2014 en route to the finals followed by last year’s showing, where she defeated the 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta in the round-robin stage.
“Congratulations to Simona on qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for the third consecutive year,” said WTA CEO Steve Simon. “She is an outstanding player who has enjoyed a very successful year with three Tour wins and fans in Singapore and following along around the world will enjoy watching her competitive spirit against the other top WTA athletes.”
Halep is one of four players to win three WTA singles titles in 2016 (also Azarenka, Kerber and Stephens), clinching her second Premier Mandatory trophy at the Mutua Madrid Open and back-to-back titles at the BRD Bucharest Open and Rogers Cup in Montréal, bringing her win-loss record to 43-14 (thru Wuhan QF). In addition, the 25-year-old reached two semifinals at the Apia International Sydney and Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati and four quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Miami Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
“It means a lot to qualify for the WTA Finals Singapore – it was one of my goals this year,” said Halep. “It will be my third time in a row competing at the WTA Finals and I hope I play great. I have great memories from 2014 and am confident I can do well. I will be very focused.”
An interview with Heather Watson after her win in the first round of the Miami Open.
An interview with Angelique Kerber before the start of the Miami Open.
Lucie Hradecka takes on Eugenie Bouchard in the first round of the Miami Open.
An interview with Simona Halep after her second round win at the Miami Open.
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Alizé Cornet in the second round of the Miami Open.
An interview with Elena Vesnina after her second round win at the Miami Open.