Tennis News

DUBAI, UAE – Day 2 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships got underway in earnest as Monica Puig and Kristina Mladenovic scored solid wins while former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki put on a decisive display against young Russian Daria Kasatkina.

Catch up on the top stories right here, courtesy of WTA Insider:

.@CaroWozniacki happy to be back at @DDFTennis! pic.twitter.com/YhEYAbveOt

— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017

Caroline Wozniacki welcomes Sascha Bajin to the team.

Less than 48 hours after playing the final at the Qatar Total Open, Caroline Wozniacki was back on court in Dubai, scoring a solid 6-2, 7-5 win over Daria Kasatkina in the first round. In her player’s box for the second week in the row was a familiar face, Sascha Bajin, former hitting partner to Serena Williams and coach to Victoria Azarenka. Wozniacki and Bajin are working together until Charleston, when they plan to re-evaluate the set-up, but so far so good. The Dane is now 5-1 since their partnership began last week.

With the experience he brings to the table, Bajin is more than just a traveling hitting partner for Wozniacki. He’s more of a “hitting partner plus”.

“He helps my dad,” Wozniacki said. “He looks at the matches, too. He scouts and they talk a lot what they feel I can improve on and things like that. He comes with inputs and practices. He’s definitely a hitter plus. Assistant coach, I guess.”

Good win today! On to the next one! @DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/FBUwYIlj7L

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) February 20, 2017

Before joining forces with Bajin, Wozniacki said she ran the arrangement past Serena to get her blessing.

“I definitely talked to Serena about it,” Wozniacki said. “Just wanted to hear. And also how she feels about me working with him. You just want to know that you don’t clash. She said he’s a very hard worker, and she has nothing bad to say about him. She likes him a lot.”

Riske moves to 8-2 on the season (includes Fed Cup). Not easy playing a compatriot, but as she says, Americans have to get used to it. pic.twitter.com/4AZlfM48do

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 20, 2017

The Americans run wild on Day 2.

Alison Riske got the better of her Fed Cup teammate CoCo Vandeweghe, putting in a focused effort to knock out the No.11 seed 6-4, 6-4. Christina McHale beat No.13 seed Kiki Bertens 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, while Catherine Bellis notched the most surprising result of the day, beating Yulia Putintseva 6-1 7-5.

The shortest straw had to go to Riske, who just over a week ago was playing alongside Vandeweghe in Hawaii for her Fed Cup debut. Riske admitted the match-up was awkward, but with the insurgence of Americans in the Top 100, it’s something they’re all going to have to get used to.

“It can be difficult, especially we just had the best week together at Fed Cup. So it was unfortunate that we played each other first round. But at the end of the day you have to focus on you, and there are so many Americans now in the top. We are all friends, or at least I feel like we are,” she said with a laugh.

“We’re going to be [playing] each other week in and week out, and it’s something that we’ve got to get used to. You just have to focus on you and not worry about the other person on the other side of net.”

Bellis on her comeback from 1-5 down in the second set. #DDFtennis pic.twitter.com/2wraveZ16M

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 20, 2017

CiCi Bellis starts her season with an upset.

Catherine Bellis’ start of the season was derailed by hamstring and glute injuries, forcing her to skip January. In her first main draw match of the year, the 17-year-old American conjured a stunning comeback, rallying from 1-5 down in the second set to beat St. Petersburg finalist Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 7-5.

“I got myself in a bit of trouble in the second set, but I’m glad I got out of it,” Bellis said. “I just thought to myself, stick to my game plan, just keep steady, I can come back.

“I can come back against anyone I set my mind to. I’m really glad I got through it.”

The youngest player ranked in the Top 100, Bellis said her two qualifying matches last week in Doha helped her find her match rhythm quickly. “I think it was a little bit nerve-wracking just in certain parts of it, because I’m still getting used to matches again and getting back into the season. But I think it went well. I didn’t feel too rusty.”

.@KikiMladenovic on what has clicked in her game over the last few weeks. #DDFtennis pic.twitter.com/NW3GQ6FcWz

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 20, 2017

Kristina Mladenovic readies for the Pliskova challenge.

The Frenchwoman is on a roll as of late, winning six of her last seven matches, including a strong 6-3, 6-3 win over Katerina Siniakova on Monday. Next up? The hottest player on tour: Karolina Pliskova.

“It’s a big challenge. First of all, we know each other very well. I mean, we are great friends. We always had tough matches, especially the last one.”

Last season, Mladenovic finished her singles season with a 6-3, 4-6, 16-14 loss to Pliskova in the Fed Cup final. It’s a match that still haunts her. “When I think about it, I still have the ‘I don’t want to see you that soon again’ [feeling],” Mladenovic said laughing. “That was a long one that I had in my mind for quite a long time because it was at the end of the season, and it was a tough one, a tough loss for our team.

“But she’s definitely up there, on fire, like full confidence, I have to say. She’s been improving like for the last two or three years like all the time and being now like a serious tough player, like she proved it with lots of titles already. And especially her game, it’s tough. It’s tough to play. You know, you have to be very, very consistent, try to read her serve, especially. That’s her biggest weapon. So I’m expecting a very difficult match.”

Ana Konjuh said she got her Wednesday after Fed Cup, had lots of time to adjust to conditions. It showed. Lost one game to Zhang. #DDFtennis

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 20, 2017

Ana Konjuh drops just one game to Zhang Shuai.

The 19-year-old rolled in her opening match, winning 6-0, 6-1 to score the first main draw win of her career in Dubai. Next she’ll get her first look at No.12 seed Sam Stosur. When asked if there are any specific players she’s looking forward to playing for the first time, the Croatian teenager’s eyes lit up.

“I haven’t played Serena,” she said with bit smile. “And I grew up watching her, and I think it will be a dream come true to share the court. I think, you know, she’s a legend. Hopefully that day is gonna come soon.”

The WTA’s Top 10 stayed in place after a week in Doha, which saw World No.3 Karolina Pliskova take home the title at the Qatar Total Open. But there were plenty of shifts for players right on the bubble, as a pair of former Top 5 players continued to chip away at their rankings.

Here are the biggest ranking movers this week after Doha:

Caroline Wozniacki +3 (No.18 to 15): Former World No.1 Wozniacki continued her comeback during the WTA’s Middle East Swing, storming to the final at the Qatar Total Open and posting wins over Monica Puig and No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska along the way.

The last time Wozniacki was ranked inside the Top 10 was in September 2015 (No.6), and with her strong showing in Doha she’s vaulted up to No.15 and closing in on a return to the game’s highest echelons.

“I feel like I’m playing really good tennis. I can still improve on some things,” Wozniacki told press after the final in Doha. “I’m really feeling positive and confident moving forward, and most of all I’m just trying to stay healthy.

“When I’m staying healthy, I can play great tennis. I can work really hard and improve my game. I’ve really put in a lot of work. It’s shown in the results. Hopefully I can keep up my level and keep improving.”

Samantha Stosur + 2 (No.21 to 19): Earlier in the season at Taipei City, Stosur halted a dismal trend of first round losses dating back to August 2016 that saw her ranking – and her confidence – take a dip. Now, the former Grand Slam champion is back inside the Top 20 after a run to her second consecutive WTA quarterfinal in Qatar.

Monica Puig +5 (No.47 to 42): Olympic champion Puig jumped up five spots to No.42 after an appearance in the semifinals in Doha. The run will do wonders for the Puerto Rican’s confidence: aside from regaining her world-beating form to put together dominating performances over Laura Siegemund and Daria Kasatkina, it’s the first semifinal Puig has reached since her fairy tale run to the gold medal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.

Lauren Davis +9 (No.55 to 46): The 23-year-old American continued to back up the form that saw her claim her maiden WTA title earlier in the season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Davis successfully qualified for the main draw at the Qatar Total Open, and went on to stun No.6 seed Elena Vesnina on her way to the quarterfinals, earning her first Top 20 win of the year.

Her season-long consistency has paid off, earning her a ranking jump to inside the Top 50, landing at No.46 – just three spots shy of her career high No.43.

Click here to check out the updated WTA rankings, as of February 6.

DUBAI, UAE – No.10 seed and 2011 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winner Caroline Wozniacki kept up her Middle East momentum on Monday, moving past rising Russian Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 7-5 to advance into the second round.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Wozniacki said during her on-court interview. “She mixes up the pace a lot and she has great hands and serves well. For me, it was important to play my own game and speed things up. I was pleased with my win.

“It’s much different conditions here,” she continued in her post-match press conference. “The ball is flying. The court is faster than in Doha.

“I didn’t really know how I was going to play to start off with. Generally, I was pleased with my game. Some serves were flying a little bit. I kind of have to adjust that for tomorrow.”

From WAY BEHIND the baseline to the net @CaroWozniacki! ?? #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/VHTbHkYPDc

— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017

Kasatkina has been one of the players to watch over the last 12 months, and the Russian has backed up the hype with a pair of wins over Angelique Kerber at the Apia International Sydney and last week at the Qatar Total Open.

“I was watching her play last week during my rain delay and she was still playing a bit. I thought, ‘Gosh, she’s so young!’ I remember when I was 19, I thought I was all grown up, but she definitely has a great career ahead of her.”

.@DKasatkina with the jumping backhand! ? #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/Dw46MDQ3Nd

— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017

Coming off a run to the Qatar Total Open final, Wozniacki’s experience and consistency proved too much for the flashy Kasatkina, hitting 17 winners to just 20 unforced errors – compared to 43 from the Russian teenager.

“I feel I can generate a lot of pace on these courts. I get to a lot of balls, too, which I think is frustrating for the other players that I can kind of go from defense to offense and really hurt them with that when they play a short ball.”

The Dane saved her best tennis for the key points, converting five of seven break point opportunities en route to the 90 minute victory.

“I won her back in 2011, and I’ve made many semifinals here, so I’ve had great matches here. It’s a lot of fun for me to be back; I was sorry to miss last year because of injury, but that makes coming back even better!”

Up next for the former World No.1 is Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, who ousted Turkish wildcard Cagla Buyukakcay in three tough sets on Sunday.

“I saw her name at a tournament somewhere last year at the end of last year,” she said of the Gstaad champion. “I think she played the finals, but that’s basically it.

“I know how she looks like, but I don’t know anything about her game. I will have to just scout some matches and go from there.”

.@CaroWozniacki happy to be back at @DDFTennis! pic.twitter.com/YhEYAbveOt

— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017