Doha: Agnieszka Radwanska Interview
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before her opening round match at the Qatar Total Open.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before her opening round match at the Qatar Total Open.
When younger sister Serena beat her in the final of the Australian Open, Venus Williams was quick to praise her.
“Your win has always been my win and I think you know that, and all the times I couldn’t be there, wouldn’t be there or didn’t get there, you were there,” the 36-year-old said. “I’m enormously proud of you – you mean the world to me.”
Now in a new interview she’s emphasised that – saying that Serena is one of her heroes.
Asked by Citizens of Humanity about the people she most admires, Venus answered: “Definitely my mom and my dad, and Serena is a huge hero for me. I think all my heroes are close to home, because those are the ones that motivated me through the tough times.”
She added: “The best advice [Serena] ever gave me in terms of tennis or even life is, you have to show up, so why not compete? You have to be there. You can’t run away from it, so why not compete? That was the best advice ever. I try to apply that daily.”
On her legacy, the seven-time Slam winner said: “I’m definitely a very in-the-moment person, so I would just like to be remembered as a person who loved the game and gave back to the game and gave back to life.”
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova before her opening round match at the Qatar Total Open.
Serena Williams, Karolina Pliskova and Victoria Azarenka were among those leading the WTA in various statistical categories in 2016.
An interview with Angelique Kerber before her opening round match at the Qatar Total Open.
The first half of the Middle East swing kicks off at the Qatar Total Open in Doha, with 10 of the WTA’s Top 20 taking to the Gulf in search of 470 ranking points.
Here’s what’s on tap for this week on the WTA:
CURRENT TOURNAMENTS:
Doha:
Qatar Total Open
Premier | $710,900 | Hard
Top-ranked players: Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Dominika Cibulkova and Agnieszka Radwanska
Defending Champion: Carla Suárez Navarro
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS:
Dubai:
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Premier 5 | $2,365,250 | Hard
Top-ranked players: Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska
Defending Champion: Sara Errani
Budapest:
Hungarian Ladies Open
International | $226,750 | Hard
Top-ranked players: Timea Babos, Lucie Safarova, Andrea Petkovic, Julia Goerges
Defending Champion: None (First Staging)
Acapulco:
Abierto Mexicano Telcel
International | $226,750 | Hard
Top-ranked players: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Monica Niculescu, Jelena Ostapenko, Kristina Mladenovic
Defending Champion: Sloane Stephens
Kuala Lumpur:
Alya WTA Malaysian Open
International | $226,750 | Hard
Top-ranked players: Carla Suárez Navarro, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Garcia, Yulia Putintseva
Defending Champion: Elina Svitolina
TOP 20 PLAYERS SCHEDULE:
1. Serena Williams
2. Angelique Kerber – Doha, Dubai
3. Karolina Pliskova – Doha, Dubai
4. Simona Halep
5. Dominika Cibulkova – Doha, Dubai
6. Agnieszka Radwanska – Doha, Dubai
7. Garbiñe Muguruza – Doha, Dubai
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Dubai
9. Madison Keys
10. Johanna Konta – Dubai
11. Petra Kvitova
12. Venus Williams
13. Elina Svitolina – Doha, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur
14. Carla Suárez Navarro – Dubai, Kuala Lumpur
15. Timea Bacsinszky – Doha, Dubai
16. Elena Vesnina – Doha, Dubai
17. Barbora Strycova – Doha, Dubai
18. Caroline Wozniacki – Doha, Dubai
19. Victoria Azarenka
20. CoCo Vandeweghe
*Current player schedules as of February 13, 2017 – subject to change.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Annika Beck (GER) – February 16, 1994
Carina Witthoeft (GER) – February 16, 1995
Cara Black (ZIM) – February 17, 1979
Madison Keys (USA) – February 17, 1995
Roberta Vinci (ITA) – February 18, 1983
Preview the action at the Qatar Total Open in Doha, where 470 ranking points are at stake for the winner.
Serena Williams’s mom Oracene Price says her daughter is the happiest she’s ever been – with silverware in her hands and a ring on her finger.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Svetlana Kuznetsova will be looking to end her runner-up jinx when the Russian heads to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 19.
The 31-year-old, who is currently enjoying a rich vein of form having recently retained her Moscow title as well as reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, has climbed into the top ten in the world rankings for the first time since 2010.
Talking to the Gulf News, Kuznetsova says she is in a confident frame of mind approaching a tournament in which she has been the bridesmaid on three previous occasions, losing out to Justine Henin in 2004, Elena Dementieva in 2008 and Caroline Wozniacki in 2011.
“People see me differently now because I’m a Top 10 player again,” she admitted. “Players will only see you by the ranking, and ranking reflects everything. You can’t cheat the ranking, that’s for sure. All players want to beat me.
“Of course, everyone expects good tennis from me and that can be hard to deal with. But I feel confident, I feel happy and healthy. Those are the main things and I love the game. I enjoy it.
.@SvetlanaK27 is happy to get the win in her hometown! ? pic.twitter.com/myRumeFCIW
— WTA (@WTA) February 1, 2017
“I would love to take some of the consistency into this season. In the last few years, I haven’t been so good,” she added. “I was always there, but couldn’t quite flip the switch. I would love to stay with the switch on, because it’s the key for me.
“I feel that I’m playing as well as the best in the world, and I have a chance to beat them and be ranked among them everywhere I go. It’s a great feeling because I worked really hard to be there.”
The WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runs from 19 February. Click here for tickets.
DOHA, Qatar: Former World No.1 Angelique Kerber is aiming to get back to winning ways in Doha – and she is not letting herself get distracted by thoughts of reclaiming the top spot.
“For me it’s really important to play good tennis and to try to improve my game – that is actually my goal always,” she said before the beginning of her tournament.
“I will do my best in the next few weeks, few months. If you play good tennis, then you have results. This is actually for me the most important thing, to win matches again, getting the confidence back. Then we will see what happens in the next few months.”
The 29-year-old revealed that she had enjoyed her short break from tennis after her early departure from Melbourne.
“After Australia I went back home and I spent few days at home, doing nothing actually, just being at home,” she admitted.
“It was very cold. But then I started practising again. I came here to Doha little bit earlier to get ready and to get used to the courts and the weather conditions. I’m feeling ready to play again because it’s, since Australia, a long time since I played matches. It’s great to play again here and then in Dubai next week.”
And she now feels fully prepared to fight for trophies again.
“I think it was not bad to get a bigger rest, to get ready for these two tournaments,” she added.
“I’m feeling good. The first rounds are always a little bit tougher because you have to get used to the tournament feeling again, to the match things. But I think that I’m ready. I am really enjoying my tennis right now on the practice court.”