Wuhan: Monday Highlights
Highlights from first and second round action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Highlights from first and second round action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
The return of Caroline Wozniacki’s winning smile may be the tournament’s lasting image but the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open will also be remembered as Naomi Osaka’s coming out party.
While her talent has never been in doubt, the Japanese teenager has struggled to exhibit it as often as she would like. That all changed during her homeland’s flagship event, as Osaka dismantled Dominika Cibulkova and overpowered Elina Svitolina en route to her maiden WTA final.
Wozniacki – whose own feel-good story promoted her to No.22 – ensured there was no fairytale finish, but she was unable to stop Asian tennis’ star in waiting from becoming the youngest player inside the Top 50.
Many astute observers – including management group IMG – have been keeping a watchful eye on Osaka’s progress for some time. This year alone she has run both Simona Halep and Madison Keys close at majors, and the new World No.47 now looks to have the temperament to make the most of her spectacular shotmaking.
Osaka, though, was not the biggest mover in Monday’s new rankings…
Anastasija Sevastova (+5, No.35 to No.30): Although Sevastova was unable to repeat her US Open upset of Garbiñe Muguruza, by reaching the second round in Tokyo she secured a Top 30 debut.
Lesia Tsurenko (+27, No.80 to No.53): On the other side of the Sea of Japan, Tsurenko continued the form that took her to the second week of the US Open by dethroning Jelena Jankovic in the final of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open. It was the Ukrainian’s second WTA title and puts her just 52 points away from reclaiming a Top 50 spot.
Lara Arruabarrena (+29, No.90 to No.61): Last week’s other title winner, Arruabarrena, did it the hard way coming back from the brink against Louisa Chirico, then winning a rollercoaster final with Monica Niculescu. This ended a four year wait for a second WTA title and also brought a new career-high ranking.
Karolina Pliskova had Monday’s shot of the day at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – No.4 seed Nao Hibino got her Tashkent Open title defense off to a winning start, powering past local wildcard Komola Umarova in straight sets to secure a spot in the second round.
“I’m happy to be back to Tashkent and was a bit nervous playing here,” said Hibino, who claimed her maiden WTA title here last year. The Japanese 21-year-old scored a 6-3, 6-1 win over an overwhelmed Umarova in just under an hour.
Also in action at the Olympic Tennis School in Tashkent, Hibino’s countrywoman Kurumi Nara faced a tougher opening round challenge but still scored a straight sets win over Ukrainian wildcard Dayana Yastremska. Nara needed one hour and 48 minutes to advance to the second round 7-5, 6-2.
Stefanie Voegele was made to work for her second round spot, surviving the toughest match of the day against local qualifier Sabina Sharipova. The pair wrestled with the momentum throughout the two-hour-and-thirty-eight minute encounter before Voegele advanced 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 and moved into the second round for the second year in a row.
Joining her in the second round are Denisa Allertova and Maria Sakkari. No.9 seed Allertova stopped Japanese qualifier Hiroko Kuwata 6-3, 6-4, while Sakarri pushed past Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Simona Halep takes on Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
THE WINNERS
2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open champion Caroline Wozniacki overcame injury and withstood a late charge from rising star Naomi Osaka, 7-5, 6-3 to win her first title of 2016.
“It’s the last match of the tournament, and I just wanted to go out and enjoy it,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “It’s the final and both of us had great weeks. We both wanted to go out there and play well.”
Read match recap & watch highlights. | WTA Insider: Wozniacki on her Tokyo title.
Lara Arruabarrena won a topsy-turvy Korea Open Tennis final against Monica Niculescu on Sunday to capture her second WTA title.
Four years on from her only other WTA silverware, on the clay of Bogotá, Arruabarrena mastered the cement – and Niculescu’s unorthodoxy – to triumph, 6-0, 2-6, 6-0, in just under two hours.
Read match recap.
Lesia Tsurenko edged past defending champion and No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to claim the title at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open.
Playing Guangzhou for the second time in her career, Tsurenko capped off her trip to the sprawling Chinese port city by taking home her second career title after a nearly two-hour-and-thirty-minute clash against Jankovic.
“I think today I played really good tennis, except maybe in the second set when I felt a little bit tired,” Tsurenko said in her post-match press conference. “But I said to myself that I have to give it all in the final set, and I was fighting for each point. I had to give 100 percent to win this title.”
Read match recap.
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of September 26, 2016.
Lara Arruabarrena (ESP), +29 (No.90 to 61): Arruabarrena owns the week’s biggest ranking jump and rises to a career high of No.61 after claiming her second WTA title in Seoul.
Lesia Tsurenko (UKR), +27 (No.80 to 53): Tsurenko continued her career-best week at the US Open with another big move, taking home the title at Guangzhou and sitting just outside the Top 50.
Naomi Osaka (JPN), +19 (No.66 to 47): 18-year-old Osaka delighted her home crowd with a run to her first career final in Tokyo. She rises to No.47 – a career high – and becomes the youngest player ranked inside the Top 50.
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), +6 (No. 28 to 22): Just a few weeks ago, Wozniacki entered the US Open ranked No.74. A lot can change in those few weeks, with Wozniacki now back within striking distance of the Top 20 after capturing her first title of the year in Tokyo.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
2016 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open
Wuhan, China
Premier | $2,288,250 | Hard
Sunday, September 25 – Saturday, October 1
Defending champion: Venus Williams
Tashkent Open
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 26 – Saturday, October 1
Defending champion: Nao Hibino
China Open
Beijing, China
Premier Mandatory | $5,424394 | Hard
Saturday, October 1 – Sunday, October 9
Defending champion: Garbiñe Muguruza
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Angelique Kerber – Wuhan, Beijing
2. Serena Williams
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – Wuhan, Beijing
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Wuhan, Beijing
5. Simona Halep- Wuhan, Beijing
6. Karolina Pliskova – Wuhan, Beijing
7. Venus Williams – Wuhan, Beijing
8. Carla Suárez Navarro – Wuhan, Beijing
9. Madison Keys – Wuhan, Beijing
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Wuhan, Beijing
11. Victoria Azarenka
12. Dominika Cibulkova – Wuhan, Beijing
13. Johanna Konta – Wuhan, Beijing
14. Timea Bacsinszky – Wuhan, Beijing
15. Roberta Vinci – Wuhan, Beijing
16. Petra Kvitova – Wuhan, Beijing
17. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Wuhan, Beijing
18. Elina Svitolina – Wuhan, Beijing
19. Samantha Stosur – Wuhan, Beijing
20. Elena Vesnina – Beijing
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Serena Williams (USA) – September 26, 1981
Simona Halep (ROU) – September 27, 1991
Monica Puig (PUR) – September 27, 1993
Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR) – September 28, 1989
Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN) – September 28, 1970
Paula Ormaechea (ARG) – September 28, 1992
Martina Hingis (SUI) – September 30, 1980
Caroline Wozniacki takes on Sam Stosur in the first round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
TOKYO, Japan – 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open champion Caroline Wozniacki overcame injury and withstood a late charge from rising star Naomi Osaka, 7-5, 6-3 to win her first title of 2016.
Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It’s the last match of the tournament, and I just wanted to go out and enjoy it,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “It’s the final and both of us had great weeks. We both wanted to go out there and play well.”
Osaka was playing in the biggest final of her career, but acquitted herself well in the early stages of the match, twice leading the former No.1 by a break of serve.
“She’s going to be a great player, already rising in the rankings so fast. I’ve no doubt we’ll see her in many, many more finals.”
Wozniacki, by contrast, was playing in her second Tokyo final in the last three years and had a wealth of experience on which to draw, despite dealing with a tough season full of injuries and inconsistencies.
“I’m enjoying it at the moment. Injuries happen and you never know when you can be taken out of the game, so I’m just enjoying every minute.”
Despite needing a medical timeout after the seventh game, the former No.1 managed to pull off a stunning comeback, winning nine of the next 10 games to lead Osaka by a set and 5-0. The teenager and hometown favorite was struck with an injury concern of her own after the opening set, but nonetheless treated the crowd to a tense ending, nearly pulling level before Wozniacki served out the win.
A high-quality contest, Wozniacki and Osaka hit nearly 30 winners each (25 to 28), but it was the Dane’s trademark consistency that won the day, with just 16 unforced errors to Osaka’s 32. Clutch on the crucial points, she converted five of six break point opportunities and won an impressive 11 of 12 forays to the net.
First title of 2016 for @CaroWozniacki! #TorayPPO pic.twitter.com/16dw7UwMkR
— WTA (@WTA) September 25, 2016
Karolina Pliskova takes on Lucie Safarova in the second round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
WUHAN, China – Irina-Camelia Begu was a point from elimination in the first round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, but roared back to defeat Russia’s Elizaveta Kulichkova, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.
Watch live action from Wuhan this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Kulichkova is one of a trio of young Russians who made waves in 2016, reaching the third round of the Australian Open alongside Daria Kasatkina and Margarita Gasparyan and reaching a career-high ranking of World No.87. Injuries have curtailed her progress since, but the 20-year-old appeared poised for a big upset over Begu after taking the opening set and serving for the match at 5-3.
Begu broke back and recovered from match point down a few games later to level the match in a tense tie-break. Saving a whopping seven break points in the first game of the decider, the Romanian took control from there to clinch a spot in the second round after two hours and 32 minutes.
Up next for the World No.23 is countrywoman Simona Halep, who narrowly defeated Begu in three sets at the Mutua Madrid Open. Halep is set to play her first match of the Asian Swing after a hamstring injury forced her out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Later in the day, Olympic Gold medalist and Tokyo quarterfinalist Monica Puig took on No.13 seed Roberta Vinci, but fell to the 2015 US Open finalist, 6-3, 6-3. Puig turns 23 this week after a stellar season that saw her become Puerto Rico’s first-ever athlete to win gold at an Olympic Games.
Around the grounds, Yaroslava Shvedova continued her own second-half season resurgence by dropping just four points in the opening set of a 6-0, 6-3 win over China’s own Zheng Saisai. Shvedova and partner Timea Babos could become the fourth team to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global should they win the title in Wuhan.
“Tennis Dance” performed in opening ceremony of the Wuhan Open, a WTA tournament of 2.4-million-dollar prize money pic.twitter.com/6o7TJXkeH7
— Xinhua Sports (@XHSports) September 25, 2016