Tennis News

QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – 19-year-old Oceane Dodin capped off a dream week in Québec City by reaching her first WTA-level final at the Coupe Banque Nationale where she’ll face American qualifier Lauren Davis.

“I’m just very, very happy to be in my first final,” the Frenchwoman said. “It’s a pleasure to be here in Québec. It’s like France so it helped me so much!”

Dodin started off the week by winning her first ever WTA match in emphatic style, coming back from a set down to oust the No.5 seed Naomi Broady. She continued her run and romped past Sachia Vickery and Alison Van Uytvanck in straight sets to reach a maiden semifinal, before defeating American Julia Boserup 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 for a spot in her career first WTA-level final.

Her strong serving and aggressive play made the difference against Boserup – Dodin struck 17 aces during the match and won 77 percent of points behind her first serve.

“My dad [coach Frederic Dodin] always tells me that I have to be very aggressive,” Dodin said, explaining how she bounced back after losing the second set. “But sometimes with my nervousness, I’m not. So I look at him and he’s like, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ So it helps me so much and I stay focused.”

Dodin’s opponent in the final, Davis had to survive a two-and-a-half-hour battle against fellow qualifier Tereza Martincova to advance 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2.

“It was very tough, I feel like we were out there for so long,” Davis said. “And we both already have a lot of matches under our belt, but we competed great.”

With the win Davis is into her second WTA final, having reached the Citi Open final earlier this year.

“I’m really happy with the way I’ve competed this week, I’ve stayed healthy and I’ve really enjoyed myself. That’s the most important thing.”

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $1,000,000
Draw Size: 28 main draw (4 byes)/32 qualifying
Main Draw Ceremony: Saturday, September 17, 2pm JST
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, September 17 – Monday, September 19 
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, September 19
Singles Final: Sunday, September 25, 12pm JST
Doubles Final: Saturday, September 24, third match

MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@TorayPPO – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtag, #WTA.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska bids to win a third Tokyo title in six years. She is the only player in the last decade to win multiple times at the event.
· Radwanska is not the only returning champion in the field this year; 2013 champion Petra Kvitova accepted a late wildcard, while 2010 winner Caroline Wozniacki and 2015 runner-up Belinda Bencic is also in the draw. 
· Also in attendance are Top 10-ranked players Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Carla Suárez Navarro and Madison Keys.
· For the full draw click here.

WILDCARDS:
Petra Kvitova (CZE), Madison Keys (USA), Naomi Osaka (JPN), Olesya Pervushina (Russia)

WITHDRAWALS:
Simona Halep (left hamstring), Samantha Stosur (right arm), Sloane Stephens (right foot), Daria Gavrilova (right Achilles)

TOKYO, Japan – Unseeded Czech Katerina Siniakova powered past No.6 seed Zhang Shuai to book a spot in the final at the Japan Women’s Open Tennis, where she’ll face No.7 Christina McHale for the title.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

It’s been a banner year for the 20-year-old Siniakova, who continues to inch closer to a Top 50 berth. Earlier in the season, Siniakova posted her first appearance into the third round of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon, then backed up her results by reaching her first WTA-level final at the Ericsson Open in Bastad.

Now, two months later, Siniakova has kept her momentum going strong and booked a spot into her second career WTA final.

The Czech faced a stern test against No.6 seed Zhang, the highest-ranked player left in the draw. The two players traded breaks seven times during a tense first set, but Siniakova kept Zhang under pressure. The Chinese player won just one point behind her first serve all set long, and Siniakova took every break point that came her way – a perfect seven out of seven. She fired two aces in the final game to serve out the opening set in commanding fashion.

Siniakova broke three more times and rattled off the next six games in a clinical display of aggressive baseline play to see off Zhang 6-3, 6-0.

No.7 seed McHale had a more difficult road to the Japan Women’s Open Tennis final, needing to battle through her fourth three-set match of the tournament against Jana Cepelova.

The momentum swung back and forth between the two players throughout the match, with McHale and Cepelova splitting sets and trading breaks twice in the third set. Cepelova’s aggressive returning kept the American under pressure, but McHale kept her cool – the Slovakian player brought up seven chances to get another break off of McHale but couldn’t convert on any.

McHale broke Cepelova in the final game to take the match 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 and book a spot into her first WTA final since March 2014.

QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – Julia Boserup held off a spirited challenge from CiCi Bellis to win their all-American quarterfinal at the Coupe Banque Nationale.

Two years on from her only previous venture this far at a WTA event, World No.125 Boserup displayed great composure to close out a 7-6(0), 6-4 victory, setting up a semifinal showdown against Océane Dodin.

Boserup, who is enrolled in an online degree at Penn State, does not graduate until December, and recent success is providing a welcome distraction from looming deadlines. In July, then ranked outside the Top 200, Boserup came through qualifying to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

Her latest run could well take her into the Top 100. And against Bellis she showed enough to suggest that this may not be her ceiling. After a shaky start, Boserup pinched the first set, then played the more assured tennis at the conclusion to the second, fending off a break point before striking decisively in the following game.

1re demi-finale @WTA en carrière pour Océane Dodin qui bat Van Uytvanck 6-2, 6-4 en quarts de finale. #CoupeBN pic.twitter.com/ewadEglgaS

— CoupeBanqueNationale (@CoupeBN) September 16, 2016

Earlier on, Dodin, appearing in her maiden WTA quarterfinal, made another breakthrough by defeating Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-2, 6-4. While Dodin is entering uncharted waters this week, it should come as no real surprise given her recent form on the ITF Circuit, where she has won 13 of her last 15 matches.

In the top half of the draw, qualifier Lauren Davis withstood a late fightback to defeat Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-3, 7-6(4). Davis had won all three of the pair’s previous meetings and was made to work hard for number four, closing out the contest after spurning three match points and a comfortable second set lead. In the last four Davis will face either Tereza Martincova or Jessica Pegula.

TOKYO, Japan – Jana Cepelova ended home hopes at the Japan Women’s Open Tennis with a hard-fought victory over Kurumi Nara in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Nara, the final Japanese representative in the draw, started brightly but it was Cepelova that finished the stronger to run out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 winner.

After losing three straight games to drop the first set, Cepelova soon fell a break behind in the second. Rahter than dwell on this setback, the Slovakian used it as a turning point, winning four of the next five games to level the match.

Her dominance continued into the decider a couple of early break giving her stranglehold she would not relinquish.

Since coming through qualifying to reach the third round of Wimbledon, Cepelova’s form has been mixed; clay court outings in Gstaad and Bastad both ended in the first round before she fell in the final round of qualifying for the US Open.

Now she is through to her first quarterfinal at a WTA tournament since last summer, where she will face No.7 seed Christina McHale after she battled past Viktorija Golubic, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Meanwhile, in the top half of the draw, Katerina Siniakova will take on the highest-ranked player left in the draw, No.6 seed Zhang Shuai.

Siniakova followed up her marathon encounter against Louisa Chirico with a far more straightforward 6-2, 6-4 win over Alison Riske. Zhang was made to work harder, recovering to beat Varvara Lepchenko, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3.