Cincinnati: Pliskova Interview
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.
PHOENIX, AZ, USA – Mixed doubles gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands received a hero’s welcome when she touched down in her hometown of Phoenix. Last week she took home the gold along with partner Jack Sock after beating out Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in an all-American final, 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7 at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
The American was received by family and friends – including her husband, Justin Sands – at the airport. Local news crews were on hand to capture the welcome party as Mattek-Sands showed off the prized hardware.
Thanks to Nonstop Tennis NBC NBC12 for surprising me Skyharbor International Airport (PHX) today. I am so… https://t.co/Xm8pt4KxAw
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) August 17, 2016
“Winning that match point — what a feeling,” Mattek-Sands told Phoenix’s 12 News. “It’s really not comparable to a feeling I’ve ever experienced.”
“You’re just up there thinking about everything you did that got you to that point, and I get emotional now,” she said. “I want to do it again. I want to be a part of Tokyo 2020.”
The welcome party didn’t stop at the airport, though, as Mattek-Sands is set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Arizona Diamondbacks vs New York Mets baseball game at Chase Field later today.
And now gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands is throwing out the first pitch at the #Dbacks game tomorrow!
— 12 News (@12News) August 16, 2016
An interview with Monica Puig after winning the gold medal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Simona Halep will put her 10-match winning streak on the line at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday. Chris Oddo previews a jam-packed schedule for wtatennis.com.
Wednesday, First and Second Round
Center Court
[3] Simona Halep (ROU #4) vs. Annika Beck (GER #33)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Halep has won her last 10 matches, claiming titles in Bucharest and Montréal.
Can last year’s Western & Southern Open runner-up take it a step further in 2016? That’s the question Simona Halep hopes to answer with a resounding yes this week in Cincinnati, and the Romanian will open her bid for the title with a second-round tilt with Germany’s Annika Beck on Wednesday. Halep will be well-rested after passing on the Olympics due to the threat of Zika virus. It was a difficult decision for the Romanian but one that she hopes will help spur her to great heights this summer. “I was very disappointed that I had to decide not to go there, but it was much better for my health,” Halep said on Monday when she spoke with the media at All-Access Hour. Out of action since the Montréal final more than two weeks ago, Halep will have to get up to speed quickly when she faces the 22-year-old Beck. The German won two qualifying matches to get into the main draw and impressively took down Yulia Putintseva in first-round action on Tuesday.
Pick: Halep in three
Grandstand
[10] Johanna Konta (GBR #13) vs. [Q] Donna Vekic (CRO #121)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Vekic ended a nine-match losing streak at WTA events on Monday when she defeated Ana Ivanovic.
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta will continue her pursuit of a Top 10 ranking when she makes her Cincinnati debut on Wednesday against 20-year-old Donna Vekic of Croatia. Konta has been in fine form this summer, winning 10 of 12 on the hard courts and claiming her first career title at Stanford last month. The British No.1 was one match from becoming the first woman from her country to reach the Top 10 in over 30 years in Montréal but fell to Kristina Kucova in the quarterfinals. On Wednesday Konta will face qualifier Donna Vekic for the first time. The former World No.62 has struggled mightily this season, but showed signs of life when she won her first WTA-level match in six months on Monday, stunning Ana Ivanovic in the first round. Will lightning strike twice for the talented Vekic, or will it be the cool, composed Konta who claims her first career victory in the Queen City?
Pick: Konta in two
Court 6
[13] Belinda Bencic (SUI #27) vs. [Q] Timea Babos (HUN #41)
Head-to-head: Bencic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Babos is playing just two spots off her career-high ranking this week.
Injuries have marred what promised to be an incredible year for 19-year-old Belinda Bencic, as she was forced to miss several months due to a back problem and then had to play injured during the grass-court season before finally pulling the plug at Wimbledon with a wrist injury. But Bencic hopes to put her frailties behind her as she returns to action in Cincinnati looking to build some momentum ahead of the US Open. It won’t be easy on Wednesday as the Swiss will have to face one of the WTA’s most improved players in Hungary’s Timea Babos. The 23-year-old is closing in on the 30-win mark this season and reached the Florianopolis final two weeks ago before falling to Irina-Camelia Begu. Though she dropped her only previous meeting with Bencic in straight sets at Australia this year, Babos will benefit from the fact that she’s already logged three matches here in Cincinnati. She won two qualifying matches before easing past American Louisa Chirico in straight sets on Tuesday.
Pick: Bencic in three
Around the grounds…
Several unfinished matches from a rain-plagued Tuesday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center will be played today. Fourth-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza will take on CoCo Vandeweghe, while seventeenth-seeded Elina Svitolina meets qualifier Daria Gavrilova. American qualifier Alison Riske notched her first main draw win at Cincinnati on Tuesday and will meet up with seventh-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in second-round action today. The No.2 and No.5 seeds, Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska, will also be in action on an extremely busy schedule.
Highlights from first-round action at the Western & Southern Open.
WTA Insider | On the first WTA Insider Live Blog from the Western & Southern Open, Angelique Kerber meets the press while Garbiñe Muguruza debuts under the lights.
Donna Vekic had Monday’s shot of the day at the Western & Southern Open.
Monica Puig was already in the midst of a career-best season even before she hopped on a play to Rio de Janiero for the 2016 Olympic tennis event. A little over a year ago she fell outside the Top 100 and was struggling to win matches. This year she’s already back to to No.35, notching more match wins in 2016 than she had in her two previous seasons combined.
Despite her quiet rise through the rankings and improved strength and power, few would have tapped the 22-year-old for Olympic glory. But there she was on Saturday at the top of the podium in tears, flanked by two major champions whom she vanquished en route – she also beat a third in Garbiñe Muguruza – with Olympic gold dangling from her neck.
Puig made history for Puerto Rico in Rio. Not only did she become the first woman to ever win a medal for Puerto Rico, but she also won Puerto Rico’s first gold medal in its Olympic history.
WTA Insider caught with Puig on Monday after her life-changing win:
WTA Insider: Olympic Gold Medalist Monica Puig. How are you?
Puig: I don’t think that “Olympic Gold Medalist” I actually believe it because I keep repeating it to myself over and over again and I still can’t really believe what happened this past week.
WTA Insider: What went through your mind on match point?
Puig: Well I think it was pretty much everybody could see that I was just saying ‘Oh my God’ over and over, especially after such a tough match like it was. I extended my lead in the third set and she just started swinging away. I was like, I have to be really careful here because she has nothing to lose. I really had to be careful. She saved a couple of my match points and on that final one I just couldn’t really believe it was actually over.
WTA Insider: Did you actually allow yourself to think about the gold medal at all?
Puig: I told myself going into the match to just enjoy the moment. But I think after the first set I think I started to really come to grips about what was going to happen and maybe got a little bit carried away in the second set. In the third I just tried to keep myself as focused as possible. But when you go up 5-0 in the third set there’s no way in avoiding all the emotion that starts to come to the surface. Just trying to keep it down a little bit longer and then finally when you win it, it was everything that I hoped for and more.
WTA Insider: You were very contained with your emotions all week in Rio. The only time you really let some emotions out was when you went up 5-0 in the third in the final. Was this a conscious thing all week?
Puig: Yeah, I’ve been trying to work on it a little bit. Trying to stay really focused in my routines. Trying to be more mentally even throughout the matches.
I did a really good job of it in Florianopolis leading up to the Olympics and carrying it on through and just letting out the emotions when I really, really needed it and it’s been working. But there, when I went up 5-0 I just fired myself up because it just helped numb the nerves a little bit more so it was good.
WTA Insider: How do you put your 2016 into context? It’s been a fantastic season for you, even before Rio. This has been a career season. But when people ask you, ‘Monica, how did you do this,’ what do you say?
Puig: I told everybody that I was going to be really patient with myself this year. Obviously coming off a very disappointing 2015 season, trying to take it one tournament at a time even though it hasn’t been easy. I’ve had my let downs, I’ve had my weeks where I felt absolutely terrible.
But just trying to be as patient as possible because I knew that I was putting in the hard work and that something good was going to come out of it. I think coming slowly up the rankings very quietly, nobody has really talked about me until now. It just shows that I was ready for this moment and I think it was my time to shine and finally let the world know who I was.
WTA Insider: Is Olympic Monica different from Tour Monica? Do you think you can match that intensity outside of the Olympic setting?
Puig: Yeah, I think I can because in reality at the Olympics, whenever I stepped on court I was still competing, doing my job. The only difference was it was for an Olympic medal and I was staying at the Athlete’s Village. That was the only difference but my job didn’t change at any time. I know the tennis that I’m capable of playing. It was just a matter of time for me to believe it myself.
I know there will be weeks where I’ll lose in the first round and there’ll be weeks when I win couple of more rounds or get to the final or win, but there’s one thing that nobody can take away from me and that’s the Olympic title.
WTA Insider: Puerto Rico is going nuts. How does it feel to make history for Puerto Rico, to become the first woman to win an Olympic medal, the first athlete to bring home the gold?
Puig: I don’t think I’ve been able to process it very well just yet. I’m just really overwhelmed by the attention that I’m getting and all the well wishes and everything. It’s just incredible. I will be going back to Puerto Rico to celebrate it with them.
WTA Insider: That’s going to be an epic parade.
Puig: It’s going to be unbelievable! I want to take the time to enjoy this moment and embrace it all because you only compete in your first Olympics and win your first gold medal once. So I have to wait another four years to play the Olympics.
This, to me, is even more special than a Grand Slam because it’s so rare to have an Olympic gold medal. It comes once every four years. I know I will have several opportunities to win a Grand Slam, but this is one that doesn’t come four times a year. It just comes once. For me to grab it so early, it was a dream come true.
WTA Insider: You’ve always been very vocal bout your Puerto Rican pride. How does that shape you as a person?
Puig: I’m just so proud of where I come from. Every time I land in Puerto Rico I get tears in my eyes every single time because it’s so beautiful and I can’t believe that I was born in such an amazing island. Even though I wasn’t raised full time there I still went back to visit and spend some time with my family members there and get really surrounded by the culture that Puerto Rico has to offer. I’m just so proud of where I come from.
I’m never going to lose that spirit of being Puerto Rican. I’m going to represent them until the day I finish tennis and so on and so forth.
WTA Insider: Taking your week in Rio outside of the Olympic context, it was an incredible week. You beat the reigning Australian Open champion, the reigning French Open champion, and a two-time Wimbledon champion. Setting the Olympics aside, what does this mean for your individual tennis career?
Puig: I think I can say that I’m amongst the best out there. It’s not so much a matter of ‘if’ it was going to happen but ‘when.’
I’m just going to try and not put any pressure on myself to back this up in any way because I know what I did and I know that I’m extremely young. I still have a really long career ahead of me and there’s no rush to get anywhere.
I’m just going to enjoy the ride right now and work as hard as I can to come out to the US Open and continue to represent Puerto Rico and myself in the same graceful manner that I did at the Olympics. I know that more good things are going to come for me during my career, but there’s no rush for anything.
Hear more from Puig in the latest Dropshot Episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
CoCo Vandeweghe takes on Sara Errani in the first round of the Western & Southern Open.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Barbora Strycova maintained her composure to defeat Eugenie Bouchard in their rain-affected first-round encounter at the Western & Southern Open.
Watch live action from Cincinnati this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
A match scheduled second on the order of play eventually finished under the floodlights, Strycova making light of several interruptions from the weather to complete a 6-4, 6-0 victory.
“I’m not sure how I stayed focused through all of it. I think the first set was the deciding point – I was holding serve all the time and then I broke her at 3-3. I believed in myself and I’m happy that I did it,” Strycova said in her on-court interview.
Despite defeating Bouchard handily in Rome earlier in the season, there was no danger of complacency on Strycova’s part; the Canadian is a different proposition on hard as proved by impressively qualifying for the main draw.
And she started their rematch confidently enough, firing a forehand into the corner to carve out the first break point. Strycova, though, managed to repel this early danger and was soon presented with a chance of her own. Bouchard fired wide and it proved a costly error as the Czech hung onto this slender advantage to take the set.
As the clouds began to gather menacingly overhead, Strycova hurtled towards the finishing line, playing the tidier tennis to open a 5-0 lead in the second set. Another lengthy downpour halted her progress temporarily before returning to rattle off the final four points of the match.
“I felt good today and Eugenie is such a good player that you always have to stay focused,” Strycova, who finished with 15 winners and 19 unforced errors, said. “That’s what I did today and I think that was the key.”
Strycova turned 30 earlier this year but is arguably playing the best tennis of her career; finals in Dubai and Birmingham have helped propelled her back into the Top 20, while in doubles she teamed up with Lucie Safarova to win Olympic bronze.
In the next round she will play another of the tour’s elder stateswomen, former US Open champion and No.14 seed Samantha Stosur.
“The older I get I feel AWESOME!” — Barbora Strycova after she’s read off her Fed Cup Champ/Bronze Medalist/Career-high ranking resume.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) 17 August 2016