Tennis News

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Barbora Strycova maintained her composure to defeat Eugenie Bouchard in their rain-affected first-round encounter at the Western & Southern Open.

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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

NEW YORK, NY, USA – With the year’s final Grand Slam event just a few weeks away, the USTA announced today the recipients of main draw and qualifying wildcards for the US Open, which begins on August 29.

Among the recipients for main draw wildcards are two-time NCAA singles champion Danielle Collins, 2016 USTA Girls’ 18s National Champion Kayla Day, young American Lauren Davis, USTA Pro Circuit US Open Wild Card challenge winner Sofia Kenin, former Top 50 player Vania King, and Rio’s mixed doubles Olympic gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands, as well as France’s Virginie Razzano.

As part of a reciprocal agreement with the USTA, Tennis Australia will award one additional main draw wild card to a player who will be announced at a later date.

In addition to the eight US Open women’s singles main draw wild cards, the USTA also announced the eight women who have been awarded wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, which will be held August 23-26 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

One additional US Open qualifying wild card will be awarded to the winner of the 2015 US Open National Playoffs – Women’s Championship, taking place August 19-22 in New Haven, Connecticut.

Here’s the full list of wildcards announced so far:

Main Draw
Kayla Day (USA)
Lauren Davis (USA)
Sofia Kenin (USA)
Vania King (USA)
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)
Virginie Razzano (FRA)

Qualifying
Amanda Anisimova (USA)
Francesca Di Lorenzo (USA)
Nicole Frenkel (USA)
Ellie Halbauer (USA)
Jamie Loeb (USA)
Raveena Kingsley (USA)
Melanie Oudin (USA)
Laura Robson (GBR)

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – No.15 seed Karolina Pliskova booked the first spot into the third round of the Western & Southern Open after a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jelena Ostapenko.

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Yesterday, the Latvian teenager produced a stunning comeback to advance against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, but she was unable to produce the same tennis a second time. Ostapenko’s troubles started well before she and Pliskova took to the court, though, as heavy weather conditions in Cincinnati delayed the match for over an hour and dark clouds loomed overhead.

But the dubious conditions only played into Pliskova’s advantage, as the court speed seemed tailor-made for her game.

“The conditions here are pretty fast, so it’s good for me for the serve, the return, and overall for my aggressive game,” Pliskova explained after the match. “So I’m really happy that it’s working. Really happy with the way I closed the match today.”

It took the Czech a few games to get going, with Ostapenko going up 40-0 and eventually breaking Pliskova’s first service game. Pliskova broke back immediately, and batted away a second opportunity for Ostapenko to keep the pair level. The faster surface allowed Pliskova to keep the points short, staying steady to allow Ostapenko to make the errors. The gambit worked and Pliskova broke again to take the first set 6-4.

Ostapenko seemed to crumple from there, being broken three more times as the Czech reeled off six games in a row to ease through after an hour and 12 minutes. Pliskova struck 20 winners to 19 unforced errors, while Ostapenko hit 16 and 26, respectively. Pliskova was also more consistent on the big points, taking five of the six break opportunities while Ostapenko converted just one of five.

“I’m really happy with my win today,” Pliskova said. “I think I played a pretty solid match. Even with the conditions today; we are waiting on the court and even before we went on the court it was raining as well.

“I’m just happy I made it and I’m through to the next round.”

She awaits the winner of t the winner of the second round match between lucky loser Misaki Doi and American wildcard Christina McHale.

Earlier in the day Alizé Cornet, Alison Riske, Timea Babos and Tsvetana Pironkova beat the rain to round out the last of the second round spots.

More to come…

CINCINNATI, OHIO, USA – CoCo Vandeweghe has been around the world, and can now add the Olympics to her global passport.

Straight from a thrilling three-set win over Sara Errani, Vandeweghe sat down with WTA Insider to discuss victory over the Italian veteran and her wild week in Rio for the Olympic tennis event on the first of our Daily Dispatches from the last major tournament of the Emirates Airlines US Open Series:

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or on any podcast app of your choice to ensure you never miss an episode when they go live. Reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

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CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Things are heating up on the hardcourts at the Western & Southern Open and wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo is on hand to preview Day 2’s must-see action.

Tuesday, First and Second Round

Center Court
[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3) vs. CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #33)
Head-to-head: Vandeweghe leads, 2-0

Key Stat: Vandeweghe is sporting a 4-0 record against the Top 10 in 2016.
Neither player has ever been past the second round in Cincinnati, but that is about to change on Tuesday for either CoCo Vandeweghe or Garbiñe Muguruza as they prepare to square off for the first time in two years. Though Muguruza has had the more storied career, it is Vandeweghe who has taken their previous two meetings, which both occurred in 2014. It’s been an excellent year for the 24-year-old American. She has risen to a career-high ranking (No.29 on June 20) and at Wimbledon was seeded at a major for the first time. But Vandeweghe’s achievements pale in comparison to those of the Spaniard. Muguruza rolled to the Roland Garros title in June, defeating Serena Williams in the final. Though the 22-year-old has struggled a bit since her shining moment in Paris – going 3-3 in her last six – Muguruza says she feels refreshed and ready to tackle the Cincinnati challenge. “I was happy to live the experience in Rio, and I’m happy to be back,” she told reporters on Monday. “Coming here, I’m motivated to have a great tournament because I haven’t played a lot of matches. I’m looking forward to it.”

Pick: Muguruza in three

Grandstand
[17] Elina Svitolina (UKR #19) vs. [Q] Daria Gavrilova (AUS #47)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1

Key Stat: Gavrilova has won six straight sets since the beginning of qualifying in Cincinnati.
Making her second appearance at the Western & Southern Open, 22-year-old Daria Gavrilova zoomed into the second round with a 7-5, 6-3 shutdown of France’s Caroline Garcia on Monday. The Australian qualifier won 32 of 38 first-serve points and didn’t face a break point in winning her 18th match of 2016, and she hopes that having three matches under her belt in Cincinnati will help her when she faces Elina Svitolina on Tuesday. The Ukrainian reached the semifinals last year in Cincinnati, and she’s fresh off a quarterfinal appearance at the Olympics that saw her achieve her first victory over World No.1 Serena Williams. With both players in form, expect a hard-fought battle between feisty players, both of whom are eager to push deep into a quality draw.

Pick: Gavrilova in three

Stadium 3
Andrea Petkovic (GER #42) vs. Lucie Safarova (CZE #28)
Head-to-head: Petkovic leads, 4-3

Key Stat: Safarova is bidding for her 400th WTA win on Tuesday.
Two tried-and-true veterans will battle for the eighth time on Tuesday, with each hoping to gain some much-needed traction on the hardcourts – and their 400th career win! Safarova, who owns a career record of 399-282, hopes to crack the milestone on Tuesday and make it three consecutive hardcourt wins over Petkovic. Meanwhile, the 28-year-old German could pass the mark by reaching the quarterfinals. Petkovic and Safarova are each hovering around the .500 mark for the season and could badly use a deep run here in Cincinnati to bolster their confidence ahead of the season’s final Grand Slam in New York. With the US Open less than two weeks away the time is ripe for making statements. Who will make theirs on Tuesday?

Pick: Safarova in two

Around the grounds…
Nineteen-year-old Daria Kasatkina will make her Cincinnati debut when she takes on lucky loser Tsvetana Pironkova on Court No.10. Kasatkina, who reached the Olympic quarterfinals last week in Rio, is playing with a career-high ranking of 24. Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard qualified for the main draw and will open with a tricky encounter against Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic. Bouchard won the pair’s first three meetings but Strycova has taken the last two, including a 6-1, 6-0 trouncing in Rome this spring. Strycova is coming off a Bronze medal performance in women’s doubles at the Rio Games.