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Suárez Navarro Dodges Ivanovic Challenge

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Carla Suárez Navarro got off to a winning start at the 2016 Olympic tennis event in Rio after dodging an early upset bid from Ana Ivanovic to advance 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

The No.9 seeded Spaniard looked to be in trouble from the start as an on-fire Ivanovic broke her serve in the opening game, then once more for a 4-1 lead. Despite her recurring issues with her serve – namely her ball toss – Ivanovic was able to hold on and grabbed the opening set.

Suárez Navarro found her rhythm in the second and, aided by two Ivanovic double faults in the same game, was able to get her first break of the match and back it up for a 3-0 lead. Three more double faults from the Serbian gave Suárez Navarro the edge again to break to love and even up the scoreboard.

Now down 0-4 in the third, Ivanovic finally snapped Suárez Navarro’s seven-game streak to get herself on the board, but it wasn’t enough to turn around the match. The Spaniard cruised to the second round after an hour and 35 minutes.

Up next for Suárez Navarro is Croatia’s Ana Konjuh. The youngest tennis Olympian competing in the Games this year, 18-year-old Konjuh made her way to the second round by defeating Germany’s Annika Beck 7-6(5), 6-1.

Meanwhile, Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska suffered the biggest upset of the day at the hands of China’s Zheng Saisai. Zheng abruptly ended the No.4 seed’s Olympic campaign after a 6-4, 7-5 win at Barra Olympic Park.

Also through to the second round are Madison Keys, who earlier in the day notched the first win of the Olympic tennis event with her 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Danka Kovinic; Sara Errani, who turned around a first set deficit to battle past Kiki Bertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Barbora Strycova, who defeated Yanina Wickmayer 7-6(6), 6-1; and Kristina Mladenovic, who overcame Aleksandra Krunic 6-1, 6-4.

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Flipkens Downs Venus In Late Thriller

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Kirsten Flipkens saved her best tennis for the end of the day, taking out four-time Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams in a three hour marathon, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) to close out the opening day of the Olympic tennis event in Rio.

“My dream was to come to Rio, but to beat one of the greatest champions, that’s a second dream coming true,” Flipkens said after the match.

The unseeded Belgian, a first-time Olympian, split sets with Williams as the American took the opening set by imposing her powerful baseline game, but Flipkens battled back aggressive on the return and broke Williams’ serve four times to take the second.

In the deciding set, Flipkens surrendered the first break in the fourth game as Williams built up a 4-2 lead. But just as Williams was serving for the match at 5-3, weariness began to take its toll as the match neared the three-hour mark. Flipkens fought back and the match went to a tiebreak, where Williams’ errors at the net ended up costing her the match.

“I was already thinking in the third set that it was one of the most epic matches I’ve ever played,” Flipkens said. “I said to myself before the match that I would just enjoy the match and give 200% on each point.”

“I felt like I could win the match but at the same time I was enjoying it so much it was hard to keep focused. You’re playing Venus Williams, not some junior.”

Earlier in the day, another American was knocked out of the competition as Eugenie Bouchard defeated Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-3.

“I felt good out there, I was just trying to be very solid and I think I did that well,” Bouchard said. “I don’t think I gave her too many chances. I was there on every one of the return games. I was pushing her and I was close to breaking her a couple of times, so I am happy mentally. I was very focused.”

Bouchard grabbed the decisive break early on in both sets, and backed them up with aggressive play to book her spot in round two after an hour and fifteen minutes.

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WTA Stars Shine At Opening Ceremony

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANIERO, Brazil – Friday saw the curtain raised on the XXXI Olympiad with a colorful opening ceremony at the magnificent Maracana stadium.

Broadcast to an audience of over three billion, it celebrated Brazil’s culture, history and nature, before former marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima lit the Olympic cauldron. The WTA was well represented on the night, with Caroline Wozniacki carrying in the flag for Denmark.

But what were Wozniacki and company up to before, during and after the show?

However, with many in the singles and doubles draws beginning their tournament the following morning, not everyone could enjoy the festivities…

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King, Duan Set For Nanchang Clash

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NANCHANG, China – No.6 seeded American Vania King is in to her first WTA final of the year and her first since 2013 after her win over No.7 seed Risa Ozaki in the Jiangxi Open.

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

“I will go on and play my game, because I play the best when I play my game,” King said of the final. “Just try to be aggressive, try to control the points. It will be difficult, obviously everyone plays good at this point. That means I have to work for it.”

King broke twice in both sets, getting ahead early on in the score by grabbing the break in each of Osaki’s opening service games.

She’s set to face China’s Ying-Ying Duan in the final after the local pushed past Misa Eguchi in straight sets. This is the 27-year-old’s first time in a WTA-level final.

“I’m very happy to make the final,” Duan said. “[I was] a bit nervous today during the match so I called my coach to court. I believe we both were very keen on winning the match.

“It’s my first time in a WTA final and I have never played Vania before. I think I’ll just give my best and play aggressively.”

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Olympics Saturday: Gold Rush Begins

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The first round of the Olympics gets underway on Saturday, with several intriguing matches, including 2000 gold medalist Venus Williams’ clash against Kirsten Flipkens.

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Begu Triumphs In Florianopolis Final

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil – Irina-Camelia Begu produced a stirring fightback to defeat Timea Babos and win the Brasil Tennis Cup on Friday.

After looking out of sorts in the first set, Begu dragged herself back into the contest to halt Babos’ charge in the second. A break in the ninth game saw her take the match the distance and despite falling 2-0 behind in the decider she rallied once more to win, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

“During the match I didn’t start really well – I was a little bit tense and focusing too much on the negative rather than the positive things I was doing. Then I realized I had to make the most of the situation, if the forehand wasn’t working I needed to use the backhand more,” Begu said. “I think it was more mental because I really wanted to win the title.”

The result secures Begu the third title of her career, reaffirming a love affair with the country which played such a crucial role in her comeback from a serious shoulder injury.

“This country is really special for me. In 2014, I was around 130, 140 [in the rankings], I don’t really remember, and I started with the small tournaments, then Florianopolis and Rio,” Begu said. “Being here for five weeks I got to see that the people are really nice, the food is great, too. I was also doing well, winning some of the tournaments, the $25Ks, so it was a nice comeback for me. If I have the chance I will come back again!”

Victory also provides the perfect send-off ahead of the Romanian’s trip up the coast to Rio where she will compete in her second Olympics, beginning her challenge against Nao Hibino. Babos, whose four-year wait to add to her solitary WTA title continues, meanwhile has a day to lick her wounds before a first-round meeting against Petra Kvitova.

“It was a difficult final emotionally, especially as I felt I had it in my hands, then only at the end I realize I’ve lost,” Babos said afterwards. “Of course I was playing against a very good player – she was fighting all the way – but I thought that I was playing better and I had many, many, many opportunities, so obviously I’m sad to lose this final.”

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Rio Olympics: By The Numbers

Rio Olympics: By The Numbers

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – How many people will cram into The Maria Esther Bueno Tennis Stadium to watch next Saturday’s singles final? Which nations are best represented in the draw? And whose record is Venus Williams set to match? These are just a few of the questions answered in an Olympic special of wtatennis.com’s By The Numbers.

10,000 – The Olympic Tennis Center’s main court seats 10,000 spectators and was named after Brazilian legend, Maria Bueno, who won 19 Grand Slam titles in the 1950s and 1960s

63 – Since its reintroduction in 1988, 63 different countries have been represented in the tennis competition

42 – The number of games it took the Soviet Union’s Larisa Savchenko to defeat Sara Gomer in Seoul in 1988. In terms of games played, Savchenko’s 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 9-7 victory remains the longest in the Games’ history

24 – World No.24 Alicia Molik, who won bronze at Athens in 2004, is the only unseeded player to collect a medal at the Olympics

18 – At 18 years old Ana Konjuh is the youngest player competing in the singles draw. In 1992, Jennifer Capriati, then 16 years and 132 days old, beat Steffi Graf to win gold

13 – Venus owns a 13-3 record in singles competition at the Olympic Games, the most match wins since tennis returned in 1988

12 – Serena (9) and Venus (13) boast by far the most singles match wins at this summer’s Games. Caroline Wozniacki (5) is next on the list, while the 14 seeds not named Williams have a combined total of just 12

10 – Atlanta gold medalist Lindsay Davenport was No.10 at the time of the Games. She is the lowest-ranked player to win the singles competition

5 -This will be Venus’ fifth Olympics equaling Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario’s record for most appearances

4 – China, Germany, Russia, and the United States all have the maximum of four representatives in the singles draw

3 – Serena and Venus have picked up doubles gold on each occasion they have competed together (2000, 2008 and 2012)

2 – The top seed has won gold at only two of the seven Games since 1988 – Graf (1988) and Justine Henin (2004)

1 – Serena’s solitary defeat in her two previous bids for singles gold came at the hands of eventual winner Elena Dementieva in the Beijing quarterfinals

0 – Prior to Rio, no Turkish tennis player had competed in the Olympic tennis competition. Cagla Buyukakcay will be the first

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Ozaki Ends Schiavone Hopes In Nanchang

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NANCHANG, China – Risa Ozaki overcame a nervous start to shock No.3 seed Francesca Schiavone in Friday’s Jiangxi Open quarterfinals.

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

Competing in just the second WTA quarterfinal of her career, the occasion appeared to overwhelm Ozaki at first, Schiavone taking full advantage to rattle off four unanswered games. But as the contest wore on, Ozaki found her rhythm and a foothold.

While it was too late to salvage the first set, Ozaki turned the match on its head at the start of the second, surging into a 4-0 lead as she emphatically leveled the match. The Japanese player carried this momentum into the decider, building an early advantage before withstanding the inevitable Schiavone comeback to close out a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory.

“It’s not easy to play Schiavone. She was a great player who won a Grand Slam before,” Ozaki said. “I was nervous in first set, but refocused at the start of the second. I think I moved very well in the third set but my serve was not ideal. Anyway, I won in the end, which is the most important thing so I’m very happy.”

Meeting Ozaki in her maiden WTA semifinal will be No.6 seed Vania King, who defeated Zhang Kai-Lin, 6-0, 6-4.

In the bottom half of the draw, Duan Ying-Ying continued her terrific week by knocking out No.2 seed Kurumi Nara, 6-1, 7-5. Earlier in the day, Nara had returned to complete her rain-delayed second round with Chang Kai-Chen in two tight sets. Against Duan, these exertions, and the sweltering on court conditions, contributed to a sluggish start from which she never fully recovered.

Duan faces another Japanese player in the semifinals after Misa Eguchi brushed aside Liu Fangzhou, 6-1, 6-2.

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