Tennis News

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s excellent summer continued at the Rogers Cup as the Russian shocked 2014 champion and No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1, earning her first Top 10 win of the season.

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“Woo!” she exclaimed during her on-court interview. “I’m really happy and I knew it’d be a tough match. Every time I play against Agnieszka, it’s 7-6 in the third, or something.

“She’s a really tough opponent, and so I’m really pleased with the win.”

Pavlyuchenkova has played some of her best tennis since linking up with new coach Dieter Kindlmann; showing off some of the ball-striking that took her to a career-high ranking and a pair of Grand Slam quarterfinals in 2011, she reached the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time a few weeks ago and appeared ready to go toe-to-toe with Radwanska on Thursday.

Taking the opening set behind some superb shotmaking, the No.16 seed built a nearly identical lead in the second set, earning two match points on her serve at 5-4.

“I think I’m still recovering from that point we had in the second set – the long one,” referring to a long rally as she attempted to serve out the match.

But the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion wouldn’t go down without a fight, breaking back on a netcord winner and sneaking off with the ensuing tie-break from an 0-3 deficit.

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“I think it was mental, especially in the third set after losing the second from being two match points down. I thought I had the match in my pocket, but I lost it. It was very mental, but I’m proud of the way I pulled it through in the end.”

Picking up where she left off in the second set, Pavlyuchenkova used her high-octane game to its full effect against Radwanska, hitting 49 winners to 37 unforced errors while Radwanska hit 21 winners to 19 unforced.

Into her first Rogers Cup quarterfinal, she next plays the winner of Thursday night’s third round between No.6 seed Venus Williams and No.10 seed Madison Keys.

“I really like this tournament and it’s unfortunate that I’ve either had to pull out or not be in the best condition. So I’m happy to finally be in the quarterfinals here.”

Impressive stuff from @NastiaPav! ? ? #CoupeRogers https://t.co/v9yww12VY5

— WTA (@WTA) July 28, 2016

MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.10 seed Madison Keys edged past Venus Williams in a tight three sets to snap up one of the last quarterfinal spots in the Rogers Cup.

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Keys has looked dominant in all of her matches so far in Montréal, her first tournament since her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon. Although she went into the match against Williams trailing 2-1 in their head to head, she had the added confidence of splitting their last two matches on hard courts – both of which were three-set battles.

“I’m excited,” the 21-year-old said yesterday at the prospect of playing Williams. “It’s always tough playing her.She’s obviously a great player.

“She did well last week, so it’s going to be a tough match. But I’m looking forward to it.”

Williams started out shaky in the opening set as her service woes reared their head once again. She’s struggled with normally trusty shot all tournament long, and in the first few games barely managed to crack the 90 miles per hour mark. Keys, a strong returner, took advantage of the lapse and stayed aggressive to take the opening set 6-1 in just 20 minutes.

“Her first serve was definitely slower than normal,” Keys acknowledged after the match. “But it was funny, her second serve was a lot slower, but because of the court it was bouncing a lot higher than normal. So while her first serve was a little easier to return, her second serve was really tough.”

Williams looked in trouble again in the second set as she quickly went down a break, but the 2014 champion shook off the disappointing start. Keys allowed more errors to spray from her racquet as Williams backed up her vulnerable serve with pinpoint groundstrokes – especially off of the forehand wing. She dominated the tiebreak to force a deciding set.

But after the enormous effort it took to get back on course, it just didn’t look like Williams had any more left in the tank for the final set. She couldn’t maintain her level, allowing Keys to get back to her attacking ways. Keys broke early on in the set and relied on her serve to keep her nose ahead until she took the match 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-3.

She’s set to face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the next round, whose monumental effort against Agnieszka Radwanska earned her a spot in the quarterfinals.

“It’s going to be a tough match,” Keys said of her always-aggressive Russian opponent. “She’s always tricky because she definitely fights till the end and she’s going to hit a lot of winners.

“I think it will be similar to today, you know, kind of deciding when to just get the ball back in a good, neutral spot, or when to kind of pull the trigger and be a little bit more aggressive.”

MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber was made to fight once more at the Rogers Cup, needing three sets to overcome an inspired effort from No.17 seed Elina Svitolina, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.

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“I think the match was a little bit crazy,” Kerber told press after the match. 

“Actually the whole match was a lot of up and downs.”

Kerber struggled beneath the pace of big-hitting Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in her opening round on Wednesday, and started slowly against Svitolina on Thursday, losing six straight games after breaking to begin the match.

“The first set I was just playing, like I make too many mistakes. I was going for it, not playing my game actually. I was not feeling my rhythm. I was not on the court. It was a little bit tough, the first set.”

The Ukrainian youngster has been coached by former No.1 and recent International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee Justine Henin this week in Montréal, and appeared spurred on by her high-caliber mentor as she continued to punish the Kerber serve, breaking four times in the second set and twice serving for the match.

But the reigning Australian Open champion would not be denied, duly breaking back each time and recovering from a dismaying Hawkeye challenge to to win the final five points of the tie-break.

“The second set, I was trying to find my rhythm, find my game again. She was serving twice for the match. I was just trying to not thinking too much, just trying to playing the points. The tie-break was also a little bit crazy.”

Maintaining her momentum through most of the decider, Kerber broke serve one last time in the ninth game of the match and held on for dear life when it came time to serve for the match, saving three break points and clinching the win in two hours and 18 minutes.

“For sure I’m not happy about my game, how I was playing, because I really not playing my best tennis today. It’s like more I’m happy that I won the match. I don’t know how. It was a crazy match.

“But it’s good to be still in the tournament, still have the chance tomorrow. The next challenge, the next match, trying to play a better tennis tomorrow.

“So a lot of emotions right now.”

Up next for Kerber is rising Russian Daria Kasatkina, who avenged a heartbreaking Qatar Total Open defeat to No.7 seed Roberta Vinci, 7-5, 6-3.

“I saw a few matches. But, I never played against her yet. I know it will be not easy. I think she played a good match today against Vinci.

“She has nothing to lose. I know she will play good tennis tomorrow. I know that I have to improve, playing better than today to win the next match.

“I’m confident to go out there tomorrow and play good tennis again.”

“I am not happy about my game, it wasn't my best. But it's good to still be in the tournament.” – @AngeliqueKerber pic.twitter.com/mt9fuqDV04

— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) July 29, 2016

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Kristina Kucova’s fairytale run continued in Montréal, where she fought back from a set down against home favorite Eugenie Bouchard to reach her first Premier-level quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

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“It’s unbelievable, I’m very happy,” said Kucova, currently ranked No.121. “Also I’m very tired. But it’s a very good feeling.This is my best moment so far in my tennis career.”

Starting out the match, though, it didn’t look as bright for the Slovakian qualifier as she went down a double break against a Bouchard bolstered by her home crowd. Although she would go on to lose the set 6-3, Kucova showed her grit in the final two games of the set as she fought off five break points before bringing up three of her own.

Dropping the first set has turned out to be a good omen for Kucova as both of her previous main draw matches in Montréal have gone to three sets – against Yanina Wickmayer and then against Carla Suárez Navarro.

“I must give credit to my fitness coach because I feel very good on the condition preparation,” Kucova explained after the match. “I changed fitness coach in the beginning of the year. We worked very hard.

“I feel now on the court that when it’s coming to the third set, I still have energy for that.”

Kucova brought all that energy into the latter stages of the match, where she was able to pounce as Bouchard’s trusty forehand began to repeatedly sail out. The Slovak’s signature two-handed forehands and backhands kept her shots well-disguised, often leaving the Canadian wrong-footed. Now able to read Bouchard’s game and having adjusted to the conditions – a balmy night match on the stadium court, in front of a roaring Canadian crowd – Kucova quickly turned the tables to take the second set.

“I just felt I maybe panicked a little bit, tried to finish the points too soon,” Bouchard said of her dip after the first set. “She was getting a lot of balls back.

“I think it would have been better if  I was just a bit calmer mentally. But it happens and I have to learn how to deal with this.”

Kucova kept her momentum going in the third set, where she picked up the crucial break in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead before closing out the match after more than two hours. She struck 16 winners to 28 unforced errors, while Bouchard hit 45 winners and 68 unforced errors.

Up next for Kucova – who is on track to break the Top 100 after reaching her career best result – is British No.1 Johanna Konta. The Brit dispatched lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-2 to reach her sixth quarterfinal of 2016.