Montréal: Radwanska Interview
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber acquitted herself well in her first hardcourt match since Miami; despite a second set wobble, the No.2 seed stood tall in the end to defeat unseeded Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
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“It was a really tough match. She played really strong and tough, and I knew it would be a tough match. But I was trying to keep focusing until the last point, and staying in the match. I’m really happy about my first match here.”
Playing just her second match since after reaching the Wimbledon final – having pulled out of the Ericsson Open due to an elbow injury – but played the crucial points well against an in-form Lucic-Baroni on Wednesday night.
“I knew she was playing well, but I was trying to focus on my game. It was a good match.”
Getting out to a quick 5-2 lead in the opening set, Kerber was suddenly confounded by the Croatian No.1, who broke serve in the opening game of the second and never looked back to force a decider.
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“In the second set, she played great and won the important points. I wanted to come back strong in the third set and play my game.
Conserving her energy well throughout the one hour, 38 minute match, the World No.2 didn’t face a break point in the final set, breaking serve on her second opportunity – ultimately clinching the match on her own serve at love.
“It’s just great to be here. I love to play here in Montréal. The fans are amazing; it’s always full and they always stay until the end!”
Up next for Kerber is No.17 seed Elina Svitolina, who outlasted Canadian wildcard Francoise Abanda, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) early on Wednesday. Svitolina is currently working with Justine Henin, who appeared as her on-court coach during the match.
“It was my first match on hard court after a long time. It was not so easy.” – Angelique Kerber pic.twitter.com/mG745ZuMyW
— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) July 28, 2016
An interview with Venus Williams after her win in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
Still suffering the effects of a left wrist injury that derailed her Wimbledon campaign, Belinda Bencic has opted to withdraw from what would have been her Olympic debut in Rio.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.6 seeded Venus Williams extended her perfect record against Barbora Strycova after sailing past the Czech in straight sets to earn a spot in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
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Williams enjoyed a successful start after the quick turnaround from the Bank of the West Classic last week in Stanford, three time zones away from Montréal. While her last encounter with the tricky Strycova was a nearly-three hour, three set battle, today’s encounter went decidedly smoother for the American as she wrapped up the 6-3, 6-0 match in just 58 minutes.
“It was definitely more straightforward I think than all of our other matches,” Williams said after the match. “I didn’t mind that, especially after playing a lot last week, just to be able to come out and hopefully advance to the next round.
“It’s been intense. Usually I don’t play this much back-to-back. But I knew what I was going to do going into the year, what it was going to take. I never sign up for anything that I don’t think I can achieve.”
Strycova seemed to struggle under the balmy conditions after a tightly drawn first set. Her unforced errors count climbed to 36 – Williams struck 19 – and her frustration mounted as she brought up only one break point in the match even while the American struggled with her serve in the second set. Williams broke three times to zoom through the second set and into the third round.
“I had issues,” Williams admitted after the match. “I don’t like to really get into, you know, what’s going down. But I had some issues. I definitely do like to serve a lot bigger.”
“I hope to be better for the next match.”
Next up for Venus Williams is young American Madison Keys, who battled past Madison Brengle 6-4, 6-3 for a spot in the third round.
Also looking for a spot in the last 16 are No.7 seed Roberta Vinci and No.12 seed Petra Kvitova, who were both put through their paces on their way to the third round. Vinci battled back from a set down in an all-Italian derby against Camila Giorgi before advancing, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Kvitova overcame a surging Andrea Petkovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
Follow all the action from Day 3 of Montréal at the WTA Insider Live Blog!
An interview with Eugenie Bouchard after her win in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Two years after doing battle for the Rogers Cup title in 2014, Agnieszka Radwanska and Venus Williams take center stage in Montréal once more. Who else will be in action?
Wednesday, Second Round
Central
[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. Monica Niculescu (ROU #61)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads 3-1
Kicking off play on Wednesday on Court Central is Radwanska, champion from 2014 and among the most consistent hardcourt performers of the last 12 months. Radwanska brought the form that helped her win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall to the start of the season, reaching the semifinals or better at her first four tournaments – including the Australian Open. Inconsistencies followed on clay and grass, where the Pole found herself outgunned all too often by rival Dominika Cibulkova.
In a low-pressure part of the season with few points to defend, Radwanska will seek to maintain her hardcourt mastery of the always-tricky Niculescu, who won their only meeting on grass. The Romanian veteran used all of her guile and cunning to frustrate young Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in three sets on Tuesday, but can she surprise fellow trick shot queen Radwanska with something new in her arsenal?
Barbora Strycova (CZE #22) vs. [6] Venus Williams (USA #6)
Head-to-head: Venus leads 3-0
Following a slow start to 2016, Venus has played vintage tennis since the tour turned to grass. Reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2010, the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion all but perfectly transitioned onto the hardcourts at her beloved Bank of the West Classic, where she narrowly lost to an on-fire Johanna Konta in three sets.
Strycova is no stranger to the faster surfaces herself, having reached two WTA finals of her own in 2016 in Dubai and Birmingham. Another crafty veteran, the Czech’s head-to-head with the elder Williams sister is deceptive, given that their last two matches went the distance – including their hardcourt meeting at the Qatar Total Open in 2015. Can Strycova notch her first win over a Venus who appears back in orbit?
Stat to watch: Venus is back up to her highest ranking since February 2011.
Also on court…
Kicking off the night session will be Canada’s own Eugenie Bouchard, who will seek to replicate her thrilling three-set win over Eugenie Bouchard against a familiar foe in No.11 seed Dominika Cibulkova, who won their most recent meeting at Wimbledon. Following that dynamic duo is No.2 seed and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, who faces the always-dangerous Mirjana Lucic-Baroni for a spot in the third round. An all-American battle is on offer between No.10 seed Madison Keys and Madison Brengle on Court Banque Nationale, while Russians Alla Kudryavtseva and No.9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova face off on Court 5.
Simona Halep takes on Daria Gavrilova in the second round of the Rogers Cup
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Madison Keys bounced back from her All England Club disappointment with a confident win over Elena Vesnina in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
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Going into Wimbledon, Keys was tipped as a dark horse for the title, but saw her hopes dashed in the fourth round by Simona Halep. If the disappointment has lingered, the American hid it well against Vesnina, rattling off the final nine games of the match to complete a 6-4, 6-0 victory.
While Keys’ memories of Wimbledon 2016 will be tinged with disappointment, for Vesnina it was the best fortnight of her career. The Russian defeated a number of higher-ranked players to become the first unseeded semifinalist for five years.
Against Keys, she started brightly enough, confidently holding her opening four service games. However, her opponent’s booming delivery was equally dominant and when she wavered in the ninth game, tugging a couple of forehands into the tramlines, it triggered a sea-change in fortune.
Keys closed out the first set before breaking again in a marathon opening game of the second. As Vesnina’s head dropped, the No.10 seed ruthlessly pounced to book a second-round meeting against Madison Brengle.
Konta Too Good For Rogers
Less than 48 hours on from upsetting Venus Williams to lift her maiden WTA title, Johanna Konta was back on court facing another American, Shelby Rogers.
While the performance this time was less spectacular, the result was the same, Konta’s 6-4, 6-2 win setting up a second-round meeting against either Vania King or Timea Babos.
The Briton started strongly and while unable to secure an insurance break she successfully kept Rogers at arm’s length to take the opening set. In the second both players struggled to hold serve, but once again it was Konta coming out on top at the crucial moments.
This time last year, Konta – then ranked well outside the Top 100 – was competing in the less salubrious surroundings of nearby Granby. She ended up leaving with the trophy, a feat she repeated at another ITF Circuit event the following week in Vancouver before really announcing herself by reaching the fourth round of the US Open.
Now the Top 10 beckons. Only three other British players – Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and Jo Durie – have achieved this feat, and should Konta keep this latest winning run alive – and other results go in her favor – she could join the club in Montréal.
Russians March On
Another player with an outside chance of reaching the Top 10 in the not-too-distant future is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. At Wimbledon, the gifted Russian reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2011, falling in two tight sets to eventual champion Serena Williams.
At the Stade Uniprix, Pavlyuchenkova was given a real scare, conjuring up a miraculous drop volley to save match point in the final set of her 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 win over Yulia Putintseva. Also taken the distance in their opening round outings were compatriots Alla Kudryavtseva and Daria Kasatkina.
Kudryavtseva, who came through qualifying, upset Kristina Mladenovic, 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3, while Kastakina shook off a slow start to defeat the in-form Misaki Doi, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.