Tennis News

SINGAPORE – Most of the time, players tend to offer identical analysis of a tournament’s court speed. Clay is slower than hardcourts, which are, in turn, slower than grass and indoor courts. But within that hierarchy lies a maddening gradient of quick clay courts and slow hardcourts that can make it difficult to assess which court will favor a player on any given week.

Speaking at Saturday’s All-Access hour, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys, and Dominika Cibulkova were all asked to give their take on the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global’s Centre Court. The consensus was admittedly hard to gauge.

“I don’t remember last year, but I think it’s so slow,” Muguruza said. “It’s so slow. I think there’s going to be hard matches in that surface.

“But I love the court. It’s such a great show and environment, so we’ll put the effort there.”

Coming from the Generali Ladies Linz, Keys agreed that the court was slower than a player might find at the average indoor, but even that criticism is relative.

“They’re playing a little bit slower than what Linz was playing, but it was actually really nice to be able to go and play an indoor tournament and then come here. It feels pretty similar. The ball stays really low. Definitely a faster court, so I’m not complaining about that.”

Winning Linz to qualify for Singapore, Cibulkova thought it had less to do with speed and more to do with bounce, which will be crucial for the big-hitting Slovak to get her rhythm on Sunday’s first round robin match against Halep.

“I thought the surface would be pretty similar [to Linz], but it’s not. It’s very different. It bounces and it’s a little bit faster.

“So I still have to get used to it. It’s good that it’s at least indoor, that I don’t have to get used to indoor and outdoor.”

Runner-up in 2014, Halep pointed to the slowness of the court as one of the reasons why she liked playing at the WTA Finals, but Pliskova wasn’t sure the court played as slow as her colleagues insisted.

“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s fast, but it could be slower. I’ve played on slower surfaces so I was expecting it’s going to be even slower what I heard from last year from the girls.

“I would say it’s somewhere in the middle. For the serve I think it’s pretty fast, but when you play the rally it’s not that fast.

“Hopefully for the crowd they are going to see some rallies and good shots from the players.”

One would expect Radwanska, the defending champion, to have the definitive answer when it came to court speed. The Pole ultimately seemed as mystified as her peers, but if there’s one thing the shotmaker knows how to do on any surface, it’s improvise:

Q. You were here a couple days ago. One of earliest players here. Have you had a hit on court? Have the conditions changed from last year?
AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: I think, of course, the surface is very similar [to last year]. It’s the same. I think it’s a bit faster because it’s already been used [this week]. But I don’t think it’s that slow as last year. That’s what I notice.

But, well, it’s always a little bit tough for us to play indoors. I think I just play one indoor tournament in Stuttgart and then here. It’s good to be here a couple days earlier to adjust to the conditions.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

LUXEMBOURG – Third time’s a charm for Monica Niculescu, who upset the top seed Petra Kvitova to win the title in her third appearance at the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open final.

Watch live action from Moscow & Luxembourg this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!

The Romanian made back to back runs to the final here in 2011 and 2012, but each time fell just short of capturing the title. But this time, Niculescu started out strong and finished even stronger, steamrolling to a 6-4, 6-0 victory to claim her first WTA title of the year.

“It was my best match this year!” Niculescu said in her post-match press conference. “I felt fantastic on the court, and after I took the first set I felt even better. I was feeling very light on the court and was catching every ball. I felt like nothing surprised me.”

“But, wow, to beat Petra in the final? That’s the best moment in my life, I think!”

A sensational performance from Monica Niculescu gives her a third career title, winning @Iwtp_lux over Kvitova 6-4, 6-0. pic.twitter.com/Gytaa7kZLe

— WTA (@WTA) October 22, 2016

Niculescu peppered her game with her signature slices, giving Kvitova plenty of trouble from the start. She broke comfortably in Kvitova’s opening service game and once again to widen the gap and earn a 4-1 lead. The Czech grabbed one of the breaks back but Niculescu clung to her lead, covering the court and powered on to take the opening set.

From here it was all Niculescu, as the Romanian rattled off the next six games to diffuse Kvitova’s lefty serve and completely shut her out of the match, claiming her first title at Luxembourg after an hour and eight minutes.

“I just have to congratulate ‘Moni’ on a great week,” Kvitova acknowledged at the trophy ceremony. “You caught everything today, it’s too bad I had to play against you! Congrats to your team and enjoy your off season.”

In her happy @Iwtp_lux trophy speech, Monica Niculescu said today is her mom's birthday, making her 3rd title a great gift! pic.twitter.com/e7JCOnYvkW

— WTA (@WTA) October 22, 2016

She also sent a shout out to the Czech U-21s National Football Team, who were out in full force to support their compatriot during the final.

Niculescu was similarly full of effusive praise for her opponent after the final.

“You had a great week, you are a very nice person I think it was a very nice final,” she enthused during her speech. “I know you’re not done – I know you still have Zhuhai! I wish you all the best and I know you can do it!

“I wish you all the best for Zhuhai – you’re a great player and I know you can do it!”

Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep have been drawn in the same group for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, which starts on Sunday.

The German, who will finish the year as World No.1, is seeded top for the tournament and she has avoided an early meeting with defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska.

Kerber, who is bidding to qualify from the round robin stage of the WTA Finals for the first time, has been drawn in the Red Group, alongside Halep, the winner of three titles in 2016, Dominika Cibulkova, whose late-season from carried her into the tournament and Madison Keys, who has reached a career high of World No.7 this year.

Radwanksa, who defeated Petra Kvitova in last year’s final, leads the White Group, which also features Garbiñe Muguruza, who won her first-ever Grand Slam at the French Open in June. Karolina Pliskova, who was defeated by Kerber in the final of the US Open, is the final known player in the group, with one place yet to be determined.

That spot will be filled by the Brit Johanna Konta unless Svetlana Kuznetsova wins the Kremlin Cup. The Russian plays Elina Svitolina in the semi-final in Moscow later on Friday.

Read: Kerber, Radwanska Lead Red & White Groups In WTA Finals Round Robin Draw

MOSCOW, Russia – Svetlana Kuznetsova kept up her chances of qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by beating Elina Svitolina, 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-4, in Friday’s Kremlin Cup semifinals.

Watch live action from Moscow & Luxembourg this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!

The Russian must win the tournament to overtake WTA Most Improved Player of the Year Johanna Konta and secure a spot in Singapore.

After Svitolina started the match with a routine hold, the Ukrainian squandered three chances to move a break ahead and the Russian never looked back in the first set.

In the second set, however, the World No.15 provided much sterner opposition, breaking to love in the fifth game. Kuznetsova broke back immediately but once again fell behind a break in the very next game, despite saving two break points.

Svitolina tightened up when serving for the set, falling 0-40 behind in flash. She saved all three but succumbed to the pressure on the fourth.

However, she was not left to rue her profligacy and she claimed a highly attritional tie-break convincingly after producing a series of excellent groundstrokes, with Kuznetsova making some untimely unforced errors.

Kuznetsova appeared to be tiring but soon stopped Svitolina’s march. After a lengthy break before the decider, the top seed returned with renewed vigour, sending down a series of vicious shots to break in the opening game.

The 31-year-old saved two break points in the following game to consolidate her advantage but from there she was well on top and Svitolina was unable to get back in the match as Kuznetsova got her WTA-leading 20th three-set match win of 2016.

Kuznetsova has won 20 3-set matches in 2016. She won 17 3-set matches in 2014 and 2015 COMBINED https://t.co/kdPEISJspn

— Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) October 21, 2016

“I knew what I had to do but in the second set I stopped playing the ‘right’ tennis. I realized what was going on, I understood it was wrong but couldn’t do anything about it. And I had to play three sets,” Kuznetsova said in her post-match press conference.

Kuznetsova will face Daria Gavrilova in the final after she overcame Julia Goerges, 7-5, 6-1. Gavrilova, who was born in Moscow, received plenty of support from the Russian crowd, helping her through a rollercoaster first set and into the first final of her career.

“When I arrived in Hong Kong a few weeks ago, I didn’t expect to be finishing the season so well,” Gavrilova told wtatennis.com. “Playing here in Moscow I’m getting a lot of support – I have a lot of friends and family in the crowd – and even though I’m very tired this helped me come through the difficult moments in the match today.

“In the final I know Sveta will get a lot of support, but this is normal. It has been a great week and I am playing with no pressure so I will go out and play my game and see what happens.”