Tennis News

MALLORCA, Spain – Eugenie Bouchard and Jelena Jankovic both overcame sluggish starts to get their Mallorca Open campaigns off to a winning start and advancing to the second round.

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The inaugural International event, staged right on the Mediterranean coast in Santa Ponsa, looks just as much like a relaxing getaway as it does a WTA event, and quite the opposite of a typical grass court tournament.

“It’s different, to have a tour spot in a vacation spot here like this,” No.8 seed Bouchard said.

“It’s hot over here, we’re not used to that when we play on grass, it’s usually cold rainy countries so this is a refreshing change.”

Bouchard raced through the opening set against Danka Kovinic, but had trouble keeping up the intensity in the second as the Montenegrin player climbed to a 5-2 lead. Bouchard reeled off the next five straight games to defeat her 6-3, 7-5 and book a spot in the second round.

“I think I played pretty solid,” Bouchard assessed after the match. “On my part I thought I had some big weapons. She had a big serve and can hit big shots so I felt like I stayed with her when I needed to, but I kept fighting even though I was down in that second set.”

No.2 seed Jankovic had a similar struggle against Ana Konjuh, but in reverse: after a tense, lengthy struggle in the first set against the Croatian, Jankovic found her range and snapped up the second set, 7-5, 6-3.

“I had a slow start and my opponent was playing very well,” Jankovic said. “She was hitting strong and I was reacting very slow.

“I wasn’t really able to play my game but slowly, little by little, I started to get in my rhythm. I felt more comfortable on the court and I think she just couldn’t follow.”

While these two seeds advanced, another two went tumbling out as Sabine Lisicki dealt an upset to the No.4 seeded Kristina Mladenovic, 6-4, 6-4, and qualifier Sorana Cirstea knocked out No.5 seed Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-2.

What post match cool down looks like in Mallorca ?? pic.twitter.com/CSqKiIYwJI

— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) June 14, 2016

MALLORCA, Spain – Kirsten Flipkens played some of her most solid, complete tennis to complete the biggest upset of the Mallorca Open, knocking out top seed Garbiñe Muguruza in straights sets for a spot in the second round.

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In her first match since winning the French Open and ascending to World No.2, Muguruza just couldn’t get comfortable on the new, faster surface and was struggling with her serve.

“I think it was very tough,” Muguruza said after the match. “I barely had time to actually practice and enjoy the tournament.

“I wanted to play Mallorca so much and I tried, but then I went to the court and obviously I couldn’t find my rhythm. Also, [Flipken’s] game matches grass very well. My performance today was just not what I wanted.”

The Spaniard looked poised to roll through early on in the first set, breaking in the first game and consolidating for a 2-0 lead. But No.61 ranked Flipkens would have none of it, rallying to break back and erase Muguruza’s lead.

Despite Muguruza holding five other break points during the course of the first set, it was the Belgian who broke once again, closing the first set 6-3 against the World No.2. Flipkens marched through the second, getting the decisive break at 3-3.

Muguruza never recovered, and her Spanish homecoming was cut short, 6-3, 6-4.

“I had so many opportunities coming to me that I couldn’t take, and she played really well during those big moments,” Muguruza said. “So the match started slipping away from me little by little.”

“It was great to be back here and playing in Spain, and especially in my first tournament [since the French Open] it was even more special. Hopefully next year it will be better.”

Flipkens’ game loves the faster surfaces: with today’s win over Mugurza, Flipkens notched her fourth career win over a Top 10 player, and her first since 2013, when she shocked the then No.8-ranked Petra Kvitova in Wimbledon. In fact, three of those four Top 10 wins have come on grass courts.

Up next for Flipkens is Monica Puig, who defeated Julia Goerges, 6-4, 7-5.

? ? pic.twitter.com/4oDApw8yb0

— WTA (@WTA) June 14, 2016

BIRMINGHAM, England – Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova began her grass court campaign in style by brushing aside Lucie Safarova in the first round of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.

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With another gloomy forecast predicted, Kvitova will have been pleased to get on and off court in such a timely manner, wrapping up a 6-3, 6-2 win in just over an hour.

“I think the schedule was perfect today for me. Definitely. I think we played good match today. We finished before the rain obviously. But I think that it really doesn’t matter. I’m just happy I won,” Kvitova said.

Historically, Safarova’s name has been a welcome sight on the draw sheet for Kvitova, the latter winning all eight of their encounters. Among the more recent of these came en route to the second of Kvitova’s titles at the All England Club, in 2014, and she produced a similar level of tennis in Birmingham.

Having lost early at Roland Garros, the Czech has had plenty of time to acclimatize her game to the unique challenges presented by the brief grass court season.

“I practiced three or four times on the grass here. And I practiced twice indoors before today’s match,” she said. “I think with the timing everything was fine. It’s pretty fast and bouncing very low. So I was glad that we played some kind of short rallies today as well. But most of the time, it’s about the one-two shots in the rallies.”

#AegonClassic Shot of the Day time as @Petra_Kvitova blasts a huge forehand winner! #powerhttps://t.co/IuPJIC3KEp

— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) June 14, 2016

She got the ball rolling with one such exchange, a rasping forehand down the line bringing her a break in the second game. An ace down the T saved Safarova from falling a further break behind, but with Kvitova’s own serve on song she never looked in danger of rescuing the set.

The second was even more one-sided, Kvitova posting five games without reply as she cantered towards victory and a second-round meeting with Jelena Ostapenko.   

Also beating the rain was qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova, who defeated Lesia Tsurenko, 6-4, 6-2. 

Clay court tennis is commonly associated with drawn-out baseline battles, but at Roland Garros the WTA’s big servers were doing their best to keep these to a minimum.

Unsurprisingly, Serena Williams led the way in terms of both aces and service speed. Her fastest of the fortnight was clocked at 121.8mph – a figure matched by one of the game’s stars in waiting, Naomi Osaka. They were not the only ones notching noteworthy numbers, either; Océane Dodin, Madison Keys and Danka Kovinic all threatening the 120mph mark.

Roland Garros
1. Serena Williams – 121.8mph / 196.0kph
1T. Naomi Osaka – 121.8mph / 196.2kph
3. Océane Dodin – 119.9mph / 193.0kph
4T. Madison Keys – 119.3mph / 192.0kph
4T. Danka Kovinic – 119.3mph / 192.0kph

2016
1. Serena Williams – 127.0mph / 204.4kph (Indian Wells)
2T. Lucie Hradecka – 123.0mph / 197.9kph (Indian Wells)
2T. Venus Williams – 123.0mph / 197.9kph (Miami)
4. Timea Babos – 122.0mph / 196.3kph (Indian Wells)
5. Naomi Osaka – 121.8mph / 196.2kph (Roland Garros)
6. CoCo Vandeweghe – 121.mph / 194.7kph (Indian Wells)
7T. Madison Keys – 119.9mph / 193.0kph (Australian Open)
7T. Océane Dodin – 119.9mph / 193.0kph (Roland Garros)
7T. Polona Hercog – 119.9mph / 193.0kph (Australian Open)
10. Danka Kovinic – 119.3mph / 192.0kph (Roland Garros)

All-Time
1. Sabine Lisicki – 131.0mph / 210.8kph (2014 Stanford)
2. Venus Williams – 129.0mph / 207.6kph (2007 US Open)
3. Serena Williams – 128.6mph / 207.0kph (2013 Australian Open)
4. Julia Goerges – 126.1mph / 203.0kph (2012 French Open)
5. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy – 126.0mph / 202.7kph (2007 Indian Wells)
6. Nadiia Kichenok – 125.5mph / 202.0kph (2014 Australian Open)
7. Lucie Hradecka – 125.0mph / 201.2kph (2015 Wimbledon)
8. Anna-Lena Groenefeld – 125.0mph / 201.1kph (2009 Indian Wells)
9T. Ana Ivanovic – 124.9mph / 201.0kph (2007 French Open)
9T. Denisa Allertova – 124.9mph / 201.0kph (2015 Australian Open)