Montréal: Halep vs. Gavrilova
Simona Halep takes on Daria Gavrilova in the second round of the Rogers Cup
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.
When Serena Williams dons the Team USA colors for the fourth time in her illustrious career, she won’t only be playing for herself.
“You’re playing for your country, and you become really proud to be where you’re from,” she says in a new advertisement made by Mini USA.
The campaign, called “Defy Labels,” allows Serena to tell the story of growing up as a young girl in Compton, California, and how she went on to become one of the greatest tennis players the world has ever known.
“If I was talking to the kids in Compton, I would tell them that no one can define you, no one can put a label on you.
“No one can say, ‘This is what you’re supposed to do,’ and when you think of all the Olympic athletes, they are really doing something that is beyond everything that they should have done – having the chance to win a gold medal and compete against the best of the best across the globe.”
Posted on Serena’s official Facebook page, check out the full video right here on wtatennis.com:
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Home favorite Eugenie Bouchard begins her Rogers Cup challenge against 2012 semifinalist Lucie Safarova, while Simona Halep looks to continue her recent good form when she takes on the dangerous Daria Gavrilova.
Tuesday, First & Second Round
Central
Lucie Safarova (CZE #28) vs. Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #42)
Head-to-head: Safarova leads 1-0
On Tuesday evening, Eugenie Bouchard will make her first appearance in her hometown since a humbling defeat to Shelby Rogers two years ago. Her opponent will be Lucie Safarova, who, despite slipping from her Top 10 perch has been showing signs lately of a return to form.
Laid low at the start of the year due to a bacterial infection, Safarova did not win her first match until the Prague Open in April. She went on to lift the title in the Czech capital and since then has continued along the road to recovery. Likewise, Bouchard is on the comeback trail following her well-documented struggles in 2015.
Older and wiser, the Canadian No.1 now feels better equipped to handle the weight of expectation: “I have the same excitement I had going into this Rogers Cup as I did in 2014, and I do feel a lot of attention and pressure and expectation no matter what my ranking is right now. But I do feel I’ve adopted a better attitude towards it, in a sense that I’m more relaxed. In 2014 I was a little overwhelmed, because it was very crazy.”
The two have met once before, also coming on Canadian soil, Safarova winning in three sets en route to the Québec City title back in 2013.
[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Daria Gavrilova (AUS #45)
Head-to-head: tied 1-1
Following an injury-riddled start to the season, Simona Halep has been one the WTA’s most consistent performers in recent months, winning 18 of her past 21 matches.
The last five of these came in front of her home fans in Bucharest, where she collected a 13th career title. On Tuesday, the tennis world will find out whether the Romanian can carry this form across the Atlantic and repeat the type of tennis that took her to last year’s Rogers Cup final.
“The more matches I play it helps me get confidence and get used to the pressure,” Halep told wtatennis.com. “I have this tournament, I have Cincinnati, so I think I have enough – I’m also playing doubles here – time to be ready for US Open.”
Under the tutelage of Nicole Pratt, Halep’s opening opponent, Daria Gavrilova, is developing the type of all-court game capable of troubling anyone on tour. Halep should know, having already lost to her this season, at the same stage of the Internazionali BNL D’Italia in Rome.
Stat to watch: Gavrilova has only lost one of her four matches against Top 10 players in 2016.
Also on court…
Sandwiched between the above matches on Central will be Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza’s return, taking on the big-serving Naomi Broady. Over on Banque Nationale No.10 seed Madison Keys meets Wimbledon semifinalist Elena Vesnina, before Johanna Konta, fresh from victory in Stanford, faces Bouchard’s 2014 conqueror Rogers.
CoCo Vandweghe’s Olympic dream took an unexpected turn when the American injured her right ankle during her Bank of the West Classic quarterfinal against Alison Riske.
Not long after retiring from the match, Vandeweghe expressed an unwavering desire to be ready to play doubles with fellow BNP Paribas Open winner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
“I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago in Stanford, but glad the fall looked worse than it was,” she said on Monday. “Back now in training mode for Rio – hard work never sleeps! Thank you again to the tournament and Bank of the West for all of their support and I hope to see everyone again next year.”
We wish you a speedy recovery, @CoCoVandey! #BOTWC https://t.co/kAB9xbPmGe
— WTA (@WTA) July 23, 2016
Vandeweghe soon learned that the fall looked much worse than it was, and all doubt was laid to rest after confirming that the injury was, in fact, just a sprain. CoCo took to social media to show her rehab already underway.
“I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago in Stanford, but happy to say it’s just a sprain,” she said on Monday. “I’m back now in training mode for Rio – hard work never sleeps! Thank you again to the tournament and Bank of the West for all of their support and I hope to see everyone again next year.”
Vandweghe’s coach, Craig Kardon, also tweeted out one of their workouts:
Look out Rio #RoadToRio @cocovandey pic.twitter.com/sVoLtLwddk
— craig kardon (@ckardon) July 25, 2016
With two weeks to go for her Olympic debut, the 24-year-old is back in Rancho Santa Fe training with more fire and heart than ever, making it crystal clear that there is no way she will be missing the Rio Games.
Barbora Strycova has Monday’s shot of the day at the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.12 seed Petra Kvitova weathered a rainy day at the Rogers Cup to rain down on Madga Linette, 6-1, 6-2, in just over an hour on Court Central.
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Kvitova’s first North American hardcourt title came in Montréal back in 2012, and he rode those good memories to an emphatic win over Linette on Monday night.
“I think the rain is following women’s tennis right now – wherever we are it’s a rainy day! – so I’m just happy I was able to play. It was the night session, but I just had to wait a little bit longer and I’m glad that I played, I won and I’m through,” Kvitova said after the match.
Linette pushed former No.1 Venus Williams to three sets last week at the Bank of the West Classic, but was overwhelmed by the two-time Wimbledon winner, who won nine of 12 points on second serve return points and didn’t face a break point in any of her own seven service games.
Thanks to the best ball kids! Haha and to the crowd for staying out after the rain, had fun out there tonight ?✌ pic.twitter.com/5p5QakiAhQ
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) 26 July 2016
Kvitova’s next obstacle as she looks to rouse a slumbering season is either Alizé Cornet or Andrea Petkovic. “My first half of the season wasn’t as great as I would have wished, but I’m always believing that I can come back and play well. This is a chance for me and I’ll do everything I can to go far.”
Another seed making progress in the bottom half was 2011 finalist Samantha Stosur, who finished strongly to get past Heather Watson, 7-5, 6-3. “To get through in straight sets, I’m pretty happy,” Stosur said. “Overall I thought I served pretty well. There weren’t a lot of points off my serve where she could dictate off the first shot.”
Around the grounds, qualifier Camila Giorgi squeaked past Sloane Stephens, 7-6(2), 7-6(4). No.17 seed Elina Svitolina knocked out American qualifier Jennifer Brady, 6-2, 6-4, while Naomi Broady fought back to defeat Monica Puig, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.