Stuttgart: Wednesday Highlights
Highlights from the first and second round action at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Highlights from the first and second round action at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Slippery Little Suckers: How is the Stuttgart court playing? It’s been described as slippery by a number of players, who have said they’re trying to treat it like a hard court and slide into the corners. Once you slide, you can’t stop.
The Curious Case of Aga on Clay: The Pole admits her struggles on clay are confounding, especially given the fact she grew up on the surface. Radwanska’s variety and court craft seem an excellent fit for clay but over time it’s become clear that she is at her best on faster courts. Radwanska says it’s just how her game has evolved given the prevelance of hard courts in today’s game.
“And I think every year it’s getting harder and harder,” Radwanska said in Stuttgart. “I also played so many years on clay. I grew up on clay, I played so many tournaments on clay and the when I started playing on the Tour everything changed. Everything is on hard court and I got so used to hard court. You know, now it’s so hard to play on clay again, especially because the clay court season is so short.”
When Head-to-Heads get mental: Ana Ivanovic fell once again to Karolina Pliskova, this time a 6-4, 6-2 loss in their first meeting on clay. Pliskova is now 5-0 against Ivanovic and the Serb has only been able to get one set off the Czech. Ivanovic says given her track record, she’s tempted to try and change her game against the flat-hitting Pliskova, but then she gives up on her strengths.
“That’s what I get caught up in because I feel like I should change something and I don’t know what,” Ivanovic said. “I tried to change the position on my standings, you know I wanted to play a little more slice, to move around but it’s hard because her balls are coming deep and strong and then I didn’t really get a chance to do that and whenever I threw in the high ball, I felt she handled it really well and she was not making too many errors.
“I thought on clay it would be a little bit different match. But it was still tough.”
Andrea Petkovic confident after Stuttgart fall: The German looks on her way out of her slump after scoring a tough three set win at Fed Cup, opening with a clean win over Kristina Mladenovic in Stuttgart, and then playing her best set of tennis a very long time by taking the opener 6-1 over Agnieszka Radwanska on Thursday. But Petkovic was never the same after taking a bad fall early in the second set and lost, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.
“I felt like a lot of things were coming together and after the fall, it was so annoying because nothing really happened,” Petkovic said. “It’s just that my back shifted a little bit and I felt very unsafe on my legs. It wasn’t that I had any pain or something but I was just more cautious in moving around and going into the corner. You know it’s helpful to move well against Aga Radwanska.
“So, yes, I’m just very annoyed right now. Luckily, I’m frustrated so I’m speaking very negatively, but I’m actually happy that nothing worse happened because I slipped on the line things could have gotten much worse. So, everything is okay but I’m still annoyed.”
Petra Kvitova’s Gamble Pays Off: Kvitova has never met a Fed Cup tie she didn’t want to play. So her decision to rule herself out of the Czech Republic’s semifinal tie against Switzerland last weekend was a surprising one. Kvitova was fully fit but opted out in order to focus on her preparation for the clay court swing.
So far so good. She double-bageled Louisa Chirico to start her tournament in Stuttgart and gutted out a win over Monica Niculescu, saving three match points to win 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 to make the quarterfinals.
Not that she’s not already dreaming of grass court season:
??? https://t.co/zbSRIsMm7B
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) April 21, 2016
Slicing and Dicing with Monica Niculescu: A lovely profile of the one-of-a-kind Romanian here.
During her career, the two-time WTA title-winner has enjoyed a lot of her success in Asia, particularly China. Niculescu announced herself massively on the tennis stage with a giant-killing run after qualifying for the 2011 Beijing Open, taking out Li Na along the way. It seems only right that one of her two titles came in China – namely at the WTA International event in Guangzhou.
“The people love me there. I don’t want to be…not modest,” Niculescu laughed. “The people like me, they like my slice forehand and I feel so welcome there every time. I remember when I won Guangzhou – they actually put a song [together] for me. I didn’t understand what they were saying because it was Chinese but then I heard ‘Monica! Monica!’ so it was my name [in the song]! I feel very good there, they love my slice!”
Louisa Chirico Stepping Up: The young American has scored wins over Lucie Safarova, Naomi Osaka, Camila Giorgi, and Daniela Hantuchova on clay over the last three weeks. Good profile from her via The Tennis Island.
Tournament Moves: As confirmed on the WTA Insider Podcast last week, the Katowice Open will move to Biel, Switzerland in 2017. The Kaohsiung Open will be moving to Taipei.
Maria Sharapova update: ITF President David Haggerty told the AP a decision could come down before Wimbledon.
Simona Halep’s Tough Recovery: A semifinalist last year, Halep bowed out of Stuttgart in her opening match, losing, 6-1, 6-2 to German qualifier Laura Siegemund. Halep struggled with her breathing during the match and chalked it up to her poor recovery from a heavy Fed Cup weekend. Halep’s coach Darren Cahill was not with her in Stuttgart but the pair will reunite next week in preparation for Madrid.
Caroline Wozniacki Battling Injury: Wozniacki has already withdrawn from both the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia due to the ankle injury she sustained during practice a week before Fed Cup. Can she get herself fit for the French Open?
Samantha Stosur and David Taylor to split: As reported by Australian media, Stosur and Taylor have agreed to part ways after the French Open.
Petra Kvitova hires Frantisek Cermak: Coachless no more. Kvitova has hired former ATP doubles specialist Frantisek Cermak as her new coach.
Happy to confirm that #teampetra has a new member. Frantisek Cermak will be my new coach going… https://t.co/RvZVnye4k8
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) April 14, 2016
Jarmila Wolfe undergoes surgery: The Australian underwent shoulder surgery in Texas this week.
At least I was rocking the hospital scrubs and yellow socks they gave me ???????✌️ pic.twitter.com/pBzKTRRQCp
— Jarmila Wolfe (@tennis_jarkag) April 21, 2016
Coping with Petko: Petkovic told reporters she’s currently reading Buddenbrooks, a 1901 German novel by Thomas Mann. She then went into her heady coping mechanism after losses:
QUESTION: It’s better than the sad French films when you lose on grass?
PETKOVIC: But come on, they are really good (laughs). When I lost in Australia I watched Souffle d’Amour or something.
QUESTION: Cheerful?
PETKOVIC: (laughs). Yes that was very cheerful. I really like to self-destruct. It’s one of my hidden talents.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelique Kerber has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
STUTTGART, Germany – German qualifier Laura Siegemund continued her Stuttgart romp, backing up her first-round upset of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with an even bigger win over No.4 seed Simona Halep for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I think it’d be presumptuous to say [the match] was perfect, because there is always something to improve,” Siegemund said. “But that was very good and of course I’m mega happy. I have not expected that it would go so smoothly.”
Halep, who was nursing a left ankle injury she picked up over the Fed Cup weekend during Romania’s 1-4 loss to Germany, was subdued against the German. The Romanian’s normally aggressive baseline play was noticeably absent, hitting only three winners and 10 unforced errors to Siegemund’s 28 and 14, respectively.
But Siegemund was undaunted by both the occasion and her ailing opponent. Playing in front of a local audience in her hometown of Stuttgart, Siegemund allowed Halep only three games in their hour-long match, winning 6-1, 6-2.
“I just played point by point,” the German said. “Sure, it’s definitely the biggest win of my career, but now after the match, I can only say, I have made few mistakes.
“I started very aggressively. That was the plan – attack her serve, tear open the field early. I know I’ve always done that well and it worked very well this time too.”
With the win Siegemund continues her upward momentum: earlier this year she defeated the World No.22 Jelena Jankovic at the Australian Open, and in Charleston she made the quarterfinals of a Premier-level event for the first time.
Siegemund will go on to play against Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, the Italian having booked her spot after brushing aside Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-4.
Roberta Vinci takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
STUTTGART, Germany – No.1 seed Agnieszka Radwanska started her clay season with a win over Germany’s Andrea Petkovic at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, winning 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 to make her way into the quarterfinals.
Their second round encounter was Radwanska and Petkovic’s sixth time competing against each other, with Radwanska staying undefeated against the German. However, all of those matches were contested on hardcourts, and Petkovic’s favored surface is red clay – four of her six titles have come on clay.
Playing on her favorite surface gave her an early edge – she won a drawn-out tug of war in the second game to break Radwanska’s serve and put the World No.2 down in a 3-0 hole. Petkovic covered the court, matching Radwanska’s famous variety shot for shot to take the first set.
The match took a turn in the second set, as Petkovic took a terrifying tumble just as Radwanska was finding her footing.
.@AndreaPetkovic takes a nasty fall, good news she's back up and playing! #PTGP pic.twitter.com/PX8fF0MLX2
— WTA (@WTA) April 21, 2016
“I slipped on the line and fell on my tailbone,” Petkovic explained after the match. “My ankle is okay, but my back is not so good. I just couldn’t move anymore.”
Though the German dusted herself off and continued on after taking a medical time out, Radwanska took advantage of Petkovic’s hampered movement and quickly closed out the set at 6-1 to level the match. It was one-way traffic from there, as the Pole dug from her arsenal of trick shots and booked her spot in the quarterfinals after almost two hours.
Radwanska sets up a quarterfinal clash against the big-serving Czech Karolina Pliskova. Pliskova extended her winning streak against Ana Ivanovic, cruising into the quarterfinals with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win.
More to come…
Angelique Kerber takes on Annika Beck in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
ISTANBUL, Turkey – Cagla Buyukakcay kept alive hopes of a Turkish champion at this year’s TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup with a comfortable second-round win over Sorana Cirstea.
Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Prior to this year Buyukakcay had never won a match in eight appearances at her home event, but after dispatching Cirstea, 6-4, 6-2, she has now registered two in three days.
“Yes it´s my best result in my country. I am very excited,” Buyukakcay said. “I think that at the beginning it´s tough, your people want you to play well, you feel the pressure. I handled it well in my first match here, and today I was focused on what I had to do well and not on the result.”
A flying start saw Buyukakcay rattle off four unanswered games, and despite surrendering one of these breaks she hung on to take the set. She made a similarly bright start to the second, breaking in the opening game when a Cirstea backhand found the top of the tape.
Cirstea had her chances to get back in the match, yet was left to rue a succession of spurned break opportunities, as Buyukakcay closed out the match to the delight of her compatriots in the crowd.
“I wanted to play well from the start and I think I managed to do it for the entire match,” Buyukakcay added. “I think that the difference was my mental approach and also because I feel well physically. I am also more experienced now, I have played the tournament for eight years now, and that has helped me to play better.”
Meeting Buyukakcay for a place in the semifinals will be No.6 seed Nao Hibino, a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner over qualifier Reka-Luca Jani.
“I’ve nothing to lose tomorrow against Hibino. She is a great player, Top 100, and I am enjoying how I am playing and want to focus on tomorrow and play well.”
Meanwhile, in the top half there were wins for Anastasija Sevastova and Kateryna Kozlova. Sevastova began Thursday’s play by ousting No.8 seed Johanna Larsson, 6-4, 6-3.
“It was a very tough match but a very high-quality clay court tennis match,” Sevastova said. “It was very close and only decided on a few points. It’s a good start of the clay season for me and I’m looking forward to my next match and will try to do my best.”
Kozlova was equally impressive in dispatching No.4 seed Kirsten Flipkens, 6-3, 6-4. “It was not an easy match because Kirsten doesn´t give you any rhythm so that was difficult. But the key for me was to stay calm. I am very happy to reach my win because it´s my first quarterfinal on clay. I feel good and hope to continue to do well,” Kozlova said.
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Timea Babos in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
On Thursday Time Magazine released the Time 100, its annual list of 100 most influential people in the world. Among global leaders and icons like the IMF’s Christine Lagarde, Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio, and more, is doubles co-No.1 Sania Mirza.
Mirza, the only tennis player on the list, made history in 2015 when she became the first Indian woman to achieve a No.1 ranking in tennis, win a Grand Slam and claim a second WTA Finals title. With her massively successful doubles partnership with Martina Hingis, she has not just produced spectacular tennis, she’s inspired a generation of Indians.
Her Time 100 tribute written by Sachin Tendulkar, one of the greatest cricketers of all time:
“The Mirzas probably knew what the future held for their daughter,” Tendulkar wrote. “Her name, Sania, means brilliant.”
Click here to read the full tribute and view the complete Time Magazine’s Time 100 list.