Tennis News

ROME, Italy – Serena Williams emerged victorious in the first all-American final since 2012 – the first on red clay since 2002 – defeating countrywoman Madison Keys, 7-6(5), 6-3, to snap a nine-month title drought and win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the fourth time in her illustrious career.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!

“I feel like it was important for me to just go out there like usual,” she said in her post-match press conference. “It’s a totally new match, it’s a different week, you know, and hopefully just win one. If not, hope for next time, next week.”

Playing in her third final of 2016, Williams had spent the season in search of her first title since the Western & Southern Open last summer, and was the heavy favorite to break that duck against Keys, who was playing the biggest final of her career on what had hitherto been her least favorite surface.

“I think no matter how many times you play Serena, you always go in and you can just feel her presence,” Keys said after the match. “That’s always an extra thing that you have to be worried about during the match.

“But for me today it really wasn’t so much about how big the tournament was or anything like that. It was really just wanting to go out and do my best and give my best performance.”

None of that seemed to matter from the outset as Keys unlocked the early break, leading 3-1 in the first set. Williams steadied from there, winning the next three games and later grabbing the opening set in a tie-break.

“I think she’s such a powerful player,” Williams said, backing up her praise of Keys at net, when she predicted her opponent could be a future World No.1. “Obviously going in, I knew that, but I was just trying. I think I was pretty much able to just get back what I could, you know, and that’s all I was trying to do was just to go out there and be consistent, and, yeah, make my shots.”

Serving for the match in the second, there would be one final momentum shift as the 21-time Grand Slam champion was broken one game from the win, but the break was swiftly repaid in kind and Williams was the winner of a 70th career title – the fifth woman to achieve such a total in singles after Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, and Margaret Court. In all, she hit four fewer winners than Keys (13 to 17), but also eight fewer errors (24 to 32), and converted all but one of her six break point chances to seal the match in just under 90 minutes. 

“I'm so proud of you. You can get to World No.1.”@SerenaWilliams to @Madison_Keys #ibi16 pic.twitter.com/LA7lzmOcC3

— WTA (@WTA) May 15, 2016

Missing the Mutua Madrid Open due to illness, Williams was playing her first red clay event of the season; the win in Rome sets her up in good stead to defend her French Open title as she attempts to win her fourth crown there, as well.

“I have tried to defend there once, twice, three times before. Didn’t quite work so well. But this year is different. I’m going to definitely go in there and I feel more calm and I don’t feel stress to, like, have to win. You know, I feel like I just am happy to be out here.”

For Keys, it was a breakthrough run; recently pairing with new coach Thomas Hogstedt, the 21-year-old is set to re-enter the Top 20 at No.17 – not too far from her career-high of No.16.

“I think having a couple of Top 10 wins this week was really big for me and playing people who have done very well in Roland Garros and just on clay in general. But I think the biggest thing is just how calm I have stayed on court and really, even in tough situations, stayed calm and collected and just really focused on my game, and I feel like I’m just playing much smarter tennis.”

INCREDIBLE court coverage @SerenaWilliams! ? #ibi16 https://t.co/aOYNs2ggSI

— WTA (@WTA) May 15, 2016

ROME, Italy – Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza find themselves in pole position to complete the Santina Slam at the French Open with a 6-1, 6-7(5), 10-3 win over Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina to capture the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title – their first title since February and their first ever on red clay.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!

Hingis and Mirza were in their third straight final since the start of the clay court swing, falling both times to the streaking Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in both the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and Mutua Madrid Open. Across the net on Sunday were familiar foes in Makarova and Vesnina, who were playing just their second tournament together since last summer, having briefly split as the former healed a leg injury.

Winners of the last three major titles – and the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global – Santina exploited that ostensible rust early on, roaring through the opening set and carving out a 5-3 lead in the second.

Say Hi to the new womens' double Champions of #ibi16!! What an amazing match @mhingis @MirzaSania made it! ?? pic.twitter.com/5A2zqkb8mf

— Internazionali Bnl (@InteBNLdItalia) May 15, 2016

But the Russians had nearly won their most recent encounter at last year’s Wimbledon final, and wouldn’t accept defeat so easily, quickly leveling the set and later the match in a tie-break.

Hingis and Mirza shook off the hiccup to beat back their opponents and a gloomy forecast to capture their 14th title as a pair, and their fifth of 2016.

Heading into the French Open on a four-match winning streak, Santina next look to complete a box set of Grand Slam titles – a Santina Slam – that began at Wimbledon over Makarova and Vesnina, and took them through victories at the US Open and Australian Open in January.

Another title for @MirzaSania and @mhingis! #ibi16 https://t.co/kRsZ9udpkC pic.twitter.com/ZMCd8YjgH5

— TennisTV (@TennisTV) May 15, 2016

STRASBOURG, France – On the eve of Roland Garros, French star and No.4 Kristina Mladenovic earned her first WTA main draw win on red clay on Sunday – and not a moment too soon – against American Madison Brengle, surviving a topsy turvy tussle, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, in the first round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.

Mladenovic enjoyed an impressive streak through the clay court season in doubles with partner Caroline Garcia; together the pair won three titles and won 15 straight matches (including Fed Cup). At the same time, the 23-year-old went 0-3 in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome, and was a game away from elimination against Brengle, who led 5-4 in the final set.

“It wasn’t exactly the easiest match!” she said after the match.

Steadying her nerve, the 2015 US Open quarterfinalist ran off the last three games to reach the second round, where she will play another American in Alison Riske.

“The conditions were difficult with the wind and the match was swinging back and forth. It’s also cold on the court and difficult to get comfortable.

“At 0-30 down with her two points from victory, I knew I had to change the match and dig deep. I needed a cool head and was pleased I could turn that score round to my favour and get the win.”

Riske had typically earned her best results on faster courts, but faced few problems against French qualifier Alizé Lim, winning, 6-0, 7-5.

The biggest upset of the day occurred when No.9 seed Alizé Cornet lost to another qualifier, former World No.56 Alla Kudryavtseva, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Coming off of back-to-back doubles semifinals in Charleston and Madrid, Kudryatvseva was playing her first WTA singles main draw of the season, and bounced back from losing the opening set to dispatch Cornet in an hour and 45 minutes.

Hsieh Su-Wei was the third top doubles talent to emerge victorious on Sunday, taking out qualifier Xu Yi-Fan, 6-3, 6-1, while Swiss qualifier Jil Tiechman upset Kurumi Nara, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Alla Kudryavtseva @AllaK11 heureuse après sa victoire contre @alizecornet #IS2016 pic.twitter.com/Hjoq4DE7qh

— WTA Strasbourg (@WTA_Strasbourg) May 15, 2016

The last Premier final before Roland Garros will feature two Americans at different stages of their career and with contrasting clay court pedigree – here are 10 Things To Know about the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final:

(1) Serena Williams (USA #1) vs Madison Keys (USA #24)
Head-To-Head: Williams leads, 2-0

1) Williams has a fine record against fellow Americans.
Since losing to her sister Venus at Montréal in 2014, Williams has won 15 straight matches against Americans, including two against Keys (at the 2015 Australian and US Opens). Her last loss to an American in a final came way back in 2008, against Venus at Wimbledon.

2) The Eternal wait is over.
The Foro Italico will host the first all-American final on tour in nearly four years (Serena d. Vandeweghe, 2012 Stanford), and the first in Rome since Billie Jean King defeated Julie Heldman in 1970.

3) Williams in unfamiliar territory.
For the first time since 1998, Williams is contesting this tournament without already having a won a title in the season to date. Keys has also endured a slightly below par start, failing to make it beyond the quarterfinals of an event until this week.

4) Keys could secure a French Open boost.
Keys will move back into the Top 20 by virtue of reaching the final. Should the American lift the title, she will guarantee herself a Top 16 seeding at Roland Garros, avoiding the big guns until at least the fourth round.

5) Good omen for Keys.
The last time Keys defeated two Top 10 players in the same week, she won the title (2014 Eastbourne – No.7 Jelena Jankovic, No.9 Angelique Kerber). In Rome she has already overcome No.9 Kvitova and No.4 Garbiñe Muguruza. Will lightning strike twice?

6) Williams has won her last 19 matches in Rome.
Williams loves the Foro Italico clay, winning her last 19 matches there. Her last loss* at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia came in a third set tie-break against Jankovic in 2010.
* Injury forced Williams to withdraw prior to her matches with Christina McHale in 2015 (elbow) and Li Na in 2012 (back) 

7) Williams is trying to win her fourth Rome title – and 70th across all tournaments.
On Sunday afternoon, Williams hopes to lift the 70th title of her illustrious career, and the fourth in Rome. The other events she has won four or more times are the Australian Open (six), Wimbledon (six), US Open (six), WTA Finals (five) and Miami (eight). The only players to be crowned champion on four occasions in the Italian capital are Chris Evert (five), Gabriela Sabatini (four) and Conchita Martinez (four).

8) Keys is going for the biggest title of her career.
Perhaps surprisingly, Keys’ only WTA title to date came two years ago in Eastbourne. Despite her self-confessed preference for the tour’s faster surfaces, her only other final did come on the green clay of Charleston, ending in a three-set loss to Kerber last April.

9) Every underdog has its day.
World No.24 Keys is not the only unseeded player to make it to the final in Rome. In fact, in 2010, No.26 María José Martínez Sánchez managed the feat, defeating Jelena Jankovic to lift the title.

10) Williams is going for her 13th clay court title, the most of any active player.
Williams has the most WTA clay court titles among active players with 12. She still has quite some way to go to catch the all-time leader, Chris Evert, who lifted 66 trophies on the surface.