Indian Wells: Story Of The Tournament
The story of the tournament from the BNP Paribas Open.
The story of the tournament from the BNP Paribas Open.
No.3 ranked Angelique Kerber – along with the rest of the Miami Open’s top seeds – met the press at All-Access Hour on Tuesday ahead of the start of play.
“I have much more confidence inside of me. It feels a little bit different but at the end, I know that I need to go to work again, going on practice courts, working hard,” said Kerber on how she’s coping with the added pressure of being a Grand Slam champion.
Last year’s Miami Open finalist, Carla Suárez Navarro, is hoping to do one better this year and claim her first title at Crandon Park.
“Always when she’s in the tournament, she’s the favorite,” said Suárez Navarro on top seed Serena Williams, who defeated her in last year’s final. “She’s always the best because she always wants more.”
“It’s great to be around all these champions and great players, and it was very inspiring for me,” said Belinda Bencic, the youngest member of the Top 10. “That’s why I felt quite good here, and I’m starting to really feel like I’m a part of this whole thing.”
Defending champion Serena Williams has reached two finals this year, and the nine-time Miami Open champion hopes familiar ground will lead her to her first 2016 title.
For Williams, Miami is the closest thing to a home tournament: “This is the tournament that I’ve grown up coming to. Being a local it’s so easy for me to go home, come here, and it’s been just so great to tennis for decades.”
Though Simona Halep comes into Miami with no expectations, her objective is clear: “It’s tough to have expectations after three tough months this year. Always, when I go on court, I want to win the match. I fight for it.”
World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska, who’s made the semifinals or higher at every tournament since October, is hoping her consistent run of form will help to grab a second Miami Open title this year.
Petra Kvitova is happy to be back in Miami: “I missed it last year, and I’m very happy to be here again. I missed the tournament; it’s just beautiful up here.”
Watch all of the best shots of the BNP Paribas Open – right here!
The BNP Paribas Open caused some seismic shifts to the Road to Singapore leaderboard; while Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber remained atop the standings, No.2 Serena Williams and No.3 Victoria Azarenka are hot on her heels as the tour turns to the Miami Open.
Kerber suffered a second straight WTA loss in the second round of Indian Wells, losing a tight contest to Denisa Allertova. By contrast, Williams and Azarenka made it all the way to the final, with the Belarusian winning her fourth career match over the 21-time Grand Slam champion and her second title of the season after the Brisbane International.
Not far behind is reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Agnieszka Radwanska; the new WTA World No.2 reached another big semifinal in Indian Wells, narrowly losing to Williams in two tough sets. Drawn to face the American again in the semifinals, Radwanska rounds out the Top 4 on the RTS Leaderboard.
Qatar Total Open champion Carla Suárez Navarro saw her progress on the RTS Leaderboard stunted when a right ankle injury took her out of Indian Wells, while a left foot injury caused St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy winner Roberta Vinci into retiring in the fourth round – leaving the veterans at No.5 and No.6 respectively.
Johanna Konta took out Allertova en route to the second week, losing a three-setter to eventual semifinalist Karolina Pliskova; the Australian Open semifinalist not only became the highest-ranked British woman since 1987 (Jo Durie), but she also kept ahead of No.8 Belinda Bencic, who dropped out in the third round to Magdalena Rybarikova.
An upper respiratory illness likely kept Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runner-up Barbora Strycova from making a bigger leap; already moving up three spots to No.9, the Czech veteran retired down a set to Simona Halep, whose own run saw her jump nearly 50 spots and into the Top 40.
Meanwhile, Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza retained the top spot on the RTS Leaderboard in doubles, while Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe debuted at No.7 following their championship win over Pliskova and Julia Goerges, who are all the way up to No.4 with two strong results in Melbourne and Indian Wells.
Click here to see the singles and doubles leaderboards heading into the Miami Open.
Highlights from final round action at the BNP Paribas Open.
THE WINNERS
Victoria Azarenka continued her near-perfect start to 2016 by showing vintage form against an out of sorts World No.1 Serena Williams to win the BNP Paribas Open final, 6-4, 6-4.
Azarenka is now the only player to defeat the American in more than three championship matches, and she had nothing but praise for her opponent after the match:
“I wanted to first address a personal thank you to Serena,” she said. “I know how emotional it was for you to be back here and you truly inspired so many people out there to see the type of commitment you have to the game. It’s truly inspiring.
“Thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. You are an amazing competitor who changed the game.”
With Sunday’s win, Azarenka will return to the Top 10 for the first time since the summer of 2014, at No.8. Meanwhile, Serena remains atop the WTA rankings heading into the Miami Open, a tournament she has won eight times.
Read the full story and watch highlights here. | As It Happened: Game-by-game analysis.
On the doubles side, Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe couldn’t have asked for a more perfect WTA debut to their newly-minted partnership – the pair rallied back from a set down to defeat Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-4, 10-6, and claim the doubles title at the BNP Paribas Open.
“All week long we’ve had great fan support, which is so cool,” Mattek-Sands said afterwards. “As two Americans together, the support was awesome.
“It’s always special coming back here to Indian Wells, it’s kind of like our home tournament. We’ll be back next year for sure.”
Read the full story here.
GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider
Game: Victoria Azarenka back where she belongs.
This is the start to the season that I hoped Victoria Azarenka would deliver in 2015 after her terrible injury-laden season in 2014. Now 16-1 on the season and beating No.1 Serena Williams to win the BNP Paribas Open – her biggest title since the 2013 Australian Open – Azarenka is not just playing like a top player but she’s back in the Top 10 for the first time since August 2014. Her run to her second title in Indian Wells showcased her fight, battling through three sets to get past Sam Stosur and Karolina Pliskova, and she capped it off by becoming the first woman ever to beat Serena in four tournament finals.
On a quick-hit Dropshot episode of the WTA Insider podcast previewing the final, the Insider team discussed the nature of rivalries and whether Azarenka’s rivalry with Serena, in which she came into Sunday’s final with just three wins in 20 matches, could qualify as such. Her win on Sunday confirmed that when she is near her best – and sometimes when she is not – she remains the most consistent challenger to Serena in head-to-head matches.
Champions’ Corner: Vika Azarenka
Set: Emotions are still raw in the desert.
It was plain to see from the first game. Serena Williams was tight and she was trying to hit through her nerves. I asked Serena after her semifinal win over Agnieszka Radwanska whether the walk out to Stadium Court in Indian Wells still made her nervous, or whether a year after her return she could treat the walk-out like any other walk-out. She said all those emotions were behind her.
So you could understand Serena’s surprise when the nerves came back like a ton of bricks on Sunday, when she took to the court 15 years after her terrible experience 15 years ago. “I was definitely a little nervous,” she said. “I did not expect to be, at all, like zero, and then when I walked out there I was like, Oh, man, I’m really nervous. And really excited. Those emotions I had a little bit last year I was having again. Definitely did not expect that.”
But once again the crowd made her feel the love and for a second year in a row Serena fought back tears, this time during the trophy presentation. Azarenka kicked off her victory speech with a heartfelt, emotional salute to Serena and the two respected rivals laughed and photobombed their way through the ceremony.
After the match they were faced with questions about the derogatory and unacceptable remarks made by tournament CEO Raymond Moore and both Serena and Vika handled them with unmitigated poise and class. The ripple effects of the off-court controversy may continue, but on this Sunday these two fierce competitors were unimpeachable in every way.
Match: Karolina Pliskova finds her legs.
After a breakout 2015 season that saw her soar through the rankings to make her top 10 debut, it was difficult to know what to expect from the 24-year-old Czech this year. On top of playing the heaviest schedule of any top player she played a played through a busy off-season exhibition schedule. How much gas would she have in the tank?
Pliskova told WTA Insider she was mentally fried after Australia and needed to put her racquet down for a few days and get away. She did just that, taking a week off in Monaco, and a rejuvenated Pliskova marched her way to the biggest result of her career, making her first Premier Mandatory semifinal.
RANKING MOVERS
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of March 21, 2016.
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), +1 (No.3 to 2): Radwanska has been showing a lot of consistency in the past few months – she’s reached the semifinals or better at every event she’s played since October. It’s been paying off, too, and after a semifinal run at Indian Wells, she’s equaled her career-high ranking of No.2 in the world.
Victoria Azarenka (BLR), +7 (No.15 to 8): Azarenka’s roaring start to 2016 continued in the desert at Indian Wells, where she defeated Serena Williams for the BNP Paribas Open title. She’s now ranked No.8, the first time since the summer of 2014 that she’s inside the Top 10.
Misaki Doi (JPN), +11 (No.55 to 44): After bowing out of Indian Wells early, Doi stopped over at the inaugural WTA 125K Series event in San Antonio, Texas. Her title at the San Antonio Open puts her inside Top 50 for first time in her career.
Daria Kasatkina (RUS), +21 (No.48 to 36): 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina turned heads with her impressive run to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, and as a result she earned a career-high ranking of No.36.
Nicole Gibbs (USA), +21 (No.95 to 74): Another dream run belongs to the American Nicole Gibbs, a qualifier at Indian Wells. Her run to the fourth round bumps her up 21 spots to her career-high ranking of No.74.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
Miami Open
Miami, USA
Premier Mandatory | $6,134,605 | Hard, Outdoors
Tuesday, March 22 – Sunday, April 3, 2016
Katowice Open
Katowice, Poland
International | $226,750 | Hard, Indoors
Monday, April 4 – Sunday, April 10, 2016
Volvo Car Open
Charleston, USA
Premier | $687,900 | Clay
Monday, April 4 – Sunday, April 10, 2016
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – Miami
2. Agnieszka Radwanska – Miami, Katowice
3. Angelique Kerber – Miami, Charleston
4. Garbiñe Muguruza – Miami
5. Simona Halep – Miami
6. Carla Suárez Navarro – Miami
7. Petra Kvitova – Miami
8. Victoria Azarenka – Miami
9. Roberta Vinci – Miami
10. Belinda Bencic – Miami, Charleston
11. Maria Sharapova
12. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
13. Venus Williams – Miami, Charleston
14. Karolina Pliskova – Miami
15. Lucie Safarova – Miami, Charleston
16. Elina Svitolina – Miami
17. Ana Ivanovic – Miami
18. Sara Errani – Miami, Charleston
19. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Miami
20. Timea Bacsinszky – Miami
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) – March 21, 1992
Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) – March 21, 1992
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) – March 22, 1994
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) – March 23, 1985
Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) – March 26, 1994
Serena Williams had Sunday’s shot of the day at the BNP Paribas Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Victoria Azarenka continued her near-perfect start to 2016 by showing vintage form against an out of sorts World No.1 Serena Williams to win the BNP Paribas Open final, 6-4, 6-4, and return to the Top 10.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!
Playing in her first Indian Wells final since 2001, the top seed hadn’t dropped a set through her first five matches but struggled throughout the nearly 90-minute match, converting just one of 10 break point opportunities and striking 33 unforced errors.
Azarenka, by contrast, won 86% of her first serve points, and held off an impressive fightback from the 21-time Grand Slam champion – who won four games in a row with two chances to level the second set from 1-5 down – to win her second Indian Wells title, and first Premier Mandatory event since the 2012 China Open.
A gracious Serena fought back tears during her runner-up speech.
“It was really hard the last moment I had here wasn’t the greatest, so thank you so much,” she said, addressing the crowd.
“Thank you so much for the cheers; I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I can’t even begin to tell you!
“I’m just so happy to be able to stand here again.”
The Belarusian was equally effusive in her praise for Williams, against whom she has now won four of 21 total matches – becoming the only player to defeat the American in more than three championship matches.
“I wanted to first address a personal thank you to Serena. I know how emotional it was for you to be back here and you truly inspired so many people out there to see the type of committment you have to the game. It’s truly inspiring.
“Thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. You are an amazing competitor who changed the game.
“If it wasn’t for you and how hard you work and seeing you play so well, I wouldn’t be as motivated to come back and work so hard. Thank you on behalf of the sport.”
With Sunday’s win, Azarenka will return to the Top 10 for the first time since the summer of 2014, at No.8. Meanwhile, Serena remains atop the WTA rankings heading into the Miami Open, a tournament she has won eight times.
She does it! ?@Vika7 Azarenka captures @BNPParibasOpen crown & is heading back to the Top 10! #WTA https://t.co/bapdsRCuiu
— WTA (@WTA) March 20, 2016
Victoria Azarenka takes on Serena Williams in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Serena Williams renews her rivalry with Victoria Azarenka as they battle for the BNP Paribas Open title. Follow it all live right here!