Tennis News

SINGAPORE – A late-season surge paved the way to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for Karolina Pliskova. However, the Czech, whose appearance is the culmination of a steady climb up the tennis ladder, is far from a one-hit wonder…

1) American dream
Pliskova impressed at the US Open this year. Playing in her 18th career Grand Slam, Pliskova advanced to the second week for the first time in her career. She saved match point against Venus Williams to make it to the quarterfinals, she shocked Serena Williams in the semifinals – and then came up just short in a thrilling final against Angelique Kerber.

2) Doing the double
Pliskova became the eighth woman ever to defeat both Williams sisters in the same tournament, and the fourth to do it at a major tournament. “There is not much better than to beat both sisters in one tournament in New York,” Pliskova said. “I’m really excited about those two wins.”

3) Victory over Venus
Pliskova’s win over Venus will have given her a smidge of satisfaction – it was the older Williams sister who beat her 7-5, 7-6(6) in the final at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai at the end of 2015.

4) Debut delight
Pliskova is making her debut in the WTA Finals after coming very close in 2015. Her run of form across tournaments in US Open, Nottingham and Cincinnati helped guide her qualification to Singapore. In addition to competing in singles, Pliskova will team up with Julia Goerges as one of the Top 8 doubles teams in the world competing at the WTA Finals.

5) Ranking rise in 2016
Pliskova rose to World No.6 after reaching the US Open final and nearly one month later made her Top 5 debut on October 10, 2016. In early August, she was ranked No.18.

6) Impressive climb
Her 2016 breakthrough has been the culmination of a steady climb up the ranks. Last year Pliskova finished just outside the Top 10 – having finished just outside the Top 20 the year before.

7) Twin magic
She and her sister Kristyna became the first twins ever to win a WTA doubles title in 2013 at Linz when they beat Gabriela Dabrowski and Alicja Rosolska in the final, 7-6 6-4.

8) Spot the difference
It’s easy to tell the Pliskova twins apart when they’re on court – Karolina plays right-handed, Kristyna left. You could also check their tattoos: Karolina has two Polynesian-style tattoos, one on her left thigh and on her left arm. Kristyna has one Polynesian-style tattoo on the inside of her left arm.

9) Top tournament
Pliskova lists her favorite tournament as the Australian Open, where she won as a junior; and in recent years, she has posted consecutive third-round appearances.

10) Sublime serve
Pliskova’s serve is perhaps her most well-known weapon. For the second consecutive year she has hit more than 500 aces, leading the WTA in both 2015 (517 aces) and 2016 (508). She also ranked second on the WTA in first serve points won (74.6%), trailing only Serena Williams (75.7%).

Linz, Austria – Dominika Cibulkova has bagged her third title of 2016 thanks to victory over Viktorija Golubic at the Generali Ladies Linz.

The Slovakian has now qualified for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for the first time in her career thanks to her 6-3, 7-5 win.

Cibulkova sidelined for 5mos last year w/ heel surgery. Fell out of Top 50, finished at No.38.

2016: 3 titles + 3 finals + Top 10 return.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 16, 2016

Cibulkova had started the brighter of the two players, coming close to breaking in Golubic’s opening service game but squandering two break points.

The 27-year-old continued probing for the advantage, letting another two opportunities slip before finally going 5-3 ahead and serving out the first set.

It was Cibulkova who made all the running in the final set, taking a commanding lead by breaking to love in Golubic’s second service game before being unexpectedly pegged back by the World No.62, who converted her first break point.

For the first time, Golubic began to pose a threat to Cibulkova but failed to take any of her seven set points before losing her serve and allowing the No.2 seed to complete her victory.

Hong Kong, SAR – Caroline Wozniacki’s strong finish to the season continued when she lifted the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open singles title at the expense of Kristina Mladenovic.

The Dane, who won the Toray Pan Pacific Open at the end of September, put in a fine performance to breeze past the 23-year-old, 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2 and complete her impressive end to the season, having had a 13-14 win-loss ratio before the US Open and a 19-3 one since.

Caroline Wozniacki was 13-14 this year before the US Open.

From New York until now: 19-3 with two titles and back in the Top 20.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 16, 2016

Wozniacki started the match at a canter, breaking the World No.54 in her opening service game, coming to net on break point after running Mladenovic off the court.

Wozniacki was hitting the ball sweetly, able to get her groundstrokes deep and powerful and a second break was to follow after she forced a tame backhand into the net.

After just 23 minutes, Mladenovic found herself serving to stay in the set and avoid a bagel, which she achieved thanks to a measured backhand volley into the corner. All it did was delay Wozniacki, who was undeterred in wrapping up the set.

Mladenovic underwent lengthy treatment before the second set, but returned to hold the first game, although she was still struggling with her first serve.

Wozniacki had looked likely to cement her advantage and break once more but, serving at 1-2, she contrived to let a 40-0 lead slip thanks and lost serve after sending a routine forehand into the tramlines. The advantage was short-lived, with Mladenovic sending a stroke wide to hand Wozniacki a break.

Mladenovic moved ahead once more thanks to a wayward backhand from the Dane, who struck back again to level the set immediately thanks to a pair of excellent returns at deuce.

The match settled into a rhythm from then on and a tie-break was needed to decide the set. After a frenetic breaker, Wozniacki sent a backhand into the net to hand Mladenovic two set points, and she only needed one.

However, her recovery was only brief and after Wozniacki had saved three break points in the opening game of the decider, she raced into a commanding lead.The first break came when Mladenovic sent a shot into the net and a second followed with an overcooked forehand.

Mladenovic had a partial recovery, holding serve then breaking back when Wozniacki was serving for the title, but the 26-year-old finally got over the line with her second match point.

Tianjin, China – Shuai Peng claimed the first WTA singles title of her career by beating Alison Riske at the Tianjin Open.

Peng, who has slipped to No.182 in the WTA Rankings because of injury problems, took a wildcard from the tournament and emerged victorious in the final by beating a player ranked almost 130 places ahead of her 7-6, 6-2.

It was Riske who made the early running but Peng proved to be obdurate opposition, saving nine break points before eventually succumbing to the American.

However, her advantage was short lived, with Peng breaking back immediately. Riske went up a break one more to give herself a chance to serve for the set at 6-5, but history repeated itself and Peng forced a tiebreak, which she eventually won.

Riske had a hangover heading into the second set, falling a break behind in the first game. Peng doubled her advantage soon after and closed out the match to confirm a stunning upset.

“The match was really tough for me today,” Riske said after the match. 

“I had a really tough day in general, playing Kuznetsova earlier, I did the best I could, Peng had a great match, she was the better player today.

“I think this year was huge for me, I finished in the top 50. I take a lot of pride in it and confidence from my season, I look forward to what 2017 brings.”

LINZ, Austria – No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova edged past No.4 seed Carla Suárez Navarro in straight sets to reach the final at the Generali Ladies Linz, her fourth WTA final of the year.

Both players came into Linz with Singapore on the mind, hoping to grab a last-minute qualification spot into the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

With the victory Cibulkova, who currently sits ninth on the Road To Singapore leaderboard, takes a big step toward qualifying for the season-ending event; she will qualify if she wins the title, so long as Svetlana Kuznetsova doesn’t win at the Tianjin Open.

“It’s a good feeling to know that I have a chance at the Finals,” Cibulkova said. “That’s why I came here. I knew that I needed to reach the final or win the tournament to have something from it, and I just handled that so good.”

Cibulkova opened the match with a comfortable service hold, but against the tricky Spaniard things quickly became complicated. The pair went on to break each other’s serve nine consecutive times in the opening set, and Cibulkova’s lone hold proved to be decisive as she took the set 6-4.

The Slovak held her ground in the second set, attacking Suárez Navarro’s one-handed backhand with her aggressive forehands, and she broke twice to take the match 6-4, 6-3 in just under an hour and a half.

Cibulkova will face Viktorija Golubic in the final after the Swiss player received a walkover in to the final from Madison Keys. Keys withdrew from her semifinal match due to respiratory illness.

“Maybe physically it’s an advantage for her, but this match against Carla gave me special confidence,” Cibulkova said of her opponent’s day off. “I just want finish here with a good feeling and go for it, and just keep playing like today.”

SINGAPORE – For the sixth straight year and eighth time overall in her career, Agnieszka Radwanska has qualified once again for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. And this time she returns not only as the defending champion, but as the most in-form player since the US Open.

Radwanska never expected the Asia-Pacific would become the home of her best tennis, but that’s been precisely the case over the last four years. She’s won 10 titles since the start of 2013 and eight of them have come in the Asia-Pacific. Of course, the biggest title of her career came last here in Singapore, where she scrapped to qualify out of the round robin stage before beating Garbiñe Muguruza in the semifinals and Petra Kvitova in a thrilling three-set final to win the WTA Finals.

The 27-year-old veteran continued that season-ending momentum into 2016. She started the season with yet another title in Asia, winning the Shenzhen Open, and backed that up with a solid run to the semifinals of the Australian Open. In fact, Radwanska made the semifinals or better at five of her first six tournaments of the season, including the BNP Paribas Open, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and the Qatar Total Open.

Most notable in 2016 was Radwanska’s more disciplined schedule. She had built a career on playing as much as her body would allow and often ran the risk of arriving to the tour’s biggest tournaments injured or fatigued. This year Radwanska opted for a more limited schedule, backing herself to do well on the surfaces on which she excels. She played just three tournaments on European clay, her worst surface, and shifted to a heavier schedule during the grass season. The gamble did not pay off immediately — she lost in a thrilling three-sets to Dominika Cibulkova in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon — but playing fewer tournaments over the course of the season eventually paid off.

Radwanska found her game during the latter half of the North American hard court season, making the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open before rolling to her second title of the year at the Connecticut Open. Then, when the tour turned to Asia, Radwanska turned on the jets. Radwanska insists she doesn’t do anything differently in Asia to get the results she does. It just so happens that when she’s here, the big points go her way.

“As we know, tennis is very tight,” Radwanska told WTA insider in Beijing. “Sometimes you lose because of a couple of points. Now, I’m winning those points more often. Everything might be similar, but at the end of the day, I’m the one winning the key points. It’s not about changing something big as much as it’s about being very focused in important moments and believing in yourself, that you can do it.

“Seriously, the Asian Swing is the toughest for everyone – and for me as well! Maybe because New York is not really for me, I’m always getting home earlier so I can get a good rest and then practice really hard to do well in Asia. I guess I’m just taking my chances here.”

The Pole surged through the fall season, making the semifinals at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, quarterfinals at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, before rolling to her biggest title of the season at the China Open. Radwanska did not lose a set in Beijing and became just the fourth woman to own three or more Premier Mandatory titles, joining a club that includes Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Victoria Azarenka. Radwanska finished her 2016 regular season with three titles and a 51-16 record.

Having now qualified for her sixth consecutive WTA Finals, Radwanska now holds the longest streak among active players. She will also finish the season in the Top 10 for her sixth consecutive season. She has been a steady Top 10 stalwart and her ability to do so without having a typical power game makes her career all the more inspiring. Most other players rely on pure power or athleticism to work their way to the top. Radwanska’s creativity and guile proves that there is another path to the upper echelons of the game, one that can enthrall fans, light up the hot shot highlight reels, and earn her some of the best nicknames in the game.

“I really like ‘La Professora’,” Radwanska said with a smile, when asked what for her favorite nickname was. “I think it comes from Spanish and Italian coaches or players. It’s great to hear this kind of nickname. It means I playing really good, perfection tennis.”

HONG KONG, SAR – No.5 seed Caroline Wozniacki ended Jelena Jankovic’s title defense hopes in straight sets at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open.

Wozniacki came into the encounter with Jankovic locked at 5-5 in their head-to-head record, but it had been two years since their last match. The resurgent Wozniacki – who’s won 17 of her last 20 matches – was able to break the tie and win 6-3, 6-2.

“I was very happy with the way I played – I think it was high level, from both of us,” Wozniacki said in her post-match press conference. “Wins like this always give a lot of confidence. I’m really pleased that I was able to win in two sets.”

Wozniacki and Jankovic traded breaks twice during a tense opening set. But then Dane found another gear with her aggressive groundstrokes and rattled off eight consecutive games to take the opening set 6-3 and go up a double break in the second, 4-0.

Jankovic managed to get one of the breaks back to narrow Wozniacki’s lead, but the resurgent Dane had pulled too far ahead, and they stayed on serve until Wozniacki closed out the match after an hour and forty-three minutes.

Excited to be in to another finals tomorrow! One more to go! #HongKong #finalno42 pic.twitter.com/p3ZYGmKnJu

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) October 15, 2016

“I’m really happy to be in another final,” Wozniacki said. It’s been a good week, and obviously it’s going to be a tough one tomorrow but I’m excited to play.”

Regardless of the result in the final, Wozniacki has already declared her post-US Open campaign and rankings comeback a success.

“I think I can be very proud of myself and the way I managed to fight back [this season],” she reflected. “Before the US Open, I was almost 80 in the rankings, now I’m back near the Top 20. It’s a big step.

“I think most importantly I’ve been playing well and getting a lot of wins in. I think that’s something I’m very proud of, and something I haven’t been through before.

“Proving to myself that I’m still one of the top players and that I’m tough to beat – regardless of how I do tomorrow or in Luxembourg – is definitely something that I could call a success.”

She sets up a final against Kristina Mladenovic after the Frenchwoman ousted Daria Gavrilova – author of yesterday’s upset over World No.1 Angelique Kerber – in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.

“It was a very difficult match, Dasha is a great player around the baseline and she’s very tricky,” Mladenovic said in her post-match press conference. “We saw her in the match against Kerber, and well, I thought it was a good fight for me out there and I’m very happy to win and be in the final in Hong Kong.”

SINGAPORE – Ahead of the defense of her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global title, wtatennis.com runs down 10 need-to-know facts about Poland’s finest, Agnieszka Radwanska…

1) Champion returns
Radwanska returns to Singapore for the sixth consecutive year – the longest active streak on the tour. Last year she finished the season in the best way possible, facing off against Petra Kvitova to win the WTA Finals championships match, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

2) Rank outsider
It might seem incredible, but right up until the US Open, Radwanska was still in with a shout of taking the World No.1 spot if she’d won the tournament. She arrives in Singapore as World No.3 after another year characterized by its consistency.

3) Early exit
Radwanska doesn’t have a great track record at the US Open, and this year was no different – she fell in the round of 16 at the hands of Ana Konjuh. She’s put a positive spin on that, though: she thinks that the early exit from the Slam gave her additional time to prepare for the Asian Swing, in which she once again excelled.

4) Cool in China
That’s been the case this year. Radwanska reclaimed the China Open title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Johanna Konta, crowning a dominant week in which she did not lose a single set. It was her 20th career singles title, third of the year.

5) Success in Asia
Asia has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Radwanska, who has won half of her 20 career titles there, including five of her last six.

6) Difficult defense
Radwanska is very well aware that it will be difficult for her to retain her title. “It’s the goal of everyone to qualify for the WTA Finals, and I’m happy to be returning to defend my title,” Radwanska said. “I’ve played at Singapore for a few years now, and qualifying again this year means I’ve had a great season – to be in the Top 8. It won’t be easy to defend my title, but that’s the goal. It will be exciting and a challenge to see different names and faces in this year’s field.”

7) Fabulous in fall
History is on her side, though – her tour record in the past five years shows that after the US Open she is the most difficult opponent to beat. Last year she went 17-4 in the Asian swing, winning all three WTA titles of the year in that stretch – and boosting her ranking from No.13 to No.5.

8) Five star
That meant she maintained her proud record as a fixture in the top five ranking slots – she dipped out in 2014, when she finished the year as World No.6.

9) Mandatory magic
After her win in Beijing this year, Radwanska became the fourth active player with three or more Premier Mandatory titles, joining Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.

10) Major performer
Radwanska is one of four players to have reached the round of 16 at all four majors this year (along with Serena Williams, Madison Keys and Carla Suárez Navarro).

LINZ, Austria – Garbiñe Muguruza has secured her spot at this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global after becoming the sixth player to qualify for the WTA’s year-end event.

Muguruza is set to make her third consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals in Singapore, having qualified in the doubles field in 2014 with compatriot Carla Suárez Navarro and in both singles and doubles in 2015.

“I am very excited to come back to the WTA Finals in Singapore,” said Muguruza.”Two years ago I made it in doubles, and this will be my second year in a row playing singles – both times I had a great experience and am happy to be going back. There are still matches to be played before the Finals, so I want to keep going here in Linz.”

Last year, the Spaniard went 3-0 in the round-robin stage of the singles competition, falling to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals. She also reached the final in doubles with Suárez Navarro. This year, the 23-year-old joins Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova in the singles field with two spots still left up for grabs.

“Congratulations to Garbiñe on qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global,” said WTA CEO Steve Simon. “Her fantastic year has solidified her among the eight best players in the world. Last year, she had a fantastic WTA Finals – going undefeated in the tough Round Robin stage – and we are excited to welcome her back to Singapore.”

After a breakout season in 2015, Muguruza kept the momentum rolling into 2016, clinching the biggest title of her career at Roland Garros – highlighted by her win over then World No.1 Serena Williams in the final. The Spaniard became the youngest first-time Grand Slam champion (22 years, 7 months) since Victoria Azarenka won the 2012 Australian Open aged 22 years, 6 months.

Other season highlights include two semifinal appearances at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the Western & Southern Open, and three quarterfinal runs at the Qatar Total Open , Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

The current Road to Singapore Leaderboard as follows (as of October 10, 2016):

HONG KONG, SAR – Angelique Kerber has crashed out of the Prudential Hong Kong Open, succumbing 6-3, 6-1 to Daria Gavrilova in the quarterfinals to throw her status as year-end World No.1 in doubt.

The German started the match at a canter, holding easily before breaking thanks to a pair of wayward forehands from the Australian after pushing her to deuce.

However, Kerber’s set collapsed from there, losing five games, surrendering her lead thanks to a forehand into the tramline. Kerber squandered four break points in Gavrilova’s next game before the 21-year-old moved ahead.

A second break, confirmed with an emphatic volley, put Gavrilova firmly in the ascendancy and though Kerber halved her deficit, the eighth seed took the set by breaking once more.

The first three games of the second set went with serve before Kerber sent down a double fault to give Gavrilova a break. There was little sign of a comeback from there. Though the US Open champion squandered two break points in the next game, she was broken to love thanks to a series of unforced errors to give the underdog a 5-1 lead.

The youngster made no mistake from there, wrapping up a big-name scalp, with Kerber sending yet another shot into the net.

“[I was not surprised by Gavrilova] because I know how she is playing but I was not playing my best tennis and my serve wasn’t working well and I can just say that I was not at my best, that’s for sure,” Kerber said after the match.

“It’s a long season and we’ve been playing for 10 months. I’ve been playing a lot of matches this year, and I think I need a few days off to get ready for Singapore because I am tired and I need a lot of treatment to get ready for the next one. I was not serving at my best, I made a lot of double faults which is not normal for my game.”

Gavrilova, meanwhile, was delighted after recording her first career win over Kerber.

“I guess I’m really excited, I’ve played Angie six times and now I’ve finally won, it’s really exciting,” she said. 

“I was prepared for a battle. I think Angie has had a long season. I didn’t expect to win that easily but I was ready to turn it around and get a win against her.”