Doha: Best Shots Of The Week
Watch all of the best shots of the Qatar Total Open – right here!
Watch all of the best shots of the Qatar Total Open – right here!
A distress signal went out over San Pedro de Pinta, a park in southwest Monterrey: the city was in trouble and they needed superheroes! Thankfully, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Monica Puig were there to answer the call.
They transformed into their favorite superheroes: Pavlyuchenkova – a three time champion here in Monterrey – donned Batman’s cowl and cape….
…while Monica Puig didn’t need a phone booth to become Superman.
Superheroes are always stronger when they work together, so Puig and Pavlyuchenkova teamed up to fight evil.
They took on a pair of dastardly villains, the Riddler and the Joker, in a doubles duel.
With the villains defeated and the city safe, Puig and Pavlyuchenkova took a victory lap around the court.
Thanks to our heroes for saving the day!
But not all heroes wear capes, though, as Caroline Wozniacki proved when she visited the Monterrey Tennis Center on Tuesday.
The Danish player shared her tips and experiences with the children and youth gathered there.
She told the kids – many of them tennis hopefuls – that there’s no big secret to tennis except for working hard and never giving up.
Afterwards, Wozniacki hit the court for a few tennis lessons.
After a day of anecdotes, inspiration and practice, it’s no surprise that Wozniacki became a hero to the kids at the Monterrey Tennis Center.
February was defined by five breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances to the second month of 2016. Which one soared the highest?
Have a look at the nominees for February’s Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, March 4.
February 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:
Jelena Ostapenko: The 18-year-old Latvian came good in a big way at the Qatar Total Open, reaching her first Premier-level WTA final with back-to-back wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova and Petra Kvitova with the help of a big serve, booming forehand, and a competitive intensity that belies her youth and experience on such big stages. Playing Carla Suárez Navarro in the championship match, Ostapenko continued to impress despite a three-set defeat to the veteran Spaniard, winning the opening set 6-1. Her Doha run brings her up to a new career-high ranking of No.41, and makes her the third 18-year-old to crack the Top 50 of a generation that already includes Belinda Bencic and Daria Kasatkina – the largest cohort of 18-year-olds since April 2009 (Caroline Wozniacki, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Sorana Cirstea).
Zheng Saisai: A former Youth Olympic Silver medalist, Zheng became the fourth Chinese player in history to defeat a member of the World’s Top 2 when she ousted Angelique Kerber, who was playing in her first WTA match since winning the Australian Open, in straight sets. The 22-year-old backed up the biggest win of her career with another straight-sets victory over former No.5 Eugenie Bouchard. Falling to Ostapenko in the quarterfinals, Zheng edges closer to cracking the Top 60 and cementing a solid start to 2016.
Daria Kasatkina: Another one of the rising WTA teens, Kasatkina continued to bring her best tennis at home by reaching a second WTA Premier semifinal at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy – following a run to the final four of the Kremlin Cup last fall. Taking out Kirsten Flipkens and Dominika Cibulkova in three grueling sets, the young Russian met former junior rival Belinda Bencic for the first time on the WTA level. Despite losing to the Top 10 debutante, Kasatkina broke into the Top 50, earning a career-high ranking of No.45. Playing solid tennis at the Qatar Total Open, she nearly upset red-hot Roberta Vinci, ultimately bowing out in a final set tie-break.
Caroline Garcia: The young Frenchwoman has long enjoyed impressive results in doubles – qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global alongside Katarina Srebotnik last year – but finally broke through on a big stage at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Recovering from a set down to defeat the No.3 seeded Suárez Navarro, Garcia also took out former French Open semifinalist Andrea Petkovic en route to the semis, where she lost to Barbora Strycova in three tough sets. Garcia also reached the doubles final alongside countrywoman and fellow youngster, Kristina Mladenovic.
2016 Winners:
January: Zhang Shuai
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are legends on the court and megastars off of it and on Sunday night they took a break from their Indian Wells preparations, stepping out for the star-studded 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles.
On the tennis court, white dresses are typically reserved for the lawns of Wimbledon, but the players changed things up for the world-famous after-party. Sharapova turned heads in her Preen By Thornton Bregazzi dress and Williams sported a dramatic Galia Lahav lace gown, along with a sleek new haircut.
Check out the night’s best pictures as Sharapova and Williams rubbed elbows with Caitlyn Jenner, Kate Upton, Kerry Washington and more, courtesy of Getty Images and Vanity Fair:
The Oscars also played out on social media, too, with everyone weighing in and showing plenty of love for the night’s biggest winners.
Check out what WTA players had to say about Leonardo DiCaprio, who took home his first Academy Award for Best Actor:
Congrats @LeoDiCaprio for your Oscar last night! #Oscars2016 #deserved
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) February 29, 2016
So happy for @LeoDiCaprio !!? After waiting this long, he can speak for as long as he wants! #celebritycrush
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) February 29, 2016
Life made. @LeoDiCaprio has won an Oscar and gives the speech of the evening. Good night.
— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) February 29, 2016
Leo with that speech. Drop the mic!!! Yes
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) February 29, 2016
What a great #Oscar acceptance speach from @LeoDiCaprio! ????#SpreadAwareness #climatechange #startwithonething
— Tsvetana Pironkova (@TPironkova) February 29, 2016
The best speech from the whole night Leonardo Dicaprio well-deserved!!! #oscars2016
— Varvara Lepchenko (@Varunchik1) February 29, 2016
Congratulations to @LeoDiCaprio for his Oscar last night! Well deserved and well overdue! #Oscars2016
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) February 29, 2016
? pic.twitter.com/WBXC5O11qC
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) February 29, 2016
No more photoshop memes for #LeonardoDiCaprio #Oscars2016 pic.twitter.com/oxLkeqsqFg
— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) February 29, 2016
Leo FINALLY got it… I don't think there would have a better moment to literally drop the mike… #LeonardoDiCaprio #Oscars
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) February 29, 2016
Belinda Bencic, Elina Svitolina, Jelena Jankovic, Agnieszka Radwanska or Garbiñe Muguruza – who will win February’s WTA Shot Of The Month? Click here to vote now!
MONTERREY, Mexico – Johanna Konta overcame a tricky opponent and gusty conditions to advance to the second round of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme, defeating Mariana Duque-Mariño 6-3, 6-3.
Watch live action from Monterrey & Kuala Lumpur this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
The last time Konta played in Monterrey was back in 2014, when the then-No.120-ranked Brit fell in the second round of qualifying to Belinda Bencic.
But a lot has changed in the two years since that disappointing result. Building up confidence from her strong showing in 2015 and even better start at this year’s Australian Open, Konta needed just over an hour to book her spot into the second round.
Konta’s last match in Mexico was last week in the hot and humid Acapulco, but the conditions couldn’t be more different in Monterrey, which is located on the foothills of the Sierra Madre in the northeast. Konta and Duque-Mariño faced dry and windy conditions throughout their match.
“It was a tough match, the conditions changed within the match itself,” Konta said after the match. “There’s not much I can do about the wind, so it would be silly for it to bother me.
“It’s an external thing, so you’ve just got to deal with it.”
Konta showed signs of her famed emotional stability early on – she came up with two break opportunities against Duque-Mariño and despite being unable to convert them, she stayed cool to grab the third break point and go up 4-2 in the opening set. She kept up the lead, dictating the points with her heavy forehand and closing out the set 6-3.
The Brit felt more pushback from Duque-Mariño in the second set – Konta broke at 2-1 to get ahead but the Colombian’s crafty slices forced a pair of forehand errors to bring up break point. Konta buried her serve into the net and handed the break right back for 2-2. She went on to win four of the next five games, taking the match at 6-3, 6-3.
“I had a very competitive match against a very good player,” Konta said of her No.74-ranked Colombian opponent. “I had to compete really hard and really stay focused, I’m happy I came through in the end.”
Another Brit is also through to the second round at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme; No.84-ranked Heather Watson battled past Misaki Doi in a three-set thriller. She overcame a shutout in the second set tiebreak to win the match 6-4, 6-7(0), 6-3 after two hours and 47 minutes. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni advanced to the second round with a win over Tatjana Maria, 7-5, 6-4. No.6 seed Alison Van Uytvanck wrapped up the day’s action with a comfortable win over Irina Falconi, 6-4, 6-2.
With the Abierto Monterrey Afirme in full swing, Caroline Wozniacki, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Monica Puig kicked things off by taking a walk on the wild side at the player party.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – No.3 seed Sabine Lisicki overcame energy-sapping conditions and a stubborn opponent to secure a place in the second round of the BMW Malaysian Open.
Watch live action from Monterrey & Kuala Lumpur this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Twelve months ago, Lisicki fell at the first hurdle in the Malaysian capital, but despite never quite finding her best tennis she dug in to defeat Magda Linette, 6-4, 7-6(5), on Monday.
In a match of contrasting styles, Linette’s resolute defense tested both Lisicki’s patience and fitness. The first of these seemed to be wearing thin during a dramatic conclusion to the second set, the German’s radar malfunctioning to gift Linette a 5-2 lead in the tie-break.
But with temperatures threatening the 100ºF mark, Lisicki was in no mood for a third set, rattling through the final five points to set up a second-round meeting with qualifier Barbora Krejcikova.
“She’s a tough opponent, especially for the first round, because she gets a lot of balls back,” Lisicki said. “She started pretty well and I think I needed to get my rhythm. Very tough conditions – very hot and humid – so I’m happy to be through in straight sets.”
Lisicki, who arrived in Malaysia with only two wins to her name in 2016, hopes the extra time on court will help shake off any lingering rustiness.
“You always have some ups and downs and I was very happy that I was able to play well from 2-5 in the tie-break,” she added. “I missed quite a few easy balls [earlier] but the most important thing is that I kept my concentration and got five points in a row – which is not the usual thing!
“I usually get used to the heat pretty quickly and I like it when it’s hot and humid – but here it’s a little bit extreme. It’s good preparation and I’ll try and get as many matches as possible and see how far I can go.”
Also advancing in Lisicki’s section of the draw was Kurumi Nara, who won an early evening marathon with Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(10). The match, in which both players saved multiple match points, lasted three hours and 20 minutes, making it the longest on tour this season.
Elsewhere, Hsieh Su-Wei improved her fine record at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jana Cepelova. “I think the weather is better for the Asian players, so to play at two o’clock was good for me,” Hsieh said. “It’s very hot and we are used to this more.”
Four years ago, Hsieh came through qualifying to lift her first WTA title and has since reached another quarter and semifinal. Seeded No.7 this time, she will meet Kristina Kucova next.