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Cibulkova Completes Semifinal Lineup

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

KATOWICE, Poland – Former World No.10 Dominika Cibulkova overcame a tight opening set and tricky opposition in 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone to reach the semifinals of the Katowice Open, 7-5, 6-1.

Watch live action from Katowice this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The 2014 Australian Open finalist had never lost to Schiavone in three previous encounters, but the Italian veteran had enjoyed a solid week in Katowice, taking out Alizé Cornet in straight sets on Thursday. Schiavone edged ahead 4-2 in the first set but only won two more games from there. It was a particularly solid second set from Cibulkova, who converted all three of her break point chances and clinched her third WTA semfinal of 2016 in just over an hour and 15 minutes.

“I wasn’t as aggressive as I could be at the beginning, and I think this suited her,” Cibulkova said after the match. “My coach just told me to play my game and be much more aggressive, to go for my shots and I think this settled me down. It was a close first set and once I got this it changed the match.

“I lost the first game, but I knew that nothing bad was happening. I started to get going and then it was 3-1 to me and then we had a long game for I think 4-1. Then I think she started to get nervous a little bit and was going for her shots a lot more. This is a type of game that I like to play, so she was making it easier for me.”

Standing between Cibulkova and a second final of the season is Pauline Parmentier; the 30-year-old Frenchwoman dismantled hometown favorite Magda Linette, 6-2, 6-4 to improve her head-to-head to 3-0 against the Pole.

Earlier in the day, Qatar Total Open finalist and No.3 seed Jelena Ostapenko won a battle of big-hitters by taking out No.7 seed Timea Babos, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3. Surviving the opening set in a tie-break, Ostapenko lost serve three times to see her lead evaporate, but took better initative in the decider to earn her best result since her breakthrough week in Doha.

Camila Giorgi played the longest match of the day to reach a third straight Katowice semifinal, overcoming a second set hiccup to defeat 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, in two hours and nine minutes. Giorgi dropped just four points behind her first serve in the deciding set and aims to return to the Katowice final for a third straight year – finishing runner-up to Cornet in 2014 and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in 2015.

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WTA Player Of The Month: Azarenka

WTA Player Of The Month: Azarenka

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka began the month of March ranked outside the Top 10 and heads into April back inside the Top 5 for the first time since 2014, having captured back-to-back titles at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open.

Gritting out several tough three-setters in Indian Wells, Azarenka enjoyed a comprehensive upset of top seed and 21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams for her fourth career victory over the American and second title in the California desert. She followed up the feat by winning Miami, becoming the third woman in WTA history to win the prestigious and elusive Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double.

“It’s been a really long month and to be able to contain this determination and that intensity throughout all the matches is definitely not an easy task,” Azarenka told WTA Insider in the latest Champion’s Corner.

“The last couple of days especially have been a lot of expectations and pressure from the outside to complete the Sunshine Double and so I’m very proud that I kept myself present, kept myself really focused and focused on the job before anything else.”

Focused and intense throughout the Miami fortnight, Azarenka didn’t drop a set en route to her third Miami title; the win increased her 2016 total to three WTA titles and brought her up to the top spot on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard.

“Pressure is something that I want to go after, something that I want to face, and the challenge I always want to face.

“I’m never going to be the type of person who runs away from a challenge, no matter how hard it is, because that’s what gets me excited and a hardened competitor.”

With more challenges ahead of the Sunshine Double winner, Azarenka appears ready to move even higher as March’s WTA Player Of The Month!

Final Results for March’s WTA Player Of The Month

1. Victoria Azarenka (70%)
2. Svetlana Kuznetsova (17%)
3. Serena Williams (13%)

 Victoria Azarenka

2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners

January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com 

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WTA Shot Of The Month: Radwanska

WTA Shot Of The Month: Radwanska

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

March was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.

In the end it was Agnieszka Radwanska once again who played one of many memorable shots to engineer a match point against the equally tricky Monica Niculescu. On her way to briefly reclaiming the World No.2 ranking for the first time since 2012, Radwanska hit a most improbable passing shot to stun the BNP Paribas Open crowd – and taking home this month’s top votes.

Click here to watch all of March’s finalists.

Final Results for March’s WTA Shot Of The Month

1. Agnieszka Radwanska (55%)
2. Simona Halep (33%)
3. Camila Giorgi (5%)
4. Serena Williams (4%)
5. Angelique Kerber (3%)

 Agnieszka Radwanska

2016 WTA Shot of the Month Winners

January: Caroline Wozniacki
February: Agnieszka Radwanska

How it works:

Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com 

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WTA Breakthrough Of The Month: Gibbs

WTA Breakthrough Of The Month: Gibbs

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Nicole Gibbs

Nicole Gibbs’ rapid rise up the rankings hit its zenith during the Sunshine Swing. The American was coming off a run to the quarterfinals of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme but truly showed what she is made of in Indian Wells and Miami.

In only her second BNP Paribas Open appearance, she qualified by upsetting top seed Anna-Lena Friedsam and took out World No.24 Madison Keys to reach the round of 16, where she pushed two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova to three sets.

Making her main draw debut in Miami, Gibbs continued grabbing headlines – on and off the court.

“Hundreds of fans were filing in as the announcer sent my name flying up into the night sky and it was met with energy,” she said in her latest WTA Insider blog. “Not final round qualifying on Court 1 energy, and not even first on Stadium Court at 11am. This felt like the real deal in a way that no prior experiences had prepared me for. Meanwhile, for my opponent, No.4 in the world, this was nothing new. This was unexceptional – just another evening at the office.

A loss to Garbiñe Muguruza does little to dampen an excellent month for the former Stanford All-American, who was fighting for more than just herself in Miami as the issue of equal prize money returned to the fore.

“For me, being told that what I am doing is second class is second nature. Moments after Raymond Moore’s comments at Indian Wells a few weeks ago, I received messages from ATP players, goading me, asserting that Moore’s reasoning was sound. I have had countless individuals, men and women alike, suggest to me that tennis skirts are the principle driver of revenue on the women’s tour. From average, high school aged male tennis players challenging me to matches because they’re sure they could never lose to a girl, to male coaches telling me, “In women’s tennis, you don’t even have to be talented to succeed.”

“Billie Jean King tells me that I have a platform, so I plan to use it. Because I, for one, would love for my future daughter to fight for a game down 6-1 2-0 because she hates getting bageled, not because she’s worried that a bagel might undermine her right to equality.”

Final Results for March’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month

1. Nicole Gibbs (64%)
2. Timea Babos (16%)
3. Daria Kasatkina (15%)
4. Naomi Osaka (4%)

2016 Breakthrough Player Of The Month

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

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Kerber, Kasatkina Cruise Into Quarters

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – World No.2 Angelique Kerber expertly dealt with windy conditions to breeze past qualifier Kristina Kucova, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open.

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

Kerber had been taken to the brink in her opening round match against Lara Arruabarrena, but appeared far more comfortable opening play against Kucova on Thursday, hitting 35 winners to 33 unforced errors and converting seven of her 10 break point opportunities. Still, the defending champion felt there was room for improvement heading into the last eight for the second year in a row.

“It was a really tricky match,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “It was really windy and it was a completely different condition than before. I played two days ago in the night session, and it was windy, cold.

“I’m really happy to win the match because she’s a tough opponent who had great matches in Charleston. I’m happy to be back here.”

Playing in her first clay court event of 2016, Kerber has good memories of this tournament, one that truly kickstarted her 2015 season and led her to begin this year with Grand Slam glory at the Australian Open. The French Open remains the only major tournament where she is yet to reach the semifinals, however, and is keen to adjust her counterpunching game to a surface as gritty as the German herself.

“I think the feeling is coming back from last year because right now I’m feeling much better on clay again,” she said in her post-match press conference. “Moving feels better; also, when I hit the balls, I’m feeling the ball. I’m feeling the Court, and of course, playing again on the great center court with all the fans.

“It’s just, again, a great feeling like what I had last year.”

Up next for Kerber will be another unseeded opponent in the winner of Irina-Camelia Begu, who saved a match point to defeat Monica Puig, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(4). Begu and Kerber have split their previous four meetings; though the Romanian won their most recent encounter at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Kerber won their match last year at this very tournament – en route to winning the title.

Also reaching the quarterfinals in the top half of the draw is 18-year-old Russian Daria Kasatkina. Making her WTA debut on green clay, Kasatkina had been the model of efficiency through her first two matches, and looked on course for more of the same against American Louisa Chirico.

Bageling the wildcard in the opening set, Kasatkina was in for a far greater fight in the second, winning a titanic final game in which she saved four break points and needed six match points of her own to clinch her second career Premier quarterfinal – the first coming just three weeks ago at the BNP Paribas Open. 

“I knew it wouldn’t be an easy second set, but especially – whew!” the youngster said, trying to catch her breath before continuing in her on-court interview, “at the end of the second set it was very difficult, but I’m happy right now.”

Kasatkina won her 100th career match earlier this week and is currently at a career-high ranking of No.35 – heading into what should be a great part of the season for the former French Open junior champion.

“I’m trying to play solid. I don’t want to make stupid mistakes; I’m trying to play smarter with the brain, so it helps me a lot!”

Standing between Kasatkina and the semifinals is American Sloane Stephens, who took out former junior rival Daria Gavrilova, 6-4, 6-3, during Charleston’s night match. Stephens has already won two titles in 2016, starting the season with the ASB Classic and most recently outlasting 2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova to win the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

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