Charleston: Kerber Interview
An interview with Angelique Kerber before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
An interview with Angelique Kerber before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | As Victoria Azarenka and Bethanie Mattek-Sands bask in a Sunshine Sweep, one last look back on Miami as the tour turns to clay.
An interview with Belinda Bencic before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – No.15 seed Sabine Lisicki returned to the the Volvo Car Open – the site of her first career breakthrough – on Monday; the 2009 champion faced few problems against American Irina Falconi, winning, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the second round.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
Facing off for the first time since 2011, Lisicki and Falconi took the court on the first day of main draw play at the newly-renamed Volvo Car Open; Lisicki had burst onto the WTA scene on this very court six years ago with three big wins over Venus Williams, Marion Bartoli, and Caroline Wozniacki for her first career title. Against Falconi, she hit seven double faults but nonetheless managed to win 70% of her first serve points and convert all four of her break point chances to reach the second round.
Up next for the former Wimbledon finalist is the winner of the first round between Kurumi Nara and Yulia Putintseva.
Joining Lisicki in the second round is No.11 seed Kristina Mladenovic, who snapped a four-match losing streak with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Tatjana Maria. Mladenovic booked what promises to be a big-hitting second round against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who defeated Peng Shuai, 6-2, 6-1. Peng was playing just her third WTA singles tournament since a back injury ended her 2015 season at the French Open.
Mladenovic’s doubles partner, Caroline Garcia, didn’t have the same luck in Charleston; splitting sets with Irina-Camelia Begu, Garcia traded 12 straight service holds before ultimately falling in a third set tie-break, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(3).
Lara Arruabarrena will be top seed Angelique Kerber’s second round opponent; the Spaniard needed three sets to dispatch American wildcard and Rio Open runner-up Shelby Rogers, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Kateryna Bondarenko recovered from a set down to upset No.16 seed Misaki Doi, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. No.12 seed Daria Gavrilova suffered a second set let down against Zarina Diyas, but the Aussie overcame the Kazakh, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. Danka Kovinic set up a second round encounter with No.7 seed Sloane Stephens when she took out qualifier Cagla Buyukakacay, 6-1, 6-3. Qualifier Elena Vesnina continued her solid start to 2016 with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Cindy Burger; Vesnina will next play No.2 seed Belinda Bencic in the second round.
An interview with Venus Williams before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
The players of the Katowice Open were challenged to a number of exhibitions at the player party Sunday night, and first up was cooking. Things weren’t looking good for Donna Vekic…
… but with a little help from a professional chef she was able to create a sweet treat.
Turkish player Başak Eraydın’s snack went up in flames – but that was all part of the plan, of course!
After showing off their confectionary skills, the players took part in a keepy-uppy competition using their tennis racquets. Stefanie Voegele put up a good effort…
… while Camila Giorgi’s attempt was pretty dismal.
Everyone tried their hand at keepy-uppy and in the end it was Kirsten Flipkens (left) who emerged the winner, though Viktorija Golubic (right) also put up a good effort.
Of course, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (pictured here with Sportking Director Jakub Puchalski and Tournament Director Pawel Owczarz) is no stranger to the challenges of Katowice – she’s the defending champion looking to grab another title here in Poland.
Alizé Cornet, the No.4 seed, ran into fellow Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano at the party…
… while Polish local Magda Linette posed with an on-the-rise Russian, Elizaveta Kulichkova.
Angelique Kerber headlines the only green clay court stop on the tour, while Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova returns to the site of her big breakthrough.
An interview with Sara Errani before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
THE WINNERS
Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka continues her climb back to the top, overpowering Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2 in the final to claim the Miami Open title and secure her return to the WTA Top 5.
Azarenka, a two-time champion here in Miami, won her third title of 2016 in dominating fashion without dropping a set. Even more impressive, her back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami complete the Sunshine Double, a feat last achieved 11 years ago.
With the win, Azarenka also cements her position as No.1 on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard, leapfrogging Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber for the top spot.
Read the full story and watch highlights here. | As It Happened: Game-by-game analysis.
In doubles, Bethanie Mattek-Sands completed a Sunshine Double of her own. Mattek-Sands and partner Lucie Safarova capped off a fairytale reunion on Sunday afternoon with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in the final of the Miami Open. The American now joins Martina Hingis and Natasha Zvereva as the third player to win both events in the same year.
Read the full story here.
GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider
Game: Victoria Azarenka did what she does…
The numbers are plain as day: Azarenka is the best player in the world…right now. By going undefeated in March to become the first woman since 2005 to complete the Sunshine Double by winning both the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open, Azarenka vaults to No.1 in the Road to Singapore Leaderboard ahead of Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber and World No.1 Serena Williams. A look behind the RTS rankings only underscores just how dominant Vika has been through the first quarter of the year.
Not only is she 22-1 on the season, capturing two of the biggest titles of the season so far as well as another significant title at the Brisbane International, but she’s done it guns blazing. The draws did not break open for Azarenka and she did not pick up her points and wins cheaply. She beat Serena to win Indian Wells, avenged her loss to Kerber en route to the title in Miami (and is 2-1 already this year against Kerber), and has notched good wins over No.4 Garbiñe Muguruza, No.8 Roberta Vinci, No.18 Karolina Pliskova, and No.21 Johanna Konta. In Miami and Brisbane she did not lose a set en route to the trophy. In Indian Wells she faced the toughest task in tennis – beating Serena in a final – and came through with a poised and focused performance to win in straight sets.
This is what Azarenka can do on hard courts and it, in particular, is what she has historically done in the first quarter of the season. In 2013 she went on a 15-match win streak to win the Australian Open and Qatar Total Open. A year before that she started the year 26-0, winning the Sydney International, Australian Open, Qatar Total Open, and Indian Wells, before finally running out of gas in the Miami quarterfinals. In all, 13 of her 20 titles have come in the first quarter of the season, when she is at her freshest and the playing on her favorite surface.
Set: …But can she keep it up?
That’s one of the big questions as the tour turns away from her best surface and towards the clay. Clay is not her worst surface (statistically that would be grass) but her results have varied greatly on the slower surface. She has won just one title on clay, in Marbella in 2011, but she has routinely put herself in position to do better. She has made the final of the Madrid Open twice (2011, 2012), and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix once apiece.
“Definitely very motivated for clay season,” Azarenka said. “I always been a high favorite [sic] of proving people wrong, and that’s what also motivates me a lot.
“Going into clay season, people say it’s not my favorite surface and whatever. I’m going to work pretty hard to make sure it’s going to be my favorite surface.”
Match: Serena looking for solutions on clay.
Not since 2012 has Serena gone titleless through the first quarter of the year. That also happened to be an Olympic year. Back then she was ranked outside the Top 10 to start the season and was still finding her form after suffering a foot injury and pulmonary embolism that left her hospitalized in 2011.
She went on to go through a tear on clay, compiling a 17-match win streak with titles at the Volvo Car Open and Mutua Madrid Open, before pulling out before the semifinals in Rome. She would lose in the first round of the French Open to Virginie Razzano, but we all know what happened after that: Wimbledon champion, Olympic gold medalist, US Open champion, and WTA Finals champion.
All that is to say, don’t worry about Serena Williams quite yet.
RANKING MOVERS
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of April 4, 2016.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS), +6 (No.19 to 13): 30-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova turned back the clock to make the biggest ranking jump of the fortnight. A Miami Open champion in 2006, her run to the final 10 years later bumps her up six spots with a Top 10 berth in sight.
Victoria Azarenka (BLR), +3 (No.8 to 5): Kuznetsova’s opponent in the Miami final, Victoria Azarenka, has been on fire and on the rise all year. By claiming the Miami Open title (and thus completing the Sunshine Double, winning back-to-back Indian Wells and Miami titles), she earns a spot in the Top 5.
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI), +3 (No.20 to 17): Bacsinszky’s run to the Miami semifinals halted a string of disappointing results since the start of the season and puts her at No.17.
Angelique Kerber (GER), +1 (No.3 to 2): First-round exits in Doha and Indian Wells saw Kerber’s ranking dip to No.3, but the Australian Open champion righted the ship in Miami. Her run to the semifinals sent her back up to her career-high ranking of World No.2.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
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
Claro Open Colsanitas
Bogotá, Colombia
International | $226,750 | Clay
Monday, April 11 – Sunday, April 17, 2016
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Stuttgart, Germany
Premier | $693,900 | Clay, Indoor
Monday, April 18 – Sunday, April 24, 2016
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams
2. Angelique Kerber – Charleston, Stuttgart
3. Agnieszka Radwanska – Stuttgart
4. Garbiñe Muguruza – Stuttgart
5. Victoria Azarenka
6. Simona Halep – Stuttgart
7. Petra Kvitova – Stuttgart
8. Roberta Vinci – Stuttgart
9. Maria Sharapova
10. Belinda Bencic – Charleston, Stuttgart
11. Carla Suárez Navarro – Stuttgart
12. Flavia Pennetta
13. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Stuttgart
14. Venus Williams – Charleston
15. Lucie Safarova – Charleston, Stuttgart
16. Elina Svitolina – Bogotá
17. Timea Bacsinszky
18. Karolina Pliskova – Stuttgart
19. Ana Ivanovic – Stuttgart
20. Sara Errani – Charleston
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) – April 7, 1990
Risa Ozaki (JPN) – April 10, 1994
An interview with Madison Keys before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.