Miami: Azarenka vs. Kerber
Victoria Azarenka takes on Angelique Kerber in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
Victoria Azarenka takes on Angelique Kerber in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
David Kane, Point: If Victoria Azarenka becomes the third woman in WTA history to achieve the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double, the two-time Australian Open champion will have shown her ability to succeed on two ends of the competitive spectrum. Her run to the BNP Paribas Open title saw Azarenka shine as the underdog, battling through a grueling three-setter with Karolina Pliskova in the semis to stun heavy favorite and World No.1 Serena Williams in the championship match.
By contrast, her fortnight in Miami has allowed her to play the alpha, likes of which we’ve rarely seen since her 26-match winning streak in 2012. Up against tricky opposition in Johanna Konta and Angelique Kerber – the woman who halted her initial early-season momentum en route to the Australian Open title – Azarenka has been largely unbothered, taking less than eight hours to win five matches in straight sets.
“I really didn’t wait for her to give me anything,” she said after beating Kerber. “I really went out there and took my opportunities, which was missing in Australia, where I wasn’t aggressive enough. I know we got broken both a lot of times, but my serve was really strong when it needed. That also made a difference.”
Svetlana Kuznetsova stands between Azarenka and the Sunshine Double; a deadlocked head-to-head dating back to 2007 belies the Belarusian’s recent dominance in their rivalry, winning four of their last five encounters. Their two Miami matches went the distance, with Azarenka’s 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 semifinal victory serving as the springboard to her career breakthrough and the first of her two Miami titles in 2009.
“She’s a very talented and diverse player. I know she has had her up and downs in her career, but she knows how to handle big stages. She is a two-time Grand Slam champion, so it speaks a lot.
“Seeing her coming back into her form, I know she’s always been a dangerous player, so for me it’s going to be really fun challenge to see also where we both are in a different timing of our career since we last played.”
Indeed, their last match was at the 2013 Australian Open, when Azarenka was on top of the world and on her way to defending her maiden major title. Both have had their share of ups and downs, but the Belarusian can handle a big stage as well – if not better – than the 2006 champion.
“It’s going to be really fun. It’s tough, but the final can be unpredictable and is the type of the match where you give it all.”
Courtney Nguyen, Counterpoint: Svetlana Kuznetsova has an uncanny knack for spoiling a coronation. To win her first major she stunned Elena Dementieva as a 19-year-old to win the 2004 US Open. Five years later she upended No.1 Dinara Safina in the 2009 French Open final to win her second major. This year at the Miami Open she ended eight-time champion Serena Williams’ 20-match win-streak at Crandon Park and on Saturday she has a chance to win her biggest title since 2009, re-enter the Top 10 for the first time in nearly six years, and stop Azarenka from completing the Sunshine Double.
If the 30-year-old Russian can pull it off we might as well christen her the Sunshine Stopper. When she won the Miami Open a decade ago in 2006, she did so by defeating Maria Sharapova in the final, preventing her compatriot from winning both Indian Wells and Miami that year.
Of course, 2006 was a long time ago in, what feels like, a galaxy far, far away. In the 10 years that have ticked by we’ve seen the incredibly talented but impossibly inconsistent Kuznetsova show up when we least expect it and go on a walkabout when we’ve penciled her through. This year she won her second tournament of the year at the Apia International Sydney at the height of the Australian summer. She then failed to win back-to-back matches until Miami. This is the whiplash-inducing career of Svetlana Kuznetsova in a nutshell.
Yet when she gets herself into the business end of tournaments, Kuznetsova has been more reliable than not. She has won her last two finals. Another fun stat cutting Kuznetsova’s way? The two biggest tournaments of the season so far have been won by the women who knocked Serena out of the tournament, as Kuznetsova did here.
But setting aside statistics and symmetry, Kuznetsova goes into Saturday’s final as the underdog and that’s a good thing. The pressure is firmly on Azarenka’s shoulders. Given her incredible start to the season and the quality players she’s beaten to build her 21-1 record, she’s expected to win on Saturday. That should allow Kuznetsova to play without pressure or expectations. And that’s the emotional climate she needs to play her best tennis.
“I didn’t feel going in that good shape going to the US swing,” the Russian said after her semifinal. “I was not feeling confident at all. After I had a loss in Indian Wells I tried to work a lot and training every morning a lot just to get confidence back, get my fitness.
“I’m doing better. I appreciate, and I am blessed I have my body to play so many years and to win against good players, top players. It’s great when things come together. Either way, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s a great week. I’m really pleased and happy the way I fight through all these tournaments and weeks and players.”
Listen to more thoughts from Kane and Nguyen on the Miami Open final in the latest WTA Insider Podcast:
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her win in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
Victoria Azarenka gets her revenge: Azarenka told reporters in Indian Wells that she had rewatched her quarterfinal loss to Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open and she believed it was a match she should have won. Instead it was Kerber who rolled to a 6-3, 7-5 win and went on to win the first Slam of the year. That loss stung but Azarenka was determined to learn from it. The biggest lesson from the tape: she let Kerber dictate the match. She vowed not to let that happen again.
On Thursday night, the two best players of 2016 faced off for the third time in three months and Vika got her revenge, winning, 6-2, 7-5, in a spirited battle that emphasized just how good this rivalry has become. Azarenka is now 7-1 against Kerber but their three matches this year have seen both women push each other to find their best tennis. It’s a rivalry that fans are responding to.
“We’re both really good fighters,” Azarenka said. “She’s the type of player that will never give up and that also gives that kind of character to every match we play.”
Kerber agreed. “You see that we played really at a high level at the end of the match, that we both can raise our level a little bit higher when it’s important and know that now is the time to play the best tennis,” the German told WTA Insider. “This is why we always have really tough battles.”
Azarenka extended her season record to 21-1 with the near-flawless win, hitting 28 winners to 18 unforced errors, while Kerber finished with 22 winners to 23 unforced errors. Azarenka looked in cruise control after the first set but Kerber’s resilience helped her rally from 3-5 down in the second to break Azarenka as she served for the match at 5-4 and get back on serve. But Azarenka responded confidently and the two put on a shot-making showcase as they neared the finish line.
“She’s a very good player and obviously winning the Australian Open and playing so well this year, she plays with a different confidence and really raised her level,” Azarenka said. “For me we always have a lot of tough battles. I looked at this match as a really good challenge to work on my mistakes and what didn’t work for me at the Australian Open. I’m glad I made those adjustments and changed the result my way.
“I didn’t wait for her to give me anything. I really went out there and took my opportunities, which I was missing Australia. I wasn’t aggressive enough [then]. I know we got broken a lot of times but my serve was strong when I really needed and it made a difference.”
Svetlana Kuznetsova returns to the Miami final: Has it really been 10 years, Sveta? The Russian was 20-years-old when she won the Miami Open in 2006, beating Martina Hingis, Amélie Mauresmo, and Maria Sharapova en route to the title. Older, wiser, and still the immensely talented yet inconsistent player that she is, Kuznetsova’s rollercoaster career is back on the rise. A win on Saturday would put her back in the Top 10 for the first time since 2010.
“I started really well in Sydney, and then Australian Open didn’t happen for me to play good there,” Kuznetsova said. “But I still felt I was at a good level. Then I kind of messed up with Fed Cup. It was not good for me.
“I didn’t feel going in that [I was in] good shape going to the US swing. I was not feeling confident at all. After I had a loss in Indian Wells I tried to work a lot and training every morning a lot just to get confidence back, get my fitness.
“I’m doing better. I appreciate, I am blessed I have my body to play so many years and to win against good players, top players. It’s great when things come together. Either way, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s a great week. I’m really pleased and happy the way I fight through all these tournaments and weeks and players.”
Best of the best: Azarenka is a match away from becoming the first woman since Kim Clijsters in 2005 to complete the “Sunshine Double” and win both the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open. She’s lost just one match all season and can put a straight-set win over No.1 Serena Williams on her 2016 resume. She’ll also return to the Top 5 on Monday.
So I asked Vika, quite simply, does she believe she’s the best player in the world right now? She answered with a single sentence: “I wouldn’t go out there and kill myself everyday if I didn’t feel that.”
Blood and sweat for real #whateverittakes pic.twitter.com/BfWKEAdJOB
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) April 1, 2016
Kuznetsova earned her spot in the final with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Timea Bacsinszky. It was a match that saw Kuznetsova play the more patient tennis in rallies, shrinking the court with her defense and forcing Bacsinszky to rush. Patience is not a word we normally associate with Kuznetsova, but it’s precisely what has paved the way to wins over No.1 Serena Williams, Ekaterina Makarova, and Bacsinszky.
“I give her a lot of credit because she played extremely well on break points,” Bacsinszky said. “I remember one or two where she passed me with an amazing backhand down the line. She was serving well too.
“You don’t have so many chances. If the other one shows you at the crucial moment that she is there, you try more. That’s probably why in the second set I was rushing too much because she was raising her level all the time when she was struggling a little bit with the game. She was able to do that. That’s why she’s an amazing player.”
Russian rollercoaster: Kuznetsova’s inconsistency throughout her career is legendary. She can win a title one week and then struggle to win matches for months. Such is life with Sveta, with which her coach is far too familiar.
“My coach laughs about it,” she said. “He said, you don’t have the medium term. You don’t go like middle, stable. You go very bad or very good. So I don’t know if it’s true. I always said so I feel so much better when I have two matches under my belt, two, three matches. Then I start to play better and get into the rhythm of the matches.
“Nowatimedays [sic] the level is really good of the girls. Everybody can beat anybody almost. But there is a difference of girls who can constantly win matches and those who can beat anybody but then next day they lose.
“I want to be different one. I want to win more matches. So when I get matches, I get going, I feel much better.”
GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALS: Now 30 and on the verge of re-entering the Top 10, Kuznetsova said she gave up on goal-setting years ago. Kind of. No, she still has goals.
“I just don’t want to have any,” she said. “My main goal is just to keep improving. My main goal now actually is to come to play tournaments being ready. I need good three weeks practicing then I’m ready to play.
“Now when you compete you got to be at the top level. That’s the only goal I have. I didn’t think if I get to Top 10 or not. When I go and I see the rankings I am confident in myself I can beat these players and players from Top 10. I can beat basically most of the top players. Actually any player.
“For this I got to be consistent over all the year and to perform when I am at my best. Because I came to tournaments because it’s mandatory, because I had to go. I thought I want to go. Then you’re not ready. So I want to be 100% to play at my best. Then I can have a good chances to be higher in the ranking.
“I go for quality not quantity.”
Kerber on the mend as she heads to Charleston: Regardless of the loss it was a positive tournament for Kerber, who will return to No.2 on Monday. She next heads to the Volvo Car Open to defend her title but she’ll be racing the clock over the next few days to get fully fit after picking up an upper leg injury in Miami.
“I will not say it was an excuse,” Kerber said. “I was feeling the leg at the beginning of the match. At the end of the first set I was feeling it worse. I was trying not to feel the pain but it was little bit worse than yesterday. I hope it will be good in the next few days.”
2006 #TBT
-Song: Daniel Powter's “Bad Day”
-Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean 2
-Miami Open Champ: Svetlana Kuznetsova pic.twitter.com/s7colWpMwe— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 31, 2016
Bacsinszky/Date-Krum 2026?: Funny exchange with Bacsinszky after the match.
Bacsinszky: I have a lot of admiration for [Kuznetsova] and a lot of respect for her whole work and commitment to this sport. She won here 10 years ago. Now she’s here. I don’t know where I’m going to be in 10 years but probably not here.
WTA Insider: You never know.
Bacsinszky: You never know (laughs). I’m like a phoenix. I can come back from ashes, I know.
WTA Insider: It could happen.
Bacsinszky: Thirty-six, huh? Whoo. I’m going to ask Kimiko Date-Krumm to coach me then (laughter).
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
An interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova after her win in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA – On this special Dropshot episode of the WTA Insider Podcast, hear from WTA founder Billie Jean King and 18-time major champion Chris Evert. King and Evert held an impromptu press conference last week at the Miami Open to discuss the issue of equal prize money and equality, which were brought to the fore once again after former BNP Paribas Open CEO and tournament director Raymond Moore’s comments in which he told reporters the WTA Players “ride the coattails” of the ATP when it comes to prize money. Moore has since stepped down from his post.
King and Evert, along with current WTA player Nicole Gibbs, discussed their reaction to the comments, which triggered an unfortunate avalanche of discussion regarding the merits of equal prize money at tennis’ biggest tournaments. The 45-minute conversation was educational, enlightening, and inspiring, and given the fan interest in the press conference, we’re posting the discussion in full.
Evert on the progress in women’s tennis: “If there is a silver lining to all this that’s gone on in the last week, it’s the fact that there has been such outrage from the players and from the media and from the public defending the women’s game. I think from time to time we all need a reminder of the evolution of women’s tennis and the great (indiscernible) and sacrifices every generation has had to make, from Billie Jean to myself and Martina, Steffi to Monica, to Williams sisters. What we’ve done to get the credibility, the respect, and equality that we have now.”
King on the need for inclusion: “To have equal prize money in the majors sends a message. It’s not about the money, it’s about the message. Any time you discount another human being by gender, race, disability, however, we’re not helping ourselves. You want everyone to make a lot. At least I do. We want to make the pie bigger, the marketplace bigger for all, for all of you so you have jobs.
“To argue over the prize money issue, what about when Chris and Martina were playing and their ratings were better than the men? We didn’t go, Oh, we deserve more than the men. No. Let’s just keep it equal and help each other. It’s not a “he” thing or a “she” thing; it’s a “we” thing. I’m telling you, this is the only way the world is going to make it.”
Gibbs on carrying forth King’s message: “I think our generation is very privileged sometimes because we just kind of take it for granted. We think, Okay, it’s all better. We just have to focus on our tennis. That’s what we are told from a very young age, and very few of us feel a responsibility to continue on a path of equality. You have to use the platform to continue down that path of equality. Quality and fairness — many right now think we’re so far down the road and in reality we are not necessarily. There are still so many people, men and women both, making comments that are very counterproductive to our mission of growing the game of tennis, using it as a platform.”
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app of your choice and reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.
MIAMI, FL, USA – The second Premier Mandatory final of the 2016 season has arrived, and there is plenty on the line for multiple major champions Victoria Azarenka and Svetlana Kuznetsova – so here are 10 Things To Know about the Miami Open final.
(13) Victoria Azarenka (BLR #8) vs (15) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #19)
Head-To-Head: Series Tied, 4-4
1) An even rivalry revisited.
Azarenka and Kuznesova will lock horns for the first time since the 2013 Australian Open. Azarenka won on that occasion to level the rivalry at four wins apiece. She will start as most people’s favorite on Saturday, but the WTA’s form player is taking nothing for granted.
“She’s a very talented and diverse player,” Azarenka said when asked about Kuznetsova following her semifinal. “She is one of the players who knows how to handle big stages. I know she has her up and downs in her career, but she knows how to handle big stages. She is a two-time Grand Slam champion, so it speaks a lot.”
2) Azarenka is looking to join rarefied company by lifting the title for a third time.
Azarenka has won Miami twice before, in 2009 and 2011. Should she emerge triumphant against Kuznetsova she will become just the fourth player to lift the Miami title three or more times, after Graf (1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996), Venus Williams (1998, 1999, 2001), and Serena Williams (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015).
3) The trophy will also gain her entry into an even more exclusive club.
Victory in the final will see Azarenka complete the Indian Wells-Miami double. Since the inaugural staging of Indian Wells in 1989, Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters (2005) are the only players to achieve the feat.
4) Kuznetsova is going for her biggest title since 2009.
After winning just one title in nearly five years, Kuznetsova has been rather prolific of late. At the end of last season, she delighted her home fans by lifting the Kremlin Cup, then opened 2016 with victory in Sydney. However, she has not lifted a Premier Mandatory title since 2009, when she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska from the China Open.
5) Azarenka is upwardly mobile on the WTA Rankings and Road To Singapore.
By virtue of her run to the semifinals, on Monday Azarenka will return to the Top 5 (at No.5) for the first time since May, 2014, at the expense of Simona Halep. Should she head for Europe with the trophy in her luggage, then she will also leapfrog Angelique Kerber to the summit of the Road To Singapore leaderboard.
6) Kuznetsova will also make big moves on both lists.
By reaching the final, Kuznetsova ensured she will rise to No.13 in the rankings – her highest position since August 2011. Should she upset Azarenka then a return to the Top 10 for the first time in nearly six years awaits. She will also jump into the Top 5 on the Road To Singapore leaderboard – No.4 with a title, No.5 without.
7) Kuznetsova looking to end Russian finals day curse.
Crandon Park has not been the happiest of hunting ground for the WTA’s Russian contingent. Since Anna Kournikova let a one set lead slip against Venus Williams in the 1998 final, Russians have finished as runners-up on six occasions. Kuznetsova is the only one to buck the trend, but even that came at the expense of a fellow Russian, Maria Sharapova, in 2006.
8) Marathon woman enters home stretch.
Kuznetsova told WTA Insider after her semifinal victory that she needs a few matches under her belt at a tournament before she can bring out her best tennis. She is certainly has that in Miami, playing four three set matches at the same event for just the second time in her career and spending over 11 hours on court.
9) Azarenka on easy street.
By contrast, Azarenka has taken seven hours and 52 minutes to reach the final. She remains on course to be the first player since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2012 to capture the title without dropping a set.
10) Money, money money.
Kuznetsova’s semifinal victory guaranteed that she will pass $20million in career prize money. In-form Azarenka, meanwhile, will have amassed over $2million in the opening three months of the season alone.
Johanna Konta had Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Miami Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.4 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova secured their place in the Miami Open doubles final with a hard-fought win over Margarita Gasparyan and Monica Niculescu on Friday.
Gasparyan and Niculescu have been the tournament’s surprise package, knocking out a number of more seasoned teams, including top seeds and defending champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. However, Babos and Shvedova were determined not to add their names to the list of upsets, digging deep to close out a 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 victory in an hour and 41 minutes.
“It was a tough match because the girls played well – they’ve proved through this two weeks that they’re a very good team – and it was not easy,” Shvedova said. “The conditions were windy and Monica has a special style of playing, so we needed to be patient and keep working hard.”
The outcome of a see-saw encounter remained in the balance until the very last, Gasparyan and Niculescu rallying from 8-5 down in the match tie-break to come within two points of victory. “It’s our style, we were down in both sets and then almost in the super tie-break, too,” Babos added.
“But we enjoy playing with each other – on my part, for sure! – and this makes it a lot easier to fight for every point and as it shows in doubles anything can happen. Basically they didn’t do any mistakes but we were fighting and coming back, taking it point by point and in the end we got the tie-break.”
Having lifted the Tashkent title in their first outing together two and a half years ago, Babos and Shvedova reunited for Indian Wells, where they proceeded to make the semifinals before being edged out by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe.
Sunday’s final at Crandon Park presents a shot at – partial – revenge, after Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova prevailed, 6-2, 6-1, in their clash against Zheng Saisai and Xu Yi-Fan.
“It was a great match, we knew we had to play well, but I love the night match atmosphere – a lot of fans stayed after the men’s match – and it’s great because we really had a lot of fan support and they were cheering for some great tennis,” Mattek-Sands said.
The result means that Mattek-Sands remains on course to become just the third player to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same year with different partners; Natasha Zvereva triumphed alongside Lindsay Davenport at Indian Wells and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario at Miami, in 1997, before Martina Hingis repeated the feat two years later, teaming up with Anna Kournikova at Indian Wells and Jana Novotna at Miami.