Tennis News

Two former champions will look to return to the Miami Open final on Thursday. But Angelique Kerber and Timea Bacsinszky have other ideas. We preview today’s semifinal matchups here.

Thursday, Semifinals

[15] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #19) vs. [19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Kuznetsova can break into the Top 10 for the first time since 2010 by winning the title in Miami this weekend.
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Timea Bacsinszky have combined to knock off three of the tournament’s top five seeds in Miami. On Thursday, they’ll set their sights on one another for a spot in the prestigious Miami final. Whether or not Bacsinszky emerges victorious, she wants the world to know that she intends to have many more chances at greatness. “I’m never satisfied,” Bacsinszky told press after her impressive takedown of No.5 seed Simona Halep on Tuesday. “You’re going to probably see me around in the next years as well because I love what I do. I’m just going to try to improve and to be better every week, every day, every month, every year.” The Swiss will try to overcome Kuznetsova with the same world-class defense and variety off of both wings that she used to deconstruct Halep’s game on Tuesday, while Kuznetsova will look to impose herself in the rallies with her athleticism, power and pace. The Russian, who backed up her win over World No.1 Serena Williams with a grueling three-set triumph in the quarterfinals against Ekaterina Makarova, told the crowd she just wanted to sleep after that match. After a few good nights of rest, will the 2006 Miami champion continue turning back the clock to her heyday? Or will the crafty Bacsinszky become the first Swiss player to reach the final here since Martina Hingis in 2001?

Pick: Bacsinszky in three

[13] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #8) vs. [2] Angelique Kerber (GER #3)
Head-to-head: Azarenka leads, 6-1
Key Stat: With her victory over Johanna Konta on Wednesday, Azarenka has assured a return to the Top 5 next week.
Scorching-hot Victoria Azarenka is now two matches away from becoming the first player to claim the elusive Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine Double” since 2005. Standing in her way on Thursday is Angelique Kerber, the only player to have registered a victory over the Belarusian this season. On Wednesday Azarenka continued her torrid tennis by easing past Great Britain’s Johanna Konta to notch her eleventh consecutive win. In her victory, the two-time Miami Open champion continued to reap the benefits of a beefed-up service attack, saving all five break points she faced. It’s a trend Azarenka is very excited about. “If you compare to Australia it’s a big difference from Indian Wells and here,” Azarenka said of her serve. “I’m really trying to work on it and make adjustments to use it more as a weapon.” Azarenka is currently the WTA’s leader in percentage of service games won in 2016. She says she has her team to thank for that statistic. “I think that’s been missing for a long, long time to really take my game to next level,” she said of her newfound serving prowess. “I’m glad I have team around me to push me, to learn to trust myself, and really take that and improve it.”

Kerber needed some time to catch her breath after winning the Australian Open in January. But here in Miami she has snapped a three-match losing streak by reeling off four victories, including a straight-sets trouncing of No. 22 seed Madison Keys on Wednesday. Kerber broke a six-match winless streak against Azarenka in Australia when she defeated her in the quarterfinals en route to her maiden major title. She hopes the force will still be with her on Thursday when they meet again. “I will go out there and try to focus on my game, be aggressive and try to beat her,” Kerber said.

Pick: Azarenka in three

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

MIAMI, FL, USA – Victoria Azarenka continued her march towards a third Miami Open title with a straight set win over Johanna Konta in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.

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

In a high-quality encounter, Azarenka withstood some early pressure before raising her game to prevail, 6-4, 6-2.

“She’s such a great player and it’s interesting to see what sort of player she was last year and playing well here, so I see a lot of potential,” Azarenka told ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez afterwards. “I couldn’t actually get a read on her serve in the beginning – it was tough for me to adjust – but then I got a bit lower and tried to get more returns in, be a bit more aggressive.”

Playing her first match on Crandon Park’s cavernous Stadium court, Konta started brightly, breezing through her first two service games whilst exerting early pressure with some aggressive returning.

But in the seventh game, Azarenka created an opportunity of her own, punching away a volley to earn her first break points. Konta produced some smart play to reach the safety of deuce only to succumb two points later when she double faulted for the first time.

This lapse proved a costly one, Azarenka’s serve holding firm to close out the set in a fraction under an hour. With Konta’s level dropping, Azarenka began to pile on the pressure, a brilliant stretching forehand return bringing up three break points early in the second set.

Once again, Konta’s serve wilted, a second double fault putting the No.13 seed in the driving seat. She soon stretched this lead to 5-1 and despite some spirited late resistance eventually crossed the finish line to register her 11th straight victory. 

“I think there are adjustments every day; it depends on the opponent you play, the conditions you play – I’ve played some night matches, I played some matches where it was really hot, today it’s really windy – so I think it’s all about adaptation every single day and for me focusing on my recovery because I’ve been playing a lot of tennis!”

After her Indian Wells triumph, the Belarusian remains on course to become just the third player to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. However, Azarenka, who lifted Miami titles in 2009 and 2011, refused to get drawn on her chances of becoming first player since Kim Clijsters to complete the feat: “Right now I’m looking forward to the semifinal. If I can make it, it’s great. Right now it seems so close but I want to stay in the present and continue to fight and keep getting better.”

Meeting Azarenka for a place in the final will be the winner of the evening encounter between Madison Keys and No.2 seed Angelique Kerber.

It was a pleasure to share the court with you @vika7 https://t.co/JXkFvNjzJD

— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) March 30, 2016

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber put on a comprehensive display against No.22 seed Madison Keys, dispatching the young American, 6-3, 6-2 and reach her first career semifinal at the Miami Open.

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

Kerber came to Miami without a WTA win since capturing her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, but a few tense matches – most notably a third set comeback over Timea Babos in the fourth round – appears to have helped the German rediscover her confidence.

“It’s nice to play a match like this,” Kerber said after the match. “I was feeling good. Madison is always a tough opponent. I know this because we had a lot of tough battles in the past.

“I knew that I must play very good to beat her because she played very well here in the last few matches. So it’s good. It’s good.”

Playing in her signature style, she drew 39 errors from Keys, who had taken Kerber to three sets in their last two meetings.

Racing out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, the 2015 Australian Open semifinalist could do little more than force her more experienced opponent to serve out the victory in just over an hour. Speaking to media following the win, Kerber admitted to feeling overwhelmed after her big breakthrough in Melbourne.

“Actually, it was not so easy after, you know, because I had so many things to do, and also after Indian Wells where I was still not feeling 100%. I had few days before coming here to focus again on my practice, on my work on court, and to playing here good matches.

“I had also had a tough match in the last round. Today I was feeling much better, and I think that the matches here. They give me more confidence for the next tournaments and that I’m still on a good way.”

Looming next for Kerber is former No.1 and BNP Paribas Open champion Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian, who defeated top-ranked Brit Johanna Konta earlier in the day, had looked the clear favorite to reach the final Down Under with a title in Brisbane and a 6-0 head-to-head against Kerber heading into their quarterfinal.

Kerber nonetheless turned the tables on the two-time Australian Open champion and earned her first win in their rivalry in straight sets, going on to defeat World No.1 Serena Williams in the final.

“I went out there and trying to be really aggressive from the first point, trying to really believe in myself, because until this time I never won the match against her,” she said of that fateful match in January. “It was 0-6; now it’s 1-6. I will try to go out there again like in Australia and try to believe in my game and myself and, yeah, trying to challenge her.

“It will be not easy. It will be tough match. But this is for what I am practicing, for the big matches out there, to really show what, yeah, we can do and playing the best tennis.

“So I’m really looking forward to play against her again this year.”

Kerber & Azarenka will be No.1 & 2 atop Road to Singapore on Monday. Order could change pending results, but the two best in 2016 so far

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 31, 2016

The winner of Kerber’s semifinal with Azarenka will reach their third final of the season; Kerber will be keen to nab her first WTA title since capturing Grand Slam glory while Azarenka is a mere two matches from becoming the third woman in WTA history to complete the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double. Steffi Graf twice won both titles in 1994 and 1996, while Kim Clijsters most recently achieved the feat in 2005.

More to come…

Great hustle from @AngeliqueKerber! ? https://t.co/fCbLR0GtbT

— WTA (@WTA) March 31, 2016

MIAMI, FL, USA – Everyone needs a little bit of luck sometimes. For No.20 Timea Bacsinszky, she’s had one of the best athletes in the world cheering her on in Miami and it’s paid dividends.

Bacsinszky backed up her big win over No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska with another stunner just 24 hours later, beating No.5 Simona Halep, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals of the Miami Open on Tuesday. In the stands supporting her all week was Switzerland’s Lara Gut, the No.1 Alpine skier in the world, who just two weeks ago won the Alpine Skiing World Cup. The 24-year-old became the first Swiss woman since 1995 to win.

“She wrote me the Friday before, so it wasn’t official that she was going to be in Miami,” Bacsinszky told WTA Insider. “But she finished her competition on Sunday for the Crystal Globes, and she wrote me on Friday like, ‘Hey, it would be fun if I could come watch you in Miami,’ so I knew she was coming to Miami anyway. It was actually a big thing in Switzerland; no one knew where she was, and I was reading Swiss news headlines that were asking, ‘Where Has Lara Gone For Holidays?'”

“I finished my season last Sunday and it was important for me to have a break,” Gut told WTA Insider after Bacsinszky’s quarterfinal win. “I decided to come to Miami and I found out there was a tennis tournament. So I contacted Timea and she got me a badge. I started coming the first day and I got interested and she was playing so well that I came the second day and she was still winning. I was supposed to fly home yesterday but since she won I tried to stay here for one more day. She’s playing awesome and it’s really fun to watch.”

And the winner is… @TimeaOfficial !! Yeeeeeeeees! ??#WTA @MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/TaFJQUlsMX

— Lara Gut (@Laragut) March 29, 2016

Bacsinszky and Gut first met in 2009 but have become closer recently after Gut began working with Bacsinszky’s manager. Gut was scheduled to leave for Switzerland after Bacsinszky’s win over Radwanska but she knew she couldn’t leave her friend out in the cold.

“Yesterday after Timea’s win I had to call Swiss Air to see if they could change my flight,” Gut said. “I could stay here one day longer because I’m supposed to leave tomorrow for training. So it’s going to be a bit stressful when I come home but it was more important to stay here and cheer on Timea than have more time to pack.”

“In Switzerland it’s a small country. We have a chance to meet other athletes. We have such strong athletes like Timea, Roger, Stan, and Belinda. We were still kids when we first met. It’s cool to see what she has done all these years and that she’s still improving.”

Getting the credential for Gut proved slightly more difficult than Bacsinszky expected. Switzerland may be a skiing-mad country, but trying to explain the situation in Miami proved a little tricky.

“In Switzerland, she can’t walk around, everyone knows her,” Bacsinszky said. “Here too, she didn’t want to attract attention. I know Lindsey Vonn is well-known, but the No.1 [skier] is at your tournament and no one knows it.

“When I asked for a badge for her at accreditation I said, ‘You know Lindsey Vonn?’ and they said, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ and I said, ‘Well, the girl who’s just in front of her in the rankings and just won the Crystal Globe is coming, so provide it now,” she said laughing. “Just Google her name.”

Bacsinszky will play Svetlana Kuznetsova on Thursday for a spot in the Miami Open final. After a slow start to the season after rehabbing from a bad knee injury, Bacsinszky has played herself into form, reaching her best result since the China Open final last fall. A title in Miami would boost her back in the Top 10. It’s all clicking for Bacsinszky and having a great champion in her box this week certainly hasn’t hurt.

“It’s funny to talk about sport and to like exchange what you feel during a race, what do I feel during a match,” Bacsinszky said. “We have so many things to talk about. It gives many, many new [perspectives], views on sports. It was really, really interesting for me. Yeah, lucky charm for sure.”