Charleston: Stephens Interview
An interview with Sloane Stephens after her win in the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open.
An interview with Sloane Stephens after her win in the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open.
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%)
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
We challenged Sam Stosur and Casey Dellacqua to the WTA Frame Challenge… and we’ve got a new frontrunner on the leaderboard. Find out who broke the record, right here!
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%)
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
Daria Gavrilova gave it her all in the WTA Frame Challenge… Find out whether or not she was able to take the lead!
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
Angelique Kerber takes on Kristina Kucova in the third round of the Volvo Car Open.
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.
Can't stop me now. @irina_begu saves a MP to defeat Puig 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(4). Makes 2nd QF in a row in #CHS. #VCO2016 pic.twitter.com/flJ1ltAdop
— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 8, 2016
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.
First set goes to @SloaneStephens!
Grabs the opening set over Gavrilova 6-4! #VCO2016 https://t.co/eWFW3IAUlw
— WTA (@WTA) April 8, 2016
Yulia Putintseva takes on Venus Williams in the third round of the Volvo Car Open.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Unseeded at the Volvo Car Open, Yulia Putintseva earned one of the biggest wins of her young career – and her second Top 20 win of 2016 – by taking out former No.1 Venus Williams, 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals in Charleston.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
Putintseva had played the elder of the Williams sisters thrice before in her career – most recently in the semifinals of Kaohsiung – but the two-time junior Grand Slam finalist had never won a set against the five-time Wimbledon winner. Saving some of her best tennis for the first set tie-break, Putintseva broke the duck off of a stunning lob and moved one set to the good.
Williams has been sporting a wrap on her left leg throughout her week in Charleston, but hardly looked hindered in the second set, winning six games in a row to level the match and break serve to start the decider.
“In the second set, Venus really played great tennis and I didn’t think that I had a chance to win or make it close,” Putintseva said after the match. “I had some chances but in the end she was making winners. In the third set, I just told myself, ‘Try not to make any errors, and if you have an opportunity, try to move her from side to side.'”
Ever undaunted, Putintseva survived several long games to break back twice in succession and, despite losing a 4-2 lead of her own, clinched the upset on her first match point, putting her into the last eight in Charleston in what is only her third main draw appearance. Hitting 26 winners and 30 unforced errors, the Kazakh kept her side of the stat sheet far cleaner compared to Williams, who hit 64 unforced errors and 50 winners.
The typically demonstrative youngster was speechless during her on-court interview with Andrew Krasny.
“I don’t know!” she said when asked how she pulled off the win. “Just believing in myself, keep pushing and saying that I can do it.”
“I tried and she always seemed to have an answer,” Venus said after the match, adding, “and you know a lot of shots were just too tough. So what can you do?”
Using her drop shot to good effect on the green clay courts, Putintseva will need all of her guile against Sara Errani, who converted all eight of her break point opportunities to defeat 2010 champion Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 7-6(5).
“It’s another great chance to see how I’m improving and try to make something happen and play my best tennis.”
That winning feeling ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/z9L30jjLgH
— WTA (@WTA) April 7, 2016
Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina backed up her emphatic win over No.2 seed Belinda Bencic on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Lourdes Domínguez Lino. The Spanish veteran took out an ailing Eugenie Bouchard in the second round, and though she pushed Vesnina through multiple deuce games in the second set, the 2011 runner-up held her nerve to reach her fifth quarterfinal on green clay – including back-to-back semifinal appearances at the former WTA tournament in Ponta Vedra Beach.
“I love green clay!” she told Nick McCarvel during her on-court interview. “It’s too bad we only play on it once a year.”
Vesnina will next play German veteran Laura Siegemund, who won a battle of unseeded opposition by taking out Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 7-5, 6-2. Lucic-Baroni had just won a marathon match over No.11 seed Kristina Mladenovic, but still had her opponent on the ropes in the final game, holding four break points before Siegemund closed it out on her second match point.
Qualifier @EVesnina001 takes the win over Dominguez Lino. Her best result here since finals in 2011. #VCO2016 pic.twitter.com/sststF7tZI
— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 7, 2016