Stuttgart: Suárez Navarro vs. Dodin
Carla Suárez Navarro takes on Oceane Dodin in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Carla Suárez Navarro takes on Oceane Dodin in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
ISTANBUL, Turkey – Greek qualifier Maria Sakkari notched the biggest win of her career in the first round of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup, knocking out the No.1 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in straight sets for her first ever Top 50 win.
Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
No.34-ranked Schmiedlova, who was playing as the top seed at a WTA event for the first time, was looking to reverse a disappointing run of form that has seen her win just one WTA match in 2016.
Meanwhile, the on-the-rise Sakkari has been knocking on the door all year, coming within a few points of a breakthrough twice previously. At the Australian Open, she made it through qualifying to reach the second round in her first appearance at the event, where she pushed the No.10 seed Carla Suárez Navarro to three sets. At the San Antonio 125K event she struck again, coming within two points of knocking out top-seeded Daria Gavrilova.
In the red clay of Istanbul’s Garanti Koza Arena, it seemed like Sakkari would be made to wait again; Schmiedlova quickly broke Sakkari’s serve in the first game, then consolidated comfortably for a 2-0 lead.
But instead of shrinking away, the 20-year-old qualifier turned up the pressure, varied the pace of her heavy groundstrokes and rattled off six straight games to take the set and leave the top seed reeling. Schmiedlova managed to get on board in the second set, but it wasn’t enough as Sakkari continued to attack the Slovak’s vulnerable second serve – she didn’t win any second serve points in the first set and only three all match long. Sakkari closed the match winning 6-2, 6-3.
“It´s the best win of my career. I am so happy,” Sakkari said after the match. “I like playing in Turkey. It feels like home here, people make me feel very welcome. I’m looking forward to my next match and hope to continue to play well.”
Sakkari will go on to play Hsieh Su-Wei in the next round. The Taiwanese player defeated Karin Knapp, 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-1.
No.8 seed Johanna Larsson also advanced to the second round after a stern challenge from Ukrainian qualifier Maryna Zanevska, who took her to within one point of defeat, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5). Zanevska held two match points while serving at 6-5 in the third set, but Larsson broke her to send the match into a tiebreaker, emerging victorious after a tense two hours and forty minutes.
Local favorite Cagla Buyukakcay cruised against Russian qualifier Marina Melnikova, winning 6-3, 6-3 in her opening match. She commemorated the win by delighting the crowd with a quick post-match hitting session, signing dozens of autographs and, of course, taking several selfies.
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA announced on Tuesday that the Taiwan Open will move to Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, from 2017. The Taiwan Open will take place starting January 30, 2017 on hard court at the 10,000-seat indoor stadium, the Taipei Arena.
Venus Williams won the inaugural event with Taiwan’s Chan sisters taking the doubles title. Williams’ victory at the inaugural 2016 Taiwan Open tournament in an exciting final against Japan’s Misaki Doi, was her 49th WTA title win. This year’s inaugural event, attended by almost 10,000 fans, let the world focus on Taiwan through global broadcast coverage and is set to become a major drawcard for Taiwan which has developed brilliant professional female tennis players like Su-Wei Hsieh, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan.
The Taiwan Open attracts the support of the corporate sector, the media and fans, as well as creates an inspirational pathway for talented young national players who aspire to one day compete in world-class professional tennis and play in their homeland at the Taiwan Open.
Mayor of Taipei, Ko Wen-Je, stated, “On behalf of Taipei City Government, I am pleased to announce that Taiwan Open will be held in Taipei next year. We are committed to bringing the best events to our global city and the decision to move the event to Taipei demonstrates the city’s ability to attract the best international sport events. We look forward to working with the WTA and the tournament organisers to make this an event all of Taiwan can be proud of.”
The Taiwan Open offers USD 500,000 in prize money and is committed to attracting the world’s top tennis talent and to making this event one of the most prestigious WTA International tournaments on the women’s tennis global calendar. The move to Taipei will result in increased government and sponsorship investment and make the event accessible to a larger fan base.
“This is an exciting time for APG as we continue to support and expand the footprint of women’s tennis across Asia,” said Stephen Duckitt, Director – Tournaments, APG. “Tennis has grown considerably in this region over the past few years and we are looking forward to stage another world-class tennis event in Taiwan, and are proud to be hosted by the Taipei City Government next year.”
An interview with Ana Ivanovic after her win in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix.
ISTANBUL, Turkey – The children of the British International School and the Robert College in Istanbul were in for a treat at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup on Tuesday, where they joined Sara Tomic for a tennis clinic.
Tomic, who was playing in the qualifying rounds, hit the Garanti Koza Arena to hit some balls with the students. She coached them through baseline drills, then teamed up for a quick doubles match. After the clinic, Tomic signed some balls and took photos with the students.
Check out the best photos below, courtesy of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.
An interview with Carla Suarez Navarro after her win in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix.
The WTA’s brightest stars glammed up for the opening ceremony of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, including Germany’s Andrea Petkovic…
…and Czech Republic’s Kristyna Pliskova.
Caroline Garcia, Agnieszka Radwanska and Andrea Petkovic hit the red carpet for some photos…
…along with Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber, Kristyna Pliskova…
…Simona Halep, Kristina Mladenovic, Lucie Safarova, and more.
Defending champion Angelique Kerber joined tennis legends Michael Chang and Michael Stich and professional racing driver Mark Webber for a doubles duel.
Afterwards, the players of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – including Agnieszka Radwanska – were introduced to the spectators.
Simona Halep walked on with a bouquet of flowers…
… while Carina Witthoeft had a bit of a challenge getting her walk-on mascot to come along with her.
Kerber – Germany’s No.1 and Stuttgart’s No.2 seed – answered some questions for the crowd.
All of the players – along with their young mascots – were presented to the Stuttgart audience.
Ana Ivanovic is looking to do one better than her runner-up spot here in 2014…
… while No.5 seed Petra Kvitova is looking to put two second-round Stuttgart exits behind her.
STUTTGART, Germany – The brightest stars of the WTA kicked off the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix at the Opening Ceremony, where they glammed up to be presented to the German crowd.
Defending champion and Germany’s No.1 Angelique Kerber started the night on the tennis court, joining tennis legends Michael Chang and Michael Stich and professional racing driver Mark Webber for a doubles duel. Afterwards, all the top seeds hit the red carpet and headed to Center Court for their presentations, where they were walked onto the court by their young mascots.
Check out the video above for a behind the scenes look at the Opening Ceremony, as well as a sneak peek into the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix official players’ dinner.
Click here for the full photo gallery!
– Photos courtesy of Jimmie48 Tennis Photography
Petra Kvitova takes on Louis Chirico in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.