Tennis News

Every week wtatennis.com brings you 10 Things To Know about the week – who is playing, where and much more. This week the Road To Singapore goes through Doha and Acapulco…

1) Doha is the first Premier 5 tournament of 2016.
The Qatar Total Open is a Premier 5 event and part two of the WTA’s fortnightly tour of the Middle East – part one is the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. There’s nearly $3 million on the line, with the winner pocketing $518,500 and a whopping 900 points for the Road To Singapore leaderboard.

Click here for a full analysis of the Doha draw.

2) World No.2 Angelique Kerber plays her first tournament since winning the Australian Open.
Kerber played a solid weekend in Fed Cup – going 1-1 in her singles matches against Timea Bacsinszky and Belinda Bencic – but the German comes to Doha  looking to build on her early season momentum; she remains the only player to reach more than one final in 2016. It won’t be easy for the 2014 finalist with her fellow Top 8 seeds in tow: Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbiñe Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, Bencic, Lucie Safarova, and Carla Suárez Navarro.

3) Agnieszka Radwanska is also hoping to build on her strong start to the season.
Out since the Australian Open with a left leg injury, the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion was undefeated through the semifinals in Melbourne, having won the title at the Shenzhen Open. Though she fell to World No.1 Serena Williams in her last match, the Pole has otherwise looked good since last year’s US Open, and is poised to rise to World No.3 on Monday.

4) Defending champion Lucie Safarova makes her 2016 debut.
Safarova’s stellar 2015 season started off last year in Doha. The Czech earned back-to-back Top 10 wins and beat former No.1 Victoria Azarenka in the final, parlaying that result into a maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open. A bacterial infection derailed her season after the US Open, and though she qualified for Singapore, Safarova hasn’t played since, but with several weeks of practice in Doha, look for the defending champ to make some noise with her big lefty game. 

5) Can Halep, Muguruza or Kvitova kickstart their years in Doha?
No.2 seed Halep has been looking for matches all season, but they were hard to come by in Dubai; the Romanian had to face former No.1 Ana Ivanovic in her opening round match, losing in straight sets. Muguruza has been dealing with a foot injury that has kept her from feeling prepared to play her best tennis, while Kvitova has won just one match all season and has yet to name a replacement coach since splitting the David Kotyza. All three have the talent to win in Doha; can one or more catch fire this week?

6) Azarenka does Acapulco.
While most of the game’s biggest names are duking it out in Doha, Victoria Azarenka has opted to ease into her North American hardcourt swing by playing her first tournament since the Australian Open at this week’s International event at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Top seed in Acapulco, Azarenka is joined by tricky opposition in Sloane Stephens, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Dominika Cibulkova.

7) Can Konta go further?
Johanna Konta rocked the tennis world when she made her historic run to the semifinals in Melbourne. A likely seed in Acapulco, how will the Brit back up that result as she aims to continue her march up the rankings; she is currently at a career-high ranking of No.27.

8) How will Sloane Stephens rebound?
Stephens came to Melbourne looking like a dangerous floater having won her second career title at the ASB Classic, but took a surprising first round loss to Wang Qiang. How will the American fare in her first event since then?

9) Welcome back, Galina.
Former World No.42 and No.1 Kazakh Galina Voskoboeva was close to a career-high ranking when multiple foot injuries kept her off the court for nearly two years. Playing her first matches earlier this month at Fed Cup and an ITF Challenger, Voskoboeva makes her WTA return in doubles this week with Anastasia Rodionova. Stay tuned for more insight into Voskoboeva’s comeback on WTA Insider.

10) Find out where you can watch live action this week.

DUBAI, UAE – Sara Errani crowned her return to form with a dominant victory over Barbora Strycova in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Watch live action from Dubai & Rio de Janeiro this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

A former Top 10 fixture and French Open finalist, Errani’s greater big-match experience shone through as she romped to a 6-0, 6-2 victory after little more than an hour on court.

“I have no words. I’m sorry for Barbora – she’s an amazing player, but I’m really happy to win this tournament. It’s been a tough week for me, and I’m really happy for me, my team and my family and friends,” Errani told Annabel Croft in her on-court interview.

The Italian looked in pensive mood when she stepped out on court, but hit the ground running. Perhaps sensing her opponent’s own nerves, Errani won the toss and elected to receive, a decision that was rewarded by a string of unforced errors and a break to love.

With the occasion seemingly getting the better of her opponent, Errani showed no mercy, rattling through the next couple of games in the blink of an eye. When Strycova belatedly found her range, Errani was her equal, showcasing her extraordinary defensive capabilities to prevail in a 26-shot exchange and move 4-0 ahead.

After 29 one-sided minutes, Strycova surrendered the set after a couple more wild swings, and her mood darkened further when she frittered away a 30-0 lead to drop serve in the next game.

Much to the Czech’s relief, she finally got on the scoreboard a few games, punching away a double-fisted volley to end the prospect of a first whitewash in a WTA final since 2014.

But whatever questions Strycova posed, Errani had an answer for, ploughing relentlessly towards the finishing line.

“She can do everything – coming to the net, drop shots – so I just had to be focused every point and be ready for what could happen,” Errani added.

The only wobble for Errani, who coughed up a meager 11 unforced errors, came with the finishing line looming. A face saving last stand from Strycova saw her uncork a couple of rasping drives to save four match points, before finally finding the net to hand Errani the ninth, and biggest, title of her career.

“No, not really! I was trying to sing a bit, not to think too much,” Errani said when quizzed about her calm demeanor down the home stretch. “Of course, it’s tough [to win] those last points. I had match point at 5-1 and then I closed it on maybe the fifth match point. There were a lot of nerves.”

At times, Strycova was the architect of her own downfall, offsetting 15 winners with 43 unforced errors. Nevertheless, she heads off to Doha for next week’s Qatar Total Open, back inside the Top 40 and with wins over a couple of in-form rivals – Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Garcia – under her belt.

“For sure, well done to Sara,” Strycova said. “I’m sorry for keeping it so short. I tried everything, but nothing was working.

“It was a great week and I’m happy to make the final.”

In the doubles final, Chuang Chia-Jung and Darija Jurak upset No.2 seeds Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, 6-4, 6-4.

DUBAI, UAE – World No.47 Barbora Strycova employed her brand of unpredictable tennis to power past Caroline Garcia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and reach her sixth career WTA final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Watch live action from Dubai & Rio de Janeiro this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

She was up against a very familiar opponent in the day’s second semifinal: Strycova and Garcia have played each other four times, with Strycova winning their last three matches in straight sets, including a first-round encounter earlier this year at the Australian Open.

The players started out this encounter very evenly-matched – and they stayed that way for most of the match.

Garcia played her trademark aggressive all-court game, sending Strycova on the defensive early on until the Czech grabbed the first break of the match at 3-2. Garcia used all of her weapons – even throwing in some serving and volleying – but Strycova’s unpredictable style was just too full of surprises, a two-handed backhand slice drop shot throwing Garcia completely off kilter and bringing up the break.

Strycova went on to win the next five games to take the opening set at 6-2 and go up 2-0 in the second.

Not to be outdone, the Frenchwoman held her nerve – and came up with some incredible service games – to win six of the next seven games to take the set 6-3 to level the match.

In the final set, the two were toe-to-toe, neither woman giving an inch: when Garcia broke to start the match, Strycova broke her right back; when Garcia held her serve at love, Strycova held serve at love in reply. They stayed deadlocked until Strycova finally broke for 5-3 – Garcia saved two break points to bring it to deuce, but after a 22-shot-rally Strycova emerged victorious. Serving for the match, Strycova erased both of Garcia’s break opportunities and sealed the match with an ace.

“I kept telling myself play your game and go for it – you have nothing to lose,” Strycova said after the match. “I wasn’t serving well the whole match but in that last game it was important that I pull it through.”

“That last game I was like, ‘Okay, pull something through. And then I made good serves. I’m so happy about it because it wasn’t easy match for me. But to be in the final it’s great.

Awaiting Strycova in the final is 2013 Dubai finalist Sara Errani, winner of the day’s first semifinal against Elina Svitolina. Errani leads their head-to-head record 5-1.

“We always have tough matches with Sara,” Strycova said of her opponent in the final. “Last time I lost from two match points.

“But it’s a final so I will enjoy it. Or I’ll try to enjoy it, actually.”

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Sorana Cirstea survived a rainy quarterfinals afternoon, continuing her road back from injury with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over No.3 seed Danka Kovinic and earning a spot into her first WTA semifinal since 2013.

The win is a big milestone for Cirstea, who is playing in her first WTA main draw matches since last summer in Bucharest.

“I´ve been injured for one year and a half, so to come back and play three matches and be fit and healthy is the most important for me,” Cirstea said after the win. “After you come back from an injury you start realizing how lucky you are when you are pain-free and you enjoy more tennis.”

Up next for the Romanian is the resurgent Shelby Rogers, who dashed Brazil’s hopes of a home champion when she ousted qualifier Paula Goncalves 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

“It´s going to be the first time I face Shelby, unfortunately I don´t know her very much,” Cirstea said of the semifinal matchup. “We haven´t even practiced together. It´s going to be a tough match and I´m going to try to focus on my side of the court.”

On the other side of the draw, Francesca Schiavone emerged victorious after a two-and-a-half-hour encounter against Cindy Burger 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-3. The Dutch qualifier was the author of an upset in the first round when she sent American Christina McHale packing in a three set thriller.

“It was a difficult match and the conditions were not easy today,” Schiavone said. “The ball kicks a lot on this courts here, so it´s quite challenging. The heat is also extreme, but I like to play on this conditions and I prepared well for that.”

Awaiting the Italian veteran in the semifinal is Petra Martic, who defeated Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

“It´s going to be a very tough match because Martic plays really well, especially on surfaces where the ball kicks a lot, like it happens here in Rio,” Schiavone said of the dangerous Croatian who stunned No.1 seed Teliana Pereira in the first round. “She is also tall and is definitely going to use that. It´s going to be a challenge, but I think I´m ready

“Of course we have to take into account the fact that at the semifinals we are all ready. We all have 25% chance of getting the title.”