Google Play App Download

Tennis News

From around the world

Azarenka Leaps Past Linette

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Looking to become the first woman since Kim Clijsters in 2005 to win the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double, Victoria had few issues on Easter Sunday as she breezed past Magda Linette, 6-3, 6-0.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Azarenka enjoyed her big breakthrough in Miami back in 2009, upsetting World No.1 Serena Williams in the final for the first of four victories in her rivalry with the 21-time Grand Slam champion. Linette reached the third round after a right shoulder injury forced former No.1 Jelena Jankovic to retire from their match just five points into the contest, and struggled to combat the Belarusian’s firepower in difficult conditions – hitting only nine winners to 14 from the No.13 seed.

As a cool breeze swept through Crandon Park late in the second set, so too did Azarenka, who raced through the ultimate stages of the match without losing a game, wraping up the victory in 70 minutes.

“It was only in the last two games, but it feels much better with a little bit of wind and breeze,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I hope you guys are enjoying the tennis; I know it’s really hot but stay hydrated!”

In the midst of a career renaissance, Azarenka has already captured two titles in 2016 en route to a much-anticipated return to the Top 10; with another win over Williams at the BNP Paribas Open – her first since 2013 – to capture her first Premier Mandatory title since 2012 (Beijing), Azarenka is eligible to become the third different woman to capture the elusive “Sunshine Double” by winning both Indian Wells and Miami in succession.

But from her post-match comments, it’s clear she is taking things one match at a time, refusing to underestimate any player across the net.

“She’s a grinder and whenever she has opportunity, she will take it; she has a lot of great hands and showed a lot of variety. She’s a young player with such a bright future, but I’m glad that I took advantage and I stayed on top of her.

“Playing in a tournament like Miami, you don’t expect players to give up and not try, whatever the scoreline is,” she added after the match in her press conference.

“I just wanted to stay aggressive, keep going for all my shots, and also not give her an opportunity to come back. Because once you do that, anybody can come back. I’m happy that I stayed focused. I took my opportunities and kept applying pressure.”

Up next for Azarenka is No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza who raced past American Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 6-0. Azarenka has yet to play the Spaniad on the WTA circuit.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be watching the match,” she told members of the media. “Maybe a little bit. I’m sure my coach will. That’s more important for him to watch for me.

“We’ll see. I don’t like to predict who I want to play. I don’t care. But I don’t know, whoever wins, I’m going to play.”

Source link

Hlavackova, Hradecka Reach Miami QF

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.5 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka stayed cool in the hot and heavy conditions of the Miami Open, needing only 66 minutes to dish out ice cold revenge on Qatar Total Open finalists Sara Errani and Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-4, 6-3.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The 2012 Olympic Silver medalists and two-time Grand Slam champions had a bright start to 2016 with a run to the finals of the Australian Open and a semifinal finish in St. Petersburg, but fell to Errani in each of their last two events – first with Suárez Navarro and again last week with Oksana Kalashnikova.

“We lost to these girls in Doha, and lost to Errani last week in Indian Wells, so we were very motivated ot get this first win this year against her,” Hlavackova said after the match. “We played very well. They are a very solid and very good team and also played very well today, so it was a good match an we’re very happy to be through.”

Through difficult conditions, Hlavackova and Hradecka not only had to deal with extreme heat, but also a strong breeze that kept things interesting throughout.

“It was so humid, and a bit windy,” Hradecka said.

“Very windy,” Hlavackova added.

“I think we handled the conditions very well,” Hradecka continued. “We played aggressively. With the wind, we played unbelievably well. but even against the wind, we still had the power.”

Up next for the “Silent Hs,” who reunited at the end of 2014 and saw their first full season back together rewarded with a run to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall, are two formidble teams in the recently reunited No.3 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and Russians Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, who ended Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match winning streak in Doha. 

“We’re definitely looking forward to playing one of these teams,” Hlavackova said. “We’re going to watch tomorrow; it’s actually good they play tomorrow so we can

We stick together as a team. We fight for every point. We’re pretty aggressive and have good communication. So far, it’s been working for us.

It’s easy to talk about things on and off the court and we mesh well on the court; I think we combine well together really well. Alla has good strength and I’m trying to be crafty and move around at the net. I think we pair well together and anything we feel like we need to work on, it’s easy for us to talk to each other about it and go out and do it.

It’s hot and humid, but we’re Miami; that’s nothing we didn’t expect. Drink a lot of water, hydrate, put on a lot of sunblock, which I didn’t do today, so I will pay for it tomorrow!

 scout a little, because we haven’t seen Kasatkina play. We’re very much looking forward because we feel very well here on the court, since we have two wins!”

Earlier in the day, Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva – the only other team to defeat Hingis and Mirza since last summer last week at the BNP Paribas Open – reached their third straight quarterfinal in their third outing as a team with a 6-0, 7-6(1) win over Anastasia Rodionova and Galina Voskoboeva, who is only playing her second WTA tournament since a pair of foot injuries sidelined her two years ago.

“We stick together as a team,” Kudryavtseva said after the match. “We fight for every point. We’re pretty aggressive and have good communication. So far, it’s been working for us.”

“It’s easy to talk about things on and off the court and we mesh well on the court,” King added. “I think we combine well together really well. Alla has good strength and I’m trying to be crafty and move around at the net. I think we pair well together and anything we feel like we need to work on, it’s easy for us to talk to each other about it and go out and do it.”

First out on Court 7, the Australian Open quarterfinalists followed up on their dismissal of nemeses Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova – who ended each of their runs in Melbourne and Indian Wells – with a 75-minute win that came as a welcome relief from the already-tough conditions.

“It’s hot and humid, but we’re Miami; that’s nothing we didn’t expect,” Kudryavtseva said. “Drink a lot of water, hydrate, put on a lot of sunblock, which I didn’t do today, so I will pay for it tomorrow!”

Up next for King and Kudryavtseva could be a rematch of their Indian Wells encounter with Hingis and Mirza, who have only won two matches since seeing their streak end in Doha.

No.8 seeds Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai also reached the quarterfinals on Sunday, with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-4 win over Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, while Ekaterina Makarova and Barbora Strycova recovered from a set down to defeat former No.1s Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai, 5-7, 6-2, 10-6.

Source link

Serena Claims Milestone Win Over Diyas

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Eight-time Miami Open champion Serena Williams extended her dominant run in Key Biscayne with a win over Zarina Diyas, 7-5, 6-3.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Last time these two met, Diyas only took two games off of Williams in her 54-minute loss at Indian Wells last year. The Kazakh wasn’t keen to repeat the experience, and gave the American plenty of trouble throughout the match.

Diyas had Williams on the ropes early on, her pace and quickness around the court troubling the World No.1’s normally reliable game. But Williams hasn’t lost a match in Miami since 2012, and she wasn’t about to do it today. She punished any short serve that came her way with her powerful game and let the crowd fire her up to take the first set.

With a set under her belt Williams played more freely, finding her all-court game to get ahead 4-0. But Diyas had a second wind late in the match, playing more aggressively to rattle off three straight games and erode the lead to 4-3. The eight-time Miami champion remained unbothered, though, closing out the match in just over an hour and a half.

But beyond reaching the Miami Open fourth round for a whopping fifteenth time and extending her tournament win-loss record to 75-7, the win is a major milestone in Williams’ decorated career.

Williams now owns 750 career match wins across all levels, a 750-125 lifetime record. She currently sits seventh on the all-time list for match wins, closing in on Lindsay Davenport’s record of 753 wins. Martina Navratilova holds the all-time record with 1442 wins.

WTA All-Time Match Win Leaders
Martina Navratilova – 1442
Chris Evert – 1,309
Steffi Graf – 902
Virginia Wade – 839
Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario – 759
Lindsay Davenport – 753
Serena Williams – 750

Source link

Radwanska Outlasts Brengle In Miami Heat

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – 2012 Miami champion Agnieszka Radwanska battled through Saturday’s intense heat and humidity to swat aside Madison Brengle for a spot in the Miami Open fourth round.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The match, which started just after midday on one of the balmiest days in Key Biscayne, proved to be as much of a test of fitness as it was a test of Brengle and Radwanska’s tennis.

“Today was really hot. And yes, we both kind of have to get used to [the humidity],” Radwanska said after the match. “Today was a really tough day, and I knew that since this morning.

“You just try everything to stay cool, especially during the changeovers.”

It was Brengle, the unseeded American making her Miami third round debut, who kept her cool first, breaking Radwanska’s serve early and consolidating for a 3-1 lead.

But her efforts weren’t enough to trouble the World No.2, who quickly got the break back and leveled the score. A handful of well-crafted points finished at the net gave Radwanska the advantage, and she grabbed the next three games to take the set.

The pair hung tight to start off the second set, trading holds and breaks of serve for 2-2. But the heavy conditions began to take their toll on the American, whose shots misfired on the important points allowing Radwanska to rattle off four straight games for a comfortable win, 6-4, 6-2.

Radwanska is into the Miami fourth round for the eighth time in her career, and she’s seeking to extend her impressive run of reaching the semifinals or better in eight of her last nine events, a streak dating back to October of last year.

Though after an hour and 13 minutes in this intense heat, Radwanska is looking forward to a more immediate reward:

“One second after the match point, all I’m thinking is: the ice bath!”

Radwanska’s opponent in the fourth round is Timea Bacsinszky, who took a big step on her road to regaining her 2015 form by downing No.16 seed Ana Ivanovic, 7-5, 6-4.

In a see-saw opening, Ivanovic recovered from losing four games on the trot to hold a set point at 5-4. However, a wild forehand let Bacsinszky off the hook as the momentum swung again. The following game, the former World No.1 wavered, double faulting to surrender her serve and ultimately the set.

After struggling at the start of the year, Bacsinszky has been quietly playing herself into form in recent weeks, reaching the last 16 in Doha and Indian Wells, and despite a late rally from Ivanovic she held on the extend this streak.

Also advancing in this quarter were Simona Halep and Heather Watson. No.5 seed Halep withstood some early resistance before easing past Julia Goerges, 6-4, 6-1, while Watson dug deep to overcome Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in a match lasting over two and a half hours.  

Source link