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 Monterrey and Kuala Lumpur…

1) Dubai champion Sara Errani is in search of her second title of 2016…
Errani endured a tough start to the season, losing in the first round of the Australian Open to rising Russian Margarita Gasparyan and both Fed Cup rubbers to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. But it all came together for the Italian veteran in Dubai, as she captured the biggest title of her career and her first on hardcourts since 2008. Top seed at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme, Errani will look to shake off an early loss at the Qatar Total Open to the big-serving Timea Babos and maintain her momentum heading into Indian Wells and Miami.

2) …provided she can get past unseeded and looming Dominika Cibulkova.
The 2014 Australian Open finalist has been trying to return to form since an ankle injury ruled her out for much of last spring. Ranked outside the Top 60 since failing to defend quarterfinal points from 2015, Cibulkova roared into the finals of last week’s Abierto Mexicano Telcel – dropping just one set along the way and narrowly losing an epic three-setter to Sloane Stephens. Back up to No.57, Cibulkova could play Errani in the second round, and leads her 5-3 in overall head-to-head (though they haven’t played since 2013).

3) Can Caroline Wozniacki kickstart her season?
Seeded No.2 in Mexico, Caroline Wozniacki began her season in solid form at the ASB Classic, where she reached the semifinals and fell to eventual champion Stephens. Since then, the Dane has won just two matches, losing in three-sets to Elena Vesnina for only the second time in eight meetings at the Qatar Total Open. Playing Olga Govortsova in the first round, Wozniacki could face big-hitters like Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Babos early; how will the former No.1 fare?

4) Johanna Konta looks to build on Melbourne momentum.
Australian Open semifinalist Johanna Konta has only won one match outside Melbourne, a first round against Anett Kontaveit in Acapulco. Down 5-1 in the final set to Lucic-Baroni in the next round, the Brit rebounded to 5-5 only to lose, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. Seeded No.4 in Monterrey and in the Errani half of the draw, Konta is projected to face No.6 seed Alison Van Uytvanck in the quarterfinals, but wildcard and Rio Open winner Francesca Schiavone also looms in her bracket.

5) Might Caroline Garcia go one better in Monterrey?
No.5 seed Caroline Garcia opens against a qualifier, and must have good memories of this tournament in Mexico, having reached the final here 12 months ago – losing to Timea Bacinszky in three sets. Garcia is coming off of a breakthrough run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – her best-ever result at a WTA Premier event. Though she dropped her opener against Elena Vesnina in Doha, the Russian went on to upset Simona Halep and Wozniacki en route to the quarterfinals; can the Frenchwoman pick up from where she left off?

6) Medina Garrigues and Parra Santonja are in position for a Mexian sweep.
Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja have been a force to be reckoned with on the doubles court, reaching the semifinals or better at all but one of their events entered thus far in 2016. Their biggest result came last week when they captured the title in Acapulco, defeating No.2 seeds Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson, 6-0, 6-4. Top seeds for a second straight week, can the Spaniards cement their status as Olympic darkhorses with a second title?

7) Red-hot Roberta Vinci is the top seed in Kuala Lumpur.
Roberta Vinci became the oldest woman in WTA history to make her Top 10 debut last week, and played up to her rank in a thrilling quarterfinal encounter with World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska. Taking a wildcard into the BMW Malaysian Open, Vinci opens against Chang Kai-Chen, with No.6 seed Eugenie Bouchard a potential quarterfinal opponent. In their only prior meeting, Vinci bounced the Canadian, 6-1, 6-0, and has been playing top-flight tennis ever since, reaching the US Open final and winning her first title of the season at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

8) Elina Svitolina aims to continue climbing with Henin in her corner.
The Ukrainian youngster recently added former No.1 Justine Henin to her coaching team, and the results were immediate; unseeded in Dubai, she upset Garbiñe Muguruza in straight sets before reaching the semifinals. Another wildcard entrant in Kuala Lumpur, Svitolina opens against qualifier Miyu Kato, but could play rising Russian Elizaveta Kulichkova, who took out Zarina Diyas to make the quarterfinals of the Taiwan Open.

9) Zheng Saisai is within striking distance of a career-high ranking.
China’s Zheng Saisai had a big week in Doha, eliminating top seed and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber and nearly ending the then-40-match winning streak of Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in doubles – all in one day. Zheng backed up the win to reach the quarterfinals, a result that brought her up to No.63 to start this week – two away from her career-high of No.61. Seeded No.8 in Kuala Lumpur, Zheng could play No.3 seed Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals; the German has struggled to start the season, winning just two matches in three tournaments.

DOHA, Qatar – Carla Suárez Navarro captured the biggest title of her career at the Qatar Total Open, charging back from a set down against 18-year-old Jelena Ostapenko to triumph, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Watch live action from Doha & Acapulco this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“I started a little bit nervous and she started really good,” she said in her on-court interview. “It’s not easy to play like this, and I lost the first set but I believed, I fought, I run, and finally I won.”

Ostapenko had beaten the Spaniard in their only prior encounter at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, and started in similar form with a nearly flawless first set in her second WTA final, cracking eight forehand winners en route to winning the opening set.

Playing in her 10th career final, Suárez Navarro drew on her wealth of experience and confidence earned from big wins like the one against No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinal, and stayed with the young Latvian as the teenager – already set to join fellow 18-year-olds Belinda Bencic and Daria Kasatkina in the Top 50 – began to leak errors off the backhand (30 from that side alone). In the end, Ostapenko hit 35 winners to only 9 from the No.8 seed, but 47 total unforced errors made the difference from the Spaniard, who only hit 25.

“It was a great week for me, and congrats to Carla for such a great match today,” Ostapenko said during the trophy ceremony. “I was just trying to play how I can and show my best; I hope you enjoyed watching me play.

“It’s great but it’s just the first step,” she said of adding to the largest sum of Top 50 teens since April 2009 (Caroline Wozniacki, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Sorana Cirstea). “My goal is to be even higher, so I hope I can make it.”

For Suárez Navarro, Doha is her second WTA title, one that brings her up to a career-high ranking of No.6, and No.2 on the Road To Singapore standings behind reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

“It’s amazing, a dream come true. I was in Top 10 last year but not No.6, so it’s a special number.

“This tournament was really tough. The best players in the world were here, and it’s so special. You have to play every day, and it’s not easy.

“But these wins give me a lot of confidence, the experience that I take from this. I’ve lost a lot of finals, so I’m really happy and excited about this tournament.”

DOHA, Qatar – Carla Suárez Navarro returned to the main stage of the Qatar Total Open to play the doubles final with Sara Errani, having just won the singles title over Jelena Ostapenko a mere hours before. Pushing No.4 seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching tough over two sets, the sisters ultimately defeated the Spaniard and Italian, 6-3, 6-3, to win their second tournament of 2016.

“Today’s match wasn’t easy, despite the score,” elder sister Yung-Jan said during the on-court interview. “They’re for sure very tough opponents who’ve been playing really well. I was sick and having a fever, coughing, but we’re happy to make it until the last match!”

The Chans won their home tournament just two weeks ago at the Taiwan Open, donating their prize money to their country’s hurricane relief effort, and played a near-perfect final against Errani and Suárez Navarro, hitting 21 winners to only 10 errors – a far cleaner match than their opponents, who hit 19 winners and 22 unforced.

“It’s the first time we’ve played together at the Qatar Open, but we’re the champions!” Hao-Ching said. “So we’re very happy and would like to come back next year.”

For the runners-up, it’s still a stellar Middle East Swing, as Errani already walked away with the title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships while Suárez Navarro won Doha, and the pair reached the semifinals in Dubai’s doubles event, as well.

“It was two very nice weeks for us,” Errani said. “I’m very happy to play doubles with Carla; it’s amazing. She did an unbelievably great job playing singles and doubles.”

“I cannot wait to play our next tournament together. We had fun here and played well,” Suárez added.

As for the Chans, the win in Doha propels them to No.2 on the Road to Singapore standings, one behind Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza; until this week’s loss to Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, the No.4 seeds were the last team to beat Santina before they went on a 41-match winning streak.

“Already No.2? I think that’s a pretty good start to the year!” Yung-Jan said.

“We’re very happy, but we didn’t check before the match, so it’s a surprise for us!” Hao-Ching said as the sisters shared a laugh during the trophy ceremony.

ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.2 seed Sloane Stephens needed a final set tie-break against unseeded former Australian Open finalist and 2014 Abierto Mexicano Telcel champion Dominika Cibulkova, but the American finally got the job done against the Slovak, winning, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5).

“I got a little bit better today because of her, and I wouldn’t want to have this memory with anyone else,” Stephens said of Cibulkova during the trophy ceremony.

Stephens led Cibulkova by a set and a break before the 26-year-old, who won their previous encounter at last year’s Rogers Cup, roared back to level the match at a set apiece. In what became the longest final thus far in 2016, the two fought through several long games in the final set before heading to a tie-break. Racing out to a 5-2 lead, Stephens held three match points, converting her third on a Cibulkova forehand error.

“We had a great week and a great start to the year, and I’m looking forward to keeping it going.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played in front of a crowd quite like this. Thank you for letting me experience this in Acapulco because it’s something I’ll remember forever.”

“This is one of my favorite tournaments,” Cibulkova said in her runner-up speech. “It feels like home because of the people who work here and all the fans and sponsors. I’m a little disappointed with the result today, but that’s tennis. I hope to be back here next year and maybe get the trophy again.:

Having started the year with a title at the ASB Classic – where she beat former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki en route – Stephens now has three WTA titles and, most impressively, remains undefeated in finals (winning her first title last year at the Citi Open).

The doubles final took place earlier in the evening, and top seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja defeated No.2 seeds Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson, 6-0, 6-4.

DOHA, Qatar – Carla Suárez Navarro produced 62 minutes of immaculate tennis to swat aside No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and take her place in the final of the Qatar Total Open.

Watch live action from Doha & Acapulco this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

In one of the best performances of her career, Suárez Navarro outthought and outplayed the WTA’s resident magician to run out a surprisingly comfortable 6-2, 6-0 winner.

After an even start, Suárez Navarro laid down a marker in the fifth game, flashing winners off either wing to get her nose in front. A few games later she had the insurance break before calmly serving out the set.

A nasty tumble in the first game of the second set briefly halted the Spaniard’s charge. But after dusting herself down, normal service was immediately resumed: a whipped cross-court forehand and then a wonderful instinctive volley handing her the break.

In stark contrast, Radwanska cut a forlorn figure, the brilliance that decorated her three-set victory over Roberta Vinci the previous evening conspicuous by its absence. The Pole’s mood darkened in the following game when she netted a routine forehand to spurn a rare break opportunity.

With Suárez Navarro’s groundstrokes now in full flow, Radwanska was soon put out of her misery, the final four games flying by in a flurry of winners. 

“Today I feel really, really good,” Suárez Navarro, who hit 20 winners and just eight unforced errors, said. “I think also she was a little tired from yesterday.”

Suárez Navarro is also hoping to reach the doubles final with partner Sara Errani, and was quick to dismiss any suggestion that her visit from the trainer would jeopardize their chances. “I’m running a lot, I fight a lot, and sometime I finish like that,” she said when asked about the after effects of her second set slip. “But now I feel good and I have doubles – I’m feeling better!”

By reaching the semifinals Suárez Navarro guaranteed a return to the Top 10 and her latest win will see her rise to a career-high No.6 in the new rankings. 

“You work for a long time for this. And to be in the Top 10 is obviously good. I feel good, I feel happy and I think I’m ready for tomorrow.”