Kaohsiung: Tuesday Highlights
Highlights from the first round action at the Taiwan Open.
Highlights from the first round action at the Taiwan Open.
Saint Petersburg is a city known for its arts and culture, so it’s no surprise that doubles co-No.1s Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis made a stop to take it all in at the State Russian Museum.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – No.4 seed Ana Ivanovic faced stiff opposition in talented young Russian, Margarita Gasparyan, but the Serb overcame the challenge in her opening match at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy to reach the quarterfinals, 7-5, 6-2.
Gasparyan made a splash to start the 2016 season, reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, and kept things close in the opening set against Ivanovic, who fell in the third round in Melbourne to 2015 semifinalist Madison Keys.
“It was a very tough match,” she told former WTA star Ksenia Pervak during her on-court interview. “She played very well, I thought. I knew she’s had a very good start of the year, so I expected a battle today, and it was. I really had to dig deep at the end of the first, and also the second set. But I’m really happy to have the victory.”
Ivanovic maintained controlled aggression throughout the 81-minute affair, striking 26 winners to 22 errors; Gasparyan did her best to stay with the former No.1, but was unable to dictate play in the crucial moments, hitting 16 winners to 18 unforced.
Earlier in the day, hometown favorite Daria Kasatkina overcame a tough three-setter from Kirsten Flipkens, and noted the slowness of the court after her 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory. But Ivanovic disagreed.
“I actually really enjoyed it,” said the Serb. “Sometimes the ball really skids so it’s not so slow at times. But I’m really happy with the way I played today, especially being my first match.”
Hoping to catch up on her sightseeing, Ivanovic joked about narrowly missing out on the visiting hours at the Hermitage museum on Tuesday.
“I’m going to train, do my recovery. But I’m going to visit the Hermitage; I went yesterday, but they really, truly closed the door in front of me! I wasn’t lucky but tomorrow might be a better chance.”
Kasatkina had to overcome nerves in her first round match against Flipkens, a 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist; serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, the 18-year-old admitted nerves played a part in her going on to lose the final three games to force a decider.
“I was nervous, and started rushing, plus Flipkens is a very good player,” she said in her on-court interview.
In the end, Kasatkina played an even match, hitting 34 winners and the same number of erros, while Flipkens was far looser with a -8 differential (32 winners, 40 unforced). A former Roland Garros junior champion, Kasatkina next plays lucky loser Laura Siegemund, who upset No.7 seed Kristina Mladenovic, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Elena Vesnina was another Russian to emerge victorious on Wednesday; the wildcard recovered from a set down to defeat lucky loser Patricia Maria Tig, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Dominika Cibulkova set up a second round encounter with former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki when she beat Evgeniya Rodina, 6-0, 6-3, and Annika Beck continued her winning ways from a successful Fed Cup debut when she beat Lucie Hradecka, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
No.2 seed Roberta Vinci and Yanina Wickmayer were the last match of the day on Sibur Arena; the 2015 US Open runner-up played a clean match to outsteady the up-and-down Belgian, hitting 17 winners to 10 errors – compared to 22 winners and 30 errors from Wickmayer – to join Ivanovic in the last eight, 6-2, 7-6(2).
Highlighs from the first round action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
DOHA, Qatar – World No.6 and two-time Doha champion Maria Sharapova announced her withdrawal from the Qatar Total Open due to the left forearm injury she has struggled with since the beginning of the season,
“Unfortunately, I will not be able to play the Qatar Total Open because of my left forearm injury,” Sharapova said in a statement. “I would like to wish the tournament and all the great fans in Doha a great week of tennis and I hope to see them next year.”
The Russian was forced to pull out of the Brisbane International back in January due to this same injury, but appeared to rebound in Melbourne, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before falling to World No.1, Serena Williams.
“I’m going to go and take care of my forearm first,” Sharapova said after the loss, aware of the importance this season – being an Olympic year – presents. “I think that’s really important. I think this will be a time to just get myself ready for a long year.
“I don’t see myself playing anything before Indian Wells.”
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – It is fair to say that Ana Ivanovic has not enjoyed an easy ride so far in 2016.
Early exits in Auckland and Sydney were followed by emotional third-round defeat to Madison Keys at the Australian Open. In this final match, Ivanovic’s coach, Nigel Sears, was rushed to hospital after collapsing in the stands on Rod Laver.
“It was obviously very hard. It was a serious moment, he went to the hospital, it was difficult to me to keep playing the same way, because I was really worried,” Ivanovic said. “I knew he was in the hospital, but I didn’t know the details.
“After the match I had some mixed messages. Now he feels good, he is here with me. He took some weeks to recover. He is fine.”
Last week, Sears was back on the practice court, preparing his charge for her return at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Staged at the Sibur Arena, the tournament is one of a dwindling number of indoor events on the WTA calendar.
After her travails Down Under, Ivanovic for one is looking forward to moving indoors. “I think it’s similar to a lot of indoor events. I feel really good, I have had a couple of practices, though on the training courts only.
“I find the surface is very effective, and it suits my game well, you need to hit through the ball well and it’s nice.”
There will be no easing back into competitive action, though; Ivanovic – the recipient of a first-round bye, will open her campaign against the in-form Margarita Gasparyan on Wednesday evening.
“I think especially for the women it’s very important to play match by match. Honestly, I saw the draw and I thought the first match is tough,” Ivanovic, who is looking to end a 13-month title drought, said.
“If I could win a title here, it would be my dream. It’s a tough draw, a lot of good players, I’m going to fight and work hard.”
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Fifty-seven minutes was all it took for top seed Venus Williams to brush aside the challenge of local wildcard Lee Pei-Chi and book her place in the second round of the Taiwan Open.
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A solitary break was enough to give Williams the opening set and with her own serve as imperious as ever she rattled through a more one-sided second to complete a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
“It was exciting to compete against a local player – the crowd were super involved and made things exciting,” Venus said. “The first round is never easy so I’m really happy to now be advancing and hopefully play better and better with every game.”
In stark contrast to her opponent, Lee was stepping on court for her very first WTA main draw match. And while she was unable to maintain her bright start, Williams had some words of encouragement.
“I didn’t know what to expect because I’d never met her before and was really impressed with how she competed. Obviously we know Hsieh [Su-Wei] and the Chan sisters, but from today I can see that tennis here has a bright future,” Williams said.
Next up for Williams will be a different challenge in the shape of Urszula Radwanska.
“It’ll be a little bit different from today – she plays with a little bit more top spin – so I’m going to need to have a different strategy. But you never know, and whatever it takes to win the point is what I’m going to do.”
There were mixed fortunes for the other seeds in action on Wednesday. No.3 seed Yulia Putintseva finished strongly to see off Miyu Kato, 6-4, 5-7, 6-0, and book a quarterfinal berth, while Kurumi Nara, the No.7 seed, was also pushed hard during a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Zhang Yuxuan.
No.4 seed Zarina Diyas looked set to join them when she romped through the second set against Elizaveta Kulichkova. However, Kulichkova, a talented junior who is rapidly making a name for herself in the senior ranks, had other ideas, bouncing back to triumph, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4.
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Venus Williams has no intention of winding down any time soon. That much was made abundantly clear at the tail end of 2015, when the seven-time major winner rolled back the years to lift titles in Wuhan and Zhuhai, climbing back into the Top 10 in the process.
Even a stuttering start to the new campaign has failed to dampen the evergreen American’s enthusiasm. Williams is back in Asia this week for the inaugural Taiwan Open, in Kaohsiung, where she is top seed.
As headline act, Williams is afforded the luxury of a Wednesday start and the opportunity to sit down with wtatennis.com to talk sisterly inspiration, Taiwanese tennis and turning it up to EleVen.
On the inspiration behind her enduring success…
“Well I have this inspiration called Serena Williams! So that helps a lot. But also I love the game and it’s been wonderful to play this game. And when you love it it’s easy to give everything, every time.”
On Taiwan…
“I’ve already hit for a couple of hours on the court so I haven’t had the chance to see a lot. I’d love to see the mountains and the city. But from the plane it looked amazing!”
On the Amazing Chan Clan…
“First of all they’re really wonderful people. They welcomed me here and told me if I needed anything to let them know – so I think I’ll take them up on that. This year or last year I was watching them at the WTA Finals and it was unbelievable doubles – so exciting to watch it. Never played against them at the same time – I’ve played against them when they weren’t playing together and that was never easy. I guess now they’re going to be representing the country in the Olympics and that’s so awesome for tennis and so exciting for Taiwan.”
On her Olympic legacy…
“Oh the Olympics are very special. For me, the most important moments in my career were at the Olympics, especially being able to play with my sister. I’m hoping to have the honor to play again this year. Of course if you win it’s unbelievable but to participate is everything as well. I’m really looking forward to it – if I make it!”
On going all the way up to EleVen…
“I design a collection called EleVen by Venus and that stands for being better than a 10 and every time bringing your best. I just enjoy it. I love making active wear and I think one day we need to come to Taiwan – sooner rather than later.”
On this episode it’s all about the Russians. Senior Writer for WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen previews this week’s tournaments in St. Petersburg and Taiwan and look to the new generation of Russians – Margarita Gasparyan, Elizaveta Kulichkova, and Daria Kasatkina – who are eager to put their stamps on the tour. Their collective success is an important development for a country that has produced two No.1s in Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina, swept the podium at the 2008 Olympics, and won three of the four majors in 2004. There has been a notable gap in talent after Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s protogenic rise. That’s about to change.
Gasparyan, Kulichkova, and Kasatkina are all in action this week and after a solid last six months, they are all in the Top 100, which means you’ll be seeing more of them in the main draw at tour events. So now’s the time to get to know them.
Gasparyan on switching from a male coach to a female coach, former player Elena Makarova: “She’s not just a coach. She’s a friend. I like to work with a woman. When you have a male coach you cannot speak about everything with him. Maybe just tennis. When you have tennis you can tell all. How you feel, tennis, boyfriends, everything. I’m relaxed. I don’t think a lot of tennis all the time.”
Kasatkina on the Russian resurgence: “I think it’s because of Russian character. We have not the best conditions. So that’s why we fight all the time for everything.”
Kulichkova on her friendship with Kasatkina: “We’re not so alike in terms of liking the same things. We probably like the three same things, everything else is different. But still we’re best friends. It works nicely. So if someone says friendship in women’s tennis doesn’t exist it’s a lie! We are the proof. It exists.”
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Yanina Wickmayer had Tuesday’s shot of the day at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.