Tennis News

DOHA, Qatar – On Monday, Agnieszka Radwanska met the press ahead of the Premier 5 level event in Doha, the Qatar Total Open, and she discussed everything from her strong start to the season, her Fed Cup plans and the next generation of tennis. Here’s what the World No.3 had to say…

On her red-hot start to the season, which saw her win a title in Shenzhen and reach the semifinals at the Australian Open…
“I had very good start, and I just hope I can keep going and playing the same good tennis I was playing in Australia. I have a good rest after that. I was practicing at home and working hard. Hopefully I can really do well here.”

On the challenge of the “openness” of the women’s game…
“For us, for some players that being in the Top 10 for a while, it’s also tough to stay there. There are a lot of talented, young players coming up and playing great tennis. This is another challenge for us to stay there.

There’s a lot of players deserve to be Top 10. We can also see everything is changing every week about the majors as well.”

On how Serena Williams’ dominance affects that openness…
“Of course Serena is always there, especially last year, but other years totally different. She’s definitely dominating if she’s on fire. When she’s playing her best tennis, she just playing unbelievable and too good, but otherwise it’s open.”

On her plans to play in Poland’s Fed Cup tie against Taiwan…
“I want to help my team in April to stay in that World Group, so this is my plan and I hope I can play that. Of course we can see individually busy schedule and tight schedule because of the Olympics, so I really want to stay healthy the whole year. But here we have match at home, so I’m ready to play.”

ACAPULCO, Mexico – Great Britain’s Johanna Konta is no stranger to making British tennis history – she did plenty of that during her historic run to the Australian Open semifinals earlier in the year. This time, though, she did it without even having to lift a racquet.

Over the weekend, the 24-year-old reached a career-high ranking of No.26, the highest ranking for a Brit since Jo Durie held the spot in 1987. But as always, the milestones and accolades don’t faze the always-cool Konta.

“It looks pretty cool on paper,” Konta told wtatennis.com after being informed of the achievement. “Obviously I’m really happy to be where I am but I’m also very much focused on the process of things and just really giving my best in every match that I play.

“If do that where I’m ranked 26 or if I do that where I’m ranked 150, the objective stays the same.”

The objective was clear when Konta took the court at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. The No.4 seed took on Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in her first match since Melbourne.

The Brit quickly took a commanding 5-0 lead in the first set but struggled to close it out, Kontaveit winning three games in a row before Konta sealed the set 6-3. But after being given an inch, the Estonian took a mile when she came back to win the second set 6-3 and level the match. Konta’s woes continued in the third set – her serve was broken in the very first game for 0-1. Konta stayed calm, though, and got the break back and finished the match winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

“It was a tough one,” Konta said after the match. “But it was a good match, she played really well. I really had to stick in there and keep fighting every single point and really just work hard for my opportunities.”

The drama continued in Acapulco when No.8 seed Yanina Wickmayer defeated Mexican wildcard Victoria Rodriguez 6-7(5), 6-0, 7-6(2). Rodriguez – nicknamed “Chely” by her fans – was making her WTA main draw debut against Wickmayer, and she certainly did it in style too, taking Wickmayer to three sets and two points away from defeat.

No.3 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had an unexpectedly easier road to the second round, going up 6-0, 2-3 against qualifier Urszula Radwanska before a nasty-looking left ankle injury forced the Pole to retire.

“I’m actually really happy with the way I started the match and how I was playing, especially in the first set,” Pavlyuchenkova said afterwards. “I think everything was working and that’s why the score was 6-0.”

Though the match ended in a retirement, the Russian – who is coming off of a quarterfinals run in St. Petersburg – relished the chance to get in some match play and adjust to the conditions in Mexico.

“I’m still a little bit jetlagged from traveling a long time so I’m pretty happy with the way it went. Just really unlucky and feel sorry for Urzsula for hurting her ankle.”

Also in action, wildcard Naomi Osaka and No.6 seed Johanna Larsson cruised in their opening round matches while Mariana Duque-Mariño dealt an upset to Alison Van Uytvanck, sending the No.5 seed out in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat.

THE WINNERS

Sara Errani crowned her return to form with a dominant victory over Barbora Strycova in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. 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,” the Italian said after the victory. “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.”

Read the match recap and watch highlights here.

At the Rio Open, former World No.4 and fellow Italian Francesca Schiavone showed flashes of the tennis that took her to a maiden Grand Slam title at the 2010 French Open, edging past American Shelby Rogers, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, to win her seventh career title.

“Obviously when you come here, you try to prepare as much as you can, but you don’t think ‘I’m going there to win it,’ no, no,” Schiavone said before the final. “It’s a wonderful surprise; it’s been a long time since I’ve had this big a result, so I’m taking it as it comes.”

Read the match recap here.

GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider

Game: Forza Italia

You can’t say enough about this Golden Generation of Italian women. Since Flavia Pennetta became the first Italian to break into the Top 10 in 2009, all four women – Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani, and now Roberta Vinci – have broken into the Top 10. Pennetta and Schiavone scored a Slam title a piece, while Errani and Vinci both snagged a Slam final.

Now, with this generation on the verge of hanging up its racquets, we see Vinci win the biggest title of her career last week in St. Petersburg, Errani do the same this week in Dubai, and Schiavone win her first title in nearly three years in Rio de Janeiro, boosting herself back in the Top 100.

This group of Italians has been a special one. And they may have a few surprises yet.

Set: Marquee names yet to catch fire.

Whether it’s due to injuries, lack of confidence, or bad luck, there’s no denying it’s been a slow start to the season for a key group of players that includes Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Petra Kvitova. Elsewhere, we also see Caroline Wozniacki drop out of the Top 20 for the first time since August 2008. For the first time in the Open Era, no seeded player won a match in Dubai last week.

All are in action this week in Doha. Can they get some wins and pick up some steam as the tour heads to Indian Wells and Miami?

Match: Azarenka returns to action this week.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the results in Acapulco, as Victoria Azarenka returns to competition as the top seed there. The former No.1 had a strong start to the season after winning Brisbane in dominant fashion and marching to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, before getting stunned by eventual champion Angelique Kerber. It was a gutting loss for Azarenka, but hopefully she’s had time to work past it and comes into Acapulco fit and firing. She has a great opportunity to march up the rankings when the tour turns to Indian Wells and Miami.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of February 22, 2016.

Sorana Cirstea (ROU), +46 (No.199 to 152): Cirstea’s run to the Rio Open semifinals, playing in her first WTA main draw matches since last summer, were a huge milestone on the Romanian’s road back from injury. It also earned her the week’s highest ranking jump, improving 46 spots to No.152.  

Francesca Schiavone (ITA), +38 (No.132 to 94): When Francesca Schiavone turned back the clocks in Rio, winning her first title in two years, she also earned herself a spot back in the Top 100. The last time Schiavone was ranked inside the Top 100 was at the 2015 US Open, when she held the No.95 spot.

Shelby Rogers (USA), +23 (No.131 to 108): The resurgent Rogers made her first WTA final since 2014 at the Rio Open and as a result she now sits just eight spots shy of a return to the Top 100.

Barbora Strycova (CZE), +9 (No.47 to 38): Strycova improves nine spots to No.38 with run to the final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Sara Errani (ITA), +5 (No.22 to 17): Sara Errani’s dominant performance in Dubai sends her up five spots and back into the Top 20.

Johanna Konta (GBR), +1 (No.27 to 26): While improving one ranking spot might not seem like much, it’s actually a historic achievement for Konta – her No.26 ranking is the highest ranking for a Brit since Jo Dury held the spot in April 1987.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Qatar Total Open
Doha, Qatar
Premier | $2,517,250 | Hard, Outdoors
Sunday, February 21 – Saturday, February 27, 2016

Abierto Mexicano TELCEL
Acapulco, Mexico
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 22 – Saturday, February 27, 2016

Abierto Monterrey Afirme
Monterrey, Mexico
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 29 – Sunday, March 6

BMW Malaysian Open
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 29 – Sunday, March 6

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES

1. Serena Williams –
2. Angelique Kerber – Doha
3. Agnieszka Radwanska – Doha
4. Simona Halep – Doha
5. Garbiñe Muguruza – Doha
6. Maria Sharapova –
7. Belinda Bencic – Doha
8. Petra Kvitova – Doha
9. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
10. Roberta Vinci – Doha
11. Carla Suárez Navarro – Doha
12. Lucie Safarova – Doha
13. Venus Williams –
14. Victoria Azarenka – Acapulco
15. Timea Bacsinszky – Doha
16. Ana Ivanovic –
17. Sara Errani – Doha, Monterrey 
18. Elina Svitolina – Doha
19. Karolina Pliskova – Doha
20. Jelena Jankovic – Doha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

 Klara Koukalova (CZE) – February 24, 1982
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) – February 25, 1994
Chen Liang (CHN) – February 25, 1989
Naomi Broady (GBR) – February 28, 1990
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) – February 28, 1985

Top 10 debuts on the WTA these days are like London buses: wait ages for one, then two come along at once.

Hot on the heels of Belinda Bencic onto the Top 10 bus is the evergreen Roberta Vinci, who – in spite of an early exit at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – hopped aboard on Monday.

Having closed in on the Top 10 with victory in St. Petersburg, Carla Suárez Navarro’s second-round loss in Dubai and the absences of Lucie Safarova and Venus Williams saw Vinci leapfrog her previous highest ranking of No.11.

It is the latest highlight of a remarkable return to form for Vinci, who last summer was ranked as low as No.58 before reviving her career with that run at the US Open.

The Italian, who turned 33 last week, is the 117th – and oldest – player to make their Top 10 debut and on Monday celebrated her ascent by dismissing Lesia Tsurenko, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round of the Qatar Total Open.

At the Australian Open, Vinci dropped hints on potential retirement dates, but with relatively few points to defend between now and August, this topic of conversation is likely to be shelved for the foreseeable future.

And Vinci is not the only upwardly mobile Italian.

Sara Errani (+5, No.22 to No.17): On Saturday, Sara Errani defeated Barbora Strycova in the Dubai final to lift the ninth, and most significant, title of her career. After slipping down the rankings following two wins in her first three tournaments of the year, the 28-year-old’s return to form takes her back into the Top 20.

Barbora Strycova (+9, No.47 to No.38): Errani’s victim in the final also enjoyed a productive week, victories over Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Garcia taking her back into the Top 40 for the first time since August.

Francesca Schavone (+38 No.132 to No.94): Having been an ever-present just shy of 15 years, last summer, Francesca Schiavone finally surrendered her place in the Top 100. However, at the Rio Open the 36-year-old rolled back the years to lift her first title since 2013 and jump back to No.94 in the rankings.

Shelby Rogers (+23, No.131 to No.108): Also enjoying a productive first outing of the year on clay was Shelby Rogers, who saw off No.8 seed Andreea Mitu and former World No.21 Sorana Cirstea before being edged out by Schiavone in the final.