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Post by Admin on Jul 16, 2014 23:02:20 GMT
Three qualifiers surprised seeded opponents Tuesday in first round play at the Collector Swedish Open, led by WTA Rising Star Anett Kontaveit's upset of top-seeded Alizé Cornet. World No.161 Kontaveit's 7-6(3), 6-3 defeat of World No.21 Cornet was not only the best win of the 18-year-old Estonian's professional career, but it was her first WTA main draw win. And on top of that, this was the first time in tournament history that the top seed fell in the first round. "Obviously I was really nervous playing her. She's such a good player," Kontaveit said. "I had to stay there mentally every point. It was really tough. I had to stay aggressive and control the points, and I managed to do that really well. I'm extremely happy with the way I played." Also recording her first WTA main draw win and the best win of her pro career was World No.201 Laura Siegemund, who was a 7-5, 6-3 victor over fourth-seeded Yaroslava Shvedova. The German qualifier won 16 of 19 points on Shvedova's second serve, while breaking serve five times in her 300th professional win. Another upset saw Dinah Pfizenmaier beat No.8 seed Polona Hercog, 7-5, 7-6(5). Hercog came into this event 10-0 in Bastad, having captured her two WTA titles here in 2011 and 2012. "I won one point less than her, but I won the big points and played better in the tie-break," Pfizenmaier said. "I had a few problems with my serve, maybe because it was really windy, but overall I was more consistent, and I think I deserved the win."
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Post by Admin on Jul 18, 2014 22:45:47 GMT
It was a big day in Istanbul on Friday, as Caroline Wozniacki continued her path to the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup title and a WTA Rising Star continued her breakthrough week. That WTA Rising Star was 16-year-old Croatian qualifier Ana Konjuh, who beat Elina Svitolina in the first match of the day, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. Given the lopsided nature of the second and third sets, the key moment in the match could have been the first set, as Konjuh dug out of a 4-1 hole to take it, 6-4. The other two quarterfinals saw No.1 seed Wozniacki rally past No.8 seed Karolina Pliskova, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2, the third time they've gone to three sets in three career meetings, and Kristina Mladenovic take a two-hour, 23-minute marathon against former French Open winner Francesca Schiavone, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. "I'm happy with the way I've been serving this week and it definitely helped me out there today," Wozniacki said. "Karolina is a tough opponent and she always gives me a lot of trouble. "I knew it was not going to be easy." Wozniacki beat Mladenovic in their only previous encounter. I will have to stay focused and aggressive because my opponent has a good forehand and a good serve," Wozniacki said of her looming match-up with Mladenovic. "I will try and make her run." Caroline Wozniacki has taken a swipe at ex-fiancee Rory McIlroy - by wearing a pair of high heels. The former world No 1 posted a picture of herself shopping with a friend in Istanbul where she is competing in the Istanbul Cup. Wozniacki said: 'Out and about in Istanbul. It's been three years since I have worn high heels on a normal day out. #feelsgood #looksgood #shopping #highheels #sun.' She later deleted the post on Instagram.
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Post by Admin on Jul 20, 2014 22:48:13 GMT
Having lost two of their three previous meetings, Caroline Wozniacki struck back against Roberta Vinci on Sunday night to capture the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup title. In a dream final at the International-level tournament, the No.1-seeded Wozniacki took on the No.2-seeded Vinci. But they got there in very different ways. Though she cooled off a pair of WTA Rising Stars - Belinda Bencic and Kristina Mladenovic - in straight sets, Wozniacki was pushed to three sets two rounds in a row, against Karin Knapp in the second round and Karolina Pliskova in the quarters. Meanwhile, on the other half of the draw, Vinci didn't come close to losing a set all tournament. Wozniacki took home her first WTA title of the year and the 22nd of her illustrious career. The former No.1 has now won a WTA title every year for the last seven years, winning her first three in 2008, three more in 2009, six in 2010, six in 2011, two in 2012, one in 2013 and now one in 2014. "I'm happy to have won my 22nd WTA title - it's a great feeling!" Wozniacki said. "I'm happy how the final went today. I served well and pushed her around the court, and I really dictated the match. "I've had a good week and am feeling good on hardcourts, which is great moving forward."
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Post by Admin on Jul 27, 2014 23:07:50 GMT
Elina Svitolina defeated fellow WTA Rising Star Bojana Jovanovski to defend her title at the Baku Cup, the second WTA title of the Ukrainian teenager's blossoming career. Svitolina came out far stronger, cruising to a 6-1 first set in just 22 minutes. But things got much tougher in the second set as Jovanovski wouldn't budge on her serve - in fact neither played budged on their serve, 12 straight holds leading the hard-hitting WTA Rising Stars into a second set tie-break. The No.2-seeded Svitolina jumped out to a 4-0 lead in that second set tie-break and never really looked back, eventually closing the No.5-seeded Jovanovski out on her first match point, 6-1, 7-6(2). "I think we were both nervous at the start of the match, but I handled it really well," Svitolina said. "In the second set she was trying to fight, and she's not the type of person who gives up - I've watched her fighting for every ball and every set before and I was expecting this fightback. "But I was playing really well here and I'm happy I could defend my title. I'm really happy with the way I'm playing and I'm enjoying myself - I'm feeling really confident with my game right now." "In the first set I couldn't find any rhythm," Jovanovski said. "In the second set I tried to come back and it was a little bit better, but it still wasn't enough to win the set. I had a few chances to break but didn't use my opportunities. But she played really well today and deserved to win." Jovanovski's slow start to the match could have been the after-effects of a very difficult path to the final - she went to three sets three times in four matches en route to the final, including coming back from 6-4, 4-2 down in her quarterfinal match and 4-1 down in the third set in her semifinal match. Meanwhile, Svitolina lost just one set all week, in her semifinal win against Francesca Schiavone. Svitolina is also the first teenager to win multiple WTA titles since Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who actually won three WTA titles as a teenager (Monterrey and Istanbul in 2010 and Monterrey in 2011).
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Post by Admin on Jul 30, 2014 22:44:57 GMT
Germany's Sabine Lisicki hit the fastest recorded serve in the history of women's tennis at 131mph during a first-round loss in Stanford, USA. The 2013 Wimbledon finalist hit the serve in the 11th game of the first set against Ana Ivanovic, who would go on to win the match 7-6 (7-2) 6-1. Venus Williams had set the previous record of 129mph at the 2007 US Open. "Well at least I broke the world record for fastest serve," Lisicki said on Twitter after Tuesday's match. In Washington, British number one Heather Watson suffered a first-round exit at the Citi Open. In Washington, British number one Heather Watson suffered a first-round exit at the Citi Open. The 22-year-old from Guernsey lost 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-3) to Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, ranked nine places higher at 56 in the world. Watson, who has risen from 113 in the world at the start of the year, won the doubles title in Baku last week but since Wimbledon has lost in the first round of singles in both Baku and Washington. Well...at least I broke the world record for fastest serve on @wta ... #131mph #history #record
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