Author: Marija

As the editor-in-chief of Women’s Tennis Blog, Marija is deeply ingrained in the tennis community, offering a unique perspective and unparalleled insights. Her commitment to the sport goes beyond her editorial role; she is a regular contributor of compelling tennis fashion articles featured on the official WTA website, solidifying her standing as a trusted voice in the industry. Marija's dedication to delivering accurate, insightful, and engaging tennis content reflects her unwavering passion and comprehensive understanding of the sport.

Categories
Petra Kvitova Simona Halep Wuhan Open

Kvitova’s love affair with Wuhan continues, demolishes Halep to make the final

Petra Kvitova entered today’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open semifinal with a 0-3 record against Simona Halep, but the Chinese city gives Kvitova special powers and the Czech ruthlessly defeated her Romanian opponent 6-1 6-2.

petra-kvitova

The world No.16 Kvitova improved to 11-1 in Wuhan with a very dominant display against the player she had never before defeated. In the first set, Kvitova stormed to a 5-0 lead, which quickly translated into 6-1, while the second set was just as one-sided, only that Halep opened with a hold of serve, albeit a difficult one.

simona-halep

The 14th-seeded Kvitova has now made her first WTA final of the season and it’s a very well-deserved one, as she eliminated world No.1 Angelique Kerber in a third-round epic. In the title match, Kvitova will face determined Dominika Cibulkova, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first Friday’s semifinal. (photos: Jimmie48)

Categories
Dominika Cibulkova Svetlana Kuznetsova Wuhan Open

Another awe-inspiring effort gets Cibulkova past Kuznetsova and into the Wuhan final

Few people expected Dominika Cibulkova to have enough left in the tank after playing two matches yesterday at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, but the Slovak showed us her superb determination and attitude yet again, rallying to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6 6-3 6-4 for her fifth Top 10 win this season and fifth WTA final of 2016.

dominika-cibulkova

After splitting the first two sets with equal scores, the players left the third set absolutely tight until the very end. Both Cibulkova and Kuznetsova firmly held on to their serves, even though the tenth-seeded Cibulkova did seem to have the upper hand, only without materializing it in the score.

The match went with serve all the way to Cibulkova’s 5-4 lead, when the Slovak raced away with a love break and defeated the ninth-seeded Kuznetsova for the fifth time in their eight career meetings. With two hours and 35 minutes, Friday’s Wuhan semifinal is the longest match played between Cibulkova and Kuznetsova.

svetlana-kuznetsova

Cibulkova’s winners-to-unforced-errors differential was +13, while Kuznetsova’s was also positive, but much more modest, +2.

The 27-year-old Cibulkova’s opponent in the big Wuhan final will Petra Kvitova, who continued her reign in the Chinese city by demolishing Simona Halep 6-1 6-2.

Categories
Johanna Konta Petra Kvitova Wuhan Open

Tiredness didn’t stop her: Kvitova ousts Konta to make Wuhan semis

petra-kvitova

After grinding out a spectacular 6-7(10) 7-5 6-4 victory over world number one Angelique Kerber yesterday, Petra Kvitova showed no signs of weakness today against Johanna Konta, reaching the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open semifinals with a dominant 6-3 6-4 win.

The 14th-seeded Kvitova, who won the Wuhan title in 2014, played a steady match against the 11th-seeded Konta. Without any turbulence, Kvitova broke Konta’s serve once in each set and saved all the four break points she faced to ensure a straightforward victory.

In the semifinals, Kvitova will face fourth seed Simona Halep, who recorded a 6-4 6-2 win over eighth seed Madison Keys earlier on Thursday. (photo: Jimmie48)

Categories
Angelique Kerber Petra Kvitova Wuhan Open

Kvitova squeezes past No.1 Kerber after 3 hours and 19 minutes of drama

Petra Kvitova eliminated world No.1 Angelique Kerber in the third round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, after a highly-intense battle that lasted close to three and a half hours, featured 12 breaks of serve and the eventual winner celebrated on her seventh match point.

angelique-kerber-1

Throughout the dramatic encounter, no player went ahead more than two games up compared to her opponent and it was a constant see-saw of breaks and rebreaks. The first set alone featured six breaks in the first seven games and the grueling fight ended with the top-seeded Kerber prevailing in the tiebreak.

petra-kvitova

When Kerber opened the second set by dropping serve, it was obvious that the slugfest would continue, and more or less it did, only that the 14th-seeded Kvitova had the upper hand this time and managed to avoid a tiebreak, taking the second set 7-5.

angelique-kerber-2

After the long two sets, we absolutely couldn’t tell who would emerge as the winner, although Kvitova did seem slightly more stable. The Czech opened the second successive set by breaking Kerber’s serve and this time she held on to that lead. At 4-2 Kvitova even had a chance to go 5-2 up, but Kerber fought for her service game and at 4-3 for Kvitova even earned numerous break points of her own.

That long eighth game also featured a sensational point, a 41-shot rally which earned Kerber another break point. But the German converted none of the many opportunities and Kvitova continued to lead, 5-3.

petra-kvitova-2

Those wasted opportunities determined Kerber’s fate, although Kvitova needed as many as seven match points to finally beat her and it was very tense until the last moment, as Kvitova seemed too tired and her legs were cramping severely. Final score: 6-7(10) 7-5 6-4.

Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska are playing the last match on Wednesday and it was obviously a long wait. 🙂

Kvitova’s quarterfinal opponent will be Johanna Konta, who saved six set points and rallied from 3-5 down to beat Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5 7-6(6).

Earlier in the day, ninth Svetlana Kuznetsova eliminated an out-of-sorts defending champion Venus Williams with a straightforward 6-2 6-2 victory in the third round. Fourth seed Simona Halep cruised past Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 6-3, while eighth seed Madison Keys advanced to the quarterfinals after three sets against Daria Kasatkina, 6-1 4-6 6-4. (photos: Jimmie48)

Categories
Garbine Muguruza Jelena Jankovic Wuhan Open

Jankovic knocks out Muguruza in the second round of Wuhan

jelena-jankovic-2016-us-open

Fresh off the final at the Guangzhou Open, Jelena Jankovic came to the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, defeated Daria Gavrilova 6-2 6-2 in the first round and then proceeded to upset second seed Garbine Muguruza in the second round on Tuesday.

The world No.39 Jankovic had never dropped serve to the point of serving for the match in the second set, when Muguruza handed her a break with three unforced errors. Muguruza then brought about a brief revival thanks to her coach’s guidance, forcing a tiebreak, but Jankovic cruised through it 7-2. Final score: 6-4 7-6(2).

Muguruza hit as many as 42 unforced errors and although Jankovic’s winners-to-unforced-errors differential was negative, -4, Muguruza’s was way worse, -14.

In other second-round matches in Wuhan, top seed Angelique Kerber won her first match as world No.1, beating Kristina Mladenovic 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4, the 2014 champion Petra Kvitova beat Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-1, third seed Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-1, while defending champion Venus Williams progressed past Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-2. (photo: Jimmie48)

 

Categories
Caroline Wozniacki Samantha Stosur Wuhan Open

No rest, no problem: After Tokyo, Wozniacki wins in Wuhan

caroline-wozniacki-2016-toray-pan-pacific-open

Right after clinching the Premier-level Toray Pan Pacific Open title in Tokyo, Caroline Wozniacki is already in Wuhan and already has one more victory to her name in her late-season bloom. The Dane comfortably defeated Grand Slam champion Samantha Stosur and advanced to the second round of the $2,589,000 Chinese tournament.

At 2-2 in the second set, Wozniacki broke Stosur’s serve and raced away with all the remaining games to win the first-round match 6-3 6-2. The 16th-seeded Stosur committed too many unforced errors, 31 to Wozniacki’s 10, while she hit just five winners more than the Dane, 13 to 8.

Up next for Wozniacki is Katerina Siniakova, who finished runner-up at the recent Japan Women’s Open Tennis, an International-level tournament in Tokyo.

The 2014 Wuhan champion Petra Kvitova also progressed on Monday, beating Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 6-1 in the first round, while fourth seed Simona Halep recorded a retirement victory over Irina-Camelia Begu at 6-3 2-0 in the second round. (photo: Jimmie48)

Categories
Caroline Wozniacki Naomi Osaka Toray Pan Pacific Open

Caroline Wozniacki defeats Japanese Naomi Osaka to win Tokyo

Caroline Wozniacki crowed her late-season resurgence with a Premier-level title, by defeating Japanese teen Naomi Osaka in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open and keeping alive a streak of winning a WTA title every year since 2008.

caroline-wozniacki-2016-toray-pan-pacific-open

In the final against 18-year-old Osaka, who delighted her nation by reaching her biggest WTA final at a home tournament, Wozniacki recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the first set and survived Osaka’s fightback in the second set, when the Japanese nearly leveled from 0-5 down before the Dane served out the victory. Final score: 7-5 6-3.

naomi-osaka-2016-toray-pan-pacific-open

Wozniacki converted five out of six break points she earned and, interestingly, all the five breaks happened on the first break point. Also, Wozniacki and Osaka were almost equal in the number of winners, but Wozniacki made way less unforced errors, 16 to Osaka’s 32.

caroline-wozniacki-2016-toray-pan-pacific-open-1

The 26-year-old Wozniacki lifted her 24th career title in her favorite outfit this season, the signal green version of the Barricade Dress Set and Adidas Barricade Boost Shoes, all designed by Stella McCartney.

Categories
Caroline Wozniacki Naomi Osaka Toray Pan Pacific Open

Osaka moves into Tokyo final and delights the home crowd, Wozniacki awaits

The Toray Pan Pacific Open title match will be a battle between home star Naomi Osaka and the 2010 Tokyo champion Caroline Wozniacki, who will play her 41st career final.

naomi-osaka-vs-caroline-wozniacki-tokyo-final

In the first Saturday’s semifinal, a match-up between two past Tokyo champions, Wozniacki ended Agnieszka Radwanska‘s title defense with a thrilling 4-6 7-5 6-4 victory, a continuation of the Dane’s late season resurgence, which included the US Open semifinals. After losing the first set, Wozniacki came back from 5-3 down in the second set by winning four straight games and in the third set the former world number one also initially had a deficit, going back from 3-1 down by again winning four straight games before closing out the match.

The 18-year-old Osaka straightforwardly lost the first set 6-1 to her semifinal opponent Elina Svitolina on Saturday, but that’s the sole set the Japanese has dropped at the Premier-level event. In the second set, even though Svitolina got 81% first serves in, the Ukrainian converted none of the seven break points she earned, and Osaka forced the third set, in which she confidently recorded breaks in the fifth and seventh games to win 1-6 6-3 6-2.

The Tokyo final will be the first career meeting between Wozniacki and Osaka.

 

Categories
Flavia Pennetta Serena Williams

Serena Williams, Flavia Pennetta attend the Novak Djokovic Foundation gala dinner in Milan

Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena organized the Novak Djokovic Foundation gala dinner presented by Giorgio Armani at Castello Sforzesco on Tuesday evening, attracting a stunning number of high-profile guests, including WTA players Serena Williams and Flavia Pennetta.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKnXyfrAmNo/?taken-by=serenawilliams&hl=en

The world No.2 Williams, who made a girls’ trip to Italy with two friends, dazzled in a black velvet minidress featuring elegant silk panels and skater hemline. Interestingly, Jelena Djokovic opted for a similar dress design and it’s hard to tell who wore it better.

While Jelena worked silver strappy stiletto sandals, Serena chose a more comfortable, yet just as elegant, kitten-heel pointy-toe shoes in black. As you can see, Vogue editor-in-chief and tennis enthusiast Anna Wintour was also there, as well as fashion designer Giorgio Armani, with whom Serena enjoyed taking selfies.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKltt3egxqW/?taken-by=serenawilliams&hl=en

Retired tennis star Flavia Pennetta came in the company of her husband Fabio Fognini.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKneZKEjmYF/

The Italians stormed the red carpet in black clothes, while Flavia thanked Armani, Damiani handmade jewelry and CotrilSpa for her stunning look.

And let me add that Serena did not come to Milan because of just one fancy event. The tennis legend is keeping herself busy with Milan Fashion Week and after Tuesday’s flirty elegance, the American rocked the Italian city on Wednesday by showing every bit of her curves and cleavage in tight pants and unzipped bomber jacket with naked body underneath. Draping embellishments alongside the zipper of her jacket only accentuate the cleavage, as well as long hair put to the side.

Serena was spotted on the front row at Gucci, sitting next to Anna Wintour.

Categories
Angelique Kerber Karolina Pliskova US Open

Angelique Kerber solidifies No.1 ranking with US Open title

New world No.1 Angelique Kerber avenged her loss to Karolina Pliskova in the recent Western & Southern Open final, ending the Czech’s 11-match winning streak with a 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory for the US Open crown.

angelique-kerber-fistpump

After strongly marching through the first set with breaks in the opening and closing games, the second-seeded Kerber was for the first time shaken midway through the second set, when Pliskova broke her serve in the seventh game and held on to it to take the match to a decider. Compared to the first set, in the second set Pliskova improved her winners-to-unforced-errors differential from -2 to +5, while Kerber worsened hers from +5 to 0. In the third set, Kerber trailed by a break at 3-1 before coming back against the tenth-seeded Pliskova.

karolina-pliskova-us-open-2016

En route to her second Grand Slam champion’s trophy, Kerber defeated Polona Hercog in the first round, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the second, Catherine Bellis in the third, 14th seed Petra Kvitova in the fourth, last year’s finalist and seventh seed Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, Caroline Wozniacki in the semis, and finally in-form Pliskova, who had eliminated both the Williams sisters from the draw and who hadn’t been past the third round at a major until this tournament.

This has been an impressive season for the German 28-year-old, as she won her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, made the final at Wimbledon, won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics and has now become the US Open champion.

angelique-kerber-us-open-2016

Kerber’s winning tennis apparel: the Adidas Fall Pro Tank in flash red, the Adidas Fall Pro Skirt, and Adidas Adizero Ubersonic 2 Shoes.

Get women's tennis news to your inbox
 Join our mailing list today and elevate your love for the game.
Submit
close-link