IT was a bit of a mixed bag of results across the WTA Tour’s two grass court events yesterday, with two seeds making their way through in each of the Viking Classic and Bett1Open quarter finals, whilst in the other two matches the underdog prevailed. In Berlin, fifth seed Belinda Bencic advanced through to the final four with a hard-fought three-set win over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4 4-6 7-6, needing two hours and 31 minutes to dismiss her opponent.
The Swiss star will now face Frenchwoman Alize Cornet who stunned Grand Slam winner and sixth seed Garbine Muguruza in an epic contest, winning in a third set tiebreaker, 7-5. The overall match saw Cornet come from behind to post a 4-6 6-3 7-6 win over the Spanish seed in two hours and 40 minutes to claim her spot in the final four. Cornet won 76.6 per cent of his first serve points and broke twice from her two chances, whilst rallied hard against a solid Muguruza who broke twice form four chances, and won 67.9 and 70 per cent of her first and second serve points.
“It was a long match with a lot of emotion, especially in the tiebreak,” Cornet said post-match. “I can’t believe I made it at the end. She’s a champion, she never gives up. I should have gone for a it a bit more, I was waiting for a mistake and I was a bit tight – it’s normal. But I was very resilient too, I was always behind in the score in the third set but I kept grinding, I kept fighting to the end and it’s a really nice victory.
“I had a really tough clay season, I couldn’t play well and I don’t know why – but to play well on grass, it’s unexpected but beautiful.”
RUSSIAN young gun Mirra Andreeva is through to the fourth round of the 2025 Indian Wells WTA1000 event after an eye-catching win over Dane Clara Tauson for the second time in a month. The two hard-hitting compatriots faced off in the Dubai Tennis Championships decider, and like on that occasion, it was the higher ranked […]
IN-FORM American Jessica Pegula‘s recent form rolled on with her sixth straight victory to book her place in the third round of Indian Wells today. The fourth seed notched up her WTA Tour 80th victory in the process when knocking off Poland’s Magda Linette 6-4 6-2 and winning her third straight match against the world […]
Blink and it’s ova as Kessler cruises past Russian
IN-FORM American talent McCartney Kessler crushed first round Indian Wells opponent Anna Blinkova en route to the Round of 64, only dropping three games in a 62-minute domination. Kessler was initially forced to qualify for the WTA1000 event after a tough schedule turnaround between the Texas and California tournaments but continued her remarkable run in […]
COLOMBIAN young gun Camila Osorio produced one of the better victories of her career, toppling former world number one and 2018 Indian Wells champion on day one of the WTA1000 event. Osorio took care of the 56th ranked Osaka 6-4 6-4, denying the Japanese star the chance to re-enter the Top 50 for the first […]
THERE was nowhere to hide for first-time WTA Tour finalist Emiliana Arango in the Merida Open decider, as world number 10 Emma Navarro double-bagelled the Colombian qualifier in just 55 minutes on court. Top seeded at the event and clear tournament favourite, Navarro belted her way to the trophy to win what is just her […]
AUSSIE qualifier Daria Saville will receive a significant rankings boost after securing her spot in the Merida Open semi-finals overnight. The former Top 20 player ousted world number 11 Paula Badosa who was forced to retire with a lower back complaint when down in the second set 3-5 after winning the the first 6-1. The […]
ROMANIAN veteran Sorana Cirstea is on the verge of a return to the Top 100 after amassing her third Top 20 victory in a fortnight overnight. The 34-year-old Cirstea – who turns 35 in April – fought through a tough challenge against second seed and world number 13 Diana Shnaider in Austin to book her […]
THE LID is officially off for Australia’s newest teenage star with Maya Joint dismantling Croatian Top 20 player Donna Vekic in Merida today. The WTA Tour 500 event taking place in Mexico saw the 18-year-old completely outplay Vekic who has been suffering some repercussions from a recent knee injury to get up 6-1 6-2 in […]
THERE was no room for sentiment in Austin as British serving machine Jodie Burrage aced her way out of trouble in two-time Grand Slam winner Petra Kvitova return from maternity leave. Kvitova gave birth to son Petr and was playing her first match in 17 months, but despite a strong start, fell 3-6 6-4 6-4 […]
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