American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands made her way into the China Open quarterfinals on Thursday, hanging on to beat 15th-seeded Italian and U.S. Open finalist Roberta Vinci, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Mattek-Sands saved seven of the 10 break points she faced and converted on six break points of her own to outlast Vinci. Up next for the…
World number one Novak Djokovic rolled into the China Open quarterfinals on Thursday, moving past China’s Ze Zhang 6-2, 6-1 to reach the final eight in Beijing. Djokovic made sure he wasted no time getting past Zhang. He won 84 percent of his first service points, and was by far the more aggressive player. He…
Angelique Kerber of Germany cruised into the China Open quarterfinals on Wednesday, downing eighth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-3. The 10th-seeded German converted on seven of her 13 break point chances, and despite letting a 5-0 second-set lead slip to 5-3, and closed out Wozniacki in just under 90 minutes. Kerber has enjoyed a successful…
The second-seeded Tomas Berdych was ousted from the China Open in the first round on Wednesday, as Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas rolled Berdych 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Round of 16 in Beijing. Berdych failed to capitalize on any of his six break point chances, while Cuevas was able to secure one in each set to…
Venus Williams played some of her best tennis in recent memory in Wuhan, China last week, and it resulted in her biggest title win in five years, as the unseeded American knocked off fifth-seed Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 3-0 (retired) in the Wuhan final over the weekend. This one was close early, as both Venus and…
Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer both won titles over the weekend, as Berdych hoisted the trophy at the Shenzhen Open, while Ferrer took home the win at the Malaysian Open. Berdych won the 11th title of his career with a 6-3, 7-6(7) win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Monday. The match was delayed due to rain…
Venus Williams got some revenge for her younger sister Serena on Friday, downing U.S. Open finalist and 15th-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4) to reach the Wuhan Open final. It was Vinci who ended Serena’s bid for a career Grand Slam in early September in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. The unseeded American…
Venus Williams continued her run at the Wuhan Open on Thursday, moving past Great Britian’s Johanna Konta 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. This matchup featured two of the hottest players heading in, as Konta had won 21 of her last 22 matches heading in and Venus is coming off of a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open,…
Serena Williams announced on Thursday that she will not be playing again in 2015, meaning that she will be out of the China Open in Beijing and the WTA Finals in Singapore. Serena cited the need to focus on her physical health, as well as take a step back mentally and emotionally. “It’s no secret…
Briton Johanna Konta stunned world number two Simona Halep at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday, downing the top-seeded Romanian 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals in China. Halep seemed to be on her way to a victory in this one. After dropping the opening set, Halep built a 4-3 advantage in the second, and…