Miami 2015

[Lucas]

Tournament Info
Tier: Premier
Prize Money: $5,381,235
Surface: Hard
Director: Adam Barrett

Miami is one of the most glamorous and upbeat cities in the world, which is why it is the perfect host for the Miami Open presented by Itaú - the largest tennis event in the world outside of the Grand Slams.

A combined ATP/WTA two-week extravaganza in March, this Premier Mandatory event was first held in Delray Beach in 1985. After moving to Boca Raton in 1986, it settled in its permanent home in Miami's Key Biscayne in 1987 - its 30-acre facility eventually becoming known as the Tennis Center at Crandon Park.

Serena Williams became one of just four players in the Open Era with at least seven titles at one event by capturing Miami yet again in 2014. Victoria Azarenka, Kim Clijsters, five-time champ Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Monica Seles and Venus Williams also have multiple Miami Open titles. Jana Novotna has the Miami doubles record with seven titles.

Miami has twice been honored as the WTA Premier Tournament Of The Year - in 1995 and 2004.

[Lucas]

(1)S.Williams v BYE
Rogers v Niculescu
(wc)de Vroome v (wc)Bellis
(29)Diyas v BYE
(24)Kuznetsova v BYE
Riske v Lucic-Baroni
Watson v Q
(13)Kerber v BYE

(11)Errani v BYE
Pavlyuchenkova v Zvonareva
Davis v Q
(21)Muguruza v BYE
(27)Lisicki v BYE
Goerges v Cepelova
Puig v Q
(5)Ivanovic v BYE

(3)Halep v BYE
Q v (wc)Vaidisova
Q v Rybarikova
(30)Giorgi v BYE
(20)Jankovic v BYE
Azarenka v Soler-Espinosa
Q v Pironkova
(15)Pennetta v BYE

(10)Safarova v BYE
Shvedova v Larsson
Wickmayer v Stephens
(17)Keys v BYE
(32)Dellacqua v BYE
Hantuchova v Bencic
Vinci v Q
(6)Bouchard v BYE

(7)A.Radwanska v BYE
Schmedlova v Hercog
(wc)Vikhlyantseva v Smitkova
(31)Begu v BYE
(22)Cornet v BYE
Q v Vesnina
Q v Flipkens
(12)Suarez Navarro v BYE

(16)V.Williams v BYE
Q v Vandeweghe
Q v Bertens
(23)Stosur v BYE
(28)Lepchenko v BYE
(wc)Abanda v Kanepi
Brengle v Krunic
(4)Wozniacki v BYE

(8)Makarova v BYE
Knapp v Siniakova
Jovanovski v Barthel
(26)Svitolina v BYE
(19)Zahlavova Strycova v BYE
Koukalova v Mladenovic
(wc)Cirstea v McHale
(9)Petkovic v BYE

(14)Pliskova v BYE
Beck v Zhang
Cetkovska v (wc)Badosa Gibert
(18)Peng v BYE
(25)Garcia v BYE
Nara v Tomljanovic
Q v (wc)Gavrilova
(2)Sharapova v BYE

[Lucas]

10 Things To Know: Miami

Spoiler:

Every week on wtatennis.com we'll bring you 10 Things To Know about the week - who's playing, where and more. This fortnight the Road To Singapore travels through sunny Miami...

1) This is the second of two massive back-to-back stops on the Road To Singapore.
Simona Halep collected 1000 points for winning Indian Wells, which propelled her to No.1 on the Road To Singapore, the journey to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. There are 1000 points for the Miami winner too - will that push someone else closer to Singapore?

2) This is the closest thing to a home tournament for the Williams sisters.
The Williams sisters live in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, which makes this tournament the closest thing they have to a home tournament on the WTA calendar. And their results speak volumes to that - they have won this title 10 times between them, Venus winning three and Serena winning seven.

3) Serena has more titles at this tournament than at any other tournament.
Serena Williams has won Miami seven times, her most titles at any WTA event. The only other players to win any WTA event seven or more times are Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.

4) Venus is back in action this fortnight.
Venus Williams didn't play at Indian Wells, but she's one of the hottest players of the year so far, going 15-3 and currently at No.9 on the Road To Singapore leaderboard. And she loves this tournament - she's captured the title here three times, in 1998, 1999 (beating Serena in that final) and 2001.

5) Sharapova is very, very hungry to win here.
Even though she's never won the title, this is one of Maria Sharapova's best tournaments, reaching the final in 2005 (falling to Kim Clijsters), 2006 (falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova), 2011 (falling to Victoria Azarenka), 2012 (falling to Agnieszka Radwanska) and finally 2013 (falling to Serena Williams).

6) Halep has never been past the third round here - that will probably change this year.
Simona Halep could be the hottest player of the year so far - she's the first player to three WTA titles (Shenzhen, Dubai and Indian Wells) and one of only three players to have 20 or more WTA-level match wins (she has 20 - Timea Bacsinszky has 21 and Karolina Pliskova also has 20). She's hoping for her best run here - and she even let this trophy win to make sure she was in top shape for Miami.

7) There will be a lot of eyes on the doubles draw...
Things are heating up in the doubles world right now. Will Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza keep their perfect start going? Will Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, the co-World No.1s who announced the end of their partnership last week, play with other partners? Stay tuned on wtatennis.com for the latest.

We'll miss you again, Petra.
Petra Kvitova, who missed Indian Wells due to exhaustion, pulled out of Miami due to exhaustion as well. And she's not the only contender who's out this week - there's also Dominika Cibulkova (left ankle injury), Timea Bacsinszky (also left ankle injury) and Jarmila Gajdosova (bacterial infection).

9) The WTA Draw Challenge is back - make your picks here!

10) And finally, find out where you can watch all the tennis on WTA TV developed by Xerox.

http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/4 ... know-miami

[Lucas]

The Knee Comes to the Key

Spoiler:

Serena Williams is a seven-time champion in Key Biscayne. (AP Photos)

The Miami Open had one distinct advantage on Indian Wells over the last 14 years: the presence of Venus and Serena Williams. This year Serena took some of that edge away, but Miami will still be happy to welcome the Williamses back, Serena’s knee permitting. The upshot is that the women's draw, with Venus joining her sister and most of the Top 20 present and accounted for, is as loaded as ever.

*****
First Quarter

The strained quadriceps muscle that forced Serena to withdraw from Indian Wells is still an issue; she’s being evaluated again in Miami on Tuesday. But as I write this, she was planning to play her opening match on Friday night against Monica Niculescu, the same woman whom she struggled so mightily to defeat in the desert last week. In fact, Serena’s first two matches could be a re-run of Indian Wells: She’s scheduled to face Zarina Diyas again in the third round.

If the knee obliges, or even if it’s a little wobbly, Serena is the favorite to advance out of this section—until she's officially out of the tournament, it's hard to pick against a seven-time champion. But her quarter does hold its share of dangers. The other seeds here are Ana Ivanovic, Sabine Lisicki, Garbine Muguruza, Sara Errani, Angelique Kerber, and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Of those, Ivanovic, Muguruza, Kerber, Lisicki, and Kuzzie all own at least one win over Serena.

Sleeper: Heather Watson

Wild card: CiCi Bellis

Trying to build on Indian Wells: Lisicki

Could use a win or two: Ivanovic
Semifinalist: S. Williams

*****
Second Quarter

Simona Halep, the top seed in this section, has had some trouble following up deep runs in the past, and her final-round win in Indian Wells on Sunday came with a tweak or two to her lower body. But afterward, she sounded ready to try to keep the momentum from that match rolling. Halep may start doing it against a ghost from tennis' past: Wild card Nicole Vaidisova could be her first opponent. Somehow—is this possible?—Vaidisova is still only 25, just two years older than Halep.

Eugenie Bouchard is the top seed on the other side of this quarter. Her first significant event with new coach Sam Sumyk ended in an ugly defeat to Lesia Tsurenko in Indian Wells. Another early loss seems possible here as well. Madison Keys, Belinda Bencic, Lucie Safarova, and last week’s finalist, Jelena Jankovic, are all in Bouchard’s half.

Oh, and I almost missed Victoria Azarenka, who is buried in there near Jankovic. The world still eagerly awaits the first meeting between Sumyk students Azarenka and Bouchard.

Possible second-round matches to watch: Keys vs. Sloane Stephens; Jankovic vs. Azarenka

Wild card of interest: Vaidisova
Semifinalist: Azarenka

*****
Third Quarter

What should we make of Caroline Wozniacki’s season so far? On the one hand, she’s in the Top 5 and coming off a recent (minor) title in Kuala Lumpur. On the other hand, she’s lost early at the two biggest events of the year, the Australian Open and Indian Wells. Now she’s the fourth seed in Miami, where she has never reached the final. Another early loss and it may be time to wonder about her ability to win important matches, rather than just lots of matches. Fulfilling her seeding won’t be easy: She could face Venus Williams in her second match.

Agnieszka Radwanska provides the intrigue on the other side of this quarter. How long before doubts begin to creep in about her partnership with Martina Navratilova? Counting Fed Cup, Radwanska’s record is 7-7 so far in 2015. But with Begu, Cornet, and Suarez Navarro the three seeds in her half, Aga should improve that in Miami; she won the title here in 2012, after all.
Semifinalist: V. Williams

*****
Fourth Quarter

Like Rafael Nadal on the men's side, Maria Sharapova, a sometime Florida resident, has never won here; she's a five-time runner-up. This year she comes in after a bad loss to Flavia Pennetta in Indian Wells, but with a solid season of work already behind her. The Aussie Open runner-up should also like what she sees in her draw. Ekaterina Makarova is the second seed in this quarter, and Karolina Pliskova is slated to be Maria’s fourth-round opponent—Pliskova has been good so far in 2015, but is she ready-to-upset-Sharapova-in-Key-Biscyane good? That would be a major statement.

Also here: Caroline Garcia; the ever-slowly-improving Frenchwoman could play Sharapova in the third round.
Semifinalist: Sharapova

*****

Semifinals: Sharapova d. V. Williams; S. Williams d. Azarenka
Final: S. Williams d. Sharapova

[Rroggerr]

CziCzi.

[Mario]

Puig - Falconi, jeśli ktoś chce ponarzekać na WTA i szuka powodów, to polecam. 2,5 h psucia, przełamań i wszystkiego najgorszego, czego można oczekiwać od meczu tenisowego. Od razu odpowiadam, nie mam pojęcia dlaczego oglądałem - czytałem coś w komputerze i jakoś w tle leciało.

[Lucas]

Gavrilova Stuns Sharapova In Miami

Spoiler:

Daria Gavrilova, who only just broke the Top 100 for the first time three days ago and who had never beaten anyone ranked higher than No.35 beforehand, pulled off an absolute stunner at the Miami Open on Thursday, edging Maria Sharapova for the biggest win of her career.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Miami right here on wtatennis.com!

Gavrilova, a No.97-ranked wildcard, gave the No.2-seeded Sharapova all kinds of trouble from the beginning, her impressive athleticism and shot variety producing winner after winner and drawing error after error from the Russian megastar - soon enough she led 5-3 in the first set, and after dropping three games in a row from there, she closed out the lengthy 68-minute first set in a tie-break, 7-4.

She stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the second set and never really looked back, allowing Sharapova two games in a row to cut a 4-1 lead down to 4-3 but then promptly closing the match out, 7-6(4), 6-3.

"She runs a lot of balls down," Sharapova said. "I was committing a lot of errors off of those balls and not really staying patient, and maybe going for too many winners but not moving forward enough.

"Of course it's a bit of a surprise. It's the first round. I'm expected to win. But that's why we play the matches - you still have to go out and win it, no matter if you're the favorite. Today I didn't."

Gavrilova showed signs of greatness early on in her career, reaching No.1 in the juniors, but her progress in the seniors was stalled when she tore her ACL at the end of 2013 - she missed the first half of the 2014 season and has been working her way up mainly in ITF Circuit events and WTA qualies.

"I still can't realize that it's my dream - I have been dreaming about beating Maria since I was probably 12, when I saw her win Wimbledon, when she beat Serena," Gavrilova said afterwards. "I was like, 'Oh, I really want to play her and beat her.' I've probably been visualizing beating her since I was 12.

"I played Angelique Kerber twice this year and Simona Halep just two weeks ago, and I was pretty close all this time. So I just thought, 'Okay, you can do it. You're probably at this level right now.'"

The other favorites in action all won in straight sets, with No.4 seed Caroline Wozniacki reeling off the first nine games en route to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Madison Brengle, No.7 seed Agnieszka Radwanska battling past Anna Schmiedlova in a tight two-setter, 6-4, 7-5, No.8 seed Ekaterina Makarova beating Karin Knapp, 6-1, 6-3, and No.9 seed Andrea Petkovic cruising past Christina McHale, 6-2, 6-2.

The only other upsets came among the lower seeds, with No.19 seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova falling to Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 6-2, No.25 seed Caroline Garcia losing an all-WTA Rising Star battle with Kurumi Nara, 6-3, 7-6(9), and Kaia Kanepi beating No.28 seed Varvara Lepchenko, 6-2, 6-4.

http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/4 ... a-in-miami

[Rroggerr]

Słaba była Maria, ale może coś zdziałać Savillova (choć znając życie poleci w następnej rundzie), świetnie się broni, czasem zaatakuje, skontruje, dobra technicznie, jest potencjał na pusz i urozmaicony tenis (jakieś dropszoty po returnie były wczoraj nawet), a to już bardzo dużo jak na WTA.

[Mario]

Teraz sobie przypominam jak niektórzy prognozowali dominacje duetu Serena/Szarapowa...

U Rosjanki jak zwykle - mocny początek sezonu, świetny clay (przestrzegam przed kolejnymi stwierdzeniami typu powyższe), a później dobry mecz raz na kilka tygodni i wożenie się na determinacji i odporności psychicznej (w dzisiejszych czasach daje to spokojnie jakieś ćwierćfinały).

[Rroggerr]

Oglądnąłem sobie drugi raz Vaidisovą i bardzo brakuje jej regularności, ale fizycznie wygląda okej, jak trafiała to nie było co zbierać z Halep, na moje wygląda na to, że jak Czeszce się nie znudzi przez następne dwa lata, to w przyszłym sezonie raz na jakiś czas dalsze fazy turnieju uwolnione będą częściowo od puszu.

Bellis oddała trzy gemy Diyas. Nigdy nie rozumiałem tych optymistycznych opinii o tej drugiej, dla mnie poza Bouchard i Vekić (ale ta to się raczej nie wyróżnia, hehe) każda w miarę ogarnięta młoda jest od niej ciekawsza, i to wcale nie dlatego, że robią jakiś szał. Za to wobec Bellis mam duże kibicowskie oczekiwania, bo forehand, dosyć ogarnięta technika - to już sporo.

[Lucas]

Ja za to jestem po meczu Azarenki z Jankovic. Było chyba 10 równowag w ostatnim gemie, ale ostatecznie to Białorusinka wygrała 6-1 6-1, broniąc wszystkich 13-stu bp, jakie pojawiły się w ciągu całego meczu.

Ogólnie fajnie grała Vika, dobrze serwowała w ważnych momentach i dużo kończyła. Nawet jakieś skróty się pojawiły. Serbce mecz się od początku nie układał, a nawet jak miała szanse to albo psuła, albo znakomicie podawała Vika.

Brakuje mi Azarenki w czołówce, liczę, że wkrótce poprawi ranking i nie będzie mieć tak trudnych rywalek w początkowych rundach.

Dzięki temu, że jest ciepło moglem w końcu zobaczyć Viktorię w spódniczce, a nie w tych getrach (?) których wyjątkowo nie lubię. Zawsze to miła okoliczność .

[Jacques D.]

SW-CiCi w kolejnej rundzie.

[Del Fed]

Teraz sobie przypominam jak niektórzy prognozowali dominacje duetu Serena/Szarapowa...

Owszem i było to uprawnione (widać w WTA nie ma nic z logiki), przynajmniej w pierwszej połowie roku, zważywszy na występy Szarapowej w tych turniejach na wolnym amerykańskim hardzie, a szczególnie w Miami od lat, mając na uwadze jej najwyższy pułap jaki prezentowała w 2015 na AO w porównaniu do ostatnych edycji. No może w 2013r. było podobnie, ale finału i walki z Williams nie było. Tym bardziej zadziwiający jest dla mnie ten wielki zjazd w dół, że tu nie trzeba nic grać, żeby wygrywać, zawodniczek w formie w czołówce praktycznie nie ma, o czym świadczy ciąg wygranych Halep, która sama przyznaje, że do formy to jej dużo brakuje.

Gdyby Bellis nie miała niecałych 16 lat, to patrząc na suche wyniki z ostatnich rund i formę Sereny, mógłbym się zacząć łudzić przed dzisiejszym meczem.

[Rroggerr]

Fajna ta Badosa.

[Mario]

Owszem i było to uprawnione

No właśnie, że nie było. Szarapowa od kilku lat nie rozgrywa równych sezonów, ponadto początki zawsze ma lepsze. Stąd nie rozumiałem wtedy, i tym bardziej teraz nie rozumiem, dlaczego w 2015 miałoby być inaczej.

[Del Fed]

^No i sądziłem, że może w końcu się to zmieni, a dlaczego to już napisałem. Nawet dominacja dwójki byłaby swoją drogą lepsza od wygrywania Sereny bez pokazania swoich 2/3, a tak się może stać w Miami.
Spoko ma młoda forhend, ale trema, zrozumiała niemożność odbicia serwisu i nawet niezła mobilizacja po drugiej stronie zrobiły swoje.

Fajna ta Badosa.

Niezła z lewej strony, no może nie tylko z lewej.

[DUN I LOVE]

Nie na moje nerwy takie coś.

[Barty]

Isia przegrywa, Karo przegrywa, czegóż chcieć więcej!

[Robertinho]

Bolesna ta przemiana w pięknego tenisowego motyla.

[Mario]

Jak Radwańska wreszcie przegrywa, to Ana musiała zacząć razem z nią. Nie dadzą się człowiekowi nacieszyć.