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Tag: Indian Wells

  • Indian Wells: Serena faces tough return

    Serena Williams

    Serena Williams has been dealt an extremely difficult draw in her return to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

    Despite receiving a first-round bye, Williams is in line to face a plethora of tennis superstars on her way to reclaiming the title she won back in 1999 and 2001.

    Williams, a 23-time women single’s grand slam champion, could face Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.

    Of course, Azarenka has to make it past her compatriot Lapko Vera first to set up a rematch against Williams. Victoria Azarenka is a former world number one and an Olympics Bronze medallist trails Serena Williams in their head-to-head matchup.

    However, Azarenka defeated Williams in their last meeting to win the title in the 2016 Indian Wells Masters.

    Serena Williams could face world number 15 Garbine Muguruza in the third round.

    Muguruza, a former world number one herself, also has a first-round bye and will face the winner between Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Lauren Davis.

    Williams leads Muguruza in their head-to-head matchup.

    However, Garbine Muguruza defeated Williams the last time they lined up against each other at the finals of the 2016 French Open.

    If Williams can win against Garbine Muguruza, she could face the seventh-seed Kiki Bertens in the round of 16 and then the fourth-seed Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals provided that these seeded players also make it through.

  • Serena off Witthoeft to set up Venus clash

    Serena Williams overpowered German Carina Witthoeft 6-2 6-2 to set up a third-round clash with big sister Venus at the U.S. Open on Wednesday.

    Williams sent down 13 aces and 30 winners to record her second consecutive straight sets victory at Flushing Meadows.

    The 36-year-old hunting a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title, wrapped up the win in one hour and seven minutes.

    “It’s always such a great crowd at night. It’s just amazing to play in front of this crowd,” she said at court side after her victory.

    “I was happy with a lot of things.”

    Next up is a 30th career meeting with Venus, who beat her younger sibling in their most recent encounter at Indian wells earlier this year.

    The last time the two sisters met at a Grand Slam was in the 2017 Australian Open final, where Serena prevailed in straight sets.

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    “It’s obviously a tough match,” Serena added.

    “It’s so young in the tournament, but it is what it is. It’s not the end of the world. We would rather have met later.

    ”We’re both going to come out per usual and play our best in front of you guys.

    “Normally, I would say cheer for me. But, whoever you feeling — me or Venus will work.” she said.

  • Osaka too strong for Sharapova in California

    Osaka too strong for Sharapova in California

    Former world number one Maria Sharapova lost her second consecutive first round match with a 6-4 6-4 defeat to Japan’s Naomi Osaka at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday.

    Sharapova, who returned to tennis last April following a 15-month doping ban, continued to struggle to find form this season as she dug herself into an early hole and never fully recovered.

    Now ranked 41st in the world, Sharapova fought back from early breaks in both sets.

    But ultimately came up short on the key points in a performance that saw her commit six double faults and lose five service games to her 20-year-old opponent.

    “I knew (Sharapova) would fight for everything because I’ve watched her since I was little,” world number 44 Osaka said in a courtside interview after winning the first meeting between the pair.

    “I was just really honoured to play her.”

    A two-time champion at Indian Wells, Sharapova won the Tianjin Open in October for her first triumph since returning to the WTA Tour, but has not come close to challenging for a tournament victory since.

    In earlier action, American teenager Amanda Anisimova recorded her first top-level victory with a 6-2 6-2 thrashing of Pauline Parmentier.

    The 16-year-old’s poised and polished performance came in stark contact to the dismal display of Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who was humbled 6-3 6-4 by American qualifier Sachia Vickery.

    Anisimova, the junior women’s U.S. Open champion, was stronger than the 32-year-old Parmentier in every facet of the game on the slow hard court in Indian Wells. “It’s very exciting.

    “I’ve worked really hard for this so I’m proud of myself,” Anisimova told Tennis Channel, adding that adjusting to the senior ranks had been more mental than physical.

    “The biggest thing is being tough mentally. I’ve learned about how to just be stronger during matches.”

    She will face Russia’s 23rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.

    Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, who was also a teenage prodigy but has had her career blighted by injury, also advanced by overcoming an awful start and seeing off a match point to beat Hungarian Timea Babos 1-6 6-1 7-6(4).

    Former world number five Bouchard was outclassed by 100th-ranked Vickery in her first match since reaching a settlement with the U.S. Tennis Association ( USTA ), over a locker room fall during the 2015 U.S. Open.

    Her weak second serve was particularly costly as Vickery pounced time and again in front of a sparse late-afternoon crowd on centre court.

    All eyes will be on Serena Williams on Thursday when the American plays in her first singles event since giving birth last September.

    The two-time champion starts her campaign against Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan in a first round encounter.

    Reuters/NAN

  • Serena ready for long-awaited return at Indian Wells

    Serena ready for long-awaited return at Indian Wells

    Serena Williams believes now is the “perfect time” to return to the WTA Tour in order to gauge her progress ahead of the year’s remaining Grand Slam Tournaments.

    Williams claimed a 23rd grand slam title at last year’s Australian Open before hanging up her racket for the season upon discovering she was pregnant with her first child.

    The American also skipped this year’s tournament in Melbourne.

    After using the time to work on her fitness, Williams featured in a Fed Cup doubles match for the United States last month.

    She is now scheduled to play at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells which starts this week.

    “My expectations, I don’t know what they are,” the 36-year-old American told the BBC.

    “I can’t go and say I expect to lose because that is something I will never say. It’s just a little different. I’m just expecting to see where I am more than anything.

    “This is a good time to start for the summer. If I want to play in those grand slams and play well, I think now is the perfect time to start.”

    The 2018 French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open are yet to be decided and Williams remains motivated to chase down Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 grand slam singles titles.

    She is also hoping to give her now six-month-old daughter a chance to have some memories of watching her mother in action.

    “I’ve always been an extremely motivated person,” said.

    “But my main thing is that I would love for my daughter to be around with me doing great, and playing amazing, so that definitely gives me some motivation,” she added.

    “I would have thought I would have retired six years ago, but I’m still here and I’m playing great, and I think I’ll still be playing good.”

    Unseeded Williams is scheduled to open her Indian Wells campaign with a first round tie against Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan on Thursday.

    Reuters/NAN