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Saturday, September 10, 2016
Friday, September 09, 2016
Thursday, September 08, 2016
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
Martina Hingis & Coco Vandeweghe through to U.S. Open doubles semis
Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandweghe haven’t even finished their second tournament together, but they appear to have already clicked as a team.
Competing in just their sixth match together, the No. 6 seeds moved into the semifinals with a dominant win over No. 16 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-2. Hingis is in the final four for the third consecutive year, having finished runner-up in 2014 with Flavia Pennetta and winning in 2015 with Sania Mirza. Vandeweghe is into the semis for the second straight year, having previously achieved the feat last year with Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
Vandeweghe’s doubles prowess this year is particularly noteworthy because she only occasionally played doubles until last summer. But she sees a very clear reason why the new partnership with the Swiss Miss is working.
“The fact that she’s Martina Hingis,” laughed Vandeweghe. “We mesh really well on and off the court. She picks up where I’m lacking and she’s on my case, so there’s not a lot room for me to lose myself mentally.”
Hingis and Mirza made headlines last month by ending their doubles partnership, despite co-holding the No. 1 WTA doubles ranking and winning three Grand Slams together in the past 12 months. When it came time for Hingis to find another partner, the 1997 US Open singles champion immediately thought of Vandeweghe after playing against her on several occasions.
“She has a huge serve and huge shots, so she sets you up really nicely at the net. A lot of times, it feels like I have to just hit one volley,” said Hingis. “I’m used to being with someone who hits big from the baseline and that’s what I want. Two Martinas wouldn’t be the best thing out there.”
Their plan to get matches before the US Open at the Emirates Airline US Open Series event in Cincinnati didn’t quite go according to plan, with a series of walkovers bringing them to the semifinals without playing a single point. They lost in the final to Mirza and Barbora Strycova, which also saw Hingis drop the No. 1 ranking to her former doubles partner.
But Mirza-Strycova fell in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, meaning Hingis only needs to win one more match at the US Open to reclaim the top spot. Should she regain it, the Swiss star that she and Vandeweghe have the chemistry as a team that will enable her to keep it.
“I felt that we always had potential. It was just question of being solid for entire sets and entire matches, so it was nice to be able to hold that for 90 minutes today,” said Hingis. “I feel like my role is almost trying to get her to calm down and make her realize that even a shot with 80 percent of what she’s capable of is still a damn good shot.”
Just weeks shy of her 36th birthday, Hingis said she had no plans to stop playing and is still in the peak of her doubles career.
“When you change partners, everybody gets excited. It gives you new energy and new motivation. That’s what keeps you going,” she said. “I love the challenge. Matches like today that are almost perfect … why wouldn’t you keep going?”
usopen.org
Competing in just their sixth match together, the No. 6 seeds moved into the semifinals with a dominant win over No. 16 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-2. Hingis is in the final four for the third consecutive year, having finished runner-up in 2014 with Flavia Pennetta and winning in 2015 with Sania Mirza. Vandeweghe is into the semis for the second straight year, having previously achieved the feat last year with Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
Vandeweghe’s doubles prowess this year is particularly noteworthy because she only occasionally played doubles until last summer. But she sees a very clear reason why the new partnership with the Swiss Miss is working.
“The fact that she’s Martina Hingis,” laughed Vandeweghe. “We mesh really well on and off the court. She picks up where I’m lacking and she’s on my case, so there’s not a lot room for me to lose myself mentally.”
Hingis and Mirza made headlines last month by ending their doubles partnership, despite co-holding the No. 1 WTA doubles ranking and winning three Grand Slams together in the past 12 months. When it came time for Hingis to find another partner, the 1997 US Open singles champion immediately thought of Vandeweghe after playing against her on several occasions.
“She has a huge serve and huge shots, so she sets you up really nicely at the net. A lot of times, it feels like I have to just hit one volley,” said Hingis. “I’m used to being with someone who hits big from the baseline and that’s what I want. Two Martinas wouldn’t be the best thing out there.”
Their plan to get matches before the US Open at the Emirates Airline US Open Series event in Cincinnati didn’t quite go according to plan, with a series of walkovers bringing them to the semifinals without playing a single point. They lost in the final to Mirza and Barbora Strycova, which also saw Hingis drop the No. 1 ranking to her former doubles partner.
But Mirza-Strycova fell in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, meaning Hingis only needs to win one more match at the US Open to reclaim the top spot. Should she regain it, the Swiss star that she and Vandeweghe have the chemistry as a team that will enable her to keep it.
“I felt that we always had potential. It was just question of being solid for entire sets and entire matches, so it was nice to be able to hold that for 90 minutes today,” said Hingis. “I feel like my role is almost trying to get her to calm down and make her realize that even a shot with 80 percent of what she’s capable of is still a damn good shot.”
Just weeks shy of her 36th birthday, Hingis said she had no plans to stop playing and is still in the peak of her doubles career.
“When you change partners, everybody gets excited. It gives you new energy and new motivation. That’s what keeps you going,” she said. “I love the challenge. Matches like today that are almost perfect … why wouldn’t you keep going?”
usopen.org
Martina Hingis knows how to pick her partners, proving she can be a good asset to just about anyone :).
Tuesday, September 06, 2016
Monday, September 05, 2016
Martina Hingis battles through with new partner to reach U.S. Open doubles quarter-finals
NEW YORK, NY, USA - Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe continued to strengthen their fledgling partnership with a hard-fought win over Xu Yifan and Zheng Saisai at the US Open on Sunday.
As in the previous two rounds, Hingis and Vandeweghe did not have things all their own way, coming from a break down in the final set to see off their Chinese opponents, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, in a little over two hours.
"It was an early break so we knew we had a whole set to play. Obviously after losing the second [set] it wasn't the greatest situation," Hingis said about their rousing finish. "I mean, they played really well in that first game too - they kept it away from me and made a lot of returns on CoCo's serve."
The No.6 seeds looked well set for a smooth passage into the quarterfinals when they took the first set and then moved 3-1 ahead in the second. "I think it was more frustrating to lose the second set because it was kind of there for us to take it," Hingis added. "But, I mean, this happens, and it's not a surprise for a tennis player to be broken in the first game after losing the momentum.
"But we were right back on it and I think that was the key; we broke them right back and then won a couple of tight games."
Vandeweghe is playing only her second event alongside Hingis - they teamed up to reach the final in Cincinnati - and admits the unison was not an expected one: "I got a call from and unusual number and the only reason I answered it - because I usually don't pick up numbers I don't know - was that it was such a bizarre number, plus whatever, so I knew it had to be some tennis player!
"I was just at home and Martina asked if I wanted to play Cincinnati and US Open. I told her that I already had two partners but let me think about it, and I almost felt a little big headed for telling her, 'Let me think about it'. I told my coach and he told me I was crazy to even think about it. I just enjoyed my time at home to let her sweat it out before calling back!"
Also advancing were a couple of more established pairs, including top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, who had few problems defeating Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato, 6-2, 6-3. No.5 seeds and recent Olympic champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina were made to work somewhat harder, fighting back to defeat Vania King and Monica Niculescu, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Another team battling back from a slow start were wildcards Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend. Taking on No.3 seeds Timea babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, the young Americans looked well out of their depth for the opening 20 minutes only to produce a stunning turnaround to eventually triumph, 0-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The decisive moment came at 3-3 in the final set, Muhammad and Townsend harnessing the energy of a partisan crowd to break in a marathon game before repeating the trick a few games later to complete the unlikely upset. Their reward is a meeting with compatriot Bethanie Mattek-Sands and her partner Lucie Safarova, after they saw off No.8 seeds Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
As in the previous two rounds, Hingis and Vandeweghe did not have things all their own way, coming from a break down in the final set to see off their Chinese opponents, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, in a little over two hours.
"It was an early break so we knew we had a whole set to play. Obviously after losing the second [set] it wasn't the greatest situation," Hingis said about their rousing finish. "I mean, they played really well in that first game too - they kept it away from me and made a lot of returns on CoCo's serve."
The No.6 seeds looked well set for a smooth passage into the quarterfinals when they took the first set and then moved 3-1 ahead in the second. "I think it was more frustrating to lose the second set because it was kind of there for us to take it," Hingis added. "But, I mean, this happens, and it's not a surprise for a tennis player to be broken in the first game after losing the momentum.
"But we were right back on it and I think that was the key; we broke them right back and then won a couple of tight games."
Vandeweghe is playing only her second event alongside Hingis - they teamed up to reach the final in Cincinnati - and admits the unison was not an expected one: "I got a call from and unusual number and the only reason I answered it - because I usually don't pick up numbers I don't know - was that it was such a bizarre number, plus whatever, so I knew it had to be some tennis player!
"I was just at home and Martina asked if I wanted to play Cincinnati and US Open. I told her that I already had two partners but let me think about it, and I almost felt a little big headed for telling her, 'Let me think about it'. I told my coach and he told me I was crazy to even think about it. I just enjoyed my time at home to let her sweat it out before calling back!"
Also advancing were a couple of more established pairs, including top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, who had few problems defeating Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato, 6-2, 6-3. No.5 seeds and recent Olympic champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina were made to work somewhat harder, fighting back to defeat Vania King and Monica Niculescu, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Another team battling back from a slow start were wildcards Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend. Taking on No.3 seeds Timea babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, the young Americans looked well out of their depth for the opening 20 minutes only to produce a stunning turnaround to eventually triumph, 0-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The decisive moment came at 3-3 in the final set, Muhammad and Townsend harnessing the energy of a partisan crowd to break in a marathon game before repeating the trick a few games later to complete the unlikely upset. Their reward is a meeting with compatriot Bethanie Mattek-Sands and her partner Lucie Safarova, after they saw off No.8 seeds Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Saturday, September 03, 2016
Martina Hingis & Leander Peas out of U.S. Open mixed doubles
NEW YORK -- Leander Paes and Martina Hingis saw the defence of their US Open mixed doubles title end in the second round at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.
The pair, who completed a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles at the French Open earlier this year, led 8-4 in the match tiebreaker but lost 7-6 (1), 3-6, 13-11 to American duo CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram on Court 5.
This marks the end of Paes' US Open campaign after he exited the men's doubles tournament partnering Andre Begemann on Saturday.
There was progress though for Rohan Bopanna and his partner Gabriela Dabrowski, who beat Lukasz Kubot and Andrea Hlavackova 5-7, 6-3, 10-7.
The Indo-Canadian pair will now meet unseeded duo of Robert Farah and Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the quarterfinals.
Elsewhere, Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova moved on to the third round of the women's doubles after a 6-2, 7-6(5) win over Viktorija Golubic and Nicole Melichar.
The 7th seeded pair will now meet unseeded Nicole Gibbs and Nao Hibino next. If they win, a potential clash with top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic await them in the quarterfinals.
The pair, who completed a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles at the French Open earlier this year, led 8-4 in the match tiebreaker but lost 7-6 (1), 3-6, 13-11 to American duo CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram on Court 5.
This marks the end of Paes' US Open campaign after he exited the men's doubles tournament partnering Andre Begemann on Saturday.
There was progress though for Rohan Bopanna and his partner Gabriela Dabrowski, who beat Lukasz Kubot and Andrea Hlavackova 5-7, 6-3, 10-7.
The Indo-Canadian pair will now meet unseeded duo of Robert Farah and Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the quarterfinals.
Elsewhere, Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova moved on to the third round of the women's doubles after a 6-2, 7-6(5) win over Viktorija Golubic and Nicole Melichar.
The 7th seeded pair will now meet unseeded Nicole Gibbs and Nao Hibino next. If they win, a potential clash with top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic await them in the quarterfinals.
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