Showing posts with label Family Circle Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family Circle Cup. Show all posts
Monday, April 13, 2015
Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza win Family Cicle Cup title, become world #1 doubles team
CHARLESTON, SC, USA - Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza kept their perfect start going on Sunday, adding the Family Circle Cup title to their BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open titles, and with that win made history - Mirza clinched the World No.1 doubles ranking, the first Indian woman to be No.1.
After not even losing a set in their first two tournaments together in Indian Wells and Miami, Hingis and Mirza were certainly tested in Charleston - they lost sets in their quarterfinal and semifinal matches, even facing match point against Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova in the semis.
But the No.1-seeded Swiss-Indian duo beat Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak in straight sets for the title, 6-0, 6-4, missing two match points at 5-3 in the second set but closing it out a game later.
"It's a dream for every kid to be No.1 one day," Mirza said to the crowd at the trophy ceremony.
"I can't think of a better person to do it with. When we came here we had one thing in mind, to get No.1, and she really helped me get there. She helped me through some tough moments this week. She's just a great person and a great player. We also become the No.1 team in the world today with this.
"I hope we have many, many more tournaments and end the year on a high as well."
Mirza kept the smiles coming as she kept praising Hingis, a former World No.1 herself.
"I don't want to make you feel old, but I did watch you as a kid!" she said, drawing laughter from Hingis and the crowd. "You were an idol to most young girls at the time. You made it when you were 15!"
And on reaching No.1 in Charleston? "No tournament has been as special to me as the Family Circle Cup, and no tournament will ever be as special to me, because I became No.1 here," Mirza added.
Hingis and Mirza had already reached a milestone by making the semifinals in Charleston, securing a rise to No.1 on the Road To Singapore doubles leaderboard, the journey to the doubles event at theBNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, which takes place in October.
But Mirza becoming World No.1 in doubles is something that will go down in WTA history - she's the first Indian woman to reach No.1 in tennis, in either singles or doubles, and just the fourth Asian woman to do it, after Japan's Ai Sugiyama, China's Peng Shuai and Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Su-Wei.
Mirza has won seven WTA doubles titles over the last 12 months - Oeiras, Tokyo [Pan Pacific] and the WTA Finals last year with Cara Black, Sydney earlier this year with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and of course the aforementioned Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston titles this year alongside Hingis.
For Martina Hingis that marks the 2nd time in her illustrious career that she reached #1 in doubles. Congrats to both ladies on an incredible run!. All the best in the tournaments to come :).
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza reach Family Circle Cup Doubles Final
Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza battled into the final of the Family Circle Cup, and that means Mirza is now just one win away from becoming the World No.1 in doubles.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA - Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza survived one of their toughest tests yet to reach the final of the Family Circle Cup. If they win the title, Mirza is the new doubles World No.1.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
The No.1-seeded Hingis and Mirza were up 6-4, 0-2, 30-all, when rain started to fall - and once the rain delay was over, their opponents, Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, caught fire.
"It's never easy to play with the rain delay," Mirza would say afterwards. "All credit to them, though - they came out more aggressive than us, and we didn't win a single point for six points, it was like they were all over the place hitting winners from everywhere. But we knew we had to keep believing."
Kudryavtseva and Pavlyuchenkova cruised through the rest of that set, 6-1, and came out firing again in the match tie-break, going up 4-2 and, after Hingis and Mirza caught up, staying even to 7-all.
But that's when all of the clutch play Hingis and Mirza have been displaying on the big points over the last month came out - they snuck out three points in a row, including a miracle return winner from Hingis for 9-7 and one last volley winner, also from the Swiss, to close it out, 6-4, 1-6, 10-7.
"One of our best qualities as a pair is that no matter how we're playing, we keep fighting," Mirza said. "We've had matches where we haven't played our best, and we still come out winning, and that really helps. We keep trying and we keep believing in our abilities. And that's really what we did today."
Hingis was asked about the miracle backhand return winner that took them to match point.
"I knew they were mainly serving a lot to my backhand, and I lost the last few cross courts with Alla, so I just took my chance and went down the line," Hingis said. "But I also hit it a little bit late, though!"
Hingis and Mirza are now 13-0 together, going 5-0 to win Indian Wells, 5-0 to win Miami and 3-0 to reach this final. By winning their quarter final match on Friday night they already secured No.1 on the Road To Singapore doubles leaderboard, and now there's something even bigger - if they win the final, Mirza will become World No.1 in doubles, the first Indian woman ever to reach No.1 in tennis.
"You try not to think about it, but we're human, and I'm obviously thinking about it," Mirza said.
"But I'm trying to block it out and play every point. That's what we're trying to do."
Waiting for them in the final are Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak, who got past Marina Erakovic and Andrea Petkovic in the second doubles semifinal by an almost identical scoreline, 6-4, 1-6, 10-5.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
The No.1-seeded Hingis and Mirza were up 6-4, 0-2, 30-all, when rain started to fall - and once the rain delay was over, their opponents, Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, caught fire.
"It's never easy to play with the rain delay," Mirza would say afterwards. "All credit to them, though - they came out more aggressive than us, and we didn't win a single point for six points, it was like they were all over the place hitting winners from everywhere. But we knew we had to keep believing."
Kudryavtseva and Pavlyuchenkova cruised through the rest of that set, 6-1, and came out firing again in the match tie-break, going up 4-2 and, after Hingis and Mirza caught up, staying even to 7-all.
But that's when all of the clutch play Hingis and Mirza have been displaying on the big points over the last month came out - they snuck out three points in a row, including a miracle return winner from Hingis for 9-7 and one last volley winner, also from the Swiss, to close it out, 6-4, 1-6, 10-7.
"One of our best qualities as a pair is that no matter how we're playing, we keep fighting," Mirza said. "We've had matches where we haven't played our best, and we still come out winning, and that really helps. We keep trying and we keep believing in our abilities. And that's really what we did today."
Hingis was asked about the miracle backhand return winner that took them to match point.
"I knew they were mainly serving a lot to my backhand, and I lost the last few cross courts with Alla, so I just took my chance and went down the line," Hingis said. "But I also hit it a little bit late, though!"
Hingis and Mirza are now 13-0 together, going 5-0 to win Indian Wells, 5-0 to win Miami and 3-0 to reach this final. By winning their quarter final match on Friday night they already secured No.1 on the Road To Singapore doubles leaderboard, and now there's something even bigger - if they win the final, Mirza will become World No.1 in doubles, the first Indian woman ever to reach No.1 in tennis.
"You try not to think about it, but we're human, and I'm obviously thinking about it," Mirza said.
"But I'm trying to block it out and play every point. That's what we're trying to do."
Waiting for them in the final are Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak, who got past Marina Erakovic and Andrea Petkovic in the second doubles semifinal by an almost identical scoreline, 6-4, 1-6, 10-5.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza fight off match points to reach Family Circle Cup semis in Charleston
Charleston: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis beat Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan to reach the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament's semi-finals.
The No. 1-seeded Hingis and Mirza battled Medina Garrigues and Shvedova for an hour and 41 minutes for a 7-5, 4-6, 13-11 victory, fighting off a match point down 10-9 in the match tie-break and needing six match points of their own to edge the Spanish-Kazakhstani defending champions.
"They played really well - they were defending champions here, so we knew we had to come out with our best tennis," Hingis said after the match.
"They knew how to play against us. They served well and were good from the baseline. We really had to keep our energy up, be solid and come up with the shots when we needed to," she added.
"They were coming up with a lot of great shots on the deciding points, which was different than a lot of the other teams we've been playing recently. They really did well in those important points."
The Family Circle Cup crowds loved every up and down in the match - and Mirza was thrilled about it.
"We were so happy with the crowd support tonight," she said.
"We've had great support everywhere we've gone, but here especially they love doubles, and they always come out in big numbers."
The No. 1-seeded Hingis and Mirza battled Medina Garrigues and Shvedova for an hour and 41 minutes for a 7-5, 4-6, 13-11 victory, fighting off a match point down 10-9 in the match tie-break and needing six match points of their own to edge the Spanish-Kazakhstani defending champions.
"They played really well - they were defending champions here, so we knew we had to come out with our best tennis," Hingis said after the match.
"They knew how to play against us. They served well and were good from the baseline. We really had to keep our energy up, be solid and come up with the shots when we needed to," she added.
"They were coming up with a lot of great shots on the deciding points, which was different than a lot of the other teams we've been playing recently. They really did well in those important points."
The Family Circle Cup crowds loved every up and down in the match - and Mirza was thrilled about it.
"We were so happy with the crowd support tonight," she said.
"We've had great support everywhere we've gone, but here especially they love doubles, and they always come out in big numbers."
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Throwback Thursday: Martina Hingis Charleston Family Circle Cup 1997
She's making magic with Sania Mirza on the doubles court these days, but at the Family Circle Cup in 1997 she was making magic with Monica Seles on the singles court.
HILTON HEAD, SC, USA - The Family Circle Cup is one of the most treasured tournaments in WTA history - it's as old as the WTA, after all, its first edition coming the year the WTA was formed in 1973.
And one of the most memorable finals at the green clay court event - now the only green court event left on the WTA calendar - came in 1997, a thriller between Martina Hingis and Monica Seles.
Hingis came in on a big head of steam, a flawless 30-0 record on the year and fresh off becoming the youngest World No.1 in tennis history - she had also owned Seles in their only two previous meetings, beating her at Oakland in 1996, 6-2, 6-0, and at Miami a week earlier, 6-2, 6-1. Her ability to take Seles' huge blasts early and redirect them into the corners at will made it, until then, a mismatch.
Key words: until then. Seles, a three-time French Open champion and a natural on clay, raced out to a 5-0 lead in just 14 minutes, a lopsided start that inspired Hingis to comment afterwards, "I was just hoping she didn't do the same score to me as I did to her. I liked last week in Miami a lot better."
Hingis would indeed work her way back into the match, losing that first set but winning the second and looking headed for victory in the third, until another surge from her opponent - Seles clawed her way into a third set tie-break, even going up 5-3, before Hingis rebounded to win, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5).
"If you are 5-3 down in the tie-breaker and you know you have to play against the wind, you just try to make her do the mistakes," Hingis told reporters afterwards. "I just fought back and tried to move her around and make her tired. She just played much better today - much more clever this time."
"I just wanted to go out there and take it a point at a time and go for my shots," Seles said after the match. "I had some great points, and it was a great match, and it was a lot of fun to play. I really think I played more my game a little bit and attacked more, which in the past I wasn't doing enough."
Hingis would emerge from the Family Circle Cup 31-0 on the year and extended that perfect start to 37-0 with six more wins at Roland Garros, including another three set nail-biter against Seles in the semifinals. The run would finally end in the French Open final to inspired Croat Iva Majoli.
Here are a few throwbacks to Sunday, April 6, 1997:
No.1 song on Billboard Hot 100 singles: Can't Nobody Hold Me Down by Puff Daddy & Ma$e
No.1 album on Billboard 200 albums: Nine Lives by Aerosmith
No.1 movie at US Box Office: Liar Liar starring Jim Carrey
No.1 men's tennis player: Pete Sampras
No.1 women's tennis player: Martina Hingis
HILTON HEAD, SC, USA - The Family Circle Cup is one of the most treasured tournaments in WTA history - it's as old as the WTA, after all, its first edition coming the year the WTA was formed in 1973.
And one of the most memorable finals at the green clay court event - now the only green court event left on the WTA calendar - came in 1997, a thriller between Martina Hingis and Monica Seles.
Hingis came in on a big head of steam, a flawless 30-0 record on the year and fresh off becoming the youngest World No.1 in tennis history - she had also owned Seles in their only two previous meetings, beating her at Oakland in 1996, 6-2, 6-0, and at Miami a week earlier, 6-2, 6-1. Her ability to take Seles' huge blasts early and redirect them into the corners at will made it, until then, a mismatch.
Key words: until then. Seles, a three-time French Open champion and a natural on clay, raced out to a 5-0 lead in just 14 minutes, a lopsided start that inspired Hingis to comment afterwards, "I was just hoping she didn't do the same score to me as I did to her. I liked last week in Miami a lot better."
Hingis would indeed work her way back into the match, losing that first set but winning the second and looking headed for victory in the third, until another surge from her opponent - Seles clawed her way into a third set tie-break, even going up 5-3, before Hingis rebounded to win, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5).
"If you are 5-3 down in the tie-breaker and you know you have to play against the wind, you just try to make her do the mistakes," Hingis told reporters afterwards. "I just fought back and tried to move her around and make her tired. She just played much better today - much more clever this time."
"I just wanted to go out there and take it a point at a time and go for my shots," Seles said after the match. "I had some great points, and it was a great match, and it was a lot of fun to play. I really think I played more my game a little bit and attacked more, which in the past I wasn't doing enough."
Hingis would emerge from the Family Circle Cup 31-0 on the year and extended that perfect start to 37-0 with six more wins at Roland Garros, including another three set nail-biter against Seles in the semifinals. The run would finally end in the French Open final to inspired Croat Iva Majoli.
Here are a few throwbacks to Sunday, April 6, 1997:
No.1 song on Billboard Hot 100 singles: Can't Nobody Hold Me Down by Puff Daddy & Ma$e
No.1 album on Billboard 200 albums: Nine Lives by Aerosmith
No.1 movie at US Box Office: Liar Liar starring Jim Carrey
No.1 men's tennis player: Pete Sampras
No.1 women's tennis player: Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza win doubles opener in Charleston
CHARLESTON, SC, USA - Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza kept their perfect start going Wednesday night, beating the Rodionova sisters in their opening match at the Family Circle Cup, 6-7(7), 6-3, 10-5.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
After teaming up for the first time a month ago, Hingis and Mirza swept their first two tournaments together, and big ones too - Premier Mandatory-level hardcourt events in Indian Wells and Miami. Not only did they go 10-0 together to win those titles, but they didn't even lose a set - 20-0 in sets.
One of those records held strong in their first match on clay in Charleston, as Rodionova sisters Anastasia and Arina twice rallied from a break down and even fought off a set point down 6-5 in the tie-break to take the 57-minute first set, but from there it was plain sailing for the No.1-seeded Hingis and Mirza, who took just 46 minutes to cruise through the second set and ensuing match tie-break.
Hingis and Mirza had beaten the Rodionovas by a much less complicated scoreline in Miami, 6-3, 6-4.
"The draw is so tough here, especially our half," Mirza said. "We're also still making the transition from hard to clay, and we haven't had much practice, and the others have been here for a longer time.
"We just tried our best. We almost had the first set, it was a couple points here and there - but we're happy to come through. It was our first super tie-break together, so we're happy to win that!"
Hingis, a former World No.1, said the pair's chemistry helped them pull through this tough one.
"The feeling on court together is what helped us win today," she said. "The chemistry is there - when one of us gets down, the other is there to pull them up. And sometimes it's hard to keep the energy level up after back-to-back wins. Also the balls are different here, and the movement's different.
"But overall we came through, and we're very happy about it - we have to build on that."
Awaiting Hingis and Mirza in the quarterfinals are Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova, who won their first round match on Tuesday against Madison Keys and Lisa Raymond, 7-5, 7-5.
Medina Garrigues and Shvedova are rough customers in Charleston - they're 8-1 together here, reaching the finals in 2012 (falling to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova), winning the title here in 2014 (beating Chan sisters Hao-Ching and Yung-Jan in the final) and now the quarters in 2015.
Hingis and Mirza's match against Medina Garrigues and Shvedova will take place on Friday.
And if Hingis and Mirza win the title, Mirza will become the new World No.1 in doubles.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
After teaming up for the first time a month ago, Hingis and Mirza swept their first two tournaments together, and big ones too - Premier Mandatory-level hardcourt events in Indian Wells and Miami. Not only did they go 10-0 together to win those titles, but they didn't even lose a set - 20-0 in sets.
One of those records held strong in their first match on clay in Charleston, as Rodionova sisters Anastasia and Arina twice rallied from a break down and even fought off a set point down 6-5 in the tie-break to take the 57-minute first set, but from there it was plain sailing for the No.1-seeded Hingis and Mirza, who took just 46 minutes to cruise through the second set and ensuing match tie-break.
Hingis and Mirza had beaten the Rodionovas by a much less complicated scoreline in Miami, 6-3, 6-4.
"The draw is so tough here, especially our half," Mirza said. "We're also still making the transition from hard to clay, and we haven't had much practice, and the others have been here for a longer time.
"We just tried our best. We almost had the first set, it was a couple points here and there - but we're happy to come through. It was our first super tie-break together, so we're happy to win that!"
Hingis, a former World No.1, said the pair's chemistry helped them pull through this tough one.
"The feeling on court together is what helped us win today," she said. "The chemistry is there - when one of us gets down, the other is there to pull them up. And sometimes it's hard to keep the energy level up after back-to-back wins. Also the balls are different here, and the movement's different.
"But overall we came through, and we're very happy about it - we have to build on that."
Awaiting Hingis and Mirza in the quarterfinals are Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova, who won their first round match on Tuesday against Madison Keys and Lisa Raymond, 7-5, 7-5.
Medina Garrigues and Shvedova are rough customers in Charleston - they're 8-1 together here, reaching the finals in 2012 (falling to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova), winning the title here in 2014 (beating Chan sisters Hao-Ching and Yung-Jan in the final) and now the quarters in 2015.
Hingis and Mirza's match against Medina Garrigues and Shvedova will take place on Friday.
And if Hingis and Mirza win the title, Mirza will become the new World No.1 in doubles.
11 matches in a row!. These 2 are on a hot streak, it's pretty outstanding. Just wish the women's doubles matches were covered more by sports networks.
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Martina Hingis & partner Sania Mirza head to Charleston & possible #1 doubles ranking
After winning ten straight matches and capturing the Indian Wells-Miami double in their first two tournaments as a team (without dropping a set, if you’re scoring at home), Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza will take their red-hot doubles act to Charleston to try and secure a historical milestone.
Mirza could become the first Indian to rank No. 1 in the world if she and her new partner can take home a third straight title at the Family Circle Cup this weekend in Charleston. With title points, Mirza would leapfrog Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, who recently announced the end of their doubles pairing.
“That's why for me today's match was so huge,” Mirza said after Sunday’s 7-5, 6-1 title victory in Miami over Ekaterina Makarova and Elina Vesinina. “Makes me really, really close to No. 1. I think I'm a few points off. It's something that I've dreamt of all any life.”
She added: “We're going Charleston, and our thing was if we play final or won here we would go to Charleston. That's what we're doing. Obviously we're in the hunt for No. 1, of course.”
Mirza, already the first woman from India to win a WTA singles and a Grand Slam doubles title (she has won three in mixed), says that Hingis’s touch and feel at the net provides the perfect complement to her aggressive baseline game.
“I think that's our biggest strength,” Mirza said. “When I'm hitting the ball big at the back and she's at the net, it's tough for the other team to find space. I think that's one of the biggest strengths. The second thing is she knows how to win. I've won a lot in the last couple of years, and we both try to find a way always.”
Hingis has now won as many doubles titles as singles titles after yesterday’s triumph (43) and says that the team is feeling no pressure because they know they’ll get there sooner or later—if not this week. “I think the way we play and team up together, sooner or later hopefully it's going to happen,” Hingis said. “It's just a question of time hopefully.”
Yesterday, the team revealed its plans to play together all season, including the Grand Slams.
Though she continues to rule out a singles comeback, Hingis says she’s just happy to be competing against the WTA’s elite doubles teams—and winning.
“It's a different situation,” she says. “It's a different situation in my career right now. I know my singles days are over like long time ago when I decided not to play anymore. Now it's just everything that I always say that I achieve now is a bonus. I really enjoy every minute, every moment of it. Now playing with Sania, we haven't dropped a set since we played together.”
If Mirza achieves the feat, she would become the fourth Asian woman to do reach No. 1 after Japan's Ai Sugiyama, China's Peng Shuai and Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Su-Wei.
Mirza could become the first Indian to rank No. 1 in the world if she and her new partner can take home a third straight title at the Family Circle Cup this weekend in Charleston. With title points, Mirza would leapfrog Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, who recently announced the end of their doubles pairing.
“That's why for me today's match was so huge,” Mirza said after Sunday’s 7-5, 6-1 title victory in Miami over Ekaterina Makarova and Elina Vesinina. “Makes me really, really close to No. 1. I think I'm a few points off. It's something that I've dreamt of all any life.”
She added: “We're going Charleston, and our thing was if we play final or won here we would go to Charleston. That's what we're doing. Obviously we're in the hunt for No. 1, of course.”
Mirza, already the first woman from India to win a WTA singles and a Grand Slam doubles title (she has won three in mixed), says that Hingis’s touch and feel at the net provides the perfect complement to her aggressive baseline game.
“I think that's our biggest strength,” Mirza said. “When I'm hitting the ball big at the back and she's at the net, it's tough for the other team to find space. I think that's one of the biggest strengths. The second thing is she knows how to win. I've won a lot in the last couple of years, and we both try to find a way always.”
Hingis has now won as many doubles titles as singles titles after yesterday’s triumph (43) and says that the team is feeling no pressure because they know they’ll get there sooner or later—if not this week. “I think the way we play and team up together, sooner or later hopefully it's going to happen,” Hingis said. “It's just a question of time hopefully.”
Yesterday, the team revealed its plans to play together all season, including the Grand Slams.
Though she continues to rule out a singles comeback, Hingis says she’s just happy to be competing against the WTA’s elite doubles teams—and winning.
“It's a different situation,” she says. “It's a different situation in my career right now. I know my singles days are over like long time ago when I decided not to play anymore. Now it's just everything that I always say that I achieve now is a bonus. I really enjoy every minute, every moment of it. Now playing with Sania, we haven't dropped a set since we played together.”
If Mirza achieves the feat, she would become the fourth Asian woman to do reach No. 1 after Japan's Ai Sugiyama, China's Peng Shuai and Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Su-Wei.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Hingis pulls out of Family Circle Cup
Looks like I spoke too soon when I said this tournament would have a great line up because now it will be the opposite.
The best players have pulled out due to injuries. That includes Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Martina Hingis.
Who suffered a hip injury this past week while training too hard to keep her compatitive edge. It's really too bad, I was really looking forward to seeing her play in this one.
Especially since she was going to be the number one seed due to so many players pulling out. I hope the hip injury is nothing serious and I wish her a speedy recovery.
Hopefully she'll be able to play the tournament in Warsaw and get her revenge on Agnieszka Radzanska.
Get well Martina:)
Read the related article
The best players have pulled out due to injuries. That includes Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Martina Hingis.
Who suffered a hip injury this past week while training too hard to keep her compatitive edge. It's really too bad, I was really looking forward to seeing her play in this one.
Especially since she was going to be the number one seed due to so many players pulling out. I hope the hip injury is nothing serious and I wish her a speedy recovery.
Hopefully she'll be able to play the tournament in Warsaw and get her revenge on Agnieszka Radzanska.
Get well Martina:)
Read the related article
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