Radwanska advances to quarterfinals in win over Wozniacki

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Caroline Wozniacki’s fatigue played a role in her demise at the Wuhan Open late Thursday night. The recently crowned Pan Pacific Open champion couldn’t defeat Agnieszka Radwanska

Twice in a row leading to her 6-4, 6-2 straight sets loss on centre court at the Optics Valley International Tennis Centre.

The two began their second match in less than a week with this one determining their course in the Wuhan tournament. The Dane took her ninth victory against the Polish power hitter that set her up for her first title of the season. With wins over Samantha Stosur and Katerina Siniakova, the 25-year-old once again had Radwanska in her path with the hope of keeping her series winning streak alive. It’s been three years since the world number four had downed Wozniacki and would play to her opponent’s fatigue in order to win

She was in full control from the start of the set while her opponent across court was having all sorts of trouble with the serve. Wozniacki racked up unforced errors quickly that allowed Radwanska to dictate her path in the set. By the time four games had been recorded, the 26-year-old had one every one of them.

Wozniacki managed to get on the board in the fifth breaking the number three seed before having the trainer come out to take a look at her neck and head during the break. She took a medical timeout to further evaluate the situation and got ready to begin the sixth. The timeout seemed to help her regain some energy and reel in the score. Wozniacki continued to consolidate breaks leaving her a game down after seven.

The Dane served out in the eighth holding off Radwanska by two game points completing the comeback. With the set leveled, Radwanska knew she had to put an end to the sudden rush of her opponent and gain back control to take the set.

She had to deal with three breaks until an unforced error from Wozniacki opened the door for Radwanska to take the lead. With the set at hand Radwanska pushed hard on the break to jump out to three set points winning it on another error from Wozniacki. The set lasted 48 minutes with Radwanska the front runner of the set. Though her stats on both the first and second were below average, Wozniacki’s were worse off scoring 11 percent on shots on the second serve and 15 unforced errors.

Before the second set got underway, Wozniacki took a third session with the trainer as her neck continued to bother her. The conditioning got her back on court to face Radwanska on service. She broke the world number four hoping that it was the start of turning things around. She saw herself broken in the second game before a long battle came together in the third.

The tennis stars got on deuce which extended the duration of the game. They played nearly nine minutes in a draw that wasn’t going to be given up by either. It came down to a bad error from Wozniacki that gave Radwanska the victory and the opening lead of the set. Wozniacki was down but not out and proved her willingness to remain competitive by trailing short of Radwanska. A win in the fifth allowed her to put pressure on her rival force deuce, but the sixth saw her fall to the strong defense of Radwanska who went up 4-2.

The heat was on Wozniacki to build up a strong offense on the break to save the set. She nearly had the win over her opponent but a save of three break points allowed Radwanska to force deuce and capture the fifth win to her name. The Dane served to the Polish star in the eighth as she went for the set win. It became an easy rack up points for the third seed staying tight on the returns.

Radwanska got to three match points where she committed a double fault but kept control to win on her third attempt to win a spot in the quarterfinals after 1 hour and 29 minutes on court. With a late ending to the day, Radwanska would rest up for her quarterfinal match up against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Friday. “We’ve had a lot of matches together and she’s a really strong player,” Radwanska said about her next opponent. “I just hope that I can have the same success that I did here today.”

Photo by: Kevin Lee/Getty Images

Radwanska eases to third round in win over Makarova

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Agnieszka Radwanska took a solid first step that led her to victory at the Wuhan Open Tuesday. The world number won in straight sets against Ekaterina Makarova winning 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court at the Optics Valley International Tennis Centre.

It’s been more than two years since the tennis stars met one another. 2014 saw the two split wins against one another with each being at a pinnacle moment of the season. Though Radwanska holds the series lead by half, both of them are quite talented and would give it their all. The world number four (like Makarova) kept her victories in straight sets like most of her matches. Wanting to start the tournament the same way, the top seed had to dictate early to see her success run forward.

She took a big lead on Makarova breaking the Russian in the third before gaining a 3-1 lead. Makarova recovered in the fifth with an important hold of serve but it was soon put down by the world number four. Radwanska pushed on service in the sixth regaining a comfortable two game margin that inched her closer to the set win.

Makarova put the winning of Radwanska to a halt making a comeback in the eighth. The third seed prevented the Russian from overtaking her in the late stages ending it with a two game streak that concluded the first 42 minutes. Makarova’s unforced errors took a toll on her second serve that couldn’t bring her offense together.

With the need for improvement, the Russian held her end to start the second but quickly saw her game take another slide. Unforced errors opened the gap for Radwanska who countered on every point given to her to take a big lead. It was quickly a 4-1 command lead for the Pole who fed on the troubles of Makarova hoping to prevent her comeback and end the match. She closed out the sixth game with an eight-point streak to play for the match on Makarova’s last chance on court.

She nearly had the problems solved in the seventh with a good look of holding serve but a rush back from the world number four enabled a fight on deuce that ended the match after just a break. Radwanska won the set completing one hour and nine minutes of tennis and a place in the third round.

“I was just glad that I could play my first match in straight sets,” Radwanska said during her on court interview. If all goes well, Radwanska could face Caroline Wozniacki for the second time this week depending on her match against Katerina Siniakova. “We always play good matches so I’m not expecting any short and easy matches. We just played a three-hour match in Tokyo so another battle in front of us and hope I can turn it around this time but for sure it’s gonna be a good one.”

Photo by: Toru Yamanaka

Cibulkova fights for victory at the Wuhan Open

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Dominika Cibulkova once again had the edge she needed to win at the Wuhan Open Monday after noon. The world number 12 defeated Alize Cornet 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 on Court 1. The match had signs of strength from both ends, but in the end saw Cibulkova coming out victorious in the three set match.

The 10th seed began her tournament run in China with the hope of keeping the success alive against Cornet. She won four of their last five with their last meeting occurring over a year ago. The Slovakian put in plenty of practice through the remainder of last week since losing out in the second round in Tokyo. The world number 12 had very little time left in the season to make a difference in her ranked position. With just a few big tournaments left, Cibulkova had to bring it all back and put in a good opening match.

She found things to be a breeze taking the lead after two that left her with a 3-1 hold. Cornet managed to hold serve for the first time avoiding Cibulkova to walk away with the score. In the sixth, the French star went for an important break that helped her put pressure but soon found herself on deuce. After six minutes and three breaks, the Slovakian held up her side of offense to double her margin over Cornet.

The 10^th seed had everything under control taking a commanding 5-2 hold smoothing her way to a set victory. With perfect endings to the rallies, Cibulkova got on triple set point where a seven shot rally ending with a winner flying by Cornet’s left hand side. It was a strong statement that took her just 38 minutes to complete while knowing full well of her dominance against Cornet.

With herself in a hole, Cornet had to get her game to a higher degree to match the strength of Cibulkova. She handled the adversity on service but soon fell in the second as the Slovakian ran way with the second game. She tried to come back with the same success from the first holding in the third, and gained some serious ground.

A 4-1 run for the French star allowed her to get closer but still had to deal with the fight on court. With another one under her belt, it left Cibulkova with very little chance of a comeback. She produced a win on the break in the seventh game, but her service was trounced by Cornet who capped the set win. The French star won 80 percent of her shots on the first serve that was enough to carry her struggling second service. With improvements on the return, she gave herself a solid chance to do well in the third and pull off an upset.

The battle for control began the third set with the players getting to a deuce that looked to go on for some time. After several breaks and a tug of war for control, it was the Slovakian who came out with the victory adding on to it in the second. She took the next two victories but not without plenty of effort going in all of them. The 27-year-old got out of trouble on deuce maintaining the winning streak.

Cornet ended it with a win in the fifth but with Cibulkova carrying a big lead, it would be a difficult task of making the third set a dramatic one. She never got further opportunities to do so as Cibulkova gained the last two games she need to put away her first round opponent and move on after two hours and six minutes. She’ll go on to face Laura Siegemund in the second round scheduled for Wednesday.

Photo by: Koji Wantanabe