Alize Cornet bumps off Garbine Muguruza in three sets at Bett1 Open

Alize Cornet in action during the quarterfinals against Garbine Muguruza at the Bett1 Open in Berlin, Germany. 

Alize Cornet put a lot of heart and emotion to come through a tough match at the Bett1 Open Friday. The Frenchwoman had five match points and nearly lost all of them in the third set tiebreak but held to upset Garbine Muguruza 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) on Steffi Graff Stadion at the Rott-Weiss Tennis Club in Berlin. 

The two met for the fifth time and made this their first match on grass. The Spaniard coasted to another victory against Sorana Cirstea leaving herself with a set dropped. Though she and Cornet haven’t met in two years, the Spaniard’s dominance in Germany so far gives her a likely opportunity to dictate once more against the struggling French player. 

Cornet opened service in the match but lost her chance to hold serve early. Muguruza forced deuce and produced a pair of breakpoints to take the game away. The Spaniard was trounced from backing up the break and saw her game work for the Frenchwoman. She scored a serve to love in the third to take a 2-1 lead on Muguruza, who turned things around in the fourth with a hold. She broke Cornet in the fifth for the lead, then put it into a new gear to take control. 

After doubling her lead on the 31-year-old, the two got back to holding service games through the next four games, but the margin won by Muguruza allowed her to close out the first on her terms. The Spaniard finished the set allowing Cornet one point that completed 48 minutes of play. She only served 57 percent against Cornet, who suffered three double faults and 10 unforced errors that made the difference. 

When it looked like she would open the match wide open, Cornet was the one who took control from the start of the second set. The 31-year-old held serve and got the best of Muguruza, who showed some struggles with her movement. After three games, the sixth seed was in a large hole and called for the trainer to deal with an issue. Her right foot needed tape to deal with a blister that caused her big changes to her game.

When they resumed, Muguruza was on serve and made good of her forehand to come through on the board. Cornet continued to have the advantage of two games as they played through service games up until the eighth. When it came time for the 31-year-old to serve it out, she gave up very little to the Spaniard, who still had issues with the right foot and bowed out of the second in 37 minutes. The sixth seed left the court to get a more detailed medical timeout for her right foot off the court. 

When she walked back to the court, the two got into action to open the deciding set with Muguruza serving it open. She scored her third shutout of Cornet in the match, making a statement of the power she still had left to play. Cornet responded with a serve to love of her own but couldn’t dig for the break in the third. They fought well against one another to hold serves through the next five games. 

As they reached the business end of the match, Muguruza was first to act and secured a 5-4 lead on Cornet, who was not yet out of it. She fought to make it difficult for Muguruza to get any easy chances and remained aggressive. A huge point came for the Spaniard as she somehow pulled off a crosscourt winner from the edge of the court. Her first match point was not successful as Cornet turned the tables late and came through to force more action. 

They each held serve through the last two to set up the tiebreak. Cornet opened with a 2-0 lead, earning a minibreak from Muguruza. She added another pair before the Spaniard got on the board but the next point went to Cornet who sat two points from a big upset. An error brought up a match point for the 31-year-old, who drew a forced error from the Spaniard on a big return. Muguruza scored a winner to cut the margin in half, but there were still three match points to save. 

With the balls in her hands, the French star gave up a mini-break and missed on a big forehand crosscourt that caused her to fall. With one more left, it came down to a good rally that saw Muguruza go for a drop shot but came up short as it failed to get across the net. It was a 2 hour and 40-minute drama that gave Cornet her first career grass semifinal and her 25^th overall. She was outperformed on winners but also managed to keep the unforced errors low.

Despite the hot conditions and the challenges from her opponent, who had ups and downs, Cornet made her way into Saturday where she’ll face Belinda Bencic for a spot in the final. 

Belinda Bencic clears off Alexandrova to reach Bett1 Semifinal

Belinda Bencic swings the forehand during her quarterfinal match with Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Bett1 Open in Berlin. 

Belinda Bencic dug in deep to make her efforts pay off at the Bett1 Open Friday afternoon. The Swiss star fought hard through a majority of her match with Ekaterina Alexandrova, who made it a difficult outing but slipped up late in a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) on Steffi Graff Stadion at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in Berlin. 

The Swiss star overcame her long match to begin Berlin, coming through well against Petra Martic in straight sets. It set up the fifth seed with a fourth meeting with her Russian counterpart and the second meeting this season. Both got into a heavy battle once on the grass with Alexandrova etching her first win against Bencic. Since her upset of Elina Svitolina on Wednesday, the 26-year-old eyes taking out the Swiss star, who wanted to continue her way to a title. 

The match opened with Bencic leading the way on serve and Alexandrova following suit. When the third came into play, the Russian took the pace in a different direction, earning a break. Bencic followed the path until she suffered the double break to Alexandrova in the fifth. The 26-year-old backed up her success in the sixth, with Bencic needing to hold serve and keep the pressure in the set tight. The Swiss managed to make it a one-game margin for Alexandrova, who was back on serve, inching her way closer to the business end of the first. 

Bencic denied her the chance and broke her in the eighth that tied the score at four apiece. When she returned to serve the ninth, the fifth took over with the lead, earning her a shot at backing up the hold to take the set away. Despite some frustrations, Bencic battled back her mistakes, watched Alexandrova make a huge double fault that turned the tables just enough for the fifth seed to take the set in 40 minutes. The Russian’s problems from the second serve were a big factor in Bencic’s short comeback, who had a worse first serve percentage but never double-faulted. 

When it looked like she would keep up the good pace from her serve to love that opened the second, she let it slip up. The 26-year-old scored an easy service game as Bencic let two points on the second serve return get away from her. On serve in the third, her body language changed drastically, leading Alexandrova to get the break. She backed it up with a service to love in the fourth for a 3-1 lead on the fifth seed. 

Sitting in a hole, Bencic tried to cut into the gap working hard to secure the service and leave a game between herself and the Russian. Errors from the return game of Alexandrova pumped up the sixth seed, who battled for the break to even the score after six games. The Russian knew she couldn’t let Bencic be back in a position to dictate and worked through the Swiss in the seventh to score the break. 

The 26-year-old backed up the break to go up 5-3 and pressure for a deciding set. Her opponent suffered a double fault that led Alexandrova to a set point, but a return went into the net, forcing deuce. After a few breaks and setpoints saved, Bencic earned the service hold that left her with one more game to win to level. With her first chance to serve for it, Alexandrova opened up a 40-0 run and her fourth set point chance giving her another three-set scenario with Bencic on grass after 45 minutes. 

The three double faults that put Bencic in a similar position included a 32 percent serve percentage and just five winners to Alexandrova’s 15. With the need to put the second behind her and start from scratch, the fifth seed charged into the decider. Bencic scored a sere to love that got the third set underway with the Russian following along. Though she didn’t put the same strength as the Swiss, Alexandrova matched her opponent through the second and beyond. 

The two played six games where the leverage was with Bencic who had another shutout in the fifth. Alexandrova scored one of her own to level at three-all, but the pace was near breakneck speed. After eight games, they still remained on serve, but as the ninth got underway, the battle increased and the pace slowed drastically. Bencic’s serve was under attack by Alexandrova, who wanted the break most. 

The Swiss refused and had to force deuce to stay in check. It only took her a break to hold serve and put the Russian under pressure to get the victory. The 26-year-old didn’t feel any as she fired her 12^th ace and a winner to set up game point. A wide return blew her chance that got Bencic to deuce, who had more time on the ball during the rally. Alexandrova found a way to limit time for the fifth seed, who ran into trouble on the returns and gave the Russian the game after a couple of breaks. 

The two were headed into deep ground making every point crucial to secure a spot in the last four. Bencic was first to act, holding the 26-year-old to a point for the 6-5 lead. The Russian secured service to set up the tiebreak that would give the win to either one of them. Bencic got the minibreak on the third point and made it 3-1 on an error from Alexandrova. She continued to march toward the match point after nine points played. The Russian had one saved on a long return from the fifth seed, but an error from her end gave the Swiss star a hard-earned win after 2 hours and 31 minutes.  

“It was super tough,” said Bencic after the match. “I’m really happy that I stayed tough today.” Alexandrova had 41 winners thrown at the Swiss star, who managed to deal with the struggles on the court after 204 points played. “I definitely don’t like playing her,” Bencic said when asked about leveling the playing field with a grass win to her name against the Russian. “There’s no rhythm, she’s an aggressive player and tough to stay in the rallies. I lost this year in Stuttgart and now I’m a winner here in Germany.”

She’ll face the winner between Garbine Muguruza and Alize Cornet on Saturday. 

Belinda Bencic survives three set match on grass at Bett1 Open

Belinda Bencic clenches her first during her opening round match at the Bett1 Open. 

Belinda Bencic had to work hard to transition on the grass courts of the Bett1 Open Monday. The fifth seed got one heck of a challenge from German qualifier Jule Niemeier, who performed well in the opening set, but fell in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Steffi Graff Stadion at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club. The two recorded 22 combined aces and 18 double faults that made it a competitive and thrilling finish. 

The two made their first appearance in Berlin, but the competition for the qualifier was high on the scale. Niemeier faced the Swiss star, who didn’t do well on the clay courts, but her history on grass allowed her to dictate. Bencic had one good run in Mallorca two years ago, but it would be getting used to it that planned to be center stage. 

Bencic committed two double faults to get the match underway, leading to an early break for the German. Niemeier notched an ace during her service game that ended in a shutout of the fifth seed backing up the break. The fifth seed got her offense into gear to secure the third game and avoid a big gap. The 21-year-old kept things well in place on serve to continue to hold Bencic back. The Swiss star had seven unforced errors and watched Niemeier fire back winners that resulted in another break. 

It was soon 5-1 for the German, who almost had the set closed, but saw the fifth seed secure another hold that extended the set. A key break helped Bencic close the gap to a pair of games against Niemeier after backing up her service. She locked down another victory that put her a game back, but the German, who had a chance to put the set away in the tenth. With Bencic committing errors on the backhand, Niemeier reached two set points and earn the set on a wide return from the Swiss to finish in 35 minutes. 

Bencic fired an ace to open the second set. Though she committed an error, she didn’t give Niemeier another point after a return from her end went long. Niemeier made good of the second game, holding the fifth seed from any chance to break. They remained on serve through four games when in the fifth, Niemeier tried to score a break on Bencic. The Swiss saved two break points to force deuce and saved two more before closing out the game on her terms. 

The two were still deadlocked on service games that saw Bencic with the 5-4 lead and a chance for the break. The German opened the door for the Swiss star, feeling the pressure that led to the fifth seed taking the second in 39 minutes. With a much better output, Bencic opened the decider with a good hold of her forehand groundstrokes. 

Niemeier knew that she had a tough road to walk with the fifth seed and came out of the second with a service to love. Bencic notched one of her own to show her willingness to dictate the pace for as long as possible. After holding in the fifth game, Bencic had a chance to widen the gap on Niemeier in the sixth. The 21-year-old fought back to force deuce, save two more break points before leveling the score once again. 

Bencic didn’t let the loss of a break bother her and took the next step taking a 4-3 stance with the business end of the match approaching. Niemeier had a fend off Bencic in the eighth as the fifth seed gave it her all to make it 5-3 but the German refused to give it to her. The 24-year-old edged Niemeier in the ninth to secure the service and pressure the qualifier to fall apart. The German fought hard to remain firm against Bencic, who tried producing opportunities on deuce, but a late error made it five-all. Bencic continued to lead after 11, but it was all dependent on how Niemeier played out the 12^th and if she could pull off a tiebreak.  

The Swiss star gave herself a good push out front, and despite two returns that landed long and wide, the fifth seed got into place to close out Niemeier. A long return gave Bencic a match point which came on a hit into the net that ended a hard-earned win in 2 hours and 10 minutes. “She was a tough opponent,” said Bencic. “I knew she was capable of great tennis and she’s playing her best right now and I was expecting a tough match.” 

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeats Victoria Azarenka in three sets

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova clenches her first during her round of 16 battle against Victoria Azarenka at the French Open.

Victoria Azarenka racked up too many errors to fall out of the French Open Sunday. It was that vulnerability that allowed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to dictate her way to victory in three sets 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros. Her hard work ended a ten-year drought for the Russian as she returned to the quarterfinals.

This was the seventh meeting between the two tennis veterans and the first to occur a grand slam. The Belorussian had an easy finish against Madison Keys, who couldn’t keep up with the power forehand. The Russian scored a big victory against Aryna Sabalenka, who hits hard like Azarenka but makes critical mistakes that allowed Pavlyuchenkova to edge her. The former world number one has both wins on the clay courts against the Russian, hoping that she gains another to reach the round of 16. The 29-year-old hasn’t been beyond the third round in a decade leaving her a chance to pull off an upset against the 15^th seed. 

Things didn’t start well for the Russian, who double-faulted twice on serve, handing the break to Azarenka. The 31-year-old thought she would consolidate but instead got into a jam on serve, leading Pavlyuchenkova to break her opponent to love. She achieved the service hold to consolidate the break for a 2-1 jump as her serve was performing well. The Russian added a third straight win before the 15^th seed responded with a break back in the fifth. 

A serve to love was the order of the day for Azarenka, who leveled the score at three-all improving her movement in the court and ball placement. The two stayed tight with each closing out their service games but the Russian holding Azarenka back at the business end of the first. The 31^st seed reached 5-4 with a chance to play for the set but was forced to play on as Azarenka leveled back. 

The 11^th game became the heaviest fight for control where they went two breaks on deuce. A huge mistake from Pavlyuchenkova led to her being broken and Azarenka up 6-5. It was a tough task for the Belorussian, who had to fight an aggressive return game from Pavlyuchenkova. They went to deuce where it took three breaks for the 15^th seed to find her moment to land the victory in 54 minutes. Unforced errors were too much from Pavlyuchenkova, who had 16 to Azarenka’s six. Winners from both were high and close proving how minimal the win for the Belorussian was. 

The Russian opened the second with a firm service hold, allowing the 31-year-old a point. She produced another win breaking Azarenka; whose game was passive leading to her two-game hole. Pavlyuchenkova almost had three, but a pair of mistakes helped the Belorussian get control and break back in the third. A break for the Russian benefitted her lead on the score, taking a two-game jump. 

A fourth service game was broken with Azarenka earning it against Pavlyuchenkova. With one game out of the way, Azarenka fought well on serve in the sixth to sit at three-all with the Russian. Despite her attempts to break for the lead, Pavlyuchenkova was in a comfort zone with her offense that scored her a service hold in the seventh. Azarenka suffered two double faults in the eighth that opened the door for the 29-year-old, who gained a chance to serve for the set. She opened to 40-0 on the Belorussian, who fought back two points but suffered an error that closed out the second in 38 minutes. 

With a decider in play and Pavlyuchenkova carrying the momentum, it was up to the 31^st seed to continue her fight to make her way into the last eight. She added her fourth consecutive game to open the third with a break in hand. Azarenka broke back immediately, putting together a great shot selection with the help of her moving for every ball. She backed up the break with a hold in the third, but it was still a long way to go with Pavlyuchenkova. 

The Russian made some errors on serve in the fourth but fought to recover lost ground, force deuce, and hold on to the first break. A chance for her to take the lead came when Azarenka committed her fourth double fault but saved herself with an ace. It didn’t help her recover in the fifth as she hit a ball into the net giving Pavlyuchenkova the lead. The 31^st seed notched her fourth double fault, but the Belorussian's errors helped her get to deuce. It was there that she pressured the 15^th seed to hold and double her margin. 

Winners became crucial for the 29-year-old, who kept the edge on Azarenka and came through with a huge break to sit up 5-2. With the door open to serve for the match, the Russian was on a roll winning eight of the last ten points watching as her opponent erred point after point. Pavlyuchenkova was soon at match point with a line drive net-front winner. She earned the win on a hit into the net from Azarenka ended a hard-earned win that took two hours and nine minutes to accomplish. 

Barbora Strycova achieves upset in third round of the French Open

Barbora Krejcikova clenches her first during her third-round match at the French Open, 

Elina Svitolina couldn’t build up momentum to save herself from exiting the French Open Saturday. The Ukrainian was forced out of position by Barbora Krejcikova, who got plenty of momentum in action and pulled off the upset winning 6-3, 6-2 on Philippe Chatrier Court at Roland Garros. It marked the eighth match win in a row for the Czech, who had a place in the second week.  

The two met for the first time and both came off straight-set wins to enter round three. The Ukrainian took down back-to-back first-timers to the tournament, while the Czech faced some full-time players on the tour to face her second top ten player. While the Ukrainian hadn’t gone deep into a clay-court tournament this season, Krejcikova left the door open to breaking Svitolina since her title in last week in Strasbourg. The fifth seed hasn’t been in a full dominant form but hoped that she could produce another win to make it into the second week. 

Krejcikova ran into trouble, finding herself down 0-40 down against the fifth seed. She managed to rally back to deuce and break the Ukrainian to start the match. Pulling off a huge feat early, the Czech consolidated with her service hold in the second to dig in well. Svitolina turned things around, overcoming four winners from the Czech to force deuce, score an ace and hold serve. The 26-year-old watched as Krejcikova committed unforced errors on every point leading to the score being tied. 

With a break in hand, the fifth seed went after the lead, nearly breaking Krejcikova to love but still captured the double break. After sliding three games, the Czech struck back on serving to level at three-all as the two closed in on the business end of the set. Krejcikova regained the lead in the seventh, breaking Svitolina, who had notched a few errors on serve to sit back. The eighth was her moment to fight and break the Czech back. They went to deuce 13 times and played more than 20 minutes as Krejcikova fought to capture the AD point that eluded her eight times. 

With the victory locked up and positioned at 5-3, the Czech regrouped to pressure with Svitolina on serving for the set. The 25-year-old reached two set points until a ball overcooked by the Ukrainian gave Krejcikova the win after 58 minutes of play. The two played 89 points with the Czech doubling the winners (22) over Svitolina, who was a set down for the first time this tournament. She left the court to try and turn things around, returning minutes later to start the second. 

Krejcikova got them rolling where they once again played a game to deuce. This time, the Czech didn’t allow it to go more than three breaks, saving a breakpoint before holding serve. Krejcikova caught a break as the Ukrainian double-faulted on serve and produced an error at the end of the second to fall in her sixth game. With a terrific moment on the shoulders of Krejcikova, the fifth seed had to deliver a blow to get out of trouble. Svitolina fought through every point in the third to break and end the long slide. 

The 25-year-old responded with a service to remain intact with her offense, following it up with another break of Svitolina for a commanding 4-1 lead. With a big hole to climb out of, Svitolina dug in on serve in the sixth to get a second win to her name, cutting Krejcikova’s gap in half. The Czech felt a little bit of pressure in the seventh game but kept her offense in check to wreak havoc on Svitolina, who had to serve to stay in the match. Krejcikova played a strategy to deliver short cross courts while the fifth seed held to the baseline. It soon led to two match points for Krejcikova, who watched as a long ball from the Ukrainian sealed the upset that took 1 hour and 39 minutes. 

Victoria Azarenka enters second week defeating Madison Keys at the French Open

 

Victoria Azarenka waves to the crowd after her third-round win against Madison Keys at the French Open. 

Victoria Azarenka used experience and consistent power from the forehand that moved her back to the round of 16 at the French Open. The Belorussian took Madison Keys out of the running early, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 on Philippe Chatrier Court at Roland Garros. The former world number one ended a drought of not making the second week that lasted six years. 

The two met only once in their careers, with Azarenka playing only one full set against the American in Miami. The Belorussian did well against Clara Tauson, keeping her back to win in straight sets. Keys matched what Azarenka did in her last two matches when she took out Layla Fernandez. Since the two didn’t get a full match in when they met three years ago, the time came on the clay courts, with Azarenka looking to get back to the round of 16 since 2013. 

The American opened service knowing the forehand how to be powerful against the 31-year-old. Azarenka fired back with the same level of strength to stay even on the scoreboard with Keys. It wasn’t until the fifth that the 15^th seed found a way to break the pace and take a 3-2 lead. Azarenka backed up the break on serve to double her lead even while avoiding slipping up with a committed double fault. 

Keys ran into problems with her forehand which no longer stood where it started and her opponent’s return game focused upon that. She was down 0-40 with two unforced errors but managed to come back and force deuce on serve. Despite her efforts to close the gap, the Belorussian slammed the door with a winner on the first break to go up 5-2. With the double break in hand, Azarenka closed out the set with the help of two unforced errors from Keys to win on serve in 29 minutes. 

The American had 15 errors through eight games which were costly against the Belorussian, who had a four-game winning streak under her belt. Knowing that something had to change in the second set, Keys came into the opening game with a different tactic to force deuce in the first. Despite her attempts on serve, Azarenka managed to work through the problem and break her for a fifth consecutive victory. 

After backing up her service in the second, the 15^th seed followed the third with another double break of Keys, who continued to struggle to find a way to dig in. After losing seven games, the American miraculously broke back in the fourth, turning things around with a new form of tactics that allowed her to break the streak and create one of her own. Azarenka didn’t let the break of her grip become a major issue as she held the sixth and broke Keys again to sit up 5-2. 

After having made her point clear, the Belorussian served for the match in the eighth firing big crosscourt shots but watching Keys answer them. The American pushed the game to deuce where after three breaks, a try at gaining the AD point was not on the horizon. She suffered a forced error on Azarenka’s third attempt to end the match in 1 hour and 10 minutes. 

“Right from the beginning, I knew that it was going to be intense” Azarenka said after her match. “Madison plays a lot of really heavy balls and serves well so I had to try to make as many opportunities as I could and be really solid and try to put a lot of pressure on her so she doesn’t dictate the game so much.”

Elina Svitolina ends Ann Li in straight sets at the French Open

Elina Svitolina performed well in her second-round match against Ann Li at the French Open Thursday

Elina Svitolina had a terrific day on court to make the third round of the French Open Thursday. The Ukrainian dominated early against Ann Li, who improved late but faced an aggressive attack that resulted in a 6-0, 6-4 win on Court Suzanne Lenglen at Roland Garros. 

The two met for the first time with the American facing a big-time opponent in her second-round meeting. The Ukrainian didn’t have an easy start to the tournament when her French counterpart ran hot in the second set but came up short. With some vulnerabilities in her game, the former junior finalist at Wimbledon would give it her best in her debut year on the red clay of Roland Garros and try to pull off an upset of the world number six. 

Li opened service but was quickly under attack by the Ukrainian who jumped out to breakpoint position before taking the opening game. She backed up things on serve, but not without a challenge from the 20-year-old, who forced deuce, gained a breakpoint only to fail and lose out. Svitolina made her pay for it in the third when she double-faulted, allowing the fifth seed to rush to a 3-0 run. 

The 26-year-old conducted her best game of the set allowing Li just one point on her way to a commanding 4-0 lead. Li wanted to get a hold of serve in play but had another challenge when it was 30-40. The American forced deuce but ran into Svitolina’s push for the breakpoint. After saving three, she tried to get it done but was coming up short on four attempts. Svitolina brought her fourth breakpoint chance to lock it down and serve for the match. The fifth seed had no trouble going for the shutout, putting an ace down in the sixth game that led to three match points and a winner to close the first in 28 minutes. 

The Ukrainian served at 74 percent and won 33 of the 51 points played with just six unforced errors to Li’s 12. What looked to be a continuation of action from Svitolina ended up being a turn of the tables benefitting the American. Li made good of her service to open the second set, holding the 26-year-old back. She went on to break her in the second, holding her to one point. It was soon 3-0 for the American as she had Svitolina on the ropes with another strong service game. 

The fifth seed couldn’t let the deficit get any bigger, leading her to defend from her end and secure the service game. Li responded in the fifth to regain her three-game lead, but it only gave Svitolina determination to close the gap. She held the sixth game and went for the break in the seventh where a double fault from Li opened the door for Svitolina to close in. On serve to tie things up, Li gave the Ukrainian a fight that allowed her to force deuce and bring up a breakpoint. The fifth seed denied her twice before setting up the winner for an AD point before delivering a drop shot at the net to sit four-all. 

With Li losing all her ground, she began to feel the pressure and fell apart on serve in the ninth. It set up Svitolina with a sense of comfort to close out the match on her terms in the following game. She started it off with a smashed winning crosscourt and a line drive to force an error out of Li. A second serve produced an error from Li for three match points for Svitolina. The fifth seed ended her day with her second attempt being a crosscourt winner for the win that took 1 hour and 14 minutes.