2013/06/19

Q & A with Victoria Duval at the Sony Open

IMG_3256

By Amy Fetherolf

(March 22, 2013) MIAMI – I sat down with Victoria Duval, a 17-year-old Haitian-American tennis player who caught the public’s attention when she played her first WTA Tour-level match on Arthur Ashe Stadium against the retiring Kim Clijsters at the 2012 US Open. In Miami, she earned her second tour-level win, upsetting Andrea Hlavackova in the first round before falling to Jelena Jankovic in the next round.

Amy Fetherolf: You were born here in Miami, and you’ve spent a lot of time training in South Florida. What has your experience been like, playing this tournament in such a familiar environment?

Victoria Duval: It was really incredible. The crowd was amazing, too. I had a lot of support, and family was here, so it was awesome.

AF: This was just your fifth WTA tour-level match. What’s the biggest challenge in making that jump to the next level?

VD: It’s a lot of experience, learning a lot of new things, getting a lot of confidence on the way, too. It’s just mostly learning for me right now.

AF: Which players have you looked to for inspiration?

VD: I looked up to Clijsters, and Venus. I’ve been actually in contact with [Venus] a little bit through email. She’s helping me, she’s really nice. That’s been really special.

AF: Do you have any particular goals you’re setting for yourself this year?

VD: Definitely being able to get into at least the qualifying of the Slams this year with my ranking, and making the most of the wild cards I get.

AF: What’s the coolest thing you’ve gotten to do as a tennis player so far in your career?

VD: Playing Clijsters on Ashe, for sure.

AF: Did you gain a lot of new fans from that experience?

VD: I had my stardom for two days. People were coming up to me for two days like, “Didn’t you play last night?” But that was really cool.

AF: What aspect of your game do you think you need to work on to get to the next level?

VD: Definitely my serve is a big liability right now. I’m going to be hitting thousands of serves as soon as I get back.

Amy Fetherolf‏ is covering the Sony Open as media for Tennis Panorama News (@TennisNewsTPN). She is a co-founder of The Changeover. Follow her on Twitter at @AmyFetherolf.

Related article:

A New “Sunshine” – Victoria Duval

 

Share
Filed Under: Contributors, Features, Front Page News, interviews, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lauren Davis and Ajla Tomljanovic to Square Off in Midland Final

Lauren Davis

Lauren Davis

(February 9, 2013) MIDLAND, Mich. – The  Dow Corning Tennis Classic at the Midland Community Tennis Center continued on Saturday with all semifinal singles and doubles matches taking place. Unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia continued her dream run with a win in the day session over American Mallory Burdette, while No. 1 seed Lauren Davis in the US had yet another major comeback win in the evening session against No. 8 seed Monica Puig of Puerto Rico.

In the day session, Tomljanovic stood her ground in the hard-hitting baseline rallies with Burdette, reeling off the final eight games of the match to win 7-5, 6-0. Burdette fought hard to rally from 2-5 down in the first set, but it was the last bit of momentum she would have in the match.

“At 5-5, she had the momentum and it could have gone either way. But after I held serve and broke again, I felt like it was my turn to dominate,” said Tomljanovic.

Tomljanovic, currently ranked No. 370, was sidelined by mononucleosis for most of 2012 and was limited to just six events. So far in 2013, she has already reached the finals of the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Innisbrook, Flor. “I was prepared for it to take a while for my form to come back, but I had a really good off-season and knew that I would eventually pick my form up and do something big,” she said. “I’m not too surprised to be hitting the ball like this, but I’m welcoming it.”

In the evening session, Davis rallied from 1-6, 1-4 down to defeat Puig 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. The world No. 116 Puig seemed unable to miss throughout much of the early stages of the match, reeling off five straight games to take the opening set. Midway through the second set, Davis started to add more variety to her game and displayed a willingness to attack the net when the opportunity came. She won 11 of the final 13 games in the match.

“At 1-4 in the second set, I started to get more balls back and make her play more in the rallies,” said Davis. “I have no idea how I pulled that out though.”

The 19-year-old Davis has come into her own over the last six months, breaking into the world’s top 100 on the back of strong results including quarterfinal finishes at WTA events in Quebec City, Canada and Hobart, Australia, as well winning two USTA Pro Circuit titles last fall at the $75,000 challenger in Albuquerque, N.M. and $50,000 event in Las Vegas.

Despite needing over two hours to win tonight and spending roughly ten hours on court throughout her four matches this week, Davis said she was confident that she’ll have enough in the tank for Sunday’s final.

“I feel so fresh and so new, so I’ll be fine for tomorrow,” said Davis. “I’ve been working hard on my fitness, especially during the off-season and it’s paying off for me.”

In doubles action, the Brazilian-British team of Maria-Fernanda Alves and Samantha Murray moved into the doubles final with a 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 3 seeds Julia Cohen of the US and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia. They will play the winners of the evening session doubles match between Americans Jill Craybas and CoCo Vandeweghe and the Hungarian-Croatian team of Melinda Czink and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

The singles and doubles finals of the Dow Corning Tennis Classic will kick off tomorrow at 1:00pm. Lauren Davis and Ajla Tomljanovic will be up first in the singles final, followed by the doubles final between Maria-Fernanda Alves and Samantha Murray against either Jill Craybas and CoCo Vandeweghe or Melinda Czink and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

The Dow Corning Tennis Classic is in its 25th year on the USTA Pro Circuit, making it the longest-running women’s event on the USTA Pro Circuit.
Dow Corning Tennis Classic
A USTA Pro Circuit Event
Saturday, February 9
Midland Community Tennis Center
Midland, Mich.
Purse: $100,000
Surface: Hard-Indoor

Saturday, February 9 – RESULTS

Main Draw Singles – Semifinals
Lauren Davis, United States (1), def. Monica Puig, Puerto Rico (8), 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
Ajla Tomljanovic, Croatia, def. Mallory Burdette, United States, 7-5, 6-0

Main Draw Doubles – Semifinals
Maria-Fernanda Alves, Brazil, and Samantha Murray, Great Britain, def. Julia Cohen, United States, and Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia (3), 6-3, 6-1

Sunday’s February 10 – SCHEDULE

Stadium Court – starting at 1 p.m.
Lauren Davis vs. Ajla Tomljanovic, followed by Maria-Fernanda Alves/Samantha Murray vs. Jill Craybas/Coco Vandeweghe or Melinda Czink/Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Share
Filed Under: Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Top Seed Davis Holds Off Kudryatseva at Dow Corning Tennis Classic

LaurenDavis9-27

Lauren Davis

By McCarton Ackerman

(February 8, 2013) MIDLAND, Mich.The hallmark 25th anniversary of the Dow Corning Tennis Classic at the Midland Community Tennis Center continued on Friday with all quarterfinal singles matches and remaining quarterfinal doubles matches taking place. Two of the four semifinalists in the singles draw are Americans, with top seed Lauren Davis and 2012 NCAA singles finalist Mallory Burdette prevailing in tough matches on Stadium Court.

In the comeback of the tournament, top seed Davis rallied from behind on numerous occasions to defeat Alla Kudryatseva of Russia 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-5, after more than three hours of play. Kudryavtseva served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and led 4-0 in the tiebreaker. In the third set, the Russian led 5-2 and had a match point on her serve at 5-3, but was unable to convert. Davis converted on her first match point opportunity with a backhand winner down the line.

“I just never stopped believing in myself,” said Davis. “It seemed like it was almost impossible to come back at that point, so I just asked God to give me strength and help make the impossible to be possible.”

The 19-year-old Davis has come into her own over the last six months, breaking into the world’s top 100 on the back of strong results including quarterfinal finishes at WTA events in Quebec City, Canada and Hobart, Australia, as well winning two USTA Pro Circuit titles last fall at the $75,000 challenger in Albuquerque, N.M. and $50,000 event in Las Vegas.

Burdette and No. 7 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia engaged in a hard-hitting baseline match that took over two hours to complete, but Burdette utilized some markedly improved defense to hang in the rallies and prevail 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. “Today was obviously about first strike tennis, but this is the best I’ve ever felt in terms of my movement and the ability to play defense,” said Burdette. “I’ve been doing a ton of fitness, especially during the off-season and pushing it as hard as I can in that regard.”

Burdette didn’t even have a WTA Tour ranking last July, but opted not to return for her senior year at Stanford University after a stellar summer that included winning the $10,000 futures event in Evansville, Ind., $100,000 challenger in Vancouver, Canada and reaching the third round of the US Open.

“I really wanted to give myself a shot at this and in order to do that, I had to put all of my time and energy into my tennis,” said Burdette. “It’s been great so far. There have definitely been some rough patches, but I’m just trying to do the best I can on a daily basis.”

In the final match of the day session, No. 8 seed Monica Puig of Puerto Rico defeated American teen Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5. Puig, ranked No. 116, is the only singles semifinalist who has yet to lose a set. In the evening session, Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia defeated American Maria Sanchez 6-2, 6-2. The 19-year-old, currently ranked No. 370, is enjoying the best tournament of her career after an injury-plagued 2012 limited her to just six events. The lone match to be completed as of press time is an all-American doubles quarterfinal between Jill Craybas and CoCo Vandeweghe against Chieh-Yu Hsu and Shelby Rogers.

All semifinal singles and doubles matches will take place during Saturday’s play, which begins at noon. The day session will see the American-Russian team of Julia Cohen and Alla Kudryavtseva take on the Brazilian-British team of Maria-Fernanda Alves and Samantha Murray, followed by Mallory Burdette against Ajla Tomljanovic. In the night session, Lauren Davis will square off against Monica Puig, followed by the Hungarian-Croatian team of Melinda Czink and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni against the American team of either Jill Craybas and CoCo Vandeweghe or Chieh-Yu Hsu and Shelby Rogers.

The Dow Corning Tennis Classic is in its 25th year on the USTA Pro Circuit, making it the longest-running women’s event on the USTA Pro Circuit.

Dow Corning Tennis Classic
A USTA Pro Circuit Event
Friday, February 8
Midland Community Tennis Center
Midland, Mich.
Purse: $100,000
Surface: Hard-Indoor

Friday, February 8 – RESULTS

Main Draw Singles – Quarterfinals
Lauren Davis, United States (1), def. Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-5
Mallory Burdette, United States, def. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia (7), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Monica Puig, Puerto Rico (8), def. Jessica Pegula, United States, 6-3, 7-5
Ajla Tomljanovic, Croatia, def. Maria Sanchez, United States, 6-2, 6-2

Main Draw Doubles – Quarterfinals
Julia Cohen, United States, and Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia (3), def. Nicole Melichar and Chiara Scholl, United States 6-4, 6-2
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia, and Melinda Czink, Hungary, def. Alexa Glatch and Asia Muhammed, United States, 6-3, 6-3

Saturday’s February 9 – SCHEDULE

Stadium Court – starting at 10 a.m.
Julia Cohen/Alla Kudryavtseva vs. Maria-Fernanda Alves/Samantha Murray, followed by Mallory Burdette vs. Ajla Tomljanovic

Stadium Court – starting at 7 p.m.
Lauren Davis vs. Monica Puig, followed by Melinda Czink/Mirjana Lucic-Baroni vs. Jill Craybas/CoCo Vandeweghe or Chieh-Yu Hsu/Shelby Rogers

Share
Filed Under: Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Duval Stuns Vandeweghe, Vickery Over Townsend in Michigan

 

Victoria Duval photo by Steve Pratt

Victoria Duval photo by Steve Pratt

MIDLAND, Mich., February 6, 2013 – The hallmark 25th anniversary of the Dow Corning Tennis Classic at the Midland Community Tennis Center continued on Wednesday with all remaining first round singles match taking place. 17-year-old American Victoria Duval stunned No. 2 seed CoCo Vandeweghe in the day session, while qualifier Sachia Vickery prevailed in an evening session match between American teens.

Duval, who won the Girls’ 18s National Championship last August, was responsible for the upset of the day by taking out Vandeweghe 7-5, 4-6, 6-1. Duval, who lost in the final round of qualifying yesterday, only moved into the main draw match as a “Lucky Loser” due to a player withdrawal.

“I was really lucky that I got that second chance and tried to make the most of it today,” said Duval. “Yesterday, I was rushing a lot because I really wanted to get into this main draw and was too nervous out there, but I played much smarter today.”

The win was also by far the biggest of her career and the first against a top 100 player on the WTA Tour.

“I’ve smelled those wins against top 100 players before, but to actually come through and pull it out is really nice,” she said.

In the evening session, 17-year-old Vickery used an aggressive baseline game to unseat 16-year-old wildcard Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3. Townsend was making her pro debut in Midland after finishing 2012 as the No. 1 ranked junior player in the world.

While Townsend used plenty of off-speed slices and spins to try and throw off Vickery, the 17-year-old had too much firepower for her opponent and won four consecutive games at one stage in the second set.

“This is my first win at the $100,000 level and I’ve had some really tough losses in the last few challengers I’ve played, so I’m thrilled to have gotten through this match,” said Vickery. “I just need to stay focused and keep doing the right things so I can hopefully keep playing better this week.”

Vickery, currently ranked No. 376 on the WTA Tour, has not lost a set in her four matches this week. She will play Monica Puig tomorrow for a place in the quarterfinals.

In other day session matches, Alexa Glatch prevailed against fellow American Julia Cohen in a nearly three-hour match 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Maria Sanchez of the US also moved into the second round by easing past Maria-Fernanda Alves of Brazil 6-4, 6-1.

Other players moving into the second round after today include No. 4 seed Melinda Czink of Hungary No. 5 seed Tatjana Malek of Germany, No. 6 seed Olga Puchkova of Russia, No. 7 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia, No. 8 seed Monica Puig of Puerto Rico and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia. The lone match to be completed as of press time was a first round doubles match between Americans Nicole Melichar and Chiara Scholl against the Dutch team of former top-10 player Brenda Schultz-McCarthy and her niece, Jainy Scheepens.

First round doubles: Nicole Melichar and Chiara Scholl, United States, def. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy and Jainy Scheepens, Netherlands (WC), 6-3, 6-1,

All second round singles matches and remaining first round doubles matches will take place during Thursday’s play, which begins at 10:00am. The feature match of the day session will see No. 1 seed Lauren Davis take on fellow American Alexa Glatch, while No. 7 seed and 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia will take on two-time Dow Corning Tennis Classic champion Jill Craybas of the US in the evening session.

The Dow Corning Tennis Classic is in its 25th year on the USTA Pro Circuit, making it the longest-running women’s event on the USTA Pro Circuit. Several former competitors at the event have gone on to win Grand Slam titles and reach the top 10 in the rankings. Past competitors include seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and Olympic gold medalist Justine Henin, three-time Grand Slam singles champion Maria Sharapova, two-time Grand Slam singles champion Mary Pierce, 2011 French Open singles champion Na Li, 2010 French Open singles champion Francesca Schiavone, and two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Anna Kournikova.

By McCarton Ackerman

Dow Corning Tennis Classic
A USTA Pro Circuit Event
Wednesday, February 6
Midland Community Tennis Center
Midland, Mich.
Purse: $100,000
Surface: Hard-Indoor

Wednesday, February 6 – RESULTS

Main Draw Singles – 1st Round
Victoria Duval, United States (LL), def. CoCo Vandeweghe, United States, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
Melinda Czink, Hungary (4), def. Chieh-Yu Hsu, United States (Q) 6-3, 7-5
Tatjana Malek, Germany (5), def. Shelby Rogers, United States, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5)
Olga Puchkova, Russia (6), def. Asia Muhammed, United States (WC) 6-3, 6-2
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia (7), def. Alexandra Mueller, United States (Q), 6-1, 6-2
Monica Puig, Puerto Rico (8), def. Alexandra Stevenson, United States, 7-5, 6-4
Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia, def. Anne-Liz Jeukeng, United States (WC), 6-4, 6-2
Sachia Vickery, United States (Q), d. Taylor Townsend, United States (WC), 6-4, 6-3

Main Draw Doubles – 1st Round
Maria-Fernanda Alves, Brazil, and Samantha Murray, Great Britain, def. Irina Falconi and Maria Sanchez, United States, 3-6, 6-1, 10-6
Mallory Burdette and Jessica Pegula, United States, def. Irena Pavlovic, France, and Olga Puchkova, Russia, 7-6 (3), 6-2

Thursday’s February 7 – SCHEDULE

Stadium Court – starting at 10 a.m.
Lauren Davis vs. Alexa Glatch, followed by Maria Sanchez vs. Victoria Duval, followed by Melinda Czink vs. Jessica Pegula, followed by Sachia Vickery/Victoria Duval vs. Julia Cohen/Alla Kudryavtseva

Stadium Court – starting at 7 p.m.
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni vs. Jill Craybas, followed by Mallory Burdette/Jessica Pegula vs. Maria Fernanda-Alves/Samantha Murray

Court 5 – starting at 10 a.m.
Olga Puchkova vs. Ajla Tomljanovic, followed by Tatjana Malek vs. Alla Kudryavtseva, followed by Samantha Crawford vs. Mallory Burdette

Court 3 – starting at 10 a.m.
Jacqueline Cako/Natalie Pluskota vs. Chieh-Yu Hsu/Shelby Rogers, followed by Monica Puig vs. Sachia Vickery

Share
Filed Under: Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

A New “Sunshine” – Victoria Duval

Victoria Duval photo by Steve Pratt

 

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Tennis may already have a player with the nickname “sunshine” in Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, but in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night a 16-year-old wild card entrant from Florida may be taking that “sunshine” nick name away from the Dane. Meet the US National 18 and under champion and Florida native Victoria Duval. She was a hit with both the public and media at the US Open despite losing to 25th seed Kim Clijsters 6-3, 6-1.

The charming, high-pitched teenager ranked 562 in the world welcomed the fact that she drew Clijsters, one of her idols in the first round. I felt like one of the luckiest 16-year-olds ever,” said Duval. To play Clijsters in her last tournament, it was exciting.”

It was like history repeating, when Clijsters was 16, she played Steffi Graf in the German’s last tournament. “She told me that walking out to the court,”Duval noted.

“I had moments when I was younger when I played Steffi (Graf) at Wimbledon and she was my big idol,” Clijsters said. “So it kind of takes you back through a lot of emotions and memories.

“It was nice in a way to get a feeling of the atmosphere from her side. I just told her that we’ve all been there, and it’s great to have these opportunities. We spoke a bit after the match. She was really sweet. I think she has a good game to be out there.”

“I was saying that I couldn’t even sleep I was so excited, so she (Clijsters) said ˜I know how you feel.”

From the moment she stepped on court, the New York crowd was supporting the teenager and loudly cheered her on, for every point and game she won. It was the Floridian of Haitian descent’s first-ever tour-level main draw match.

“Indescribable feeling,” was Duval’s reaction in regard to 23,000 fans supporting her, “it was much more than I expected. The whole atmosphere was just incredible.”

“I was really nervous. But I thought I did a good job of not showing it.”

“What surprised me was the crowd, it was a different experience when you are hearing it on TV than when you are actually there. Having all those people behind me since the first game, it was incredible,” said the teenager with almost the sense of disbelief.

Duval actually had a 3-2 lead in the first set against Clijsters, “Walking to the chair, I was like, `I am actually up 3-2 right now!’” Duval said. “She definitely picked up her level a lot¦.she played like Kim Clijsters from that point on.”

Duvall”s engaging personality dismissed the struggles her family has had while living in Haiti. Although she was born in Florida, she grew up in Haiti where her parents are from. As a child, Duval and some of her cousins were taken hostage by robbers.

Her father also survived a 2010 earthquake in Haiti, in which he survived being buried under rubble and his legs were broken.

Her hardships have made her and her tennis stronger.

“It helped my tennis in the sense that in those circumstances, we were just saying, no matter how tough things get, you’re always going to get out of it.’ So in my tennis, that’s basically what I’ve been living by,”

“We were in the locker room and Kim asked to take a picture, just for her memory. I thought that was so nice cuz I was he one that should be begging her her for her picture.”

“She is definitely, you know, my idol, and that”s why it shows again why she”s a nice person.”

Duval”s other tennis idols include Venus and Serena Williams.

“I got a chance to see Venus,” Duval commented. “I didn’t get a chance to interact with her.. but hopefully I”ll get a chance because I love her too.”

“I get compared to Venus with my game, because of our physicality, “ Duval said. “So I always watch her tapes to see what I can improve in my game.”

Answering a question on whether or not she’ll reach Venus’s height, Duval quipped: “I was told my growth plates are still open, so it looks goooood!!! Six feet, C’mon!”

With a large Haitian community in the New York City area I asked her about their support. I’m sure a lot of them were watching,” Duval said. “Maybe all of Haiti but I don’t know.”

Duvall may be out of the women’s singles but she’ll play the Junior tournament. “Downgrading,” she said jokingly. Last year she played three junior slams – the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

She’s planning on playing more professional tournaments, while playing some of the junior Grand Slam events. She’s hoping to get her ranking high enough to play in the professional ranks. “My dream is playing pro tennis,” Duval said.

Karen Pestaina is covering the US Open as media for Tennis Panorama News. Follow her updates on twitter at @TennisNewsTPN.

Share
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, interviews, news conference, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , ,

Clijsters, Federer Victorious in US Open Night Session

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Kim Clijsters and Roger Federer both stopped young Americans on Opening Night at the 2012 US Open.

Clijsters, after an inconsistent start, held herself together to dispatch 16-year-old Victoria Duval 6-3, 6-1 while Federer pushed back Donald Young 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

“The U.S. Open, for me, was always, I don’t want to say easy, but very natural and I’ve always looked forward to it in a big way,” Federer said in his quest for a record sixth US Open title in the Open Era.

“It’s a place that brings out the best in me,” Federer said.

Young who had a 17-match losing streak earlier in the year,  saw his 2012 record fall to 3-22.

Duval who received wild-card by virtue of winning the  National Girls’ 18 and under  championship event in San Diego earlier in the summer, is ranked 562nd in the world. This was her first WTA tour-level match – a debut at a major on Opening Night.

“I was freaking out,” said effervescent Duval.

Clijsters herself said she was nervous “It was a special occasion. … I was nervous, maybe almost as much as she was,” Clijsters said.

“I was just excited to be out there and to have, you know, the opportunity to play in this kind of condition, prime time.

“You know, a night match, it’s always a very special occasion.  The energy, when you step out on court also after the opening show, the stadium was almost full.  So it was a lot of fun to go out there.

“But, you know, still a bit nervous, too.”

Duval grew up from some difficult circumstances. She  was born in Florida and grew up in Haiti and as child was taken hostage by robbers along with her cousins. In 2010, her father was injured in Haiti’s earthquake, buried under rubble but survived his injuries.

She feels that her life has helped her tennis: “It helped my tennis in the sense that in those circumstances, we were just saying: No matter how tough things get, you’re always going to get out of it.’ So in my tennis, that’s basically what I’ve been living by, no matter how down and out I am, I can get out of it.”

A giggling Duval said that Clijsters snapped a photo with Duval in the locker room  after the match.

“I thought that was so nice, because I was the one that should be begging her for a picture,” said a joyful Duval said. “She’s definitely my idol.”

Clijsters, a three-time US Open Champion is playing her last US Open. She’s retiring again at the end of the year. She had previously retired in 2007. She has won 22 straight US Open matches.

Karen Pestaina is covering the US Open as media for Tennis Panorama News. Follow her updates on twitter at @TennisNewsTPN.

Share
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, news conference, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , ,

15-year-old Duval Has First Pro Win at Dow Corning Tennis Classic

MIDLAND, Mich., February 9, 2011 – After leaving Florida and landing in Michigan earlier this week, 15-year-old Victoria Duval said that she couldn’t wait to play in the snow.

On Wednesday, she turned Stadium Court at the Dow Corning Tennis Classic into her own personal playground, falling to the surface and waving her arms in the shape of a snow angel after defeating Mashona Washington 6-3, 6-3 in a first-round match.

The wild card Duval delivered on her very first professional victory in a main draw, dictating play with her forehand against the 34-year-old qualifier.

“In the first three games I was tight,” said Duval, who does not have a WTA Tour ranking. “But I said: ‘You know what. I have nothing to lose right now. Just go for it.’ I was so free and I hit so loose, which helped me a lot. Next round, I’m going to be even looser.”

Washington entered the match with 16 years of professional experience, cracking the Top 50 in 2004 and reaching the Dow Corning Tennis Classic final in 2002.

But while Washington scolded herself as she struggled to find the range on her shots, Duval appeared as if she were simply playing a practice match back at IMG Academies in Bradenton.

“You don’t see very many pros get emotional like the juniors,” said Duval. “I just said, ‘I belong here and I have to do what everyone else does.’ I stayed calm and it worked.”

Leading 6-3, 4-3, Duval earned two break points by running Washington ragged behind the baseline before bringing the veteran to the net with a short slice. Though Washington reached that ball, she was helpless when Duval passed her with an inside-out backhand winner.

Duval clinched the break, and then the match, by pushing Washington deep into the court and forcing forehand errors. Unable to contain the emotions she’d been bottling up for 76 minutes, Duval squealed as she raced to grab her towel, and then collapsed to the center of the indoor court.

The snow was outside, but Duval didn’t care: She spread her arms wide as if she could penetrate the hard court and permanently leave an imprint of her body.

“I’m going down in five, four, three, two, one,” Duval said she told herself. “I’m beyond excited. I can’t even believe it.”

After a quick call to her mother, Duval was handed another cell phone by a smiling Sabine Lisicki, who also trains at IMG. The man on the other line was Nick Bollettieri, who congratulated Duval on the first of many professional wins.

Drawn to play a qualifier, Duval could have been matched against big-hitters Alexandra Stevenson, Ahsha Rolle or Alexa Glatch. She was happy to have faced Washington, a counterpuncher whom she believed could not overpower her. ’Turns out, she was right.

“I like the way she plays,” said Duval, the No. 1-rated sophomore in the nation according to TennisRecruiting.net. “She doesn’t have too many weapons, but also makes you earn every point. I like a good challenge and I was ready for anyone in the qualies. But she seemed to suit my game the best.”

Duval said that she plans to play the French Open and Wimbledon junior tournaments this season after compiling a 32-11 singles record on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2010.

She is making her eighth appearance at a professional event, having lost her pro debut 6-0, 6-1 to Rebecca Marino one year ago in Memphis.

Who should await Duval in the Midland second round but the 6-foot-tall Marino, who overpowered Glatch in a 24-minute first-set before surviving 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(5).
“It wasn’t my best day of tennis, but I’m glad I was able to pull through and tough it out,” said Marino, “especially after losing the second set quite easily and being down a break in the third… I was able to come back and fight through that very scrappily – if that is a word (laughs).”

Marino didn’t make it to the Midland Community Tennis Center until Tuesday night, having played Fed Cup in Serbia over the weekend. On Monday, she rode with her teammates from Novi Sad to Belgrade, and then flew from Belgrade to Munich and Munich to Chicago before a cancelation forced her to stay overnight in the Windy City.

But the Vancouver-native showed no signs of jetlag at the start against Glatch. She followed a knifing slice backhand winner with a devastating down-the-line forehand winner on consecutive points, proving that there’s more to her than a serve.

Glatch stayed steady in spite of the barrage of shots coming off her opponent’s racquet. The American served for the match at 5-4 in the final set, and again at 5-4 in the deciding tiebreaker.

With the win on her racquet, Glatch made the mistake of pitting her strength (the serve) against Marino’s (the forehand). Marino read Glatch’s first serve and pummeled a deep forehand return to force an error and even the tiebreak at 5-5. She proceeded to bash back-to-back inside-out forehand winners to finish Glatch off.

“It’s these matches that make you realize how much you want to play and what it takes to stay in matches,” said Marino, who finished with 11 aces in just 13 service games.

Like Marino, Frenchwoman Stephanie Foretz-Gacon needed a third-set tiebreak to advance to the second round. She and Heather Watson of Great Britain pushed each other physically over the course of two hours and 54 minutes, but they saved their best shots for last.

Foretz-Gacon took a 5-3 third-set lead by retrieving two straight overhead smashes from Watson, blocking the second one back at the Brit’s feet to draw a half-volley error.

Watson broke back for 4-5 by winning one of the longest rallies of the match, throwing up a backhand lob that nearly hit the ceiling before Foretz-Gacon finally let loose on a forehand long.

Watson’s ranking has jumped from No. 556 to No. 142 since she played in Midland last season, and she showed why as she served to stay in the match at 4-5.

Moments after she couldn’t put Foretz-Gacon away with her overhead, Watson was faced with déjà vu. On game point, the Brit hit two swinging volleys and another smash, but could not get the ball past the Frenchwoman. On her fourth shot from the net, Watson took the pace off her forehand volley and dropped it short for a winner.

“It was always close – like 30-all every game,” said Foretz-Gacon. “I knew she could come back, so I was prepared for that. I fought until the end.”

After each player held, Foretz-Gacon earned two match points by taking a 6-4 lead in the tiebreaker. Watson saved the first in a scintillating 16-shot rally and the second with a daring inside-out forehand return winner.

Foretz-Gacon rebounded to earn a third match point at 7-6, and this time she took the pace off one of her shots, slicing a short backhand cross-court that caused Watson to lose control and miss her own backhand wide.

“I was really happy to win the final-set tiebreak like this,” said Foretz-Gacon after her 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6) win. “Thanks to my backhand slice – I didn’t hit too many today. But it was perfect, I hit it low on the court and it was a hard shot for her to get.”

Also advancing on Wednesday were qualifiers Stevenson and Rolle, who have both won four matches in as many days. Stevenson, the 1998 Midland champion, flummoxed No. 8 seed CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2. Rolle had an even easier time with No. 3 seed Evgeniya Rodina, running roughshod through the Russian 6-1, 6-1 in 51 minutes.

Stevenson and Foretz-Gacon will meet in the second round on Thursday, while Rolle takes on Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal.

Now in her fourth full season on the WTA Tour, the 18-year-old Larcher de Brito got a monkey off her back on Sunday by winning her first professional title at the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

After winning matches at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 2009, Larcher de Brito dropped out of the Top 200 last season.

“I lost a lot of motivation,” said Larcher de Brito. “I used to have a lot of fight in me, but this past year I haven’t been fighting at all. I don’t know what happened, but I’m getting over it now.”

Larcher de Brito was the last player accepted into the Midland main draw, making the cut on Saturday when Stephanie Dubois of Canada withdrew.

She nearly made the trip to Michigan in vain, arguing with the chair umpire about line calls as she fell behind 3-0 in the third set against Julie Coin of France.

Just like that, something clicked inside Larcher de Brito. She won 20 of the next 25 points to take a 5-3 lead, reversing her negative emotions by yelling: “Come on,” “Vamos,” and “Davai”. Though Coin held for 4-5, Larcher de Brito served out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win at love.

“When I was 3-love down, I thought I was going to go home,” said Larcher de Brito, who made her pro debut at the 2007 Dow Corning Tennis Classic. “But I got myself together and started getting more balls in, because I had been trying to hit winners all the time.”

All eight second-round singles matches will be played on Thursday, highlighted by a 7 p.m. encounter between two of the quickest players on tour: No. 4 seed Anne Keothavong of Great Britain and American upstart Irina Falconi. After missing six months with a knee injury, Keothavong has worked her way back into the Top 100, while Falconi has flown up to No. 156 in just seven months as a professional.

Following that contest, Rolle and Washington will team up to take on Rodina and Liga Dekmeijere in the feature doubles match. Already in 2011, Rolle and Washington have won a pair of doubles titles on the USTA Pro Circuit.

Rolle vs. Larcher de Brito, Marino vs. Duval and Stevenson vs. Foretz-Gacon are among the singles matches scheduled during the day session. Lucie Hradecka, the 2009 champion and 2010 runner-up in Midland, will play Anna Tatishvili at noon on Court 3.

By Joshua Rey

Admission to the Dow Corning Tennis Classic is free until the 7 p.m. feature session. General admission tickets to see Keothavong vs. Falconi and Rolle/Washington vs. Rodina/Dekmeijere cost $12 for adults and $8 for children.

Dow Corning Tennis Classic

Midland Community Tennis Center

Midland, Mich.

Purse: $100,000

Surface: Hard-Indoor

Wednesday, February 9 – RESULTS


Singles – First round

[6] Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) def. Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) 6-4, 6-1

[Q] Ahsha Rolle (United States) def. [3] Evgeniya Rodina (Russia) 6-1, 6-1

Michelle Larcher de Brito (Portugal) def. Julie Coin (France) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

[7] Ksenia Pervak (Russia) def. Alison Riske (United States) 6-3, 6-3

[5] Sorana Cirstea (Romania) def. [WC] Jessica Pegula 7-6(6), 6-3

Madison Brengle (United States) def. Olga Savchuk (Ukraine) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

[4] Anne Keothavong (Great Britain) def. [WC] Brittany Augustine (United States) 6-0, 6-2

[Q] Alexandra Stevenson (United States) def. [8] CoCo Vandeweghe (United States) 6-3, 6-2

Stephanie Foretz-Gacon (France) def. Heather Watson (Great Britain) 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6)

[WC] Victoria Duval (United States) def. [Q] Mashona Washington (United States) 6-3, 6-3

[2] Rebecca Marino (Canada) def. [Q] Alexa Glatch (United States) 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(5)

Doubles – First round

Beatrice Capra and CoCo Vandeweghe (United States) def. [1] Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) and Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) 0-6, 6-4, [10-6]

Jamie Hampton (United States) and Anna Tatishvili (Georgia) def. Rebecca Marino and Marie-Eve Pelletier (Canada) 6-3, 7-5

Thursday, February 10 – SCHEDULE

Stadium Court – starting at 10 a.m.

Sabine Lisicki (Germany) vs. [6] Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia)

[WC] Victoria Duval (United States) vs. [2] Rebecca Marino (Canada)

[Q] Ahsha Rolle (United States) vs. Michelle Larcher de Brito (Portugal)

Jamie Hampton (United States) and Anna Tatishvili (Georgia) vs. [3] Ksenia Pervak (Russia) and Ipek Senoglu (Turkey)

Stadium Court – starting at 7 p.m.

Irina Falconi (United States) vs. [4] Anne Keothavong (Great Britain)

Liga Dekmeijere (Latvia) and Evgeniya Rodina (Russia) vs. Ahsha Rolle and Mashona Washington (United States)

Court 5 – starting at 10 a.m.

Sorana Cirstea (Romania) vs. Madison Brengle (United States)

Anastasia Pivovarova (Russia) vs. [7] Ksenia Pervak (Russia)

[4] Sorana Cirstea (Romania) and Anastasia Pivovarova (Russia) vs. Amanda Fink and Lena Litvak (United States)

Court 3 – starting at 10 a.m.

[Q] Alexandra Stevenson (United States) vs. Stephanie Foretz-Gacon (France)

Anna Tatishvili (Georgia) vs. Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic)

Beatrice Capra and CoCo Vandeweghe (United States) vs. Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) and Whitney Jones (United States)

ABOUT THE USTA PRO CIRCUIT:

With more than 90 tournaments throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its Pro Circuit 32 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering more than $3 million in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities nationwide. Among those who have played at the Dow Corning Tennis Classic are seven-time Grand Slam winner Justine Henin, former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova, reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and 2011 Australian Open runner-up Na Li.

Share
Filed Under: Contributors, Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , ,