BNP Paribas Open: Kohlschreiber Knocks Out Second Seed Cilic, Venus Williams Advances, Wozniacki Loses
(March 13, 2018) Philipp Kohlschreiber ended a 13-month drought against Top Ten players with a 6-4, 6-4 win over second seed Marin Cilic at the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday. He last beat a Top Ten player in 2016.
“Very happy,” said the 34-year-old German. “I think my performance worked quite well from the start. I felt like Marin was maybe a bit nervous.”
“I felt good. Played aggressive. I think the crucial moments or the big points I could, yeah, put on my side. I think that was also the key factor that it was a two-set win.”
At 5’ 10” he may be among the shorter players and older players at 34, but don’t sell himself short. “I know that I’m very good baseline player. I have no real huge weakness.
“So I’m moving well. I can play aggressive tennis from both sides. I’m working a lot with spin, with topspin. So I know that if I get the right height to certain players, I know that’s the weaker side from them.
“So I would say my overall game fits almost every opponent. Of course sometimes you don’t put everything together, but overall, I think I played some great tennis matches against everybody in the world.
“And, yeah, also today I think Marin didn’t play bad, but on the other side, I think I did just a few things just a little bit better, bringing some returns better to his side and few little things.”
He’ll play Pierre-Hugues Herbert, next. He advanced when fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils retired with Herbert lead 6-2, 3-1.
Venus Williams won her fourth-round match against Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, 7-6(6), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. At 37, she is the oldest woman in the draw.She beat sister Serena a night earlier.
“It was a quick turnaround from last night when it feels like, ‘Hey, this is a final’ to ‘you’re only in the fourth round,'” Williams said in her on court interview.
“I mean, there were some points where she just played and it was too good. And I thought I was in control of the point and winning the point, and she turned it around. It’s just real talent.
“So figuring out those kind of moments of being able to control the point till the very end.”
The eighth-seeded Williams will play the 27th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, who beat American wildcard Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-4.
“I think the big difference is I played her more than the girl today,” Williams said when asked about playing the Spaniard in the quarterfinals. “I really didn’t know her game. So today was, like, also a learning — what works? What doesn’t work? How does this player — what’s the rhythm like? I don’t think there will be as many surprises if I play her.”
Simona Halep will keep her No. 1 world ranking, she beat Wang Qiang of China 7-5, 6-1 in the fourth round.
No.2 Caroline Wozniacki fell to No. 20 Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 7-5.
“I think obviously it’s a frustrating match because it felt like a lot of the match was on my racquet,” the Dane said. “I was trying to dictate a lot. I was making winners. I had mistakes. And coming to the net quite often.
“You know, she did well getting the serve really high. On this surface especially, the ball bounces really high. It’s unusual that we play on surfaces like this, but I think it fits her game that it slows down the ball.
“You know, it is what it is. She outsmarted me today, which is fair enough. But, you know, at least I tried, and I tried to do what I thought I needed to do out there today. I just couldn’t execute as well as I wanted to.”
In the evening session Angelique Kerber demolished Caroline Garcia of France 6-1, 6-1.
Juan Martin del Potro, along with Roger Federer are the highest seeds remaining on the in the men’s tournament in Indian Wells.
The 2009 US Open winner overcame a 1-16 start in break point chances to defeat David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 to reach the round of 16.
“I couldn’t break at the beginning of the match,” said the Argentine, talking about his frustration with his low break point conversion. I lost many opportunities to start even better the match, and I got frustration after all that points.
“But anyways, I been waiting on more chances, and the chances came in the end of the set, and finally I took one,” he said with a smile.
“And then I played solid every service game, and I think I play much better than him in the tiebreak.”
“I just want to keep winning. It’s good to me feel with this confidence when I getting to the court and I play well, but I’m going step by step. I will play another Argentinian guy tomorrow, which is a special match for both. It’s not easy when you play against a friend.”
He’ll be taking on Leonardo Mayer.
“I don’t think I have easy things to take before the match with Leo. We practice a lot together. We train at the same club in Buenos Aires. We grow up together. We win the Davis Cup together. And we have dinners together and we spend a lot of time together.
“It will be a special match for both. And I know if he has a good day, he’s very dangerous guy, and he plays solid from the baseline. He play very flat, and his serves are good enough to beat me or to beat anyone on tour.”
This is Del Potro’s first trip to the fourth round since 2013 when he reached the final.
Top Ten Jack Sock lost to Feliciano Lopez int eh night session 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the sweet 16.
Fifth seed Karolina Pliskova is in the elite eight on the women’s side of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-1, 7-6 (2). She ended the run of 16-year-old American Amanda Anisimova.
The on her wat to the last 16, the American knock out 23rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and 9th seed Petra Kvitova, ending the Czech’s 14-match winning streak.
Pliskova was asked about the American’s game: “She played well. Maybe a little bit nervous first set, or I was playing a little bit faster, so she didn’t have the time to play her game.
“And then, well, obviously she’s 16, so she’s not scared. You can see she’s hitting the ball without, I think, thinking. But everybody is playing like this when they are 16. I think this will change a little bit in the future, but for sure the game is good and not really any weakness. The serve is okay. I think everything pretty solid.
“She can for sure play well, but there are so many things which can change in future, so tough to say now.”
Naomi Osaka is into her first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal. Osaka needed three sets to get by the hard-hitting woman from Greece Maria Sakkari 6-1, 5-7, 6-1. Osaka has gone through a tough draw beating Maria Sharapova in the first round and Agnieszka Radwanska
“Well, I just kind of think the match was sort of on me. I think that I kind of only lost the second set because I lost focus, and I also started making a lot of unforced errors,” Osaka said to media about her play.
“So in the third set I just tried to really focus and not give her any points when I shouldn’t.”
Asked what are you most pleased about in this tournament, she said. ”That I’m still here,” with a big smile.
She elaborates in tennis terms: “In terms of my game, just, I think, the concentration level has been high for me, like, compared to, like, previous years.
“So, yeah, that’s the one thing that I have been really working on, so I’m happy about that.”
She plays Karolina Pliskova next. Pliskova talked about playing the younger girls in her news conference.
“I’m not scared from those young girls, because I know my game. I know I can be solid. So there is nothing what can surprise me. I was ready. I didn’t want to, you know, think that it’s gonna be easy because she’s 16. She had that confidence after those matches what she was playing here. She was playing the tournament here, and she won juniors, whatever.
“So I know how this feels. I have been in that situation before. So I was ready for this game.”
“I really don’t think age matters right now, because there is a lot of good, top players that are — like, some people would say they are old, but I don’t think it’s like that,” Osaka said.
