Tag Archives: Marketa Vondrousova

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro Defeats Cristina Bucsa to Reach Third Round at Wimbledon

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Jessica Bouzas Maneiro has advanced to the third round ever at a Grand Slam…

The 21-year-old Spanish tennis player, who pulled off a straight-sets upset of Wimbledon defending champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round, continued her winning ways at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Thursday.

Jessica Bouzas ManeiroBouzas Maneiro defeated fellow Spaniard Cristina Bucsa 7-6 (1), 6-3 and will next play No 31 seed Barbora Krejcikova.

She has dazzled at Wimbledon.

With her first round win over Vondrousova, she became the first player to topple a defending women’s singles champion in the first round since 1994.

She had never won a tour-level match on grass prior to this week.

In the previous round of The Championships, Bucsa, ranked No 64, edged out Romanian Ana Bogdan (6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5)).

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro Defeats Wimbledon Defending Champion Marketa Vondrousova to Reach Second Round

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Jessica Bouzas Maneiro has taken down a champion…

The 21-year-old Spanish professional tennis player, currently ranked No. 83 in the world, defeated Wimbledon defending champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Tuesday.

Jessica Bouzas ManeiroIn the process, Vondrousova became the first defending women’s champion at Wimbledon to lose in the first round the next year since 1994.

Vondrousova was a surprise title winner at the All England Club 12 months ago, the first unseeded woman to claim the trophy at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

Now she enters the books in another — and less desirable — historic way. The only other time

2019 in the sport’s Open era, which dates to 1968, that a woman went from a championship at Wimbledon to an immediate exit a year later was when Steffi Graf was defeated by Lori McNeil 30 years ago.

Vondrousova was seeded No. 6 this time, but the left-hander, who also was the runner-up at the French Open and a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Games three years ago, was never at her best Tuesday. She appeared to still be suffering after-effects from a fall during a tune-up tournament on grass in Berlin last month that hurt her hip.

Bouzas Maneiro, meantime, has reached the second round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career.

In March, Bouzas Maneiro won her maiden WTA 125 title at the Antalya Challenger. The following month, she reached the final of the Zaragoza Open, but lost to Moyuka Uchijima.

Leylah Fernandez Leads Canada to Maiden Billie Jean King Cup Finals

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Leylah Fernandez has pulled off two big upsets to help lead Canada into a historic first appearance in the Billie Jean King Cup finals.

The 21-year-old half-Ecuadorian Canadian tennis player pulled off gripping upset wins in singles and doubles at the Billie Jean King Cup in Seville, Spain on Saturday.

Leylah Fernandez Behind Fernandez’s two victories, Canada stunned 11-time champion Czech Republic 2-1 in Saturday’s semifinals. Canada, whose lone previous trip to the event’s semifinals was in 1988, will take on Italy for their first Billie Jean King Cup title on Sunday.

Four-time titlist Italy reached the championship match of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the first time in exactly a decade after Martina Trevisan and Jasmine Paolini picked up singles wins at the prestigious team event earlier on Saturday.

Canada had to battle back from a match down to reach the milestone. 2021 Roland Garros singles champion Barbora Krejcikova started the semifinal tie with a 6-2, 6-1 win over rising 18-year-old Marina Stakusic, who was facing a Top 10 player for the first time in her career.

However, Fernandez leveled the tie at 1-1 by upsetting reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Vondrousova had won her last 11 Billie Jean King Cup singles matches in straight sets — including a win over Fernandez in 2019 — but the Canadian ended that streak.

Fernandez earned the fifth Top 10 win of her career with the victory — and her first Top 10 win since she beat three Top 5 players en route to the 2021 US Open final. Fernandez had gone 0-7 against Top 10 players between the 2021 US Open and Saturday’s win.

Shortly thereafter, Fernandez returned to court, where she paired with reigning US Open doubles champion Gabriela Dabrowski to face the seven-time Grand Slam-winning duo of Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, with a trip to the final in the balance.

In the first set of the doubles match, there were no break points for either team until 5-5, where the Canadians broke through after Siniakova double faulted on deciding point. Dabrowski then held serve at love to squeak out the opening set.

The second set was even closer and went down to the tiebreak, where Fernandez slammed a backhand winner down the line to earn the first mini-break at 3-2. The Canadians never relinquished that advantage, holding on for a 7-5, 7-6(3) win and booking a historic spot in the final.

Paula Badosa Advances to First-Ever Grand Slam Quarterfinal at the French Open

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It’s a personal Grand Slam best as a pro for Paula Badosa…

Six years after winning the French Open as a junior, the 23-year-old Spanish tennis player outlasted Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 at Roland Garros on Sunday to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Paula Badosa,

“I’ve always liked dreaming big,” said Badosa after her win.

Badosa fell into a seeded position, at No.33, at Roland Garros when Alison Riske withdrew from the draw, but anyone who has followed the tour from week-to-week would have circled her name regardless.

Back on her favorite surface, Badosa came into Paris with the highest clay winning percentage on tour, at 86.7% (13-2). Her four wins and Paris brings that tally to 89.4%.

Badosa had been building a steady head of steam all season. She took her momentum from 2020 Roland Garros, where she notched just her second and third Top 50 wins, over Sloane Stephens and Jelena Ostapenko, to make her first Slam Round of 16.

Badosa then went on a string of notable semifinal runs.

  • In Lyon, her first of the season.
  • In Charleston, her first at the WTA 500 level, with a first win against a Top 20 player (Belinda Bencic) and first over a reigning No.1 (Ashleigh Barty).
  • In Madrid, her first at the WTA 1000 level.

And to add one more career milestone to the list, in Belgrade, where she captured her first WTA title.

As a result, Badosa rose from No.71 at the start of the clay season to No. 35 ahead of the French Open.

Badosa will next face Tamara Zidansek for a spot in the final four.

Nadia Podoroska Advances to French Open Quarterfinals

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Nadia Podoroska continues her Cinderella run at the French Open…

The 23-year-old Argentine tennis player, a qualifier at this year’s event, outlasted the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in her maiden appearance at the Grand Slam tournament.

Nadia Podoroska

Podoroska, ranked No. 131 in the world, will face third seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine for a place in the semifinals.

Podoroska was the second qualifier to make the tournament’s last eight on Sunday following Italian world No. 159 Martina Trevisan‘s win over Dutch fifth seed Kiki Bertens.

Podoroska, who was ranked at No. 255 at the start of the season, has now won 42 matches across all tours in 2020, despite the truncated season, and will make her top 100 debut after the tournament.

She will now bid to emulate compatriot Paola Suarez who made the semifinals in Paris in 2004.

Three years ago, on her only other visit to Paris, Podoroska fell in the first round of qualifying, losing to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in just 39 minutes, winning just 21 points.