Friday, 01. June 2012

© Sergei Sinitsyn
 

Roland Garros: Kaia and Shuai Zhang reached third round in doubles

Kaia and Shuai Zhang won the second round doubles match against Stephanie Foretz Gacon - Kristina Mladenovic 6:4 6:3. Next up Jarmila Gajdosova - Anastasia Rodionova.

Doubles draw

 

Thursday, 31. May 2012

© Sergei Sinitsyn
 

Roland Garros

Paris FRA, 27.05. – 10.06.2012 / GS clay

KAIA KANEPI — IRINA-CAMELIA BEGU / 59. ROU /

6:4 | 6:1

Kaia won

Kaia won and will meet Caroline Wozniacki (DEN, WTA 9) in the next round.

Kaia's own words: "It was difficult in the beginning, the opponent played very well and I made mistakes while attacking. Afterwards I was told that she did not make any mistakes before it was 2:4. Then she also started to make some mistakes and I started to play better. The first two games of the second set were very long and she also had her opportunities, at the end I managed to win both games. It was good. It gives confidence when you win long games. After that I played with more bravely and had more confidence, I think she broke.

If I play good and patient with Wozniacki, then it will be a good match. I have played with her many times and I think there will not be any surprises for me in her game."

The third round match will be played on Saturday.

Kaia also continues on the doubles tournament with Shuai Zhang and tomorrow they will go against the French girls Foretz Gacon - Kristina Mladenovic. The match is scheduled as the third match at court number three.

 

Wednesday, 30. May 2012

© Sergei Sinitsyn © Sergei Sinitsyn
 

Roland Garros: Kaia defeated first seeds in doubles

Kaia toghether with Shuai Zhang (WTA 169, doubles 43) defeated today the first seeds of the doubles event Liezel Huber - Lisa Raymond 6:3, 7:5

Kaia's own words: "The match went very well today, our co-operation worked and we played well, we laughed, got along great, supported each other and it felt great to play. We did not over think before the match and did not have any special game plan, we just tried to do our own things. I felt that last time I played against Huber and Raymond, they played better.

There were many Estonians supporting us and we got all the support form the Chineese crowd as well.

Doubles is nice relaxing game for me, we try to keep it this way also in the next round."

In the second round they will meet the French duo Stephanie Foretz Gacon - Kristina Mladenovic.

Doubles draw

Kaia will have the singles second round match tomorrow against Irina-Camelia Begu'ga (ROU WTA 59)

 

Tuesday, 29. May 2012

© AP/SCANPIX
 

Roland Garros

Paris FRA, 27.05. – 10.06.2012 / GS clay

KAIA KANEPI — ALEXANDRA PANOVA / 77. RUS /

6:3 | 6:3

Kaia won

Kaia won and will meet Irina-Camelia Begu'ga (ROU WTA 59) in the second round on Thursday.

Kaia’s own words: "Physically I feel great, my tennis was not the best today. And well, this is the first match at Grand Slam, the atmosphere here is much different from an ordinary tournament, it takes some time to get use to it. There were many Estonians watching today as well. I hope I feel better in the second match.

As I have said before, I play doubles for fun. Next year with Arvidson we also played with Huber and Raymond and we were close to a set win :) - we’ll see tomorrow. It is not easy for them as well, the first round, and we are tough opponents. My partner plays doubles very well.

I have never played with Begu before but I have seen her play. She hits with topspin, and plays points – does not hit randomly. There is no point to predict anything, it is important that I feel well and play well, then I am happy.”

Kaia will start doubles tournament tomorrow and the match is Schedule to court number 9 as the second match of the day. The first match starts at 11 local time/ 12 Estonian time. Kaia’s partner is Shuai Zhang'iga (WTA 169, doubles 43) and they will meet the first seeds Liezel Huber'i and Lisa Raymond.

 

Monday, 28. May 2012

 

Roland Garros: Kaia to meet world number ones in doubles

Kaia will participate in the doubles tournament together with Shuai Zhang (WTA 169, doubles 43). They will meet with the world number one doubles team Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond

Doubles main draw

 

Friday, 25. May 2012

 

Brussels Open

Brussels BEL, 21.05. – 26.05.2012 / Premier $637,000 clay

KAIA KANEPI — AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA / 3. POL /

6:7 | 3:6

Kaia lost

Kaia lost in 1 hour and 51 minutes.

Kaia's own words: "Like I said yesterday, it was difficult match. It is always difficult to play with her, she does not give anything easily, you have to play well yourself in order to take points - if you are not, then she will take them. She is world number three for a reason, she plays very well and smart.

The conditions today were a bit trickier than yesterday, there was some wind and bright sun, and it was difficult to see the ball occasionally. It was as it was, I will not worry about todays game. My thoughts are in Paris already, I would like to play well there. We will start traveling to Paris within one hour. I would like to have a day off tomorrow and not to travel in that day. It is not really a day off when you need to travel.

I have played with Panova before, well not on clay. I feel good about my game, we'll see"

Kaia will play at Roland Garros next, in the first round she will meet Alexandra Panova (WTA77). The tournament starts on Sunday.

 

Friday, 25. May 2012

 

Roland Garros: Kaia to meet Alexandra Panova in the fist round

Kaia will meet Alexandra Panova (WTA 77) in the first round of Roland Garros. Main draw

 

Thursday, 24. May 2012

© Sergei Sinitsyn
 

Brussels Open

Brussels BEL, 21.05. – 26.05.2012 / Premier $637,000 clay

KAIA KANEPI — TSVETANA PIRONKOVA / 46. BUL /

6:3 | 6:1

Kaia won

Kaia won in 1 hour and 22 minutes.

Kaia's own words: "There was more to the game than the scoreline said. In the first set on 3:3 she also had chances, I was lucky to win that first set. In general I felt confident.

When I had 3 double fouls in a row it was no point to get nervous. If I would have become nervous I would have made also the fourth foul. I remembered that Ferrer also had 3 doubles in one game. So it happens, all kind of things happen. There is no point to panic, you just have to play and get yourself going again.

Tomorrows match will be tough if I play well. Radwanska is very stable and will not fall apart. I have to play well to win. I always have to play well to win.

My heals have not gotten worse. Today was even a bit better than in previous days. The matches have not been very long and tiresome so far. I can have a rest at least one day before Paris."

In tomorrows semifinal Kaia will meet Agnieszka Radwanska.

Article on WTA

 

Wednesday, 23. May 2012

© Sergei Sinitsyn
 

Brussels Open

Brussels BEL, 21.05. – 26.05.2012 / Premier $637,000 clay

KAIA KANEPI — BOJANA JOVANOVSKI / 111. SRB /

6:2 | 6:2

Kaia won

Kaia won in 1 hour and 4 minutes and will meet Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL, WTA 46) in tomorrows quarter final.

Kaia's own words: "Today I served better, Kristjan gave me some advice and it worked well. I started both sets well and got my game going, then it was good to play.

I have played several times with my tomorrows opponent, she serves well and I have to be ready to return great."

The quarterfinal match will be tomorrow at centre court not before 14:00 local time / 15:00 Estonian time

 

Tuesday, 22. May 2012

© Sergei Sinitsyn
 

Brussels Open

Brussels BEL, 21.05. – 26.05.2012 / Premier $637,000 clay

KAIA KANEPI — IRINA FALCONI / 114. USA /

6:3 | 6:2

Kaia won

Kaia’s own words: „I played well today. In general my ground strokes were good. I was aggressive, tried to change pace and I played as versatile as I can.

Everything is ok with my serve, I do not want to comment it anymore. Sometimes I find my rhythm, sometimes not – that’s how it is. As long as anyone does not attach my second serve, as it was today, I can try to hit the first serve stronger. That is why sometimes it goes in and sometimes it does not. If i need to, i can hit the first serve as i do my second serve. Today I felt good with my second serve and it allowed me to risk more with my first serve.

My tomorrows opponent hits flat and hard. I have to be aggressive and play well, we will then see how it goes. The weather here is nice and warm, a bit damp. The court has quite many strange bounces. Kristjan is also here and cheers for me :)“

In the second round Kaia will meet with Bojana Jovanovski (SRB, WTA 111). Kaia and Bojana have played once before and last time in Sydney in 2011 Bojana won 6:4, 6:4

 

Monday, 21. May 2012

 

Brussels: Kaia to meet Irina Falconi in the first round

Kaia's opponent in the first round of Brussels Open is Irina Falconi (USA, WTA 114). This will be their first meeting and the match will take place tomorrow at court number 2 as the third match of the day. The matches start at 11 (12 Estonian time).

 

Saturday, 19. May 2012

 

Brussels: Kaia will meet qualifier in 1st round

Kaia's first round opponent at Brussels Open will come from the qualification tournament. The first seed in the main draw is Agnieszka Radwanska (WTA3), Kaia is the 8th seed.

Kaia's first round match will be held on Tuesday, 22nd of May

Main draw Qualification draw.

 

Thursday, 10. May 2012

© kaiakanepi.com
 

Kaia withdraws from Rome

Kaia has not completely recovered form the pain she felt in her heels after Estoril tournament and has decided not to risk and not to participate in the WTA Premier level tournament in Rome

Kaia's own words: "The heels are week spot for me and they will sometimes get a bit sore when there is too much physical activity. Nothing too serious. I will start playing tennis again next week, this week I will do some physical training like riding a bike and will also rest. Although I will skip Rome, I will go to Brussels according to the plans I have today."

Kaia's calendar

 

Monday, 07. May 2012

© APF/SCANPIX
 

Mutua Madrid Open

Madrid ESP, 04.05. – 13.05.2012 / Premier $5,189,603 clay

KAIA KANEPI — LUCIE SAFAROVA / 21. CZE /

4:6 | 4:6

Kaia lost

Kaia lost today in a very competitive match against Lucie Safarova and now rests for couple of days in order to find out how serious is the pain in her heels she developed after Estoril. The next in Kaia’s calendar is WTA premier level tournament in Rome.

Kaia’s own words. „It was difficult today, I did not feel great. After Estoril’s final, in the next morning, my heels were hurting a bit. I tried to play shorter points today, not to put much pressure on the heels. I bothered me when I needed to hustle. I did not take any painkillers. But sometimes it worked out great. The opponent played a great game and served also very well. I will see how the heels are recovering and after couple of days I will decide if I play Rome or Brussels next.”

 

Saturday, 05. May 2012

© APF/SCANPIX © Sergei Sinitsyn © Sergei Sinitsyn
 

Estoril Open

Estoril POR, 30.04. – 05.05.2012 / International $220K clay

KAIA KANEPI — CARLA SUAREZ NAVARRO / 58. ESP /

3:6 | 7:6(6) | 6:4

Kaia won

Kaia won her second title this year! The match lasted 2 hours and 37 minutes and Suarez Navarro had also two match points in the second set.

Kaia's own words: "In the first set I started out well but then it turned around. I started to make more mistakes and she started to get most of the points. The whole set I tried to be aggressive but it did not work out. It did for my opponent and the game started slightly to go in direction she wanted. Every time I tried to do something, I made an error. I thought that if I continue like this I will lose this match in two sets and can go already to the plane to Madrid.

In the middle of the second set I changed my game plan, I started to play longer points and hit more higher shots to her backhand side. I become more emotional, started to talk to myself, show some emotions – to try to get into the match somehow. It got more competitive. In tie-break I was concentrating on every point – I thought that what the hell, I want to play the decider, to be more on the court, have more excitement and that it would not end in the second set. I was thinking that even if I will lose the third set, at least we a have good final. In the deciding set I started aggressively again and in the first game it worked. Then I fell behind again and realised that I cannot play aggressive with her. I decided to do the same I did in the second set and it worked. When it was 4:4 I felt that she played a bit scarcely and I needed to be a bit more aggressive. So I did, it worked and it was fantastic.

There were more people cheering for my opponent today but also I heard my fans from the crowd as well. I was looking towards Kristjan (my fitness coach) a lot and it helped me to be more positive. I got a watch as a prize and they wrapped the trophy for me as well to take back home.

I can probably rest tomorrow but definitely on Monday I need to play in the next tournament."

WTA article

The next tournament will be Mutua Madrid Open which started today. Kaia's opponent in the first round is Lucie Safarova (WTA 21) and the match will be on Monday. More about the next tournament

 

Friday, 04. May 2012

© APF/SCANPIX
 

Estoril Open

Estoril POR, 30.04. – 05.05.2012 / International $220K clay

KAIA KANEPI — ROBERTA VINCI / 23. ITA /

6:2 | 7:5

Kaia won

Kaia won and will play in her second WTA final in 2012 tomorrow.

Kaia's own words: "It was a good match. In the first set I played well and I was also lucky - many balls hit the line. It was totally my set. In the second set I hit the same way but I made more mistakes - did not make the lines. The opponent gained some confidence and started to play better and it got complicated. When I was 5:2 down, I thought that, well, I need to keep trying and see what can be done - do not give up. Then the tables started to turn. In overall, I felt good through the match, I knew that was playing well.

Tomorrows opponent is tough, I have played with her couple of years back. Final is final, I must play well in order to win it."

Kaia's opponent in tomorrow's final is Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP, WTA 58)

The draw for the next WTA tournament Madrid Open is also available. More information here

 

Thursday, 03. May 2012

© Reuters/Scanpix
 

Estoril Open

Estoril POR, 30.04. – 05.05.2012 / International $220K clay

KAIA KANEPI — PETRA CETKOVSKA / 28. CZE /

6:3 | 3:6 | 6:3

Kaia won

Kaia’s own words: „I played mostly well in the first set. It was a bit hectic for both of us, sometimes it worked out well and sometimes it did not. My opponent fell in the first set and there was quite a long break. After that she made many mistakes. In the second set I was leading 3:1 when she started to hit very flat and brave and it all worked out for her. In the deciding set I was also leading 3:1, but could not manage to keep the lead. The match was very competitive, I was a bit more confident and aggressive in the end. It was very difficult match and small nuances decided the winner. Today I made it, it was may day I guess. It is nice to win tough matches.

Tomorrow I play the first match on the centre court. We’ll see, maybe it will be a bit postponed as we are expecting rain here. It was a long time ago when I last played Vinci, it does not mean anything that I have so far not won a match against her. Tomorrow is a totally new game. She has a good sliced backhand, I must be patient and wait for my moments to attack.“

Kaia will meet Roberta Vinci (ITA, WTA 23) in tomorrow's semi final match

 

Wednesday, 02. May 2012

© kaiakanepi.com
 

Estoril Open

Estoril POR, 30.04. – 05.05.2012 / International $220K clay

KAIA KANEPI — VANIA KING / 52. USA /

6:3 | 6:4

Kaia won

Kaia’s own words: "The matches were a bit delayed today due to the rain. I started my match very well, it took some time for Vania to get into the game. In the middle of the first set the match become very competitive. Also some time in the middle of second set there was suddenly quite strong wind, playing against the wind was more difficult. After we changed the ends and i played downwind, it was easier for me and I won the first set.

The second set was also very competitive, i played aggressive and made some mistakes on deciding points. When the conditions were good and there was no wind, the match was quite good – we had many long rallies and I was attacking.

I do not know much about my tomorrows opponent, I know that she hits quite flat but is very skilful. I will play my game and we’ll see how it turns out."

Kaia will meet Petra Cetkovska (CZE, WTA 28) in the quarterfinal match tomorrow at 11:00 (local time)/ 13:00 (Estonian time) at court number 1.

 

Tuesday, 01. May 2012

 

Estoril Open

Estoril POR, 30.04. – 05.05.2012 / International $220K clay

KAIA KANEPI — SLOANE STEPHENS / 83. USA /

6:1 | 6:0

Kaia won

Kaia's won words: "I played very well and confident today. I was aggressive and executed my shots well, I tried to move her around the court and made my shots work. She did not have many chances today. I felt confident on the second serve, during the match I did not realise that the first serve percentage is so low - I did not have a problem with it today

The weather was a bit cold and rainy in the morning. The court was a bit damp and soft in the beginning. During the game it was also quite windy occasionally.

I have played with King before; it was quite difficult match couple years ago in Rome. She moves well and hits also well. I had a practice with her here as well“

In the second round Kaia will meet Vania King (USA, WTA 52). Match will be held tomorrow at court number 2, not before 12:30 (local time)/ 14:30 (Estonian time)

 

Monday, 30. April 2012

© Sergei Sinitsyn © kaiakanepi.com
 

Estoril: Kaia starts clay season at Estoril Open

The Estoril Open WTA 220K tournament will be the first clay tournament for Kaia this year. In the first round she will meet the lucky loser Sloane Stephens from USA (WTA 83). The match will be on Tuesday as the third match of the day on court number 2. First match will start at 11 local time / 13 Estonian time. Main draw

Kaia is accompanied with her fitness coach Kristjan Prüüs in Estoril and in the next tournaments in Madrid and Rome. Kaia and Kristjan have worked together over 2,5 years.