Roberta Vinci had one heck of a month this February, proving that she is in top form and her run in the US Open has made her bustling with confidence. She entered the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and conquered the Premier tournament as the second seed, winning her tenth and biggest career title. Despite losing in the first round in Dubai, mainly due to fatigue, she went on to make the quarterfinals in Doha before failing to Agnieszka Radwanska in an incredible match.
The triumph in St. Petersburg
Vinci had an incredible week in Russia playing some of her best tennis and showing supreme mental strength by getting past top opponents to reach the double digit title milestone. What was really important was her quarterfinal match against Timea Babos where she was pushed to a third set tiebreak by the big-serving Hungarian. In the semifinals, she outlasted Ana Ivanovic, coming back from an early deficit in the first set before prevailing and going on to defeat Belinda Bencic in the final. The Italian's vintage game was in display at its peak throughout all this week with her net play and slice being a joy to watch.
The rest of the month
The Italian next moved on to Dubai where she lost to Yaroslava Shvedova in the first round, evidently due to her fatigue, as she played two days after the final in St. Petersburg. However, she left Dubai as the newest member of the world's top 10, making her debut at 33 years old, the oldest player to ever make her top 10 debut ever. After Dubai, she went to Doha where she made the quarterfinals as the ninth seed, beating Lesia Tsurenko, Daria Kasatkina - after saving a match point - and Cagla Buyukackay before falling to an inspired Agnieszka Radwanska in a match that will definitely be a candidate for one of the best of 2016. This week, she competed in Kuala Lumpur after taking a wildcard into the event, but she lost in the first round to Chang Kai-Chen.
In conclusion, Vinci was unanimously voted as the VAVEL WTA Player of the Month, not only because she keeps improving herself at an age many would have hung up their rackets, but she is also playing at an unbelievable level where every match of hers is a pleasure to watch.