Tennis News

For the first time in the history of the ATP World Tour, two qualifiers faced off in the final of the tournament to determine who would lift the Apia Sydney International title. In the end, world No. 92 Viktor Troicki was victorious against Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-3.

This marked the Serb’s second ever victory over Kukushkin and lasted a mere 64 minutes. He struck 13 aces and won 73% of his first service points to close out the contest in straightforward fashion.

“There are a lot of emotions actually,” said Troicki. “It’s been a tough road, a lot of work, and it paid off with a nice title. If I look back to where I was five, six months ago, it’s amazing to have a title already. So it’s a really nice moment for me and for all my team. It’s very emotional.

“I’ve got to say I have been working harder than ever probably, and I feel very, very fit,” added the Serb. “I didn’t have any problems. I had eight matches here and luckily I haven’t had problems. I feel very fresh again. I feel I can go again good on Monday. Definitely I was working hard and that’s paying off. I have inside myself trust in my body, and I feel I can do a lot of things.”

Troicki earned $80,000 and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points for his efforts. Kukushkin won $42,100 and 150 ranking points.

“For sure I can take something positive from this week,” said Kukushkin. “A final of an ATP tournament is important. Of course it’s something special, and of course it was great for me anyway because I won seven matches.

Kukushkin, who begins his Aussie Open against Malek Jaziri, is satisfied with his start to the season – a week that included a quarter-final victory over Juan Martin del Potro.

“To start the season like that, to win so many matches, to get some confidence, is really important. So of course I take something positive from that. But of course it was a disappointing final for me; Viktor just played better today.”

While Karolina Pliskova may have made the biggest impression this week in Sydney, it was Petra Kvitova who got the final bow, as she defeated the Czech native in tight straight sets to lift the Apia Sydney International title.

The Czech No. 1 defeated a slew of opponents, including Shuai Peng, local prospect Gajdosova, defending champion Tsvetlana Pironkova and rising star Pliskova in the final. In that last match, she defeated her fellow countrywoman with a pair of tiebreaks 7-6(5), 7-6(6) to be crowned champion ahead of the Australian Open.

“First of all, great job this week,” Kvitova told Pliskova. “It’s always tough to play a final, and hopefully next time you’re going to win.”

This marked Kvitova’s 15th title on the WTA tour, as she won 1 in 2009, 6 in 2011 (including Wimbledon), 2 in 2012, 2 in 2013 and 3 in 2014 (including another Wimbledon). To add to her accomplishments, 12 of those titles came at the Premier level of higher.

“I’m glad I can stand here as the winner of this tournament,” Kvitova said. “For me, this week will always give me great memories in my mind.”

Pliskova will see herself rise to the Top 20 in the world for the first time in her career and will likely maintain that upwards climb through the ranks.

“Congratulations to Petra,” Pliskova said. “She had an amazing week. She was playing very well today and was definitely the better player out there, so I wish her good luck in Melbourne next week.”

Czech No. 1 Petra Kvitova ended Tsvetlana Pironkova’s title defense in the semi-final stage of the Apia Sydney International and will now contest the tournament final against soon-to-be Top 20 competitor Karolina Pliskova. The two competitors met once previously on the professional tour, a meeting that Kvitova won in three sets to give herself a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head series.

Watch the match live here: Kvitova v Pliskova

After losing to Pironkova at this event last season, Petra Kvitova made sure not to allow history to repeat itself and crusied past her opponent 7-5, 6-1 to reach the final in Sydney. The win snapped Pironkova’s 14-match win streak and sent Kvitova to her first final of the season – days ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam.

“I’m glad that revenge went well today and I have the chance to be in the final here in Sydney,” Kvitova said. “I think that I played better today than last year against her. I am glad I played how I need to play: aggressively, going forward, attacking the ball early, and just playing my game.”

Kvitova’s serve was particularly impressive, as she struck 4 aces, and won 83% of her first service points to close out the match in 67 minutes.

“I served well, so was very important today. That helps me. I’m looking for tomorrow.”

Kvitova’s next encounter will be against fifth seed Karolina Pliskova, who toppled German No. 1 Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final. She hit seven aces, and won a whopping 97% of her first service points to storm past her opponent in 55 minutes.

“She is playing really risky, going for the winners. That’s what I will do tomorrow as well. You know, we just practice in off‑season. I went in Prague and had a few points over there for an hour, and we played in Wuhan as well,” Kvitova said when asked about her final opponent.” She was a part of our team in Fed Cup in the final.”

This is the first all-Czech final on the WTA tour since 2009 and will likely be an enthralling encounter between two in-form competitors. Both looked phenomenal in their semi-final appearances and it will be hard to determine a winner ahead of the match. While Kvitova holds a 1-0 lead in the series, Pliskova is on an unwards trend in the rankings and may have the necessary momentum to pick up the upset and lift the title.

Prediction: Karolina Pliskova in Three Sets

The Apia Sydney International will feature a semi-final contest pitting the defeding champion against the highest remaining seed in the draw, as Tsvetana Pironkova meets Petra Kvitova for a spot in the tournament final. This is the exact same position the two competitors were in last year, and Pironkova managed to upset the top seed en route to the title. This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Kvitova leading the head to head series 3-1.

Watch the match live here: Kvitova v Pironkova

Czech No. 1 Petra Kvitova rallied from a set down to end the dream run of Jamila Gajdosova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-final round of the tournament. She struck 12 aces and won 78% of her first service points to earn the victory in just over two hours of court time.

Faced with a tricky opponent in her quarter-final match-up, Pironkova eased past Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in straight sets 6-4 6-1.The contest lasted a total of 1 hour and 36 minutes and saw the Bulgarian win 61% of her first service points, and convert on 6 break points. She will now look to replicate her 2014 efforts against Kvitova when they cross paths once again on Thursday afternoon.

“Wow, (I’m) super excited. To be honest, I didn’t really believe that I could go this far again because I had to start from quallies again, which obviously is a very hard thing to do considering the quallies nowadays is not like it was 20 years ago, let’s say,” she said. “It’s also a very strong tournament. So I’m incredibly happy that I’m here today winning again, so I will just try to do it again.”

This marks the fifth time that Kvitova and Pironkova will meet on the WTA tour, with the No. 2 seed leading the series 3-1. However, Pironkova won their most recent meeting, which took place at this very stage of the Apia Sydney International. Given her confidence at this tournament, this could prove to be another upset win for the defending champion.

Prediction: Tsvetana Pironkova in Three Sets

While he may have needed three sets to close out the match this time around, the Tower of Tandil Juan Martin del Potro still managed to work his way into the quarter-final stage of the Apia Sydney international. His next opponent will be Mikhail Kukushkin, whom he has already defeated once previously in Davis Cup competition.

Watch the match live here: Del Potro v Kukushkin

The Argentine suffered from a slow start on Wednesday evening, and even caused quite the fright when he requested that the trainer be brought on court between sets. However, del Potro was able to overcome the odds and secure his spot in the quarter-final stage of the tournament with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. Del Potro hit 11 aces, won 81% of his first service points and saved four of six break points – facing none in the second or third sets – to defeat the Italian in 1 hour and 48 minutes.

“I thought I played better,” said del Potro. “I felt better on the court, especially at the end of the match. I served well, I hit good forehands and my backhands improved from yesterday… I need to keep playing with these guys, hitting the ball as fast I can, and keep trying.”

The defending champion admits that his wrist had not worsened, which is only helping with his confidence.

“My wrist is the same. It’s not getting worse, so I have confidence with that. Of course, I’m very happy to beat my first top 20 player on the year.”

His opponent, Mikhail Kukushkin, needed just a pair of 7-5 sets to get past his opponent, Pablo Cuevas. The Kazakhstan native struck 7 aces, won 67% of his first service points and saved six of seven break points to close out the match in 1 hour and 49 minutes.

This marks just the second time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Argentine leading the series 1-0 with a victory back in the 2011 Davis Cup quarter-finals. The defending champion will look to further his run in the draw and edge himself closer to regaining the title.

Prediction: Juan Martin del Potro in Three Sets