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Roger Federer vs John Millman Preview – ATP Brisbane 2015 Round 2

Posted: Jan 07, 2015

After completing an impressive 2014 – a season that culminated with him winning the Davis Cup for the first time in his career – Roger Federer will look to start off the new year with some of the leftover momentum from November. He will begin his campaign at the Brisbane International with a second round match-up against John Millman, whom he has never previously encountered on the professional tour.

A finalist at last year’s Brisbane International, Federer looked impressive and comfortable on the surface until he came up against champion Lleyton Hewitt in the final. However, his season only got better as the year progressed, as he reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships and picked up several Masters 1000 titles along the way. Now ranked world No. 2, Federer will likely set his sights on another major championship over the course of the year, but not without some solid performances along the way.

“Overall, it was a great season for me,” admitted Federer. “I was consistent and I was playing positive, attacking tennis, the exact way I want to play. I gave myself quite a few chances at the Slams. I want to go one step further, because being close is not quite good enough.”

However, his short-term ambitions are slightly simpler.

“I would love to win this event,” Federer told reporters Saturday on the banks of the Brisbane River. “I was close last year, after I had had a good week. I always like lifting trophies in a place that I have never been able to. I am unbelievably pumped up for this week. It’s a really good field, with a lot of promising players.”

World No. 153 John Millman, a native of Brisbane, will look to follow up on his 6-3, 6-1 win over Rhyne Williams with the biggest win of his career on Thursday when he faces the 17-time Grand Slam champion. Considering this is their first head-to-head encounter, and that Federer is playing his first match of the season, this is as good a time as any for Millman.

Prediction: Roger Federer in Straight Sets

Maria Sharapova vs Carla Suarez Navarro Preview – WTA Brisbane 2015 QF

Posted: Jan 07, 2015

After dropping just one game so far in 2015, Russian superstar Maria Sharapova already through to the quarter-final stage of the Brisbane International, where she will contest another enthralling encounter against a player that has tormented her over the past couple of years: Carla Suarez Navarro. This marks the fourth time they cross paths on the WTA tour, with Sharapova leading the head to head series 2-1.

On Tuesday afternoon, it was abundantly clear that Maria Sharapova was in no mood to make friends on court, as she stormed through the opening set 6-0 in just 23 minutes against Yaroslava Shvedova. She allowed Shvedova just one game in the second set to close out the contest just over half an hour later.

“To be honest, she’s capable of playing really tough tennis. She’s a big server, big strokes. Even though we haven’t played in a while, she does like to play the top players,” Sharapova said. “She swings quite freely. She has had good results against some good players in her career.”

Spain’s Cara Suarez Navarro needed three sets to dispatch Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. The contest lasted nearly two hours and 30 minutes and saw Navarro save 7 of 10 break point opportunities and withstand 10 aces from her opponent.

“It only gets tougher from here,” Sharapova said of her upcoming opponent. “I have a bit of a different opponent if Suárez Navarro wins the next one. A little bit of a different game. Gets a lot of balls back. Maybe a bit more of a physical match. We’ll see how that goes. Hopefully I continue to improve and take it a step further this year.”

This marks the fourth time that these two competitors meet on the professional tour, with Sharapova leading the series 2-1. Her sole stain against the Spaniard was at the Rogers Cup last year in Montreal, where Sharapova lost to Navarro in three sets. While Sharapova has had less time on court, it may actually benefit her this time around against a potentially fatigued Navarro.

Prediction: Maria Sharapova in Three Sets

Simona Halep vs Aleksandra Krunic Preview – WTA Shenzhen 2015 QF

Posted: Jan 07, 2015

Simona Halep Romania1 Simona Halep vs Aleksandra Krunic Preview – WTA Shenzhen 2015 QF

After starting her season off with two successive victories, top seed Simona Halep will take part in her first quarter-final of a tournament on Thursday afternoon when she meets Romania’s Aleksandra Krunic for the second time on the professional circuit. Halep leads the head-to-head series 1-0, with a victory last season in Bucharest.

After starting the year against Annika Beck, the Romanian star was faced with a intriguing challenge in the second round: 17-year-old Russian wildcard Natalia Vikhlyantseva. The world No. 3 was far from interested in an entertaining and competitive match, as she won 69% of her first service points, won 20 of 27 return points on the youngster’s second serve and saved five break points to close out the match 6-2, 6-2 in exactly 61 minutes.

“It wasn’t very easy because she’s a really good player and played really well. She served very well,” Halep said afterwards. “But I’m happy that I played better than I did in the first round. I feel like my form is getting better and better day by day – I really want to do better match by match here.

“I want to see how far I can go because I like this tournament. I’m really enjoying it.”

Aleksandra Krunic needed over twice the court time on Wednesday to dispatch her Slovakian opponent Anna Schmiedlova. She eventually edged out her opponent 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-1 in two hours and 17 minutes. She even saved triple match point at 6-5 down in the second set.

This marks just the second time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Halep leading the series 1-0. The world No. 3’s victory took place in Bucharest last season on clay, where Halep won the match 6-4, 6-2.

Prediction: Simona Halep in Straight Sets

Venus Williams vs Elena Vesnina Preview – WTA Auckland 2015 QF

Posted: Jan 07, 2015

Two victories into the New Year and former world No. 1 Venus Williams is already through to the quarter-final round of the ASB Classic in Auckland. The American will now contest a match against Elena Vesnina to secure a spot in the final four of the tournament. This marks the fourth time that the two competitors will step across the net from each other on the professional circuit, with Vesnina leading the series 2-1.

Venus only needed 65 minutes to close out her second round match-up against Japan’s Kurumi Nara 6-4, 6-1 on Tuesday night. Williams struck two aces, won 74% of her first service points and managed six breaks of serve to secure the victory. The second half of the match particularly smooth for Venus, as she reeled off nine of the last ten games to end the match in emphatic fashion.

“Today was a different match than yesterday – not as straightforward,” Williams, who dropped just one game in her first round match, said. “I was playing an opponent with more experience. She’s very tenacious despite her size. She knows how to construct points, she plays great defense and can go on the offense as well, so it’s a good match to have under my belt this early on in the season.”

“I always had goals, but in life things never really work out the way you think they’re going to,” Williams said. “It’s been that way my whole career – you say, ‘I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna do that,’ but sometimes you fall a little bit short, and sometimes you do more than you ever thought you could. So my goal for this year is to try and perform the way I know that I can on the court.”

Elena Vesnina also had a relatively simple match on court, as she routed Ana Konjuh in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarter-final round of her first tournament of the season.

Of their three previous encounters on the tour, Vesnina actually leads the head-to-o-head series 2-1. She won the first two meetings between the competitors, including one at the Wimbledon Championships, but it was Venus who won the most recent match last season. Considering her vast improvements over the past year, the American should be the competitor favoured for a spot in the semi-final.

Prediction: Venus Williams in Three Sets

Novak Djokovic vs Sergiy Stakhovsky Preview – ATP Doha 2015 Round 2

Posted: Jan 06, 2015

Djokovic16 Novak Djokovic vs Sergiy Stakhovsky Preview ATP Doha 2015 Round 2

After successful performances in the opening round of the Qatar Exxon Mobil event, top seed Novak Djokovic and Sergiy Stakhovsky will cross paths for a fourth time on the professional tour. The Serbian star leads the head-to-head series 3-0 and will look to maintain that undefeated streak on Wednesday afternoon in Doha.

In his debut match in Doha, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated fellow countryman Dusan Lajovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 to reach the second round of the event. Known for usually not starting his season until the Australian Open, Djokovic looked sharp in his opening match, as he won 69% of his first service points and secured five breaks of serve to close out the contest in exactly 59 minutes.

With that win, Djokovic maintains a streak that extends from the semi-final round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. He will look to keep that streak alive when he faces Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky, who also cruised through his match on Tuesday. The world No. 57 defeated local wildcard Mohammed Ali Mutawa 6-1, 6-1 to set up the contest with the Belgrade native. The match lasted a total of 46 minutes and saw the Ukranian win 80% of his first service points and save the two break points he faced on serve.

This marks fourth time that Djokovic and Stakhovsky will cross paths on the professional tour. Djokovic remains undefeated in the series, with wins dating as far back as the 2009 French Open. Their last meeting took place three years ago in Dubai but that is unlikely to affect the expected outcome.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets

Stan Wawrinka vs Borna Coric Preview – ATP Chennai 2015 Round 2

Posted: Jan 06, 2015

Stan Wawrinka16 Stan Wawrinka vs Borna Coric Preview – ATP Chennai 2015 Round 2

Following a less-than-stellar opening to his season at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, Chennai defending champion Stan Wawrinka will look to right his earlier wrongs with a solid showing in his tournament opener against rising star Borna Coric. This marks the first time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour and could be a remarkable opportunity for Coric to start his year with a massive upset of a Grand Slam champion.

At the Mubadala World Tennis Championships last week, Stan Wawrinka needed just 61 minutes to dispatch Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-2. It was a no-nonsense performance from the world No. 4, as he served with sublime accuracy and had no issues with his one-handed backhand on this occasion. However, faced with the task of fending off world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Wawrinka failed to win a single set and eventually lost the contest in straight sets. He would even lose the battle for third place against Rafael Nadal, who defeated him 7-6(1), 6-3 after his thrashing at the hands of Andy Murray the previous day.

Already in Chennai, 18-year-old Borna Coric began his season with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Robin Haase. It was a fantastic performance from the youngster in his debut that lasted a total of 66 minutes and sets him up for an entertaining second round encounter against Wawrinka. The Croatian is a formidable force, as he made a memorable impact on the tour when he upset Nadal at the Swiss Indoor Open before reaching the semi-final round of the event.

While this marks the first time that Wawrinka and Coric meet on the professional tour, it has the makings of an intriguing and competitive affair. Wawrinka is yet to find his top form ahead of his Australian Open title defense, while Coric is brimming with confidence and looking for an early upset to turn the tides in 2015.

Prediction: Borna Coric in Three Sets

Kei Nishikori vs Steve Johnson Preview – ATP Brisbane 2015 Round 2

Posted: Jan 06, 2015

Kei Nishikori5 Kei Nishikori vs Steve Johnson Preview ATP Brisbane 2015 Round 2

Following a breakthrough year on the ATP World Tour, Kei Nishikori will look to carry that momentum forth into 2015 as he commences his season at the Brisbane International. The Japanese No. 1 will begin his tournament campaign against Steve Johnson, whom he has only encountered once previously on the professional circuit. Nishikori leads the head-to-head series 1-0.

After reaching the final of the US Open and finishing his season amongst the elite-eight at the World Tour Finals, Nishikori finally believes that he belongs amongst the upper echelon of the competitors on the ATP World Tour. Although he did not manage to win a Grand Slam in 2014, he hopes to duplicate his US Open efforts and also win a Masters 1000 title in the coming season.

“I had great preparation in Florida this off-season,” he said at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp on Tuesday. “I think the first couple of tournaments of the year are very important [in order] for me to gain a little more confidence.

“I want to do well in the Grand Slams, maybe get to a semi-final or a final if I can. Maybe win a [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 title. That’s the next goal for me.”

World No. 27 Steve Johnson began his season in Brisbane on Monday, where he defeated local favourite Marinko Matosevic 2-6, 7-6(0) 7-5 in a scrappy comeback effort. The American hit 14 aces and won 78% of his first service points to finish the contest on a high note. He also saved 4 crucial break points during the match.

This marks just the second time that Nishikori and Johnson will meet on the professional tour, with the Japanese No. 1 leading the head-to-head series 1-0. That lone encounter took place at Halle last season, which makes this their first ever hard court meeting. Given Nishikori’s success on this surface, he should have the advantage against Johnson on Wednesday.

Prediction: Kei Nishikori in Three Sets

Caroline Wozniacki vs Taylor Townsend Preview – WTA Auckland 2015 Round 2

Posted: Jan 06, 2015

In undoubtedly one of the more intriguing match-ups of the day, top seed Caroline Wozniacki will cross paths with American youngster Taylor Townsend in the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland. This marks the first time the two competitors will meet on the WTA tour and could make for an enthralling encounter on Wednesday afternoon.

In her opening match of the season, Danish star Caroline Wozniacki faced a relatively simple challenge on court: Israeli qualifier Julia Glushko. Woz defeated her first-time opponent 6-3, 6-2 without breaking much of a sweat. Given this is just her second time playing this event, she is clearly happy with her performance and is motivated to live up to her billing as the top seed.

“Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest match, but I got through and I won it,” Wozniacki commented. “The first match is always tough. I served well, but I want to keep playing better as the week goes on. I love the crowd here, though. They made me feel very welcome. I love everybody here.”

“I love it here. I haven’t been back to Auckland for many years, but it’s such a great place to start the season, and I’m excited to play and get the 2015 season going here.”

Wozniacki’s upcoming opponent, Taylor Townsend, took part in a significant upset during the opening day of action, as she defeated former champion Yanina Wickmayer in the first round of the tournament. The wildcard entrant proved worthy of the tournament’s faith in her and dispatched her opponent in three stes, 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 to set up a second round clash with the top seed.

“Her game is very fun to play against, just because it makes you play every point – point to point to point,” she said about Wozniacki. “She doesn’t give you any mistakes.”

This is scheduled to be the first official meeting between Wozniacki and Townsend and is one of the main attention-grabbing matches at any of the four events on the tour this Wednesday. Given Townsend’s rise up the ranks and her clear potential, the pressure will be on Wozniacki to prove she is still the main player to watch out for in the draw.

Prediction: Caroline Wozniacki in Three Sets

Grigor Dimitrov vs Jeremy Chardy Preview – ATP Brisbane 2015 Round 2

Posted: Jan 06, 2015

Dimitrov ATP Tour Grigor Dimitrov vs Jeremy Chardy Preview – ATP Brisbane 2015 Round 2

After taking part in a turbulent year on the professional tour, where his results were as mixed as the expectations placed on his shoulders, Grigor Dimitrov will look to make the most of his potential in 2015. The Bulgarian star will begin his season in Brisbane, where he will face France’s Jeremy Chardy in the second round of the tournament. Having met twice previously on the tour, the pair split those matches and are left with a 1-1 head-to-head record going into their third ever professional meeting.

Currently ranked at world No. 11, Dimitrov is on the cusp of becoming a mainstay member of the upper echelon on the ATP World Tour. He complied a 50-18 record on the tour last season, including three titles and nearly $3million in prize money. He reached the semi-final of two Masters events (Rome, Canada) as well as the final four at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. After a poor showing at the Paris Bercy, he failed to qualify for a spot in the ATP World Tour Finals and rejected the offer to become an alternate in the draw.

France’s Jeremy Chardy began his season in Brsibane with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Andrey Golubev of Kazahkstan. He needed just one break in each set to secure the victory and reach the second round of the tournament, where he will contest a battle against the No. 4 seed.

This marks the third time that Dimitrov and Chardy will meet on the tour, with the series tied at 1-1. Both their previous encounters took place at Grand Slam events, with Chardy winning on home soil at the 2013 French Open, while Dimtrov rebounded with a win at the Australian Open the following year. Given that the Bulgarian is better on hard courts, he should find his way into the quarter-final round of the tournament.

Prediction: Grigor Dimitrov in Three Sets

Novak Djokovic vs Dusan Lajovic Preview – ATP Doha 2015 Round 1

Posted: Jan 05, 2015

Djoko3 Novak Djokovic vs Dusan Lajovic Preview ATP Doha 2015 Round 1

Following a surprising withdrawal in the final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi with an illness, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will look to kick off his professional season on a higher note after a weekend’s rest. The Serbian star will begin his week in Doha against fellow countryman Dusan Lajovic, whom he has never faced on the professional tour.

Before he was forced to withdraw from the event, Djokovic put on an entertaining showing in his first match of 2015. He stormed through his encounter against Stan Wawrinka, as he won 10 of 11 games to lead 6-1, 4-0 without even breaking a sweat. He would drop just two more games in the entire match to defeat his rival 6-1, 6-2 and secure his spot in the final against another one of his noted adversaries. Sadly, he was unable to contest the final against Andy Murray.

“Unfortunately I am not to be able to play in the final in Abu Dhabi tonight,” Djokovic announced. “I’ve been sick today with a fever and I’m not fit to play. I said after my match last night, the crowds here have shown their love of tennis again this year and always inspire me to play my best, so I am hugely disappointed not to be able to play for them.”I’ve had another great weekend in Abu Dhabi, meeting fans and coaching young players, and played some great tennis against the best players in the world.”

World No. 68 Dusan Lajovic has been on a steady rise through the ATP World Tour ranks after compiling a 16-19 record on the tour in 2014. Strong showings in Bastad and Hamburg were particularly beneficial to his ranking points.

This marks the first time that these two countrymen will meet on the professional tour and will likely make for a one-sided contest favouring the top seed. Although Djokovic is coming off a fever, should he decide to play, he won’t have much trouble against Lajovic.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets

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