Shelby Rogers' Interview After Her Australian Open Win Over Simona Halep
An interview with Shelby Rogers after her first round upset victory over No.4 seed Simona Halep at the Australian Open.
An interview with Shelby Rogers after her first round upset victory over No.4 seed Simona Halep at the Australian Open.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova takes on Chuang Chia-Jung and Nicole Gibbs in the first round of the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – World No.2 Serena Williams kicked off her quest for a seventh Australian Open crown with a decisive 6-4, 6-3 victory over Belinda Bencic to ease into the second round.
“I think it was pretty good,” Serena said of the match in her post-match press conference. I mean, she’s a really good player. So I think I was able to start out well.”
Serena came to Melbourne with an outside shot of reclaiming the No.1 ranking from defending champion Angelique Kerber – the American must reach the final to remain in contention – but first had to take care of Bencic, a former World No.7 who had beaten her in their last encounter at the 2015 Rogers Cup.
“I feel like she definitely has a lot more power. Obviously she beat me in Canada the last time we played, but I really don’t remember much about that match.”
Bencic used that winning week in Canada as a springboard towards becoming the youngest Top 10 debutante since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009, but injuries almost immediately stunted her progress and caused her to be unseeded ahead of the Australian Open.
#Serena: “Right now I have nothing to lose. I get to travel the world and do what I do best.”
??❤️#ausopen pic.twitter.com/Sf0oOofSRe
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2017
Knowing this wasn’t a typical first round, Serena put on a solid display throughout the one hour, 21 minute match, though the affair was hardly without its hiccups. The 22-time Grand Slam champion drew first blood to earn a 3-1 lead, only to see Bencic fight back and hold onto level terms until the all-important tenth game, when Serena surged ahead to beak for the set.
The second appeared to be a foregone conclusion as the No.2 seed rode the wave of momentum out to 5-0, but Bencic had one last comeback in store, narrowing the lead to 5-3 before Serena sealed the deal on her second match point.
“I just wasn’t as aggressive as I was during those games. She started playing better. I made a few errors on some key points, but for the most part, I still was going for everything and I was able to close it out.”
Keeping her side of the stat sheet as clean as she could, the former World No.1 hit exactly 30 winners to 30 unforced errors; she looked especially strong on serve with eight aces to four double faults.
Up next for the six-time Australian Open champion is another former rival in Lucie Safarova, who saved a whopping nine match points to defeat Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-1 to book a rematch of the 2015 French Open final.
“I knew I had to be really strong.” #Serena through to 2R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Z70iPL2JpH
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2017
Roberta Vinci takes on Timea Babos in the quarterfinals at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Former No.1 Venus Williams continued her progress at the Australian Open, moving into the third round in Melbourne for the 13th time in her career after a comfortable win over Stefanie Voegele.
In contrast to her grueling first-round battle against Kateryna Kozlova, Venus never really looked under pressure against Voegele, easing through in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
“Today was a good day, a little less hot first thing in the morning, so it was good to get it in, you know, and have a win early,” Venus told press after her victory.
The Swiss qualifier, ranked No.112 in the world, looked decidedly out of her depth on Rod Laver Arena against the former No.1. A tentative start from Voegele allowed the American to open with a double break of serve and rocket to a 3-0 lead.
With the early nerves out of the way, Voegele managed to grab one of the breaks back with a crisp backhand passing shot, but she wasn’t able to wrench the advantage out of Venus’ grasp. Venus stayed aggressive to wrap up the first set with ease, and continued her form into the second, breaking twice to seal the match in barely over 80 minutes.
The No.13 seed will face either Duan Ying-Ying in the third round after the Chinese player outlasted Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 3-6, 10-8.
“I don’t know anything about her,” Venus admitted. “I have never seen her play. Zero, like zero. So I’m going to have to see how it goes.
“Like, maybe get a scouting report in the warm-up when we hit the five minutes and kind of see how it feels.”
This is Venus’ 17th appearance at the Australian Open – joint-most among active players, tied with her sister Serena Williams – and with No.4 seed Simona Halep out of the tournament in a first round stunner, Venus’ side of the draw gives her ample opportunity to continue on and make a deep run.
It's #Venus into 3R singles. 1R doubles starts today with sister #Serena #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/FncGAoqXru
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2017
Caroline Wozniacki faces Donna Vekic in the second round of the Australian Open.
Roberta Vinci has Saturday’s shot of the day at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – Monica Puig received a welcome fit for a national hero when she landed in her home country of Puerto Rico after bringing them their first Olympic gold medal.
Puig touched down in style into San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport on Saturday – she was at the helm of a private plane and even got to help taxi it down the runway.
Hola Puerto Rico!!!!! This is your pilot speaking ❤️✈️??? #HomeSweetHome pic.twitter.com/zWMaYZhPCv
— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) August 20, 2016
She was met on the tarmac by the governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro García Padilla, who greeted her and personally welcomed her to the island.
EN DIRECTO: Gobernador recibe e @MonicaAce93 en la pista #BienvenidaMonica – https://t.co/j0Hs9j9t85 pic.twitter.com/egACljmB8R
— Telenoticias (@TelenoticiasPR) August 20, 2016
From there Puig met the media in a press conference, then went outside to wave hello to a massive crowd of fans.
Watch the video below to hear the incredible reception that Puerto Rican fans gave her:
.@MonicaAce93 arrives in Puerto Rico for the 1st time since winning her country's 1st ever Olympic Gold Medal. pic.twitter.com/Pxajjlea6p
— IMG Tennis (@IMGTennis) August 21, 2016
Check out some of the best photos of Puig’s arrival below, courtesy of Getty Images.
Serena Williams discusses her performance in her second-round victory at the Australian Open.