Australian Open: Mirza/Strycova vs Rae/Smith
Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova take on Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith in the first round of the Australian Open.
Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova take on Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith in the first round of the Australian Open.
On this episode of Behind The Tour we take you inside the daily routine of our groundskeepers at Birmingham as they make sure the courts stay in top shape.
Britain’s No.1 Johanna Konta fought through a tricky opening match against Kirsten Flipkens to move into the second round of the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.1 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic put together a dominant performance in their first match of 2017 to move into the second round of the Australian Open.
Despite not playing together since their heartbreaking defeat in last year’s Fed Cup final, the French duo showed no signs of rust and cruised past Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh 6-1, 6-2.
Garcia and Mladenovic have a shot at becoming co-No.1s in doubles at the end of this fortnight, and they definitely played like it as they comfortably broke twice to climb ahead to a 4-1 lead. Bencic’s backhand caught the net time and time again, giving the French duo plenty of free points.
Bencic and Konjuh finally got on the board with a strong Bencic service game, but it didn’t make a dent in the French team’s momentum and they served out the opening set with ease. Another pair of back-to-back breaks of serve gave Garcia and Mladenovic their first victory of 2017 after just 47 minutes.
Also through to the second round are the No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova. They survived a late wobble to advance 6-1, 7-5 over Nicole Gibbs and Chuang Chia-Jung.
Currently the World No.1 doubles player, Mattek-Sands is likely breathing a sigh of relief, as her and Safarova’s road to the final has cleared up considerably following the withdrawal of potential third-round opponents Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
“I was hoping to have the capacity to play both events here, but at this point I just need to be careful and just try to maintain myself,” said Venus, citing an elbow injury.
Angelique Kerber takes on Carina Witthoeft in the second round of the Australian Open.
Serena Williams discusses what civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr would have been like on Twitter at her Australian Open post-match press conference.
Watch Dominika Cibulkova’s practice session at the Australian Open.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova served out the upset over No.11 seed Elina Svitolina, while CoCo Vandeweghe recovered from a late break to defeat Eugenie Bouchard in Melbourne.
What did the top seeds have to say on Day 1 of the Bank of the West Classic? Venus Williams, Dominika Cibulkova, Johanna Konta, and CoCo Vandeweghe all shared their thoughts on their seasons thus far, the Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the wedding fever that’s gripped the WTA tour…
Venus Williams
On her break after Wimbledon:
It was a short break, but I’m happy for it because I played a lot of matches where I had to wait three weeks to play, so I’m hoping this will help me keep my momentum and continue to play well.
On the physicality of adding doubles to the schedule:
The doubles is a lot, but it’s what we wanted. We were thrilled ot have been out there and hope to play more toghether this year. If we could play double severy tournament, we would, but it’s a test, and I think I stood up pretty well to it.
On her memories of making her WTA debut in Stanford and nearly beating Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the second round:
I remember being pretty nervous in the warm-up, but once I got into the first game, I wasn’t nervous anymore. I have no idea how I won the match; I had no strategy, and zero understanding on how to win a match. But I guess I was good enough; I would love to see a replay of that match. I always believed I could win any match, but I didn’t know how to win that second match, especially when you’ve almost won the match and then you don’t win another game. I remember more than anything that she took a bathroom break, and after that I didn’t win another game. So, it was a pretty good strategy against a youngin’. But after a while, I got the hang of it.
On being a mature figure on the tour:
I’m pretty much the most mature on tour. There aren’t a lot of people older than me, but I take it as a compliment because I love being out here. It proves you don’t have to go until you’re good and ready. When I’m good and ready, I’ll be gone, but now is not the time.
Dominika Cibulkova
On delaying her honeymoon to the end of the year…
Everybody’s asking, ‘What are you doing here? You should be on your honeymoon!’ But it’s the middle of the season and I’m a professional athlete, so I can’t just go on a honeymoon. We were really happy that we found a date, but we’ll have a honeymoon after the season.
On shifting from Wimbledon to her wedding…
I came home on Wednesday and for two-three nights, I didn’t sleep well because I was so excited about the wedding. I didn’t relax too much, and on Monday I was just so tired, so I took a couple of days off. I talked with my coach and he asked me if I was motivated to play [Stanford], and I said, ‘Of course, because I’m motivated to get into the Top 10.’ It’s a great opportunity.
On American wildcard Caterine Bellis, who defeated her in the first round of the 2014 US Open as a 15 year old:
I haven’t seen her too much since then. I don’t remember too much from the match because I was really nervous and put too much pressure on myself. I’d had a great start to the season that year and at the US Open, I wanted to get points to qualify for Singapore. I was just so stressed and couldn’t play good tennis, but she was playing really good there. For her age, she was playing great. I think this is the first time she’s playing a WTA tournament, so we’ll see. She’s still young.
Johanna Konta
On Andy Murray and Heather Watson’s Wimbledon wins:
It was really exciting. We had the TV on at home and I got to watch Andy and also Heather in the mixed doubles. I’m sure it made the atmosphere that much more electric.
On managing a hectic second half of the season:
It does make the schedule that much more busy because of the Olympics, and it’s that much more important to stay healthy and as fresh-minded as possible, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge. It’ll be my first Olympics, and it’ll be my first time playing here, Montreal and Cincinnati, so I have a lot of firsts coming up. I’m really looking forward to enjoying my time in the US and on this side of the world. I really love this part of the season; I have a lot of good memories in terms of tournaments I’ve played and results I’ve had. In terms of staying fresh, it’s just about being able to switch off when you can, even just little parts of the day, watching an episode of Game of Thrones.
On the one year anniversary of her rise:
I’m playing some of the best events in the world now, and I’m very grateful and happy for that. But in terms of myself, I’m very much the same, same goals and ideals, and desire to keep going. It’s not too surprising because I lived through it. It’s not like I went to sleep and woke up and all this happened. It was a constant battle and constant fight on every single match that I played. I was very lucky to play them and to win a lot of them. I’m trying to keep pushing on; hopefully the best is yet to come.
On what she’s looking forward to most at the Olympics:
It’s really strange because I’m super excited about how it sounds, but I have no idea what to expect. Everyone I’ve spoken to, the first thing they say is, ‘It’s not like any event on tour, it’s not like any other tournament.’ So right now, I’m really tense, like ‘Oh my god, what to expect? I don’t know!’ But I’m really looking forward to the Athlete’s Village. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the disciplines, how they train and eat. I’m going to be one of those weirdos that just stares at everyone. So I’m really looking forward to just being a part of it.
CoCo Vandeweghe
On how she spent her post-Wimbledon break:
Nothing I was supposed to get done got done. I was supposed to get my phone fixed; it had a crack in it since January. I managed to do it the day I was leaving. But hopefully I can express a little bit of the tan I was working on at the beach. I spent time with friends, went to a concert. I played a little golf, but mostly just vegged. Hopefully the week I spent at home will help keep me rejuvenated and excited to play through the summer.
On missing out on a singles spot at the Olympics:
I’m a singles player. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and I were talking about playing together, but it was up to the USTA, so it wasn’t set in stone. They could have said no. It was disappointing for me to miss singles, and now to see players pulling out because I wanted it so bad and they don’t want it as bad as I do. Whatever reasons they have are their own, but I can’t wrap my head around it.
On Serena Williams:
I think Serena is an amazing athlete and an amazing tennis role model for all players. She’s one of the greatest players of all times. I think Serena should definitely be praised for all of her accolades on and off the court. She’s definitely a role model for all players to look up to.
On the court surface at Stanford:
I did pretty well at Wimbledon and the grass court season with quick courts, so I think it definitely suits my game more than it goes against it. The practice courts here are pretty fast, and I’ve been practicing well, but we’ll see on the day. Perfect practice makes perfect play, so all I can do right now is focus on my practice and routines to get me ready and raring to go.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams breezed into the second week Down Under, defeating countrywoman Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 6-3.
“I feel like I have been able to do pretty good,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I have been doing the things I have been doing in practice, and hopefully I can build up on this.
“That’s all I want to do.”
On RLA now #Serena fighting for a place in the 4R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/HMb4sxOs5r
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
While Serena was celebrating her 19th anniversary of the first time she played on Rod Laver Arena (1998, against sister Venus), Gibbs was not only making her debut on Melbourne’s biggest court, but she was also in the midst of a career-best result Down Under – knocking out No.25 seed Timea Babos and Irina Falconi earlier this week.
The former World No.1 came into Saturday’s match well-tested with wins over a pair of former Top 10 players in Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova, and was in imperious form from start to finish.
“I was so pumped up going against my first two opponents, but I think that helped me out today. She started out really, really well, with a lot of energy.”
Hitting 17 winners and four aces during the 63 minute match, Serena came to net 13 times, winning 12 of those points. Though she was broken in her first attempt serving for the match, the experienced American booked her spot in the next round shortly thereafter, reaching the second week in her last nine appearances in Australia.
Looming in the next round is No.16 seed, Czech veteran Barbora Strycova.
“I have seen her play a lot. She’s always playing. Venus has played her a few times. I saw her play in Sydney. She’s super fit. She has a good game. She’s very aggressive, so that would be nice to play.
“I don’t have anything to prove in this tournament here. Just, you know, doing the best I can.
“Obviously I’m here for one reason. But at the end of the day, this is all bonus for me and I look forward to playing her. I’m ready for her.”
The 2016 Fed Cup heroine won a string of points in the second set of her match against No.21 seed Caroline Garcia, recovering from a 5-3 deficit to win, 6-2, 7-5.
“I won like 16 points from losing 3-5, 15-40,” Strycova said in her post-match press conference. “I didn’t even count and my coach told me so. I was kind of in a zone, so I was very happy about my performance.
“If it’s Serena, I’m looking forward to that match. That’s why you train. That’s why you work hard, to play these matches on these stages and against the best one.”
The 4R awaits @serenawilliams at the #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/1kOSJ3t2lF
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
After beating Garcia, Strycova played an interesting guessing game up in the Twitter Blue Room, guessing the identity of several tennis-themed stuffed animals:
.@BaraStrycova joins us in the Twitter Blue Room #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/oCew6EvCkP
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017