Madrid: Begu vs. Muguruza
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
The Australian Open started and ended with Serena Williams, who not only won her seventh Australian Open title and returned to World No.1, but also won her 23rd Grand Slam title – breaking the Open Era record she’d heretofore shared with Stefanie Graf.
“It’s such a great feeling to have 23,” she said after defeating sister Venus Williams in the final. “It really feels great. I’ve been chasing it for a really long time. It feels like a really long time. When it got on my radar, I knew I had an opportunity to get there, and I’m here. I’m here.
“It’s a great feeling. No better place to do it than Melbourne.”
After tying Graf at Wimbledon, No.23 certainly got on her radar and was in imperious form Down Under, winning the title without losing a set through seven matches.
“My first Grand Slam started here, and getting to 23 here, but playing Venus, it’s stuff that legends are made of. I couldn’t have written a better story.
“I just feel like it was the right moment. Everything kind of happened. It hasn’t quite set in yet, but it’s really good.”
The legend lives on for Serena, and it certainly helped her earn her the mantle of January’s WTA Player of the Month!

Final Results for January’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Serena Williams (46%)
2. Venus Williams (42%)
3. Johanna Konta (8%)
4. Karolina Pliskova (4%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova
October: Dominika Cibulkova
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Highlights from the second round action at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Simona Halep was forced to withdraw from her St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy quarterfinal with Natalia Vikhlyantseva, citing a recurrance of the left knee pain suffered in Australia.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Kristina Mladenovic had Saturday’s shot of the day at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
An interview with Sam Stosur after her win in the round of 16 at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Peng Shuai talks through her win over Lucie Safarova in the semifinals of the Taiwan Open.
Simona Halep takes on Timea Bacsinszky in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
An interview with Yulia Putintseva after her loss in the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.