Olympics: Kvitova Interview
An interview with Petra Kvitova before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
An interview with Petra Kvitova before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Svetlana Kuznetsova has Friday’s shot of the day at the Apia International Sydney.
An interview with Venus Williams before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza survived a scare in her opening match against Marina Erakovic to move into the second round at the Australian Open in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
“Marina and I played a couple of times and it’s always a tough match,” Muguruza said in her on-court interview. “I’m happy, even with my body, that I won. It was very tough.”
Earlier in the season in Brisbane, Muguruza was forced to retire from her semifinal against Alizé Cornet due to a right thigh injury, and it seemed like the pain still lingered in her Melbourne opener.
Despite taking a close opening set, Muguruza’s movement appeared to be hampered and she struggled with her timing, her usually powerful groundstrokes at times lacking their bite.
The Spaniard’s problems multiplied in the second set, as Erakovic took every opportunity Muguruza’s condition handed her and went up a 4-1 lead.
“It was very tough. You’re playing, then suddenly you start to feel pain in your body,” Muguruza explained. “Obviously I was nervous, so I just tried to be calm, to have a good attitude and keep fighting for the match.”
The New Zealander wasn’t able to hang on to that lead for very long, as Muguruza – with great effort – came roaring back. Erakovic seemed to lose her confidence as Muguruza climbed back up the scoreboard, finally rattling off five straight games to take the match.
Through to the second round in the Australian Open for the fifth straight time, Muguruza awaits the winner of the match between Samantha Crawford and ASB Classic champion Lauren Davis.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza continued to play incredible tennis in her debut at the Olympic tennis event, defeating Nao Hibino, 6-1, 6-1, to reach the third round.
Playing her first tournament since Wimbledon might have put pressure on the No.3 seed, Muguruza has dropped a combined six games in her first two matches, wrapping up her win over Hibino in just under an hour.
Hibino had kicked off her Olympic campaign by knocking out Irina-Camelia Begu, but had no answers for Muguruza’s mix of pace and precision, dropping serve five times in the straight set decision.
Up next for Muguruza is Monica Puig, who upset No.14 seed and Wimbledon quarterfinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-2.
.@GarbiMuguruza needs just 56 minutes to defeat Japan's Nao Hibino 61 61 + set up a 3rd round match v Puig #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/S8Hesxb8fH
— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 8, 2016
More to come…
There’s a fresh face on the scene at this year’s Australian Open, as 17-year-old Jamiee Fourlis impressed home fans in a convincing first round win.
While Australia’s headlines focused on friend and rival Destanee Aiava, the Melbourne-born Fourlis had an agenda of her own, knocking out former World No. 50 Anna Tatishvili of the United States in straight sets.
“I tried to stay in the moment, tried to keep everything on court. There was nothing to lose today,” Fourlis told reporters post-match. “Winning your first match in a Grand Slam doesn’t come every day. At the moment I’m still trying to take it all in. But it’s an amazing feeling.”
Fourlis lost the 18/U Australian Championships to Aiava just weeks ago, and was able to play qualifying for the year’s opening Grand Slam thanks to a strong run at the annual Wildcard Playoff in late December.
After watching her compatriot Aiava bow out on Day 1, the 17-year-old kept a cool head to advance to the second round in her grand slam debut.
“She handled herself really well under the pressure of playing at home in her first Grand Slam,” childhood coach Kane Dewhurst told wtatennis.com. “She has a lot of support behind her, so it was no surprise to see her play consistently well throughout.”
Dewhurst first worked with the World No. 414 since the age of five, and was certainly impressed with what he saw in Melbourne on Monday.
“Jaimee has always been a clean ball striker. She has weapons on both sides, and it’s now just a matter of understanding when to use them. She has great variety in her game as well, and that’s why she has plenty of growth and development ahead of her.”
Fourlis fought back from an early break down in the second against Tatishvili to close out the match, 6-4 6-3, where she will meet the experienced No.8 seed and two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Dewhurst, the owner of Vida Tennis, believes that while the obvious step up in class will be difficult, Fourlis has plenty of upside and could cause an upset.
“Kuznetsova will be a huge step up in class and a massive challenge, but if she can settle early, there is absolutely nothing to lose. The sky is the limit, so I’ll tell her to just get out there and go after it.
“I don’t think we should put any limits on anyone, and there is no reason she can’t cause an upset.”
She certainly has a tough assignment on her hands, but in the shadows of the MCG, home to her beloved football team, the Collingwood Magpies, Fourlis wants all the support she can get in the second round.
“Hopefully some Collingwood players can come and watch!”
Adriano Del Monte, wtatennis.com contributor.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Maria Sharapova shone in her first match of the 2016 season, serving up a straight set victory over Japanese up-and-comer Nao Hibino under the lights of Margaret Court Arena.
There were question marks surrounding Sharapova’s health after she withdrew from her only lead-up event in Brisbane due to a left forearm injury suffered in practice, but there were no ill effects on Monday night as the No.5-seeded Russian powered past Hibino in an hour and 13 minutes, 6-1, 6-3.
“It was just nice to get on court and face the opportunity of playing a first match,” Sharapova said afterwards. “No matter how much you train, it’s always different when you walk out onto the court.
“It’s definitely a relief to get that first one out of the way.”
Sharapova was also told she’s Hibino’s idol and that the Japanese has posters of her on her wall.
“She’s got to take those off! It’s time to put her posters up there,” Sharapova said.
“I actually hadn’t heard much about her, and I hadn’t seen too much of her game before I went on the court today. She actually likes the pace and takes the pace quite well. For a first Grand Slam performance I thought she was there till the end. That’s impressive. She never let in, never gave up.
“I mean, experience is priceless for anyone, but especially for someone that’s just starting out in their Grand Slam experience,” Sharapova added. “I’m sure she’ll have a great future ahead of her.”
Sharapova has now won 46 of her last 47 Grand Slam first round matches – her only loss in the first round of a Grand Slam since 2003 came at the hands of Maria Kirilenko at the 2010 Australian Open.
The other Top 8 seeds in action also advanced in straight sets, with No.1 seed Serena Williams edging Camila Giorgi in a tight two-setter, 6-4, 7-5 (read more here), No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska outfoxing Christina McHale, 6-2, 6-3 (read more here) and No.6 seed Petra Kvitova overpowering Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum, 6-3, 6-1, revenge for losing to her in the same round two years ago.
There were a slew of upsets among the lower seeds, though, most notably No.16 seed Caroline Wozniacki falling to Yulia Putintseva in a thriller, 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 (read more about that match here).
Other upsets saw Margarita Gasparyan edge No.17 seed Sara Errani, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, Elizaveta Kulichkova take out No.22 seed Andrea Petkovic, 7-5, 6-4, Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang outdo No.24 seed Sloane Stephens, 6-3, 6-3, Lauren Davis outlast No.26 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Daria Kasatkina dispatch the No.27-seeded Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-3, 6-3.
The night match saw Czech qualifier Kristyna Pliskova send No.25 seed Sam Stosur out, 6-4, 7-6(6).
No.10 seed Carla Suárez Navarro, No.12 seed Belinda Bencic, No.13 seed Roberta Vinci, No.23 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.28 seed Kristina Mladenovic and Eugenie Bouchard all moved through.
Hello 2016!! So nice to be back at the @AustralianOpen #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/HoceAzkdm1
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) January 18, 2016
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova backed up their upset over No.1 seeded team in the last round with another victory, coming back from a set down to oust the Canadian team of Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 at the Olympic tennis event.
Strycova and Safarova are a regular pairing when playing doubles in Fed Cup, and once again their games clicked together for the Czech Republic as they took on Bouchard and Dabrowski in the second round.
Fresh off of pulling off a straight-sets stunner against three-time doubles gold medalists Serena Williams and Venus Williams, the Czech duo had more trouble getting past the Canadians. The two teams traded breaks twice in the opening set to send it to a tiebreak, where Dabrowski’s monumental effort at the net gave them the edge. But the Czechs recovered from the early deficit and broke twice to take the second set and even up the score.
After trading breaks once more to start off the final set, Safarova and Strycova earned the decisive one for a 4-3 lead and consolidated after a fierce battle. They marched into the quarterfinals after a two-hour and 11 minute encounter.
More to come…
Alison Riske takes on Zhang Shuai in the second round of the Australian Open.