Stanford: Konta vs. Zheng
Johanna Konta takes on Zheng Saisai in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
Johanna Konta takes on Zheng Saisai in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova after her win in the first round of the Brisbane International.
An interview with Venus Williams after her semifinal win at the Bank of the West Classic.
MELBOURNE, Australia – The field for the Australian Open is starting to take shape after the initial acceptance list was unveiled earlier this week.
Monday marked the entry deadline for 2017’s first major, with Tennis Australia confirming the identity of 110 of the 128-strong draw. The remaining 18 will be made up of qualifiers and wildcards.
Defending champion Angelique Kerber will be joined by all her principal title rivals, including Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova. The cut-off this year was No.107, with Patricia Maria Tig claiming the last berth.
Also Melbourne-bound will be Luksika Kumkhum and Lizette Cabrera, who have been awarded the first two wildcards.
Australian teenager Cabrera, who will be making her Grand Slam debut, made great strides in 2016, winning two ITF Circuit titles and rising nearly 800 places in the rankings. “It’s amazing news and a pretty surreal feeling. To be honest I’m probably still in a bit of shock, but I’m super excited to start playing,” Cabrera said. “I think if I’m playing my best tennis you can always match it with any girls inside the top 100, so I want to try and win as many matches as I can which will hopefully help me play in more WTA tournaments in the future.”
Kumkhum, meanwhile, earned her spot by triumphing over Chang Kai-Chen in the final of the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off. An ever-present at the Australian Open since 2013, Kumkhum, who upset Petra Kvitova several years back, is eagerly anticipating her return.
“I actually have played in the Australian Open since juniors,” she said. “And I don’t know why, I really like playing there in Melbourne, and had some good results too.
“I feel like at home every time being there, not far from Bangkok, the weather and everything, I think if someone gets used to hot weather, they will like Melbourne too.”
BRISBANE, Australia – Simona Halep met the press at All Access Hour at the Brisbane International on Monday, and one of the hot topics was her potential opening match against Victoria Azarenka.
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A few hours later, Azarenka turned potential into reality with an impressive win over Elena Vesnina.
“It’s very tough,” Halep told reporters. “I think it will be a nice match. It will be very hard. It will be a big challenge for me. I played against her at the US Open, so I’m looking forward to playing against her again in Brisbane to see how well I can play in that match, in my first match of the new year.
“I’m looking forward to starting this year. I know it won’t be easy, though, because the first match of the year is always difficult mentally as well as physically, and I haven’t played since Singapore.”
That US Open match, a quarterfinal, was one of the matches of the tournament, with both WTA stars littering the stats sheet with winners – Halep finished with a beefy 40 winners to 19 unforced errors.
The Romanian eventually rallied from 2-0 in the third set to edge the Belarusian, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“I remember that the rain helped me – I cannot forget that,” Halep recalled, referring to a rain delay as she served at 1-2, 40-15 in the third set. “It was a good point that the rain came and we stopped the match, because I was getting too nervous in the third set and I couldn’t manage the emotions.
“But she’s very strong. She’s hitting the ball strong. And she doesn’t give up. I have some good experience against her. She beat me in the past, and I beat her, so it’s good timing to play again.
“I need strong matches and strong opponents to be ready for the Grand Slams.”
Speaking of strong opponents, Halep was also asked about her chief rival – Serena Williams – who is competing in Hopman Cup this week. The World No.1 had to withdraw from her first match, however.
“I didn’t know she withdrew,” Halep said. “But, you know, she’s strong. I know that she can come and play good tennis as always. She’s prepared for that. She has the experience and knows how to manage all the situations. She’s the best player in the world. I just have to relax when I play her.
“But I believe players from the Top 10 can beat her. Many players are playing really good tennis right now. Muguruza as well, and I think I can say Bouchard will come back because she has the game, and she knows how to play in the top, because she was there. So it will be an interesting year, I think.”
Halep and Azarenka are scheduled to play their second round match in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Azarenka leads Halep in their overall head-to-head, 2-1, and is looking forward to the duel too.
“I think it’s going to be a very good test for me,” the former World No.1 said. “In general playing against top players, you always put yourself in a situation where you have got to push yourself.
“To be the best you’ve got to beat the best, so I’m looking forward to that match.”
Johanna Konta has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Bank of the West Classic.
An interview with Belinda Bencic after her first round win at the Brisbane International.
A preview of the Bank of the West Classic final between Venus Williams and Johanna Konta.
World No.1 Serena Williams was forced to cut short her first match of the season, retiring down a set at the US Hopman Cup match against Australia.
An interview with Sam Stosur after her win in the first round of the Rogers Cup.