Tennis News

BRISBANE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka wasted little time getting her 2016 season up and running with a brisk win over Elena Vesnina in the first round of the Brisbane International.

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In a merciless display, former champion Azarenka broke six times to wrap up a 6-2, 6-0 win and set up an intriguing second round meeting with top seed Simona Halep.

The previous meeting between the two came at last year’s US Open. On that occasion Halep came out on top in three thrilling sets and she is expecting another stern examination from the former World No.1

“Very tough. Yeah, I’m looking forward to start this year. I’m excited. I know that that’s not easy, because every time the first match of the year is difficult mentally as well and physically,” Halep said.

“It will be a nice match I think. Will be very hard and a big challenge for me. Again, I played against her in US Open, so I’m looking forward to play against her and to see how good I can play in the first match of the year.”

Vesnina, who had to come through three rounds of qualifying to secure her first round berth, started brightly enough, a couple of smart winners helping her break to love in the second game. This, however, would be the last time she troubled the scoreboard.

She was not able to hang onto this lead for long, Azarenka flicking an angled backhand to hit back immediately. From this point she moved through the gears effortlessly, barely putting a foot wrong over the next hour, threading one final backhand past Vesnina to add the final flourish to a near immaculate display.

The statistics as well as the scoreline made pleasant reading, the Belarusian complementing an impressive serving display – she struck four aces and a healthy 74% first serve percentage – with a typically polished display from the baseline, producing 22 winners and just seven unforced errors.

“I was happy to be on the court. It’s been a while since I’ve been out there playing an actual match. It’s been a lot of practice, so I was just happy to go out there and play and be in front of the crowd and just compete,” Azarenka said. “So I was happy to be able to do that and play well.”

When younger sister Serena beat her in the final of the Australian Open, Venus Williams was quick to praise her.

“Your win has always been my win and I think you know that, and all the times I couldn’t be there, wouldn’t be there or didn’t get there, you were there,” the 36-year-old said. “I’m enormously proud of you – you mean the world to me.”

Now in a new interview she’s emphasised that – saying that Serena is one of her heroes.

Asked by Citizens of Humanity about the people she most admires, Venus answered: “Definitely my mom and my dad, and Serena is a huge hero for me. I think all my heroes are close to home, because those are the ones that motivated me through the tough times.”

She added: “The best advice [Serena] ever gave me in terms of tennis or even life is, you have to show up, so why not compete? You have to be there. You can’t run away from it, so why not compete? That was the best advice ever. I try to apply that daily.”

On her legacy, the seven-time Slam winner said: “I’m definitely a very in-the-moment person, so I would just like to be remembered as a person who loved the game and gave back to the game and gave back to life.”

It’s the first podcast of the brand new season!

On Episode 12 we ring in the 2016 season at the first Premier tournament of the season at the Brisbane International, and take a quick look at what’s on tap at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, and the Shenzhen Open. I also sit down for a catch up with a very relaxed Simona Halep before she begins her 2016 season with a new coach in Darren Cahill and new outlook on life. Finally, the last time I spoke with Andrea Petkovic she was in tears in Zhuhai, genuinely questioning whether it was time to walk away from tennis. Now we sit down in Brisbane to get an update on how she rekindled her passion during the off-season.

“I still love tennis, the raw essence of the sport,” Petkovic said. “I may not always be in love with the world around it, but I love the essence, and that’s why I picked it up. It was me who made the choice; nobody pushed me into becoming a professional tennis player. So, I sort of made my peace with that.”

Hear more about Petkovic’s reconciliation and Halep’s new attitude:

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app of your choice and reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.