Tennis News

MELBOURNE, Australia – Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka continued her incredible start to her 2016 title campaign, notching a swift win over Montenegrin player Danka Kovinic to advance to the third round.

Azarenka needed barely an hour to cruise past Kovinic 6-1, 6-2. The Belorussian has yet to lose a set in 2016 – in fact, she has only dropped 20 games all year, and only three so far in the tournament.

“I really don’t count the games,” Azarenka said after the match. “What really works for me is to stay in the moment. I enjoy my time on the court and play every point like it’s my last.

“I just want to enjoy the journey. Right now I just can’t wait to be out here again.”

Her new outlook is paying dividends: the No.14 seed hit only nine unforced errors to Kovinic’s 22, and blasted 19 winners, including a huge around-the-post forehand winner.

“I played really well, especially in the beginning,” Azarenka said. “I just tried to just create opportunities and not let her dictate the points.”

Up next, Azarenka is set to face the unseeded Japanese 18-year old Naomi Osaka, who won 6-4, 6-4 in an upset over No.18-seeded Elina Svitolina.

“I never feel pressure from playing someone that’s supposed to be like better than me, sort of,” Osaka told the press of playing No.14 seed Azarenka. “I’m just going to go in there happy and hopefully try to pull off an upset.”

Osaka is into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, previously never having advanced past qualifying. Last season at the WTA Finals in Singapore, Osaka announced herself as a young talent to watch by taking home the title at the WTA Rising Stars Invitational.

It’s time to vote for January’s WTA Player of the Month!

Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, February 8.

January 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists

Angelique Kerber: As the No.7 seed, Kerber stunned the tennis world by defeating both pre-tournament favorites in Victoria Azarenka and World No.1 Serena Williams to capture her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Kerber faced a match point in her first round against Misaki Doi, and after having – in her words – “one foot on the plane back to Germany,” Kerber played with renewed confidence through the first week. Facing Azarenka in the quarterfinals, the German turned around a 0-6 head-to-head and won five straight games to dismiss the Brisbane International champion and two-time Australian Open winner in straight sets. Seeing off surprise semifinalist Johanna Konta to reach her first major final, Kerber played stellar tennis and held her nerve against Williams, stopping her from tying countrywoman Steffi Graf’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles. Her win takes her to a new career-high ranking of No.2 and puts her at the top spot on the Road to Singapore standings.

Serena Williams: Entering the Australian Open under an injury cloud, Williams erased all doubts as to her form her first match in Melbourne, racing into the final without dropping a set. Her semifinal against No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska was particularly dominant; the World No.1 needed only 20 minutes to win the opening set over the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion, going on to hit 42 winners to just 18 errors in the two-set match. Though she fell to Kerber in the final, the American remains just one major away from tying Graf’s Open Era record for most Grand Slam titles won, and is firmly behind Kerber at No.2 on the Road to Singapore standings.

Victoria Azarenka: Azarenka began the season hoping to make 2016 her comeback year. Looking in impeccable shape, she romped through the Brisbane International draw, losing just four games to eventual Australian Open champion Kerber in the final. In Melbourne, she was equally dominant through the first week, tying the record for fewest games lost in her first three matches. Despite losing to Kerber in the quarterfinals, the Belarusian still had chances to level the match, serving for the second set at 5-2 and holding three set points at 40-0.

Agnieszka Radwanska: The WTA Finals champion has only lost one match in 2016, the Australian Open semifinal to Serena Williams. Radwanska began her year at the Shenzhen Open, where she won the title, and looked in solid form through five matches in Melbourne before running into a World No.1 playing some of her best tennis.

How it works:

Four finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

MELBOURNE, Australia – The first Grand Slam of the year is almost here as the Australian Open kicks off in Melbourne on Monday. The doubles draw is out, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands reunites with Lucie Safarova in hopes of defending her No.1 ranking against a trio of challengers.

But Serena Williams and Venus Williams threaten to blow the draw right open as they will take the court together to compete in doubles for the first time since the Olympic Games.

Click here to see the full singles and doubles draws.

POTENTIAL QUARTERFINALS:

[1] Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic vs [5] Martina Hingis / CoCo Vandeweghe
[3] Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina vs [7] Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova
[8] Vania King / Yaroslava Shvedova vs [4] Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova
[6] Chan Yung-Jan / Chan Hao-Ching vs [2] Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova

STORYLINES TO WATCH:

Garcia & Mladenovic are making their 2017 debut: The No.1 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are set to play together for the first time in 2017 at the Australian Open. The reigning French Open champions have always been adamant that their focus was on the singles competition, and at times seemed almost baffled by their continued doubles success. But the pair are back together for the first major of the year, and even have a shot at becoming co-No.1s.

“As we repeated well enough, we are singles players, our priority is singles,” Mladenovic told WTA Insider at the WTA Finals, where they reached the semifinals. “[But] even if we are singles players, just to be able to say that you’ve been No.1 in the world in doubles, is such a pride.”

The French team will play Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh in the first round.

The No.1 ranking could change hands again: Newly-crowned World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands has barely had time to savor her rise to the top before her ranking is back into play. Garcia, Mladenovic and Elena Vesnina all have a shot at becoming World No.1 by the end of the fortnight.

Of course, should Mattek-Sands and Safarova take home the Australian Open title, the ranking will stay with the American. But that’s easier said than done….

Serena Williams and Venus Williams join forces: Looming in Mattek-Sands and Safarova’s side of the draw are Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The veteran doubles team is joining forces for the first time since the Olympic tennis event, where they lost in the first round to Czech duo Safarova & Strycova. Between the two of them they’ve amassed 14 Grand Slam titles in doubles, making them a veritable threat in any major tournament.

Seeded No.15, they could potentially book a third-round clash with Mattek-Sands/Safarova, throwing a wrench in the works for Mattek-Sands’ defense of her newly-gained top ranking.

– Photos courtesy of Getty Images

MELBOURNE, Australia – Following the Saturday’s Australian Open final, the WTA has unveiled the first Road To Singapore leaderboard, with Angelique Kerber vaulting to the top.

The Road To Singapore is the year-long journey to the WTA’s crown jewel event, the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and Kerber, who just won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, has kicked off at No.1. Runner-up Serena Williams is in the No.2 position.

Defending WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska has launched a great start to her title defense – winning the Shenzhen Open and reaching the semifinal at the Australian Open to round out the top 3 on the Road to Singapore. How has winning the WTA Finals prepared Radwanska for continued success in 2016? Watch the video above to hear from the champion herself.

A pair of familiar faces sit atop the doubles leaderboard; the team of co-No.1s Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their third straight major title – along with titles at the Brisbane International and Apia International Sydney – to start the year at No.1. Australian Open finalists Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka are No.2.

The Top 8 singles and doubles players on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard will qualify for the $7 million 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Here’s who else is in the Top 8 of the first Road to Singapore leaderboard: