Hobart: Elise Mertens vs Monica Niculescu
Elise Mertens takes on Monica Niculescu in the final at the Hobart International.
Elise Mertens takes on Monica Niculescu in the final at the Hobart International.
How does Agnieszka Radwanska fare in this latest edition of the WTA Frame Challenge?
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)
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.
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.
Alison Riske takes on Zhang Shuai in the second round of the Australian Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Jamiee Fourlis in the second round of the Australian Open.
Carla Suárez Navarro will be away from the competition for a few weeks nursing a right shoulder injury, the Spaniard announced in a Facebook message to her fans.
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.2 seed Serena Williams put together some high-quality tennis against Lucie Safarova to make her way to the third round and avoid the upset bug sweeping through the Australian Open on Thursday night.
Even to her own high standards, her 6-3, 6-4 victory in the pair’s rematch of their French Open final was impressive, which explains why Serena didn’t have much patience for anyone finding fault in her performance.
Case in point, here’s an exchange between the six-time Australian Open champion and a reporter at her post-match press conference:
Q. Looked a little bit of a scrappy performance. A few more unforced errors, a few double-faults.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think that’s a very negative thing to say. Are you serious?
Q. Just my observation.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, you should have been out there. That wasn’t very kind. You should apologize. Do you want to apologize?
Q. I do. I’m sorry.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Thank you very much. That was a great performance. I played well. She’s a former Top 10 player. The last time we played together was in the finals of a Grand Slam.
You know, it’s not an easy match. She’s a really good player. You have to go for more, which obviously makes a few more errors.
So, yeah, I think it was overall a really good match, on both of our ends.
Moral of the story: Don’t tell Serena Williams she played badly. Especially when she played great.
PARIS, France – Look at the current WTA Top 30. Scan the list. Then pick the player with whom you’re the least familiar. Chances are, it’s No.28 Irina-Camelia Begu.
That could change over the course of this Paris fortnight. Begu is floating in Garbiñe Muguruza’s quarter of the draw and plays CoCo Vandeweghe in the second round at Roland Garros on Wednesday. Two of her four wins over Top 10 players have come in this month alone; if that form holds, she’ll be into the second week in Paris for the first time in her career.
The 25-year-old Romanian may not have the results of Simona Halep, the prodigious history of Sorana Cirstea, or the unique game-style of Monica Niculescu that makes you sit up and take notice. But heading into Roland Garros this year, no player on tour has posted more consistent results than Begu. After marking the fourth round of the Miami Open, she followed it up with a quarterfinal run at the Volvo Car Open, quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open, and capped it all off with her career-best result, the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams.
Having reached a career-high ranking at No.25 last year, Begu looks well on her way towards besting that number in what is shaping up to be a career year. It’s quite a turnaround considering her 2016 took a major blow right when it started. Begu injured ligaments in her knee in her first tournament of the season at the Shenzhen Open, where she was forced to retire in the second round.
“I was upset,” Begu told WTA Insider. “I was working really hard in the off-season and the first tournament I got injured. It was a really difficult moment for me.
“I didn’t practice for four weeks and I started slowly. It’s tough because in four weeks you lose your muscles and the first few days I couldn’t walk. It was tough but when you go back on court you try and enjoy every moment, because you never know when something like this is coming.”
Begu returned to the tour in March at the BNP Paribas Open; in her third tournament back she made the Round of 16 in Miami.
“In Indian Wells and San Antonio I didn’t play my best,” Begu said. “I was just trying to get confident back on court. But in Miami I was fighting for every ball. It doesn’t matter if I was feeling bad or if I had some problems. I was trying to fight for every ball. When you’re working hard everything is coming back.”
Once the tour moved to clay, her favorite surface, Begu flourished. After a bit of a sputter in Rabat, taking a 6-3, 6-4 loss to No.139 Richel Hogenkamp, Begu quickly got on track.
“After Rabat, I played so bad in that match and I was so disappointed with my attitude I had with my game,” Begu said. “One day I was only thinking about the match and what I did wrong and I was so disappointed with me. My coach was helping me a lot that day because I was so down. He was trying to help me to get through the moment and I went to Madrid and I was practicing so hard. He said to me if I work hard again and just be confident, the results will come again.”
Sure enough, the results did. She’s since scored wins over No.4 Garbiñe Muguruza and No.5 Victoria Azarenka. She admits her quick success after injury has been a surprise.
“Even if you feel good on the surface there’s so many tough players and every round is difficult,” she said. “It’s not like I feel so good on clay and I can beat everyone. No, I have to work for every match. I feel confident, but still I have to work for every match.”
Quick Hits with Irina-Camelia Begu…
WTA Insider: How did you first start playing tennis?
Begu: I was three-and-a-half years old and my aunt was a tennis coach and tennis player, Aurelia Gheorghe (playing for Germany, Gheorghe reached a career-high No.326 in 1989). I went with her to the practice and I was just [picking up] the balls. Then I started to pick up the racquet. It was funny in the beginning. The racquet was bigger than me.
When I was seven years old, when I started the real practice in Romania, my family and my aunt told me you only play if you want. You don’t need to play for us. I was so motivated. I really enjoy playing tennis. I still do. It’s a job and sometimes you want to sleep more, but still I enjoy it so much.
WTA Insider: When did you realize you might be able to make a living as a tennis player?
Begu: Maybe when I was 14. I was winning tournaments when I was 10 years old, but you never know what is happening. Tennis is an expensive sport and you have to play more tournaments, and it’s expensive.
When I was 14 I played the European Championships in Armenia and I made the semifinals and final, and then I start to think a bit that I can be a good tennis player. After, they picked eight girls and eight boys and the ITF made a one-month tour with these players. It was really nice for me. It was a really nice experience.
WTA Insider: Do you remember any of the other players who were on that ITF tour with you?
Begu: Grigor Dimitrov and Ricardas Berankis, I remember.
WTA Insider: What’s your favorite tournament?
Begu: I cannot say only one tournament. So I think Indian Wells, Rome, and Acapulco.
WTA Insider: What’s your favorite shot?
Begu: Backhand down the line.
WTA Insider: Favorite surface?
Begu: Clay.
WTA Insider: Where is your favorite place for a holiday?
Begu: I love the Maldives. It’s amazing. For me there’s nothing better than the Maldives.
WTA Insider: Do you prefer TV or movies?
I watch TV only when it’s tennis. I have a lot of movies on my laptop.
WTA Insider: Who do you like to watch when you’re watching tennis on TV?
Begu: I love Federer and I admire a lot Rafa. These are the two players I really enjoy when they are playing.
WTA Insider: What do you do to take your mind off tennis?
Begu: When I’m at home I really enjoy being in my kitchen and being in my house. I love being there. I go to the theater, I go to watch some movies at the cinema, go with some friends outside. I’m not so long at home, but when I am at home I like to do these things.
WTA Insider: Which of the four Slams would you like to win the most?
Begu: Australian Open.
WTA Insider: Really? Not Roland Garros?
Begu: It’s strange, no? I like clay court, but Australian Open is my favorite Grand Slam. The conditions and the organization is so good there. They make us feel so good there. Maybe it’s also because it’s the first tournament of the year. It’s nice.
WTA Insider: What’s your first memory of playing Roland Garros?
Begu: I was playing in qualies when I was 18 or 19 and I lost in the last round 6-4 in the third. It was tough. I was a bit disappointed but at the same time I was happy I could reach the third round of qualies.
WTA Insider: What’s the best win of your career so far?
Begu: This year, beating Azarenka in Rome.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.