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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – No.1 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic put together a dominant performance in their first match of 2017 to move into the second round of the Australian Open.

Despite not playing together since their heartbreaking defeat in last year’s Fed Cup final, the French duo showed no signs of rust and cruised past Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh 6-1, 6-2.

Garcia and Mladenovic have a shot at becoming co-No.1s in doubles at the end of this fortnight, and they definitely played like it as they comfortably broke twice to climb ahead to a 4-1 lead. Bencic’s backhand caught the net time and time again, giving the French duo plenty of free points.

Bencic and Konjuh finally got on the board with a strong Bencic service game, but it didn’t make a dent in the French team’s momentum and they served out the opening set with ease. Another pair of back-to-back breaks of serve gave Garcia and Mladenovic their first victory of 2017 after just 47 minutes.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Also through to the second round are the No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova. They survived a late wobble to advance 6-1, 7-5 over Nicole Gibbs and Chuang Chia-Jung.

Currently the World No.1 doubles player, Mattek-Sands is likely breathing a sigh of relief, as her and Safarova’s road to the final has cleared up considerably following the withdrawal of potential third-round opponents Venus Williams and Serena Williams.

“I was hoping to have the capacity to play both events here, but at this point I just need to be careful and just try to maintain myself,” said Venus, citing an elbow injury.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams breezed into the second week Down Under, defeating countrywoman Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 6-3.

“I feel like I have been able to do pretty good,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I have been doing the things I have been doing in practice, and hopefully I can build up on this.

“That’s all I want to do.”

While Serena was celebrating her 19th anniversary of the first time she played on Rod Laver Arena (1998, against sister Venus), Gibbs was not only making her debut on Melbourne’s biggest court, but she was also in the midst of a career-best result Down Under – knocking out No.25 seed Timea Babos and Irina Falconi earlier this week.

The former World No.1 came into Saturday’s match well-tested with wins over a pair of former Top 10 players in Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova, and was in imperious form from start to finish.

“I was so pumped up going against my first two opponents, but I think that helped me out today. She started out really, really well, with a lot of energy.”

Hitting 17 winners and four aces during the 63 minute match, Serena came to net 13 times, winning 12 of those points. Though she was broken in her first attempt serving for the match, the experienced American booked her spot in the next round shortly thereafter, reaching the second week in her last nine appearances in Australia.

Looming in the next round is No.16 seed, Czech veteran Barbora Strycova.

“I have seen her play a lot. She’s always playing. Venus has played her a few times. I saw her play in Sydney. She’s super fit. She has a good game. She’s very aggressive, so that would be nice to play.

“I don’t have anything to prove in this tournament here. Just, you know, doing the best I can.

“Obviously I’m here for one reason. But at the end of the day, this is all bonus for me and I look forward to playing her. I’m ready for her.”

The 2016 Fed Cup heroine won a string of points in the second set of her match against No.21 seed Caroline Garcia, recovering from a 5-3 deficit to win, 6-2, 7-5.

“I won like 16 points from losing 3-5, 15-40,” Strycova said in her post-match press conference. “I didn’t even count and my coach told me so. I was kind of in a zone, so I was very happy about my performance.

“If it’s Serena, I’m looking forward to that match. That’s why you train. That’s why you work hard, to play these matches on these stages and against the best one.”

After beating Garcia, Strycova played an interesting guessing game up in the Twitter Blue Room, guessing the identity of several tennis-themed stuffed animals:

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza moved confidently into her first Australian Open quarterfinal with a straight-set win over Sorana Cirstea on Sunday.

Breaks at the start of both sets sent Muguruza on her way to a 6-2, 6-3 win and a meeting against CoCo Vandeweghe.

Muguruza fell at the last 16 in both 2014 and 2015, but never looked in danger of suffering another disappointment, making light of her ongoing leg injury to strike 18 winners in little over an hour on court.

The ups and downs of previous rounds were conspicuous by their absence as the Spaniard hit the front early and rode this momentum all the way to the finishing line.

“I am very happy. I went through the match very concentrated, looking to play positively,” Muguruza said. “Was an important match for me. A couple of times in the last three years, I’ve lost in this round. Was the first time I go through. I’m in the quarterfinals. So I’m very excited about that, and I’m still excited!”

Garbine Muguruza

Muguruza is arguably playing her best tennis since winning Roland Garros last spring. But with the World No.1’s conqueror up next, she insists a repeat result is still some way off: “I think it’s a very different surface. It’s already a long time since that tournament. I feel that’s very far away. Honestly, I would not compare the level.

“I’ve played CoCo a couple of times. It’s 1-1 head-to-head. She’s a tricky player. She has a lot of power, full shots, serve, everything. She can play very well.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – The second week continues at the Australian Open. On Day 8, can No.2 seed Serena Williams and No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova book two of the four remaining spots in the quarterfinals?

We preview all the day’s biggest matchups right here on wtatennis.com.

Monday, Fourth Round

[2] Serena Williams (USA #2) vs [16] Barbora Strycova (CZE #16)
Head-to-head: Serena leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Neither Serena nor Strycova have dropped a set en route to the second week.

Serena Williams saw her hopes of reclaiming World No.1 brighten when defending champion Angelique Kerber went out at the hands of CoCo Vandeweghe on Sunday. But before she can think of returning to the top of the WTA rankings, she’ll have to get past a fiery veteran in Barbora Strycova, who is in the fourth round of the Australian Open for a second straight year.

Strycova roared back from a 5-3 deficit in the second set, and will be looking to pull of the biggest upset of her career in her first encounter with the 22-time Grand Slam champion since 2012.

Serena has already dispatched former Top 10 players Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova along the way; can she continue to improve as Grand Slam No.23 draws closer?

[5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #5) vs [22] Daria Gavrilova (AUS #26)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Pliskova is aiming for her second straight (and second career) Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Brisbane International champion Karolina Pliskova remains undefeated for the season, and takes on another young hopeful in Daria Gavrilova. The Aussie reached the fourth round Down Under for the second year in a row, winning a three-set thriller of her own against Timea Bacsinszky.

Pliskova showed few signs of vulnerability in her first two rounds, but found herself on the brink of defeat against Latvian youngster Jelena Ostapenko, who served for the match in the final set. Fresh off an early pick for best match of 2017, the No.5 seed is back in the second week of a major tournament and will look to widen her head-to-head advantage against Gavrilova, against whom she’s never dropped a set.

The 22-year-old has tended to save her best tennis for her adopted home soil; can she stun Pliskova and earn a career-best Grand Slam result?

Around the Grounds…

No.9 seed Johanna Konta renews her rivalry with No.30 seed Ekaterina Makarova, who pushed the Brit to an 8-6 final set at this very tournament one year ago. A battle of underdogs completes the fourth round line-up as qualifier Jennifer Brady takes on ageless wonder Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who earned her best-ever result at the Australian Open at 34 years old.

The doubles tounament also continues in Melbourne, with No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova taking on Apia International Sydney champs Timea Babos and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic face No.13 seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Zheng Saisai in the third round.

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