Tennis News

SYDNEY, Australia – No.8 seed Belinda Bencic survived a second set hiccup against 2015 Australian Open semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4, to reach her first semifinal at the Apia International Sydney.

Bencic, who won her first two WTA titles last season at the Aegon International Eastbourne and Rogers Cup, displayed some of her now patented efficiency in the opening set, dropping just 12 points against the Russian, who is playing just her second tournament since cutting her season short due to a lower leg injury. Rallying to force a decider, Makarova exchanged breaks with Bencic but the Swiss Miss proved too tough when it counted, converting two of her three break point opportunities to clinch victory in under two hours.

“We were very even with the level in the third set so it was a close match,” Bencic said in her post-match press conference. “Then it was about who gets more nervous and stays more mentally tough. So, I’m happy I won.”

Looking for her first Sydney final ahead of the Australian Open, Bencic plays a resurgent Monica Puig, who beat hometown favorite Sam Stosur for the first time in her career, 6-4, 6-4, to reach her first Premier semifinal.

“It’s a very important win for me, coming through three rounds of quallies and obviously coming through in the main,” Puig admitted after the win. “I’ve lost to her before, so it was a pretty big win for me today considering the amount of times I played her.”

Puig made waves back in 2013 when she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon, but has struggled for consistency since.

“I’m just trying to enjoy every single moment I’m out on the court. Rule number one for me this season is just to have fun out there. I get to play tennis for a living, and that’s pretty cool.”

Earlier in the day, Sara Errani looked in complete control against Svetlana Kuznetsova when the Italian opened up a 5-1 lead to start their quarterfinal encounter. Kuznetsova, a former No.2 and two-time major champion, caught fire from there, losing just one more game to oust Errani, 7-6(1), 6-0.

Always a character in press, the enigmatic Russian traced back her run of good form back to a last minute decision to play her home tournament at the Kremlin Cup.

“Moscow got my confidence going at the end of the year. I still remember the feeling playing good and comfortable against players on the court, but I didn’t even want to play Moscow. I was in China three, four weeks. I was just like, ‘Oh, my God. I can’t wait for this season to be over.’

“But then I came back home and I was like, ‘Okay, it’s one of my favorite events. I would like to play it.’ At the last moment, I decide, ‘Okay, I’ll play.’

“Then when I get there, it was like win and win and win. When I won the tournament, they offered me to go to Zhuhai to play. I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll go to Zhuhai.’ So in end of year I was just going with the flow.

“Whatever way the wind was blowing I was going.”

Kuznetsova will nonetheless have her hands full in the semifinals, where she plays current World No.2 Simona Halep, who opened the day with a two-set win over Karolina Pliskova.

MELBOURNE, Australia – On Friday, USANA & the WTA “celebrated” in Melbourne to a crowd of over 1,100 Associates – up a few hundred Associates from last year – at USANA Australia Celebration. Hometown favorite and 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur was joined by fellow USANA players Sloane Stephens and Zheng Saisai.

As part of a three-day event taking place at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, Stosur participated in an autograph session with the Associates, while Stephens and Zheng were on stage to speak about their career, motivations, and how USANA supplements have aided them in their athletic endeavors.

USANA is the Official Vitamin & Supplement Supplier of the WTA, and over 170 Athletes – including 8 out of the Top 10 and 15 out of the Top 20 use USANA products. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, Genie Bouchard, and Madison Keys are among several USANA ambassadors, and 2016 marks the 10th Anniversary of the USANA-WTA partnership.

Check out some photos from the celebratory event:

All photos courtesy of USANA.

The Winners:

Svetlana Kuznetsova had to pull double duty to win the Premier-level Apia International Sydney. She scored her biggest win in six and a half years against Simona Halep in a rain-delayed semifinal, then turned right around to play a near-flawless final against Puerto Rican qualifier Monica Puig. Kuznetsova needed just 55 minutes to win 6-0, 6-2 and pick up her 16^th WTA title.

“It’s great. I mean, honestly, I didn’t expect this, but I’ve also never gone into a tournament thinking about winning, never even once,” Kuznetsova said after the match. “I just went out there and performed, and everything went my way. Now I just want to keep focused for the Australian Open.”

The full story – here.

Alizé Cornet dropped only three games in the final of the Hobart International against a resurgent Eugenie Bouchard to win her first title in nearly two years, 6-1, 6-2.

“I was very focused for the whole tournament and the whole match today, and now I can let go!” Cornet told press after the match. “To start the year this way, it’s the best.”

The full story – here.

Game, Set Match: WTA Insider

Game: Svetlana Kuznetsova roars into the Australian Open.

The Russian has been vocal about the current depth of the women’s game. Earlier in her career she could count on easy early rounds at tournaments, which suited her style. “I’m not scared of anybody,” she said at the Sydney International. “I just need matches under my belt.” But with the depth of the current game, Kuznetsova says it’s far more difficult to play yourself into form.

So it bodes well for the two-time major champion that she got better and better during her title run in Sydney, which culminated in a 6-0, 6-2 win over Monica Puig. Mercurial and unpredictable, it’s hard to know if Kuznetsova will be able to carry her momentum into the Australian Open. But having been drawn into the Serena Williams/Maria Sharapova quarter, Kuznetsova has the quality to play the spoiler.

Set: How Patrick Mouratoglou helped Alizé Cornet get back on track.

Cornet dropped just one set en route to the Hobart International title. In this week’s Champion’s Corner, Cornet talked about the elusive nature of confidence, and how a post-US Open chat with Mouratoglou turned things around.

The full story – here.

Match: The many faces of Victoria Azarenka

Expect to see a lot of Azarenka this year. She’s already shown signs of a strong uptick in her level of play, but Azarenka is already writing a regular column for Sports Illustrated and directed a video. As Azarenka told me in Brisbane: “You’ll be learning a lot more about me this year.”

The full story – here.

Ranking Movers:

Notable singles ranking movers for the week of January 18, 2015..

Monica Puig (PUR), +42 (No.94 to 52): Puig reached the first Premier final of her career in Sydney and made the biggest ranking jump of anyone in the Top 100, improving 42 spots to reach No.52.

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN), +10, (No.47 to 37): Bouchard’s consistent results continued at the Hobart International, where she reached her first final since 2014.

Alizé Cornet (FRA), +9 (No.42 to 33): Cornet won her first title since 2014 at the Hobart International, an International-level event, and improved her ranking to No.33.

Kiki Bertens (NED), +8 (No.103 to 95): Bertens went from the qualifiers all the way to the Hobart International quarterfinals and broke into the Top 100 this week.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS), +5 (No.25 to 20): The two-time Grand Slam champion captured the Premier-level title at the Apia International Sydney and as a result she is back into the Top 20.

Upcoming Tournaments:

Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia
Grand Slam | $14,835,728 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, January 18 – Sunday, January 31, 2016

Top 20 Player Schedules:

1. Serena Williams – Australian Open
2. Simona Halep – Australian Open
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – Australian Open
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Australian Open
5. Maria Sharapova – Australian Open
6. Angelique Kerber – Australian Open
7. Petra Kvitova – Australian Open
8. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
9. Lucie Safarova – (not competing – viral illness)
10. Venus Williams – Australian Open, Kaohsiung
11. Carla Suárez Navarro – Australian Open
12. Karolina Pliskova – Australian Open
13. Belinda Bencic – Australian Open, St Petersburg
14. Timea Bacsinszky – Australian Open
15. Roberta Vinci – Australian Open, St Petersburg
16. Victoria Azarenka – Australian Open
17. Madison Keys – Australian Open
18. Caroline Wozniacki – Australian Open
19. Sara Errani – Australian Open
20. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Australian Open

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:

Angelique Kerber (GER) – January 18, 1988
Anastasiya Vasylyeva (UKR) – January 18, 1992
Petra Martic (CRO) – January 19, 1991
Petra Rampre (SLO) – January 20, 1980
Polona Hercog (SLO) – January 20, 1991
Monique Adamczak (AUS) – January 21, 1983
Shuai Zhang (CHN) – January 21, 1989
Veronica Cepede Royg (PAR) – January 21, 1992
Laura Robson (GBR) – January 21, 1994
Alizé Cornet (FRA) – January 22, 1990

MELBOURNE, Australia – World No.133 Zhang Shuai played the best tennis of her career to dismantle No.2 seed Simona Halep on Margaret Court Arena, 6-4, 6-3, in 78 minutes.

The Chinese veteran first came to prominence in 2009 when she became the lowest ranked player to defeat a reigning World No.1 – Dinara Safina at the China Open – but the 26-year-old had never won a Grand Slam match in 14 previous attempts.

Against Halep, Zhang displayed stunning form from the outset, hitting 31 winners and racing out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set before breaking serve in the 10th game to take the early lead.

Though the Romanian appeared to right the ship early in the second, Zhang weathered the storm and remained aggressive to win the last five games of the match to reach the second round.

“Thank you to everyone for supporting me,” a speechless Zhang said in her on-court interview.

“I think today is the best moment.”

For the former French Open finalist, the loss marked another abrupt end to an Australian Open campaign, having lost in back-to-back quarterfinals in straight sets. It is also her earliest exit from a hardcourt major tournament since the 2013 Australian Open, where she also lost in the first round.

Zhang will next play Hobart International champion Alizé Cornet; the Frenchwoman has dropped just six games in her last three matches – including a 6-1, 6-2 win over Eugenie Bouchard in the final of Hobart – and was equally ruthless to open her Australian Open against Bojana Jovanovski, winning, 6-1, 6-0.