Sydney: Thursday Highlights
Highlights from the semifinals action on Day 5 of the Apia International Sydney.
Highlights from the semifinals action on Day 5 of the Apia International Sydney.
How have Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and the rest of the Top 16 seeds fared at the year’s first Grand Slam?
An interview with Shelby Rogers after her win in the first round of the Australian Open.
Britain’s No.1 Johanna Konta fought through a tricky opening match against Kirsten Flipkens to move into the second round of the Australian Open.
Angelique Kerber takes on Carina Witthoeft in the second round of the Australian Open.
Watch Dominika Cibulkova’s practice session at the Australian Open.
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.”
On RLA now #Serena fighting for a place in the 4R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/HMb4sxOs5r
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
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.”
The 4R awaits @serenawilliams at the #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/1kOSJ3t2lF
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
After beating Garcia, Strycova played an interesting guessing game up in the Twitter Blue Room, guessing the identity of several tennis-themed stuffed animals:
.@BaraStrycova joins us in the Twitter Blue Room #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/oCew6EvCkP
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
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.
CoCo Vandeweghe discusses the importance of listening to different voices – from parents to various coaches – throughout her career during a press conference at the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.2 seeds Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig overcame a stern test from the unseeded Gabriela Dabrowski and Rohan Bopanna to move into the semifinals of the mixed doubles competition at the Australian Open.
Mirza and Dodig needed one hour and seven minutes to complete the 6-4, 3-6, (12-10) victory despite hitting 19 winners to Dabrowski and Bopanna’s 32.
It was an interesting match for Mirza in particular, as the last time she shared a court with Bopanna they were on the same side of the net at the Olympic tennis event in Rio representing India in doubles. They finished fourth in the competition after losing the bronze medal match.
Up next for Mirza and Dodig will be a potential clash with another familiar pair of faces for the Indian World No.2, as they’ll take on either Mirza’s former doubles partner Martina Hingis and fellow Indian star Leander Paes or the Aussie duo Samantha Stosur and Sam Groth.
Also through to the semifinals are the unseeded duo of Abigail Spears and Juan Sebastian Cabal, who defeated Michaella Krajicek and Raven Klaasen, 6-4 6-3. They’ll face the winners between the top-seeded Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Mike Bryan or Elina Svitolina and Chris Guccione.