Tennis News

Angelique Kerber kicked off her 2016 season by picking up some silver hardware in Melbourne, winning her first major title at the Australian Open. Last month at Wimbledon she proved to everyone, including herself, that her Melbourne run was no fluke, making the final of yet another major tournament.

So can the German back it all up with some Olympic hardware? Absolutely.

Playing under the German flag has never been a problem for the World No.2. In her first Olympics in 2012 she was a win away from the medal round in London, losing in a tight two sets to top seed Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals. Since 2012, Kerber is 10-4 in Fed Cup, leading the Germans to the final in 2014, and has been Germany’s standard-bearer since her breakout season in 2012.

In Rio, she is aiming to become the first German to win a medal in tennis since Tommy Haas won silver in 2000, and the first German woman to win a tennis medal since Steffi Graf in 1992.

Kerber heads to Rio after a scratchy week at the Rogers Cup in Montréal. It speaks well to her quality and confidence that she was able to make the semifinals without playing anything near her best tennis. But she looked rusty and out of rhythm in Canada.

With the summer schedule accelerated due to the Olympics, Kerber did not get much rest after Wimbledon. She was back on court at the Ericsson Open in Bastad, where she eventually withdrew due to an elbow injury. The injury did not seem to bother her in Montréal, but the rust from being unable to train as hard as she might have liked for the hardcourt summer showed.

“I think the tournament was good for me because I have a lot of tough and close matches during this week,” Kerber said after losing in three sets to eventual champion Simona Halep in Montréal. “It was the first tournament on hardcourt again, so it’s good to have a lot of matches before going to Rio now, having a few matches under my belt.

“I’m actually feeling good. I take the positive things for the next week and looking forward to play the Olympics.”

Kerber was part of a small group of players who had to endure a series of delays and rerouted flights to get down to Rio earlier this week, finally landing on Wednesday. She’ll need to shake off the fatigue quickly and get back to work to improve her form over what we saw in Montréal. That may prove difficult given how hard it has been for players to get extended blocks of practice time on the courts in Rio.

Finally arrived in Rio !!! ? #longtrip #RoadToRio ?? pic.twitter.com/20jvaBAN5t

— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) August 3, 2016

Also looming after the Olympics are the Western & Southern Open and the US Open, both of which offer Kerber an opportunity to overtake Serena Williams for the No.1 ranking. It’s a milestone that is within her reach before Flushing, but for now the focus is on getting a medal for Germany.

“I think for the tennis player, the Grand Slams are, I think, the most important things,” Kerber said in Montréal, when asked how the Olympics stack up to the tour’s biggest tournaments. “Of course you are looking forward, like me, to playing the Olympics because it’s only [every] four years. It’s an honor to play for Germany. Of course, I will give everything to win the medal, doesn’t matter which one.

“It’s tough to compare because it’s a little bit different, but I’m happy that I already have a Slam,” she said with a big smile.

After six months of defying expectations, Kerber has rightfully earned the label of a medal favorite.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

SYDNEY, Australia – Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza extended their winning streak to 30 matches in a row by edging Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in the Apia International Sydney final.

Hingis and Mirza, who already went into the match with the longest winning streak since Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova in 1990 – they won 44 in a row – were down and out against No.3 seeds Garcia and Mladenovic, falling behind 6-1, 5-2 to one of the craftiest, hardest-hitting pairings out there.

But the No.1-seeded Hingis and Mirza fought back like they’ve done so many times, reeling off five games in a row to push it to a match tie-break, where they would finally end it, 1-6, 7-5, 10-5.

“It was definitely a great test, and against a great new team,” Hingis said afterwards. “They were playing together for the first time this week, and I think we’re going to see a lot more of them.

“We had to take our chances. You don’t see much light in a dark tunnel, but then we had one or two opportunities here and there, and with one little chance we were able to turn the match around.”

“At 6-1, 5-2 the only thing we could say to each other was that it was only one break,” Mirza added. “That’s the only positive you can find from a situation like that. We tried to hold our serve for 5-3 to give ourselves another chance, then we had a huge game at 5-3 and the momentum went in our favor.

“We’re really happy to win another tournament. We’re really happy with the way we fought.”

They now have 11 WTA doubles titles together: Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Wimbledon, US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and WTA Finals last year, now Brisbane and Sydney this year.

The Swiss-Indian partnership is also an incredible 11-1 together in WTA doubles finals.

And the icing on the cake? On Monday, Hingis is projected to join Mirza as co-World No.1 on the WTA Doubles Rankings. It will be Hingis’ first time at No.1 since the Indian Wells fortnight in 2000.

“I think it’s another chapter in my career, definitely,” Hingis said. “When Sania became No.1 in Charleston that was a huge stepping stone for her, and now for me, 16 years later, who would have thought I would have another opportunity to become No.1 again? It was a dream and now it’s reality.

“But I’ve felt we’re the No.1 team for a while now. It was just a question of time.”

“Ditto!” Mirza added with a laugh.

MELBOURNE, Australia – If you were a Top 10 player and survived the first two weeks of the season, well done. There were quite a few struck down by injury or illness.

One, of course, was Serena Williams.

A knee complaint hampered Williams at the Hopman Cup, but she says she’s feeling “great” ahead of the Australian Open.

The first week could tell us much about the state of Williams, who is chasing a 22nd Grand Slam title to equal Steffi Graf for the Open Era record.

First quarter: Serena’s tough start

On paper, it’s a tough start for Serena. She landed Camila Giorgi, who just missed out on a seeding ranked 35th. By now, many of you know that the rather diminutive Italian punches above her weight when it comes to ball striking: She’s indeed one of the hardest hitters on the tour.

And I repeat: She’s Italian.

Didn’t some Italian upset Williams at the U.S. Open? (It was, admittedly, a different type of player in Roberta Vinci.)  If Williams’ knee is less than 100 percent, players less potent than Giorgi could trouble the world No. 1, so this really should indicate where Williams is at. A fully healthy Williams or close to it and the 34-year-old should feed off Giorgi’s pace – not to mention create some of her own.

Two opponents who have troubled Williams in the past loom lower down in the quarter, Caroline Wozniacki, Belinda Bencic and Sydney winner Svetlana Kuznetsova . If the Dane, Williams’ great pal, doesn’t beat Williams, she always seems to take a set. Bencic stunned Williams last summer, with Kuznetsova and Williams going to three sets in all three of their Slam tussles.

One player who hasn’t bothered Williams much in the past is Maria Sharapova.
Should Williams be knocked out prior to the quarterfinals, Sharapova, especially, could prosper. But then, Sharapova has had her own injury problems. Sharapova and Bencic (a slow starter in 2015) could go head-to-head in the fourth round.

Prediction: Williams

Second quarter: Aga-Genie blockbuster?

A couple of things stand out in the second quarter. One is that eight qualifiers landed in the section. Yes, eight.

But the real eye-catcher is the potential second-round clash between Agnieszka Radwanska and Eugenie Bouchard. For both, it’s a pivotal time, but especially Radwanska.

Seeking that maiden Grand Slam crown, the Pole has as much momentum as anyone on the tour, having triumphed at the year-end championships and winning a warmup event in Shenzhen.  In Singapore in November, Radwanska became the first women’s player since Amelie Mauresmo in 2005 to grab the crown without yet being a Grand Slam champion. Mauresmo, though, won two the following season.
Radwanska would take one to begin with. Radwanska served extremely well in Shenzhen, striking nine aces in the final and coming up with good serves when in trouble. A continuation of that and she might make a deep run in Melbourne.

Then again, Bouchard could have something to say about that. The Canadian has started the season well, particularly in Hobart, and enters Melbourne as likely the most dangerous unseeded player. Vinci and Auckland winner Sloane Stephens are heading for a third-round clash, and with their different games, it would be a fascinating one to watch.

Farther down in the quarter, if Petra Kvitova faces Aussie Daria Gavrilova in the second round, that has upset written all over it. Kvitova has yet to see action this year. Gavrilova to encounter 2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova in the third round?

Prediction: Radwanska

Third quarter: Vika to maintain form?

Azarenka’s artistic side was there for all to see in a video she released – the Belorussian made it with her friends back home in Minsk – last week. For Azarenka, it’s all about maximising her brand in different ways, both inside and outside the court.  When it comes to her tennis, she can have no complaints. Hindered by a foot injury in 2014 and still not 100% last year, the two-time Aussie Open champ has looked very sharp to commence 2016. Not only did Azarenka win the title in Brisbane, but she did it without much fuss.

But are we reading too much into her success, since she didn’t have to face players such as Sharapova, Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza?

Azarenka could have a rematch with Samantha Crawford, the American who was the surprise of the tournament in Brisbane, in the second round and the first seed she could confront is Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. Svitolina made nice progress in 2015, but questions remain as to whether she can defeat top-10 players on a regular basis without a major weapon.

Muguruza, at No. 3, is actually the highest seed in the quarter. Foot troubles forced Muguruza to retire in Brisbane; lurking in the second round for the Wimbledon finalist is upset artist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. 

Up at the top of the quarter, if the seeds continue to win, it’s Angelique Kerber versus Timea Bacsinszky in the fourth round. The path to get there for the German and Swiss is gentle, though the latter has yet to rediscover her form of last year, perhaps due to the knee injury she sustained in October.

Prediction: Azarenka

Fourth quarter: Halep’s time?

Halep, working in tandem with coach Darren Cahill, is attempting to make changes to her game. We know the Romanian can counterpunch with the best of them – she perennially features on highlight-reels soaking up pressure – but the world No. 2 wants to become more aggressive and not simply rely on her stellar movement.

Unfortunately for Halep, a lingering Achilles injury has limited not only her match play but also practice time. Still, her fans will be encouraged by her performance in Sydney. It didn’t look good early for Halep, though she persevered and advanced to the semifinals. Halep, at times, was overpowered in 2015, and her quarter is stacked with yet more power players: Venus Williams, Karolina Pliskova, Ana Ivanovic, Sabine Lisicki, Madison Keys and Lesia Tsurenko.

Alize Cornet wouldn’t be classified as a power player but she knows how to oust big names at big tournaments, and the in-form Frenchwoman would no doubt relish the opportunity to take on Halep in round two. Tsurenko is the first seed Halep could battle and even if it’s not the Ukrainian, it might well be another dangerous foe in Varvara Lepchenko.

Venus Williams will hope Auckland was a minor blip after a terrific 2015. Her first round is interesting – the elder Williams sister plays one of the tour’s breakthrough performers in 2015, Johanna Konta.

Prediction: Venus Williams

Semifinals: Serena Williams, Azarenka

Winner: Azarenka

SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova wrote the final chapter of a fairytale season by upsetting World No.1 Angelique Kerber to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

– A subdued Serena Williams downplays injury concerns: The six-time Australian Open champion met with the press on Saturday hours after photos emerged of her under some possible physical distress during practice earlier in the morning. Serena dismissed any concerns.

“I’m at 120, 130 percent right now,” she said. “This week, the weeks leading up, [there] has been a lot of work.”

“I don’t have any inflammation anymore,” she said, when asked about the knee inflammation that disrupted her Hopman Cup participation. “It’s just that I needed some time to get over that little hump. Like I said, I’ve been doing a lot of, lot of, lot of training leading up to this.”

This year, four of the Top 6 seeds will go into the Australian Open without a completed match under their belt: Serena, Garbiñe Muguruza, Maria Sharapova, and Petra Kvitova. Serena insisted her preparation has been good. “I didn’t have the match play that I’ve wanted to have,” she said. “But after playing for so many years on tour, I should be able to focus on that and the fact that I have played a lot of matches. So that’s what I’m trying to focus on now.”

Serena opens her tournament against Camila Giorgi on Monday.

– Managing the pressure for Grand Slam No.22: Serena has not played a completed match since her US Open loss to Roberta Vinci in September. Asked whether that added any pressure or nerves as the tournament is set to begin, Serena said no.

“I feel fine,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t have anything to prove. I have nothing to lose. I can only gain. That’s kind of how I look at it right now.”

That’s true. But then there was this:

Q. What do you think would make a good tournament for you here?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I mean, we all know the answer to that, so… No need to even say it.

And you know what? That’s also true.

– Podcast Preview: Listen to a full tournament preview on the new episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:

– Players not thrown by injury woes at the top: It’s an easy story and one that, on the surface, makes sense: With the top players starting their seasons under a cloud of injuries, shouldn’t the rest of the field see Melbourne as a big opportunity?

Not really.

The players have told me they don’t take much stock in the withdrawals and retirements that have wracked the first two weeks of the season. The common refrain: The top players know what they’re doing. No one wants to risk anything ahead of the Australian Open. They’ll all be ready to go when the first ball is struck.

– Victoria Azarenka ignoring the hype: Even before the draw came out, the chatter surrounding Azarenka’s prospects of winning her third Australian Open title this year were in full swing. Once the draw revealed her in the bottom half of the draw, the chatter has become more of roar. It’s a roar that Azarenka brushes off.

“Probably,” she said, when asked whether she has noticed a change. “I’m not that much aware about it because I try to read other articles,” she said with a smile.

“But, I mean, it’s quite normal that somebody had success going in, [you make] predictions. It’s always the same story. You guys need to write that, hype everybody up. I’m not saying it in a bad way. It’s just for me it’s a little bit irrelevant. I know I still have to go out there and prove myself.”

Here’s Serena on Vika’s early season resurgence: “I think Vika is such a great player. Not only that, she’s such a good personality. She’s really fun. She’s super cool.

“It’s so good to see someone like her who has been through a lot of ups and downs, has seen the glory, then had to go down in her ranking, to be able to come back and just do so well. Just in general, she’s the kind of person that you always just root for just because.”

– Sharapova tempers expectations: Serena asked reporters not to tell her anything about her draw, not even her first round opponent. Azarenka and Halep said they don’t look at it either.

Sharapova actually does look at the draw. She’s not concerned about being psyched out by her draw because it ultimately doesn’t matter. “You know all the players that are competing here. It’s no secret who you’re going to be playing. I mean, you’re bound to face somebody good from the first round on. There’s a reason why these players are in the draw.

“I can’t look too far ahead of myself. I haven’t played for a few weeks. I have to keep my expectations quite low and just work my way, work my game, work my mindset through this draw.”

– Muguruza still not pain free: Muguruza told reporters the plantar fasciitis that forced her to retire in her first match in Brisbane is feeling better. But she still feels pain in practice. “I felt the foot also last year a lot of times,” she said. “It’s just something I have sometimes. It’s not going to change.

“It’s just a pain that sometimes you feel it and sometimes no. So it’s kind of hard to deal with it sometimes. But for now it’s good.”

– Muguruza fighting against a sophomore slump: After her breakthrough season, making the Wimbledon final, winning Beijing, and finishing the year at No.3, Muguruza warns against expecting more this year.

“I think it’s going to be a really hard year for me because I’ve never been in a situation from everybody. Me, also, I’m like, How I’m going to deal with all these new things? I’m actually very curious about how I’m going to feel myself when I go to the court, if I’m going to be able to be there, not think about so many things.”

– The Perils of Air-Conditioning: Want to get a tennis player or coach to launch into an angry diatribe? Just mention air-conditioning. Players are very sensitive to it and immediately ask transport drivers to shut it off. I once did an interview with Julia Goerges in Miami in which she asked to do the interview in a different room because the A/C was blasting in the one we were been assigned.

It looks like the A/C curse has struck again this year at the Australian Open. Halep sounded noticeably hoarse in her pre-tournament press conference. “I’m a little bit sick, cold, yeah, with my nose,” she said. “Is nothing dangerous. Is normal. From the air-conditioning.”

– Silence, please: Who knew? Azarenka hates whistling. “I just hate when people whistling. No one can whistle in my house. I will snap at you if you do.”

– Maria’s laundry mix-up: Sharapova’s pre-tournament press conference ended on a light note. Asked if she had ever had any issues with tournament laundry, Sharapova deadpanned an underwear mix-up that had the room rolling in laughter.

“I actually just returned a pair of underwear that wasn’t mine, like 45 minutes ago,” she said. “Funny you ask that. I don’t know if you were like checking out the laundry room situation, but it really happened. It was a female pair of underwear, not male. It was leopard. I’m like, That’s not mine.”

– Tough turnaround: Eugenie Bouchard played the Hobart International final on Saturday and will play her first round match against Aleksandra Krunic on Monday.

– What are the odds?: Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum, ranked No.167, navigated her way through qualifying and will play No.6 seed Kvitova on Monday. It will be a rematch of their first round match here in 2014, which a then-No.88-ranked Kumkhum won 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.

– Notable qualifiers: Tamira Paszek, Nicole Gibbs, Naomi Osaka, and Krystina Pliskova all qualified. Always be wary of talented players who make it through qualifying. They’re used the courts and conditions and full of confidence.