Stanford: V. Williams vs. Bellis
Venus Williams takes on Catherine Bellis in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
Venus Williams takes on Catherine Bellis in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova takes on Chuang Chia-Jung and Nicole Gibbs in the first round of the Australian Open.
Zheng Saisai had Friday’s shot of the day at the Bank of the West Classic.
MELBOURNE, Australia – World No.2 Serena Williams kicked off her quest for a seventh Australian Open crown with a decisive 6-4, 6-3 victory over Belinda Bencic to ease into the second round.
“I think it was pretty good,” Serena said of the match in her post-match press conference. I mean, she’s a really good player. So I think I was able to start out well.”
Serena came to Melbourne with an outside shot of reclaiming the No.1 ranking from defending champion Angelique Kerber – the American must reach the final to remain in contention – but first had to take care of Bencic, a former World No.7 who had beaten her in their last encounter at the 2015 Rogers Cup.
“I feel like she definitely has a lot more power. Obviously she beat me in Canada the last time we played, but I really don’t remember much about that match.”
Bencic used that winning week in Canada as a springboard towards becoming the youngest Top 10 debutante since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009, but injuries almost immediately stunted her progress and caused her to be unseeded ahead of the Australian Open.
#Serena: “Right now I have nothing to lose. I get to travel the world and do what I do best.”
??❤️#ausopen pic.twitter.com/Sf0oOofSRe
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2017
Knowing this wasn’t a typical first round, Serena put on a solid display throughout the one hour, 21 minute match, though the affair was hardly without its hiccups. The 22-time Grand Slam champion drew first blood to earn a 3-1 lead, only to see Bencic fight back and hold onto level terms until the all-important tenth game, when Serena surged ahead to beak for the set.
The second appeared to be a foregone conclusion as the No.2 seed rode the wave of momentum out to 5-0, but Bencic had one last comeback in store, narrowing the lead to 5-3 before Serena sealed the deal on her second match point.
“I just wasn’t as aggressive as I was during those games. She started playing better. I made a few errors on some key points, but for the most part, I still was going for everything and I was able to close it out.”
Keeping her side of the stat sheet as clean as she could, the former World No.1 hit exactly 30 winners to 30 unforced errors; she looked especially strong on serve with eight aces to four double faults.
Up next for the six-time Australian Open champion is another former rival in Lucie Safarova, who saved a whopping nine match points to defeat Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-1 to book a rematch of the 2015 French Open final.
“I knew I had to be really strong.” #Serena through to 2R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Z70iPL2JpH
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2017
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Sloane Stephens made a confident start to both the season and her latest coaching partnership with a straight set victory over Polona Hercog.
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It was not all plain sailing for Stephens, who frittered away early leads in both sets before eventually prevailing, 6-3, 6-3.
“I think I was just trying to make it harder in myself! But it was good practice, so that’s good,” she said in her on-court interview.
However, the No.5 seed admits she and new coach Kamau Murray still have plenty to work on ahead of the upcoming Australian Open.
“I think the main thing we should focus on is that I won today and anything else will just wait for another day,” she added.
Stephens’ next outing will come on Wednesday when she takes on Carina Witthoeft, a 6-2, 7-6(3) winner in her all-German clash with Tatjana Maria.
Also advancing at the ASB Tennis Centre was Svetlana Kuznetsova, whose opening outing of the new season was cut short after just 49 minutes when her opponent, Mona Barthel, retired through injury. No.4 seed Kuznetsova, who was leading 6-2, 1-1 at the time, will face either Francesca Schiavone or qualifier Tamira Paszek in the second round.
An interview with Johanna Konta after her win in the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Former No.1 Venus Williams continued her progress at the Australian Open, moving into the third round in Melbourne for the 13th time in her career after a comfortable win over Stefanie Voegele.
In contrast to her grueling first-round battle against Kateryna Kozlova, Venus never really looked under pressure against Voegele, easing through in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
“Today was a good day, a little less hot first thing in the morning, so it was good to get it in, you know, and have a win early,” Venus told press after her victory.
The Swiss qualifier, ranked No.112 in the world, looked decidedly out of her depth on Rod Laver Arena against the former No.1. A tentative start from Voegele allowed the American to open with a double break of serve and rocket to a 3-0 lead.
With the early nerves out of the way, Voegele managed to grab one of the breaks back with a crisp backhand passing shot, but she wasn’t able to wrench the advantage out of Venus’ grasp. Venus stayed aggressive to wrap up the first set with ease, and continued her form into the second, breaking twice to seal the match in barely over 80 minutes.
The No.13 seed will face either Duan Ying-Ying in the third round after the Chinese player outlasted Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 3-6, 10-8.
“I don’t know anything about her,” Venus admitted. “I have never seen her play. Zero, like zero. So I’m going to have to see how it goes.
“Like, maybe get a scouting report in the warm-up when we hit the five minutes and kind of see how it feels.”
This is Venus’ 17th appearance at the Australian Open – joint-most among active players, tied with her sister Serena Williams – and with No.4 seed Simona Halep out of the tournament in a first round stunner, Venus’ side of the draw gives her ample opportunity to continue on and make a deep run.
It's #Venus into 3R singles. 1R doubles starts today with sister #Serena #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/FncGAoqXru
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2017
BRISBANE, Australia – If Simona Halep has her way, get ready to see a more relaxed Romanian in 2016. The World No.2 has a new outlook on her life and career to go along with a coach who’s more than game to guide her through it.
“I can say I feel stronger mentally because I’m more relaxed,” Halep told WTA Insider on Monday at the Brisbane International. “Now I feel stronger, I feel more relaxed. I feel I have the game, a good game to start the year.
“I improved a lot in the off-season. I worked hard. Now I’m looking forward to start this tournament, to start this year and see if I can stay in the Top 5 again and see if I can do good results at the Grand Slams because I [didn’t] at two of them last year and I [regret that].”
To assist in her cause is her new full-time coach Darren Cahill. The veteran Australian coach worked part-time with Halep last season but was still under contract with Adidas as part of the company’s Player Development Program. Under the program, Cahill offered his coaching assistance to Adidas players. But there was a catch. If two Adidas players faced off Cahill couldn’t offer coaching advice to either player. That proved problematic at the US Open, where Halep lost to fellow Adidas-wearer Flavia Pennetta in the semifinals.
“I can say that was a little bit difficult also in US Open because he couldn’t show up for Pennetta’s match,” she said. “I knew that and accepted before, so it was okay.”
But with the Adidas program shutting down at the end of last season, Halep was quick to get Cahill on her team. She announced the hire shortly after the season ended and Cahill flew to Bucharest for a three-week off-season training session.
Don't forget to bring the balls for practice @Simona_Halep. I booked the court ? #romania ☃? #beautifulhere pic.twitter.com/Xitc43hUOi
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) November 24, 2015
“Now he’s mine, only mine,” she said with a laugh. “No more players around. It’s good. It’s a good feeling… It’s good to have him close to me and to learn things from him.”
The two have been working to improve all facets of her game with particular focus on her serve and strength. But aside from techniques and tactics, Halep credits Cahill with her new outlook on life. The 24-year-old broke through with six titles in 2013 to finish that season at No.11. She backed it up by making her first Slam final at the French Open in 2014 and finished at No.3. Last year, in a season that she admits wasn’t her best, she still managed to do one better and finish at career-best No.2. The winning has been fun. The tension? Not so much.
“I was too tight and I was very focused just for tennis,” Halep said. “I think if I’m more relaxed I can play better tennis.” To keep things loose Halep has gone out of her way to break old habits. Even if it means a little body surfing.
“Yesterday I went with Darren and my team to Surfer’s Paradise,” she said. “It was the first time in my life that I went out of the tournament to go enjoy something.”
Learning to let go may be precisely what Halep needs to make her Grand Slam breakthrough. She has played well in Australia in the past, making the semifinals as a junior and now back-to-back quarterfinals. She says the court suits her game.
“I feel good in Australia,” she said with a smile. “Now I’m part of Aussie, no? Because I have an Australian coach.”
Hope you're having a good day @Simona_Halep ? #andreicociasu @CercelT #andreicristofor #badsign ? pic.twitter.com/oKJZy5HPWv — Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) December 13, 2015
Despite that Aussie comfort, nerves have been her undoing here the last two years. Having now established herself as part of the game’s best, Halep hopes to craft her breakthrough by retreating. Looking back at her tennis career, Halep highlighted her tendency for an adjustment period. Maybe the solution is to stop pressing.
“Since I was a kid I didn’t do the results straight away,” she said. “It was difficult for me in juniors to change everything to go to the [senior] tournaments. I was not very young when I did my best results in the WTA. I was 21, 22. I feel like I have enough time. Many players are winning Grand Slams at 30, 31, 32. It’s not a big deal if you win now or [later].”
“Now I met Darren and he made me more relaxed, that I have enough time in this life to win titles, to win Grand Slams maybe. I have to enjoy the life. I know the time goes very fast.
“Life is too short and we just have to be happy and to do everything we could in that day to give 100 percent what we have.”
Halep is set to play former No.1 Victoria Azarenka in her first match of the season, a rematch of their tightly contested US Open quarterfinal from a few months ago. It’s a brutal draw for both women as they shake off the off-season rust and ready themselves for a run at the Australian Open.
Highlights from semifinal action at the Bank of the West Classic.
Caroline Wozniacki faces Donna Vekic in the second round of the Australian Open.