Johanna Konta's Press Conference
An interview with Johanna Konta after her semifinal win at the Apia International Sydney.
An interview with Johanna Konta after her semifinal win at the Apia International Sydney.
In today’s SAP stat of the day, Agnieszka Radwanska opened her Top 20 wins count for 2017 in a big way.
Highlights from the semifinals action on Day 5 of the Apia International Sydney.
The Australian Open starts today, and here’s how Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams and more have been preparing for the fortnight.
BRISBANE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka continued her relentless march towards a second Brisbane International title with a quick-fire quarterfinal win over Roberta Vinci on Thursday night.
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Having dropped just seven games across the opening two rounds, Azarenka put No.8 seed Vinci to the sword in similarly ruthless fashion, running out a 6-1, 6-2 winner.
Azarenka set her stall out on the opening point, arrowing a backhand return into the corner. The break swiftly followed and while she was unable to hold onto this for long, she was soon ahead once more thanks to a fizzing double-handed winner.
Twenty minutes later she swatted another backhand away to take the set. In the second, it was the forehand that came to the fore, a brilliant stretching passing shot and a crisp down-the-line winner creating the vital breakthrough in the sixth game.
“I’m pretty pleased with tonight,” Azarenka said. “Thank you for the full crowd – you guys make me play much better, that’s for sure!
“I feel like I was really focused from the beginning and I knew she wasn’t going to give anything away so I had to take control and really dictate the play. I’m glad I stayed strong and focused in the difficult situations and really fought for every point.”
Meeting Azarenka in the last four will be the tournament’s surprise package, Samantha Crawford, who earlier in the day defeated Andrea Petkovic, 6-3, 6-0.
“Nobody gets into the semifinals without playing well so I’ll need to rise to this challenge – it’s a new experience – but I’m just happy to be back in the semifinals and doing something I love,” Azarenka, the 2009 champion, added when asked about meeting Crawford for the first time.
On the other side of the draw, No.4 seed Angelique Kerber continued to play herself into form ahead of the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. While Carla Suárez Navarro came through a topsy-turvy encounter with Varvara Lepchenko, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
How have Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and the rest of the Top 16 seeds fared at the year’s first Grand Slam?
Carla Suárez Navarro takes on Varvara Lepchenko in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | As she hunts for a 23rd Grand Slam title, Serena Williams will also try to wrest the No.1 ranking from Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open.
Samantha Crawford has Thursday’s shot of the day at the Brisbane International.
An interview with Shelby Rogers after her win in the first round of the Australian Open.