Tennis News

SYDNEY/HOBART – With one week between the WTA stars and the first major of the season, the Apia International Syndey and the Hobart International represent the final chances to prepare for the upcoming Australian Open. How will top Sydney seeds Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska shake off early losses at the Brisbane International and Shenzhen Open, respectively? Can defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova pull off another title run? Meanwhile, who will take advantage of the wide open field in Hobart?

1. Kerber searches for Aussie momentum.
World No.1 Angelique Kerber acquitted herself well enough in her first tournament of the season, but still showed signs of rust in her quarterfinal defeat to nemesis Elina Svitolina. With another first round bye, Kerber opens against Daria Kasatkina, who was a point from defeating Garbiñe Muguruza in Brisbane, only to fall in a final set tie-break. No.6 seed Johanna Konta anchors her quarter, with Dominika Cibulkova and Kuznetsova looming as potential semifinal opponents.

2. Radwanska aims for Sydney restart.
Agnieszka Radwanska started last season in imperious form, defeating Alison Riske to win the Shenzhen Open. This year, Riske turned the tables on the former World No.2, taking her out in three sets en route to the final. Seeded second in Sydney, Radwanska will play one of two qualifiers in her opening round match: Kateryna Bondarenko, or Christina McHale. A softer section could provide the court time Radwanska needs to get ready for Melbourne.

3. A Cibulkova/Bouchard rematch in sight?
The reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion has played Eugenie Bouchard four times in the last 18 months, with the young Canadian winning three of those four encounters. Bouchard looked in solid form to start the tournament against Zhang Shuai, while Cibulkova still needs to get past Laura Siegemund for them to meet in the second round.

4. Kuznetsova puts things in perspective.
The defending champion kicked off her title defense in impressive style on Sunday, dispatching Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets, but isn’t thinking too much about a second straight win in Sydney. “I’m not thinking about defending my title,” she said after the match. “The trophy is at home and nobody can take it away from me. This is another year and another opportunity to play. I always feel like I need a lot of matches at the start of the year.”

5. Mirza reunites with Strycova.
A week after handing off her No.1 ranking to partner and best friend Bethanie Mattek-Sands in Brisbane, Sania Mirza heads to Sydney with new partner Barbora Strycova, with whom she played in the second half of 2016. The duo face the newly formed Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai to start the week. Mirza’s former partner Martina Hingis is back with CoCo Vandeweghe; seeded No.2, they could face Mirza and Strycova in another final.

6. More reunions in Sydney.
The 2010 doubles season was all about Yaroslava Shvedova and Vania King, who won back-to-back majors at Wimbledon and the US Open. King and Shvedova are back together after a long break and open against Darija Jurak and Anastasia Rodionova, who were a team to watch most of last summer.

7. Bertens headlines Hobart.
Kiki Bertens is top seed at a tournament that has been hit by a rash of injury withdrawals. Still, the 2016 French Open won’t have things all her own way as she opens against the always dangerous Annika Beck, with comeback kid Galina Voskoboeva looming in the second round. Voskoboeva won her first WTA main draw match in nearly three years after sitting out nearly two full seasons due to a foot injury.

8. Shelby’s season?
Shelby Rogers kicked off 2017 in style by knocking out Eugenie Bouchard and pushing Elina Svitolina to the brink in Brisbane. The American earned anothe rimpressive win on Sunday in Hobart, upsetting No.2 seed Anastasija Sevastova.

9. Safarova under the radar.
Unseeded and looming in Hobart is former World No.5 Lucie Safarova, who is trying to rebuild her ranking after a season of fits and starts in 2016. Safarova opens against Viktorija Golubic and could play No.10 seed Sara Errani in the second round.

10. Spears & Niculescu seek doubles glory in Hobart.
Monica Niculescu is one of the best doubles players not to have a permanent partner, but may be trying out a new partnership with fellow top seed Abigail Spears, who has been playing apart from longtime partner Raquel Atawo to start the season. The pair open against Nao Hibino and Alicja Rosolska, with No.2 seeds Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson anchoring the bottom half of the draw as No.2 seeds.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – WTA Doubles Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza maintained their perfect start to 2016 – and their still-unbroken winning-streak – in the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, winning their 40th straight match over Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova, 6-3, 6-1.

Dropping just one set through four more victories in Russia, “SanTina” are now within striking distance of surpassing the longest winning streak since 1990, when Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova won 44 in a row; the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions still have a way to go to break the ultimate record of 109 – held by Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver in 1983.

“We’re obviously very happy to win another title but now that we’re coming closer and closer to the next target of 44, we can’t help but think about,” Mirza said after the final. 

“But it’s not something we really want to think about; we’re really excited ot be at 40! We didn’t think in our wildest dreams that this was going to happen. I think I can speak on behalf of both of us that we’re going to play every match on merit and try to get to 44.”

Hingis and Mirza were the talk of the pressroom during their week in St. Petersburg, and though they’re trying not to look too far ahead, Mirza hopes to be back next year to defend their title.

“I definitely think it’s an amazing tournament, and I feel the hospitality made it so comfortable. I also think you should give them especially because it’s the first year of the tournament, and to put up such a tournament any year is never easy, so I’d love to come back.”

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Taiwan Open top seed Venus Williams survived a topsy-turvy opening set against the always-dangerous Misaki Doi to defeat the Japanesewoman, 6-4, 6-2, to win her 49th career title.

“I’ve had so much success in Asia,” Williams said after the match, having won her last two titles at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “I feel like it’s very lucky to play here.”

The American appeared to have things under control from the outset, but Doi, who held a match point against eventual Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in their Melbourne first round, rebounded in style to win four straight games and lead Williams by a break.

“My opponent was incredible today. I was leading in the first set and then suddenly she was leading!”

That proved to be the last major momentum swing, however, as the former No.1 swept the final three games to take the first set and drop just two more to win the final in just under 90 minutes.

“It’s fun to win a final that was such a challenge, and I appreciated her game.”

Williams didn’t lose a set through five matches in Kaohsiung, and will hold on to her current ranking of No.11 by virtue of winning the title. A fan favorite in Taiwan, she was happy to be celebrating Valentine’s Day at a tournament where she could truly feel the love.

“Of course, I celebrated Valentine’s Day with a win; that’s the best way! I made so many wonderful moments and memories that I’ll be bringing a lot of love back with me to the States.

“The last five days were so exciting, just to feel the enthusiasm and to play great tennis every day. It was perfect week for me and the tournament did an amazing job with everything; the players and fans felt so welcome, so it was perfect.”

Doi had come into the match hoping to win her second career titles – having won her first last fall at the BGL BNP Luxembourg Open – but nonetheless finds herself just outside the Top 50 thanks to her run in Taiwan.

In doubles, hometown favorites Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching won their first title of 2016, defeating Japanese duo Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato, 6-4, 6-3. The Chan sisters roared into the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last year as Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s closest competitors, and remain the last team to defeat Santina, who currently ride a 40-match winning streak – the longest since 1990 (Jana Novotna, Helena Sukova).

More to come…

SYDNEY, Australia – Johanna Konta ended home hopes at the Apia International Sydney with a straight set win over Daria Gavrilova.

Following the first-round exits for Samantha Stosur and Arina Rodionova, Gavrilova was the last Australian remaining in the singles draw. However, to the disappointment of a partisan crowd, Konta withstood a late rally to run out a 6-1, 6-3 winner and secure a quarterfinal meeting against Daria Kasatkina.

The No.6 seed made a flying start, breaking in the opening game and dropping only four points during a dominant first set display. Another early break in the second continued this momentum, and while Gavrilova fought gallantly until the end she was unable to prevent Konta closing out victory at the sixth attempt.

.@JoKonta91 advances to @SydneyTennis Quarterfinals!

Beats Gavrilova 6-1, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/zv5xD5EOnF

— WTA (@WTA) January 10, 2017

In the previous match on court, Kasatkina upset World No.1 Angelique Kerber to leave Konta as the only seed remaining in the top half. “I knew going into the match it was going to be an incredibly tough one, she’s one of the best fighters on tour,” Konta said to BT Sport.

“It’s such a strong tournament, such depth, I know going into every single match that it’s going to be a tough one and I’m just going to have to, first and foremost, take care of things my end.”

Twelve months ago, Sydney-born Konta was about to announce herself to the tennis world with a semifinal run at the Australian Open. Now she is perched at No.10 in the world and, having also reached the semifinals in Shenzhen, is enjoying another profitable start to the tennis calendar.

“I’m just happy I have accumulated already a few matches under my belt in the first few weeks of the season. I feel quite pleased about that,” she added.

“I'm right here in Sydney, enjoying my time, trying to enjoy my involvement in the tournament as much as possible” @JoKonta91 #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/FIWzCURaBZ

— Apia Intl Sydney (@SydneyTennis) January 10, 2017

Top seed at the St. Petersburg ladies Trophy, Belinda Bencic not only walked away with the runner-up trophy to 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci, but the Swiss star became the 116th player in WTA history to make her Top 10 debut.

With her semifinal win over former junior rival and fellow ranking mover Daria Kasatkina, Bencic moved up to No.9 in the world less than three years after capturing back-to-back junior Grand Slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, and a little over two years after her WTA-level breakthrough at the 2014 US Open, where she upset former No.1 Jelena Jankovic to reach the quarterfinals.

With six different players made their Top 10 debut in 2015, Bencic is the first to do so this year, and the youngest by four years to join a club where the average age is 26.7.

Bencic is also the fifth Swiss woman to earn a Top 10 WTA Ranking, joining Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, Martina Hingis, Patty Schnyder, and Timea Bacsinszky – who entered the Top 10 last fall. While Maleeva-Fragniere cracked the Top 10 in May 1984 while representing Bulgaria; she later changed nationalities in 1990 when she was also ranked in the Top 10.

In the last 20 years, 10 players have made their Top 10 debut before their 19th birthday:

Who else made great strides last week in St. Petersburg and Kaohsiung?

Daria Kasatkina (+18, No.63 to No.45): Despite losing to Bencic in the semifinals, the 2014 French Open junior champion continues her stellar start 2016, taking out Kirsten Flipkens and Dominika Cibulkova to break the Top 50 for the first time in her young career.

Hsieh Su-Wei (+16, No.81 to No.65): The two-time doubles Grand Slam champion and former World No.23 in singles had an impressive week at the Taiwan Open, reaching the semifinals and losing to eventual champion Misaki Doi.

Laura Siegemund (+10, No.87 to No.77): Out to prove her run to the third round of the Australian Open was no fluke, the German veterean pulled off a dramatic upset over Kristina Mladenovic to reach the round of 16 in St. Petersburg as a lucky loser.

Misaki Doi (+9, No. 61 to No.52): The woman that nearly derailed eventual Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the first round, Doi reached the final in Taiwan, pushing Venus Williams in a hard-fought opening set en route to a career-high ranking.

Anastasija Sevastova (+8, No.103 to No.95): The comeback continues for the former World No.36, who returned to tennis at the start of 2015 after nearly two years away; Sevastova returns to the Top 100 for the first time since January of 2012.