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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BRISBANE, Australia – It was Saturday, January 10, 2009 when a future World No.1 would make her first mark on the WTA tour, as a then-19-year-old Victoria Azarenka took home her very first WTA title at the Brisbane International.

The talented teenager had been knocking on the door for a while; she’d already featured in four finals, including at the previous year’s Gold Coast women’s event, which would merge with the Adelaide men’s tournament to form the Brisbane International.

Azarenka, then ranked World No.16 and seeded two at the tournament, would not be denied a fifth time and routed Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-1 in the final.

“Everybody says the third time’s the charm but for me it is the fifth one – I’m just glad I got it,” the Belarusian laughed in her post-championship press conference.

“I just go out and play no matter what happens. That probably helped me. It was like playing a regular match – that is what helped me finish it so quickly.”

Azarenka would go on to write her name in the tennis history books and record even more significant milestones on Australian soil; she eventually took home her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2012 and rose to WTA World No.1 for the first time.

But, back in 2009 at Brisbane, Azarenka was just getting started.  

Check out more photos of Azarenka’s maiden moment of victory, courtesy of Getty Images:

Victoria Azarenka, Marion Baroli

Antonio Van Grichen, Victoria Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka, Marion Baroli

Victoria Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

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.

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.

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