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2017 Australian Open Women’s Preview and Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

The draw has been made, the excitement is building and the first grand slam of the year is just days from getting started. Angelique Kerber is the top seed and defending champion of the Australian Open, can she defend her title? Or will somebody else step up to the face whether new or familiar? Here is a run down of the draw.

Top Quarter:

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Kerber’s start to 2017 has not be great as she faced early exits in Brisbane and Sydney, but this is a grand slam in which she is the defending champion, so the motivation will be multiplied. The German starts her campaign against Lesia Tsurenko, a player who took the top seed the distance in the build up to the tournament. Kerber’s section is full of dangerous unseeded players such as Yaroslava Shvedova and Kristyna Pliskova, both of which may fancy themselves to take advantage of an out of sorts Irina Begu in the opening rounds. The fourth round could bring on a rematch with Daria Kastakina who stunned the world number one in Sydney. The young Russian is one of the most promising players on tour, and with a good draw against Roberta Vinci in the third round, Kasatkina could find herself making the second week.

Garbine Muguruza is about as predictable as the weather in Britain. One day she looks like a future world number one, the next she barely looks top 100. Either way this is quite a kind draw for the Spaniard who will play Marina Erakovic in round one. The first seed projected is an Anastasija Sevastova who is on a seven match losing streak… ouch. Muguruza could end up facing compatriot, friend and doubles partner Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round. She too has a good draw to last 16 with Shuai Zhang being the biggest threat. An all Spanish affair is on the cards for the round of 16 with Muguruza looking good for at least the quarter finals.

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Many fans will be hoping for a Kerber-Muguruza quarter final, and that is likely to happen. Kasatkina is perhaps the biggest threat to that match, but her vs Muguruza is no less interesting. With the seventh seed it is difficult to predict which version will show up, so the safe bet is on Kerber making the semi finals.

Prediction: Kerber def. Muguruza

Second Quarter:

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With the tour being so wide open, there is a good chance of Simona Halep breaking through the glass ceiling and claiming her maiden slam. The Romanian has a good draw in front of her, can she take advantage? The first real test should come in the form of Monica Puig in the third round. The Puerto Rican has the power to blast through the strong defence of Halep. Speaking of power, Venus Williams packs plenty and she will be hoping for one last shot at grand slam glory. Like Halep, the American has a good draw to the round of 16 with the third round against Kiki Bertens being the toughest challenge. The chances of a Halep vs Venus clash for a spot in the quarter finals are quite high and that would be a high profile showdown.

Svetlana Kuznetsova is a potential dark horse here and out of the four possible semi final opponents, she got the best one. The Russian is no known for remarkable consistency but on her day she can beat anyone on tour. The path to the fourth round should be simple enough with Laura Siegemund being the other seeded player in that mini section. Elina Svitolina in the last 16 is where things get real interesting. The Ukrainian is still highly touted to make a breakthrough at any time now, and this could the tournament to do it. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is her toughest test before Kuznetsova. The winner of that fourth round match may fancy their chances of making the last four.

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This is a tough section to call as the two projected fourth round matches could go either way. Venus is capable of beating Halep, but on a slower surface you would favour the Romanian to get through. Svitolina vs Kuznetsova is a toss up, but the Ukrainian has beaten Kuznetsova here before so she can do it again. I feel this could be a good tournament for the youngster, and she could beat Halep and make the final four, so I am going out on a limb and predicting Svitolina to advance.

Prediction: Svitolina def. Halep

Third Quarter:

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The third quarter is perhaps the most stacked of all and promises a very interesting quarter final between Agnieszka Radwanska and Karolina Pliskova. First they must get through a tough draw of players though, kicking off with Tsvetana Pironkova for the Pole. Radwanska has some tough floaters in her draw including Mirjana Lucic-Baroni who is a potential second round foe. Alize Cornet had a good run in Brisbane so comes into Melbourne with form on her side and could give Radwanska a tough match in the third round. The fourth round will likely be against Elena Vesnina, but the Russian has struggled with form in the build up to the tournament. Sam Stosur will be hoping for a good run at home, but her record in Australia is not good, so it may be a good chance for an unseeded player such as Heather Watson, Joanna Larsson or Magda Linette to make the fourth round.

Pliskova is the form player heading into the Australian Open after a good run of play saw her lift the Brisbane trophy at the start of the season. The Czech has a fair draw to the fourth round with Monica Niculescu and Yulia Putintseva being the most difficult tests. The last 16is where things get interesting as there are a number of players in this mini-section capable of making an impact. Timea Bacsinszky and Daria Gavrilova are the seeds, but will they manage to compete against each other in the third round? Gavrilova faces Naomi Broady then possibly up and comer Ana Konjuh in the second round. The Swiss faces the dangerous Camila Giorgi in the opening round so there are plenty of upset chances on the cards. However, Pliskova is expected to make it through this section, problems or not.

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Radwanska vs Pliskova is difficult to call, but the match lies in the hands of the fifth seed. If Pliskova is on point with her power then it will be difficult for Radwanska to resist. If not then the Pole will win the match by virtue of consistency. Given how well Pliskova played in Brisbane, it is difficult to look past her getting through here.

Prediction: Pliskova def. Radwanska

Bottom Quarter:

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Serena Williams’ dominance of the WTA tour came to an end in 2016 as she was dethroned by Kerber as the best female tennis player in the world. 2017 will see the 22 time Grand Slam champion look to not only reassert her dominance, but also make history, starting in Melbourne. Serena will still be the favourite in most peoples minds despite being the second seed, but she could have hardly asked for a tougher opening match. Belinda Bencic, a player who knows what it takes to beat her, will kick off he world number two’s campaign. It does not get much easier with former French open finalist Lucie Safarova possibly awaiting in the second round and the big serving Timea Babos the first seed Williams will likely come across. From there Serena will likely go on to face Barbora Strycova or Caroline Garcia, two talented but very different players who can cause trouble in many ways. To say Serena will have to earn her place in the quarter finals is an understatement.

Dominika Cibulkova knows what it takes to reach the final in Melbourne, and with a bit of luck she might like her chances of repeating that feat in 2017. Her draw looks pretty good with Ekaterina Makarova in round three being the toughest predicted opponent until the fourth stage. There she could meet in form Brit, Johanna Konta. The ninth seed was superb in Sydney where she captured the title so comes into Melbourne full of confidence. She has a tricky opener against Kirtsen Flipkens and a possible match with talented Japanese youngster Naomi Osaka in round two. All eyes will be on a potential round three clash with Caroline Wozniacki though. This is one of the most anticipated third round matches looking at the draw, and the winner could reach the quarter finals and a potential meeting with Serena.

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Williams feels vulnerable in this section because there are plenty of players who are capable of upsetting her in every round. British fans will be interested in my predicted quarter final of Serena vs Konta, but I feel they will not like the result. Serena struggles but advances through this section to meet Pliskova in the semi finals.

Prediction: Serena def. Konta

Semi Finals

I have gone on a limb and predicted Svitolina to make her first grand slam semi final, but it is difficult to see her progressing any further. It is likely the pressure will get to the Ukrainian, the same pressure in which Kerber thrived on last year. Their head to head is close and Svitolina did win their Brisbane clash, but this is a different stage and I see Kerber prevailing

Prediction: Kerber def. Svitolina

Pliskova pulled off one of 2016’s stunning upsets by defeating Serena at the US Open to make her maiden Grand Slam final. The question on whether she can do it again will be at large, but the thing with the American is, she always seems to win the next big meeting. I can see it being a close match, but this time I feel Serena edges it.

Prediction: Serena def. Pliskova

Final:
So it will end up being a repeat of the 2016 final as Serena faces Kerber. The German pulled off a stunning display a year a go to win her maiden slam, a performance that kicked off an incredible year for the world number one, in which she went on to make the Wimbledon final and win the US Open. She lost to Serena in that very Wimbledon final though, and the world number two had seemingly made some adjustments to counter Kerber. It is a tough one to predict, but I am going with Serena based off their last big meeting. I will not be shocked to see Kerber do it again, and I will not be shocked if Serena does not even make the final. But I am going to predict her to win Grand Slam number 23 in Melbourne.

Predicton: Serena Williams def. Kerber

Recapping Tuesday and Wednesday at WTA Eastbourne 2016
Elliot Cornish for Tennis Atlantic

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Tuesday:

Defending champion Belinda Bencic was dumped out of the Aegon International on Tuesday, suffering a second-round defeat to Russia’s Elena Vesnina.

Both sets of the near two-hour battle went to tie-breaks, after Bencic gave up break advantages in both sets. The 19-year-old then spurned two set points at 6-5 in the second, when given the opportunity to send the match to a decider.

Vesnina, who is ranked 53 in the world, had more guile in the bigger moments, and picked up the win on her fourth match point, to book a third-round meeting with qualifier Madison Brengle.

Home favourite Johanna Konta defeated Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko in straight-sets in front of the day’s biggest crowd.

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The 11th seed, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals in January and has risen to 18th in the world, was not at her best but ground hard in a tough opening set which could have gone either way.

After nearly an hour, plenty of chances were presented to Konta when Tsurenko served at 5-5 in a marathon game full of unforced errors from both. The Brit didn’t manage to get the break, but proved tougher than Tsurenko in the tie-break, taking it 7-4.

A much different tale unfolded in set two, with Konta snaring a pair of breaks to race into a 5-0 lead, before wrapping up the match 7-6 6-1 on her second match point.

Konta will play two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the third round after the latter overcame Timea Babos in the opening match on Centre Court.

The Czech was made to work on her most prolific surface, but ultimately had too much for her Hungarian adversary, closing out a 6-4 7-6 triumph in one hour and 48 minutes.

Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska was given an easy path into the third round after Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire.

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The Pole was leading 6-4 2-1 before her Croatian opponent determined she could no longer continue. It had been an intriguing battle until then, with Lucic-Baroni’s hard, flat groundstrokes proving troublesome for Radwanska’s style, and the former perhaps should have taken command of the contest.

After slipping a break behind early, Lucic-Baroni levelled at 3-3, but couldn’t capitalise after taking the first two points of her Radwanska’s next service game. She then meekly conceded the set while serving at 4-5 with an error-strewn game.

Yet after being broken to start the second, Radwanska looked set to have to scrap further in her opening match of the week. However, Lucic-Baroni’s racket misfired again as she surrendered her serve, before retiring shortly after.

Former champion Caroline Wozniacki made short work of seventh seed Sam Stosur in a second round encounter that was cancelled on Monday. The Dane was potent on the Australian’s serve, breaking four times as she cruised to a 6-2 6-1 win in an hour and eight minutes.

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Wozniacki was rock solid on serve, saving all four break points that she faced. She faced Monica Puig in the third round, after the Puerto Rican was handed a pass into the third round, when her opponent Ana Konjuh retired while trailing 6-1 5-3. Second seed and US Open finalist Roberta Vinci was upstaged by Ekaterina Makarova in three sets on Court 1. The Russian, who beat Heather Watson on Monday, came back from a set down to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 and set a last 16 date with Andrea Petkovic, who beat another Italian in Sara Errani.
Eugenie Bouchard continued her good form, seeing off Irina Camelia-Begu in swift fashion. The Canadian eased to a 6-3 6-1 victory and will take on Radwanska on Wednesday, a match which will give a better assessment of where her level currently is. Karolina Pliskova made short work of Daria Gavrilova, but is due a tougher challenge next against Kristina Mladenovic, who beat Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets.

It was a busy day in Eastbourne with many first round matches that were canceled due to rain on Monday having to be played early on Tuesday, leaving many players having to pull double duty. However, a dry day has allowed the tournament to get back on schedule, and with good weather forecast for the rest of the week, the event should have no further scheduling dramas.

Wednesday:

Britain’s Johanna Konta stunned two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova with a come-from-behind victory in the third round of the Aegon International in Eastbourne. Konta, who lives in the seaside town, fought back after disappointment in the opening set to record a 5-7 6-4 6-0 win in front of a partisan crowd. The win sees the 11th seed match her Eastbourne performance from last year, while Kvitova – whose movement looked poor in the closing stages – heads to Wimbledon with questions. After a steady start, Konta grabbed the initiative, racing into a 5-2 lead courtesy of some effective shot-making and inconsistency from her opponent. However, when the chance to seal the set presented itself, the Briton faltered, firing a set point long before losing five games in a row – in which she was broken three times – to hand the Czech the set.

There was enough evidence in that set to suggest Kvitova was not the grass giantess we have become accustomed to seeing. A performance plagued with errors kept Konta interested throughout, and after scraping out another break midway through the second set, the home favourite held firm, serving out the set 6-4 in a tense game which went to deuce.

Yet the grandstand finish didn’t materialise in the way anticipated. As Konta rose to the occasion, Kvitova began to tail away, becoming visibly disinterested and frustrated as the decider wore on. The former raced into an early lead and did not look back, knuckling down and allowing her adversary to make mistakes, particularly off the forehand wing. The tide never turned, as Konta served up a bagel and her first triumph over Kvitova.
Afterwards, Konta said: “There are not words big enough to describe the support you the crowd have shown me. I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.”

Andrea Petkovic or Ekaterina Makarova will be next up for the Eastbourne local in the last eight, with the pair scheduled to finish their match tomorrow – which Petkovic currently leads 1-0 – after rain curtailed play in the early evening.
Agnieszka Radwanska, the top seed, had far too much for Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, as she cruised to a 6-3 6-3 success in the second match of the afternoon. The latter appeared to be recapturing some form after comfortably progressing past Varvara Lepchenko and Irina Camelia-Begu, but came unstuck against the wily Pole, who executed her plan well, forcing Bouchard to play the extra ball regularly. Radwanska broke in the third game of the match, and held onto the edge before streaking to the set, winning the last eight points.
The second set was a more topsy-turvy affair with Bouchard taking first blood. However, the world number 48 lost the break immediately before dropping her serve again next time around. Unwilling to die down, she got through Radwanska in the following game. But a sloppy effort at 3-4 provided the world number three with a chance to close out the match on serve, which she did to 30.
Dominika Cibulkova will play Radwanska in the quarter finals, after the Slovakian worked past Katerina Bondarenko in two hours on Court 1. The Ukrainian took early command of the first set with an early break, but couldn’t serve out the set as Cibulkova reeled off four games. But the 12th seed was not without nerves either, as Bondarenko broke to move the set into a tie-break, which she lost 7-3. A freer Cibulkova stormed through the first half of the second set, moving 4-0 up, and even though a brief fightback was staged, the diminutive player claimed a 7-6 6-3 win.

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Caroline Wozniacki failed to build on her victory over Sam Stosur, losing out in three sets to Monica Puig in the first match of the day. The contest, which began 90 minutes later than expected following rain, looked to be going in the Dane’s favour when she won the first set 6-4. But she lost the momentum late in the second set, when Puig snared a break to move 5-3 up, before serving the set out to 15. The world number 41 won the first two games of the final set, but Wozniacki capitalised on a loose game from Puig make it 2-2. However, the 2009 champion rarely found things easy on serve, and the pressure eventually told. Puig broke in the often-crucial seventh game, and held steady thereafter to chalk up a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win in two hours and 15 minutes.

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Puig will now face Kristina Mladenovic, after the Frenchwoman saw off Anna-Lena Friedsam in straight sets.
Elsewhere, Elena Vesnina built on her win over 2015 champion Belinda Bencic, with a 7-6 6-4 defeat of American qualifier Madison Brengle.

Thursday’s matches:
A rain-affected day leaves a scheduling headache for Thursday, with two third-round matches still incomplete. Doi and Pliskova will conclude their match on Court 1 before Petkovic and Makarova resume their battle.
Mladenovic and qualifier Puig are first up on Centre Court, before Radwanska takes on Cibulkova. Vesnina then awaits the winner of Doi-Pliskova, with Konta rounding off the action against Petkovic or Makarova.

2016 Australian Open Women’s Preview
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

The first grand slam of the 2016 is upon us and it promises to be a cracker. The tour is wide open with potential winners, so let’s get down to it.

The Australian Open has been staged in seven cities throughout Australia and New Zealand since its launch in 1905. It moved to its present home named Melbourne Park in 1988, with the tournament also switching from a grass to hardcourt surface.

Defending champion Serena Williams has the Open Era record with six singles titles. Just two behind her with four victories are Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

The Australian Open
Tier: Grand Slam
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Prize money: $ 40,000,000
Date: January 18th- January 31st

Top eight seeds (Ranking)
1. Serena Williams (1)
2. Simona Halep (2)
3. Garbine Muguruza (3)
4. Agnieszka Radwanska (4)
5. Maria Sharapova (5)
6. Petra Kvitova (6)
7. Angelique Kerber (7)
8. Venus Williams (10)

Lucie Safarova (injury) and Flavia Pennetta (retired) are absent from the tournament.

First round matches to watch

Camila Giorgi, Fed Cup

(1) Serena Williams vs Camila Giorgi

The world number one begins her title defence with a tough round one clash with the unpredictable yet dangerous Giorgi.

There are few players that can match Serena’s power on the court, Giorgi is one of them. The Italian is a big hitter and on her day can blast almost anyone off the court. The top seed is still a massive favourite for this match and the tournament as a whole, but if Giorgi turns up she could catch Serena off guard.

The American has not had much in terms of warm up for the first grand slam of the year, and one thing is for sure- she will not get much rhythm from the Italian.

(28) Kristina Mladenovic vs Dominika Cibulkova

There are not many potential upset matches in the opening round when it concerns the top seeds, but there is a nice match to look out for involving Mladenovic and Cibulkova.

The talented Frenchwoman is 0/2 in 2016 after back to back defeats to compatriots- she will be happy to see a Slovakian on the other side of the net. Cibulkova on the other hand has started the season well and is a former finalist at the Australian Open.

The Slovakian leads 5-0 in the head to head which is rather surprising. This one should be a lot closer than their previous meetings and It is possible that the seeded player could make an early exit.

(14) Belinda Bencic vs Alison Riske

Alison Riske (Photo: @Tennis_Shots)

60 places separate these two so if the American was to win this match it would be considered quite an upset.

In the WTA, anything is possible. Bencic is a much improved player since their last and only meeting in 2014 where Riske won in straight sets. However the Swiss lady has not looked at he best in the warm up events and there is a lingering chance of an upset.

That would require the world number 74 to bring her best tennis to the court, but big matches can often bring out the best in a lot of players. Bencic is the likely winner but it could be a close match.#

(17) Sara Errani vs Margarita Gasparyan

Sara Errani, Charleston

Errani is a very consistent retriever and a former grand slam finalist, however her gamestyle lets you play. It will be a good chance for the young Gasparyan to show her talents even if she does end up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

The Italian is not as versed on hard courts as she is on clay, but she is not a player you can ever sleep on. The Russian will have to be game if she is to win the match, but it is winnable for her and a chance to claim a good scalp and make a good run.

Draw Analysis

Serena’s Quarter:

The world number one has been dealt with a fairly tough draw in her path towards the title. Giorgi is not the type of player you want to play first that’s for sure. From there it get’s a little more predictable with Anna Schmiedlova the projected round three opponent for the world number one. Schmiedlova is a solid player, particularly on clay, but unless Serena has a nightmare then the Slovakian will likely be brushed aside. The fourth round may see her face good friend Caroline Wozniacki. The draw to the round of 16 has been kind to the Dane and she will be majorly disappointed if she does not make it this far. Given the 10-1 head to head it is difficult to see Serena not making it through this match and through this section. Unless he has a real off day somewhere there is not a player after round one that could realistically match the power of the top seed.

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It is not a familiar sight seeing Sharapova next to the number five, but Radwanska’s good form has knocked the Russian from the fourth seeding. Her reward?- Drawn in a quarter with the woman she has not beaten in over a decade. Her path to the potential clash with Serena is not an easy one either. Nao Hibino should be a comfortable opener, as should round two, but the third round potentially against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is a tricky one. It does not get any easier with the possibility of Bencic waiting in round four which could be a classic match. But Riske followed by possibly Heather Watson then Svetlana Kuznetsova is not exactly a good draw either. Bencic vs Sharapova is the safe bet and the Russian making it to the quarter finals is safer still, but there are banana skins.

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Radwanska’s quarter:

If Radwanska had not made the Shenzhen open final then she would have been drawn in Serena’s quarter. With her victory in the Chinese event, the Pole has taken the fourth seed and has been drawn with a potentially injured Kvitova instead. Radwanska will play America’s Christina McHale in the opening round- not the easiest of draws but one she will be expected to win. That could lead to quite the round two clash against a rejuvenated Eugenie Bouchard who is looking more like her 2014 self in the early parts of the season. Sam Stosur is projected in round three but the Aussie has had issues playing in front of a home crowd. The round of 16 will likely feature either Roberta Vinci or an in form Sloane Stephens. Either one is a huge test for whoever they play and could upset the number four seed. Vinci of course is now famous for denying Serena a calendar year grand slam at the US Open.

Kvitova was forced to withdraw early in Shenzhen, then did not compete at all in her Sydney title defence. It leaves you wondering whether she is 100% ready for the Australian Open. The Czech is unpreditable at the best of times and if bad Petra shows up then she could be heading for an early exit. Round two is where the first test will likely come against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova. She is a rising talent in the WTA and will be pumped up to play in front of the home crowd. She is coming off victory with Nick Kyrgios at the Homan Cup. Round three will not get any easier with either Mladenovic or Cibulkova likely opponents. Carla Suarez Navarro might be the biggest beneficiary if Kvitova is not up to standard. The Spaniard has a fairly comfortable ride to the third round where she will face Andrea Petkovic. She could be the one that emerges to face Radwanska in the quarter finals.

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Muguruza’s quarter:

After an impressive 2015 there is a lot of hype and expectation surrounding Muguruza, and this is a tournament you would expect her to do well in. She has had good results in Melbourne before and the courts seem to fit her game nicely. The opening two rounds seem fairly simple for the third seed, but it is in the round of 32 where things could get messy. Caroline Garcia is the projected seed, the talent Frenchwoman is unpredictable but she has a big game and matches up well with the Spaniard. But if she manages to get past the 32nd seed then she will meet a resurgent Victoria Azarenka who is fresh off winning the Brisbane title. This colossal round four match will could decide the finalist so keep an eye out for this one. The former two time champion must first make her way through a difficult third round against Elina Svitolina, but the Belarusian should match up well with the 20 year old.

Kerber could not translate her Premier level success into the grand slams in 2015, but her draw to the quarter finals here looks fairly promising. Barring a huge upset, Irina Begu will be her toughest challenge en route to round four where she projected to face Timea Bacsinszky. The Swiss however has not made the best of starts to the year and could be upset potential in the early rounds. Jelena Jankovic therefore might be the favourite to meet the German in the round of 16. With Muguruza or Azarenka likely for the quarter finals however, it is hard seeing either player progressing any further than the last eight.

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Halep’s quarter:

Halep is still searching for her first grand slam title and she will feel that 2016 might just be her year. Her grand slam season opens pretty nicely with a qualifier then either Alize Cornet or Bojana Jovanovski. The third round against Lesia Tsurenko could be tricky but it is a match that Halep should win fairly comfortably. The fourth round is where things get interesting with Madison Keys or Ana Ivanovic likely to await the Romanian. Keys has a potential banana skin round two against Tsvetana Pironkova or Yaroslava Shvedova- both can be dangerous on their day. Ivanovic’s path to the third round is a little easier but nothing she should take for granted. Jarmila Wolfe could pose a test in front of her home crowd in round two. Halep is likely to make it out of this section but Keys and Ivanovic are more than capable of causing an upset.

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Venus Williams’ resurgence was one of the many stories that gripped us in 2015. The 35 looks like a genuine contender for the big events again, even if she did lose her only match of the season thus far. Joanna Konta was another player who made headlines in 2015 but has made a poor start to 2016. The Brit is capable of an upset if she can perform to her summer 2015 level, but Venus likely prevails. In fact it is a fairly packed section with the ever dangerous Sabine Lisicki projected for round three. The German however is never a safe bet and could be dumped out early be Petra Cetkovska, Bethanie Mattek-Sands or Denisa Allertova. Karolina Pliskova was another name who played well but failed to make a deep run at a grand slam in 2015. However this could be the time she can finally make in roads at grand slam level. The Czech should make it to Ekaterina Makarova in round three at the very least. The winner likely plays Venus in round four- what a match that could be. Halep is the favourite to make it out of this quarter, but as you see there are many players who could trip her up.

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Predictions:

Round of 32:
Serena def. Schmiedlova
Wozniacki def. Gasparyan
Bencic def. Kuznetsova
Sharapova def. Pavlyuchenkova

Radwanska def. Stosur
Stephens def. Vinci
Suarez Navarro def. Petkovic
Cibulkova def. Gavrilova

Kerber def. Begu
Jankovic def. Bacsinszky
Azarenka def. Svitolina
Garcia def. Muguruza

Venus def. Lisicki
Pliskova def. Makarova
Ivanovic def. Keys
Halep def. Tsurenko

Some early upsets include Kvitova losing round two Gavrilova, Gasparyan defeating Errani in round one, and Garcia defeating Muguruza in round three.

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Round of 16:
Serena def. Wozniacki
Sharapova def. Bencic
Radwanska def. Stephens
Suarez Navarro def. Cibulkova
Kerber def. Jankovic
Azarenka def. Garcia
Pliskova def. Venus
Halep def. Ivanovic

Not many upsets to happen in round four. The most surprising result might be Pliskova defeating Venus.

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Quarter Finals:
Serena def. Sharapova
Radwanska def. Suarez Navarro
Azarenka def. Kerber
Halep def. Pliskova

Again, going with what is expected should these matches come to pass.

Semi Finals:
Serena def. Radwanska
Azarenka def. Halep

If Azarenka is truly back, then she will likely make the final here. The Belarusian love these courts as evident with her two victories here. Serena will win the other semi final.

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Final:
Serena def. Azarenka

But it won’t be enough to defeat the world number one who finally matches Steffi Graf’s record.

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Niall Clarke (Sofia)

WTA Brisbane, Shenzen, and Auckland Round-Up: Azarenka, Stephens and Radwanska Claim Titles
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

The new season is officially underway and i the opening week the WTA crowned three champions in Brisbane, Shenzhen and Auckland respectively, Amongst the tennis there was some big injury withdrawals. Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova are just a few names that either failed to take to the court or complete their first match-up of the season.

That did not stop the players from putting on some great tennis action to get us going for 2016. Here is a recap of what happened in the WTA this week.

Azarenka romps to Brisbane title

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Perhaps the most stand-out performer of the week was former world number one Azarenka. The Belarusian stormed through her draw to get 2016 off to the perfect start with a Premier title.

Azarenka looked more like her old self, dictating play from the baseline and being as feisty as ever. Despite dominating her opponents all week, the two time Australian Open champion saved her best tennis until the final.
The former world number one hit 23 winners and only nine unforced errors as she cruised past Angelique Kerber in Saturday’s final 6-3, 6-1.

The win marked Azarenka’s 18th career title, but it was her first for two and a half years after injury struggles in recent seasons.

“Congratulations to Angelique and thank you for pushing me – you always push my limits. I hope we get to play more matches soon and good luck the rest of the year.” Azarenka said in her post match interview.
“Every time I play in front of this crowd I couldn’t be happier.
“My dreams come true whenever I step on the court, and I want to thank you all for showing up, motivating us so much and inspiring us so much.”
With her performance this week, the Belarusian has established herself as a huge threat for the Australian Open.

Stephens claims Auckland crown

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Across in New Zealand America’s Sloane Stephens picked up her second career WTA title after pulling double duty on Saturday. Due to the rain on Friday, the fifth seed was forced to continue her semi final match-up with Caroline Wozniacki on Saturday with a 5-2 first set lead. Despite the delay to her momentum, Stephens picked up where she left off the previous day, rounding off the victory 6-2, 7-6(3).

Still on a high from her semi final victory, the world number 30 went on to defeat Germany’s Julia Goerges 7-5, 6-2 despite the German being fresher of the two players. The key was her dominance on serve, holding in all 10 of her service games and only facing two break points.

“You can never prepare for playing a set and then rain, then finishing the match the next morning and coming back again in the afternoon. You just have to keep going and do your best,” Stephens said.

“Julia had been playing some really great tennis all week, but I knew if I just kept playing solid I could do it. I was pleased the way I was able to pull myself together and come back and play well.
“Just kind of going with the flow – that was pretty much it. Pretty basic.”
Despite having enormous talent, Stephens has failed to kick on since her breakthrough run to the Australian Open semi finals in 2013. After claiming her first title in Washington last year and adding to her collection here, will 2016 be the year Sloane finally enters the elite?

“We have a really long season – I have to play all the way until October – so to win a tournament in the first week of the year is amazing,” Stephens added. “But I’m going to have many more opportunities throughout the year, and I’m looking forward to all of them. It’s easier to look at it that way.”

Radwanska storms to Shenzhen title

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Agnieszka Radwanska capped off her ranking climb to number four in the world by capturing the Shenzhen title.
After finishing 2015 in perfect fashion with victory at the WTA finals, the Pole started the new just the same. Radwanska played almost flawless tennis as she dispatched every opponent including the eventual runner-up Alison Riske.

It took the new world number four only one hour and 16 minutes to claim a 6-3, 6-2 victory over the American on Saturday.

I think Alison was really playing solid tennis today,” Radwanska said in her post match interview. “She has a very powerful game from the baseline – I was really struggling from the baseline. I was really in a lot of trouble there.
“But my serve really helped me today. Also in the deciding points I was a little bit better, and I think that’s why the score was the way it was – it made it look easier than the actual match was.”

It was Radwanska’s 18th career title, but more importantly she has passed Maria Sharapova in the rankings to earn a top four seeding at the Australian Open, meaning she avoids Serena Williams, Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza before the semi finals.

Niall Clarke (Sofia)

2016 WTA Sydney Preview and Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

Australian Open preparations conclude with two tournaments a week before the first grand slam of the season in Sydney and Hobart. With the Premier status of the Sydney International, many of the top players elect to play here as they attempt to get some momentum behind them for the Australian Open.

The Sydney International is one of the oldest tournaments on the calendar dating back to 1885. In 2000 it moved to its current home, the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.

Former champions include: Jennifer Capriati, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport, Chris Evert, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Amélie Mauresmo, Gabriela Sabatini, Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Monica Seles and Petra Kvitova. Evonne Goolagong and Martina Navratilova share the Open Era tournament record with four titles each.

The Apia Sydney International

Tier: Premier
Location: Sydney, Australia
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $687,900
Date: January 10th-16^th 2016

The eight seeded players (Ranking)

1: Simona Halep (2)
2. Agnieszka Radwanska(5)
3. Petra Kvitova (6)
4. Angelique Kerber (10)
5. Karolina Pliskova(11)
6. Timea Bacsinszky (12)
7. Carla Suarez Navarro (13)
8. Belinda Bencic (14)

A strong line up with all the seeds inside the top 15.

First round matches to watch

(4) Angelique Kerber vs Elina Svitolina

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Kerber will be looking to put the results of the Brisbane final behind her this week as she attempts to win the Sydney crown.

The German was been drawn a tough round one against rising youngster Svitolina. The Ukrainian played well in her country’s run to the Hopman Cup final and is certainly a player to watch out for this season.

Expect long rallies between two counter punchers and do not be surprised to see an upset for the fourth seed. It will be interesting to see how Svitolina’s best shot, the backhand, holds up against the leftie forehand of Kerber.

(5) Karolina Pliskova vs Ana Ivanovic

Karolina Pliskova will be playing her first WTA event of the season as she attempts to push on from an excellent 2015. The Czech excelled in these events last season and was a runner up last time out.

Ivanovic took a top 20 wildcard into the event after a shock loss to Naomi Broady last week. The Serbian is in need of wins but will find that tough against Pliskova.

The fifth seed has won their previous two meetings both on a hard court. Her serve and effortless power have proven difficult for Ivanovic to handle in the past, will she have the answer in their rubber match?

Caroline Garcia vs Kristina Mladenovic

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Outside of the seeds there is an interesting all French clash on the cards in the opening round. Garcia and Mladenovic have elected to play doubles together this year with the Olympics in mind, but they will first be pitted against each other in Sydney.

Both are young and talented but have question marks about their mental approach to the game. There will be some good points and bad points as neither girl is consistent, and Halep will be a keen observer as she will meet the winner in round two.

Draw Analysis

First Quarter: Top seed Halep withdrew from Brisbane last week so there will be questions as to whether she will be up to play in Sydney. The Romanian is entered however, and will have extra time to prepare due to her opening round bye. The second round will be interesting as she will meet a talented Frenchwoman in round two. Will it be Garcia or Mladenovic that opposes the world number two?

Pliskova will love to start 2016 similar to the way she started 2015, with a good run here in Sydney. She has been drawn a tough round one against Ivanovic but will take confidence from the 2-0 head to head lead she holds against the Serbian. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or a qualifier will await the winner.

Second Quarter: Kvitova is another player who withdrew in the opening week so there are question marks over the defending champions fitness. Lisicki is not a player you want to face early on as she does not give you much rhythm. A heavy hitting contest there. Svetlana Kuznetsova or wildcard Tammi Patterson will meet the winner.

Suarez Navarro’s 2015 season was a tale of two halves. She has a lot to defend in the opening few months, can she maintain her ranking? Sara Errani will contest her in round one which will likely be a lengthy battle. Coco Vandweghe or Jelena Jankovic will meet the winner in the second round.

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Third quarter: Kerber vs Svitolina might be the match of the opening round and it falls in this section. The winner will fancy themselves for the quarter finals given Ekaterina Makarova is out of form and she meets a qualifier in round two.

Bencic will be kicking herself after a shock loss to Samantha Crawford last week prevented a deep Brisbane run. The 18 year old will be looking to bounce back in Sydney where she opens against a qualifier. Lesia Tsurenko or Tsvetana Pironkova will await in round two.

Fourth Quarter: Agnieszka Radwanska will be looking to continue her winning streak after claiming the Shenzhen open last week. The Pole’s seeding means she has time to rest up as she gets a bye into the second round. She will have a tough round two against Roberta Vinci or Sam Stosur.

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Bacsinszky will be looking to put her opening week disappointment behind her when she takes to the courts of Sydney. Anna Schmiedlova is a tough opening round with the potential of facing Daria Gavrilova in round two. It is a tough section for the Swiss.

Predictions

Quarter Finals:
Pliskova def. Garcia
Suarez Navarro def. Kvitova
Kerber def. Bencic
Radwanska def. Gavrilova

Semi Finals:
Pliskova def. Suarez Navarro
Radwanska def. Kerber

Final:
Pliskova def. Radwanska

It is a hard tournament to predict with many players likely to try and conserve themselves for the Australian Open. Pliskova made the final here last season so she knows what it takes and that’s why i have gone for the Czech.

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Niall Clarke (Sofia)

The Shenzhen open is another of the three tournaments that kick off 2016 along with Brisbane and Auckland.

The event was founded in 2013 as part of the WTA’s expansion to Asia. Last year it was one of seven tournaments to take place in China

The former champions list is very short, in fact it only has two names. Li Na won the first two tournaments and Simona Halep took the title here last season.

The Shezhen Open

Tier: International
Location: Shenzhen, China
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $426,750
Date: January 3^rd-10^th 2016

The eight seeded players (Ranking)

Agnieszka Radwanska (5)
Petra Kvitova (6)
Irina-Camelia Begu (31)
Monica Niculescu (39)
Johanna Konta (48)
Eugenie Bouchard (49)
Zarina Diyas (52)
Annika Beck (58)

Two top ten players then no more top thirty players in the draw- interesting.

First round matches to watch

(6) Eugenie Bouchard vs Donna Vekic

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After a terrible 2015, Bouchard comes into the new year with a point to prove. 2014 was excellent, but was it just a fluke?

We will get some early signs of where she is at against Vekic in her opening match at Shenzhen. The Croatian is still wildly inconsistent and has yet to find her game, but the 19 year old has time on her side.

If the Canadian plays to her 2014 level then she should get it done in two, but does that Bouchard exist anymore?

(2) Petra Kvitova vs Saisai Zheng

You may look at this and think ‘this should be easy for Petra, what are you talking about’ and on paper you are right. But may I remind you that this is Kvitova we are talking about. When she is on she is unstoppable, but when it goes bad it goes beyond disastrous.

With the potential rustiness and the home crowd with Zheng, this could get interesting. The Chinese player poses little threat offensively but she is a consistent player, and if bad Petra shows up who knows what may happen.

This should be easy pickings for the Czech, but stranger things happen on the WTA tour and a home crowd can inspire a player to play way beyond their normal level.

Draw Analysis

First Quarter: Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska will look to start this year the way she end the last- lifting a trophy. The Pole came back from near certain elimination to win the WTA finals in October, leading many to believe that this might be the year she claims her first grand slam title. Radwanska will face Aleksandra Krunic in the first round, with the winner meeting home favourite Shaui Zhang or Irina Khromachea.

Fifth seed Joanna Konta had a marvellous second half to 2015 that saw her rise to British number one. Can she continue to improve in 2016? Konta will face China’s Qiang Wang in round one with Vania King or Magda Linette awaiting in round two.

Second Quarter: Irina Begu’s consistent 2015 saw her finish just outside the top 30. She will be looking to seal an Australian Open seed in the coming weeks before furthering her progress. The Romanian faces Lara Arruabarrena in round one. Bojana Jovanovski and Ana-Lena Friedsam will have an interest battle to meet the winner.

Zarina Diyas had a disappointing 2015, falling outside the worlds top 50. The Kazakh will look to get back in track his year which starts with a qualifier opener. 19 year old prospect Katerina Siniakova or Andreea Mitu will await the winner in the following round.

Third quarter: Fourth seed Monica Niculsecu will undoubtedly bring her bags of tricks to the court for another year in which she will frustrate many opponents. The first of which is Anastasija Sevastova. The winner gets Evgeniya Rodina or Timea Babos, which is a good opening round match.

Bouchard vs Vekic will be one to watch with both players keenly looking to make an impact in 2016. The winner gets a qualifier in the second round, so you would expect one of them to make the quarter finals.

Fourth Quarter: Kvitova in theory should make it past Zheng and then her round two opponent which is either a qualifier or Anett Kontaveit, but this is Petra after all. The second seed has still not found her consistency but the big titles will be her main focus this year.

Annika Beck has a tough opener against Alison Riske which could go either way. The German is another player who has failed to make a breakthrough in 2015 after a promising 2015. Su-Wei Hsieh is another un-orthodox player in the draw and faces Ying-Ying Duan of China first up.

Predictions

Quarter Finals:

Radwanska def. Konta

Begu def. Mitu

Niculescu def. Bouchard

Kvitova def. Riske

Semi Finals:

Radwanska def. Begu

Kvitova def. Niculescu

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Final:

Radwanska def. Kvitova

The top seed begins 2016 with a bang, defeating Kvitova in the final.

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Niall Clarke (Sofia)

Konta Continues Fairy Tale Run at WTA Eastbourne 2015 Wednesday
Elliot Cornish for Tennis Atlantic

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British wildcard Johanna Konta continued her fairy tale run at the Aegon International, knocking out Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in three sets in Eastbourne.

The world number 146 once again came out of the blocks quickly, asserting control over her more decorated opponent. Konta maintained her advantage but couldn’t serve out the set, however the Spaniard faltered as well, and was broken to surrender the opener 6-4.

Muguruza settled into the match as it wore on and after moving ahead 2-0 in the second, the rest of the set went on serve – despite the world number 20 having to save five break points – and she took the second, also by a 6-4 scoreline.

In the third, Konta warmed to the challenge, receiving strong support from the British crowd as she stormed into what appeared a match-winning 5-1 lead. However, Muguruza nicked one of the breaks back and held to love to keep the pressure on her Australia-born adversary, but Konta kept her composure, serving out the match in a little under two hours.

In a battle of two former champions, Caroline Wozniacki recovered from a poor conclusion to the first set, to advance past Svetlana Kuznetsova in a high-quality affair.

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After surviving a break point in the first game, Wozniacki surged to a 5-1 lead, displaying good movement and her trademark knack of keeping the ball in court. She was, however, broken by Kuznetsova while serving for the set and the Russian capitalised on a flurry of errors from the Dane, breaking twice to get back on serve.

Wozniacki held in the 11th game to edge 6-5 ahead and couldn’t snatch the initiative as Kuznetsova shakily managed to force a tiebreak, which the Russian dominated due to an array of Danish errors, winning it 7-3.

Kuznetsova was broken early though in the second set and after her opponent fought through a tough fourth game, Wozniacki pushed on, breaking once more to level up the match.

She lost momentum though as Kuznetsova took the first game against serve, but Wozniacki refound her groove to roll off six successive games and book a place in the last eight against Andrea Petkovic, who defeated Coco Vandeweghe 6-3 6-4 on Court 1.

On the forthcoming match with Petkovic, Wozniacki said: “Another tough match. We’ve played each other many times and you know she’s had a good year so far, I’m just excited to be in the quarters.

However, there was British disappointment later in the day as Heather Watson fell to Sloane Stephens in straight sets in front of an expectant Centre Court audience.

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The Briton struggled to find her rhythm from the off and had already slipped a double-break behind by the time of the first sit down – a combination of unforced errors from Watson and tidy play by the American. Despite sticking around late in the set, Stephens was clinical in wrapping it up 6-2.
Watson worked her way into the battle in the next, but after breaking back to draw level at 2-2, she meekly surrendered her following service game, a blow she was not able to recover from. Stephens offered no further opportunities and, to compound the misery, secured yet another break to complete the win.

Bouchard retirement sees Bencic reach quarters

Eugenie Bouchard retired from her last 16 match against Belinda Bencic while trailing a set and 3-0 with an abdominal injury. The misfortune continues what has been a torrid season for the Canadian and she will enter Wimbledon next week – where she made the final last year – severely undercooked.

The first set of the match was nip and tuck, but Bencic managed to fight off a break point at 3-4 to stay on serve and then she immediately broke the seventh seed in the following game, before serving out the set to 30.

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Bouchard’s problems were becoming clearer as the contest wore on, and after slipping behind a double break in the second set she called for the trainer, at which point she decided to pull out.

However, in a bid to allay concerns, she has already commented: “I am going to play Wimbledon no matter what, even if I am on one leg.”

The result moves Bencic into the Eastbourne quarter-finals for the first time – where she will play Konta – and is further indication of the growing prowess of the 18-year-old Swiss, who is currently ranked 31 in the world.

Tsvetana Pironkova brought Dominika Cibulkova’s comeback tournament to an end, roaring back from a set down to defeat the Slovakian on Court 1 at Devonshire Park.

Cibulkova pinched the lead through a tiebreak after a lengthy first set and looked poised to back up her win on Tuesday against Lucie Safarova. However, Pironkova began to excel from thereon and was never in danger after winning the second set, closing out the victory 6-7(4) 6-4 6-1 in two hours and 25 minutes.

Agnieszka Radwańska picked up one of her best triumphs of the season, sailing past eighth seed Karolina Pliskova for the loss of just three games in 56 minutes. The Pole, who has fallen outside the world’s top 10, is due to face Bulgaria’s Pironkova in the quarter-finals.

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Daria Gavrilova staved off a second-set resurgence from Sara Errani in the final singles bout of the day on Court 1, making full use of her main draw ticket which came after Petra Kvitova withdrew. Her next obstacle comes in the form of the American Stephens.

Doubles Results

In the last doubles duels of the first round, Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina beat Lara Arruabarrena/Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4 6-0. The second seeds will now play Cara Black/Lisa Raymond after they defeated Monica Niculescu/Arina Rodionova.

Julia Goerges/Lucie Hradecka saw off Anabel Medina Garrigues/Arantxa Parra Santonja 7-6(2) 6-1 to book a meeting with Yung-Jan Chan/Jie Zheng in the final eight.

In the quarter-finals, Caroline Garcia/Katarina Srebotnik progressed past the British team of Jocelyn Rae/Anna Smith after the latter retired upon losing the first set. They will play Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza in the last four, who battled back to take out Hao-Ching Chan/Flavia Pennetta on Centre Court.

Quarter-final schedule
With just four singles matches to be played on Thursday at Devonshire Park now the tournament has reached the quarter-final stage, all of them will take place on Centre Court, with the action scheduled to start at 11.00 A.M.

Pironkova and Radwanska will kick things off before British hopeful Konta takes on Bencic. Then, Gavrilova will continue her quest for a deep run against Stephens, with Wozniacki versus Petkovic set to conclude play in what may well be the match of the day.

In the two remaining doubles quarters, Black/Raymond vs Makarova/Vesnina will follow on from the singles on Centre, while Goerges/Hradecka against Chan/Zheng is due on Court 1 at 1.00pm.

Defending Champion Madison Keys Falls in Eastbourne
Elliot Cornish for Tennis Atlantic

Wozniacki vs Gajdosova 2015 WTA Eastbourne (Elliot Cornish)

Belinda Bencic brought Madison Keys’ reign at the Aegon International in Eastbourne to a swift end, beating the American 6-2 6-2 in under an hour.

The Swiss youngster took full advantage of an error-strewn showing from Keys, breaking her opponent twice in each set. The defending champion failed to find any consistency on her forehand, an essential facet of her game, and hence unforced errors were aplenty throughout the match.

Bencic ensured she kept the ball in court with regularity, forcing Keys to play the extra shot, and also produced some exquisite tennis of her own, including a couple of exquisite lobs.

The win continued Bencic’s strong grass swing, backing up her final appearance in s’Hertogenbosch earlier in the month.

She said: “It feels very natural for my game [grass courts] so I don’t have to change everything. I think it suits me well.”

Britain’s Johanna Konta knocked out fourth seed Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets, in the first match of the day on Centre Court.

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Konta – who is ranked 146 in the world and was wildcarded into the tournament – backed up an impressive performance over Zarina Diyas at the weekend, breaking her Russian opponent five times in a 6-2 6-4 win at Devonshire Park – her first against a top-10 player.

The Australian-born Briton was dominant on serve in the opening set, not having to face a single break point, and while Makarova pegged her back twice in the second, a crucial breakthrough at 4-4 proved pivotal, and she closed out the contest in her following service game.

“On paper it is my best-ever win,” said Konta. “I had to play some of my best tennis out there and I managed to do that.”

The victory moves her into the third round where she will take on Garbine Muguruza, who battled back from a set down to best Polona Hercog, winning the final set 6-0.

There was more British success in the form of Heather Watson’s gritty fightback to overcome Elina Svitolina, in the final match on Centre. Trailing by a set, the British number one dug in from a break down in the second to pinch it 7-5, and despite wasting one break in the final set, she took her next opportunity with the Ukrainian serving at 4-5, sealing the win on her first match point.

Eugenie Bouchard found a much-needed win over America’s Alison Riske, accelerating well after a tight first set. The opener went to a tiebreak which the Canadian won 7-5, and she broke midway through the second to record a 7-6(5) 6-3 triumph.

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The 21-year-old will suffer a heavy ranking drop if she fails to defend the 1400 points she received upon making last year’s Wimbledon final, and her readiness for SW19 is sure to come under much more thorough examination in Eastbourne this week.

Bencic will play Bouchard in the last 16, and after her clinical dismissal of Keys, the latter will have to be wary since her style of play is not unlike the American’s.

Wozniacki moves through

Jarmila Gajdosova was unable to maintain her strong start as Caroline Wozniacki moved through the gears to collect a straight-sets win. The former was a break up early in the match but was broken while serving for the first set. Wozniacki then edged through a shaky tiebreak before cruising through the second 6-2.

“I know that Jarmila is a really tough opponent and I’ve had tricky matches against her in the past and she plays very powerful tennis, good serves, so for me it was all about just keeping my mental toughness and just go for the right shots,” said the former world number one.

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Svetlana Kuznetsova, who won the title here in 2004, will meet Wozniacki on Wednesday after she dispatched Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-4.

Meanwhile, last year’s finalist and Birmingham winner, Angelique Kerber, withdrew from the event on Tuesday due to a “viral illness”. As a result, Monica Niculescu was given a spot in the main draw, but she lost to Coco Vandeweghe 7-5 2-6 6-1.

Birmingham runner-up Karolina Pliskova arrested a second-set slide to come through in straights against Casey Dellacqua. The eighth seed took the first set 6-4 but slipped 5-2 behind the Australian in the second, before rolling off five consecutive games to move through to round three.

Dominika Cibulkova’s comeback picked up pace with a 7-6(7) 6-4 victory over recent French Open finalist Lucie Safarova. The Slovakian staved off two set points on her opponent’s serve in the tiebreak before prevailing, and then an early break in the second gave her a lead she would not relinquish.

Ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska breezed past American qualifier Irina Falconi on Court 1, winning love and two in a mere 57 minutes. The Pole, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2012, is due meet Pliskova in the next round.

Elsewhere, grass specialist Tsvetana Pironkova took out Sam Stosur in two tight sets on Court 2. The Bulgarian broke late in the first to win it 7-5, and she won all seven points in the second-set tiebreak to progress.

Sloane Stephens made sure Carla Suarez Navarro’s stay in Eastbourne was a short one, dumping out the fifth seeded Spaniard 6-1 7-5 in the second match on Court 1. Her last 16 match will be against home favourite Watson.

France’s Caroline Garcia’s continued her patchy start to the grass season as she fell easily in two sets to Germany’s Andrea Petkovic. The world number 31 was broken four times in a 6-2 6-4 loss, as the 10th seed strolled through in just one hour and 20 minutes.

Sara Errani and Daria Gavrilova also booked a third round clash after beating Barbora Strycova and Camila Giorgi respectively in deciding sets.

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Wednesday’s matches

The Aegon International moves into the last 16 on Wednedsay with four singles matches to be played on Centre Court and Court 1.

Bouchard will open proceedings on Centre against Bencic, with Muguruza-Konta and Kuznetsova-Woznacki to follow, before Watson once again is the final match on when she challenges Stephens.
On Court 1, Cibulkova versus Pironkova will kick off the action at 11.00am. Radwanska then takes on Pliskova, with Vandeweghe and Petkovic to play match three. Gavrilova and Errani will then conclude the day.

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The doubles also continues tomorrow with the top seeds set to enter the tournament. Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza are fifth on Centre Court against Hao-Ching Chan/Flavia Pennetta, while Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina are last on Court 2 when they meet Eugenie Bouchard/Marina Erakovic.

2015 WTA Sydney Preview and Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

2015 WTA Sydney Preview

WTA Sydney

The WTA continues its tour down under with a trip to the beautiful city of Sydney for the APIA International tournament. The event is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to 1885. In 2000, the event moved to the Sydney Olympic park tennis centre, which also hosted the Olympic tennis event that year. The Sydney International is a joint event with the ATP hosted a week before the Australian Open. Previous champions include the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Aga Radwanska and Grand Slam champions Chris Evert, Kim Clijsters, Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, and Martina Navratilova.

In 2014 Tsvetana Pironkova defeated Angelique Kerber in straight sets to claim the Sydney crown. The Qualifier also defeated seeds, Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova on her way to the title.

Apia Sydney International
WTA Premier Series
Sydney, Australia
January 11-January 16, 2015
Prize Money: $731,000

Top 2 Seeds (Who receive first round byes) (WTA ranking in parentheses)

1: Simona Halep (3)
2: Petra Kvitova (4)

Two top 4 players headline Sydney, and receive byes to the next round. All the 8 seeds are within the top 20, so a strong field in the build up to the Australian Open.

First round matchups to watch:

(3)Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Alize Cornet
These two met in Perth during the Hopman cup, and it was Alize Cornet who managed get the win on that occasion in 3 sets. The Frenchwomen will be looking to do the same in the first round at Sydney. Agnieszka Radwanska however will be looking for revenge, and with that in mind this is one of the tastiest first round matches this week. Both players are known more for their technique rather than power, so we may see plenty of long rallies and tense points. Will we see another upset, or will Aga reign supreme this time?

Lucie Safarova vs. Sam Stosur
Big hitting Czech Lucie Safarova will be looking to silence the home crowd by vanquishing Australia’s Sam Stosur. Safarova played well in the Hopman Cup, winning two out of three singles matches. Stosur didn’t kick off the year in good style as she lost in 3 sets to Varvara Lepchenko in Brisbane round 1. It’s even worse when you consider, Stosur led 5-1 in the final set and still managed to lose. A lot of fans may be looking at this, and thinking ‘How could this be a match to look out for with their head to head record?’ Of course, 9-2 in favour of the Czech is lopsided, but you never know in the WTA. Lucie is hot right now and the obvious favourite, but you never know what a home crowd can do for a player. Stosur could rally and get her first win over the Czech in nearly 3 years.

Elina Svitolina vs. Ekaterina Makarova
20 year old, Elina Svitolina will be looking to carry her Brisbane form into Sydney, where she faces new top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova in the first round. The Ukrainian made the quarter finals last week, but was dumped out by eventual winner Maria Sharapova. Makarova decided to have an extra week’s preparation, and will kick off her 2015 campaign in Sydney. Svitolina is a good mover across the court, which will benefit her against the powerful left handers of the Russian. Makarova will look to overpower the youngster and kick off 2015 the same way she finished 2014. The big question is how rusty will Makarova be? If she isn’t match ready, she could very well get caught off guard by the young Ukrainian.

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Top Half:

Number one seed Simona Halep headlines a stacked top half of the draw that features eight top 20 players and a former Grand Slam finalist. The Romanian will receive a bye into the second round because of her seeding. She will face either big serving Czech Karolina Pliskova or a qualifier in round two. Pliskova will be the likely opponent even with the dangerous qualifiers in the draw. This is where it will get interesting for Halep, who has a bit of a dilemma. The Romanian won in Shenzen last week, and with the Australian Open coming, will she want to risk not being 100% for the first grand slam of the year and go all out in Sydney? Look for a potential upset in that one. The other seed in Halep’s quarter is Ekaterina Makarova. The Russian will play her first match of the season against 20 year old Elina Svitolina. With Makarova being potentially rusty, she could get caught out by the inform Ukranian, but the number six seed will be favourite to advance. Awaiting the winner will be Carla Suarez Navarro, and 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki has shown in the past she can beat anyone with her powerful serve and ground strokes. The German holds the world record for the fastest womens serve in history. She hit a 131 mph serve in Stanford last year. This isn’t grass however, and the Spaniard should expect herself to advance.

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The third seed is 2015 Hopman cup champion, Agnieszka Radwanska. The Pole will be in her first WTA competition In Sydney, and faces a tough round one match against Alize Cornet. The Pole will expect herself to extract revenge on the player who defeated her in Perth, but an upset wouldn’t be surprising at all. Their potential round two opponents are Garbine Muguruza and Sara Errani. Muguruza is dangerous, but withdrew from Brisbane with an ankle injury, so there are big questions on her fitness. Errani will be looking to take advantage of the Spaniards problem and take out the 21 year old. If Muguruza is fit however, you would expect her to overpower the Italian. Angelique Kerber is the number five seed and will face a qualifier in round one; a match you would expect her to win. From there you would expect her to face highly touted youngster Belinda Bencic. The 17 year old is destined to be one of the world’s best players, but she faces a tough test against Angelique Kerber. This potential second round clash is no doubt one of the most anticipated matches of week. How will the youngster handle the tests that Kerber will bring to the court?

Bottom half:

The number two seed is Czech powerhouse Petra Kvitova. Like Halep, Kvitova will receive a bye into the second round. She will face Shuai Peng, or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. You would expect the Wimbledon champion to make the quarter finals with that draw if she decides to be play hundred percent. The other seed in her quarter is Dominika Cibulkova. The Australian open drew lucky and will face a qualifier in the first round, so you would expect her to make the second round at least. She will likely face Andrea Petkovic in the second round, which will no doubt be tricky for the number seven seed. The winner of that match will really fancy themselves to make the semi-finals, with Kvitova’s commitment in question, with the Australian Open just round the corner.

In the other quarter, we have a stacked group of players with a lot of possible semi-finalists. The number four seed is former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane will open her tournament against Barbora Zahalova-Strycova. A potential banana skin for Wozniacki, as Strycova showed good form last season. You would expect Wozniacki to squeeze past the Czech, but an upset wouldn’t be shocking at all. The winner will face Lucie Safarova or Sam Stosur, and given their head to head and current form it will likely be the Czech. Safarova is a potential title winner in Sydney, with a lot of the top seed’s commitment in doubt. Lucie is in good form, and will no doubt see this as a good chance to win another WTA title. The number eight seed, Flavia Pennetta will be another player gunning for the crown. The Italian will face a qualifier (it’s a pattern isn’t it?) in round one, and you would expect Pennetta to make it through. Flava will face either Svetlana Kuznetsova or Madison Keys. This is one of those interesting round one matches that didn’t make my three to see. It’s another one of those ‘youth vs experience’ battles that will be a theme of the WTA throughout 2015. If I would be forced to choose, I say Keys makes it through to face Pennetta, and the Italian makes the Quarter finals

Predictions

Semis:
Kerber d. Suarez Navarro
Safarova d. Petkovic

With a lot of the top seeds potentially playing safe with the Australian Open in mind, these 4 players will stand out from the rest of the pack and make the semifinals. In the first semifinal, Kerber will narrowly defeat Carla Suarez Navarro in 3 sets. This match will be tight, as they are 2-2 in the head to head, but Kerber I believe will find a way to win. In the second semi final, I expect Lucie Safarova to continue her good form and defeat Andrea Petkovic to make the final. The Czech will be 100% focused here, with the title being a big possibility., and I think she’ll better the German this time around despite the head to head being 4-2 in favour of Petkovic.

Final:
Kerber d. Safarova

Angelique Kerber will be the 2015 Sydney champion after weathering the Safarova storm. In this final, I expect the Czech to make the better start and race to an easy one set lead. The German will keep retrieving and errors will finally start leaking from Safarova’s side of the court, allowing Kerber to turn the match on it’s head and win the title in Sydney.

Poland defeats USA to win the 2015 Hopman Cup

Posted by Admin on January 10, 2015

Posted in: ATP, Hopman Cup, Steen Kirby, WTA. Tagged: 2015 Hopman Cup, 2015 Hopman Cup Recap, Aga Radwanska, Aganieska Radwanska, atp, hopman cup, Hopman Cup 2015, Hopman Cup Recap, isner, Janowicz, Jerzy Janowicz, John Isner. Team USA, perth, Perth Tennis, radwanska, Radwasnka, serena williams, Team Poland, Tennis Recap, wta.

Poland defeats USA to win the 2015 Hopman Cup
Steen Kirby,Tennis Atlantic

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Hopman Cup

Team Poland, made up of golden generation stars Agnieszka Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz toppled Team USA’s Serena Williams and John Isner to capture the 2015 Hopman Cup crown.

Isner performed well but it was Serena who would come up short for team USA in the final, as Radwanska beat her in 3 sets in the women’s singles match, and she teamed up with Janowicz to win the deciding mixed doubles match in straight sets. Isner’s straight set victory over Janowicz forced a decisive mixed doubles match but Poland was simply a stronger team this week as Serena struggled in an unusual manner in all of her matches.

In other notable round robin action, everyone in group A, except Italy finished 2-1, as it was a parity filled group. Italy finished 0-3, in part due to Fabio Fognini taking a lackadaisical approach to tennis yet again. Team Czech Republic beat Team Canada, the Americans beat the Italians, Canada beat the USA thanks to singles wins by Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil, and they also beat Italy, while team USA beat the Czechs. The lower ranked Adam Pavlasek performed well for the Czech team, earning a singles win over Fabio Fognini in 3 sets, and winning two out of his three mixed doubles matches with Lucie Safarova.

In group B, similar to group A, there was a lot of parity, the home Aussies would finish shut out at 0-3, and everyone else finished 2-1. Poland beat Australia, Great Britain beat France, the Poles beat the Brits, the French beat the Aussies, and the Poles, and the Brits beat the Aussies. Andy Murray turned in a notable performance for team GB, he went 3-0 in his singles matches with wins over Benoit Paire, Janowicz, and Marinko Matosevic without dropping a set. The formerly promising Frenchman Paire continues to languish, he finished 0-3 in his singles matches. Now most of the ATP and WTA stars of the Hopman Cup will continue their pre AO preparations with traditional tournament competition and tennis will return to the Perth Arena next year.