Category: Tennis Players

Top seed Kerber battles into Open second round

Germany’s Angelique Kerber celebrates her victory against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko during their women’s singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 16, 2017. AFP / PETER PARKS Melbourne: World number one Angelique Kerber battled past Lesia Tsurenko to get her first Grand Slam title defence off to a stuttering start at the Australian Open Monday.

The Latest: CoCo Vandeweghe overcomes heat, illness to win

CoCo Vandeweghe overcame the heat and illness to beat 15th-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-1, 7-6 and advance to the second round of the Australian Open.Vandeweghe was down a break in the second set when she slumped to her knees, facing the backboard at Margaret Court Arena, and needed help from medical staff. The trainer rubbed some water on Vandeweghe’s neck as she stayed in the shade for a couple of minutes, not moving, before the tournament doctor went out to help.

‘I’m pretty good at this’

Venus Williams of the U.S. reacts after winning her Women’s singles first round match against Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova. Photo: Reuters Venus Williams survived a rocky start to reach the second round of her 17th Australian Open on Monday, putting her 7-6 7-5 victory over Kateryna Kozlova down to hard-earned experience.

The Latest: 4th-seeded Halep loses to American Shelby Rogers

The Puerto Rican player, seeded 29th, was the first player to win a match at Melbourne Park this year, defeating Romania’s Patricia Maria Tig 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes. Puig was close to shutting Tig out completely, known in tennis as a “double bagel,” but made several unforced errors to give the Romanian her first game at 6-0, 5-1.

Staying number one harder than getting there, says Kerber

Melbourne Park was ground zero for the stunning breakthrough of Angelique Kerber’s tennis career so the German has naturally savoured some golden memories before the defence of her Australian Open title. The emotions bubbled to the surface as the late-blooming left-hander was driven through the Melbourne Park gates for the first time since coming back this year.

Murray confidence sky high despite final hurdle failures

Losing five Melbourne Park finals would leave many believing they were destined to never win the Australian Open title but world number one Andy Murray remains confident that this could be the year he lays his demons to rest. Murray after all, has solid form on the blue hardcourts in Melbourne, where he is arguably the second-most consistent man at the tournament this decade — after six-times champion Novak Djokovic.

Johanna Konta: Can back up Sydney win in Melbourne

It’s a while since we’ve had a 16/5 favourite for the women’s singles at a Grand Slam and that being the case at the Australian Open suggests it’s a pretty open field. Serena Williams still holds that favourite position but the 35-year-old is clearly someone the layers are prepared to take on to a certain extent.

Sock beats Sousa to win ASB Classic

Fourth-seeded American Jack Sock made amends for the disappointment of a year ago when he beat Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in Saturday’s final to win the ASB Tennis Classic. Sock also reached the tournament final in 2016 but had to pull out of the title match due to illness.

Wawrinka not focused on potential Kyrgios clash

The 2014 Australian Open champion is likely to have a straightforward path through the opening rounds in his quest to add a fourth grand slam tournament title to his collection. But he could face a major challenge from Kyrgios, who has already beaten him twice and is likely to await him in the round of 16 should he overcome the knee injury that has troubled him in the lead-up.

Record-seeking Djokovic deflects Becker jab

Novak Djokovic said he wasn’t planning to replace Boric Becker in his coaching team and deflected criticism from the German about his work-rate as he prepared to defend his Australian Open title on Saturday. MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic said he wasn’t planning to replace Boric Becker in his coaching team and deflected criticism from the German about his work-rate as he prepared to defend his Australian Open title on Saturday.

Best day ever: Destanee hits with Serena, her inspiration

United States’ Serena Williams, left, talks with Australian player Destanee Aiava during a promotional event on Margaret Court Arena ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Aiava will be the first player born this century to play in the main draw match at a tennis major.

With an eye on title No. 7, Novak Djokovic comes into Australian Open ‘feeling phenomenal’

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a backhand volley during a practice session ahead of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 12, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia Novak Djokovic has no pretensions to being a super spy but the number 007 has got the Australian Open champion “pumped” ahead of the year’s first grand slam. The 29-year-old Serbian joined Roy Emerson as the most successful men’s champion at the Australian Open last year when he beat Andy Murray for his sixth title at Melbourne Park.

Muller to meet defending champ Troicki in Sydney semifinals

Gilles Muller beat second-seeded Pablo Cuevas 7-6 , 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the Sydney International semifinals against two-time defending champion Viktor Troicki Muller to meet defending champ Troicki in Sydney semifinals Gilles Muller beat second-seeded Pablo Cuevas 7-6 , 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the Sydney International semifinals against two-time defending champion Viktor Troicki Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2jxxoMz SYDNEY – Gilles Muller beat second-seeded Pablo Cuevas 7-6 , 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the Sydney International semifinals against two-time defending champion Viktor Troicki. Troicki was scheduled to face No.

Fall in rankings has Federer seeded 17th at Australian Open

A long injury layoff and a fall in the rankings have created a tougher draw for 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer at the Australian Open Fall in rankings has Federer seeded 17th at Australian Open A long injury layoff and a fall in the rankings have created a tougher draw for 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer at the Australian Open Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2jxDXiq Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during his Qatar Open 2017 final tennis match against Britain’s Andy Murray in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017. MELBOURNE, Australia – A long injury layoff and a fall in the rankings have created a tougher draw for 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer at the Australian Open.

Bouchard advances to Sydney quarter-finals

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard continued her resurgent run heading into the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Dominika Cibulkova on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals at the Sydney International. Bouchard improved her career record to 4-1 against Cibulkova, who was ranked No.

British qualifier Brydan Klein through to second round in Auckland

British qualifier Brydan Klein is through to the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland after beating Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis. Australian-born Klein, ranked 324 in the world, looked to be on his way out as he trailed 5-2 in the third set after giving up four match points in the second, but hit back for a 6-1 6-7 7-6 victory against the world number 55. Elsewhere, fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas was beaten 6-1 7-5 by Joao Sousa, while Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan battled back from a set down to triumph 4-6 7-6 7-6 against Russian youngster Karen Khachanov.

Maria Sharapova set for professional comeback at Porsche Grand Prix in April

Maria Sharapova will make her professional tennis comeback following her doping ban at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart in April. The former world number one is serving a 15-month ban after testing positive for cardiac drug meldonium last January and is eligible to compete again on April 26. The Stuttgart tournament is an obvious comeback event given Porsche is one of her main sponsors, b ut it had been thought she would not be able to play because it starts two days before her suspension runs out.

Murray enhances rankings position

Andy Murray has enhanced his position as world No 1 despite losing for the first time in 29 tournament matches at the weekend. Andy Murray was runner-up in Doha but that has still enabled him to improve his hold on the world No 1 spot Murray was beaten for the first time since Kei Nishikori defeated him in the quarter-finals of the US Open in September when Novak Djokovic won Sunday’s Qatar Open final in three sets.

Wild-card entry Bouchard wins 1st-round match at Sydney

Eugenie Bouchard made the most of her wild-card entry to the Sydney International, beating Zhang Shuai of China 7-6 , 6-2 on Sunday in a first-round match. Bouchard, a 22-year-old former Wimbledon finalist, was beaten in the first round of the Brisbane International last week in her first warmup tournament for the Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 16 and where she was a surprise semifinalist in 2014.

Djokovic beats Murray to successfully defend Qatar title

” Defending champion Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Qatar Open title by beating top-seeded Andy Murray 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Saturday. The dramatic match, which showcased the best of men’s tennis for 2 hours, 54 minutes, required Djokovic to need four match points – three in the second set and one in the third – to prevail.

Kristina Mladenovic and Richard Gasquet win Hopman Cup title for France

Kristina Mladenovic and Richard Gasquet clinched France’s second Hopman Cup title, beating Americans Coco Vandeweghe and Jack Sock 4-1, 4-3 in the deciding mixed doubles match in the tournament final on Saturday. Earlier, Vandeweghe beat Mladenovic 6-4, 7-5 after Gasquet saved a match point in the third-set tiebreaker and held on for a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 win over Sock to give France the early lead in the exhibition tournament.

Mladenovic, Gasquet give France its 2nd Hopman Cup title

Kristina Mladenovic and Richard Gasquet clinched France’s second Hopman Cup title, beating Americans CoCo Vandeweghe and Jack Sock 4-1, 4-3 in the deciding mixed doubles match in the tournament final on Saturday. Earlier, Vandeweghe beat Mladenovic 6-4, 7-5 after Gasquet saved a match point in the third-set tiebreaker and held on for a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 win over Sock to give France the early lead in the exhibition tournament.

France beat United States to win Hopman Cup

REUTERS: Kristina Mladenovic and Richard Gasquet beat Coco Vandeweghe and Jack Sock of the United States to win France’s second Hopman Cup title in Perth on Saturday. Gasquet, who saved a match point in the third-set tiebreak, gave France the early lead by beating Sock 6-3 5-7 7-6 in a thrilling match lasting two and a half hours.

Dimitrov vs Nishikori in Brisbane; Murray-Djokovic face off in Doha

IMAGE: Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov reacts after winning his match against Canada’s Milos Raonic at the Brisbane International semi-final at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane on Saturday. Photograph: Steve Holland/Reuters ulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov upset top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International on Saturday to set up a title clash against Japan’s Kei Nishikori.