Tennis News

2009 tournament champion Andy Murray is through to the second round in Rotterdam when he defeated Nicolas Mahut to advance. He will next face Vasek Pospisil, whom he defeated in Vienna last season to take a 1-0 head-to-head lead over the Canadian.

Follow the match live here: Murray v Pospisil Live Stream

Eager to rebound from his recent loss in the Australian Open final, Andy Murray kicked off his campaign in the indoor event in Rotterdam with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Nicolas Mahut on Wednesday. While it was a lopsided contest, it was an entertaining affair to watch, as Murray played a strong match for the majority of the encounter to jump to a 6-3, 5-0 lead. At that point, he was broken back before serving out the match in 1 hour and 33 minutes.

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“Today I served well when I was behind up until the second to last service game,” Murray said. “I was down break points in the first three service games of the second set and came up with some big serves when I needed them. Hopefully I can do a little bit better tomorrow.”

World No. 59 Vasek Pospisil reached the second round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament following a 6-4, 6-2 dismissal of Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. It was a strong debut for the Canadian at the ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard-court tournament, as he converted three of his four break points to win his first time encounter with the German in 1 hour and 1 minute.

This is just the second time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Murray leading the head to head series 1-0 with a victory in one of the last tournaments of the season in 2014. While Pospisil is a tough second round match for the Scot, Murray appears motivated to perform and will likely edge out a close straight sets victory.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Straight Sets

Following a strong showing in the Australian Open, Eugenie Bouchard will look to build on that momentum and live up to her billing as the top seed in the WTA Diamond Games this week in Antwerp. Her campaign to the title will begin against Mona Barthel, whom she has faced only once previously on the WTA tour. Bouchard leads the head-to-head series 1-0 and will look to extend that lead on Thursday.

Follow the match live here: Bouchard v Barthel

World No. 7 Eugenie Bouchard may have ended her 2014 season in abysmal fashion, but she appeared up to the challenge at the start of the New Year, as she reached the quarter-final stage of the Aussie Open before losing to Maria Sharapova.

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Now, armed with new coach Sam Sumyk, Bouchard will look to continue her rise up the rankings.

“I think it’s important to arrive early at a tournament when you can, and I was able to this time, so I wanted to come early and prepare,” Bouchard said. “I haven’t done much here except practicing, so I haven’t seen much of the city. But from what I’ve seen so far, I think Antwerp is a really cute city.”

“Every tournament I play, I want to try to win,” she said. “Every match is a chance to try and get better, and to try to prove to myself how well I can play. Every match is tough, too – the first round here is just as tough as the first round at Wimbledon. You go to different locations and play under different conditions, but I know I have to try my best anywhere, and I’m happy to win anywhere.”

Germany’s Mona Barthel defeated Klaartje Liebens with relative ease in her opening round match in Antwerp. She struck six aces, won 86% of her first service points, and faced no break points en route to her 6-2, 6-0 victory in 52 minutes.

This is just the second time that Bouchard and Barthel will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Canadian leading the head-to-head series 1-0. Bouchard earned that win last season in Wuhan, where she rallied from a set down to defeat Mona 4-6 6-3 6-4. Given Bouchard’s flakiness at the start of events, this could be another three-set battle to determine who will advance to the quarter-finals.

Prediction: Eugenie Bouchard in Three Sets

Following a surprisingly difficult opening round in Rotterdam, Canada’s Milos Raonic will look to make quick work of his second round opponent Simone Bolelli, whom he has met once before on the professional tour. Raonic leads the head-to-head series 1-0, with a win last season at the Rome Masters.

Follow the match here: Raonic v Bolelli Live

The world No. 6 had a difficult opening match at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, as he needed three sets to get past Andrey Kuznetsov 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5. Raonic struck 19 aces and won 90% of his first service points, but still managed to drop the second set 6-1 before finishing the match in 1 hour and 54 minutes.

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“It’s about fighting through,” Raonic said after his three-set victory. “I kept my attitude together, which allowed me to get my game and find answers towards the end, and that’s why I was able to win.”

“I think there is a big target on my back. I’m the No. 6 player in the world right now, and I feel like I can do much better. Every round is an opportunity for someone to pick up a positive win.”

In his opening round match several days ago, Italy’s Simone Bolelli defeated Lukas Rosol in straight sets to reach the second round of the tournament. He beat his Czech adversary 6-3, 6-1 in a match where he won 79% of his first service points and four aces.

“He’s played great over the past 12 months,” Milos said of Bolelli. “I played him in Rome, and that was a very difficult match. I’m going to expect much of the same here.”

This marks just the second time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Raonic leading the head-to-head series 1-0 with a victory last season at the Rome Masters. While the Canadian had a difficult time in his opening match, he remained strong on serve and that will likely be the difference against the Italian on Thursday.

Prediction: Milos Raonic in Straight Sets

After working her way back into the Top 5 in the WTA rankings with her remarkable 2014 season, Ana Ivanovic got off to a less than stellar start to the year when she was ousted in the opening round of the 2015 Australian Open.

The loss came as a surprise, considering the Serbian star had reached the final of the Brisbane International two weeks prior.

“With it (Australian Open) being such a big event, and because I was in good form coming into the tournament, I did have a bit more expectation. But unfortunately things didn’t go so well in the week leading up to the tournament,” she was quoted as saying by gulfnews.com.

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It appears that Ivanovic broke her toe ahead of the tournament and was unable to get herself in peak condition ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam event.

“I broke my toe and wasn’t able to practice as much as I’d planned. I felt quite stressed and these things combined meant that I wasn’t able to play my best tennis. But my opponent, Lucie Hradecka, played a great match and she deserved to win,”

The 27-year-old Ivanovic has been a consistent player on the tour, apart from her performances at the Majors. It is an issue that she is currently aware of and keen to fix en route to a second Grand Slam title.

“I haven’t had very good results in the Grand Slams lately so I need to work on my approach. Maybe I should try something different, so I can relax more when I’m playing these big events.”

Ivanovic is scheduled to take part in the Dubai Open next week, along with the remainder of the upper echelon of the WTA rankings.

“For sure, I can’t wait to get back on the court. The season is still very young and there is a lot to play for. I am looking forward, not back,” the 2008 Australian Open finalist said.