Tennis News

From around the world

Caroline Wozniacki vs Lin Zhu Preview – WTA Kuala Lumpur 2015 Round 2

Caroline Wozniacki vs Lin Zhu Preview – WTA Kuala Lumpur 2015 Round 2

  • Posted: Mar 04, 2015

Caroline Wozniacki

In her only previous appearance at the Malaysian Open two years ago, Caroline Wozniacki suffered a surprising upset in the opening round of the tournament. Over 700 days later, the Dane returned to Kuala Lumpur and kicked off her campaign in solid fashion. Through to the second round of the tournament, Wozniacki will come up against Lin Zhu, whom she has never faced previously on the professional tour.

Follow the match live here: Wozniacki v Zhu Live Stream

The tournament’s top seed commenced her week in Malaysia with a rapid-fire victory over a Chinese qualifier. She defeated Yafan Wang 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour and 14 minutes to advance to the following stage of the event. While she struck no aces, the Dane hit 73% of her first service points and saved 3 of 4 break points to earn the victory in a lopsided manner.

“I didn’t do so well when I was here last time, so I’m happy to get my first win in Malaysia. The first match of any tournament is always tough and I’m just happy to be through,” Wozniacki said.

Article Continues Below Ad

In a more difficult opening round match-up, Lin Zhu ousted Yuliya Beygeizimer in three sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to her second round meeting with Wozniacki. She struck 3 aces, won 67% of her first service points and converted seven breaks of serve to close out the match in 2 hours and 5 minutes.

This is just the first time that Wozniacki and Zhu will cross paths on the WTA tour. The Dane, who is positioned as the top seed of the tournament, will likely live up to her billing and will continue her dominant run through the draw. While first-time opponent and relative unknowns could always pose an unlikely threat to Top 10 players, Wozniacki should be able to advance in straight sets relatively unscathed.

Prediction: Caroline Wozniacki in Straight Sets

http://www.stevegtennis.com/2015/03/caroline-wozniacki-vs-lin-zhu-preview-wta-kuala-lumpur-2015-round-2/

Juan Martin del Potro to Play Doubles with Marin Cilic at Indian Wells

Juan Martin del Potro to Play Doubles with Marin Cilic at Indian Wells

  • Posted: Mar 04, 2015

Del Potro

After being forced to return to the sidelines after just one tournament back on the tour, Juan Martin del Potro is confident that he will return to professional competition in late March.

Speaking at a Davis Cup press conference ahead of the Argentina vs. Brazil tie, Del Potro explained that the recovery stage has gone by quicker than he anticipated, and that he motivated to regain his ranking.

“I’m in full recovery. It’s going faster than planned, and I’m excited. I’ll come back in the coming weeks. I really want to get back in the same conditions as the other players. I don’t want to give them any ‘advantage.’ I came here this week to add to the experience to my team. The first goal about ranking will be to come back in the top 100 and keep me there. Obviously, I want to get back into the top-10.”

The Argentine made his return to tennis for the first time since February 2014 last week in Sydney. While few expected much, he managed to reach the quarter-final round at the Apia Sydney International, where he was the defending champion. He defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky and followed up with a three-set win over Fabio Fognini before losing to Mikhail Kukushkin the following round. However, he withdrew from the Australian Open soon afterwards and was under the knife just a few days later.

Article Continues Below Ad

While Del Potro expects to compete in singles competition in Miami, he has signed up for doubles competition alongside fellow injured star Marin Cilic at Indian Wells. It was a low-key way to gauge their recovery.

“I talked with Marin Cilic, who is injured himself. We signed for the doubles tournament in Indian Wells, and we will see if we can go back. Even Novak Djokovic supported me. My realistic goal is to return at Miami. This is the beginning of the return. It’s very hard to live with injuries.”

http://www.stevegtennis.com/2015/03/juan-martin-del-potro-to-play-doubles-with-marin-cilic-at-indian-wells/

Davis Cup 2015 World Group Nominations: Djokovic, Murray Headline Weekend Action

Davis Cup 2015 World Group Nominations: Djokovic, Murray Headline Weekend Action

  • Posted: Mar 04, 2015

Davis-Cup7

The nominations for the first round of the 2015 Davis Cup tournament will be headlined by world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and British No. 1 Andy Murray.

Djokovic will lead the charge for Serbia as they attempt to get past the depleted Croatian team without the injured reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic. The Croatian will now be lead by the youngest player in the ATP World Tour top 100 Borna Coric.

You will be able to follow the matches live here: Davis Cup 2015 Live Streaming

World No. 3 Andy Murray will be at the helm of the Great Britain team as they rematch the United States in the first round of the Davis Cup. The UK team defeated the US team last season and will look to duplicate their efforts this time around.

Article Continues Below Ad

Check out the full list of World Group nominations below:

Germany vs. France
Venue: Fraport Arena, Frankfurt, GER (hard – indoor)
Germany
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Benjamin Becker
Jan-Lennard Struff
Andre Begemann
Captain: Michael Kohlmann
France
Gilles Simon
Gael Monfils
Nicolas Mahut
Captain: Arnaud Clement

Great Britain vs. USA
Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow, GBR (hard – indoor)
Great Britain
Andy Murray
James Ward
Dominic Inglot
Jamie Murray
Captain: Leon Smith
USA
John Isner
Donald Young
Mike Bryan
Bob Bryan
Captain: Jim Courier

Czech Republic vs. Australia
Venue: Cez Arena, Ostrava, CZE (hard – indoor)
Czech Republic
Lukas Rosol
Jiri Vesely
Jan Mertl
Adam Pavlasek
Captain: Jaroslav Navratil
Australia
Nick Kyrgios
Bernard Tomic
Samuel Groth
Lleyton Hewitt
Captain: Wally Masur

Kazakhstan vs. Italy
Venue: National Tennis Centre, Astana, KAZ (hard – indoor)
Kazakhstan
Mikhail Kukushkin
Andrey Golubev
Aleksandr Nedovyesov
Dmitry Popko
Captain: Dias Doskarayev
Italy
Fabio Fognini
Andreas Seppi
Simone Bolelli
Paolo Lorenzi
Captain: Corrado Barazzutti

Argentina vs. Brazil
Venue: Tecnopolis, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – outdoor)
Argentina
Leonardo Mayer
Federico Delbonis
Diego Schwartzmann
Carlos Berlocq
Captain: Daniel Orsanic
Brazil
Thomaz Bellucci
Joao Souza
Marcelo Melo
Bruno Soares
Captain: Joao Zwetsch

Serbia vs. Croatia
Venue: Kraljevo Sports Centre, Kraljevo, SRB (hard – indoor)
Serbia
Novak Djokovic
Viktor Troicki
Filip Krajinovic
Nenad Zimonjic
Captain: Bogdan Obradovic
Croatia
Borna Coric
Mate Delic
Marin Draganja
Captain: Zeljko Krajan

Canada vs. Japan
Venue: Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, Vancouver, CAN (hard – indoor)
Canada
Milos Raonic
Vasek Pospisil
Frank Dancevic
Daniel Nestor
Captain: Martin Laurendeau
Japan
Kei Nishikori
Go Soeda
Tatsuma Ito
Yasutaka Uchiyama
Captain: Minoru Ueda

Belgium vs. Switzerland
Venue: Country Hall du Sart Tilman, Liege, BEL (hard – indoor)
Belgium
David Goffin
Steve Darcis
Ruben Bemelmans
Niels Desein
Captain: Johan van Herck
Switzerland
Yann Marti
Adrien Bossel
Henri Laaksonen
Michael Lammer
Captain: Severin Luthi

http://www.stevegtennis.com/2015/03/davis-cup-2015-world-group-nominations-djokovic-murray-headline-weekend-action/