Tennis News

One of the more intriguing match-up to take place on Wednesday afternoon in the second round of the Qatar Total Open 2015 is the berth between Petra Kvitova and Jelena Jankovic. As it stands, the pair have a tied head-to-head series with two wins a piece. The former Serbian No. 1 won their two most recent encounters in 2013-14 and will look to maintain that streak on Tuesday. Check out the Kvitova v Jankovic Head to Head.

You will be able to follow the match live here: Kvitova v Jankovic Live Stream

Petra Kvitova began her season in sublime fashion, as she worked her way through the Sydney draw to lift the title with a win over rising star Karolina Pliskova. Unfortunately, she followed up with a third round exit in Melbourne to Madison Keys, and then a second round exit in Dubai to Carla Suarez Navarro. She will now look to rebound with a successful showing this week in Doha.

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While she only had one pro win under her belt so far in 2015, Jelena Jankovic stormed past Saisai Zeng 6-0, 6-2 to reach the second round in Doha. She managed 72% of her first service points, and saved four break points en route to the victory in 1 hour and 36 minutes. Jankovic has been unable to get past the second round of any tournament on the WTA tour this season, and currently holds a 2-3 win-loss record this year.

This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will meet on the WTA Tour, with the series tied at 2-wins each. Kvitova won their first two meetings (Fed Cup, Linz) while Jankovic rallied to level the series with consecutive wins in Beijing and Doha. While the series momentum favours the Serb, Jankovic has been far from her best so far this season and will be hard pressed to defeat the resurgent Kvitova on Tuesday.

Prediction: Petra Kvitova in Straight Sets

Agnieszka Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta will meet in the second round of the Qatar Total Open 2015. This marks the eighth time the two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Radwanska leading the head-to-head series 4-3. While the Pole may hold the overall lead, Pennetta earnedback-to-back victories in their most recent outings on the tour, including in Dubai and the Indian Wells Premier event.

You will be able to watch the match live here: Radwanska v Pennetta Live Stream

While Radwanska is currently armed with a significant celebrity coach in 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova, she has had a tempestuous adjustment period that has allowed her only five wins in four tournaments. Following a second round exit from Sydney at the hands of Garbine Muguruza, the Pole reached the fourth round of the Aussie Open before losing to Venus Williams. She then suffered consecutive defeats in the Fed Cup tie against Russia, and lost in the second round in Dubai to Muguruza again.

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Italian No. 1 Flavia Pennetta rallied from a set down to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. She struck 3 aces, won 71% of her first service points and saved six break points to close out the match three minutes shy of two hours. She will now get an opportunity to earn a third consecutive victory over Radwanska en route to the third round in Doha.

This marks the eighth time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Radwanska leading the series 4-3. Pennetta won their first ever encounter on the professional tour back in 2008, but then underwent a dry spell against the Pole, where she was unable to win even a single set for five years. Radwanska won their following three encounters, but has since lost the most recent two matches against the Italian – in Dubai and Indian Wells. It will be interesting to see If Radwanska continues to struggle against Pennetta.

Prediction: Flavia Pennetta in Three Sets

2012 runner-up Andy Murray will begin his week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday afternoon, when he comes up against surging competitor Gilles Muller. This marks the second time that the two will cross paths o the tour, with Murray leading the head to head series 1-0. However, that contest took place over three years ago and came under far different circumstances than their upcoming contest in the UAE city.

Watch the match live here: Murray v Muller Live Stream

Any Murray began his 2015 season in fantastic fashion, as he worked his way through a Grand Slam draw that included Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios, and Tomas Berdych before he lost to Novak Djokovic in his first Major final since winning Wimbledon back in 2013. The win boosted Murray back into the Top 4, where he once again completed the placement for the ‘Big Four’ on the tour. He then moved over to Rotterdam, where he suffered a surprising exit to Gilles Simon in the quarter-final round of the tournament. It was a shockingly straightforward exit given that Murray looked good en route to that stage of the tournament.

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The British No. 1 will now look to rebound with a strong showing at the ATP 500 event when he comes up against Gilles Muller. After reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, Muller suffered an opening round exit in Zagreb before he rebounded with back-to-back victories over David Goffin and Grigor Dimitrov in Rotterdam. His incredible week was cut short in the quarter-final round, where he lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6(3) 6-3.

This marks just the second time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Murray leading the series 1-0. While the world No. 4 will undoubtedly be the favourite, on Tuesday, it will not be based off his previous win, which took place at the 2012 Brisbane International. Muller is more than capable of pushing the Scot to three sets, and could even produce the upset if Murray is not playing near top form.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Three Sets

On Sunday afternoon, Ivo Karlovic became the third player over 30 years old to win a title on the ATP World Tour that day when he defeated America’s Donald Young to win the Delray Beach Open.

The towering Croatian defeated Young 6-3, 6-3 in a straightforward match to lift the title. He struck 13 aces, and denied the American all of his seven break point opportunities to win the match. According to the ATP World Tour, Karlovic struck 91 aces this week, a tournament record.

Karlovic, 35, is now the oldest player to win a title on the ATP World Tour since Jimmy Connors won the Tel Aviv Open in 1989.

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“It is unbelievable,” said Karlovic, who trains in nearby Plantation. “It was really satisfying also for me to do this at my age, and it gives me a boost of confidence when I go into the other tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami.

“Last year, I was in four finals and I lost all of them, so I really wanted to do this one good. I was focused; I was doing my thing and it paid off.”

Karlovic earned $84,250 and 250 Emirates ATP ranking points for his first title win since the 2013 Bogota Open. He went 0-4 last year but was able to deny Young’s maiden title on the tour this week in Florida.

“He played well. He beat me. I didn’t play the best I wanted to play, but all credit to him.”

While the semi-finals on Saturday added to the excitement for Sunday afternoon’s final in Rio de Janeiro, David Ferrer added to his undeniable dominance on the South American portion of the schedule with a straight sets victory over Fabio Fognini to lift the Rio Open title for the first time in his career.

Ferrer, who defeated the Italian No. 1 6-2, 6-3, lifted his seventh title on the Golden Swing – a record that places him as the title leader – and his 23rd career title on the ATP World Tour. He now moves to 8-0 in the head-to-head series against Fognini and needed only 83 minutes to do so.

“I’m really happy,” said Ferrer. “It’s my 23rd tournament win and I never won here before in Rio. I’m very happy for that. I had the chance to be in the Carnaval this week and all the facilities are good. This week is very special. I have a lot of confidence with my game. I won two tournaments this year. It’s very important for me being with the best players in the world.”

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Ferrer was awarded $343,000 and 500 ATP Ranking points for his efforts, while Fognini took home $154,620 and 300 ATP Rankings points. It was a disappointing end to the tournament given Fognini’s incredible upset victory over Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals – a win that snapped the Spaniard’s remarkable 52-match win streak in clay court semi-finals.

“When you lose in a final, you’re always disappointed,” said Fognini. “It’s a big week for me. Yesterday I beat Rafa. It’s a big tournament and I’m happy because I put in a lot of work mentally and physically. To be 100 per cent against David it is difficult.”

In an all-French final on Sunday afternoon, Gilles Simon edged countryman Gael Monfils to lift the Open 13 title in Marseille for the second time in his career.

Simon, who moved to 5-1 in the head-to-head series against Monfils, defeated the entertaining crowd pleaser 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4). His win was made easier since Monfils’ error count continued to rise as the match progressed. After two hours and 30 minutes, Simon closed out the match and lifted his 12th career title on the ATP World Tour.

“It was a great week, but a tough one physically,” said Simon, who spent eight hours and 53 minutes on court in his five matches. “I left a lot of energy against [Borna] Coric (in the second round) and then it was hard to recover from this one. I’m happy I won here since I won my first tournament in Marseille. I hope it won’t be the last one.”

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Simon was awarded €102,900 and 250 ATP Ranking points for his efforts. Monfils took home 150 points and €54,200 for his runner-up finish.

“I’m disappointed,” said Monfils. “It was a great match and we both played really well.”

Monfils’ loss to the world No. 17 means the Frenchman drops to a 5-17 record in Tour finals.