Tennis News

Czech No. 1 Petra Kvitova ended Tsvetlana Pironkova’s title defense in the semi-final stage of the Apia Sydney International and will now contest the tournament final against soon-to-be Top 20 competitor Karolina Pliskova. The two competitors met once previously on the professional tour, a meeting that Kvitova won in three sets to give herself a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head series.

Watch the match live here: Kvitova v Pliskova

After losing to Pironkova at this event last season, Petra Kvitova made sure not to allow history to repeat itself and crusied past her opponent 7-5, 6-1 to reach the final in Sydney. The win snapped Pironkova’s 14-match win streak and sent Kvitova to her first final of the season – days ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam.

“I’m glad that revenge went well today and I have the chance to be in the final here in Sydney,” Kvitova said. “I think that I played better today than last year against her. I am glad I played how I need to play: aggressively, going forward, attacking the ball early, and just playing my game.”

Kvitova’s serve was particularly impressive, as she struck 4 aces, and won 83% of her first service points to close out the match in 67 minutes.

“I served well, so was very important today. That helps me. I’m looking for tomorrow.”

Kvitova’s next encounter will be against fifth seed Karolina Pliskova, who toppled German No. 1 Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final. She hit seven aces, and won a whopping 97% of her first service points to storm past her opponent in 55 minutes.

“She is playing really risky, going for the winners. That’s what I will do tomorrow as well. You know, we just practice in off‑season. I went in Prague and had a few points over there for an hour, and we played in Wuhan as well,” Kvitova said when asked about her final opponent.” She was a part of our team in Fed Cup in the final.”

This is the first all-Czech final on the WTA tour since 2009 and will likely be an enthralling encounter between two in-form competitors. Both looked phenomenal in their semi-final appearances and it will be hard to determine a winner ahead of the match. While Kvitova holds a 1-0 lead in the series, Pliskova is on an unwards trend in the rankings and may have the necessary momentum to pick up the upset and lift the title.

Prediction: Karolina Pliskova in Three Sets

The Apia Sydney International will feature a semi-final contest pitting the defeding champion against the highest remaining seed in the draw, as Tsvetana Pironkova meets Petra Kvitova for a spot in the tournament final. This is the exact same position the two competitors were in last year, and Pironkova managed to upset the top seed en route to the title. This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Kvitova leading the head to head series 3-1.

Watch the match live here: Kvitova v Pironkova

Czech No. 1 Petra Kvitova rallied from a set down to end the dream run of Jamila Gajdosova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-final round of the tournament. She struck 12 aces and won 78% of her first service points to earn the victory in just over two hours of court time.

Faced with a tricky opponent in her quarter-final match-up, Pironkova eased past Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in straight sets 6-4 6-1.The contest lasted a total of 1 hour and 36 minutes and saw the Bulgarian win 61% of her first service points, and convert on 6 break points. She will now look to replicate her 2014 efforts against Kvitova when they cross paths once again on Thursday afternoon.

“Wow, (I’m) super excited. To be honest, I didn’t really believe that I could go this far again because I had to start from quallies again, which obviously is a very hard thing to do considering the quallies nowadays is not like it was 20 years ago, let’s say,” she said. “It’s also a very strong tournament. So I’m incredibly happy that I’m here today winning again, so I will just try to do it again.”

This marks the fifth time that Kvitova and Pironkova will meet on the WTA tour, with the No. 2 seed leading the series 3-1. However, Pironkova won their most recent meeting, which took place at this very stage of the Apia Sydney International. Given her confidence at this tournament, this could prove to be another upset win for the defending champion.

Prediction: Tsvetana Pironkova in Three Sets

While he may have needed three sets to close out the match this time around, the Tower of Tandil Juan Martin del Potro still managed to work his way into the quarter-final stage of the Apia Sydney international. His next opponent will be Mikhail Kukushkin, whom he has already defeated once previously in Davis Cup competition.

Watch the match live here: Del Potro v Kukushkin

The Argentine suffered from a slow start on Wednesday evening, and even caused quite the fright when he requested that the trainer be brought on court between sets. However, del Potro was able to overcome the odds and secure his spot in the quarter-final stage of the tournament with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. Del Potro hit 11 aces, won 81% of his first service points and saved four of six break points – facing none in the second or third sets – to defeat the Italian in 1 hour and 48 minutes.

“I thought I played better,” said del Potro. “I felt better on the court, especially at the end of the match. I served well, I hit good forehands and my backhands improved from yesterday… I need to keep playing with these guys, hitting the ball as fast I can, and keep trying.”

The defending champion admits that his wrist had not worsened, which is only helping with his confidence.

“My wrist is the same. It’s not getting worse, so I have confidence with that. Of course, I’m very happy to beat my first top 20 player on the year.”

His opponent, Mikhail Kukushkin, needed just a pair of 7-5 sets to get past his opponent, Pablo Cuevas. The Kazakhstan native struck 7 aces, won 67% of his first service points and saved six of seven break points to close out the match in 1 hour and 49 minutes.

This marks just the second time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Argentine leading the series 1-0 with a victory back in the 2011 Davis Cup quarter-finals. The defending champion will look to further his run in the draw and edge himself closer to regaining the title.

Prediction: Juan Martin del Potro in Three Sets

After over ten months away from the professional tour, Juan Martin del Potro made a successful return to competition and will now contest a second round contest against Fabio Fognini. This marks the first time that the two competitors will cross paths on the tour.

Watch the match live here: Del Potro v Fognini

Following his extended spell on the sidelines with another wrist injury, del Potro dispatched Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets to reach the second round of the Apia Sydney International on Tuesday. He defeated his Ukrainian opponent 6-3, 7-6(4) in exactly 81 minutes of court time.

“It was a great moment for me,” Del Potro said. “I think I played well in my first match after 10 months. I served well. My forehand is still working out. So that’s a good signal for the future. I need to work very hard to my backhands and my movements, but I think now is time to think about my comeback and enjoy this moment a lot.

“I’ve been at home for a long time; [it’s been] really sad. To be honest, I didn’t expect this moment to be early in the season. I’m so happy, so glad. I would like to share with a lot of people who were behind me last year, but all of them are in Argentina. So I will meet them once again very soon.”

The world No. 338 will now face Italian No. 1 Fabio Fognini for the first time. The world No. 18 is taking part in his first tournament of the season, as well as his first professional match of 2015. Following a mediocre year last season, he will be looking for a strong start against the Argentine.

To the surprise of many, this is the first time that Fognini and del Potro cross paths on the ATP World Tour. Given del Potro’s injury, this will be a difficult contest to predict fairly. Fognini will have the advantage if he plays to the best of his abilities, while del Potro appears to be recovering quicker than many expected and could manage a path to the quarter-final round.

Prediction: Fabio Fognini in Three Sets

Simona Halep withdrew from the event citing a gastrointestinal illness.

“We’re sorry to receive the news that Simona has had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness and we wish her a speedy recovery in time for the Australian Open,” Alistair MacDonald, the Tournament Director in Sydney, said. “We look forward to welcoming her back to Sydney next year.”

Halep, who lifted the Shenzhen title last week, was due to begin her Sydney campaign with a contest against Karolina Pliskova. She was eventually replaced by lucky loser Nicole Gibbs.

“During the tournament in China I got this problem in my stomach,” said Halep, who, after winning the title in Shenzhen three days ago, mentioned she was feeling a little bit sick before the final.

“I didn’t play for three days. I was waiting until today to see if I was ready to play again, but I feel like I cannot play. It’s tough to play a tournament like this so unfortunately I decided to withdraw.”

However, Halep does not expect this to impact her preparation or participation in the Australian Open.

“You never know with the stomach, but hopefully in two or three days I’ll be ready to play again,” she said. “Right now I just need to think about recovering, then I will worry about matches later.”

The Romanian is the third seed at the tournament, behind Serena Williams and aria Sharapova. As a clear favourite at the event, she will look to play her best and aim for her maiden Grand Slam title.

“I’m confident now,” Halep said. “Last year I did some good results but now it’s another year and another start, and I’ve had a good start, winning in Shenzhen and playing better match by match.”

The ATP announced on Thursday afternoon that they intend to increase prize money in an attempt to further enhance the ATP Challenger Tour.

The tour, which comprises of approximately 150 events annually, is the stepping-stone for elite competitors who want to head to the ATP World Tour. With that in mind, the increases will take place at the lower end of the spectrum of events – a predicted 100% increase in minimum prize money within the next 10 years.

“Men’s professional tennis is enjoying one of the most successful periods in its history, however it is essential that we see growth across all levels of the game,” said Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President. “Almost every player earns their stripes on the Challenger Tour before they make it on the ATP World Tour and every bit of extra prize money helps as they look to forge a career in men’s professional tennis. The ATP is committed to making that career path as viable as possible.”

In 2007, the minimum prize money was $25,000 + hospitality. By 2014, the minimum was $40,000 + hospitality. This will rise to $50,000 in 2015. The tour also plans to offer additional umpires, physiotherapists and other PR staff to help players with accessibility.

The ATP also announced that they will look to alter the Challenger schedule so that it resembles the World Tour one, thus reducing travel costs.

‘We need to get the right Challenger events in the right weeks, reducing travel costs and improving the medical services, player education, officiating and marketing at these events,” added Kermode. “We are taking a holistic approach as we look to make the time players spend at the Challenger level more sustainable.”