Rogers Rolls Past Halep To Start Australian Open
Shelby Rogers handed No.4 seed Simona Halep her second straight first-round loss at the Australian Open, rolling through in straight sets.
Shelby Rogers handed No.4 seed Simona Halep her second straight first-round loss at the Australian Open, rolling through in straight sets.
Elina Svitolina takes on Julia Boserup in the second round of the Australian Open.
Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber walk out on to Centre Court for the Wimbledon ladies final.
It’s the second time these two have met in the finals of a Grand Slam this year, with Serena having lost to Kerber at the Australian Open.
It was Serena’s powerful serve against Kerber’s tenacious rallying.
The match featured sizzling baseline battles punctuated by forays to the net.
Kerber did her part to keep the match competitive and stayed aggressive throughout.
Famous fans: Beyonce and Jay-Z were in Serena’s box rooting for the World No.1.
They weren’t the only famous faces in the crowd: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi enjoyed some world class commentary from Billie Jean King.
Championship point! Serena reacts to winning the match.
Serena collapsed in elation after winning her seventh Wimbledon title.
Respect: the finalists share a hug at the net.
Serena avenged her Australian Open loss to Kerber.
Nope, that’s not world peace. Serena now holds 22 Grand Slam titles, tying Graf’s all-time record.
Serena finally reunited with a familiar prize: the Venus Rose Water Dish.
Both finalists received their trophies and exchanged words of admiration.
The Wimbledon Ladies’ trophy, back in Serena’s hands…
The BBC’s Sue Barker did the post-match interview.
The finalists and their trophies.
Kerber took a lap and walked off Centre Court with her head held high.
But for the champion, it was time for photos.
All eyes were on the World No.1 on her historic day.
Afterwards, Serena stepped out to the All England Club balcony to greet the gathered crowd.
Serena presented the trophy to the All England Club for the seventh time.
Varvara Lepchenko takes on Duan Ying-Ying in the second round of the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – The bottom half of the draw is back in action led by Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and Karolina Pliskova. We preview all the day’s matchups right here at wtatennis.com.
Thursday, Second Round
[2] Serena Williams (USA #2) vs Lucie Safarova (CZE #61)
Head-to-head: Serena leads 9-0
Key Stat: Serena is contesting the Australian Open for the 17th time – the joint-most along with sister Venus Williams
Lucie Safarova saved an astonishing nine match points in her opening match against Yanina Wickmayer, a two-hour three-set marathon. But unfortunately for the Czech, it doesn’t get any easier in the second round, where she’ll need all that grit against six-time champion Serena Williams.
The last time these two met was at the final of the French Open back in 2015, with this early encounter a testament to the pair’s diverging career paths. Serena is now seeking her record breaking 23rd Grand Slam title in Melbourne and Safarova, a former World No.5, plummeting out of the Top 50 after struggling with injury and illness.
“I didn’t come here to lose in the first round, or the second round, or at all,” Serena told press earlier in the tournament. “I’m just here to play and to win obviously, but just to play.”
[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3) vs Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO #79)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads 2-0
Key Stat: Lucic-Baroni is 3-14 against Top 5 players
The last time Mirjana Lucic-Baroni won a match in Melbourne it was 1998 – Martina Hingis was the WTA World No.1 and Serena Williams hadn’t yet won her first career title.
But there’s not much time for the former Wimbledon semifinal to revel in the three-set comeback win over Wang Qiang, because up next is World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska.
A two-time semifinalist here, Radwanska faced a battle in her opener against Tsvetana Pironkova but saved her best for last to move into the second round for the ninth time in her career. The Pole is hoping to continue that run and bring her signature mix of skill and creativity to the second week of this Slam.
“I really feel good on this center court,” Radwanska said in press. “I like to play here, I like Australia. I’ve been always playing good tennis here, two semis.
“Of course, that’s always very close till the end. Hopefully I can do one step forward and play seven matches here.”
[5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #5) vs [Q] Anna Blinkova (RUS #189)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: This is Blinkova’s first ever match against a Top 10 opponent
No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova barely broke a sweat in her Melbourne opener, making quick work of Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo and needing just one hour and dropping two games en route to the second round.
But she still wasn’t completely satisfied after the 6-2, 6-0 victory:
“I think there are more things which I want to improve. First round, it’s always tricky, and I didn’t feel that good in the first set there.
“I was a little bit nervous in the beginning, made a lot of mistakes on my forehand, especially no first serves. So this I want to improve high percentage of the first serve, definitely.”
It’s a scary prospect that the WTA’s undisputed ace leader still wants to improve her serve. But that’s what Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova will be up against in her first ever match against a Top 10 opponent.
Blinkova might be slightly out of her depths against big-hitting Pliskova, but don’t count her out just yet: she started her Australian Open main draw campaign with a statement win over the No.32-ranked Monica Niculescu.
Around the grounds…
No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova continues her quest for a maiden Slam in her second round clash against Taipei’s Hsieh Su-Wei. Cibulkova leads their head-to-head 1-0, but they haven’t played in almost three years. Also in action, Naomi Osaka will look for Grand Slam revenge against No.9 seed Johanna Konta. The Brit won the pair’s only previous encounter, which came in the second round of qualifying at the 2015 US Open. No.17 seed Caroline Wozniacki is hoping for another comfortable win in her rematch against Donna Vekic, who’s into the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2015 French Open. Meanwhile, No.22 seed Daria Gavrilova carries home hopes in her second round clash against 19-year-old Ana Konjuh. Gavrilova is one of two Aussies remaining in the draw.
Serena Williams dazzled at her seventh Wimbledon Champions Ball alongside mixed doubles winner Heather Watson. Check out the best photos of the night right here on wtatennis.com!
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.17 seed Caroline Wozniacki had little trouble in her straight-sets win against Donna Vekic, playing solid tennis to ease through 6-1, 6-3 in the second round of the Australian Open.
But Wozniacki will be happy with wrapping up the comfortable victory in just under an hour and twenty minutes, because awaiting in Round Three is the very in-form Johanna Konta.
The former No.1 got off to a strong start against Vekic, ruthlessly punishing any weak serve that came her way to rocket up to a double break lead. The Croat did her best to hang in there, occasionally foraying to the net and peppering her game with drop shots.
“I feel really good body-wise and mentally, which is huge for me,” Wozniacki said in her post-match press conference. “Patches of my matches have been really good. I thought I started off pretty well today. In the end, maybe a little bit too passive. But generally, I think it was steady and played pretty decent.”
Wozniacki struggled with her ball toss throughout the match under the bright midday sun on Rod Laver Arena, and a pair of double faults in the same game gave Vekic a chance to break back at 4-1, wrong-footing Wozniacki with her inside-out forehand winners. The momentary lapse did nothing to halt the Dane’s momentum and she got right back on track in the next game, breaking back and serving out the set comfortably.
She broke three more times in the final set, absorbing Vekic’s pace and rhythm to force the errors, which came fast and thick towards the end of the match. After just an hour and 18 minutes she made her way to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2014.
The former No.1 was just too solid, hitting 21 winners to 9 unforced errors against Vekic’s 23 winners and 32 unforced errors. The Dane was also a force at the net, winning 80% of her 15 forays to the net.
She’ll look to continue that form against Konta, her opponent in the third round.
“She plays really well, you know, big forehand, big serve,” Wozniacki said. “But I’m ready. I’m playing well. I’m excited for the challenge.
“She’s obviously won last week in Sydney. She had a good last year. I’m here to fight. I’m here to do my best, and try and win the match.”
Caroline #Wozniacki is through to 3R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/kJ0BoDLFFo
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 19 de enero de 2017
June was defined by three breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?
Have a look at the nominees for June’s Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, July 15.
June 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:
Elena Vesnina: The Russian veteran has enjoyed regular success at the upper echelons of the doubles circuit, but finally broke though in a big way at a singles Slam, reaching her first semifinal at Wimbledon with wins over Ekaterina Makarova and Dominika Cibulkova. Ranked outside the Top 100 to start the season, Vesnina has cut her ranking by nearly 100 spots since her February low of No.122 and is back inside the Top 25 for the first time since January of 2014.
Madison Keys: Keys not only earned her second title on grass at the Aegon Classic, but she also made a major rankings breakthough by becoming the first American to debut inside the Top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999. Keys backed up her newly minted Top 10 ranking with a run to the second week of Wimbledon, her sixth trip to the round of 16 or better at a major in her last seven outings.
Anastasija Sevastova: Briefly retired for a space of 18 months, the Latvian is arguably playing better than ever as she continues her climb back up the rankings, making a breakthrough at the Mallorca Open, where she reached the final – her first since 2010. The run also brought Sevastova back into the Top 70.
2016 Winners:
January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova put on another emphatic performance to dismiss Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova in straight sets at the Australian Open.
GSTAAD, Switzerland – Patty Schnyder was set to play first WTA main draw match since 2011 before a rain storm held serve, canceling her scheduled first round encounter with Katerina Siniakova on Tuesday. Nonetheless, the former World No.7 was optimistic about taking her comeback to the next level.
“It all depends,” she told press when asked what she would consider a good week. “If I play a great match in the first round, and my opponent plays an even better one – because they can all say – why couldn’t I call that a good week? But obviously I feel ready and I want to win the match once I step on the court. I’d feel the same way with a quarterfinal.”
Schnyder made a tentative return to tennis last summer by playing a series of ITF Challenger tournaments, and was offered a wildcard to play qualifying at the Volvo Car Open, a tournament she’d twice finished runner-up in 2002 and 2006.
“There’ve been challenges everywhere, every week I go, I find challenges. I’m not really watching the rankings too much, and most of the girls, I don’t even know, so I’m just trying to adapt, see how they play and feel good with myself and my tennis.”
Awarded a main draw wild card at the inaugural Ladies Championship Gstaad alongside young countrywoman and junior French Open champion Rebeka Masarova, Schnyder won’t handicap the field too much, opting for a full immersion before analyzing just how much has changed since she was a fixture in the Top 10.
“It’s really hard to tell because I think you can only judge it once you play the girls. It’s not so easy to watch on TV and make a comment. Like I said, I was able to play in the German league, several matches against Top 100 players. I played one that was really physical with Friedsam, and I think it’s going in that direction, with the serve and return really improving.
“The constants, playing the rallies, that feels the same. Maybe I’m missing a bit more than before, but I have to play a few more of these girls to really say something.”
All photos courtesy of Ladies Championship Gstaad.