Tennis News

BRISBANE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka stormed past Angelique Kerber to win the 18th WTA title of her career – and first WTA title in almost two and a half years – at the Brisbane International.

Azarenka had been on fire all week – she lost a total of just 13 games in her four matches leading up to the final – and she maintained that form against the No.4-seeded Kerber on Saturday night, facing some early resistance but taking complete control from 3-all in the first set to win, 6-3, 6-1.

The match numbers told the story – Azarenka finished with a +14 differential of winners to unforced errors, 23 to 9, while Kerber was a slightly negative -2 on winners to unforced errors, 25 to 27.

The Belarusian also improved to 6-0 lifetime against Kerber and to 60-59 against Top 10 players.

Kerber was the first to take the microphone during the trophy presentation after the match.

“I would like to say congratulations to Vika – you had an amazing week and you’re always a tough opponent,” the World No.10 said. “I was hoping to win one time against you. I think I’m now 0-6 against you! But hopefully we’ll play many more times, and next time you’ll give me a chance to win!”

Azarenka gave the props right back. “Congratulations to Angelique and thank you for pushing me – you always push my limits. I hope we get to play more matches soon and good luck the rest of the year.”

The former World No.1 had some particularly powerful words for the fans, too. “Every time I play in front of this crowd I couldn’t be happier,” she said. “My dreams come true whenever I step on the court, and I want to thank you all for showing up, motivating us so much and inspiring us so much.”

Her 2014 and 2015 seasons ravaged by various injuries, Azarenka – who finished 2012 at No.1 and 2013 at No.2 behind Serena Williams – is already looking back to her best in 2016. This is her first WTA title since Cincinnati all the way back in August 2013, where she defeated Williams in the final.

And even more daunting for her rivals going into the Australian Open? Azarenka – a two-time champion in Melbourne – has now won 35 of her last 39 matches in Australia, a stretch dating back to 2012.

Can the Belarusian make it three at Melbourne Park this year? Stay tuned on wtatennis.com…

Finish off the week with a group dab, @Vika7 Azarenka & the @BrisbaneTennis ball kids! #WTA pic.twitter.com/xA5p9BIzVF

— WTA (@WTA) January 9, 2016

DOHA, Qatar: Former World No.1 Angelique Kerber is aiming to get back to winning ways in Doha – and she is not letting herself get distracted by thoughts of reclaiming the top spot.

“For me it’s really important to play good tennis and to try to improve my game – that is actually my goal always,” she said before the beginning of her tournament.

“I will do my best in the next few weeks, few months. If you play good tennis, then you have results. This is actually for me the most important thing, to win matches again, getting the confidence back. Then we will see what happens in the next few months.”

The 29-year-old revealed that she had enjoyed her short break from tennis after her early departure from Melbourne.

“After Australia I went back home and I spent few days at home, doing nothing actually, just being at home,” she admitted.

“It was very cold. But then I started practising again. I came here to Doha little bit earlier to get ready and to get used to the courts and the weather conditions. I’m feeling ready to play again because it’s, since Australia, a long time since I played matches. It’s great to play again here and then in Dubai next week.”

And she now feels fully prepared to fight for trophies again.

“I think it was not bad to get a bigger rest, to get ready for these two tournaments,” she added.

“I’m feeling good. The first rounds are always a little bit tougher because you have to get used to the tournament feeling again, to the match things. But I think that I’m ready. I am really enjoying my tennis right now on the practice court.”

MELBOURNE, Australia – There were some major moves on the new WTA Rankings this week – Agnieszka Radwanska going from No.5 to No.4, Angelique Kerber from No.10 to No.7, and Victoria Azarenka from No.22 to No.16 after winning her first WTA title since 2013 at the Brisbane International.

With Top 4, Top 8 and Top 16 seeds so critical at majors, those moves couldn’t have come at a better time, as these rankings are the ones the seeds are made from for the first major of the year.

With that, here are the projected seeds for the Australian Open:

(1) Serena Williams (USA #1)
(2) Simona Halep (ROU #2)
(3) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3)
(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4)
(5) Maria Sharapova (RUS #5)
(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE #6)
(7) Angelique Kerber (GER #7)
(8) Venus Williams (USA #10)
(9) Karolina Pliskova (CZE #11)
(10) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
(11) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #13)
(12) Belinda Bencic (SUI #14)
(13) Roberta Vinci (ITA #15)
(14) Victoria Azarenka (BLR #16)
(15) Madison Keys (USA #17)
(16) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #18)

(17) Sara Errani (ITA #19)
(18) Elina Svitolina (UKR #20)
(19) Jelena Jankovic (SRB #21)
(20) Ana Ivanovic (SRB #22)
(21) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #23)
(22) Andrea Petkovic (GER #24)
(23) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #25)
(24) Sloane Stephens (USA #26)
(25) Samantha Stosur (AUS #27)
(26) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #28)
(27) Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK #29)
(28) Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #30)
(29) Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #31)
(30) Sabine Lisicki (GER #32)
(31) Lesia Tsurenko (UKR #33)
(32) Caroline Garcia (FRA #34)

** Flavia Pennetta (ITA #8) and Lucie Safarova (CZE #9) would have been seeded but are not competing at the Australian Open due to retirement (Pennetta) and bacterial infection (Safarova).

MELBOURNE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka’s revival at the Brisbane International, where she stormed to her first WTA title in almost two and a half years without losing a set, couldn’t have come at a better time, with her favorite Grand Slam – the Australian Open – just a matter of days away.

She’s hoping her journey back to the top of the tennis world will continue at the Happy Slam.

“I’m excited to follow my journey. I’m excited to live my journey,” Azarenka said. “It’s a great feeling. Stay in the moment, be present – I’m really enjoying this moment. I think it’s precious. So I just want to enjoy that and see how I feel tomorrow, see what I want to do, and just try to keep going.

“The focus is still very much on Melbourne. I’m going to do everything I can to prepare and feel the most comfortable to start the tournament. I can’t wait to be in Melbourne. I love the city.”

After three blockbuster seasons – she finished 2011 at No.3, 2012 at No.1 and 2013 at No.2 – the injury bug bit Azarenka hard, limiting her to just nine tournaments in 2014 and 14 in 2015, and at one point pushing her as far down as No.50 in the world, her lowest ranking since all the way back in 2007.

But the Brisbane title propelled her from No.22 to No.16 on this week’s WTA Rankings, not just guaranteeing her a Top 16 seed for the Australian Open, but her highest ranking since August 2014.

The former World No.1 isn’t calling this a comeback, though. “I don’t think there’s a name for it,” she told reporters in Brisbane. “I think it’s more for you guys to put as a headline. For me, it’s like you’re reading a book, and you just turn the page. That part of it was over – you just flip the page.

“I think that’s really exciting. And I can’t wait to read the next page.”

That next page will be written at the Australian Open, and it’s her best Grand Slam for a reason – she won her first two Grand Slam titles there in 2012 and 2013, beating Maria Sharapova and Li Na in those two finals, respectively, and even through her injury-marred seasons since then she still made it deep, reaching the quarterfinals in 2014 (falling to Agnieszka Radwanska) and the fourth round in 2015 (falling to Dominika Cibulkova). She’s also won 35 of her last 39 matches in Australia, period.

And given she’s been Serena Williams’ toughest match-up the last few years – she’s the last player to beat the World No.1 in a final, at Cincinnati in 2013, and she pushed her to three sets in all three of their meetings in 2015 – could a rejuvenated Belarusian be the one to stop Williams Down Under?

Tell us what you think: Can Azarenka win a third Australian Open crown this year?