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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – An ageless Venus Williams played remarkable tennis in the high heat of the Australian Open, knocking out a game Kateryna Kozlova, 7-6(5), 7-5.

“Girl, I don’t know,” Venus joked when asked how she got the job done during her on-court interview. “I know how to play tennis, and I like to think I’m good at this. She hasn’t had the years I’ve had, the grey hair I’m dyeing, the wrinkles I’m hiding.”

Seeded No.13, Venus was playing just her second match of 2017 after withdrawing from the ASB Classic due to right-arm pain, and was taking on a tricky opponent in Kozlova, who took her to three sets at the US Open last summer. In an ironic twist, the 22-year-old was born the same year Venus turned pro back in 1994.

“You’re trying to make me feel old!” joked Williams.

Kozlova served for the first set but the seven-time Grand Slam champion’s experience shone through when it mattered most, breaking the young Ukrainian to win the ensuing tie-break.

“Just from the warm-up it looked like she was just ready to go, hitting it solid,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I really have to give her a lot of credit for playing a match that was not a lot of errors and just relentless.

“I guess when I walk out there I have to expect that from my opponents and not an easy first round, but a great first round to get through, for sure.”

Venus appeared to struggle with the heat at times, relying on ice towels to keep cool during the changeovers.

“I’m a Floridian, so I’m pretty good with heat,” she admitted. “But obviously, if it’s going to be hot, I think with players, you can train in the heat the week before. This last week it was kind of cool, actually, a lot of the time. So it’s definitely a wildcard, like, total wildcard.”

Despite losing some momentum in the second set, the American rebounded to take the last three games of the match and advance into the second round after just over two hours.

Up next for the former World No.1 is either Stefanie Voegele or Kurumi Nara.

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Photos | WTA Tennis English

Photos | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970
Life is a rollercoaster for Svetlana Kuznetsova, and while in Melbourne she stopped by Luna Park to take a ride on one in real life. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Life is a rollercoaster for Svetlana Kuznetsova, and while in Melbourne she stopped by Luna Park to take a ride on one in real life. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Before the action, Sveta made sure to grab some popcorn and cotton candy, standard amusement park treats! (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Before the action, Sveta made sure to grab some popcorn and cotton candy, standard amusement park treats! (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Luna Park is a very historic amusement park – it opened in 1912! (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Luna Park is a very historic amusement park – it opened in 1912! (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Sveta eased into the amusement park spirit with a ride on the Magical Carousel. (Getty Images)

Sveta eased into the amusement park spirit with a ride on the Magical Carousel. (Getty Images)

Next up, Sveta took her whole team onto the Scenic Railway rollercoaster. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Next up, Sveta took her whole team onto the Scenic Railway rollercoaster. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Sveta looks like she’s having fun! Coach Carlos Martínez? Not so much… (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Sveta looks like she’s having fun! Coach Carlos Martínez? Not so much… (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

Opened in December 1912, the Scenic Railway is the oldest continually operating roller coaster in the world! (Getty Images)

Opened in December 1912, the Scenic Railway is the oldest continually operating roller coaster in the world! (Getty Images)

“I was a little bit nervous before getting on, but it was not too big!” Sveta said after the ride. (Getty Images)

“I was a little bit nervous before getting on, but it was not too big!” Sveta said after the ride. (Getty Images)

Scenic Railway is one of only three roller coasters in the world that require a brakeman to stand in the middle of the train – he looks pretty calm! (Getty Images)

Scenic Railway is one of only three roller coasters in the world that require a brakeman to stand in the middle of the train – he looks pretty calm! (Getty Images)

“I don’t remember the last time I’ve been to a park like this! Visiting somewhere other than the tennis club, it’s already very good,” she added. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

“I don’t remember the last time I’ve been to a park like this! Visiting somewhere other than the tennis club, it’s already very good,” she added. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Mirjana Lucic-Baroni caused the biggest upset of this year’s Australian Open by knocking out No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round.

In little over an hour on Margaret Court Arena, Lucic-Baroni struck 33 winners to complete a 6-3, 6-2 victory and set up a third-round meeting with another unseeded player, Maria Sakkari.

Lucic-Baroni will turn 35 in March and last progressed beyond the first round at Melbourne Park in 1998. However, even after dropping serve at the start of the second set, she refused to be derailed, reeling off the next six games to seal victory, and hand Radwanska her earliest loss at Melbourne Park in eight years.

A one-time teenage prodigy, Lucic-Baroni has returned to the limelight in recent years, winning a third career title at Québec City in 2014, and upsetting Simona Halep at the French and US Opens. These performances have imbued the Croat with the confidence that on her day she can compete with the game’s best.

“That was my first big win in a while and it was a shock,” Lucic-Baroni said when asked about her win over Halep at the 2014 US Open. “I know I have some good tennis in me still, that’s the reason I’m still out here playing at 34 – I’m no spring chicken – to get these moments and these feelings. It was really fun tonight.

“I know that I have the game to win a big match. I didn’t go in there to see a big court, I went in with a gameplan. I’ve been around too long to just gain experience.”

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Agnieszka Radwanska

Like Halep, Radwanska proved powerless in the face of a barrage of winners, responding with just eight of her own.

“There’s not a lot I could do; she’s playing without pressure, full power. It’s hard to comment because it all went so fast,” Radwanska said in her press conference. “It’s always disappointing when you lose in the first week of a Grand Slam. I need to come back next year and do better.”

Lucic-Baroni now faces Sakkari, another player appearing at this stage of the tournament for the first time.

“I don’t feel like I’m that old. I’ve missed a few years on tour, but this time around I don’t have anything to prove, I’m just enjoying myself, playing for myself. I’m enjoying it, enjoying the moments and just trying to go as far as I can,” Lucic-Baroni added.

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