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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – World No.2 Serena Williams kicked off her quest for a seventh Australian Open crown with a decisive 6-4, 6-3 victory over Belinda Bencic to ease into the second round.

“I think it was pretty good,” Serena said of the match in her post-match press conference. I mean, she’s a really good player. So I think I was able to start out well.”

Serena came to Melbourne with an outside shot of reclaiming the No.1 ranking from defending champion Angelique Kerber – the American must reach the final to remain in contention – but first had to take care of Bencic, a former World No.7 who had beaten her in their last encounter at the 2015 Rogers Cup.

“I feel like she definitely has a lot more power. Obviously she beat me in Canada the last time we played, but I really don’t remember much about that match.”

Bencic used that winning week in Canada as a springboard towards becoming the youngest Top 10 debutante since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009, but injuries almost immediately stunted her progress and caused her to be unseeded ahead of the Australian Open.

Knowing this wasn’t a typical first round, Serena put on a solid display throughout the one hour, 21 minute match, though the affair was hardly without its hiccups. The 22-time Grand Slam champion drew first blood to earn a 3-1 lead, only to see Bencic fight back and hold onto level terms until the all-important tenth game, when Serena surged ahead to beak for the set.

The second appeared to be a foregone conclusion as the No.2 seed rode the wave of momentum out to 5-0, but Bencic had one last comeback in store, narrowing the lead to 5-3 before Serena sealed the deal on her second match point.

“I just wasn’t as aggressive as I was during those games. She started playing better. I made a few errors on some key points, but for the most part, I still was going for everything and I was able to close it out.”

Keeping her side of the stat sheet as clean as she could, the former World No.1 hit exactly 30 winners to 30 unforced errors; she looked especially strong on serve with eight aces to four double faults.

Up next for the six-time Australian Open champion is another former rival in Lucie Safarova, who saved a whopping nine match points to defeat Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-1 to book a rematch of the 2015 French Open final.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

There’s a fresh face on the scene at this year’s Australian Open, as 17-year-old Jamiee Fourlis impressed home fans in a convincing first round win.

While Australia’s headlines focused on friend and rival Destanee Aiava, the Melbourne-born Fourlis had an agenda of her own, knocking out former World No. 50 Anna Tatishvili of the United States in straight sets.

“I tried to stay in the moment, tried to keep everything on court. There was nothing to lose today,” Fourlis told reporters post-match. “Winning your first match in a Grand Slam doesn’t come every day. At the moment I’m still trying to take it all in. But it’s an amazing feeling.”

Fourlis lost the 18/U Australian Championships to Aiava just weeks ago, and was able to play qualifying for the year’s opening Grand Slam thanks to a strong run at the annual Wildcard Playoff in late December.

After watching her compatriot Aiava bow out on Day 1, the 17-year-old kept a cool head to advance to the second round in her grand slam debut.

“She handled herself really well under the pressure of playing at home in her first Grand Slam,” childhood coach Kane Dewhurst told wtatennis.com. “She has a lot of support behind her, so it was no surprise to see her play consistently well throughout.”

Dewhurst first worked with the World No. 414 since the age of five, and was certainly impressed with what he saw in Melbourne on Monday.

“Jaimee has always been a clean ball striker. She has weapons on both sides, and it’s now just a matter of understanding when to use them. She has great variety in her game as well, and that’s why she has plenty of growth and development ahead of her.”

Fourlis fought back from an early break down in the second against Tatishvili to close out the match, 6-4 6-3, where she will meet the experienced No.8 seed and two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Dewhurst, the owner of Vida Tennis, believes that while the obvious step up in class will be difficult, Fourlis has plenty of upside and could cause an upset.

“Kuznetsova will be a huge step up in class and a massive challenge, but if she can settle early, there is absolutely nothing to lose. The sky is the limit, so I’ll tell her to just get out there and go after it.

“I don’t think we should put any limits on anyone, and there is no reason she can’t cause an upset.”

She certainly has a tough assignment on her hands, but in the shadows of the MCG, home to her beloved football team, the Collingwood Magpies, Fourlis wants all the support she can get in the second round.

“Hopefully some Collingwood players can come and watch!”

Adriano Del Monte, wtatennis.com contributor.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams leads the bottom half of the draw into action on Day Two at Melbourne Park. Dominika Cibulkova and Agnieszka Radwanska are also in action on the last day of Round 1. We preview all the day’s matchups right here at wtatennis.com.

Tuesday, First Round

[2] Serena Williams (USA #2) vs Belinda Bencic (SUI #59)
Head-to-head: Tied at 1-1
Key Stat: 2017 Australian Open marks first Grand Slam where Serena hasn’t been top seed since 2013 Australian Open (No.3)

Belinda Bencic’s reaction to the draw is quite different to how you’d think someone would react when finding out their first-round opponent is six-time champion Serena Williams:

“My first reaction was actually, like, really happy,” Bencic told press ahead of the match. “I’m super-pumped, like excited I get to play on the big court, I guess.

“Yeah, everyone is like, ‘Oh, bad luck with the draw.’ Me, I’m pretty happy and excited about it!”

Bencic has a reason to feel good: back in 2015, she scored the biggest victory of her career over Serena at the Rogers Cup, becoming one of just 3 players to defeat the American that year.

But a lot has changed since in two years, and injury woes have caused the Swiss wunderkind’s ranking to plummet. And Serena – as always – has her eye on making history and reclaiming the No.1 ranking in Melbourne Park.

“All I can do is do my best,” Serena said. “If I can play the way I’ve been practicing, it will be fine. I know she’s been playing well, so it will be good for both of us.”

Agnieszka Radwanska

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3) vs Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL #64)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads 9-3
Key Stat: Pironkova’s last Top 5 win came over Radwanska in 2016 Roland Garros R16

World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska has many positives to take away from her run to the Apia International Sydney final: before getting thoroughly outclassed in the last match by Johanna Konta, Radwanska hadn’t dropped a set all tournament long and her tricky, deliberate game was flowing freely.

“Of course, losing finals always is disappointing,” Radwanska reflected in pre-tournament press. “But it’s still a good week with great matches against top players.

“I’m very confident. I really hope I can play the same tennis, even the tennis I played in the final. But every tournament is different story, especially in the tough first round.”

After the quick turnaround to Melbourne, Radwanska will bring all of that confidence and preparation against an opponent who has troubled her in the past: Tsvetana Pironkova. The pair have met 12 times previously, with the Bulgarian stunning Radwanska in the fourth round of Roland Garros.

“Pironkova is a very tricky opponent,” she said. “I’m expecting everything from her side. For sure it’s going to be a lot of running. I’m going to really have to work on each point.”

Karolina Pliskova

[5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #6) vs Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP #106)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Sorribes Tormo is playing just the second Grand Slam main draw match of her career

After her dominant performance at the Brisbane International, where she claimed the first title of her season, Karolina Pliskova took two days off before heading straight to Melbourne.

“I’ve been practicing here since Tuesday. Even yesterday,” the Czech said in pre-tournament press. “But I’ve been feeling good so far. I was even ready for Monday start, but will be ready even for Tuesday.

“That’s what I did in New York, as well. So I just did it here. I don’t know if it’s going to work, but I just want to leave everything in this tournament.”

But despite her red-hot start to 2017, Pliskova wouldn’t be drawn into discussing her Australian Open chances – not even on the eve of the tournament after drawing Sara Sorribes Tormo in the opening round.

“I would definitely not take me as a favorite of this tournament. It’s a big draw,” the Czech said in pre-tournament press. “There is a lot of players. I just take it step by step.”

“I just know my opponent from the first round. I want to pass this one. Then we can talk about the next one.”

Her opponent, Sorribes Tormo, is a 20-year-old Spaniard who might be out of her depths against the big-hitting Czech: this will be the just the second Grand Slam main draw match of her career, and her first match against a Top 10 opponent.

Around the grounds…
Reigning WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova will open against No.90-ranked Denisa Allertova on Day 2. The Slovak reached the final here in 2014, and will hope her 2016 momentum will carry her to a maiden Grand Slam title. Britain’s No.1 Johanna Konta will square off against Kirsten Flipkens – Konta leads the head-to-head 2-1.

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