Tennis News

BRISBANE, Australia – Simona Halep met the press at All Access Hour at the Brisbane International on Monday, and one of the hot topics was her potential opening match against Victoria Azarenka.

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A few hours later, Azarenka turned potential into reality with an impressive win over Elena Vesnina.

“It’s very tough,” Halep told reporters. “I think it will be a nice match. It will be very hard. It will be a big challenge for me. I played against her at the US Open, so I’m looking forward to playing against her again in Brisbane to see how well I can play in that match, in my first match of the new year.

“I’m looking forward to starting this year. I know it won’t be easy, though, because the first match of the year is always difficult mentally as well as physically, and I haven’t played since Singapore.”

That US Open match, a quarterfinal, was one of the matches of the tournament, with both WTA stars littering the stats sheet with winners – Halep finished with a beefy 40 winners to 19 unforced errors.

The Romanian eventually rallied from 2-0 in the third set to edge the Belarusian, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

“I remember that the rain helped me – I cannot forget that,” Halep recalled, referring to a rain delay as she served at 1-2, 40-15 in the third set. “It was a good point that the rain came and we stopped the match, because I was getting too nervous in the third set and I couldn’t manage the emotions.

“But she’s very strong. She’s hitting the ball strong. And she doesn’t give up. I have some good experience against her. She beat me in the past, and I beat her, so it’s good timing to play again.

“I need strong matches and strong opponents to be ready for the Grand Slams.”

Speaking of strong opponents, Halep was also asked about her chief rival – Serena Williams – who is competing in Hopman Cup this week. The World No.1 had to withdraw from her first match, however.

“I didn’t know she withdrew,” Halep said. “But, you know, she’s strong. I know that she can come and play good tennis as always. She’s prepared for that. She has the experience and knows how to manage all the situations. She’s the best player in the world. I just have to relax when I play her.

“But I believe players from the Top 10 can beat her. Many players are playing really good tennis right now. Muguruza as well, and I think I can say Bouchard will come back because she has the game, and she knows how to play in the top, because she was there. So it will be an interesting year, I think.”

Halep and Azarenka are scheduled to play their second round match in Brisbane on Wednesday.

Azarenka leads Halep in their overall head-to-head, 2-1, and is looking forward to the duel too.

“I think it’s going to be a very good test for me,” the former World No.1 said. “In general playing against top players, you always put yourself in a situation where you have got to push yourself.

“To be the best you’ve got to beat the best, so I’m looking forward to that match.”

BRISBANE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka wasted little time getting her 2016 season up and running with a brisk win over Elena Vesnina in the first round of the Brisbane International.

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In a merciless display, former champion Azarenka broke six times to wrap up a 6-2, 6-0 win and set up an intriguing second round meeting with top seed Simona Halep.

The previous meeting between the two came at last year’s US Open. On that occasion Halep came out on top in three thrilling sets and she is expecting another stern examination from the former World No.1

“Very tough. Yeah, I’m looking forward to start this year. I’m excited. I know that that’s not easy, because every time the first match of the year is difficult mentally as well and physically,” Halep said.

“It will be a nice match I think. Will be very hard and a big challenge for me. Again, I played against her in US Open, so I’m looking forward to play against her and to see how good I can play in the first match of the year.”

Vesnina, who had to come through three rounds of qualifying to secure her first round berth, started brightly enough, a couple of smart winners helping her break to love in the second game. This, however, would be the last time she troubled the scoreboard.

She was not able to hang onto this lead for long, Azarenka flicking an angled backhand to hit back immediately. From this point she moved through the gears effortlessly, barely putting a foot wrong over the next hour, threading one final backhand past Vesnina to add the final flourish to a near immaculate display.

The statistics as well as the scoreline made pleasant reading, the Belarusian complementing an impressive serving display – she struck four aces and a healthy 74% first serve percentage – with a typically polished display from the baseline, producing 22 winners and just seven unforced errors.

“I was happy to be on the court. It’s been a while since I’ve been out there playing an actual match. It’s been a lot of practice, so I was just happy to go out there and play and be in front of the crowd and just compete,” Azarenka said. “So I was happy to be able to do that and play well.”

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Sloane Stephens made a confident start to both the season and her latest coaching partnership with a straight set victory over Polona Hercog.

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It was not all plain sailing for Stephens, who frittered away early leads in both sets before eventually prevailing, 6-3, 6-3.

“I think I was just trying to make it harder in myself! But it was good practice, so that’s good,” she said in her on-court interview.

However, the No.5 seed admits she and new coach Kamau Murray still have plenty to work on ahead of the upcoming Australian Open.

“I think the main thing we should focus on is that I won today and anything else will just wait for another day,” she added.

Stephens’ next outing will come on Wednesday when she takes on Carina Witthoeft, a 6-2, 7-6(3) winner in her all-German clash with Tatjana Maria.

Also advancing at the ASB Tennis Centre was Svetlana Kuznetsova, whose opening outing of the new season was cut short after just 49 minutes when her opponent, Mona Barthel, retired through injury. No.4 seed Kuznetsova, who was leading 6-2, 1-1 at the time, will face either Francesca Schiavone or qualifier Tamira Paszek in the second round.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Former World No.1s Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki, two of the biggest draws at this year’s ASB Classic, went to Newmarket on the weekend to play street tennis, sign autographs and meet the press. Here are 10 of the best photos, courtesy of www.photosport.nz.