Tennis News

MELBOURNE, Australia – Angelique Kerber dodged the upset bug going around the Australian Open, grinding past Alexandra Dulgheru as the second round wrapped up at the Happy Slam Thursday.

The No.7-seeded Kerber had beaten Dulgheru in straight sets in both of their previous meetings and this one went much the same way as she beat the Romanian in an hour and 13 minutes, 6-2, 6-4.

Kerber, who was ranked No.7 in the world when the seeds were made but moved up to No.6 earlier this week, is now just two wins away from completing a Grand Slam quarterfinal set – she’s been to the quarterfinals or better at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, but never the Australian Open.

Other high-profile winners included No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, who out-hit Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4, 6-2 (read more here), No.14 seed Victoria Azarenka, who continued her perfect start to the year with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Danka Kovinic (read more here), No.15 seed Madison Keys, who outlasted Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3, No.20 seed Ana Ivanovic, who beat Latvian qualifier Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 6-3 (read more here), and No.21 seed Ekaterina Makarova, who beat Tatjana Maria, 6-4, 6-2.

Azarenka has now lost just 20 games in seven matches this year – an average of one game a set.

“I’m just really trying to stay in the moment,” Azarenka told reporters after the match. “I do want to keep improving from match to match, but from now on it’s only going to get tougher, so I really want to keep that focus and that intensity and that determination. Really that’s what I’m looking for right now, to keep applying the same effort, and paying attention to the details in preparation before the match.”

It wasn’t a perfect day for the seeds by any means, though, with No.11 seed Timea Bacsinszky going down to Annika Beck, 6-2, 6-3, No.18 seed Elina Svitolina falling to Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-4, No.19 seed Jelena Jankovic losing a heartbreaker to Laura Siegemund, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, and No.30 seed Sabine Lisicki succumbing to big-serving Czech upstart Denisa Allertova, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Karolina Pliskova, the No.9 seed, downed Julia Goerges in the feature night match, 7-6(5), 6-1.

With 18 seeds out already, the 2016 Australian Open has set the record for most seeds to go out before the third round of a Grand Slam since the majors switched to 32 seeds at 2001 Wimbledon.

The third round will kick off on Friday, with Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Sharapova among those in action – check back on wtatennis.com for all the latest from Melbourne!

.@KaPliskova clinches the last spot in @AustralianOpen third round!

Defeats Goerges 7-6(5), 6-1! #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/8uAaAj6ZWZ

— WTA (@WTA) January 21, 2016

MELBOURNE, Australia – Former No.1 Ana Ivanovic had to deal with a half hour break when a spectator took a spill on Rod Laver Arena, but the Serb maintained her focus to close out Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 6-3.

Sevastova first made waves in 2011 when she reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open, but a brief retirement took her out of the game for nearly two years before she came back last January. Coming through three rounds of main draw qualifying, the 25-year-old played Ivanovic tough over two sets, but was ultimately undone by unforced errors – 27 to Ivanovic’s 17.

Ivanovic, by contrast, played a much cleaner match, breaking serve four times and winning 83% of her first serves.

“I enjoy playing here so much; this is one of my favorite courts in the world,” Ivanovic said during her on-court interview. “It’s always good to be back.”

The No.20 seed has looked solid through her first two matches, a major improvement over her last appearance in Melbourne, when a broken toe hampered her through an opening round loss.

“I tried to work on my fitness during the off-season; that needed improvements after last season. I hired a new fitness coach, so it’s been really great. We did a lot of prevention work for injuries, and fitness and on-court work.

“It’s a work in progress.”

Up next for Ivanovic is the winner of the second round match between No.15 seed Madison Keys and Yaroslava Shvedova, the latter of whom pushed her to three sets at last year’s French Open.

“Every match is tough and we’ve seen that throughout the week. Every opponent is tough and there have been a lot of tricky first round matches.

“But I’m really thrilled be to be through and you guys are amazing, so excited about your tennis, so keep it up!

MELBOURNE, Australia – Playing just her third match of 2016, Garbiñe Muguruza looked in solid form en route to a two-set win over the unseeded Kirsten Flipkens, winning, 6-4, 6-2, on Rod Laver Arena.

The No.3 seed had been forced to retire during her season debut at the Brisbane International, but the Spaniard has shown few signs of stress at the Australian Open, hitting 23 winners past Flipkens, who was only able to hit six over her own against last year’s Wimbledon finalist.

“I’m extremely happy after today,” Muguruza said during her on-court interviw. “Kirsten is a very difficult opponent with a unique game, so I’m very happy to be in the third round.”

On a cool day in Melbourne, Muguruza raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set. Though Flipkens was able to force her higher-ranked opponent to serve it out, it was smooth sailing at the end of the 78 minute match for the No.3 seed, who promptly held at love to reach the third round Down Under for the second straight year.

“I think the weather is very important for us. I think this temperature is perfect but I also like to play in hot weather, so either way, it’s great!”

Up next for Muguruza is Barbora Strycova, who edged past comeback kid Vania King, 7-6(5), 6-4; the two-time women’s doubles Grand Slam champion had been out for most of last year with a back injury, and though she had her chances, the Czech veteran proved too strong in the end.

Strycova and Muguruza have met twice before, with the Spaniard taking both of their meetings in straight sets, though she was clear in the notion that no one is to be underestimated – especially at this time of year.

“This is a Grand Slam where everyone is extremely fit because we’re coming from the pre-season so every match is very tough.

“I’m just happy to be here, playing great tennis.”

MELBOURNE, Australia – Daria Kasatkina’s 2016 has begun with a bang. The 18-year-old from Moscow opened her season by beating Venus Williams in her first match at the ASB Classic in Auckland, and Friday night she’ll take on World No.1 Serena Williams on the biggest stage of her career on Rod Laver Arena. The shy teenager says it’s a dream come true.

“When I was young, I was just dreaming to play against them, somewhere at the Grand Slams, and now I can do it,” she told reporters after beating fellow teen Ana Konjuh in the second round. “So it’s just great.”

Fans may not be as familiar with Kasatkina, though it’s time to study up. A 2014 junior French Open champion, Kasatkina watched as one of her friends and rivals, Belinda Bencic, left the junior ranks early with great success. While Kasatkina stayed back in 2014, Bencic – three days older than the Russian – made her Grand Slam debut here in Melbourne. By year’s end she was a Grand Slam quarterfinalist at the US Open.

“We played against each other in the juniors and they were real battles,” Kasatkina said of Bencic. “I was a little bit upset because she started to play earlier and she started to beat other players and showing results a little bit earlier than me.

“When she started to play pros, I was still playing juniors, and I was talking to my coaches, saying, ‘I want to play pro, I want to start to play pros! Why am I still in juniors?’ He said, ‘Dasha, be cool.’ I had to get some experience from juniors and that experience was great. A lot of experience and good memories, and I don’t regret it.”

Kasatkina made her major debut at the US Open last year as a lucky loser and proceeded to have a dream run to the third round, where she lost to Kristina Mladenovic. That run seemed to flip a switch within her. She went on to make the semifinals at the Kremlin Cup as a qualifier, losing in a tough three sets to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

“Those two tournaments brought me into the Top 100 and now I’m in main draws almost everywhere,” she said. “It’s a very good opportunity to play better because when you’re a qualifier, you have to play more matches. When you’re in the main draw, you’re more confident.”

Now ranked No.69 and rising, Kasatkina is one of four teenagers into the third round at the Australian Open, joining a group that includes Bencic, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, and her best friend Elizaveta Kulichkova. It’s the first time four teenagers have progressed to the third round at the Australian Open since 2009, when Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Dominika Cibulkova, Alizé Cornet, and Alisa Kleybanova moved en masse.

Kasatkina’s coach, Vlado Platenik (who has worked with Dominika Cibulkova and former World No.3 Nadia Petrova) has preached patience and tranquility when it comes to her career. The results will come if you put in the work and there is no substitution for experience. “Dasha, be cool,” he reminds her. It’s a difficult lesson to learn.

“For me everything is new and I’m a little bit shy,” she said. “But I’m learning at every tournament and from every match, getting experience, which will help me a lot.”

There’s no experience in tennis like playing Serena Williams on one of the biggest courts in the world. Kasatkina says she has no expectations, but she’ll play the match as if it’s her last.

“It’s luck for me to play against such a great player like Serena, really, because honestly nobody plays forever, so it’s great that I’ve had the opportunity to play against Venus this year and now also Serena,” she told reporters. “I will just enjoy and try to show my best tennis. Nobody is unbeatable, so I will try.”

Catch up with Daria Kasatkina in this exclusive WTA Insider Q&A.

WTA Insider: So what did you do during your off-season?
Kasatkina: Off-season? Hard work! For sure, it was two weeks off – I had fun, rest – and then I go with my fitness coach for 10 days in the mountains, hard work, only fitness. After, I went to Miami for preparation to play tennis. I think it helped. I feel like I’m Duracell!

WTA Insider: It’s been a great week in Melbourne for young Russians. You, Kulichkova, and Margarita Gasparyan are all into the third round. Do you think we’ll see you three at the top of the game in the next five years?
Kasatkina: Nobody plays forever. So we’re the next generation so we have to play better and better. I think soon we will be on top. I have to be confident, otherwise it’s impossible.

WTA Insider: Did you and your coach work on anything specific in the off-season? How are you trying to improve your game?
Kasatkina: You always have to change something; you cannot stay on one level, so for me, I’m trying to play more aggressively and go for volleys. My psychology is to be a little bit more defense, so I’m trying to be more offensive.

WTA Insider: Why do you think you have a more defensive psychology?
Kasatkina: Maybe because I’m not big enough to hit hard, and when I was a kid, I’d play smarter [rather] than just hitting the ball. But now I have to be more aggressive; otherwise, it’s impossible.

True Friendship: Fedfan @LizaKulichkova on teasing BFF/RafaKAD @DKasatkina after the Verdasco/Nadal match. pic.twitter.com/fOsQsDDaqp

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) January 20, 2016

WTA Insider: What are your goals this year?
Kasatkina: This is my first full year on the WTA so first, I want to adapt, because it’s very difficult. Last year I played a lot of ITF tournaments, and just a few WTAs. I will play WTAs, and will adapt everything and will for sure enjoy my year on tour because, for me, when I was a kid it was my dream to be at the top, so now I’m just enjoying.

WTA Insider: How has the tour been for you so far? Are you finding it fun? Or is it a little bit lonely because you’re fairly new.
Kasatkina: My team is always with me, so they help me a lot. They support me, and tell me what to do when I’m not sure. I’m a little bit shy because everything is new and I don’t know so many of the players, but I think I’m getting better.

WTA Insider: Are you tight with the other young Russian players? Does that help?
Kasatkina: I know all of the Russians and there are a lot of the players older than me, and we know each other from the juniors. But now the new generation is coming and there are a lot of relationships I have.

WTA Insider: Do you help push each other?
Kasatkina: For sure, because even if we are friends we want to be better and better, so it’s like a little competition but it doesn’t show it in the relationship. On the court, we are players, but off we are friends.

Follow Daria on Instagram and Twitter @DKasatkina!

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova remain on a collision course for a quarterfinal date at this year’s Australian Open. But they’ve still got some work to do before they get there. We preview their Day 5 tilts, as well as some other enticing Friday matchups, here.

Friday, Day 5
Third Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Daria Kasatkina (RUS # 69)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kasatkina was just two years old when Serena Williams won her first major.

Russia’s Daria Kasatkina is quickly making a name for herself as a future star on the WTA tour. Just two weeks ago she defeated Venus Williams in Auckland, and the 2014 French Open junior champion has now reached the third round at both Grand Slams she’s played in her career. But on Friday when she faces top-seeded Serena Williams, she’ll encounter the biggest challenge in women’s tennis. Williams, who has erased all doubts about the state of her health by breezing through her first two matches in Melbourne, is hungry to make more Grand Slam magic and very much aware of the potential of Kasatkina. “I don’t think it’s going to be easy,” Williams said of their impending battle. “Any time someone is beating Venus they are more than likely playing really good. So I definitely will be ready for that.”

Pick: Williams in two

[5] Maria Sharapova (RUS #5) vs. Lauren Davis (USA # 103)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Sharapova is going for her 600th career win. 

Like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova also came to Melbourne with doubts about her health and match fitness swirling. But the five-time major champion has dropped seven games in two matches and looks to be in mid-season form ahead of her third-round showdown with hard-charging American Lauren Davis. Sharapova has never faced the Ohio native before, but at this stage of the tournament the fifth seed is more concerned about dictating with her power strokes than the opponent on the other side of the net. “I don’t think it matters [who I face],” she told reporters after her straight-sets victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Wednesday. “I think my focus has to be on myself and on my game. Just improving and getting better.”

Pick: Sharapova in two

[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. Monica Puig (PUR # 52)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Red-hot Radwanska has won 24 of her last 28 matches.

After an impressive takedown of surging Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the second round things don’t promise to get any easier for No.4-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska. Her next opponent, 22-year-old Puerto Rican Monica Puig, has won 10 of her last 11 matches and is into the third round of a major for the first time since 2013. After surviving a 31-ace onslaught from Kristyna Pliskova in the second round, Puig has stockpiled a pile of the belief that comes with saving five match points and gutting out an improbable win at a major. “I think it’s just about believing that you can come out of a moment like that, that at any moment you can get a second wind and come out of it,” Puig said after her marathon win on Wednesday.

Pick: Radwanska in two

[28] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA # 30) vs. Daria Gavrilova (AUS # 39)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Gavrilova has four Top 10 wins since last March.

They have never met at the tour-level but that does not mean that France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Australia’s Daria Gavrilova don’t have history. They met in the Roland Garros Girls’ Singles final in 2009, and it was Mladenovic who got the win. “We played juniors a lot,” Gavrilova explains. “I actually lost to her at the French Open, I don’t know, ages ago. I was 15. It was in the finals. We have known each other since we were about 12.” Nearly seven years on, both players appear to be on the cusp of big-time stardom. Mladenovic reached her first major quarterfinal at last year’s US Open, while Gavrilova, who exudes fire and infectious enthusiasm for the game, has risen from outside the Top 200 to No.39 in the world in just over a year’s time.

Pick: Gavrilova in three

Around the Grounds: Belinda Bencic will look to advance to the round of 16 in Melbourne for the first time, but she’ll have to get past one of the tournament’s inspirational figures in Kateryna Bondarenko to get there. Bondarenko, who left the tour in 2012 to give birth to a child and didn’t return until 2014, is looking like she never missed a beat… Quietly, No.10-seeded Carla Suárez Navarro is working her way through the draw. The 2009 Australian Open quarterfinalist will face 19-year-old Russian Elizaveta Kulichkova for a spot in the second week… A finalist at last year’s US Open, Italy’s Roberta Vinci is alive and well in Melbourne. She’ll bid to reach the round of 16 in Melbourne for the first time against Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany.

An emotional Lleyton Hewitt hung up the racquet after a two-decade long career that saw him win 30 ATP titles and two Grand Slams, as well as become the youngest ever No.1 ranked male player. The Aussie legend retired at his home slam after losing to David Ferrer in the men’s second round of the Australian Open. Well wishes and tears poured in for Hewitt after the match, and several WTA stars took to Twitter to pay tribute.

Here’s how they said goodbye to the two-time Grand Slam winner:

Congrats on an amazing career LLeyton Hewitt! Your Passion and fight will always be remembered by the tennis family!!!

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) January 21, 2016

Epic Mate @lleytonhewitt

— Sloane Stephens (@SloaneStephens) January 21, 2016

What a nice moment…!! Gonna miss you, Rusty, one of the greatest fighters! @lleytonhewitt #comeon #inspiration pic.twitter.com/QrAYdCN91h

— Sabine Lisicki (@sabinelisicki) January 21, 2016

Love you Lleyton ❤️ what a beauty on and off the court #AusOpen #rusty #legend

— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) January 21, 2016

Congrats on your amazing career @lleytonhewitt ??? what a fighting spirit….we will miss you!!!

— TamiraPaszek (@tamira1990) January 21, 2016

Thank you @lleytonhewitt for an amazing career that has inspired us all #HewBeauty #legend

— Shelby Rogers (@Shelby_Rogers_) January 21, 2016

It is sad to see you go @lleytonhewitt #Legend ?

— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) January 21, 2016

What a champion. What an inspiration. Thank you for all what you gave to our sport @lleytonhewitt !

— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) January 21, 2016

Thanks for the memories champ #lleytonhewitt

— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 21, 2016

MELBOURNE, Australia – Agnieszka Radwanska held off Eugenie Bouchard at the Australian Open on Wednesday night. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova continued their collision course.

In arguably the most anticipated second round match-up of the tournament, Radwanska – the form player by far since the US Open, winning more matches and more titles than anyone on the tour, took on Bouchard – a breakthrough star in 2014 who’s been back at her best this year after a tough 2015.

Bouchard came out harder, stepping inside the baseline time and time again and ripping her huge groundstrokes into the corners to build a 4-2 lead. But Radwanska held her ground, clawing back to take the set, 6-4 – she ripped a huge forehand winner on her fifth set point to seal the one set lead.

And she continued to pile it on in the second set, breaking again in the very first game and never really looking back, one last Bouchard error giving the No.4-seeded Radwanska the win, 6-4, 6-2.

“That was a great challenge for me to play somebody like Eugenie in the second round. Definitely not an easy draw. But I think I was doing everything right today,” Radwanska said after the match.

“I hadn’t played against her for a while, but I think she’s definitely playing better now than last season. I think she’s on a good way to come back, and she’s definitely playing much better tennis out there.

“I think in a couple of months we’re going to see her going deeper in the Grand Slams.”

Meanwhile, another blockbuster match-up – Williams against Sharapova – continued to materialize, as the No.1-seeded Williams routed Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-1, 6-2 (read more here) and the No.5-seeded Sharapova powered past Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-2, 6-1 (read more here).

Williams and Sharapova will square off in the quarterfinals should they win two more rounds.

A big upset took place in the late night match, with Daria Gavrilova – now playing under the Aussie flag – weathering the power of Petra Kvitova to surprise the No.6 seed, 6-4, 6-4 (read more here).

It was a solid day for the rest of the seeded players, with No.10 seed Carla Suárez Navarro battling back to beat Greek qualifier Maria Sakkari, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2, No.12 seed Belinda Bencic defeating Timea Babos, 6-3, 6-3, No.13 seed Roberta Vinci carving out a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Irina Falconi, and No.28 seed Kristina Mladenovic hitting through American qualifier Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 7-6(4).

There was another upset, though, with Kateryna Bondarenko holding off a late surge to take out No.23 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 7-5. Kuznetsova was coming off a title run at the lead-up in Sydney.

And on the outside courts, Kristyna Pliskova – twin sister of Karolina Pliskova – was making history, ripping 31 aces, the most aces in a single match in WTA history (the previous record was 27).

The Czech lefty ended up succumbing to Monica Puig in the end, however, 4-6, 7-6(6), 9-7.

.@MonicaAce93 saves FIVE match points & fends off #WTA record 31 ACES!

Edges Kr.Pliskova 4-6, 7-6(6), 9-7! #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/BBLC9TZR3h

— WTA (@WTA) January 20, 2016

MELBOURNE, Australia – On Day 3 at the Australian Open, a smattering of upsets was overshadowed by the youth movement through the draw. Will 2016 be the year the next generation makes an impact? They certainly think so.

– Serena, Sharapova, and Radwanska roll on: Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova each dropped just three games en route to easy wins, with Serena beating Hsieh Su-Wei 6-1, 6-2, and Sharapova beating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1. Agnieszka Radwanska played some of her best tennis of the year to hold off Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-2.

– Kristyna Pliskova sets a record…only to lose: You have to feel for Kristyna Pliskova. She broke Sabine Lisicki’s record of 27 aces in a match, firing 31 aces against Monica Puig. Yet despite the cannonballs coming off her racket and holding five match points, Pliskova lost 4-6, 7-6(6), 9-7 in a heartbreaker.

Said a disappointed Pliskova: “I would rather hit 20 aces and win.”

– Daria Gavrilova embraces her moment: Inspired by the crowd, the court, and a vulnerable opponent, Gavrilova knocked out No.6 seed Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-4 in 90 minutes on Margaret Court Arena. It’s a disappointing trip down to Australia for Kvitova but Gavrilova was one of the most dangerous unseeded players in the draw. It was never going to be easy.

– Kataryna Bondarenko douses Svetlana Kuznetsova: Kuznetsova has been on fire over the last week, dating back to her title run at the Sydney International. But Bondarenko took it to her, firing 28 winners to 14 unforced errors to end the No.26 seed’s Australian Open and advance to her first third round at a major since 2011.

– Don’t look now: Belinda Bencic is cruising through the draw. She plays Bondarenko in the third round and could play Sharapova in the Round of 16.

– Spoilers back-up their upsets: It’s a common pattern. Pull off a big win and go out meekly in the next round. But that hasn’t been the case in this year’s Australian Open. Five of the seven players who knocked out seeds in the first round — Kasatkina (d. Schmiedlova), Margarita Gasparyan (d. Errani), Yulia Putintseva (d. Wozniacki), and Lauren Davis (d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova), and Elizaveta Kulichkova (d. Petkovic), won through today.

– Youth Brigade: 10 of the 16 players into the third round in the top half of the draw are aged 22 and under, with three of them being teenagers: Daria Kasatkina (18), Margarita Gasparyan (21), Yulia Putintseva (21), Belinda Bencic (18), Lauren Davis (22), Monica Puig (22), Anna Lena Friedsam (21), Elizaveta Kulichkova (19), Kristina Mladenovic (22), and Daria Gavrilova (21).

Of that group, six are into the third round of a major for the first time in their careers. Nice to see some fresh faces to start the season.

“It’s great,” Gavrilova said. “We’re all excited. We’re all pretty friendly. We hang out together. Yeah, like I said, we’re all supporting each other. I think it’s going to be awesome.”

– Bouchard bows out: Bouchard led 4-2 in the first before Radwanska reeled her back in for a 6-4, 6-2 win, but the Canadian once again showed flashes of her brilliant 2014 form. She just couldn’t sustain the level throughout the match. With the loss, Bouchard will drop out of the Top 50 for the first time since 2013.

“That was a great challenge for me to play somebody like Eugenie in the second round,” Radwanska said. “But I think I was doing everything right today. That’s why I win that match in two sets. Definitely not an easy draw.”

Notable: Radwanska is 14-0 in sets this year. She plays Puig next.

– Puig’s change of perspective: Puig has had a strong start to 2016, making her first Premier final at the Sydney International and now into the third round at the Australian Open for the first time. It’s a strong rebound from a disappointing 2015 campaign and Puig says she’s playing better simply because she’s fallen back in love with the sport.

– Top half of the draw set: Here are Friday’s third round matches: Serena vs. Kasatkina, Gasparyan vs. Putintseva, Bencic vs. Bondarenko, Davis vs Sharapova, Radwanska vs. Puig, Friedsam vs. Vinci, Suarez Navarro vs. Kulichkova, Mladenovic vs. Gavrilova.

– The Origins of DropshotPova: Turns out Sharapova’s decision to add the dropshot to her arsenal was driven by pure competition.

“It’s something that I have added. It’s actually something that I had to add, because I was getting really frustrated losing to my hitting partner all the time. He just stood so far back behind the baseline I was like, just can’t handle him beating me so often. I have to just change things around. That’s kind of when I started getting into that a little bit.

He was a little surprised (laughter). But it started working, so that was good.

– Serena’s sarcasm: I think it’s safe to say Serena probably isn’t too excited to hear Roberta Vinci’s name anymore. When a journalist asked Serena whether she’s watched her US Open loss to Vinci — this was the third question about Vinci in the press conference — Serena quipped: “Yeah, I watch it every day. Every night to get ready.”

– Catching up with Li Na: The 2013 Australian Open champion was downright chatty on a wet Wednesday morning as she met with reporters. The main conversation point surrounded the four Chinese women — Wang Qiang, Han Xinyun, Zhang Shuai, and Zheng Saisai — who progressed to the second round. It’s the first time four Chinese women have made the second round at a Slam since 2006.

“I remember last year in Wuhan, one reporter asked me what do you think about the Chinese players, they always lose in the first round,” she said. “I got a little bit angry. They need more space. They need more time.” She was right.

– Simona Halep’s off-season problems: After her first round loss on Tuesday, Halep revealed to the Romanian press that she fell ill during her off-season training block and had to be hospitalized and put on antibiotics.

– Hate the player, not the game: Liked this from Radwanska, who went out of her way to point out that the increased depth on tour means every player is dangerous: “As we see now the ranking, it sometimes didn’t really showing the game, what the player actually showing. You play against the player, not the ranking.”

– Best Friends Forever: Kasatkina and Kulichkova are best friends with very different personalities and interests. One example: Kasatkina worships at the throne of Rafael Nadal. Kulichkova is a Federer fan. Somehow their friendship survives.

True Friendship: Fedfan @LizaKulichkova on teasing BFF/RafaKAD @DKasatkina after the Verdasco/Nadal match. pic.twitter.com/fOsQsDDaqp

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) January 20, 2016

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.