Professional Tennis
Ana Ivanovic won her first WTA title in more than two years, defeating Venus Williams in the finals of the 2014 ASB Classic, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Ivanovic entered the ASB finals with a 1-8 career record against Venus, but got off to a fast start, winning five games in a row en route to the first set and eventually…
World number one Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova 6-2, 7-6(7) in the Brisbane International women’s semifinals for a trip to the finals against world number two Victoria Azarenka. With the win, Serena extended her winning streak over Sharapova to14th consecutive victories. After blowing two match points in the tie-breaker—one on her serve and another receiving—Serena sealed the win with an ace….
Roger Federer has advanced to the semifinals of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, defeating Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-1 in just under an hour, serving nine aces and breaking serve five times. Federer is also through to the doubles semis with partner Nicolas Mahut. In the singles semis, Federer will face world number 34 Jeremy Chardy, a 7-5, 6-4 winner over Australian…
Ana Ivanovic will face Venus WIlliams for the 2014 ASB Classic title in Auckland, New Zealand, as the top two seeds have advanced to the finals. Venus advanced in easy fashion, a walkover victory against the number five seed, American Jamie Hampton, who was forced out of the event with a hip injury. Ivanovic was…
Number three-seeded Maria Sharapova and the top seeded Serena Williams will face each other in semifinals of the Brisbane International after Sharapova was a winner over Kaia Kanepi in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, and Serena scored a 6-3, 6-3 win over the number nine seed, Dominika Cibulkova. "It felt really good," Serena said after her victory. "She was returning really well….
Andy Murray fell to Germany's Florian Mayer at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarterfinals in Doha on Wednesday, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6. Mayer, who earned one top 10 win last season against David Ferrer in the Shanghai Rolex Masters, defeated Murray for the first time in three chances in just under two hours. Mayer is now 11-43 lifetime against players ranked in the top 10. "I…
Sixteen-year-old Ana Konjuh pulled off a major upset Tuesday at the ASB Classic in New Zealand in her debut at a WTA Tour-level event, shocking top-seeded Roberta Vinci 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Having just turned 16 four days ago, Konjuh had a breakthrough season in the juniors in 2013, winning the Australian Open and U.S. Opens and became the top-ranked junior in the world. …
After a first-round bye, the top-seeded and world number one Serena Williams was victorious in her first match of the 2014 season, defeating Andrea Petkovic in straight sets at the Brisbane International, 6-4, 6-4. Serena dropped serve once early on, but unleashed 11 aces en route to her straight sets win. Next up for Serena is the number nine seed, Dominika Cibulkova,…
Andy Murray returned to action Tuesday, in his first match since Sept. 15, at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with a very convincing 38-minute 6-0, 6-0 win over 19-year-old wild card Mousa Shanan Zayed. Murray is now 25-2 overall at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, where he won titles in 2008 and 2009. Murray will next face Florian Mayer in round two,…
Venus Williams returned to action at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand on Monday night, serving up a 6-3, 7-6(1) win over Andrea Hlavackova. Venus took a commanding 4-1 lead and eventually closed the first set out, 6-3. Hlavackova a 5-3 lead in the second set, but Venus battled back, winning 11 of the last 12 points of the match to…