Professional Tennis
Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark came back from 4-0 down in the final set to beat Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals at the Sydney International, one of the final warmups prior to the 2012 Australian Open. “I thought I had lost the match,” said the top-ranked Wozniacki. “I…
American Venus Williams has announced her withdrawal from the 2012 Australian Open, due to the lingering effects of Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that has caused the seven-time Grand Slam winner severe fatigue and joint pain. Venus’ last appearance was an Aug. 29 win at the 2011 U.S. Open, a 6-4, 6-3 win over Russian Vesna Dolonts. Two…
Great Britain’s Andy Murray has won his first title under new coach Ivan Lendl leading up to the Australian Open. Murray defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov in the Brisbane International final with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 win. "I’d like to thank my team … Mr. Lendl, he’s up there somewhere, hiding. It’s my first week with this…
Australia’s Sam Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, lost to Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, 6-2, 6-4, in the first round of the Sydney International Tournament. Schiavone has also defeated Stosur at the 2010 French Open final and had little to no trouble once again defeating her early on in this tournament. Stosur has only won one…
Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, along with Serbain Novak Djokovic, are the top two-seeded players at the Australian Open. Organizers based the seeding on the WTA & ATP rankings. Djokovic is followed by Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray, who lost the past two finals. Behind Wozniacki is Petra Kvitoav, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. However,…
Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters became the second top contender for the year’s first major to suffer an injury setback when she retired on Friday from her Brisbane International semifinal match against Daniela Hantuchova. Clijsters took the opening set 7-6(4), but surrendered a break at the start of the second set and needed treatment after the…
Here’s what some of your favorite tennis stars had to say this New Years via Twitter … â–º@CaroWozniacki: Happy New Year from @McIlroyRory and me in Thailand:) â–º@shaharpeer: Happy New Year everybody!!! I wish all a great 2012! I’m sure u will all celebrate big time â–º@arodionova: HAPPY NEW 2012 YEAR!!!!! â–º@DjokerNole: L’Shannah Tovah 🙂 â–º@MardyFish: 2012 promise… Much more…
Roger Federer had reached the semifinals of the Qatar Open, after his winning streak was extended to 20 straight matches. He defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. He would have gone up against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, however, he has withdrawn from the tournament citing a back injury. Tsonga is now sixth-ranked…
World number two-ranked Rafael Nadal defeated Mikhail Youzhny, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Thursday to reach the semifinals for the third straight year in Doha. Nadal won 75 percent of his first serve points, and was proficient at the net, taking eight of nine points when he came forward to…
Kim Clijsters has advanced to the semifinals of the Brisbane International after a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Iveta Benesova. Clijsters had won the title in 2010 and missed the 2011 tournament. She is now 8-0 overall for the tournaments leading up to the Australian Open. “I’m very satisfied with the way that I played,” Clijsters…