Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka steamrolled into the second-round of the Australian Open, defeating Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium 6-0, 6-0 in just 53 minutes. “I’m pretty happy—I don’t think I’m looking for perfection, I’m looking for effort. I’m looking for focus,” said Azarenka. “I like that I was very composed today from the…
It was all the ESPN announcers were discussing throughout its coverage of the Australian Open yesterday: The epic five-set semifinal between Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco in 2009. And rightfully so, and the rematch on Tuesday between Nadal and Verdasco in the first-round did not disappoint. Nadal won that match in 2009 on his…
The second day of the Australian Open saw a couple of top women fall in the opening round, as second-seeded Romanian Simona Halep and eighth-seeded American Venus Williams were both eliminated in straight sets. Venus was up first and took on a tricky first-round opponent in Great Britain’s Johanna Konta, whom had battled Venus to…
Noah Rubin earned his first win at a major Monday with a big 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) victory over the 17th-seeded Benoit Paire of France at the 2016 Australian Open. Rubin, currently ranked 328th in the world, received a wild card entry into the main draw as part of an agreement between the U.S….
Last year at this time, Noah Rubin was a freshman at Wake Forest University, on his way to becoming the best freshman in college tennis and an NCAA singles finalist. While the pro tour beckoned, Rubin was focused on the task at hand: Successfully making his mark on the collegiate tennis world, as he prepared…
At the end of the 2016 Australian Open, one of the game’s most popular players will hang up his shoes and say goodbye to his professional playing career. Australian native Lleyton Hewitt will play in his final tournament when he plays at 2016’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne, Australia, about 450 miles southeast of where…
Players, fans and everyone in between have waited four long months for answers to many of their questions. Could anybody possibly knock off the two players who completed arguably a couple of the best individual seasons in the history of tennis? Will there be a new tier of athletes who rise up to challenge those…
Eugenie Bouchard knocked off third-seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on Friday to reach the Hobart International final. Bouchard was up a set and had multiple break point chances in the second set, but Cibulkova saved three of them, and fought back from four break advantages to force a deciding third set. But in…
American Jack Sock advanced to the ASB Classic final in Auckland, New Zealand, moving past top-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals on Friday. After serving up a break point in the first set, allowing Ferrer to win the opener, Sock did not even face a break point in the final two…
After a long rain delay that suspended the quarterfinal matches in both draws at the Sydney International, action picked up again on Friday in Sydney, while the main draw of the Australian Open was being announced simultaneously in Melbourne. The announcement of the draw may have affected the mindset of some players, as Australian Bernard…