Lucie Safarova pulled off the latest surprise at the Apia International Sydney on Tuesday, defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 7-6(7) to move into the quarterfinals. Wozniacki led 3-0 in the first set and held four set points in the second set tie-break, three at 6-3 and a fourth at 7-6, but Safarova won the last eight points of the first set and six…
Caroline Wozniacki opened her 2014 season on Monday with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Julia Goerges in the first round of the Sydney International, one of the final warm-ups before the Australian Open. Wozniacki withdrew from last week's Brisbane International after hurting her right shoulder in practice and struggled early against Goerges, who was replacing the injured Sloane Stephens in the…
Australian Lleyton Hewitt defeated Roger Federer 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in the finals of the Brisbane International, presented by Suncorp, earning his first ATP World Tour title since the 2010. "It means a lot with the caliber of players here as well in this tournament," said Hewitt. "It's not an easy tournament to win. I wasn't one of the top four…
Rafael Nadal defeated Gael Monfils in the finals of the 2014 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, opening his 2014 campaign with his 61st career title with a 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory. With Novak Djokovic opting not to play in Doha, Nadal further built on his lead at number one in the Emirates ATP Rankings, adding 250 points as well as $188,600 in prize…
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…