American qualifier Samantha Crawford continued her outstanding run to at the Brisbane International on Thursday, rolling past Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-0 to reach the semifinals. After the two exchanged breaks midway through the opening set, Crawford held a 4-3 advantage as Petkovic was serving. The young American responded right away with another break point,…
Roger Federer opened up his 2016 campaign with a routine 6-2, 6-1 victory over German qualifier Tobias Kamke on Thursday in Brisbane, Australia. The tournament’s defending champion needed less than an hour to advance to the Brisbane International quarterfinals. “I’m extremely pleased I was able to win today,” said Federer, who was playing his first…
World number one Novak Djokovic moved into the Qatar Open quarterfinals in Doha on Wednesday, downing Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-2. “I’m very pleased with the way I have started this season, two matches, straight sets,” said Djokovic. “Tonight was tougher than the first round. Obviously I expected that. Verdasco is a former top-10 player,…
Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic on Wednesday, wasting no time in a 6-0, 6-2 victory over American Christina McHale. With top seeds Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic eliminated in the first round, the draw has opened up for the Dane, who is the highest seed remaining. “I played well today,…
Croatia’s Marin Cilic powered his way into the Brisbane International quarterfinals on Wednesday, beating South Korean teenager Hyeon Chung 7-5, 7-6(3). The former U.S. Open champion fired 18 aces and won 84 percent of his first serve points, while securing three break points to advance in straight sets. Cilic will meet Austrian Dominic Thiem in…
Lleyton Hewitt led the Australia Gold team past the United States team at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia on Tuesday, downing American Jack Sock 7-5, 6-4 as a part of the 3-0 victory for the Australians. Hewitt turned back the lock and displayed some phenomenal return tennis to counter the powerful serve of Sock….
The theme of upsets on Tuesday carried over to the men’s side as well, as fourth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer was bounced from the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in the first-round. Ukrainian Ilya Marchenko upended Ferrer 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2. “It was a fantastic day for me, I am really happy with the performance,” said Marchenko. “It’s a…
It is just a couple of days into the 2016 tennis season, but the upsets have already begun. On Tuesday, top-seeded American Venus Williams and second-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic were both ousted in the first-round of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Following a resurgent 2015 season, a lot of people were expecting big…
Defending champion Maria Sharapova and top-seed Simona Halep both withdrew from the Brisbane International due to injury, each announced Tuesday. “I hurt my forearm in practice a couple of days ago and need to precautionarily withdraw, with the Australian Open starting in just a matter of time,” said Sharapova, who was just hours away from…
Some of the area’s top players finished off 2015 competing at the USTA National Men’s Open, Women’s Open and Mixed Open Indoor Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. The tournament’s finals were played on New Year’s Eve, as players and spectators closed out 2015 with some high-quality…