Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic edged out compatriot Karolina Pliskova in two tie-breakers for a 7-6(5), 7-6(6) victory on Friday, winning the Sydney International for her 15th career title. In an intriguing early season matchup, world number four Kvitova took on the red-hot Pliskova, who was competing in her first WTA final (she also…
Heading into the 2015 Australian Open, there are many storylines with a great deal of unpredictable endings in store for the upcoming year. One great of the game proved to the world that age is no barrier in 2014, while another raised questions on just how many times he could get up…
Juan Martin del Potro’s run at the Sydney International tournament came to an end on Thursday as the defending champion fell to Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin in the semifinals. Kukushkin prevailed in two sets that each went to tiebreakers for a 7-6(5), 7-6(3) victory. The match featured no break points as each player won every single…
The USTA has announced it will be adding same-gender couples’ doubles tournaments to its 2015 adult competition tennis calendar. The groundbreaking announcement opens the door to new play opportunities for same-sex spouses, those in civil unions, domestic partners, and spousal equivalents, making the USTA’s popular adult competition more diverse and inclusive. The Plaza Racquet Club in Palm…
Petra Kvitova exacted some revenge on Thursday as the world number four from the Czech Republic beat Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the Sydney International final. Pironkova had defeated Kvitova at this exact stage last year on her way to the championship, but this time around Kvitova proved to be too much…
World number four Petra Kvitova received a scare from Australian wild card Jarmila Gajdosova, dropping the first set only to recover for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal victory. Kvitova was trailing 4-3 on her serve in the third set when the Czech held, won four straight points on Gajdosova’s serve to break and then held…
What’s the secret to sustained peak performance? Let’s face it … this is the million dollar question! Federer, Monfils, Sharapova … all competitors are trying to solve this great mystery. In the next six articles through 2015, I will highlight a key principle called “More Than an Athlete: Person First. Athlete Second (MTAA.A1.P2)” which I…
The results at the Sydney International and Heineken Open tournaments were not kind to the top seeds of each respective tournament on Wednesday as the day saw a number of surprises. First in Sydney, Juan Martin del Potro continued his comeback season with another victory, coming back from a set down to knock off top-seeded…
The ATP has announced significant efforts to enhance the ATP Challenger Tour, including further increases in prize money. The ATP Challenger Tour comprises approximately 150 tournaments each year and serves as a springboard for players to compete on the ATP World Tour. The increases will take place at the lowest category of tournaments, with minimum…
Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro won his first match since last February, knocking off Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 7-6(4) at the Sydney International on Tuesday. “It was a great moment for me,” said Del Potro, who is the defending champion at this tournament. “I think I played well in my first match after ten months….