As the 2nd round of the Brisbane International wrapped up on the final day of 2012, 2 big names went out with a bang!
(Rank/Seed)
5/4 Kerber let a 62 42 lead slip before ultimately pulling through her 1st match of the '2013' season, beating Tatishvilli 62 46 62.
6/5 Errani also came through against qualifier Puchkova 61 63
Arvidsson, who finished '2012' strongly indoors has continued playing well, defeating (9/7) Stosur 76(4) 75. This is Stosur's 4th straight loss on Australian soil and underlines speculation that she chokes under home pressure. It was evident from the start that the Swede was far more solid and Stosur, who's recently had ankle surgery, was far below her best, hitting 48 unforced errors. She will have to hope Sydney has more to offer!
Qualifier Pervak scuppered (10/8) Wozniacki's preparation, beating her 26 63 76(1)! Pervak had pushed Caroline to 3 sets in both previous meetings, but this time finally pulled through, from 0-2 0-30 in the 3rd. For Caroline, despite the strong end to last season, her inconsistency against opponents she would have once swatted aside jeopardises her attempt to return to the top of the game.
Stephens defeated the ever mercurial (15/-) Cibulkova 62 63
Lisicki hit the ground running, taking out the Fed Cup star (17/-) Safarova 62 64
Hopman Cup
13 Ivanovic helped Serbia to a 2-1 win over Italy, defeating Schiavone 60 64
Monday, 31 December 2012
Sunday, 30 December 2012
2013 Tennis Year Begins...Sort Of!
It doesn't seem two minutes since the Fed Cup final that saw out the 2012 WTA season. However, here we are again, technically still in 2012, starting an exciting 2013 season in theory. All the top 10 players are in action, 8 of them in the newly upgraded Brisbane. It features the world's top 3, Azarenka, Sharapova and Serena, as well as Kerber, Errani, Kvitova, Stosur and Wozniacki. Radwanska is down in Auckland and naturally Li's opted to play the inaugural event in Shenzhen. Also, Venus is playing the Hopman Cup for the first time, so there's plenty to cover this week!
(Rank/Seed)
Brisbane
3/3 Serena was at her ruthless best, beating Lepchenko 62 61 in windy conditions, despite recent minor surgery on her toes. She too was aware of the fact she was still technically competing in 2012, so had the 4 losses she's incurred this year in mind. Now, due to this ominous win, she will finish 2012 with only 4 losses for definite!
Gajdosova recovered to upset (16/-) Vinci 46 61 63. Considering her recent family bereavement and the fact she hadn't won a match since last years French Open, Jarmila's done very well to defeat the world's number one doubles player. Once again, as she did against Stosur in 2011, Gajdosova has used the home crowd to pull her through in Brisbane!
Hopman Cup
Venus recovered from a slow start to defeat South Africa's Scheepers 46 62 63. Though John Isner would lose his singles rubber, together they comfortably won the mixed doubles; giving the US a 2-1 win.
(Rank/Seed)
Brisbane
3/3 Serena was at her ruthless best, beating Lepchenko 62 61 in windy conditions, despite recent minor surgery on her toes. She too was aware of the fact she was still technically competing in 2012, so had the 4 losses she's incurred this year in mind. Now, due to this ominous win, she will finish 2012 with only 4 losses for definite!
Gajdosova recovered to upset (16/-) Vinci 46 61 63. Considering her recent family bereavement and the fact she hadn't won a match since last years French Open, Jarmila's done very well to defeat the world's number one doubles player. Once again, as she did against Stosur in 2011, Gajdosova has used the home crowd to pull her through in Brisbane!
Hopman Cup
Venus recovered from a slow start to defeat South Africa's Scheepers 46 62 63. Though John Isner would lose his singles rubber, together they comfortably won the mixed doubles; giving the US a 2-1 win.
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