BRISBANE: World No.1 Angelique Kerber survived a big scare from Australian wildcard Ashleigh Barty to progress to the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International on Wednesday.
The reigning Australian and US Open champion held on to beat the impressive Barty in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Barty, the 2011 junior Wimbledon champion, walked away from the sport at the end of 2014 and only returned for four tournaments in 2016.
However, the 20-year-old from Brisbane is now back on the tour full time and she showed local fans what they have been missing with a brave fight against Kerber.
Showing no nerves, Barty opened an early lead, only for Kerber to claw her way back and claim the opening set.
Barty again skipped away to an early lead in the second set but this time an error-prone Kerber was unable to recover.
However, the German cut out the mistakes to break Barty early in the final set and held on to win in one hour, 44 minutes and set up a quarterfinal against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
“It’s always tough to play a match after such a long break, and Ashleigh was playing very well from the first point,” Kerber said.
“It’s always different starting the year, and the first matches are always tough.
“You have to get again into the rhythm and play a lot of matches to feel your game.”
Second seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova was also forced to dig deep before beating China’s Zhang Shuai 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
After losing the first set Cibulkova seemed in control when she took the second and went 4-0 up in the third.
But Zhang fought back to 4-4 before the Slovakian claimed the last two games to move into the quarterfinals.
“I knew it was not going to be easy. I didn’t expect to play my best tennis today, but, you know, I’m happy I managed to come back into the match,” Cibulkova said.
“She was playing really well, but then I started to use my weapons much more. I started to be much more aggressive on the return with my forehands, and I didn’t let her in the game.”
Cibulkova enjoyed a breakthrough 2016, winning the WTA Finals in October when she beat Kerber in the decider.
She started the year at a career high five in the world and said it was difficult adjusting to the expectations that were now on her.
“You can feel the expectation and the pressure — this is what I’m trying to deal with,” she said.
She now plays Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in the quarterfinals, a player she lost to in their last two meetings.
Two-time Grand Slam singles winner Svetlana Kuznetsova ended 16-year-old Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava’s run with a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win, while Italian eighth seed Roberta Vinci looked equally at ease as she downed Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-4, 6-2.
Serena follows sister Venus to Auckland exit
Serena Williams suffered a shock second-round defeat at the Auckland Classic Wednesday following her sister Venus’s earlier withdrawal with an arm injury.
Top seeded Serena blamed the wind for a string of unforced errors in her first event after a four-month layoff as she was sent packing 6-4, 6-7 (7/3), 6-4 in a two-hour, 14-minute arm wrestle with world No. 72 Madison Brengle.
“I’m trying to think of a word that’s not obscene but that’s pretty much how I played,” Serena told reporters.
“I just couldn’t get used to the wind. My opponent played in the exact same conditions so obviously she was used to it and her game was more suited to it but it was just really annoying me for whatever reason.”
Second-seed Venus decided to quit after suffering a sore right arm during her struggle to a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 first-round victory over 18-year-old New Zealander Jade Lewis playing in her first WTA tournament.
Serena, playing in her first tournament since losing in the semifinals of the US Open in September, was looking for a bold showing in Auckland, both to prepare for the Australian Open and to celebrate her New Year engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
After blaming rust for her sluggish first-round win over Pauline Parmentier on Tuesday, she succumbed in abject fashion a day later with a double fault on match point at 4-5 in the third set in the blustery conditions.
“I didn’t hit any returns in the vicinity of the court,” lamented Serena. “I’ve never returned like that in my life — a little frustrating especially since I worked so hard in the offseason.
“I can take solace from the fact conditions won’t be like this in Melbourne.”
The reigning Australian and US Open champion held on to beat the impressive Barty in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Barty, the 2011 junior Wimbledon champion, walked away from the sport at the end of 2014 and only returned for four tournaments in 2016.
However, the 20-year-old from Brisbane is now back on the tour full time and she showed local fans what they have been missing with a brave fight against Kerber.
Showing no nerves, Barty opened an early lead, only for Kerber to claw her way back and claim the opening set.
Barty again skipped away to an early lead in the second set but this time an error-prone Kerber was unable to recover.
However, the German cut out the mistakes to break Barty early in the final set and held on to win in one hour, 44 minutes and set up a quarterfinal against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
“It’s always tough to play a match after such a long break, and Ashleigh was playing very well from the first point,” Kerber said.
“It’s always different starting the year, and the first matches are always tough.
“You have to get again into the rhythm and play a lot of matches to feel your game.”
Second seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova was also forced to dig deep before beating China’s Zhang Shuai 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
After losing the first set Cibulkova seemed in control when she took the second and went 4-0 up in the third.
But Zhang fought back to 4-4 before the Slovakian claimed the last two games to move into the quarterfinals.
“I knew it was not going to be easy. I didn’t expect to play my best tennis today, but, you know, I’m happy I managed to come back into the match,” Cibulkova said.
“She was playing really well, but then I started to use my weapons much more. I started to be much more aggressive on the return with my forehands, and I didn’t let her in the game.”
Cibulkova enjoyed a breakthrough 2016, winning the WTA Finals in October when she beat Kerber in the decider.
She started the year at a career high five in the world and said it was difficult adjusting to the expectations that were now on her.
“You can feel the expectation and the pressure — this is what I’m trying to deal with,” she said.
She now plays Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in the quarterfinals, a player she lost to in their last two meetings.
Two-time Grand Slam singles winner Svetlana Kuznetsova ended 16-year-old Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava’s run with a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win, while Italian eighth seed Roberta Vinci looked equally at ease as she downed Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-4, 6-2.
Serena follows sister Venus to Auckland exit
Serena Williams suffered a shock second-round defeat at the Auckland Classic Wednesday following her sister Venus’s earlier withdrawal with an arm injury.
Top seeded Serena blamed the wind for a string of unforced errors in her first event after a four-month layoff as she was sent packing 6-4, 6-7 (7/3), 6-4 in a two-hour, 14-minute arm wrestle with world No. 72 Madison Brengle.
“I’m trying to think of a word that’s not obscene but that’s pretty much how I played,” Serena told reporters.
“I just couldn’t get used to the wind. My opponent played in the exact same conditions so obviously she was used to it and her game was more suited to it but it was just really annoying me for whatever reason.”
Second-seed Venus decided to quit after suffering a sore right arm during her struggle to a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 first-round victory over 18-year-old New Zealander Jade Lewis playing in her first WTA tournament.
Serena, playing in her first tournament since losing in the semifinals of the US Open in September, was looking for a bold showing in Auckland, both to prepare for the Australian Open and to celebrate her New Year engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
After blaming rust for her sluggish first-round win over Pauline Parmentier on Tuesday, she succumbed in abject fashion a day later with a double fault on match point at 4-5 in the third set in the blustery conditions.
“I didn’t hit any returns in the vicinity of the court,” lamented Serena. “I’ve never returned like that in my life — a little frustrating especially since I worked so hard in the offseason.
“I can take solace from the fact conditions won’t be like this in Melbourne.”
