WTA Jan 6-12: Sydney & Hobart

Apia Int'l, Sydney, AUS
Int'l Tennis Ctr, Olympic Park
PREMIER $690,000 30m/48q/16d
Free Live Video (popup) | outdoor: hard
Live Scores
draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP
pics: T.com | Y!: sports - news | WTA
Sydney: radar
n4 A Radwanska, n5 A Kerber
n6 S Errani, n7 Na Li

Moorilla Int'l,
Hobart, Tasmania, AUS
INTL $235,000 32m/32q/16d
Free Live Video (popup) | outdoor: hard
Live Scores
draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP
pics: T.com - ESPN | WTA
Hobart: radar
n25 S-W Hsieh, n27 S Cirstea
n28 K Zakopalova, n29 Y Shvedova

tourney archive:

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Hobart:

#68 Elena Vesnina
5'7¾" 132lb RH 2H-BH

Sydney:

#4 Agnieszka Radwanska
5'7" 139lb RH 2H-BH

On Saturday at Hobart, Tasmania, in the final of the Morilla International, the 2012 Budapest (and 2011 Charleston) finalist, 26 year old #68 (high: #22) Elena Vesnina from Sochi, Russia, won her first WTA singles title by defeating the 2012 Hobart champion, 22 year old 9th seeded #39 (career high: #35) Mona Barthel from Neumunster, Germany, 6-3, 6-4 (Elena is shown hoisting the Tasmania-shaped woodwork during a post-match photo-op).

Elena's prize is $40,000; Mona's prize is $20,000.

Elena had lost her six previous finals. Elena said: "The biggest difference today was I served better in the key moments... I was telling myself even if I hit double faults it's okay, just don't let her control the points.... It finally worked out for me. I've been waiting for this for a long time." WTA story

Elena and Mona had met only once before, last year on a Deco-Turf hardcourt in the 1st round at Beijing, when Elena defeated Mona 6-1, 6-1.

Elena is now 1-6 in WTA singles finals, and is 7-1 in matches this season. Mona is now 1-1 in WTA singles finals, and has a 7-2 singles match record this year.

On Friday at Sydney, Australia, in the final of the Apia International, last week's champ at Auckland (and 2012 champion at Dubai, Miami and Brussels), 23 year old top seeded #4 (career high: #3) Agnieszka Radwanska from Krakow, Poland, won her second title in a row (and her 9th consecutive match victory) by obliterating the 2012 champion at San Diego, 23 year old #15 (career high: #12) Dominika Cibulkova from Bratislava, Slovakia, 6-0, 6-0 (Agnieszka is shown holding the hardware after the match). Agnieszka's prize is $117,000; Dominika's prize is $62,300.

Aga won 22 of the last 25 points in the match. Agnieszka said: "In the second set I think [Dominika] didn't really know what to do. I was serving really well and she was making a little bit too many mistakes. I was just playing the same level the whole match. She's a great player, a top player, and she had some great wins all week, so I really didn't expect this." WTA story

Dominika had defeated three top 10 players on her way to the final. Dominika said: "It was the first time something like that has happened to me. Actually I felt I could win every game I lost until 60 10. But when I lost that 1-0 game again in the second set, I just completely broke down and stopped thinking about what I had to do out there."

Aga now leads Domi 4-0 in career matches. They had not met since 2008, when, on a Deco-Turf hardcourt in the quarterfinals at Doha, Agnieszka defeated Dominika 6-4, 6(1)-7, 6-4.

Aga is now 12-4 in WTA singles finals, and has a 9-0 singles match record this year. Domi is 2-5 in WTA singles finals, and is 4-2 in matches this season.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Sydney & Hobart

s=seed, n=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser
ranks are for the previous week
How do players get into the "draw"?

Medibank International, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

tourney time:

= GMT +11 hours
= US EDT +16 hours
= US PDT +19 hours

Australia News

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Sydney: The main draw for Sydney has 8 seeds, with 2 1st-round byes.
There are 6 qualifiers in the main draw.
Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Friday, qualifying finals are on Sunday.

click for broader view Int'l Tennis Centre, Olympic Park, Sydney, AUS
Latitude: -33.854985 Longitude: 151.072665 goto link for World Wind
Olympic Park map, .pdf - Sydney Map

2013: Young ladies looking good at the player party in Sydney on Sunday included
the Czech trio of Andrea Hlavackova, Lucie Safarova & Lucie Hradecka, Daniela Hantuchova, and Jelena Jankovic...

Sydney, 1st Rd, Sun-Mon 11am
losers' prize: $5,200 US; points: 1
n6 s3 Sara Errani ITA d n118 q Karolina Pliskova CZE 6-1, 6-3 Mon
n7 s4 Na Li CHN d n33 Christina McHale USA 7-6(2), 7-5 Mon

Na driving a forehand

*n15 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d n8 s5 Petra Kvitova CZE 6-1, 6-1 Sun

Domi after match point

*n26 Jie Zheng CHN d n9 s6 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-3, 6(7)-7, 6-4 Mon

Samantha serving, and Jie after match point

n10 s7 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d n31 Urszula Radwanska POL 6-1, 6-2 Sun

Caro driving a backhand

*n16 Roberta Vinci ITA d n12 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-5, 7-5 Mon
n14 Maria Kirilenko RUS d n113 wc Olivia Rogowska AUS 7-5, 6-2 Sun

Maria after match point

*n137 q Madison Keys USA d n17 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-2, 6-1 Mon
*n71 q Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d n18 Julia Goerges GER 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 Mon

Svetlana was sidelined the last six months of 2012 with a knee injury. Svetlana said: "To beat a player as good as Julia right now is amazing. I missed some easy forehands and didn't serve too well in the first set, but I'm happy I improved in the second and third sets." WTA story

n20 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d n21 Varvara Lepchenko USA 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Sun
n22 Jelena Jankovic SRB d n30 Tamira Paszek AUT 6-2, 7-6(5) Mon

Jelena driving a forehand

*n82 q Galina Voskoboeva KAZ d n23 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 Mon
*n85 q Ayumi Morita JPN d n32 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 Mon
n99 q Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN d n101 wc Casey Dellacqua AUS 6-4, 6-1 Mon

Sydney, 2nd Rd, Tue 11am
losers' prize: $9,340 US; points: 60
n4 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n99 q Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN 6-4, 6-3

Agnieszka launching a backhand

Auckland champion Agnieszka said: "I couldn't imagine a better start to the year. It was my first time in Auckland, and I had a really good couple of matches there, some really good preparation before coming here."

n5 s2 Angelique Kerber GER d n82 q Galina Voskoboeva KAZ 6-2, 7-5

Angelique's backhand drive

n6 s3 Sara Errani ITA d n14 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1, 6-1

Sara driving a backhand

n7 s4 Na Li CHN d n85 q Ayumi Morita JPN 6-1, 6-0
*n71 q Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d n10 s7 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-2

Svetlana delivering a backhand

Svetlana was sidelined for the last six months of 2012 due to a knee injury. Svetlana said: "Before the break I was losing to Goerges, I was losing to Wozniacki, every time I was up and had chances and could never close those matches. Now, after the break, I just feel fresh, I feel happy, I feel balanced on the court. I feel I'm doing the right things when I have to do them." WTA story

n15 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d n20 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 7-6(3), 1-6, 7-6(1)
n16 Roberta Vinci ITA d n22 Jelena Jankovic SRB 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4)

Roberta after match point

*n137 q Madison Keys USA d n26 Jie Zheng CHN 6-0, 6-4

Madison's backhand drive

Sydney, QFs, Wed 11am
losers' prize: $17,650 US; points: 120
n4 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n16 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-4, 7-5

Agnieszka driving a backhand

Agnieszka said: "She pretty much doesn't miss and everything goes back to the other side. She's not giving up any free points. So today I was really trying to play more aggressive and come to the net more often, even serve and volley sometimes. I think that was the key of the match today."

n5 s2 Angelique Kerber GER d n71 q Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-3, 7-5

Angelique's backhand drive

Angelique said: "I just tried focusing on my game and playing aggressive, because she was playing really well. I was fighting for every point and I'm happy I could finish it in straight sets." WTA story

*n15 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d n6 s3 Sara Errani ITA 6-2, 6-1

Dominika after match point

n7 s4 Na Li CHN d n137 q Madison Keys USA 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2

Na serving, and Madison running down a forehand

Sydney, SFs, Thu 11am
losers' prize: $32,830 US; points: 200
n4 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n7 s4 Na Li CHN 6-3, 6-4

Agnieszka driving a backhand

Agnieszka said: "I had lost a couple of times against [Na] last year, so I just went on the court pretty relaxed. The wind was a little bit difficult, especially in the first set—a lot of framing. But the second set went much better.
"I'm happy to play my best tennis from the beginning of the year and I'll do everything to win one more match tomorrow." WTA story

*n15 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d n5 s2 Angelique Kerber GER 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

Dominika serving

Dominika said: "My strategy today was just to play aggressive as I can but not to go crazy for it. I was using my legs a lot today, and moving very good on the court."

Sydney, Final, Fri 7:30pm
loser's prize: $62,300 US; points: 320
winner's prize: $117,000 US; points: 470
n4 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n15 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-0, 6-0

Dominika driving a forehand, and Agnieszka volleying a backhand

Sydney, Doubles Final, Fri
losers' prize: $19,490 US
winners' prize: $36,500 US
*Nadia Petrova & Katarina Srebotnik d s1 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4

Sydney, Qual Finals, Sun Jan 6 11am
losers' prizes: q1 $805 1pt; q2 $1,450 8pts; q3 $2,730 12pts; qualifier 20 points
*n82 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ d n41 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 7-6(5), 7-6(4)
*n99 Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN d n51 Anna Tatishvili GEO 6-3, 6-0
*n85 Ayumi Morita JPN d n66 Marina Erakovic NZL 6-3, 6-0
n71 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d n111 Jana Cepelova SVK 5-7, 6-0, 6-2
* n137 Madison Keys USA d n93 Misaki Doi JPN 6-3, 6-4
n118 Karolina Pliskova CZE d n119 Estrella Cabeza Candela ESP 7-6(3), 6-2

Sydney, Withdrawals

Morilla International, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

tourney time:

= GMT +11 hours
= US EDT +16 hours
= US PDT +19 hours

Australia News

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Hobart: The main draw for Hobart has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes.
There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw.
Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Friday, qualifying finals are on Sunday.

click for broader view Hobart, Tasmania, AUS Hobart Map
Latitude: -42.873719 Longitude: 147.32908 goto link for World Wind

2013: Sloane Stephens posed for pics at St. David's Park on Wednesday...

Hobart, 1st Rd, Sun 10am, Mon-Tue 11am
loser's prize: $1,800 US; points: 1
*n40 Shuai Peng CHN d n25 s1 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-2, 6(7)-7, 7-6(4) Mon

Shuai said: "It was so tiring out there!. We are good friends and often practice together so I think we both know each other's game so well and it means we have very long rallies.
"The match was really similar to the one at the Olympics: I won the first set, then she came back and in the third set it was again a really tight match.
"She has good hands, with the drop shot and the angles, and I was running from side to side. I was just trying to fight out there and I'm really happy this was enough to win and get in the second round."

n27 s2 Sorana Cirstea ROU d n80 LL Nina Bratchikova RUS 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 Mon

Sorana driving a backhand

Sorana said: "I started out a bit shaky and it took me a while to get used to the conditions. But I'm really happy with this win and how I fought my way back into the second set. I was playing well in the third set and hopefully I can play even better in the second round." WTA story

n28 s3 Klara Zakopalova CZE d n67 Timea Babos HUN 6-4, 6-3 Tue
n29 s4 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d n48 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-4, 6-1 Mon
*n57 Olga Govortsova BLR d n34 s5 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 6-2, 6-1 Sun
*n54 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d n35 s6 Francesca Schiavone ITA 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) Mon
n38 s8 Sloane Stephens USA d n53 Laura Robson GBR 6-4, 7-6(4) Sun

Sloane about to slice a backhand

n39 s9 Mona Barthel GER d n175 wc Ashleigh Barty AUS 2-6, 6-0, 6-1 Mon
n42 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL v n52 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU 6-3, 6-4 Mon
*n60 Chanelle Scheepers RSA d n44 Alize Cornet FRA 6-1, 6-2 Mon
n47 Simona Halep ROU d n79 q Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP 6-3, 6-2 Mon
n56 Bojana Jovanovski SRB d n98 Maria-Teresa Torro Flor ESP 6-0, 7-6(7) Tue
n58 Monica Niculescu ROU d n77 q Mandy Minella LUX 6-4, 6-3 Mon
n68 Elena Vesnina RUS d n83 q Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP 6-2, 6-4 Mon

Elena after match point

*n183 wc Jarmila Gajdosova AUS d n61 Romina Oprandi SUI 6-4, 7-5 Mon

Jarmila's forehand drive

n91 q Lauren Davis USA d n331 wc Bojana Bobusic AUS 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(5) Mon

Lauren driving a forehand

Hobart, 2nd Rd, Tue-Wed 10:30am
loser's prize: $3,100 US; points: 30
*n91 q Lauren Davis USA d n27 s2 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-1, 6-3 Tue

Lauren said: "I was playing really well, waiting for my chances, playing my game. I served well, I returned well. I did everything pretty well. Getting deep into the tournament, it feels good." WTA story

*n42 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d n28 s3 Klara Zakopalova CZE 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Wed

Tsvetana said: "It was a slow start for sure. Conditions were a bit hard, it was windy and her balls were very fast, she hits the ball very hard so I needed a bit of time to adjust to that."

About playing Mona Barthel in the quarterfinals, Tsvetana said: "I'm expecting a tough job tomorrow, she's a really, really good player. I've practiced with her several times so I kind of know what to expect, but practice is a lot different from a normal match so we'll see." WTA story

*n68 Elena Vesnina RUS n29 s4 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 Tue

Elena after match point

n38 s8 Sloane Stephens USA d n47 Simona Halep ROU 6-4, 6-0 Tue

Sloane after winning a point

About playing Lauren Davis in the quarterfinals, Sloane said: "It will be a rematch of our 18s hardcourt USTA Nationals match, so I'm excited to play her. Out of all the times that we've been at the same tournament, we've never played at an actual WTA tournament, so it should be fun."

n39 s9 Mona Barthel GER d n60 Chanelle Scheepers RSA 7-6(3), 7-5 Tue

Mona said: "I had a good tournament last week in Auckland, playing four good matches and making the semis. I worked really hard in the offseason, and I feel like I improved a lot and I'm playing much better than last year. I'm just really excited for the new season, and we'll see how it goes."

*n58 Monica Niculescu ROU d n40 Shuai Peng CHN 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Wed
n54 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d n56 Bojana Jovanovski SRB 6-3, 6-2 Wed
*n183 wc Jarmila Gajdosova AUS d n57 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-3, 6-1Wed

Jarmila said: "It was pretty windy and I knew it could be quite scrappy, so I made sure I defended well and made her play a lot of balls. In the second set, I think the wind died down a little and I could get a little more rhythm on my serve and groundstrokes.
"It's nice to be in the quarters and get some matches under my belt. My tennis still isn't quite where I want it to be but it's a good start and with each match I'm getting better."

Hobart, QFs, Thu 11am
loser's prize: $5,500 US; points: 70
n38 s8 Sloane Stephens USA d n91 q Lauren Davis USA 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

Sloane serving

Sloane said: "It was an extremely tough match and [Lauren] played really well... I was really please with how if finished. Towards the end I was playing some of my best tennis of the match, and just managed to stay calm and composed. She's played six matches—so I knew she was tired—and I just told myself, 'make a lot of balls and go for your shots when you can." WTA story

n39 s9 Mona Barthel GER d n42 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6-3

2012 Hobart champion Mona said: "Last year was my first time on the tour, and I feel like I learned so much playing all these tournaments and playing against the top players. My serve has got better and I feel like my groundstrokes are better."

n54 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d n58 Monica Niculescu ROU 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
n68 Elena Vesnina RUS d n183 wc Jarmila Gajdosova AUS 6-3, 6-2

Elena driving a backhand

Elena said: "Jarmila is a very tough player, she's a fighter and can come back from any score so I'm happy that I won it in two sets. I was expecting it to be a very long and tough match." tourney story

Hobart, SFs, Fri noon
loser's prize: $10,425 US; points: 130
*n68 Elena Vesnina RUS d n38 s8 Sloane Stephens USA 6-2, 6-2

Sloane and Elena driving backhands, and Elena alerting the media after the match

Elena said: "We played a close game. I played well on the break points, and that was why the score went my way. [Sloane is a] young and upcoming and also a very dangerous player. I'm really happy to win in two sets, and I'm pleased with my game today." WTA story

n39 s9 Mona Barthel GER d n54 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-4, 6-4

Mona serving

Hobart, Final, Sat 2pm
loser's prize: $20,000 US; points: 200
winner's prize: $40,000 US; points: 280
*n68 Elena Vesnina RUS d n39 s9 Mona Barthel GER 6-3, 6-4

Mona and Elena driving forehand and backhand, and Elena after match point

Hobart, Doubles Final, Sat noon
loser's prize: $6,000 US
winner's prize: $11,500 US
Garbine Muguruza & Maria-Teresa Torro Flor d Mandy Minella & Timea Babos 6-3, 7-6(5)

Hobart, Qual Finals, Sun Jan 6 10am
losers' prizes: q1 $500 1pt; q2 $700 6pts; q3 $950 10pts; qualifier 16 points
n77 Mandy Minella LUX d n109 Garbine Muguruza ESP 0-6, 6-2, 6-4
*n91 Lauren Davis USA d n80 Nina Bratchikova RUS 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
n79 Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP d n123 Yulia Putintseva KAZ 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(8)
n83 Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP d n98 Maria-Teresa Torro Flor ESP 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-1

Hobart, Withdrawals
n36 s7 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS left hip injury
n49 Heather Watson GBR right elbow injury

The Morilla International, which had a Friday evening final for several years, changed back to a Saturday afternoon final in 2010. tourney story

(Jan 4, 2007) Both tourneys this week used the new WTA drawsheet form, which is not improved over the previous form in any way whatsoever, and is in fact much worse. Rankings are displayed only for the seeded players, and are not shown for the rest of the draw (the old form displayed the rankings of all participants). Why would we not want to know the player's rankings?

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WTA PhotoRankings: the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.

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2013 Sydney & Hobart WTA Singles Results

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WTA Jan 6-12: Sydney & Hobart