Kerber, Cibulkova survive scares in Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia -- World number one Angelique Kerber survived a big scare from Australian wildcard Ashleigh Barty to progress to the quarter-finals 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 quarter-final 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 quarter-finals.

"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 quarter-finals, 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.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Serena wins Brisbane International

BRISBANE - World number one Serena Williams stamped herself as favourite for the Australian Open when she beat Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Brisbane International on Saturday.

In what could be a dress rehearsal for the Melbourne decider, Williams won a close first set then edged Azarenka in the second to win 6-4, 7-5 in 98 minutes.

Williams, the defending champion in Brisbane, just shaded Azarenka throughout, with her powerful serve proving the main difference between the world's two top players.

Williams broke Azarenka once in the first set. Although she lost her serve twice in the second, she broke Azarenka three times to seal a victory.

The win was Williams' 14th over Azarenka in 17 meetings, and stamps her as the player to beat in Melbourne later this month.

The world number one had four testing matches in Brisbane, against Andrea Petkovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Maria Sharapova and Azarenka, and said the tournament was perfect preparation for the Australian Open.

"It was a great test, it showed me where my level was, and I feel like I definitely have some room for improvement and things that I want to improve on going into Melbourne, and things I have to improve on if I want to win," she said.

"I'm happy I was able to play both Maria and Victoria, because they brought their A games against me.

"I know now what I need to do for Melbourne. I look forward to it."

Williams warned that the win over Azarenka in Brisbane would count for little if they were to meet in the Australian Open final.

"I feel like if I were to play Victoria in the final, if I get to the final, it's a new match," she said.

"Obviously I'll have a little confidence, but at the same time, we both start at zero?zero."

Azarenka conceded afterwards that she had been outplayed on the key points.

"I think it was a pretty solid match," she said.

"There was a little bit, you know, a few errors in important moments.

"But Serena played a great match. She was better today in the important moments, and she took her chance."

Azarenka said she would take a lot of positives into the Australian Open, where she is the defending champion.

"I'm a perfectionist. I want to play better, I want to win," she said.

"I can't say I'm satisfied today, but I want to take the positive, what I've done today, and build from here towards the next week.

"This is the first week where you really test yourself, where your game is at, and from here you can take the positives and the things that you have to work on and really go after that."

Williams, who didn't drop a set on the way to the final, lost only four matches in 2011 on her way to winning 11 titles, including two Grand Slams.

She regained her number one ranking eight weeks into 2013 in a year that also included a winning streak of 34 consecutive matches.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com