Tennis: Azarenka ousts Zvonareva, Kvitova through to quarters

Belarusian Victoria Azarenka made a winning return to Stuttgart with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Russia's Vera Zvonareva in what was an engrossing battle in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Wednesday.

Azarenka, a former world number one, was pushed in the opening set, especially by Zvonareva's first serve, but fought back to break her four times in the match. The last time the pair met was in 2011 when they were both ranked in the top 10.

"We're both in completely different stages of our careers, we're both moms," Azarenka said.

"I think I'm playing better than I used to before, I believe I'm much more of a complete player than I used to be. I'm in the process of building my game up again."

The 29-year-old, a two-times Australian Open champion, also had to overcome jet lag after competing in the Fed Cup semi-final in Australia at the weekend.

"I have no idea right now of the time or what's happening," she told reporters. "The flight from Australia was so long I felt like it was never going to end! It was a huge challenge for me today and I'm very happy with the way I handled it."

Azarenka will take on fourth seed and defending champion Karolina Pliskova next for a spot in the quarter-finals.

World number three Petra Kvitova, who received a bye to the second round, cruised through to the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-4 win over Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen in a game where she covered the court well and anticipated shots to take a quick lead.

Minnen was no match for Kvitova in the first set but found her groove in the second to test the Australian Open runner-up. However, it was too little too late for the 21-year-old as Kvitova wrapped up the match in 73 minutes.

Earlier, Switzerland's Belinda Bencic started the tournament strongly with a 6-2 6-4 victory over qualifier Mandy Minella.

Bencic, who ended a four-year title drought in February when she beat Kvitova in Dubai, struck 24 winners with her aggressive returns dominating the Luxembourger. The result pits Bencic against sixth seed Kiki Bertens.

Last year's semi-finalist Anett Kontaveit of Estonia breezed past France's Caroline Garcia with a 6-4 6-3 win while Donna Vekic beat Giulia Gatto-Monticone 6-1 7-5 to advance.

2011 champion Julia Goerges' first match was cut short by injury with the German forced to retire when she was trailing 4-0 in the final set to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Goerges had taken the first set 6-4 before the Russian took the second 6-2. 

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and Pritha Sarkar)

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Tennis: Stephens stunned, Serena cruises at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Swiss qualifier Stefanie Vogele stunned world number four Sloane Stephens 6-3 6-0 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday while Serena Williams got the better of Victoria Azarenka to advance.

Vogele needed just over an hour to dispatch the fourth-seeded Stephens and push her overall record to 4-1 against the 2017 U.S. Open champion, who committed her 32nd unforced error on match point when she sent a forehand wide.

"Obviously playing someone who you haven't done that well against in the past is a little bit rough," Stephens told reporters after the match, which was played amid high winds on a sunny day in the Southern California desert.

"It was windy but it was windy for both of us. I just didn't play a great match today."

Under the lights on the stadium court, Williams smashed 39 winners to defeat Azarenka 7-5 6-3 in a rematch of the 2016 final, which the Belarusian won.

"I truly love her, she's a really good friend," 23-times Grand Slam champion Williams said.

"She's a fellow mom and a former number one, just like me.

"It's hard to play someone you're so close with but it's also really invigorating and cool."

William will play Garbine Muguruza in the third round after the 20th-seeded Spaniard crushed American Lauren Davis 6-1 6-3 earlier on Friday.

Unseeded American Jennifer Brady defeated 19th-seeded Caroline Garcia 6-3 3-6 6-0 to book her place in the third round.

The 23-year-old Brady thumped five aces en route to her third victory over the Frenchwoman this year, setting up a meeting with 12th-seeded Ash Barty, who defeated Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-4.

Czech Marketa Vondrousova eased past error-prone Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-1 to book her place in the third round.

With the loss, 14th seed Kasatkina, a finalist at Indian Wells last year, is projected to fall out of the top 20 when rankings are next updated.

Second seed Simona Halep, Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko, Britain's Johanna Konta, Belgian Elise Mertens and 18-year-old Bianca Andreescu all reached the third-round with straight sets victories on Friday.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Ken Ferris/Peter Rutherford)

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Venus, Azarenka march into Miami quarter-finals

Venus Williams upended defending champion Johanna Konta 5-7 6-1 6-2 on Monday to reach the Miami Open quarter-finals while a dominant Victoria Azarenka also advanced with a straightforward win over Agnieszka Radwanska.

Three-times champion Williams stormed back from an early deficit to cruise past the British 11th seed, who needed several bouts of treatment on her lower back throughout a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes.

Perhaps more impressive was that Williams, who turns 38 in June, was able to look so in control despite playing a day after spending nearly three hours on the court for her third round clash against Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens.

Former world number one Azarenka, in only her second event after an eight-month absence because of a custody dispute involving her son, also looked sharp throughout her 6-2 6-2 win over 30th-seeded Pole Radwanska.

The Belarussian, competing as a wild card, won 79 percent of her first service points and needed only 82 minutes to prevail in a clash between former Miami champions.

Up next for the 28-year-old is Czech fifth seed Karolina Pliskova, who advanced to the last eight after Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan was forced to retire injured while trailing 6-2 2-1.

Former world number one Pliskova was efficient from the start and did not drop a point on her first serves in the entire match against Diyas, who took multiple medical time-outs and was visibly struggling with her movement.

Sloane Stephens raised her game to levels similar to last year when she won the U.S. Open as she beat Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza 6-3 6-4 and secure passage to the quarter-finals.

The American 13th seed dictated play against the Wimbledon champion from the start by taking eight of the first nine points of the match.

After securing a break in the fifth game of the second set, Stephens sent Muguruza packing with a backhand on the line on her second match point.

Stephens, who equalled her best result in Miami having also reached the quarter-finals in 2015, will next face German 10th seed Angelique Kerber, a 6-7(1) 7-6(5) 6-3 winner over Chinese qualifier Wang Yafan.

Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina also advanced with a 7-5 6-4 win over Australian Ashleigh Barty.

French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko will cap the night session with her clash against ninth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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Azarenka wins first match on return from motherhood

Former world number one Victoria Azarenka marked her return to the WTA Tour by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Japan's Risa Ozaki at the Mallorca Open on Wednesday.

Azarenka, who gave birth to son Leo in December and had not played a competitive match since last year's French Open, saved three match points to win a first-round clash 6-3 4-6 7-6(7).

World number 74 Ozaki had been two breaks ahead in the third set and was serving at 5-4 when darkness descended on the Santa Ponsa lawns on Tuesday.

On the resumption, the 27-year-old Azarenka broke serve but immediately dropped her own before Ozaki moved 40-0 ahead to get to within a point of a victory.

But Belarussian Azarenka, showing her trademark grit, clawed her way back from the brink and despite trailing 5-3 in the tiebreak sealed a remarkable victory with a backhand winner.

"I'm still trying to find my range but mentally, I was there for every point. That and the experience helped me through, even at 40-0 down, I was trying to find my way out of it," wildcard Azarenka, who next plays Croatian youngster Ana Konjuh, said.

"I wouldn't say I had the best preparation coming to this tournament, but mentally, it's better to go through this kind of a match."

Top seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia was thrashed in the second round by Germany's Julia Goerges 6-1 6-2.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ed Osmond)

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Djokovic, Serena cruise as Kerber, Azarenka exit

PARIS, France -- Top seed Novak Djokovic launched his bid for a first French Open title with a routine victory while Serena Williams began the defense of her crown, but Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber crashed out on Tuesday.

Djokovic, a three-time Roland Garros finalist, faced little resistance from Taiwan's world number 95 Lu Yen-Hsun as he cruised to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 victory.

The Serb, bidding to become just the eighth man to secure a career Grand Slam, needed only 90 minutes on Court Phillipe Chatrier to book a second-round encounter with Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis.

"Well, second and third set were really good. I thought I found my rhythm. First set was up and down. But I'll take the positives out of it, and I'm hoping I can progress as the tournament goes on," said Djokovic.

Serena Williams needed just 42 minutes to dispatch Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2, 6-0 as the American aims for another title that would see her equal Steffi Graf's Open era record of 22 Grand Slam wins.

"Today was great for me. I hope I continue to play like today, it's only the first round. I hope I win six more matches," said Williams, showcasing her French to an appreciate crowd.

Andy Murray was forced to recover from a two-set deficit to overcome 37-year-old Radek Stepanek 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 in a match lasting three hours 41 minutes in total.

The second seed had been trailing by two sets to one but up a break in the fourth when play was suspended on Monday due to darkness.

The Scot duly returned to complete the job after making the crucial breakthrough at 5-all in the decider to set up a second-round encounter with 164th-ranked French wildcard Mathias Bourgue.

"He's always been extremely difficult to play," said Murray after a ninth career comeback from two sets down.

"He was playing drop shots, hitting the ball very flat, it was very difficult to get into a rhythm. That's credit to him and the way he played."

While Murray toiled, there were no such problems for nine-time champion Rafael Nadal who extended his record at Roland Garros to 71 wins against just two losses.

The fourth-seeded Spaniard made quick work of 100th-ranked Sam Groth, taming the Australian's powerful serve with eight breaks in a resounding 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 win.

"It's obvious that was a good start for me," said Nadal.

"I managed to break him very quickly. It was important because against such an opponent it's not easy to take his serve."

- Kerber dumped out -

Kerber became the tournament's first major casualty as Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens consigned the German third seed to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 defeat.

"The first rounds are always tough in the tournament, especially for me, but, yeah, what can I say? It happens," lamented Kerber, who was hampered by an ongoing shoulder problem.

"She's a tough opponent. I was ready. But, yeah, at the end she made the important points."

Another former Melbourne champion, Victoria Azarenka, retired in her opening-round match with Italy's world number 118 Karin Knapp.

Fifth seed Azarenka quit with a knee injury down 4-0 in the third set having already saved a match point in a second set tie-break.

Both Kerber and Azarenka were in Williams' section of the draw.

Sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga strolled to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory against German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff, with Tomas Berdych also cruising to a straight-sets win over Vasek Pospisil.

David Ferrer, the 2013 runner-up, thrashed Russia's Evgeny Donskoy 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.

Austria's Dominic Thiem struggled initially against Inigo Cervantes, dropping the opening set to the Spaniard, but the 13th seed rallied to claim a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory.

Thiem, who retained his Nice title over the weekend, is one of just three players alongside Nadal and Pablo Cuevas with multiple clay-court tournament wins this season.

John Isner fired 40 aces to advance 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (14/12), 7-6 (9/7), 7-5 over Australian John Millman, while Bernard Tomic put recent struggles behind him to dispatch American Brian Baker in three sets.

Swiss eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky swept past Spanish lucky loser Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-3, 6-1, while 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro needed three sets to beat Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova.

Seven-time major winner Venus Williams, who lost the 2002 final to sister Serena, edged out Estonia's Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4), while 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic held off French wildcard Oceane Dodin in three sets.

Former runner-up Sam Stosur overcame Misaki Doi of Japan 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, but Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 champion, bowed out in straight sets to French 26th seed Kristina Mladenovic.

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Azarenka avenges Kerber loss to reach Miami final

In-form Victoria Azarenka battled past an ailing but determined second seed Angelique Kerber to set up a Miami Open final showdown against Svetlana Kuznetsova with a 6-2 7-5 victory on Thursday.

With the victory, the 13th-seeded Belarusian gained revenge for a quarter-final loss to the second-seeded German at the Australian Open, her only defeat of the season, but had to fight tooth and nail to earn it in a 94-minute tussle.

Kerber, who had her upper left leg covered in heavy strapping, looked dead and buried on several occasions in the second set but was able to stay alive with a gutsy break when Azarenka served for the match at 5-4.

Parity was short-lived, however, as Kerber handed back the break in the next game and Azarenka did not waste another opportunity to seal the deal to move one win away from a third Miami title and second straight tournament triumph.

"I am very happy I stayed really strong in the end and actually started really well," Azarenka, who beat Serena Williams to claim the Indian Wells title on March 20, said in a courtside interview.

"I started to dictate (early) and I think the beginning was really important," she added of the victory over the Australian Open champion.

KUZNETSOVA NEXT

"She's such a fighter and an amazing player. I'm glad I kept pushing and kept trying to break her rhythm. Glad I stayed really strong.

"For me it was really painful to watch my match from the Australian Open and I'm really glad that I corrected my errors there and improved my serve. Although there were a lot of breaks, when I needed it, it came strong."

As well as avenging the Melbourne defeat, Azarenka improved to 7-1 in head-to-head meetings against the German and took her 2016 record to an impressive 21-1.

Next up for the 26-year-old is Kuznetsova in the final, after the Russian held off a strong challenge from Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 7-5 6-3 in searing afternoon heat.

The 15th-seed relied on a never-say-die attitude and a powerful baseline game as she improved her career record to 3-0 against the Swiss, ending the match with a crunching backhand crosscourt winner after nearly two hours on court.

"I am happy that I could hang in there and never let my hands down," Kuznetsova, who won the Miami title in 2006, said courtside.

"I have not been feeling my best but I have been fighting every ball and just trying to run as much as I could.

"I was praying to finish it in two sets so I can have a little bit of time to rest," smiled the Russian, referring to Saturday's final.

Kuznetsova, who pulled off a stunning upset when she ousted world number one Williams in the fourth round, won a tight opening set after ending a brilliant baseline slugfest between the two with an overhead smash.

Though she failed to hold serve in the first game of the second set, the Russian broke her 19th-seeded opponent in the second and fourth games to lead 3-1, then fought back from 15-40 down on serve in the ninth to seal victory. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes and Benjamin Everill in Los Angeles; Editing by John O'Brien)

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Serena favored but Azarenka threatens at US Open

NEW YORK CITY - World number one Serena Williams enters the US Open as a heavy favorite to defend her title, but second-ranked Victoria Azarenka leads a host of rivals looking to dethrone her.

Williams is seeking her 17th Grand Slam singles crown and fifth US Open title, which would move her one shy of Chris Evert's Open-era record for most titles at the year's final major event on the Flushing Meadows hard-courts.

"I'm definitely prepared. I'm definitely ready for New York," Williams said. "I definitely had more matches than I could want, but I'm definitely prepared for the US Open."

The 31-year-old American has been on an amazing run over the past 14 months, going 77-4 and capturing last year's Wimbledon, London Olympic and US Open titles, plus this year's French Open crown.

But two of those defeats came at the hands of Azarenka, in last February's Doha final and last Sunday at the WTA final in Cincinnati by 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8/6).

It was only the third victory for the 24-year-old from Belarus over Williams but with the two having won seven of the past nine Grand Slam titles, it sets the stage for a potential rematch of last year's US Open final.

"It would be totally different circumstances," said Williams, who also beat Azarenka in this year's Rome final. "It's just a new event. You just got to go in there with a fresh mind."

And without a win streak such as she had the past few Grand Slam events.

"It makes me more relaxed and almost happy that I lost because now I don't have to worry about every day someone asking me about some silly winning streak," Williams said. "So maybe it was for the best."

Williams also finds herself in a cordial rivalry, appreciating Azarenka off the court as a friend and on the court as an adversary.

"She's so competitive on the court, like an animal, and I'm the same exact way, like my dad described me as a pitbull," Williams said.

Williams is looking for her ninth title of the year after triumphs at Brisbane, Miami, Charleston, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros, Bastad and Toronto.

But she has proven vulnerable in Grand Slams, falling to compatriot Sloane Stephens in the Australian Open quarter-finals and Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round at Wimbledon, but completing her title run on Paris clay with a victory over US Open third seed Maria Sharapova of Russia.

Azarenka, the reigning Australian Open champion, says she has learned from past losses to Williams.

"Every time we play, I face a big challenge, my biggest opponent, and that's what I want to go through," Azarenka said.

"I had tough losses before against her, but I feel like I learned from those losses, and it helps me improve. I feel like I'm playing better and better. I'm reaching for the new level that I want to be at, physically, mentally, tennis-wise and that's the progression that I'm really the most excited about."

Azarenka took confidence from rallying to beat Williams in the Cincinnati final, but says the American will be the favourite on home soil.

"I will not be a favorite," Azarenka said. "She is No.1 in the world. She is a great champion, and she's defending champion, so she's going to be a favorite.

"About who's second favorite, third favorite, I don't really care about that. But I think it's a great boost of confidence to go to the US Open, great week to go through matches back to back. Tough matches are also important for me to feel like I'm back competing at the same level constantly and consistently. So that's what I'm most excited about."

Four-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova, who split with coach Jimmy Connors after losing their only match together in her Cincinnati opener, has not played another match since a second-round Wimbledon exit due to a left hip injury.

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