Australian Open 2015 countdown: Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams and other big names fall to shock defeats and injuries

Lleyton Hewitt was thrashed by compatriot Sam Groth

by EMILY BENAMMAR - The Daily Telegraph

The Australian Open is still 11 days away yet the top seeds are dropping like flies. Early defeats and injury setbacks have blown the opening grand slam of the season wide open.

What’s going on at the top?

OK, let’s start with the ever-growing list of early round casualties in the lead-up tournaments ... get comfy.

World No 3 Rafael Nadal’s Australian Open preparations are in tatters after he was ousted in the first round of the Qatar Open overnight by Michael Berrer ... ‘Who?’ I hear you ask ... he’s a German player ranked 127th in the world and is due to retire at the end of this season, so we reckon this 1-6 6-3 6-4 win might just be the highlight of his year.

What did Rafa have to say about it?

Nadal lost his opener in Qatar

Williams was beaten by Bouchard

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“These things happen after a long time without being on the road, being on rhythm, being in competition,” he said afterwards.

“I was playing with more nerves because after a long time away I wanted to win. My motivation and my hunger to keep doing things well is still the same.”
Also suffering a shock defeat was 18-time grand slam champion and current world No 1 Serena Williams who struggled to hold serve throughout her Hopman Cup clash with Eugenie Bouchard.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so tired,” Williams said after the match. “It’s weird. I can’t get my body to move. I feel like I’ve got no energy.

“It’s a little frustrating because I know I can play two thousand times better.”

Williams can take comfort in the knowledge that she is not the only top flight womens player struggling in the early stages of the season with Victoria Azarenka, Sam Stosur, Sabine Lisicki, Jelena Jankovic, Dominika Cibulkova and Garbine Muguruza all out of their respective events after two days.

The situation worsens if you look at the goings-on in Auckland where Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sara Errani and Mona Barthel have all suffered early defeats.

On the home front, there are doubts over the fitness of Aussie Matt Ebden who succumbed to a calf injury during his 3-6 7-5 6-0 loss to Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz at the Hopman Cup.

Over to the injuries now and it looks like the Australian Open will go ahead withoutcrowd favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and US Open champion Marin Cilic.

The Frenchman is struggling with the same arm injury that forced him out of the Hopman Cup while Cilic continues to suffer from problems with his shoulder.

Other notable absentees in the men’s draw include Tommy Haas, Nicolas Almagro and there are doubts over the fitness of Juan-Martin del Potro.

In the women’s draw Czech Petra Cetkovska (hip) and Great Britain’s Laura Robson (wrist) are confirmed to be out.

Jo Wilfred Tsonga is unlikely to feature in the Australian Open

Changing of the guard?

In case you missed the late action in Brisbane last night Australia’s Sam Groth overcame veteran Lleyton Hewitt, signalling a potential shift in hierarchy when it comes to homegrown talent.

As defending champion Hewitt would have been hoping for more than a first-round bow but it was not to be.

He suffered a 6-3, 6-1 mugging at the Pat Rafter Arena in his first ever encounter with Groth.

Aussie men in form

While much focus has been put on what’s going on with Sam Stosur and whether Bernard Tomic is a reformed man, a host of other Australians have been impressing on the circuit.

While Tomic has joined Groth in the second round in Brisbane, so too have Thanasi Kokkinakis, John Millman and James Duckworth.

Sharapova an early favourite

OK, given the performance of her closest rivals so far this year this might appear an obvious statement, but Sharapova is in fighting form coming into the Australian Open and would appear to be worth a punt to claim her second title in Melbourne.

The world No.2 well and truly dispatched Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova 6-0 6-1 at the Brisbane International yesterday.

It seems a few months off have done the Russian no end of good.

“I really just kind of got away from it all. I didn’t check anything. It was nice not to have to check any scores or who you’re playing against,” she said after her win in Queensland.

“But when you do come to a tournament, of course you’re very well aware of what’s going on, especially in the tournament.”

Federer meets the locals

Taking advantage of everything that Queensland has to offer, 17-time grand slam champion Roger Federer nipped down to Tangalooma Island to meet some of the locals.

The Swiss gets his Brisbane International campaign under way against Australian John Millman on Thursday.

Brisbane order of play:

Pat Rafter Arena

11:00 am A. Kudryavtseva (RUS) vs. K. Pliskova (CZE)

Not Before 12:30 pm

S. Johnson (USA) vs. K. Nishikori (JPN)

G. Dimitrov (BUL) vs. J. Chardy (FRA)

Not Before 7:00 pm

T. Kokkinakis (AUS) vs. B. Tomic (AUS)

Not Before 8:00 pm J. Gajdosova (AUS) vs. A. Ivanovic (SRB)

Show Court 1 11:00 am

M. Klizan (SVK) vs. A. Dolgopolov (UKR)

Not Before 1:00 pm

M. Lucic-Baroni (CRO) vs. C. Suárez Navarro (ESP)

K. Kanepi (EST) vs. M. Brengle (USA)

Not Before 3:30 pm

C. Guccione (AUS) L. Hewitt (AUS) vs. A. Dolgopolov (UKR) K. Nishikori (JPN)

M. Hingis (SUI) S. Lisicki (GER) vs. A. Kudryavtseva (RUS) A. Panova (RUS)

Show Court 2

M. Krajicek (NED) K. Pliskova (CZE) vs. H. Chan (TPE) K. Peschke (CZE)

Not Before 3:00 pm

E. Butorac (USA) S. Groth (AUS) vs. S. Johnson (USA) S. Querrey (USA)

S. Hsieh (TPE) S. Mirza (IND) vs. A. Rodionova (AUS) A. Rodionova (AUS)

Hopman Cup order of play:

10am Great Britain (Andy Murray & Heather Watson) v Poland (Agnieszka Radwanska & Jerzy Janowicz)

5.30pm Australia (Casey Dellacqua & Marinko Matosevic) v France (Alize Cornet & Benoit Paire)

Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/more-sports/australian-open-2015-countdown-rafa-nadal-serena-williams-and-other-big-names-fall-to-shock-defeats-and-injuries/story-fnp3ipqj-1227176910980?nk=69f91df460e5eb4e61aff695336fb3fe

Tennis | Apia International Sydney 2015

Tennis | Apia International Sydney 2015 

South Wales Open, now known as the Apia International Sydney, is one of the oldest tournaments in the world, dating back to 1885.

The Sydney Cricket ground was the first venue for the New South Wales Open, followed by a location at Double Bay and then White City, which hosted the championships for an amazing 76 years up to and including 1999.

In 2000, the tournament moved to its fourth home, the state-of-the-art Sydney Olympic Park Tennis centre where it is played to this day.

Caroline Wozniacki 2.0

Playing at the WTA Finals in Singapore against Serena Williams in the semifinals, Caroline Wozniacki ripped a forehand down the line and then smacked a crosscourt forehand winner off the short reply.

“She is being so aggressive,” an approving Tracy Austin observed in her commentary, as Wozniacki surged even further ahead in the first set.

“Before she relied just on her defence, her consistency and placement, now she’s hitting with conviction and really pushing her opponents around.

“Honestly, I think she’s playing better (now) than when she was No.1 in the world.”

High praise indeed. And there was merit to the comments – it was hard to remember a time when the Dane had ever played with such attacking flair.

And even though she eventually lost in a third set tiebreak to Williams – the player who went on to win the tournament and cement the year-end No.1 ranking – the week in Singapore had capped a stunning return to form in 2014 for the popular 24-year-old.

“Five months ago didn’t look like I was going to be here, even though I always believed it,” she said of qualifying for the elite eight-player season-ending championship.

“The way I’ve been playing the last five months really brings me some great momentum into next year. Gives me some confidence.”

Her new year will start at the Apia International Sydney, where, at world No.8, she is one of six top 10 players competing. And she has certainly come a long way since her last visit to Harbour City.

Almost a year ago to the day after celebrating New Years Eve in Sydney, Wozniacki announced her engagement to golfing star Rory McIlory; four months later, the relationship ended. Shortly afterward Wozniacki fell in the opening round of the French Open, her ranking in danger of falling outside the top 20.

Showing admirable courage and resolve, Wozniacki began to rediscover her form on grass at Eastbourne, where she beat Sam Stosur and Sloane Stephens en route to the semifinals. This results was quickly followed by a fourth-round run at Wimbledon.

It set the stage for a stunning North American summer hardcourt season. Arriving in Montreal fresh off the WTA title in Istanbul, she reached the quarterfinals before winning through to the semifinals in Cincinnati, falling at both events in three torrid sets to Williams. She was even better in Flushing Meadows, beating reigning Roland Garros champion Maria Sharapova on the way to her first Grand Slam final in five years.

Beginning with Eastbourne to start the second half of the season and ending with her aforementioned performance in Singapore, Wozniacki’s compiled a magnificent win-loss record of 34-10, including six victories over top 10 opponents.

“I think I can be really proud of how I’ve handled everything this year, how I’ve fought back,” she said.

“I think I’ve proved to myself that I’m a really strong person and that I can keep improving my game. I’m just really happy that I’ve learned so much from this year. It’s been a very, very meaningful year for me and very learningful. Can you say that? (laughter)

“I’m serving well, I’m running well, I’m staying aggressive when I have to, and I make the right decisions at the right moment. And I enjoy playing.”

The former world No.1 will attempt to continue her rich vein of form when she begins her 2015 season at the Apia International, an event at which she will make her seventh appearance and where her best results were quarterfinal finishes in 2009 and 2012.

If her hardcourt form, newfound aggression and on-court confidence are to persist, Wozniacki will be tough to beat.

“I’m really pumped. I’m really excited for (2015),” she said.

“I think the way I’ve been playing lately, I think that’s proof to myself that I can keep improving and playing better and beat anyone who is on the other side of the net.”

Want to see world No.8 Caroline Wozniacki in action at Apia International Sydney 2015? Get your tickets through Ticketek now!

Del Potro confirms Sydney return

Juan Martin del Potro has confirmed that he will begin his 2015 season at Apia International Sydney.

The Argentine, the defending Apia International champion, has not played since February 2014 due to a wrist injury.

He was expected to make his return at the Brisbane International, yet delayed his comeback.

“Hello everyone!!! I wanted to tell you that we decided to travel to play Sydney and the Australian Open,” he tweeted on Wednesday evening (Australian time).

See story

WHERE: Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre

Rod Laver Drive,
Sydney Olympic Park
(off Australia Avenue)

View Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre on Google Maps

WHEN: 11 – 17 Jan 2015

http://www.apiainternational.com.au/event-guide