Serena Williams of America has defeated Australia’s Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5 in two hours 26 minutes at the Medibank International Sydney on Sunday, January 11, 2009.
Williams slammed down three aces in the first four points. The second set went back and forth, with both Williams and Stosur breaking each other’s serves. The set went to a tie-break, which Stosur won.
Stosur took advantage early in the third set leading 4-2, but Williams ended the match with some big returns and won on the second match point. As you can see from the picture above, Serena Williams was extremely happy.

 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus defeated Marion Bartoli of France in the women’s final of the Brisbane International on January 10, 2009. Azarenka won the match 6-3, 6-1.
This was Azarenka’s first tournament win on the WTA tour. The 19-year old has finished runner-up in her last four finals. Pictures from her winning match are below.

The line-up of broadcasters for the 2009 Australian Open has been announced! Coverage of this exciting and huge tournament begins on The Tennis Channel, Monday, January 19th.
Australian Open On-Air Talent
Veteran sportscaster Bill Macatee will return to the Tennis Channel booth during this year’s Australian Open, along with Hall of Fame tennis-legend Martina Navratilova, primary analyst for all network Grand Slam coverage.  Also returning is longtime Tennis Channel play-by-play commentator Leif Shiras, and analyst and features reporter Justin Gimelstob.  New to the Australian Open team this year is former top-ranked doubles player Corina Morariu, who will handle sideline and …read more

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Amelie Mauresmo thought that her injury issues were over, but unfortunately that was not the case for her in Brisbane. She was injured in the second game against Marion Bartoli and lasted 3 more before calling her trainer over and eventually defaulting.
On Friday, January 9th, Mauresmo commented about the injury.
“I kept going [initially] but I couldn’t really push off the serve like I really wanted. Even though it’s frustrating and it’s not how you want to end a tournament, I guess it’s more reasonable to make sure I’m 100 per cent for Melbourne.”
She still is …read more

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American Venus Williams looked great on the court in Hong Kong during her January 8th match. Everyone is saying she showed absolutely no signs of rustiness after her four-week break.
Williams defeated No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-2. What a great way to start the year and just a little over a week away from the Australian Open. Williams commented on her ability to play well “off the jump”.
"I’ve always been a good player off the jump. That’s kind of always been the way I’ve played throughout my career. I never played a lot …read more

Slovakians Dominik Hrbaty and Dominika Cibulkova beat Russia 2-0 in the final of the mixed teams tournament at the Hopman Cup. This is the Slovak Republics third Hopman Cup win.
The Slovaks beat Russian siblings Dinara Safina and Marat Safin in two amazing matches. They were seeded 7th in the tournament.
I used to live in Slovakia, so I was rooting for them. Congrats to them both!
Image Credit: Newscom

Yesterday (January 8) was a good day for tennis champ Roger Federer, but not so much for top-ranked Rafael Nadal at the Qatar Open in Doha.
Nadal was eliminated yesterday after being defeated by Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-4. Federer defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (8-6).
Next, Federer will face Andy Murray and Monfils will play Andy Roddick in the semifinals.
Source: Seattle Times
Image Credit: Newscom

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Number 5 Russian Nikolay Davydenko defeated Austria’s Daniel Koellerer in the first round at the Chennai Open on Tuesday, January 6th. The final score was 6-2 6-3.
The match only lasted 72 minutes and was a great way for Davydenko to prepare for the Australian Open. He sealed the match with his eighth ace.
"He played some good drop shots, because I need to run and try and do something. He played very well this game," Davydenko said.
Swiss second seed Stanislas Wawrinka and Croatian Ivo Karlovic will play their first round matches later on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters

Latvian Ernests Gulbis defeated Novak Djokovic at the Brisbane International tournament 6-4, 6-4. Despite this loss, Djokovic says he is still on track for his title defense. Those who were watching this match will agree that he never looked quite comfortable and Djokovic said there were a number of reasons why he didn’t play well.
"I didn’t play at all good today and I knew that the first match was going to be a very difficult one, especially if I played against a player who doesn’t give me a lot of rhythm," he said.
"I changed a lot of things so there’s …read more

The Brisbane International Tournament is in full swing and Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic had a tough time in her match against Czech teenager Petra Kvitova. Ivanovic came out on top and won 6-4 6-2. The first set took almost an hour for her to win.
Ivanovic told reporters "It is always tough, the first match. It was just a matter of hanging in and waiting for opportunities. I’m very happy to get this victory."
Here are the results for the first round of singles play on January 5th:
1) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 64 62 Sara Errani (ITA) …read more