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.

Serena was recently interviewed about the upcoming 2009 Australian Open. The interviewer pointed out that she has won the Open in ‘03, ‘05 and ‘07. Do you see the pattern?! She told him “Don’t jinx me! I already know the pattern.” She also added ‘09 to that lineup.

Here’s the interview with Serena Williams.

Here’s part of the Williams/Stosur match.

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Serena Williams Wins the Medibank International Sydney

 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.

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus Wins Brisbane International

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 interview duties, and appear in feature material.

“2009 could very well be the best tennis year ever,” said Navratilova.  “Can Roger regain the No. 1 ranking?  Not if Nadal has his say.  Can Murray beat them all?  Maybe.  Will Djokovic wake up?  I hope so.  And the women!  We have about eight bona fide contenders for the No. 1 ranking.  So I am really looking forward to working with Bill Macatee and Tennis Channel again as the Australian Open will start giving us some answers.”

The Tennis Channel has a lot of great on air activities scheduled for us tennis fanatics. They will have comprehensive tournament telecasts, the return of the daily morning show Australian Open Today to U.S. viewers who are just getting a start on their daily activities, highlights, previously unseen matches, original features and more beginning each morning at 8 a.m. ET.

If you do not have The Tennis Channel, their website – http://www.tennischannel.com/ – will keep online viewers up to speed with everything that happens in Melbourne. They will offer live scoring, Australian Open Today features, best-match highlights and the network’s exclusive Racquet Bracket tournament prediction game, as well as a chance to win a trip to the 2010 tournament via its “Slammin’ Down Under” sweepstakes.  There also will be blogs and columns from network regulars James LaRosa and Steve Flink.

Here are some schedules that you might be interested in for the two-week competition:

Tennis Channel’s Live and First-Run Australian Open Match Schedule

Date                                        Time (ET)                   Event             

Monday, Jan. 19                        7 p.m.-9 p.m.                First-Round Action

Tuesday, Jan. 20                       7 p.m.-10 p.m.               First-Round Action

Wednesday, Jan. 21                   7 p.m.-11 p.m.               Second-Round Action

Thursday, Jan. 22                      7 p.m.-11 p.m.               Second-Round Action

Friday, Jan. 23                           9:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m.      Third-Round Action

Saturday, Jan. 24                       7 p.m.-10 p.m.               Third-Round Action

Sunday, Jan. 25                         7 p.m.-9 p.m.                Fourth-Round Action

Monday, Jan. 26                        7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.            Women’s Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Jan. 27                       7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.            Men & Women Singles Qtrs

Wednesday, Jan. 28                   9 p.m.-11 p.m.               Men’s Singles Quarterfinals

Thursday, Jan. 29                      9 p.m.-3 a.m.                Women’s Doubles Final

Friday, Jan. 30                           11:30 p.m.-1 a.m.          Men’s Doubles Final

Sunday, Jan. 31                         12 a.m.-1:30 a.m.          Mixed Doubles Final

Tennis Channel’s Australian Open Today Schedule

Australian Open Today airs Monday, Jan. 19-Friday, Jan. 30.  The show generally runs from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. ET.  Exceptions are (all times ET):

Saturday, Jan. 24 – 2 p.m.-7 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 25 – 8 a.m.-noon

Thursday, Jan. 29, and Friday, Jan 30 – 6 a.m.-2 p.m.

I am SO excited about the Australian Open and will bring you videos, highlights, scoring, pictures and everything I can! I am ready for some major tennis next week.

Source: Tennis Channel Press Release

Image Credit: Bauer Griffin

Post from: EveryJoe

Line up of Broadcasters for the 2009 Australian Open

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 holding out hope that all will be okay for her to compete at the Australian Open.

“I just hope it’s not too bad and I can be good for Melbourne. At worst I’d hope that nine days … would be enough to make it feel much better.”

Source: Brisbane International

Post from: EveryJoe

Amelie Mauresmo Exits Brisbane Due to Injury

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 of big warm-up events. Coming to tournaments, I’ve always been able to play well when I entered."

Jankovic on the other hand appeared a bit sluggish during the match. Unlike Williamsn, Jankovic said she is a slow started.

"I need more time to adjust, to get my rhythm and feel the court, feel the ball," Jankovic said. "You could see, I was very, very slow out there. My reactions were quite slow."

Here’s the latest scoop on Team America:

Team Americas went on to defeat Team Europe 2-1 when Argentina’s Gisela Dulko beat Hungary’s Agnes Szavay 6-4, 6-7 (8) 6-3. Team Americas will next play Team Russia.

Source: The Canadian Press

Post from: EveryJoe

Venus Williams Defeats Jelena Jankovic in Hong Kong Tournament

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

Post from: EveryJoe

Slovaks Reign at Hopman Cup

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

Post from: EveryJoe

Roger Federer Advances to Semifinals at Qatar Open

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

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Nikolay Davydenko Defeats Daniel Koellerer at Chennai Open

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 still some things I’m not used to and unfortunately I got this result."

Djokovic also said that he didn’t get a lot of practice time in on the court because he arrived to Australia late. So does that mean he will go straight to Melbourne to prepare for Australian Open, which begins on January 19th? He doesn’t know yet.

"I’m not panicking, I’m not seriously in big doubt really — the Australian Open is my highest goal at this time of the year and I really want to play well there," he said.

"It’s all right because I have a lot of time to prepare for the Australian Open. It’s not the end of the world. It’s the first match (of the year) so I’m still trying not to be very pessimistic."

Here are the results for the Brisbane International men’s singles for January 5th and 6th:

Second round
7-Richard Gasquet (France) beat Taylor Dent (U.S.) 7-5 6-4 
4-Robin Soderling (Sweden) beat Julien Benneteau (France) 6-3
6-3

First round
2-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat Agustin Calleri
(Argentina) 6-2 7-5 
Michael Llodra (France) beat Joseph Sirianni (Australia) 5-7
7-6(3) 6-2
Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Bobby Reynolds (U.S.) 6-3 6-2
Mario Ancic (Croatia) beat Amer Delic (U.S.) 7-6(2) 6-7(4)
7-6(6)
Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) beat Teimuraz Gabashvili (Russia)
6-3 6-3
Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) beat 1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 6-4 6-4
Florent Serra (France) beat Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) 6-3 7-6
5-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat Brydan Klein (Australia)
6-0 6-4

Source: Reuters and Google News

Image Credit: Bauer Griffin

Post from: EveryJoe

Brisbane International Update #1 – Men’s Tennis

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) d. (4) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 67(1) 64 60
(5) Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) d. (WC) Jelena Dokic (AUS) 76(9) 76(5)
Olga Govortsova (BLR) d. (8) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 75 62
Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (9) Ai Sugiyama (JPN) 62 63
Tathiana Garbin (ITA) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 62 63
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. (WC) Isabella Holland (AUS) 64 63
(Q) Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. (Q) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) 06 63 61
(Q) Melinda Czink (HUN) d. Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 76(3) 61
(Q) Sesil Karatantcheva (BUL) d. Iveta Benesova (CZE) 16 64 62
(LL) Julie Coin (FRA) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 75 67(5) 76(3)

Here are the doubles results:

Jugic-Salkic/Peng (BIH/CHN) d. Amanmuradova/Fedak (UZB/UKR) 61 64

Stay tuned for the January 6th results.

Source: Google News and On the Baseline

Image Credit: Newscom

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Brisbane International Update #1- Women’s Tennis