Indian Tennis News: 31st JANUARY 2015

31st JANUARY 2015

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Leander Paes and his partner Martina Hingis will play in the finals of the Australian Open Mixed Doubles 2015 tomorrow. They will play against Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor

HONGKONG CHALLENGER ATP

The doubles finals between Myneni/S.Singh (IND) and Hseih/C. Yi will take place on Sunday.

31/01/2015 DAY 13: Australian Open 2015

DAY 13 – AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Some hard and unsympathetic tennis from Serena Williams saw her win the Grand Slam for the 19^th time. This was also her 6^th Australian Open win.

Women’s Singles (Finals)

Serena rode on the strength of her serves and aces to finish off the final in staright sets against the second seed Maria Sharapova. Despite some exhilarating returns and long rallies, Sharapova was found wanting to break into Serena’s serve. 33 year old Serena thus became the oldest women to compete and win in the finals of the Australian Open.

Serena (1) defeated Sharapova (2) (6-3; 7-6)

Men’s Doubles (Finals)

The Italian pair of Bolelli and Foginini scripted a hugely deserved victory for themselves. They were playing against the pair of Herbert and Mahut

Bolelli/Fognini defeated Herbert/Mahut (6-4; 6-4)

Tomorrow at Melbourne

The men’s singles final between Djokovic and Murray and mixed’s doubles final between Paes/Hingis and Mladenovic/Nestor

Indian Tennis News: 30th JANUARY 2015

30^th JANUARY 2015

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Leander Paes and his partner Martina Hingis cruised through to the finals of the mixed doubles championship in straight sets. In the other match, top seeded Sania Mirza and her partner Bruno Soares lost to the third seed Mladenovic/Nestor.

Paes/Hingis (7) defeated Hseih/Cuevas (7-5; 6-4)

Mladenovic/Nestor (3) defeated Mirza/Soares (1) (3-6; 6-2; 10-8)

Paes and Hingis will play in the finals tomorrow against Mladenovic/Nestor.

HONGKONG CHALLENGER ATP

In the quarterfinals of the Hongkong Challenger ATP Tournament Myneni lost to Edmund, while Devvarman lost to Ito.

 

Edmund (GBR) defeated Myneni (IND) (7-6; 6-1)

T. Ito (JPN) defeated Devvarman (IND) (6-4; 6-4)

In the Doubles semifinals,

Myneni/S.Singh (IND) defeated Desein/Ebden (6-1; 6-2)

  

The doubles finals will take place on Sunday.

30/01/2015 DAY 12 -- Australian Open 2015

DAY 12 – AUSTRALIAN OPEN

In spite of some shaky tennis, Djokovic crawled to the final of yet another Australian Open final equaling the record for most appearances in the final of Australian Open. Meanwhile, Bethanie Matthek-Sanda and Lucie Safarova lifted the Australian Open Women’s Doubles trophy beating the pair of Y. Chan and J Zheng.

Men’s Singles

Novak Djokovic gave a spirited fight despite not being 100% fit. The game stretched to five sets and ran for three and a half hours. Anyways, Novak sealed the deal with a 6-0 win in the last set over the defending champion Stansislas Wawrinka of Switzerland. In the finals on Sunday, Novak Djokovic of Serbia will play Andy Murray of Great Britain.

Djokovic (1) defeated Wawrinka (4) (7-6; 3-6; 6-3; 4-6; 6-0)

Women’s Doubles

The spirited duo of Bethanie Matthek-Sands and Lucie Safarova scripted an exhilarating win over the 14^th seeded pair of Yung-Jan Chan and Jie Zhang.

Matthek-Sands/Safarova defeated Chan/Zheng (14) (6-4; 7-6)

Mixed Doubles

Leander Paes and Martina Hingis cruised to the finals of the Mixed Doubles Australian Open while the top seeded Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares crashed out to third seed Mladenovic and Nestor.

Paes/Hingis (7) defeated Hseih/Cuevas (7-5; 6-4)

Mladenovic/Nestor (3) defeated Mirza/Soares (1) (3-6; 6-2; 10-8)

Tomorrow at Melbourne

The women’s singles final between Sharapova and Serena and men’s doubles final between Bolelli/Fognini and Herbert/Mahut.

Indian Tennis News: 29th JANUARY 2015

29^th JANUARY 2015

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

No matches were scheduled today. Tomorrow, both Leander Paes and Sania Mirza will play with their respective partners in the semifinals.

Mirza/Soares will play Mladenovic/Nestor

Hingis/Paes will play Hseih/Cuevas

HONGKONG CHALLENGER ATP

In the second round of the Hongkong Challenger ATP Tournament Myneni defeated Ramanathan, while Devvarman defeated Petschner.

Myneni (IND) defeated Ramanathan (IND) (6-3; 6-4)

Devvarman (IND) defeated Petzschner (GER) (4-1 (retd.))

 

In the Doubles event,

Myneni/S.Singh (IND) defeated Eysseric/Sandgren (6-4; 1-6; 11-9)

TOMORROW

Tomorrow, Myneni plays against Edmund in the Singles quarterfinals while Devvarman plays Ito. In the doubles event, the pair of Myneni/S. Singh will play against Desein/Ebden in the semifinals.

In the Australian Open,

Mirza/Soares will play Mladenovic/Nestor

Hingis/Paes will play Hseih/Cuevas

29/01/2015 DAY 11: Australian Open 2015

DAY 11 – AUSTRALIAN OPEN

The semifinals of the great event started aplomb. Sharapova breezed past Makarova while Serena faced a stiff resistance while conquering the teenager Madison Keys. In the men’s semis, despite losing the first set, Andy Murray won the semi against the Czech Thomas Berdych.

Men’s Singles (Semifinals)

In spite of some early heroics by Berdych, the 7^th seeded Czech lost to the 6^th seeded Englishmen Andy Murray. Murray with his aggressive vocal tennis scampered off safely by dropping only 8 games after the first set.

Andy Murray (6) defeated Thomas Berdych (7) (7-6; 6-0; 6-3; 7-5)

Women’s Singles (Semifinals)

The second seeded Sharapova got the better of 10^th seeded Makarova. Though some intense rivalry was witnessed between the two Russian players, but in the end, Sharapova triumphed and with this increased her unbeaten streak against Makarova to 4 matches to nil. In the other American match, the unseeded Madison Keys gave a strong fight to the top seeded Serena. Serena on a bid to retain her no. 1 spot from Sharapova had to play her best. Both the players were strong on their serve. But the injury riddled Keys lost in straight sets.

Sharapova (2) defeated Ekaterina Makarova (10) (6-3; 6-2)

Serena Williams (1) defeated Madison Keys (7-6; 6-2)

Serena will play Sharapova in the finals on Saturday.

Men’s Doubles (Semifinals)

In both the matches, the unseeded pair got the better of the seeded pair. However, the intensity of the matches was extreme and the balance could have shifted any way throughout the matches.

Herbert/Mahut defeated Dodig/Melo (4) (6-4; 6-7; 7-6)

Bolelli/Fognini defeated Rojer/Tecau (6) (6-4; 3-6; 6-3)

The finals will be played on Saturday.

Mixed Doubles (Quarterfinals)

Hseih/Cuevas defeated Srebotnik/Melo (6-1; 6-2)

Mladenovic/Nestor defeated Black/Cabal (6-2; 6-3)

The semifinals will be played tomorrow.

Tomorrow at Melbourne

The finals of the women’s doubles will be played. Men’s semifinal between Djokovic and Wawrinka is also scheduled. And the two mixed doubles semifinals will also be played.

Indian Tennis News: 28th JANUARY 2015

28^th JANUARY 2015

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

It was a great day for Indian tennis fans. Sania Mirza and Leander Paes won their respective games. In the semifinals of the first grand slam of the year, both of them won in straight pairs with their respective pairs.

Sania Mirza/Bruno Soares (1) defeated Dellacqua/Peers (6-2; 6-2)

Leander Paes/Martina Hingis (7) defeated Hlavackova/Peya (6-3;  6-1)

Tomorrow they play their semifinals.

HONGKONG CHALLENGER ATP

Meanwhile, in the first round of the Hongkong Challenger ATP Tounament Ramanathan won while S. Singh lost.

 

Rungkat defeated S. Singh (6-3; 6-4)

Ramanathan defeated Bai (3-6; 6-4; 4-1 (retd.))

In the Doubles event,

Myneni/S.Singh (IND) defeated Martin/Raja (4-6; 6-3; 10-4)

Albot/Thompson defeated Devvarman(IND)/Wu (6-3; 3-6; 10-5)

Tomorrow, Ramanathan plays against Myneni the Singles second round while Devvarman plays Petzschner. In the doubles event, the pair of Myneni/S. Singh will play against Eysseric/Sandgren

28/01/2015 DAY 10: Australian Open 2015

DAY 10 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Djokovic and Wawrinka moved to the semis. And in the Women’s quarter finals, the 19 year old teenage sensation Madison Keys of the USA got the better of the experienced Venus Williams. Serena too booked a berth in the semis.

Men’s Singles

In the much anticipated quarterfinal clash between Kei Nishikori and Stansislas Wawrinka, the 4^th seeded Stan defeated the Japanese superstar in straight sets. In their last encounter in the quarterfinals of the US Open, Nishikori got the better of Stan in five sets.

Wawrinka (4) defeated Nishikori (5) (6-3; 6-4; 7-6)

Djokovic (1) defeated Raonic (8) (7-6; 6-4; 6-2)

Women’s Singles

The dream run of the teenager Keys continued as she dispatched Venus Williams in three sets. Serena on the other hand defeated Cibulkova in straight sets.

Keys defeated Venus Williams (18) (6-3; 4-6; 6-4)

Serena (1) defeated Cibulkova (11) (6-2; 6-2)

Men’s Doubles

Bolelli/Fognini defeated Cuevas/Marrero (7-6; 7-6)

Roger/Tecau (6) defeated Inglot/Mergea (14) (6-4; 7-6)

Women’s Doubles

The semifinals of the women’s doubles were held today.

Chan/Zheng (13) defeated Zahlavova/Krajicek (14) (6-3; 6-2)

Matthek-Sands/Safarova defeated Goerges/Groenefeld (16) (6-0 (retd.))

Mixed Doubles (Quarter Finals)

The Indian aces Sania Mirza and Leander Paes won their respective matches.

Mirza/Soares (1) defeated Dellacqua/Peers (6-2; 6-2)

Hingis/Paes (7) defeated Hlavackova/Peya (4) (6-3; 6-1)

Tomorrow at Melbourne

Murray plays Berdych in the first semifinals in Men’s Singles. Makarova plays Sharapova and Serena plays Keys in the semifinals of the Women’s Doubles. The doubles men’s semifinals and the mixed doubles semis will also be held tomorrow.

Indian Tennis News: 27th JANUARY 2015

27^th JANUARY 2015

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

The first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, is underway at Melbourne. But, none of the Indian players had a match today.

India’s hopes at Australian Open now lie with Sania Mirza and Leander Paes. Both have moved ahead to the quarter finals and have their matches tomorrow.

HONGKONG CHALLENGER ATP

Meanwhile, the Hongkong Challenger ATP Tounament is underway from today.

Some top Indian tennis stars are featuring here.

India’s unseeded Myneni defeated top seeded Berankis of Lithunia (7-6; 1-6; 6-3)

Somdev Devvarman (IND) defeated Yuki Bhambri (IND) (2-6; 6-4; 6-3)

Devvarman is seeded seventh.

Yuki Bhambri crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round itself. The rest failed to qualify however.

Tomorrow, Ramanathan and S. Singh will play in the Singles while Devvarman, Myneni and S. Singh will take part in the doubles event.

27/01/2015 DAY 9: Australian Open 2015

DAY 9 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN

The first day of the quarter finals of the Australian Open main events saw some splendid tennis. The hot favourite injury ridden Rafael Nadal and the local lad Nick Kyrgios crashed out of the Slam in straight sets. Despite some magnificent rallies and crisp serve, the local favourite was found staring down the barrel in his match against the Brit Murray. Simona Halep the third seed in the women’s draw saw herself crashing out against the tenth seeded Russian Makarova.

Men’s Singles

The seventh seeded Thomas Berdych was in top form when he broke the long standing record of losing 17 matches on a trot to Rafael Nadal. While going into the match, the head to head record stood at 18-3 in favour of the 14 time Grand Slam champ Nadal. The 19 year old Aussie kid Nick Kyrgios, despite showing some gret returns and some marvelous serves was found short of the veteran Andy Murray.

Berdych (7) defeated Nadal (3) (6-2; 6-0; 7-6)

Murray (6) defeated Kyrgios (6-3; 7-6; 6-3)

Women’s Singles

Simona Halep, the third seeded Romanian fell to tenth seeded Makarova from Russia in straight sets. Sharapova too had no difficulty in packing off the beautiful Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in straight sets. Makarova now plays the fellow countryman (or countrylady) Maria Sharapova in the semis.

Makarova (10) defeated Halep (3) (6-4; 6-0)

Sharapova (2) defeated Bouchard (7) (6-3; 6-2)

Men’s Doubles

The matches played were:

Herbert/Mahut defeated Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin (2) (7-6; 3-6; 6-3)

Dodig/Melo (4) defeated Lopez/Mirnyi (6-0; 3-6; 7-6)

Women’s Doubles

The fifth and third seeded pairs crashed out of the Open to unseeded pairs. The four quarterfinals were concluded today.

Goerges/Groenefeld (16) defeated Bertens/Larsson (6-2; 7-5)

Chan/Zheng (14) defeated Jans-Ignacik/Klepac (6-1; 6-2)

Matthek-Sands/Safarova defeated Makarova/Vesnina (3) (7-6; 4-6; 6-2)

Mixed Doubles

The round of 16 concluded today. The draws of the quarter finals was decided.

Dellacqua/Peers defeated Klepac/Guccione (3-6; 6-3; 10-5)

Srebotnik/Melo defeated Gavrilova/Saville (6-3; 6-2)

Mladenovic/Nestor defeated Krajicek/Mergea (6-4; 7-5)

Hlavackova/Peya defeated Chan/Murray (3-6; 6-4; 10-5)

Tomorrow at Melbourne

The top seeds Djokovic and Serena will feature tomorrow. Along with them, Wawrinka, Raonic, Nishikori, Venus Williams, Cibulkova, Keys will also play. It will indeed be a power packed day tomorrow.

26/01/2015 DAY 8: Australian Open 2015

DAY 8 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Except Radwanska, all top seeds flew past fluently. Serena averted a disaster after letting off her first set 6-2. Raonic won in a five setter against Feliciano Lopez. Quarterfinals start from tomorrow.

Men’s Singles

Kei Nishikori showed his class in the 4^th round encounter against David Ferrer today. Raonic, Djokovic and Wawrinka too were in great form.

The last four matches of the 4^th round were:

Djokovic (1) defeated Muller (6-4; 7-5; 7-5)

Raonic (8) defeated Lopez (12) (6-4; 4-6; 6-3; 6-7; 6-3)

Nishikori (5) defeated Ferrer (9) (6-3; 6-3; 6-3)

Wawrinka (4) defeated Garcia-Lopez (7-6; 6-4; 4-6; 7-6)

Women’s Singles

Williams dropped a set each but sailed into the next round. The great run of the heavyweight Azarenka ended.

The matches played were:

Venus (18) defeated Radwanska (6) (6-3; 2-6; 6-1)

Madison Keys defeated Brengle (6-2; 6-4)

Serena (1) defeated Muguruza (24) (2-6; 6-3; 6-2)

Cibulkova (11) defeated Azarenka (6-2; 3-6; 6-3)

Men’s Doubles

The top seeded Bryan brothers lost their match in straight sets against Inglot and Mergea.

The matches of the day were:

Rojer/Tecau (8) defeated Butorac/Groth (12) (3-6; 7-5; 7-6)

Dodig/Melo (4) defeated Murray/Peers (16) (6-7; 6-2; 6-4)

Inglot/Mergea (14) defeated Bryan/Bryan (1) (7-6; 6-3)

Bolelli/Fognini defeated Marach/Venus (6-4; 6-2)

Women’s Doubles

Huge upsets here. Top seeded Vinci/Errani and 4^th seeded Hingis/Pennetta lost their matches.

The matches were:

Chan/Zheng (14) defeated Hingis/Pennetta (4) (6-3; 6-3)

Batthek-Sands/Safarova defeated Garcia/Srebotnik (7) (3-6; 6-2; 6-2)

Goerges/Groenefeld (16) defeated Errani/Vinci (6-3; 4-6; 7-5)

Mixed Doubles

Mirza, Paes alongwith their respective partners moved along to the next round.

The matches of the day were:

Mirza/Soares (1) defeated Spears/Gonzalez (7-5; 6-7; 10-8)

Black/Cabal (5) defeated Raymond/Lindstedt (6-4; 5-7; 14-12)

Hseih/Cuevas defeated Chang/Zheng (3-6; 6-3; 10-6)

Hingis/Paes (7) defeated Medina/Andujar (6-3; 6-1)

Tomorrow at Melbourne

In the first quarterfinals tomorrow, we will see Nadal, Shrapova, Murray, Halep in action.

25/01/2015 DAY 7: Australian Open 2015

DAY 7 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Day 7 was a perfect day for the top stars. Everybody played their best tennis and the rote seeding stood in place. The better ranked players defeated the lower ranked ones easily.

Men’s Singles

Despite stiff resistance, Nadal, Berdych, Murray and Kyrgios moved ahead to the quarterfinals.

The results of the day:

Nadal (3) defeated Anderson (14) (7-5; 6-1; 6-4)

Berdych (7) defeated Tomic (6-2; 7-6; 6-2)

Kyrgios defeated Seppi (5-7; 4-6; 6-3; 7-6; 8-6)

Murray (6) defeated Dimitrov (10) (6-4; 6-7; 6-3; 7-5)

Women’s Singles

Except the beautiful Eugenie Bouchard, everyone won their respective matches in straight sets. The quarterfinals are going to be an interesting affair it seems.

The results of the day:

Bouchard (7) defeated Begu (6-1; 5-7; 6-2)

Sharapova (2) defeated Shui Peng (21) (6-3; 6-0)

Makarova (10) defeated Goerges (6-3; 6-2)

Simona Halep (3) defeated Wickmayer (6-4; 6-2)

Men’s Doubles

Eighth seeded Pakistani Aisam-ul-Qureshi and his partner Zimonjic were knocked out.

Prominent results of the day:

Herbert/Mahut defeated Qureshi/Zimonjic (8) (6-3; 6-3)

Cuevas/Marrero defeated Bolt/Whittington (7-6; 7-6)

Lopez/Mirnyi defeated Erlich/Huey (7-5; 6-3)

Benneteau/Roger-Vassellin defeated Becker/Sitak (6-2; 6-4)

Women’s Doubles

Prominent matches of the day:

Bertens/Larsson defeated Kuznetsova/Stosur (7-6; 6-3)

Jans-Ignacik/Klepac defeated Hlavackova/Hradecka (9) (7-6; 6-7; 6-2)

Kops-Jones/Spears (5) defeated Kudryavtseva/Pavlyuchenkova (12) (6-4; 6-4)

Krajicek/Zahlavova defeated Dabrowski/Rosolska (6-2; 3-6; 6-4)

Makarova/Vesnina (3) defeated Soler-Espinosa/Torro-Flor (6-1; 6-2)

Mixed Doubles

Paes and the erstwhile Singles champion Martina Hingis moved ahead to the next round. However, Bopanna lost his match.

Prominent matches of the day:

Paes/Hingis defeated Jovanovic/Thompson (6-2; 7-6)

Mladenovic/Nestor defeated Zahlavova/Bopanna (6-2; 3-6; 10-4)

Klepac/Guccione defeated Hradecka/Tecau (6-1; 7-5)

Hlavackova/Peya defeated Kops-Jones/Lipsky (6-1; 6-3)

Tomorrow at Melbourne

Wawrinka, Djokovic, Ferrer, Serena, Muguruza will feature tomorrow.

24/01/2015 DAY 6: Australian Open 2015

DAY 6 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Day 6 saw the exit of the fourth seeded Kvitova. As the Australian Open is closing to its final stages, the tumble of the seeded players continues. Federer and Kvitova are among the top seeds to have crashed out.

Men’s Singles

The top seeds Djokovic, Wawrinka, Nishikori, Raonic, Ferrer sailed through smoothly. However, Isner (19) lost to unseeded Muller. And Simon (18) and Verdasco (31) too lost their matches.

Some prominent matches of the day:

Ferrer (9) defeated Simon (18) (6-2; 7-5; 5-7; 7-6)

Djokovic (1) defeated Ferdasco (31) (7-6; 6-3; 6-4)

Muller defeated Isner (19) (7-6; 7-6; 6-4)

Nishikori (5) defeated Johnson (6-7; 6-1; 6-2; 6-3)

Wawrinka (4) defeated Nieminen (6-4; 6-2; 6-4)

Raonic (8) defeated Becker (6-4; 6-3; 6-3)

Lopez (12) defeated Janowicz (7-6; 6-4; 7-6)

Women’s Singles

The major upset of the day was Kvitova. Zahlavova (31), Svitolina (26), Cornet (19), Lepchenko (30).

The prominent matches of the day:

Madison Keys defeated Kvitova (4) (6-4; 7-5)

Azarenka defeated Zahlavova (31) (6-4; 6-4)

Serena (1) defeated Svitolina (26) (4-6; 6-2; 6-0)

Cibulkova (11) defeated Cornet (19) (7-5; 6-2)

Muguruza (24) defeated Bacsinszky (6-3; 4-6; 6-0)

Venus (18) defeated Giorgi (4-6; 7-6; 6-1)

Radwanska (6) defeated Lepchenko (30) (6-0; 7-5)

Men’s Doubles

Most of the top seeds sailed through but the fifth seed pair of Peya and Soares fell short.

Prominent matches are:

Bryan/Bryan (1) defeated Berlocq/Mayer (5-7; 6-3; 6-1)

Marach/Venus defeated Peya/Soares (5) (6-4; 7-6)

Benneteau/Roger-Vassellin (2) defeated Giraldo/Sousa (7-5; 6-4)

Dodig/Melo (4) defeated Golubev/Istomin (6-2; 3-6; 7-6)

Erlich/Huey defeated Lindstedt/Matkowski (9) (6-3; 6-2)

Women’s Doubles

Prominent matches of the day:

Errani/Vinci (1) defeated Barthel/Minella (6-0; 6-2)

Makarova/Vesnina (3) defeated Cibulkova/Flipkens (6-4; 5-7; 6-2)

Garcia/Srebotnik (7) defeated Rogers/Vekic (6-3; 3-6; 6-3)

Hlavackova/Hradecka (9) defeated Adamczak/Rogowska (6-3; 6-2)

Matthek-Sands/Safarova defeated Babos/Mladenovic (10) (4-6; 7-6; 6-4)

Mixed Doubles

Prominent matches were:

Gavrilova/Saville defeated Kudryavtseva/Qureshi (7-6; 7-5)

Chan/Murray defeated Gajdosova/Bhupati (4-6; 7-6; 10-8)

Srebotnik/Melo (2) defeated Santonja/Marrero (6-1; 6-4)

Hseih/Cuevas defeated Shvedova/Zimonjic (6) (6-4; 5-7; 10-4)

Tomorrow at Melbourne

Sharapova, Nadal, Halep with feature in Australian Open tomorrow.

23/01/2015 DAY 5: Australian Open 2015

DAY 5 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2015

The third round or the Round of 32 brought with it its share of heartbreaks and upcoming stars. The most upsetting moment came when Federer lost his match to Andreas Seppi. All the three Indian players playing in the fray lost their matches, though Sania Mirza resurrected some pride by winning her mixed doubles match.

Men’s Singles

Federer (2) was the biggest upset. Nadal on the other hand, despite his injury, played some mind boggling tennis to defeat Dudi Sela in straight sets. Richard Gasquet (24) lost his match to Anderson (14).

The prominent matches of the day were:

Nadal (3) defeated Sela (6-1; 6-0; 7-5)

Kyrgios defeated Jaziri (6-3; 7-6; 6-1)

Anderson (14) defeated Gasquet (24) (6-4; 7-6; 7-6)

Murray (6) defeated Sousa (6-1; 6-1; 7-5)

Seppi defeated Federer (2) (6-4; 7-6; 4-6; 7-6)

Berdych (7) defeated Troicki (6-4; 6-3; 6-4)

Dimitrov (10) defeated Baghdatis (4-6; 6-3; 3-6; 6-3; 6-3)

Women’s Singles

Despite raging sexism controversies, the female players displayed some stunning performances. Sara Errani lost her match to Wickmayer though. Other seeded players to be shown the door is Pliskova (22) and Diyas (31). They was defeated by the 10^th seeded Makarova and second seeded Sharapova.

Prominent matches of the day:

Sharapova (2) defeated Diyas (31) (6-1; 6-1)

Halep (3) defeated Batthek Sands (6-4; 7-5)

Bouchard (7) defeated Garcia (7-5; 6-0)

Goerges defeated Hradecka (7-6; 7-5)

Makarova (10) defeated Pliskova (22) (6-4; 6-4)

Shui Peng (21) defeated Shvedova (7-6; 6-3)

Wickmayer defeated Errani (14) (4-6; 6-4; 6-3)

Men’s Doubles

The Indian seeded pairs of Bopanna/Nestor and Paes/Klassen were shown the door today.

The top matches of the day:

Lopez/Mirnyi defeated Bopanna/Nestor (7) (7-5; 6-3)

Rojer/Tecau (6) defeated Guccione/Hewitt (6-4; 6-2)

Qureshi/Zimonjic (8) defeated Carreno/Garcia-Lopez (7-6; 6-4)

Bolelli/Fognini defeated Paes/Klassen (10) (2-6; 6-4; 6-1)

Inglot/Mergea (14) defeated Schwartzman/Zebllos (7-6; 4-6; 6-2)

Women’s Doubles

The second seeded Indian player Sania Mirza partnering Su-Wei Hseih lost their second round match.

The top matches today were:

Hingis/ Pennetta (4) defeated Hantuchova/Knapp (6-3; 6-7; 6-2)

Kops-Jones/Spears (5) defeated Diatchenko/Niculescu (6-1; 3-6; 7-6)

Dabrowski/Rosolska defeated Mirza/Hseih (7-6; 6-4)

Jans-Ignacik/Klepac defeated Muguruza/Suarez-Navarro (6) (7-6; 6-4)

Date-Krumm/Dellacqua (15) defeated Soler-Espinosa/Torro-Flor (7-5; 6-2)

Mixed Doubles

The first day of the mixed doubles saw three matches. Sania Mirza partnered Bruno Soares.

Mirza/Soares defeated Babos/Butorac (6-1; 4-6; 10-3)

Black/Cabal defeated Chan/Draganja (6-2; 5-7; 10-6)

Medina/Andujar defeated Jurak/Dodig (6-2; 7-6)

Tomorrow at Melbourne

Djokovic, Wawrinka, Nishikori, Serena, Kvitova will be in action tomorrow.

22/01/2015 DAY 4: Australian Open 2015

                     DAY 4 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2015

Day 4 saw the top seeds in action in their respective second round match. Most of the big players lived up to their names and displayed a fantastic class of tennis. Two time Australian Open champ Azarenka had no difficulty packing off the eight seeded Wozniacki.

Men’s Singles

Djokovic was in top form when he dispatched Kuznetsov in straight sets. Monfils (17) and Bautista Agut (13) were the only two seeded players who were knocked out today. Hewitt also lost his match.

The prominent matches of the day were:

Djokovic (1) defeated Kuznetsov (6-0; 6-1; 6-4)

Benjamin Becker defeated Hewitt (2-6; 1-6; 6-3; 6-4; 6-2)

Nishikori (5) defeated Dodig (4-6; 7-5; 6-2; 7-6)

Janowicz defeated Monfils (17) (6-4; 1-6; 6-7; 6-3; 6-3)

Wawrinka (4) defeated Copil (7-6; 7-6; 6-3)

Raonic (8) defeated Young (6-4; 7-6; 6-3)

Isner (19) defeated Haider-Maurer (6-4; 7-6; 4-6; 6-4)

Ferrer (9) defeated Stakhovsky (5-7; 6-3; 6-4; 6-2)

Lopez (12) defeated Mannarino (4-6; 4-6; 7-6; 4-0)

Muller defeated Bautista Agur (13) (7-6; 1-6; 7-5; 6-1)

Women’s Singles

Wozniacki (8) fell to Azarenka in a tightly contested tie. Other seeds to falter were Stosur (20) and Dellacqua (29).

Prominent matches of the day were:

Serena (1) defeated Zvonareva (7-5; 6-0)

Radwanska (6) defeated Larsson (6-0; 6-1)

Vandeweghe defeated Stosur (20) (6-4; 6-4)

Cibulkova (11) defeated Pironkova (6-2; 6-0)

Kvitova (4) defeated Barthel (6-2; 6-4)

Venus (18) defeated Davis (6-2; 6-3)

Keys defeated Dellacqua (29) (2-6; 6-1; 6-1)

Azarenka defeated Wozniacki (8) (6-4; 6-2)

Muguruza (24) defeated Hantuchova (6-1; 1-6; 6-0)

Zahlova (25) defeated Chang (6-1; 7-5)

Men’s Doubles

Prominent matches of the day:

Peya/Soares defeated Troicki/Youzhny (6-1; 6-4)

Bopanna/Nestor (7) defeated Baghdatis/Matosevic (7-6; 7-5)

Schwartzman/Zebollas defeated Bhupati/Melzer (6-4; 6-3)

Rojer/Tecau (6) defeated Berankis/Haider-Maurer (6-4; 6-2)

Women’s Doubles

Prominent matches of the day:

Errani/Vinci (1) defeated Pliskova/Schmeidlova (6-2; 6-0)

Kops-Jones/Spears (5) defeated Birrell/Hon (6-3; 7-5)

Garcia/Srebotnik (7) defeated Petkovic/Rybarikova (6-4; 5-7; 6-2)

Hlavackova/Hradecka (9) defeated Kichenok/Savchuk (6-0; 7-6)

India at Melbourne

India had a mixed day. Bopanna sailed through in straight sets in partnership with Daniel Nestor while the warhorse Bhupati lost in straight sets partnering Melzer. 

Players to watch out Tomorrow

Mirza and Bopanna will play in their respective matches tomorrow. Mirza will feature in the Mixed Doubles too tomorrow. While Nadal, Federer, Murray, Sharapova, Halep will showcase in the singles event.

21/01/2015 DAY 3: Australian Open 2015

                                            DAY 3 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2015

The first part of the second round of Australian Open saw some excellent tennis. Rafa survived a scare from the world no. 112 Tim Smyczek while Federer won after dropping the first set. Sharapova too scampered through after conceding two match points against Panova. Halep however sailed through easily.

Men’s Singles

Rafael Nadal, injured and ill, fought through a long grueling four hour period to earn his round of 32 berth. Karlovic (23), Klizan (32), Mayer (26), Rosol (28), Goffin (20), Chardy (29) and Kohlschreiber (22) were the seeded players to be shown the door in the Men’s Singles today in the second round.

Some of the prominent matches were:

Federer (2) defeated Bolelli (3-6; 6-3; 6-2; 6-2)

Nadal (3) defeated Smyczek (6-2; 3-6; 6-7; 6-3; 7-5)

Murray (6) defeated Matosevic (6-1; 6-3; 6-2)

Dimitrov (10) defeated Lacko (6-3; 6-7; 6-3; 6-3)

Tomic defeated Kohlschreiber (22) (6-7; 6-4; 7-6; 7-6)

Seppi defeated Chardy (29) (7-5; 3-6; 6-2; 6-1)

Berdych (7) defeated Melzer (7-6; 6-2; 6-2)

Kyrgios defeated Karlovic (23) (7-6; 6-4; 5-7; 6-4)

Baghdatis defeated Goffin (20) (6-1; 6-4; 4-6; 6-0)

Dudi Sela defeated Rosol (28) (7-6; 5-7; 7-5; 6-3)

Anderson (14) defeated Berankis (6-2; 6-2; 7-6)

Women’s Singles

The queen of comebacks, Sharapova won after conceding two match points. None of the seed faltered today. Mladenovic was only player of reckoning to crash out.

Prominent matches of the day were:

Makarova (10) defeated Vinci (6-2; 6-4)

Sharapova (2) defeated Panova (6-1; 4-6; 7-5)

Halep (3) defeated Gajdosova (6-2; 6-2)

Peng (21) defeated Rybarikova (6-1; 6-1)

Errani (14) defeated Soler-Espinosa (7-6; 6-3)

Bouchard (7) defeated Bertens (6-0; 6-3)

Matthek Sands defeated Mladenovic (7-6; 7-6)

India’s Day at Melbourne

Sania Mirza and Leander Paes won their respective matches in the first round of their doubles match today. Sania Mirza was partnering Su-Wei Hseih of the Chinese Taipei and Leander was partnering Klassen.

Prominent doubles matches at Australian Open

Men’s Doubles

M. Bryan/B. Bryan defeated Millman/Mitchell (6-3; 7-5)

Paes/Klassen defeated Lipsky/R Ram (6-4; 7-6)

Quereshi/Zimonjic defeated Gabashvili/Kukushkin (6-7; 6-4; 6-3)

Hewitt/Guccione defeated Delbonis/Ramos (6-3; 6-3)

Women’s Doubles

Mirza/Hsieh defeated Irigoyen/Oprandi (6-2; 6-0)

Hingis/Pennetta defeated Bencic/Siniakova (7-6; 6-2)

Makarova/Vesnina defeated Keys/Riske (7-5; 6-1)

Muguruza/Suarez Navarro defeated Lepchenko/Tatishvili  (6-3; 6-2)

Tomorrow at the Australian Open

The top seeded players featuring tomorrow will be Serena, Djokovic, Kvitova and Wawrinka. 

20/01/2015 DAY 2: Australian Open 2015

                                     DAY 2 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2015

The second day of the first major tennis event of the day saw the top seeds cruising along to the second round easily. Djokovic (1), Wawrinka (4), Serena (1), Kvitova (4) defeated their respective opponents in straight sets. The most interesting match was definitely the clash between the Frenchmen, 17^th seeded Gael Monfils and Lucas Pouille. Monfils bounced after being down two sets to nil to beat his opponent.

Men’s Singles

All prominent players sailed along smoothly on the second. All eyes were set on the defending champion Wawrinka, but he showed his class and moved ahead to the next round. The Aussie legend Hewitt faltered a set much to the chagrin of the audience at Rod Laver Arena but finally class prevailed and he won 3-1.

The prominent matches of the day were:

Wawrinka (4) defeated Ilham (6-1; 6-4; 6-2)

Djokovic (1) defeated Bedene (6-3; 6-2; 6-4)

Hewitt defeated Zhang (6-3; 1-6; 6-0; 6-4)

Raonic (8) defeated Marchenko (7-6; 7-6; 6-3)

Nishikori (5) defeated Almagro (6-4; 7-6; 6-2)

Monfils (17) defeated Pouille (6-7; 3-6; 6-4; 6-1; 6-4)

Giles Simon (18) defeated Haase (6-1; 6-3; 6-4)

Ferrer (9) defeated Bellucci (6-7; 6-2; 6-0; 6-3)

Verdasco (31) defeated Ward (2-6; 6-0; 7-6; 6-3)

Isner (19) defeated Wang (7-6; 6-4; 6-4)

Granollers defeated Robert (6-3; 6-4; 6-4)

Lorenzi defeated Dolgopolov (21) (6-4; 6-3; 6-2)

Women’s Singles

Serena won her match against Van Uytvanck. She had kicked up a storm in the run-up to the Grand Slam. 12^th seeded Flavia Pennetta, 15^th seeded Jankovic were two prominent players to crash out.

The prominent matches of the day:

Stosur (20) defeated Niculescu (6-4; 6-1)

Azarenka defeated Stephens (6-3; 6-2)

Kvitova (4) defeated Hogenkamp (6-1; 6-4)

Venus Williams (18) defeated Torro-Flor (6-2; 6-2)

Wozniacki (8) defeated Taylor Townsend (7-6; 6-2)

Serena (1) defeated Van Uytvanck (6-0; 6-4)

Radwanska (6) defeated Nara (6-3; 6-0)

Cibulkova (11) defeated Flipkens (3-6; 6-3; 6-1)

Giorgi defeated Pennetta (12) (4-6; 6-2; 6-3)

Muguruza (24) defeated Erakovic (7-5; 6-0)

Zvonareva defeated Jabeur (6-2; 6-3)

Hantuchova defeated S Zheng (6-4; 6-4)

Bacsinszky defeated Jankovic (15) (6-1; 6-4)

Tomorrow, Day 3 (21/01/2015) at Australian Open

The prominent players to feature tomorrow in the Singles second round are Sharapova, Federer, Nadal, Halep and Murray. Men’s and Women’s Doubles starts from tomorrow. Sania Mirza is partnering with Su-Wei Hseih in their first round match. Leander Paes is also playing with Klassen in their first round match tomorrow.