This Week In Tennis

Venus Queen of Auckland

Venus Williams began the year in impressive fashion this week, capturing the title in Auckland. The title marks the 46^th WTA victory for the 34-year-old American. After falling one win short of the title in 2014, Williams looked determined from the opening round to ensure she was the one lifting the trophy in this edition of the ABS Classic. The American used her booming serve and penetrating groundstrokes to power through her opponents. En-route to the title, Williams dropped only one set, which was to Wozniacki in the final. After falling behind a quick set and a break, Williams picked up her game, taking this next two sets 6-3 6-3. The title marks Williams’ first victory since Dubai last February.   

Sharapova Closes in on Number One

Maria Sharapova entered 2015 with a chance to overtake Serena Williams as the number one player in the world. The 27-year-old Russian improved her chance of regaining the top ranking this week with a dominant showing at the Brisbane International. Similar to Williams in Auckland, Sharapova breezed through the draw, not dropping a set en-route to the final. Proceedings proved much more difficult for the Russian in the championship match against fellow top-five player, Ana Ivanovic. World number five Ivanovic captured a hard-fought opening set in a tiebreak 7-6(4). With her back against the wall, Sharapova proved to tennis fans once again why she is one of the game’s greatest competitors. After hitting seven double-faults in the first set, Sharapova would only hit two in the final two sets, which she prevailed 6-3 6-3. With the win, Maria Sharapova is now only 681 points behind World No. 1 Serena Williams. The Russian can overtake Williams as early as the Australian Open, which begins next week.  

Halep Shines in Shenzhen

Simona Halep began 2015 right where she left open, winning the title at the Shenzhen Open. After a shaky first round encounter against Germany’s Annika Beck, the world number three breezed through the next four rounds, never losing more than three games in a set. Halep is coming off a career best year, where she made her first career Grand Slam final (French Open), reached a career high No. 2 in the rankings and won the biggest title of her career, the Premier 5 event in Doha. The 23-year-old Romanian is definitely a player you want to keep your eye on heading into the Australian Open and throughout 2015.

Team Poland Wins the Hopman Cup

Team Poland, made up of Agnieszka Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz, captured the nation’s first title at the mixed-team event. In the final, Poland upset the heavily-favored United States team made up of John Isner and top-ranked Serena Williams. The most shocking result of the final was Radwanska’s three set victory over Williams. In their previous eight encounters, Radwanska was winless against the 18-time grand slam champion; winning only one set in those eight matches. Williams appeared out of sorts throughout the week-long competition, where she went 2-2 in her singles matches. Heading into the Australian Open next week, Radwanska will be riding a wave of confidence; whereas Williams will have a lot of questions to answer when it comes to her current form.     

Tournament Results

Venus Williams def. Caroline Wozniacki 2-6 6-3 6-3

Maria Sharapova def. Ana Ivanovic 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3

Simona Halep def. Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-2

Team Poland def. Team United States 2-1 (Hopman Cup)

Notable Results

Karolina Pliskova def. Victoria Azarenka 4-6 7-6(7) 6-4

Madison Keys def. Dominika Cibulkova 7-5 6-2

Timea Bacsinszky def. Petra Kvitova 6-4 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def Serena Williams 6-4 6-7(3) 6-1

Next Week: Australian Open Women's Draw: Quarter by Quarter