Posts Tagged ‘Brisbane’

Serena Williams wins but injures ankle at Brisbane Full Video

News Time Serena Williams injures ankle and withdraws from Brisbane Watch Video tinyurl.com Williams was due to play Daniela Hantuchova on Thursday but will now focus on her preparations for the Australian Open beginning in Melbourne on January 16. She removed her regular ankle guard just a few games before sustaining the injury, putting a cloud on her preparations for Melbourne. She had been hopeful of recovering but scans revealed a sprain. “I’m disappointed to have to pull out of the Brisbane International,” Williams told the tournament website. “I have been to hospital and it has been confirmed that I have a left ankle sprain that I probably shouldn’t play on. I’m going to take a couple of days off — not too many — and see how I feel. I’m still hopeful of playing the Australian Open. “It was such an unexpected end to the tournament; I didn”t expect to be getting an MRI today. I’ve had a great time here in Brisbane. The tournament is great, the fans are fantastic and hopefully I’ll see them again next year.”

Soderling, Roddick in Brisbane final

Soderling, Roddick in Brisbane final
Top-seeded 2010 French Open runner-up Robin Soderling and defending champion Andy Roddick each won their respective semifinal matches Saturday at the Brisbane International tennis event.

Read more on Toronto Sun

Soderling sets up Brisbane semi-final with Stepanek

Soderling sets up Brisbane semi-final with Stepanek
Brisbane, Australia – Top seed Robin Soderling and 2010 finalist Radek Stepanek set up a semi-final at the Brisbane International Friday with a pair of effortless, straight-set victories.

Read more on EARTHtimes.org

Stosur wins first-rounder in Brisbane

Stosur wins first-rounder in Brisbane
Top-seeded Samantha Stosur was among the first-round winners Monday at the $220,000 Brisbane International, an Australian Open tune-up.

Read more on WAAY-TV Huntsville

Healthy-again Roddick returns to Brisbane to defend title

Healthy-again Roddick returns to Brisbane to defend title
BRISBANE: American Andy Roddick will put behind him a season dogged by illness to launch the new year with the defence of his Brisbane International title starting tomorrow.

Read more on The Star

Roddick back to defend Brisbane title

Roddick back to defend Brisbane title
American Andy Roddick will put behind him a season dogged by illness to launch the new year with the defence of his Brisbane International title starting on Sunday.

Read more on Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Brisbane International 2009 Championship – Something not to be Missed!

2009 would be the 1st Edition of this happening event as it emerged as a result of the merging of Next Generation Adelaide International and the Mondial Australia Women’s Hardcourts. Like all other Open tennis championships, Brisbane International 2009 Championship will contains matches for Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles as well as Men’s Doubles and Women’s Doubles.

The full line-up for this event has already been announced which guarantees loads of excitement and thrill in the tournament. Millions of tennis fans are already enthusiastic to see former world No. 1, new rising stars as well as Grand Slam winners who will be competing for the prize money of $220,000 for women’s line-up and $433,000 for men’s line-up.

The Brisbane International is an elimination tennis tournament where the contestants will compete against each other to decide those who make it to the final. Some of the prominent names in the men’s line-up include the following:

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Petsonga from France has a world’s no. 6 ranking and earned a win in the Australian Open 2008 Championship by defeating some of the most top ranked tennis players.

Marcos Baghdatis – Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus, Greece is currently ranked No. 98 on the ATP rankings and is a professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open championship and was also the semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.

Mardy Fish – Mardy Fish from Minnesota is an American tennis player, and is one of the youngest tennis players. He has shown his talents in different tennis tournaments such as the 2006 Wimbledon Championship, 2007 Australian Open and US Open 2008.

Novak Djokovic – Novak Djokovic from Serbia will be defending his trophy which he won at the Australian Open in January 2008. He is considered to be one of the most dangerous tennis players and this is what makes this championship more thrilling. He will have tough games with Nadal and Federer, making tennis exciting this summers for Australians as well as millions of tennis fans worldwide.

The important names worth mentioning in the women’s line up include the following:

Ana Ivanovic – One of the most fierce female tennis players, Ana Ivanovic from Serbia is a former World No. 1 and also the runner up in tennis singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open. Her participation in Australian Open 2009 is something which all tennis fans are looking forward to.

Daniela Hantuchova – Daniela Hantuchova from Czechoslovakia is another professional tennis player who is currently ranked as World No. 19 in singles.

Na Li – Na Li is a professional Chinese tennis player and has been a source of pride to her country’s history. She has won several singles titles and achieved a highest ranking of No. 16 to date.

Samantha Stosur – Samantha Stosur from Australia is a former top 30 player who recently came back in the world of tennis after her illness. Brisbane International will be her first scheduled tournament, making it even more exciting for her and all her fans.

With its start studded line-up, this years Brisbane International Championship is sure to enthral the hearts of millions of tennis fan worldwide.

Azarenka kicked out Kuznetsova to attain Miami final

Belarus Victoria Azarenka sophisticated to her initial main final by crushing Russian eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 at the WTA and ATP hard-court tournament on Thursday. Azarenka linked on 63% of her initial functions for her primary vocation triumph over Kuznetsova, while her Russian rival dedicated 46 natural faults.

19 years old 11th seed will face the winner of a afterward semi-final that pits world number one Serena Williams, the dominating US and Australian Open champion in opposition to Sister Venus, the prevailing Wimbledon champion. Azarenka looks for her third career title after captivating her original and primary tops at Brisbane and Memphis earlier this year. She is looking for her original title in one of the WTA’s best Premier proceedings.

Azarenka who qualified for the semi finals last month at Indian Wells, said by expressing her feelings, “It’s the largest moment and dream in my career, It feels and seems immense that all the work I’ve been doing is paying off. I was just annoying to play in every position and every point from the start to the end”.

She further said, “The second set was not so well for me and it did not go in favour of me, but I was still hanging in there and just play in every position and each point no matter what”. Victoria Azarenka ceased an untimely service smash in the opening set, but she gained the next four games to pocket the set.

Kuznetsova competition to a 5-1 pass en route to making level the match at one set apiece, but Azarenka cracked Kuznetsova in the earliest game of the third set to achieve the superior hand.

Azarenka lost her first chance to serve out the match, Kuznetsova saving one match point then flouting serve courtesy of an Azarenka double error. But in the next game Azarenka crushed Kuznetsova, and preserved the conquest on her third match point after two hours and 40 minutes played in boiling heat.

Azarenka prescribed “The last points and the last games were really hard and difficult to even walk there, but I’m just so glad that I found power and that fighting moment that I had to fight no matter what.”

Zvonareva beats Azarenka and ready for Indian Wells final

Recently on Friday’s competition between Zvonareva and Azarenka the Russian Fourth seeded Vera Zvonareva got a unique conquest with the directly sets triumph over doubles partner Victoria Azarenka and now she gets ready to face the Indian Wells final hard-court tournament.

Zvonareva the top and uppermost seed gone in the draw, brought down the eighth seed from Belarus 6-3, 6-3. And now she gets ready for the Well’s final on Sunday in which she’ll face moreover opposing champion Ana Ivanovic from Serbia or Russian teenager Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Earlier of this year Zvonareva who gained and won her succeeded eighth career title at Pattaya City, kept her full pressure and dominance with Azarenka, who has unfortunately never got and taken a set from the Russian in four meetings.

Zvonareva in a shortly speech prescribed “I remains pretty happy with my game at all ,” Zvonareva further said by expressing her feelings, “I did few mistakes and errors, few double faults here and there on various places but I was going for my shots.”

In the second set of the first game she broke Azarenka down and once more time in the final game to avoid her from defeat showed great excellency and to seal the victory in one hour and 20 minutes.

19 years old Azarenka,who succeeded in gaining the first two titles of her career this year in Brisbane and Memphis, distress the highest-seeded Russian Dinara Safina in the quarter-finals, rallying from a set down. “A wasted match,” was the hopeless Azarenka’s appraisal as she bewailed her 37 unforced faults. “Vera played good. I didn’t do yet 10 percent of my game today.”

Even in both two rounds against Zvonareva she had her lucks and chances but her failure made her unsuccessful to alter the two break points in the ninth game to make bigger the first set and she also had three break chances in the eighth game of the second.

In spite of the beat, the 11th-ranked Azarenka is predictable to break into the top 10 when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday. On Saturday Azarenka and Zvonareva will be get back again on the similar side of the net on Saturday, when they challenge the women’s doubles final. The second one semi-final was determining up as a fight of youth versus experience and practice.

Zvonareva said “I imagine it going be a hard and tough challenge between those two girls” “Because Anastasia, who is a young, youthful, brilliant talented upcoming player. She undoubtedly has a superior serve. She has an excellent big game, so for Ana it’s going to be very tough and difficult for Ana. But Ana who is a Grand Slam Champion has already all this experience and know about the finger tennis tips and indeed unique skills. She’s fighting and defending champion here.”

Ivanovic got victory in the French Open last year and detained the world number one ranking for a total of 12 weeks, but this semi final appearance is her most excellent and very well result of 2009. In the World she now ranked on seventh, Ivanovic qualified for the semis with no beating a stroke when adversary Sybille Bammer withdrew with a shoulder injury.