SERENA SOARS TO TOP SPOT

Serena Williams came away with more than just a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title and a return to the No.1 rankings. The American is also in pole position to return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for the first time since winning it in 2014.
Serena missed back-to-back WTA Finals due to injury, but looked healthy and fit through the fortnight in Melbourne, racing to her seventh Australian Open crown without the loss of a set.
Not far behind is sister Venus Williams, who served notice in Australia by reaching her first Grand Slam final since 2009, falling to Serena in two tight sets. Venus won the WTA Finals in 2008, but hasn’t qualified in seven years, when she reached the final in another all-Williams affair.
Johanna Konta narrowly missed out on Greatest Eight qualification in 2016, but her strong start to the season brings her up to No.3 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard after winning her second career title at the Apia International Sydney and reaching the last eight in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, the doubles Road to Singapore leaderboard is also starting to take shape, with Australian Open champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova leading the pack, while finalists Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai settle for second place.

Raonic Beats Bautista Agut

World No. 3 Milos Raonic, the highest seed remaining at the Australian Open, secured his place in the quarter-finals for the third successive year by beating Spanish No. 13 seed Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in two hours and 51 minutes on Monday.
Raonic, who hit 75 winners – including 33 aces (for a total of 93 aces at the major championship), will meet ninth seed and 2009 champion Rafael Nadal on Wednesday. Raonic trails Nadal 2-6 lifetime in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.
“I was very fortunate to get the win today – there were some moments when it wasn’t looking so good,” said Raonic, during an on-court interview. “I was happy that I was able to find a way to pull through. And this atmosphere – especially when the roof closed, the noise stays in a little bit more, so it was great to be here. We live to see another day.”
Raonic opened up a 3-0 lead in the first set, but Bautista Agut worked his way back and led 5/1 in the tie-break. Raonic capitalised on his comeback with a service break to start the second set, but Bautista Agut found holes in the Canadian’s baseline game.
Bautista Agut held three break points in the ninth game of the third set, after the match was briefly suspended due to a rain delay at 3-3, but Raonic escaped. At 4-5, Bautista Agut double-faulted and then hit a forehand long to gift Raonic a commanding lead. Raonic then cruised to a 5-0 lead in the fourth set.
Looking back on his Brisbane quarter-final against Nadal, Raonic said, “We both tried to be the aggressors early on. I fought through a difficult moment midway through that second set. Then, I thought I had it pretty handily after that point. I broke towards the end of that second set. Broke right away in the third. Had a lot of 0/30 games [and] had a lot of break chances following after that, holding quite easy.”

Nadal Battles Monfils

Rafael Nadal recorded his fifth straight victory – and 13th win overall in 15 meetings – against Gael Monfils at the Australian Open in just under three hours on Monday night for a place in his 30th Grand Slam championship quarter-final.
Ninth seed Nadal, who beat Roger Federer for the 2009 title, improved to 49-10 at Melbourne Park with a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over fellow 30-year-old Monfils, the No. 6 seed from France. The 30 year old’s win denied Monfils his 250th tour-level match win on hard courts and gave the Spanish superstar his first Grand Slam victory over a player in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings since beating then No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic in the 2014 Roland Garros final.
Nadal experienced little resistance from Monfils through the first two sets, but when he hit a double fault and three unforced errors at 4-4 in the third set the encounter turned on its head. Monfils, also a crowd favourite in Melbourne, broke and saved four break points en route to clinching the 48-minute set. Although Nadal, struggled at times for groundstroke fluency, he performed well on serve and, courtesy of two service breaks in the fourth set, kept alive his chances of clinching a 15th major championship crown.
“I had chances to break in the third set,” said Nadal, during an on-court interview. “I didn’t play my best game at 4-4. You are [then] under pressure against a player like him. [In the fourth set] I think against Gael, I made a few mistakes in a row and played a good backhand on the break point.
“I’m very happy being in the quarter-finals in a Grand Slam after a couple of years without being there. It is very special for me and especially here in Australia, where it feels a little like home. The crowd is always supporting me.”
Nadal has a 6-2 advantage over his next opponent, World No. 3 Milos Raonic, in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but Raonic won their most recent clash, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp 16 days ago.
“I have to play very, very well, that’s the only way,” said Nadal. “He beat me a couple of weeks ago in Brisbane. It was a tough game. He’s a top player with an amazing serve, so I need to be focused with my serve and wait for opportunities on my return.”
Monfils, now on a six-match losing streak against Top 10 opponents, reflected, “I think I really struggled with my return. I could not make enough returns at the beginning of the match. So that was a little bit inconvenience… It would have been a big help to have a better serve. I couldn’t reach all the spots at the beginning. [There was] not much accuracy. So it was just a battle to get back. Rafa fought, [and] found the way to fight. I would say he is a true champion so he deserves the match… I think he’s playing great. He’s a great returner… He’s on top of his game.

VANDEWEGHE VAULTS PAST MUGURUZA

CoCo Vandeweghe played impeccable tennis to continue a career-best run, dispatching No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the Australian Open semifinals.
“It’s amazing to be in a semifinal,” she said in her post-match press conference. “But, you know, not satisfying. I want to keep going, keep playing. There’s more things to do out on a tennis court that I’m hoping to achieve.”
Vandeweghe might have been forgiven for having a letdown less than 48 hours after defeating World No.1 and defending champion Angelique Kerber in the previous round.
But with the help of coach Craig Kardon, it was clear the unseeded American came to play from the outset, earning break points in the very first game against Muguruza, who was playing in her first major quarterfinal since winning Roland Garros.
“I thought I took care of the things that I could control, which is the most important thing: not letting outside factors affect anything that was happening.
“It’s kind of weathering the storm a little bit, knowing what Craig and I talked about before the match: the game plan is going to work, and believing in it, not wavering from it, which I’m very proud of myself for doing, especially early in the first set when I was kind of squandering quite a few break points.”
The first set came down to one break of serve, which Vandeweghe converted and never looked back, losing just one more game in one hour and 23 minute masterclass.
“Maybe I play better nervous and scared. I don’t know. I think I don’t shy away from a challenge necessarily. I never have. Growing up, I’ve always just been wanting to prove people wrong in a lot of different regards.
“I think it’s more that I take it as an enjoyable challenge. It’s what I want to do. It’s where I want to be. To face the best players is definitely an accomplishment, to say for myself that I’ve gotten to the point that I’ve beat and face these top players.”

Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka continues her climb back to the top, overpowering Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2 in the final to claim the Miami Open title and secure her return to the

Azarenka, a two-time champion here in Miami, won her third title of 2016 in dominating fashion without dropping a set. Even more impressive, her back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami complete the Sunshine Double, a feat last achieved 11 years ago.

The on-form Belarusian, who has only lost one match all year, broke in Kuznetsova’s opening service game and quickly held for a 2-0 lead. That lone hold of serve would turn out to be vital, as Azarenka was able to weather the seven consecutive breaks that followed and still hang on to the lead.

In the second set Azarenka’s powerful game came together as she wore down Kuznetsova from the baseline, running the Russian all over the court. Azarenka kept up the intensity throughout the match, hitting 23 winners to Kuznetsova’s 8 while Kuznetsova struck 22 unforced errors to her opponent’s 18.

After Azarenka claimed the match and the Miami title in an hour and 17 minutes, Kuznetsova had nothing but praise for her in-form opponent in her runner-up speech.

“I’d like to congratulate Victoria for doing such a good job this year and in these four weeks,” Kuznetsova said, delighting the Miami crowd by delivering the speech in both English and Spanish.

WTA

Novak Djokovic mastered the Miami Open presented by Itau for a third straight year and sixth overall, downing Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3 to claim a record 28th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown.

The World No. 1 ended Rafael Nadal’s six-year reign with at least a share of the Masters 1000 title lead. Nadal had first assumed the mantle from Andre Agassi in 2010. With the victory, Djokovic also passed coach Boris Becker for sole possession of 11th place in the Open Era match wins list, capturing his 714th win.

Nishikori looked to have the upper hand as the match got underway on an overcast Sunday afternoon at Crandon Park Tennis Center. The Japanese grabbed an immediate break in the first game, but could not sustain the lead. Djokovic would break right back and eventually claimed the opener after securing another break in the eighth game and consolidating with a hold to love. In the second set, only one break was needed, as the Serb raced to a 2-0 lead and never looked back. He would secure the victory on his third match point after one hour and 26 minutes.

PNo aces were struck during the blustery two-set affair, with Nishikori rattled by the wind and Djokovic’s attacking display. The World No. 1 fired 14 winners and benefited from 29 unforced errors by his sixth-seeded opponent.

Djokovic completed back-to-back three-peats at the March Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. He previous lifted the trophy in South Florida in 2007, ’11, ’12, ’14 and ’15.

“It was a really tough one,” Nishikori said. “He has great defence, so it’s tough to break his game. And it was windy. So I couldn’t really be too aggressive because the ball was moving and it was tough to do that. He was very patient and he didn’t miss. It’s always so tough to play Novak.”

ATP

Feb 27, 2016

One more victory for Dominic Thiem, this season’s boy sensation grasped his first ATP 500 title and first to beat Bernard Tomic during final round 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3.

It nearly was a perfect month for the Austrian player that arrived to Acapulco after being crowned in Buenos Aires and semifinal round in Rio de Janeiro. With this victory he brought up his repertoire of won games to 18-4 in 2016 leading the professional circuit. The 22 year-old player is one of nine players born in the 90’s that has lifted an ATP trophy; counting Acapulco’s title he now owns five titles –Acapulco is his first on hard-court.   

“Mexico has a special place in my heart” shared Thiem before holding the guaje trophy. He recalled he played in Mexico as a Junior so Mexico brings really good memories.

It was Thiem’s and Tomic’s first Head2Head. Dominic had a shaky as he started going down 1-4 but picked up his pace and demonstrated his powerful drive and was able to connect 10 direct serves and capitalize 82% of his points. At the end he managed to come back and keep that first set during the tie-break after an unforced error by Tomic.

“It took me a while to pick up my pace, it was a tied match so I feel fortunate to win today. I’m very happy, this has been my greatest achievement ‘till now. It is only February and I have already won a 500, I hope to do better and better. I’m very confident for what is coming and I have no time to rest. I will do whatever it takes to keep myself in shape”, Dominic said.

Tomic kept fighting during the second set and in his fifth game took the serve from the Austrian player after saving a breakpoint thanks to two excellent serves.

Tomic took advantage of the first game of the third set with a break but was not able to maintain his dominance that made him lose focus.

During fourth game, Thiem scored yet another break after a double fault by Tomic securing his victory. Thiem concluded the meeting with 22 ace serves, 8 by Tomic.

“It is a disappointing loss, I had my chance to win and did not take advantage of it. I feel frustrated”, admitted Tomic, who will dawn Monday ranked 20 ATP.

Feb. 27, 2016

Confirmed: Abierto Mexicano de Tenis will be held in Acapulco next year too said Hector Astudillo Flores, governor of the state of Guerrero, during press conference at Mextenis stadium along with Raul Zurutuza, tournament director. The agreement between the State Government and Grupo Pegaso has ensured the presence of the most important tennis tournament in Latin America at least until 2017.

“We have a contract until 2017. We were able to come to really good terms with the new owners of Princess Hotel thanks to State Government’s intervention. We have cleared some doubts […] personally I don’t see this tournament anywhere but here in Acapulco. We’re working together to reach a good agreement”, said Raul Zurutuza.

“The State of Guerrero salutes and recognizes Alejandro Burillo’s and Grupo Pegaso’s disposition to be in Acapulco. As a Governor, I’m very grateful, this is a vote of confidence during these difficult times we are facing and coming out of. We are committed to keep moving forward during the next few years [security-wise] and State Governor Hector Astudillo is fully committed too and will receive this tournament, that has being celebrated yearly in Acapulco, with open doors”, said state governor.

After balancing out this 23^rd edition AMT results Zurutuza shared to be pleased with the results. “From the sport’s point of view we are very pleased. It has been a very good week. Once again this confirms we are living a [players] generational transition. The clearest example: Victor Estrella’s and Taylor Fritz’ match; one aged 34 and the other 18 respectively where Estrella lost by two sets. The contest is on a good track, we are happy with what we are seeing on the courts”.

He informed this 2016 the average entrance tickets sold were over 50 thousand, “We broke attendance record on Monday and Tuesday, that is very important milestone because those are the toughest days. We have a major commitment with Acapulco’s inhabitants so we granted a 20% discount to local citizens of Acapulco. We had over 50 live-feed hours via ESPN, that makes us one of the most covered events. Social media counts were: over 109,000 Facebook likes, Instagram overall visits increased by 40%, our official website had more than 19 million hits; 29% of these hits were from Japan followed by Mexico with 24% and the rest of the hits from 78 different countries. Pegaso TV produced over 24 videos and 48 hours worth of footage”.

 On Javier Braun’s behalf, CEO of Grupo Pegaso, said this year’s tournament was a hit. “Economically speaking this has been our best event held in Acapulco. Tennis-wise, to have a final event between two young players ranked ATP 15 and 21 ATP means young generations are coming strong and we will bet on them, just like we did with Rafa Nadal years ago. To sum up, we are enormously satisfied with this tournament, with the people, sponsors and players”.

During the annual conference to mark the closure of the event Ernesto Rodriguez Escalona, Secretary of Tourism of the state of Guerrero and Miguel Angel Couchonal, Legal Director of Grupo Pegaso were present.

Feb. 27, 2016

In what could be the best female singles match in Acapulco’s history American tennis player Sloane Stephens (24 WTA) claimed the crown this Abierto Mexicano de Tenis 23^rd edition. In a heart-rising duel that lasted more than three hours Stephens beat Cibulkova who wished to repeat her triumph from two years ago.

It was a thrilling and closed match, full of breakpoints where Sloane took advantage of Cibulkova’s errors during third set’s tiebreaks. Marks were 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) in 22 year-old Stephen’s favor who is attaining her second title during this season after wining Auckland at the beginning of the year.

With a divided audience, most on Cibulkova’s side, both players worked really hard to maintain each other’s serve and both made many errors, nevertheless, Florida-born Sloane worked best under pressure during the last set and landed her third title in the WTA circuit.

The first set lasted 49 minutes and was a constant back and forth where Stephens lead; Cibulkova was fierce, reacted and battled strong to reverse the marks during the second set. Third set was a power-duel with both players pushing hard and racing from side to side just like the scoreboard seeking for the victory. With just one break per side it was sudden death that made the Slovakian player hand the crown.    

On her way to the Title Stephens defeated Louisa Chirico during first round, Belorussian Olga Govortsova in third round, Naomi Osaka in quarter-finals, Belgian player Yanina Witchmayer in semi-final and Dominika Cibulkova during final round.

Meanwhile, Cibulkova suffered her first defeat in 10 matches at the Mexican Open, and was left with the desire to become bi-champion of Acapulco’s tournament and score her fifth professional title.

Spanish duo Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santoja claimed the title against Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson in a battle that lasted no more than 58 minutes leaving partials 6-0, 6-4.
Garrigues-Parra, being more experienced, have conquered several titles as a team but with a different partner. This was Anabel’s 26th trophy in doubles category, both ninth and third titles in Acapulco, although in 2013 and 2017 she partnered up with Lourdes Domiguez-Lino and played, but lost, in semifinal rounds in 2009 and 2011.

During their first set, now champions, Medina-Parra saved two breakpoints that made the difference; Bertens and Larsson weren’t able to maintain heir service so Garrigues-Parra to max advantage during their second 73 percent effective serves.