Saville Dasha’s into Merida Open semis
AUSSIE qualifier Daria Saville will receive a significant rankings boost after securing her spot in the Merida Open semi-finals overnight. The former Top 20 player ousted world number 11 Paula Badosa who was forced to retire with a lower back complaint when down in the second set 3-5 after winning the the first 6-1. The […]
Cirstea’s giant-killing run continues
ROMANIAN veteran Sorana Cirstea is on the verge of a return to the Top 100 after amassing her third Top 20 victory in a fortnight overnight. The 34-year-old Cirstea – who turns 35 in April – fought through a tough challenge against second seed and world number 13 Diana Shnaider in Austin to book her […]
Burrage crashes Petra’s party
THERE was no room for sentiment in Austin as British serving machine Jodie Burrage aced her way out of trouble in two-time Grand Slam winner Petra Kvitova return from maternity leave. Kvitova gave birth to son Petr and was playing her first match in 17 months, but despite a strong start, fell 3-6 6-4 6-4 […]
Bia’s back allows Bibi boost into Tokyo quarters
THERE was a sense of empathy coming from one side of the net to the other when injury-prone Bianca Andreescu shook hands with second seed Beatriz Haddad Maia after just three games. Haddad Maia suffered a left back injury and had to retire at 0-3 down in the opening set of the pair’s Pan Pacific […]
Katie Boults into Tokyo second round
BRITISH ninth seed Katie Boulter wasted no time in dismissing Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon to race into the Round of 16 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo overnight. The sole seed in action, and only match that did not contain a local Japanese hope, Boulter needed just 77 minutes to get past Hon 6-1 […]
Turkish qualifier upsets Pole in Tokyo
AN EARLY upset on day one saw Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez take out seventh seed Magdalena Frech to reach the second round of the WTA 500 event in Tokyo. Sonmez – ranked 148th in the world – defeated Frech 1-6 6-4 6-3, coming back from the brink to post the victory in an hour and […]
Around The Tour: Thompson, Hijikata advance as Murray retires
TWO Aussies are through to the quarter finals of the ATP 500 event in London, defeating their respective opponents in the Round of 16 overnight. Second highest ranked Aussie Jordan Thompson and qualifier Rinky Hijikata both advanced through to the last eight, though in very different circumstances. Thompson was 4-1 up against local hero and […]
Rybakina romps to Roland Garros rout
FOURTH seed Elena Rybakina was in no mood to waste time overnight at Roland Garros, kick-starting the claycourt Grand Slam with a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Belgian Greet Minnen. The Kazakh was unstoppable at times, and once she found her rhythm, her opponent had no answers. Despite the world number 85 being able to […]
