Germany's Mona Barthel and Russian Elena Vesnina will contest Saturday's Hobart International final.
Barthel, the tournament's ninth seed, progressed to the tournament decider with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.
Vesnina caused an upset in the other semi-final by beating eighth-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-2.
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000 First posted January 11, 2013 21:13:47Mercurial wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova has again paid for her inconsistency by crashing out of the Hobart International quarter-finals on Thursday.
The 2011 Hobart champion struggled in the blustery conditions as Russian Elena Vesnina handled Gajdosova's power game with aplomb to prevail 6-3, 6-2.
After cruising through to the final eight with two straight sets wins, Gajdosova never seriously threatened the world number 68's serve and was punished for serving at just 40 per cent herself.
The Victorian suffered early breaks in both sets and struggled to find her rhythm, or hold her nerve, in the pressure rallies.
"She was more solid than me in the tough conditions," the 25-year-old admitted.
Vesnina revealed she used the wind to her advantage in the baseline battle to progress to a semi-final against Sloane Stephens who outlasted fellow American Lauren Davis 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
"Of course I had to be smart and in the wind you have to use it like a weapon," she said.
Despite the loss, Gajdosova, whose ranking slipped to 183 after a horror 2012, felt her confidence was growing again as she aims to break her duck at the Australian Open.
She has never progressed past the first round at Melbourne Park but has taken heart by her 3-2 record this year, including a first-round upset of Italian world number 16 Roberta Vinci in Brisbane.
"I thought it's been a pretty positive step forward," said Gajdosova, who will also play as a wildcard in Melbourne.
"I won two matches against two good players (in Hobart) so it was a good start."
Defending champion Mona Barthel also won through to the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 6-3.
Barthel will play Kirsten Flipkens next after the Belgian beat Monica Niculescu of Romania 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.
"I feel like I learned so much last year, playing all these tournaments and against the top players," Barthel said.
"My serve has got better and I feel like my groundstrokes are better ... but maybe a little more confidence this year."
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000, tas, australia First posted January 10, 2013 13:09:15British Olympic silver medallist Laura Robson and compatriot Heather Watson will warm up for the Australian Open at the January 4-12 Hobart International, organisers said on Saturday.
The 18-year-old Robson, who won mixed doubles silver with men's singles champion Andy Murray at the London Olympics, will make her first appearance at the Tasmanian tournament headlined by former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy.
Watson, 20, who became Britain's first WTA champion in 24 years with her win at the Japan Open in October, returns for her second appearance after playing this year's tournament as a qualifier.
The Australian Open starts January 14.
Reuters
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000, tas, australia First posted December 22, 2012 13:30:59Young German giant-killer Mona Barthel has added top seed Yanina Wickmayer to her stunning run at the Hobart International, taking the final 6-1, 6-2.
The 21-year-old world number 64 won her eighth straight match at the WTA tournament, progressing from qualifying to the final and beating the first, second, fourth and fifth seeds in the process.
Barthel won her first WTA title in her first final with a display of composure and precision, fittingly finishing the tournament with an ace after landing 82 per cent of her first serves in the decider.
Wickmayer appeared off colour from the start as Barthel flew out of the blocks, racing to a 4-0 lead in the first set before the Belgian got her first break.
That was all she got in the first, though, as the German broke her for the third time and then won her service game to love, converting her first set point with a sizzling forehand winner after just 20 minutes.
A Wickmayer comeback looked possible in the second set as she cranked up the power but her game remained erratic and Barthel added three more service breaks to her three from the first set.
When she broke for 5-2 with a precision cross-court forehand, all hope for the Belgian seemed gone as the young German served for the match.
Barthel had already beaten second seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, fourth seed Angelique Kerber and Australian fifth seed and defending champion Jarmila Gajdosova on her way to $US37,000 in prize money.
She plays doubles partner and world number 75 Anne Keothavong in the first round of the Australian Open - and already has history on her side.
Notable former winners in Hobart include defending Open champion Kim Clijsters, ranked 43 when she won in 2000, and 2012 second seed Petra Kvitova.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000, tas, australia First posted January 14, 2012 20:02:39Ousted 2011 champion Jarmila Gajdosova admits she let her frustrations get the better of her as she crashed to German qualifier Mona Barthel at the Hobart International.
Gajdosova put on a testy quarter-final display as she struggled to land her powerful serve and produced a litany of errors in falling 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The majority of the anger was aimed at herself but it was there for all to see as she smashed a ball into a sponsors wall and animatedly gestured at a coach throughout the match.
Gajdosova could do little else but admit she has struggled with her frustration.
"Don't we all," she said.
"You're out there trying your best so of course you get frustrated and then some people handled it better today, some not as well.
"I didn't handle it as well as I could but I tried and I did what I can and I did my best."
It has been a rollercoaster ride for the world number 34 in the lead-up to the Australian Open, where she is yet to win a match in six first-round attempts.
The 24-year-old was reduced to tears after a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing by Marion Bartoli at the Hopman Cup but two wins in Hobart had her declaring she was confident of breaking her Melbourne Park drought.
She looked impressive in taking the first set in 31 minutes on Thursday.
But the wheels fell off and she found herself down 3-0 in the second and 5-1 in the third, and did not look like recovering in either.
Gajdosova refused to concede she had played poorly, defiantly declaring she would not be changing her aggressive style.
"The only bad thing about it was pretty much I got frustrated and I lost the match," she said.
"I will keep trying to do what I do.
"If people like it or not, if they like my mistakes or not, I'm still going to hit winners and try to play the way I do."
Barthel, the world number 64, who ousted second seed Anabel Median Garrigues in the second round, will now play fourth seed and US Open semi-finalist Angelique Kerber, who beat Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 3-6, 7-5.
Top seed Yanina Wickmayer sent an ominous warning when she breezed into the semi-finals by destroying Romania's Simona Halep 6-4, 6-0 in just 57 minutes.
The Belgian will play the winner of Thursday night's match between sixth seed Shahar Peer and 2007 champion Anna Chakvetadze.
AAP
Tags: sport, tennis, hobart-7000 First posted January 12, 2012 17:44:10German qualifier Mona Barthel has continued on her giant-killing way, reaching the final of the Hobart International with victory over fourth-seeded compatriot Angelique Kerber.
Barthel knocked off a seeded player for the third time in the tournament in downing world number 31 Kerber 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) in their semi-final.
The 21-year-old, who is at a career-high number 64, had already beaten second seed Anabel Medina Garrigues and fifth-seeded Australian Jarmila Gajdosova on the way to her first WTA final.
She will meet the winner of Friday night's second semi-final between top seed Yanina Wickmayer and sixth seed Shahar Peer.
US Open semi-finalist Kerber entered Friday's match under an injury cloud after hurting her wrist in her quarter-final win over Sorana Cirstea.
But it was Barthel's solid groundstrokes and calm demeanour that gave her the edge.
She flew through the first set in less than 20 minutes before Kerber rallied to go up 3-0 in the second.
Kerber served for the second at 5-4 but could not convert two set points and Barthel won the crucial game chasing down a superb drop shot and passing her opponent brilliantly.
Kerber led the tie-breaker 3-0 but Barthel fought back to 5-5.
She fell behind 6-5 before two consecutive mini-breaks set up match point on Barthel's serve and she converted.
Barthel was ranked 208 at the end of 2010 but is now one of the form players of the summer as she eyes a first Australian Open campaign.
She has drawn British world number 75 Anne Keothavong in the first round of the grand slam tournament.
AAP
Tags: sport, tennis, hobart-7000, tas, australia First posted January 13, 2012 18:19:49Top seed Yanina Wickmayer has powered her way into the final of the WTA's Hobart International with a straight sets victory over Israel's Shahar Peer.
In an aggressive display of precision and brute strength, the tall Belgian set up a date with German giant-killer Mona Barthel with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 win over the sixth seed.
Peer brought out all of her fighting qualities to take the first set to a tie-breaker and saved two match points, but Wickmayer remained in the groove that has meant she is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
The world number 29 will tune up for her Australian Open campaign with a decider against 21-year-old qualifier Barthel, who beat the second, fourth and fifth seeds on her way to a first WTA final.
That included Friday's 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) victory over compatriot and world number 31 Angelique Kerber.
In a high-quality first set, Peer saved two set points when down 5-3 and another at 6-5 before the pair went to the tie-breaker.
But when Wickmayer flew out to 5-0 in the decider, there was no way back for the Israeli.
The Belgian took that momentum into the second set, racing out to lead 5-1.
Peer's spirit was on display again when she broke the Belgian when she was serving for the match at 5-2, saving a first match point in the process.
She saved the other on serve at 5-3 but could not hold and Wickmayer will look for her fourth title against Barthel.
Wickmayer has drawn Kazak Galina Voskoboeva in the first round at Melbourne Park and, on current form, looks likely to at least match her progression to the second round at the grand slam event last year.
The 22-year-old is on the comeback trail after a back injury wiped out the second half of her 2011 season.
She said she felt her back tightening in the cool conditions but was unconcerned.
"The more matches I'm playing the more rhythm I'm getting and the more I'm playing better on the important points," she said.
"I kept believing in myself and I think that is very important after a long time of not playing."
But she is wary of Barthel, whom she beat in their one previous meeting.
"She serves well and she plays the game very smart," Wickmayer said.
"She has nothing to lose ... I'm going to have to be ready and stay focused and keep playing my game."
AAP
Tags: sport, tennis, hobart-7000, tas, australia First posted January 13, 2012 23:08:41Former world number five Anna Chakvetadze was forced to retire from her quarter-final against sixth seed Shahar Peer at the Hobart International.
Chakvetadze called it quits early in the third set after suffering from what officials said was severe cramping.
The Russian had looked impressive in winning the first set 6-4, suffering the injury late in that set, but succumbed 6-4 to Israel's Peer in the second.
She lost her opening service game in the third set and signalled she could not continue after bravely playing for more than an hour and a half.
The 24-year-old had struggled through the match, barely able to run and stretching between points.
She received a time violation warning after stalling in an attempt to be able to complete her serve.
The 2007 champion called on the trainer three times and left the court after the second set for treatment.
Currently ranked number 234 in the world, Chakvetadze was playing her first tournament since Wimbledon in June last year after illness and injury setbacks.
Her comeback had appeared on track as she heads into next week's Australian Open, the last major she made the quarter-finals at back in 2007.
Peer will play top seed Yanina Wickmayer in Friday night's semi-final.
Fourth seed Angelique Kerber meets German compatriot Mona Barthel in the daytime semi-final.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000 First posted January 12, 2012 22:44:18A YouTube moment signalled the beginning of the end of Sacha Jones' first tennis tournament as an Australian.
The former New Zealander lost her second round clash at the Hobart International 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 to sixth seed Shahar Peer on Wednesday evening, more than seven-and-a-half hours after it had started on a rain-marred day.
She had made a good fist of her fight with the world number 37, leading the first set 2-0 early before forcing it into a tie-breaker.
Jones then reeled off four straight points to lead the decider 5-4 when disaster struck.
Faced with an absolute sitter of a smash to reach set point, the 21-year-old skied her shot so wildly it flew over a three-metre sponsors' wall and into the Domain Tennis Centre carpark.
Jones also went 2-0 up in the second set before Peer broke her in fourth and eighth games and converted her third match point to clinch the win.
She is unlikely to consider her first tournament since switching allegiance a failure, though, after knocking off top 100 players for the first time, Germany's Kristina Barrois and Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova.
Peer, who reached the final in 2010, will meet Russian Anna Chakvetadze in the quarter-finals.
Second seed Anabel Medina Garrigues from Spain was sent packing by German qualifier Mona Barthel 6-1, 6-4.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000 First posted January 11, 2012 20:25:31Defending champion Jarmila Gajdosova saw off a spirited fight from Fed Cup team-mate Anastasia Rodionova to advance to the quarter-finals at the Hobart International.
Gajdosova produced just enough to edge the fiercely competitive world number 107, winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, as she looks to rebuild her confidence after her Hopman Cup tears and in time for the Australian Open.
The world number 34 is on the cusp of being seeded for the Open, where she has not won a match in six attempts.
Gajdosova looked to be on her way when she raced through the first set in half an hour but lost the last four games of the second struggling for consistency on her first serve.
The first serves she did land produced nine aces, and she saw off a Rodionova fight-back with two in the fifth game of the second set to ensure she remained up a break at 4-1.
Rodionova had come to play, though, and broke back for 4-3 before saving three break points for 4-4.
But the champion brought up match point with a scorching forehand winner in the 10th game to claim the match when Rodionova netted.
The Slovakian-born 24-year-old will play German surprise packet Mona Barthel, the world number 64, who beat second seed Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-4.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000 First posted January 11, 2012 21:59:57Casey Dellacqua was handed an unwelcomed reality check from top seed Yanina Wickmayer in the second round of the Hobart International.
On the comeback trail after two injury-ruined seasons, the Australian crashed 6-1, 6-1 to the Belgian world number 29 in little over an hour.
Dellacqua had declared herself ready for an assault deep into the Australian Open reminiscent of her fourth round effort of 2008 after some stunning results on the second-tier ITF tour and a strong first round victory over Galina Voskoboeva on Monday.
But the 26-year-old could not get going against the powerful former US Open semi-finalist, spraying her attacking shots and revealing her frustration in her body language.
Dellacqua has an Australian Open wildcard but will need to improve massively to again reach the heights that took her to a career-high number 39 in 2008.
Wickmayer, who reached number 12 in 2010, will now meet Romanian Simona Halep in a quarter-final on Thursday.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000 First posted January 10, 2012 21:13:45Australian Casey Dellacqua's comeback has gained some momentum with a hard-fought three-set win over Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva in the first round of the Hobart International.
The 26-year-old wildcard has downed the world number 58 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in blustery conditions at the Domain Tennis Centre.
The world number 134 is trying to regain the form that took her ranking to as high as number 39 in 2008, when she made the fourth round at the Australian Open and the third at the French Open and Wimbledon.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000, tas, australia First posted January 09, 2012 14:08:46New Zealander-turned-Australian Sacha Jones is the last local qualifier left battling for a place at the Hobart International beginning on Sunday.
The 21-year-old, who officially switched allegiance this week, has beaten Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of qualifying
The former New Zealand number two's victory came after she had beaten Romanian Alexandra Cadantu in the first round on Friday.
The world number 274 made the tough decision to play for Australia because she believed she would receive greater support from better resourced Tennis Australia.
Her father, brother and sister are Australian and based in Queensland, while Jones has carried dual nationality.
The other Australian in action on Saturday, Olivia Rogowska, bowed out to Briton Heather Watson, 6-3 6-2.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, new-zealand First posted January 07, 2012 21:00:42Australia's Anastasia Rodionova moved through to the second round of the Hobart International after a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Hungary's Greta Arn.
Wildcard Rodionova took full advantage of a poor serving performance from the veteran world number 63 Arn in windy conditions at the Domain Tennis Centre.
Rodionova, the world number 108, could next meet compatriot Jarmila Gajdosova who plays Japan's Ayumi Morita on Monday night.
The Russian-born 29-year-old converted her second match-point in a tough encounter that lasted one hour and 40 minutes.
Earlier, former world number five Anna Chakvetadze, playing her first match since June last year, cruised past third seed Monica Niculescu in straight sets.
The 2007 champion won 6-0, 6-4 as she embarks on her latest comeback after a series of setbacks since making the US Open semi-finals and reaching her career-high ranking in the same year.
Chakvetadze was broken just once but ground it out to take the second set and beat the Romanian in one hour and 15 minutes.
There was better news for three other Romanians, with Sorana Cirstea, Simona Halep and Irina-Carmelia Begu all notching victories.
Cirstea beat Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), Halep downed Czech Klara Zakopolova 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, while Begu defeated Brit Elena Baltacha 6-2, 7-5.
New Zealander-turned-Australian Sacha Jones won through to the main draw just days after switching allegiance.
Jones beat American Alison Riske 6-2, 6-3.
AAP
Tags: sport, tennis, hobart-7000 First posted January 08, 2012 18:19:15Tennis star Jarmila Gajdosova will return to defend her Hobart International title next month.
Gajdosova will prepare for the Australian Open by targeting successive titles at the Domain Tennis Centre from January 6-14.
The Australian has had an outstanding year, which peaked with a career-high ranking of number 25 in May.
Meanwhile, German crowd favourite Andrea Petkovic has joined a world-class women's field competing at the Brisbane International in the new year.
World number 11 Petkovic, 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and former world number one Jelena Jankovic are the latest to sign on for the January 1-8 tune-up for the Australian Open.
Petkovic lost this year's Brisbane final to the Czech Republic's Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000, tas, australia First posted December 02, 2011 12:08:06