Sharapova out of Brisbane International

Updated January 01, 2013 20:24:49

Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the Brisbane International with a collarbone injury but last year's Australian Open finalist still expects to play in 2013's first major in two weeks.

The four-time major singles winner, who had a bye in the opening round, was due to play her first match on Wednesday but called a media conference to announce her withdrawal this afternoon.

The French Open champion also pulled out of an exhibition match against Caroline Wozniacki at the end of December in Seoul because of a similar injury.

The injury to the Russian star's right collarbone left her unable to hit overhead shots and it was deemed too early in her rehabilitation process for her to play competitively.

"I haven't given myself a chance to hit any serves or anything over my head," Sharapova said.

"I've just been practising groundstrokes - I just ran out of time here.

"It is feeling much better. Soon I will be able to do all the things that I have to.

"I still have quite a bit of time for the Australian Open and I'm on the right track and training really well and I don't want to jeopardise what I've gained in the off-season so far and I just need to make a smart move now.

"It is much more important to be healthy than go out and play a lot of matches. Last year was a good example."

Sharapova, who also withdrew from this event last year due to injury, will now head to Melbourne and will not take part in any warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open.

Brisbane tournament director Cameron Pearson says Sharapova had made every effort to play.

"We feel for Maria because we saw first-hand how badly she wanted to play for the people of Brisbane," he said.

"She has been fantastic since she got here and worked hard in the gym, on court and in the medical room to do everything she could to get herself right."

The chief beneficiary of Sharapova's withdrawal is Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova who was set to play the world number two in the second round.

Gajdosova will now meet a lucky loser for the right to play Daniela Hantuchova, who beat fifth seed Sara Errani 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Meanwhile, the tournament saw another high-profile attraction fall by the wayside with 2011 champion Petra Kvitova bowing out in the second round.

The Czech sixth seed lost in straight sets to Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-5.

Kazakh Ksenia Pervak, who upset Wozniacki on Monday, continued her winning run with a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Poland's Urszula Radwanska.

ABC/Reuters

Tags: sport, tennis, brisbane-4000

First posted January 01, 2013 15:56:33

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Stepanek pulls out of Brisbane International

Updated January 01, 2013 14:50:19

Former champion Radek Stepanek has pulled out of Tuesday night's first-round Brisbane International clash with Lleyton Hewitt due to an eye infection.

Russian lucky loser Igor Kunitsyn will replace veteran Czech Stepanek, the former world number eight, handing Hewitt a slightly easier path to the second round in his first match of the summer.

Eccentric world number 31 Stepanek, 34, had enjoyed a Midas touch in Brisbane, claiming the 2009 title and making the 2010 final.

Eighth-seeded Slovakian Martin Klizan is also out after suffering a straight-sets first-round loss to Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.

World number 30 Klizan should have arrived in Brisbane with a spring in his step after being named 2012's ATP Newcomer of the Year.

Slovakia's top-ranked player had a breakthrough 2012 in which the big-serving left hander won his first ATP World Tour title.

But the 23-year-old looked out of sorts in an erratic display and world number 43 Istomin showed no mercy, wrapping up the match 6-1, 6-2 in just 70 minutes.

Istomin - the first player from Uzbekistan to finish the year in the world top 50 - ensured Klizan endured a nightmare start to 2013.

Istomin will play the winner of Hewitt's clash with world number 162 Kunitsyn.

AAP

Tags: tennis, sport, brisbane-4000, qld, australia

First posted January 01, 2013 14:50:19

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Gajdosova out of Brisbane International

Updated January 03, 2013 17:27:29

Jarmila Gajdosova has been dumped out of the Brisbane International by Ukrainian lucky loser Lesia Tserenko in three sets.

Gajdosova started the match superbly winning the first set 6-1, but lost the second by the same score.

The third was a close-run affair but the Ukrainian broke early and held on for victory to send out the last Australian woman in the draw.

Ultimately the difference between the players was the weakness of Gajdosova's second serve which Tserenko could feast upon, while after the first set she gave the Australian little chance of breaking her.

Gajdosova was set to play Maria Sharapova in the second round, after securing her first main draw victory since the French Open when she downed 16th seed Roberta Vinci in the opening round.

Sharapoova's withdrawal from the event yesterday with a collarbone injury left Gajdosoca facing Tserenko who lost in the final qualifying round to Russia's Olga Puchkova.

Earlier, Fourth seed Angelique Kerber of Germany scraped into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International after eventually overhauling Puerto Rican qualifier Monica Puig.

The 19-year-old, ranked 124 in the world, gave Kerber a huge scare before the German triumphed 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 winning the third-set tie-breaker 9-7.

Kerber will meet unseeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter finals.

Sloane Stephens will take on fellow American Serena Williams in the quarter-finals after defeating Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-3, 6-4.

In the men's tournament third seed Gilles Simon beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) and will now meet Marcos Baghdatis in the last eight.

The unseeded Baghdatis beat Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals for the third year in succession.

Tags: tennis, sport, brisbane-4000, qld, australia

First posted January 02, 2013 15:57:08

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Kvitova sent packing at Sydney International

Updated January 06, 2013 20:28:58

The first big name has fallen at the Sydney International with women's fifth seed Petra Kvitova sent packing after a heavy first round loss to Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.

Kvitova's Australian Open preparations took a significant hit as world number 15 Cibulkova raced to a 6-1, 6-1 win in little more than an hour at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre on Sunday.

Czech Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, was ousted by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Brisbane International and will head into the Open amid a worrying form slump.

Earlier, former world number one Caroline Wozniacki put her Open preparations back on track with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2 win over Poland's Urszula Radwanska.

After beginning 2013 poorly with a shock first-round loss to qualifier Ksenia Pervak at the Brisbane International, the Dane rediscovered her form in a powerful display.

With boyfriend and world golf number one Rory McIlroy watching on from the stands, Wozniacki needed just 26 minutes to take the first set and was largely untroubled in closing out the match in tough conditions.

"It was quite hot out there, especially towards the end of the second set you could really feel it was starting to heat up," Wozniacki said.

"I'm just happy to get the first win of the season under my belt and just move on."

The seventh seed will next face either German Julia Goerges or a qualifier in the second round.

But Wozniacki will part ways with McIlroy, with the Northern Irishman to fly out on Sunday night after 10 days in Australia to commence preparations for the Abu Dhabi golf championship later this month.

In other matches, Australian Olivia Rogowska lost to Russia's Maria Kirilenko in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, while another Russian, Ekaterina Makarova, beat American Varvara Lepchenko 6-4. 4-6, 6-1.

AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted January 06, 2013 15:58:22

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Hewitt and Stosur to play Brisbane International

Updated October 09, 2012 21:48:45

Lleyton Hewitt is hoping a change of schedule will bring better fortune at the Australian Open after agreeing to debut at the Brisbane International.

Hewitt and world number nine Samantha Stosur confirmed on Tuesday they will start their Australian Open build-ups at the Brisbane tournament from December 30-January 6, joining fellow grand slam winners Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at Queensland Tennis Centre.

For 31-year-old former world number one Hewitt it's a first, though he has enjoyed some memorable career moments in Brisbane, most notably the epic and spiteful 1999 Davis Cup tie against Russia.

Hewitt beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who branded the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre grasscourt venue a "potato field", and then iced the tie by beating Marat Safin to clinch a memorable 4-1 victory.

"I've got some great memories of Brisbane and have had a couple of good wins there so hopefully it might change things for me in 2013," said Hewitt, who is ranked 105 after another tough season marred by injury.

"I love playing Australian tournaments and Brisbane is always a tough field and I want as many tough matches a possible, especially at that time of year.

World number nine Stosur was looking forward to playing in front of her home crowd for the fourth time and hoping she could produce some better results.

"It's always fun to play at home. You don't get many opportunities to play in your home country and the state that you've grown up in," said 2011 US Open champion Stosur.

"I have had a couple of good wins at the Brisbane International. I would like more, so hopefully that will change in 2013.

"It is a good week and a great atmosphere playing at Pat Rafter Arena ... the bigger the tournament has got, the bigger the names that want to come out and play.

"What better preparation than playing the best players in the world straight up."

AAP

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First posted October 09, 2012 14:07:03

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Nieminen wins Sydney International

Updated January 15, 2012 13:00:04

It was the men's final nobody saw coming which very nearly became the one with no winner.

The Sydney International final, between qualifier Jarkko Nieminen and the unseeded Julien Benneteau, had for the first time been delayed by a day due to persistent rain.

But just as it looked like mother nature herself was ready to declare the result a draw - the clouds parted and Jarkko Nieminen took his chance to claim the title.

The Finn kept his 100 per cent record over Frenchman Benneteau to become the first qualifier since Hyung-Taik Lee in 2003 to win the event, 6-2, 7-5.

Having waited so long to get on court, Benneteau wasted no time once the weather cleared, breaking Nieminen's first service game - before the Finn took over to claim the first in just 28 minutes on his way to the comfortable victory.

Nieminen did not concede another service game in the match.

In front of nearly-empty stands - with the bulk of ticket holders presumably taking up the offer of trading their tickets in for the 2013 men's final rather than watching the two journeymen slug it out - Nieminen put in a polished performance to claim just his second career title.

It was largely unfamiliar territory for the left-hander, who has lost 10 of his previous 11 finals matches but, once he clicked into gear, it was a smooth ride.

Benneteau remains winless in six ATP finals.

With the victory, Nieminen joins the likes of all-time greats Roger Federer and Pete Sampras and four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt on the Sydney honour roll.

It makes for a particularly busy start to the week for the 30-year-old, who also has the doubles final on Sunday before flying down to Melbourne for his Australian Open first-round match against David Nalbandian on Monday night.

Benneteau gets a little more time to recover; he will not face Karol Beck until Tuesday.

AAP

Tags: tennis, sport, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted January 15, 2012 12:25:34

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Jones out of Hobart International

Updated January 11, 2012 20:25:31

A 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

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First posted January 11, 2012 20:25:31

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Injured Williams out of Brisbane International

Updated January 05, 2012 13:52:58

Serena Williams feels cursed after being forced to withdraw from the Brisbane International with an ankle injury, which has put her Australian Open title bid in jeopardy.

In a dramatic two hours on Pat Rafter Arena, Williams rolled her left ankle late in her 6-2, 6-4 win over Serbian Bojana Jovanoski just after top seed Samantha Stosur was bundled out in the second round.

While the 13-times major singles champion fought through the pain to close out her match, she pulled out of the tournament on Wednesday night following an MRI scan.

Williams now faces an uphill battle to be 100 per cent fit for the Australian Open, starting January 16, not to mention in top form.

Brisbane was the American's tournament return after being sidelined since her US Open loss to Stosur in September.

She has by-passed the Sydney International, meaning she will only have two matches under her belt in four months before the Open at Melbourne Park.

Williams had been due to face Daniela Hantuchova in a Thursday quarter-final but her withdrawal allows the Slovak world number 24 a free passage to the semi-finals.

Now the American is more likely to be nursing a hangover after revealing she would probably drown her sorrows if her scans brought bad news.

"If it's not all right I'm definitely talking to my friend Jack (Daniels) tonight," the 30-year-old told reporters before heading off for the MRI.

Williams, who ironically took off her regular ankle guard at the end of the first set against Jovanovski, says she feels cursed given her last 18 months of injury and illness.

She had a potentially-fatal haematoma and blood clot early last year and has also been plagued by a serious foot injury.

But Williams was upbeat about life and the injury that could prevent an attempt for a sixth Melbourne title.

"I'm fortunate - I could have died," she said. "I'm not bleeding so that's something.

"There's always something positive."

Williams' left ankle buckled while pivoting to turn and chase down a forehand return when leading 6-2, 5-3.

She yelped in pain and then lay motionless on Pat Rafter Arena for several minutes before being helped up to the side of the court for treatment.

Unseeded Czech Iveta Benesova caused the first news grab by cutting Stosur down to size with a 6-4, 6-2 win in just 70 minutes.

In all three appearances at the Brisbane International, the current US Open champion has never advanced past the second round.

The 27-year-old brushed-off the loss and she will head south on Thursday for the Sydney International.

"Hopefully, it was just a bad day and I will bounce back next week and the week after," Stosur said.

It was the first of two upsets for the day with seventh seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova losing to Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 6-0, 6-3.

Sixth seed Serbian Jelena Jankovic moved through to the quarter-finals after defeating Russian Nina Bratchikova 6-3, 6-2.

AAP

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First posted January 04, 2012 21:26:43

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Ebden departs Brisbane International

Updated January 03, 2012 17:18:38

Australian number two Matthew Ebden crashed out in the men's first round of the Brisbane International on a black day for the local hopes.

World number 86 Ebden lost in three sets to sixth seed Radek Stepanek, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, joining compatriots Ben Mitchell and John Millman on the day three casualty list.

Stepanek, 33, might never appear on a Brisbane International promotional poster but the crafty veteran always seems to put on a star turn at the combined ATP-WTA event.

He won the inaugural 2009 men's final before making the 2010 decider and reaching the semi-finals last year.

His awkward style has not stopped Stepanek endearing himself with the Brisbane crowd, winning them over ever since celebrating the 2009 title with a spot of breakdancing.

But there were mixed emotions on Tuesday as Stepanek held out Ebden in a match lasting more than two hours.

South African-born Ebden, 24, bounced back from losing a tight first set by racing to a 3-0 lead in the second which he clinched in 41 minutes.

But he was broken in his first service game of the third.

Ebden fought hard to stay alive as sixth-seed Stepanek blew three match points in the eighth game.

But Stepanek - the oldest player in the world top 50 - was not to be denied.

It was still an encouraging display by Ebden, who began 2011 ranked 196th but climbed to a career-high number 79 after reaching the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

Other Australian hopes Millman and Mitchell also lost in the first round on Tuesday.

Wildcard Mitchell was downed 6-4, 6-2 by Japanese qualifier Tatsuma Ito while qualifier Millman lost to Colombia's Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-3.

Men's fifth seed Kei Nishikori had a scare before overcoming German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in their first-round clash.

In the women's draw, second seed Andrea Petkovic cruised into the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 win over Czech opponent Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, the third seed, is also through after downing Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.

AAP

Tags: tennis, sport, brisbane-4000

First posted January 03, 2012 17:18:38

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Sharapova out of Brisbane International

Updated December 24, 2011 14:13:45

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Brisbane International with an ankle injury.

She first suffered the left ankle injury at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in September and has yet to fully recover.

"Unfortunately my ankle is not 100 per cent and I won't be able to make it this year," Sharapova told Brisbane tournament officials in a statement released on Saturday.

It would have been her first appearance at the Brisbane event which begins January 1.

The 2008 Australian Open champion said the injury, which also forced her to withdraw from the China Open and later the WTA Championships in Istanbul after two losses, should not affect her chances of competing at next month's grand slam event, which begins January 16 in Melbourne.

"I do expect to be ready for the year's first grand slam and I am really looking forward to competing on court."

AAP

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First posted December 24, 2011 14:13:45

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Wozniacki to play Sydney International

Updated December 01, 2011 12:41:29

World number one Caroline Wozniacki will play in next month's Sydney International for a fourth consecutive year.

The 21-year-old Danish star, who finished as the top-ranked player for the second straight season, joins US Open champion Sam Stosur and French Open winner Li Na at the January 8-14 event.

Wozniacki claimed six WTA Tour titles this year and had semi-final appearances at the Australian Open and US Open.

AFP

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First posted December 01, 2011 12:41:29

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Kvitova to play Sydney International

Updated December 05, 2011 13:51:50

Wimbledon champion and world number two Petra Kvitova will play in next month's Sydney International, tournament organisers said.

The 21-year-old Czech will become the third reigning grand slam titleholder to play in the Sydney event along with French Open winner Li Na and US Open champion Sam Stosur.

Kvitova, who also won the season-ending WTA Championships, will be playing in Sydney for the first time.

"I have had some great results in Australia over the years, winning in Hobart and Brisbane, so hopefully 2012 will be my year to win the title in Sydney," Kvitova said.

Both the top two ranked women's players will play in the Sydney International following last week's confirmation of world number one Caroline Wozniacki's entry.

Two-time grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt and 2010 champion Marcos Baghdatis are confirmed starters for the men's event.

The Sydney International takes place at the Sydney Tennis Centre from January 8 to 14.

AFP

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First posted December 05, 2011 13:04:57

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