Australian Open 2018

[Damian]

Czyli Serena Williams poza rankingiem WTA po AO.

[Damian]

OUT Siegemund L.
OUT Bacsinszky T.
OUT Williams S.
IN Kenin S.
IN Cepelova J.
IN Eguchi M

[Lucas]

Position vacant: door open for new women’s champ

Spoiler:

With Serena Williams not returning to defend her Australian Open title in 2018, the door is open for a fresh face to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. Here’s just a few of the contenders:

Simona Halep

There’s no denying it: Simona Halep is getting closer to that elusive first Grand Slam title. The 26-year-old looked set to break through after leading Jelena Ostapenko by a set and 3-0 in the final at Roland Garros last year, only for the Latvian to steal her thunder in scintillating fashion. The inconvenient truth, however, is that Halep’s last win at Melbourne Park came in the fourth round in 2015; since reaching her second Australian Open quarterfinal three years ago, she has suffered back-to-back first-round exits. But she returns as the top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, confidence boosted by a solid start to the season in Shenzhen.


Caroline Wozniacki

It’s a close-run thing between Halep and Caroline Wozniacki for the unwanted title of best player yet to lift a Grand Slam title. But the 27-year-old Dane raised the bar for the biggest title of her career in October by winning the WTA Finals where, as the No.6 seed, she posted wins over Halep, Elina Svitolina, and Karolina Pliskova before beating Venus Williams for the first time in the final. Melbourne hasn’t been her most successful major – the 2011 semifinalist has only been as far as the quarters once since then – but with a top-three seeding on the back of her 2017 renaissance, few players will relish seeing Caro across the net.


Venus Williams

A solid run at the Sydney International could see Venus Williams become the sole active player on the WTA Tour to feature in 1,000 matches, an impressive achievement for the 37-year-old in the context of her ongoing battle with Sjogren’s syndrome. And yet that only tells half the story of the American’s late-career resurgence. Last year’s beaten finalist ended 2017 as the most consistent player at the majors, appearing in a second Grand Slam final at Wimbledon and reaching the fourth round or better at all four tournaments, as well as the final of the WTA Finals. A decade on from her seventh major win at Wimbledon, is this the time for Venus to rise once more?


Garbine Muguruza
Halted by cramps in her first-round match at the Brisbane International, Garbine Muguruza accepted a wildcard to join a stellar field in Sydney to get her Australian Open preparations back on track. The 24-year-old posted her best result at Melbourne Park a year ago, falling to CoCo Vandeveghe in the quarterfinals, before claiming her second Grand Slam title with a ruthless display against Venus Williams at Wimbledon and following up with a surge to the top of the WTA rankings off the back of her second title of the season in Cincinnati.


Elina Svitolina
Stepping out of the shadows reserved for dark horses into the glare endured by title contenders, Elina Svitolina’s potential goes far beyond her two Grand Slam quarter-final appearances. Rising as high as No.3 in the world last year, the Ukrainian claimed a tour-best five WTA titles in 2017 and finished the season with her fifth match win over a reigning world No.1 by beating Simona Halep at the WTA Finals. Serving like a dream this week in Brisbane, the 23-year-old will take some beating should she land in a favourable section of the draw.



Maria Sharapova
Has it really been a decade since Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open? Returning to Melbourne Park for the first time since 2016, the 30-year-old will be one player with added reason to be relieved by Serena Williams’ absence – her last two runs in Melbourne were halted by the 23-time Grand Slam champion, in the 2015 final and the quarters in 2016. Sharapova stuttered on her return in the second half of the 2017 season, but a show-stopping first-round victory over Halep at the US Open and a title win in Tianjin were the first signs that the 2008 champion is rediscovering her top form.


Johanna Konta
At the time of writing, Sydney-born Briton Konta was playing the waiting game with a hip injury that forced her to retire from the quarterfinals in Brisbane, hoping it was simply a muscle strain. It’s a worrying development for a player who has reached the last eight or better in the past two seasons at Melbourne Park, surging to the semis in 2016 before falling in the quarters last year. Should she return fighting fit, Konta will be a force to be reckoned with, having reached the second Grand Slam semi-final of her career at Wimbledon and claimed the biggest title of her career in Miami in 2017. We will have a better idea of her prospects once she launches her Sydney title defence.


Karolina Pliskova
This time last year, the tennis world awaited Karolina Pliskova’s all-but-certain run to the sharp end of the Australian Open following a meteoric surge in 2016 that culminated with her US Open final appearance, backed up by victory in Brisbane. But in sport, there’s no such thing as a sure thing, and the Czech was bounced out of the tournament in the quarterfinals by Mirjana Lucic Baroni – a great story for sport, a tough loss for the 24-year-old. But while it wasn’t a year dripping with glory as expected, two Grand Slam quarter-finals and a Roland-Garros semi is a solid return on the season. Can she extend the run to seven matches this time out?

https://ausopen.com/articles/features/p ... mens-champ

[Damian]

OUT Victoria Azarenka

Powód wycofania dotyczy oczywiście opieki nad dzieckiem.

IN [WC] Ajla Tomljanovic

[DUN I LOVE]

Wielka szkoda, jedyny plus, że dziewczyna Nicka skorzysta.

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Dzikie karty do turnieju kwalifikacyjnego:
WC Kimberly Birrell
WC Zoe Hives
WC Naiktha Bains
WC Isabelle Wallace
WC Sara Tomic
WC Tammi Patterson

[Lucas]

[Barty]

[Damian]

[Damian]

OUT Sara Sorribes Tormo
IN Nicole Gibbs

[Damian]

[Damian]

Australian Open - drabinka turnieju kwalifikacyjnego:

[1] Sachia Vickery (USA) vs Lesley Kerkhove (NED)
Tamara Zidansek (SLO) vs Eri Hozumi (JPN)
Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) vs Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR) vs [24] Julia Boserup (USA)

[2] Evgeniya Rodina (RUS) vs Sabina Sharipova (UZB)
Maryna Zanevska (BEL) vs Viktoriya Tomova (BUL)
Deborah Chiesa (ITA) vs Antonia Lottner (GER)
Anna Blinkova (RUS) vs [19] Roberta Vinci (ITA)

[3] Zhu Lin (CHN) vs Louisa Chirico (USA)
Valentini Grammatikopoulou (GRE) vs [WC] Ellen Perez (AUS)
Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) vs Bianca Andreescu (CAN)
Dayana Yastremska (UKR) vs [17] Misaki Doi (JPN)

[4] Viktorija Golubic (SUI) vs Fanny Stollar (HUN)
Silvia Soler Espinosa (ESP) vs Myrtille Georges (FRA)
Irina Bara (ROU) vs Sesil Karatantcheva (BUL)
Patty Schnyder (SUI) vs [14] Bernarda Pera (USA)

[5] Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) vs Jil Teichmann (SUI)
[WC] Priscilla Hon (AUS) vs Barbora Stefkova (CZE)
Polina Monova (RUS) vs Valentyna Ivakhnenko (RUS)
Basak Eraydin (TUR) vs [15] Irina Falconi (USA)

[6] Danka Kovinic (MNE) vs [WC] Naiktha Bains (AUS)
Danielle Rose Collins (USA) vs Irina Khromacheva (RUS)
Asia Muhammad (USA) vs Elitsa Kostova (BUL)
Carol Zhao (CAN) vs [18] Denisa Allertova (CZE)

[7] Naomi Broady (GBR) vs Kathinka von Deichmann (LIE)
Georgia Brescia (ITA) vs Bibiane Schoofs (NED)
Ysaline Bonaventure (BEL) vs [WC] Tammi Patterson (AUS)
Ivana Jorovic (SRB) vs [23] Arantxa Rus (NED)

[8] Risa Ozaki (JPN) vs Miharu Imanishi (JPN)
Junri Namigata (JPN) vs Marie Bouzkova (CZE)
Caroline Dolehide (USA) vs Conny Perrin (SUI)
Maria Teresa Torro Flor (ESP) vs [16] Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK)

[9] Arina Rodionova (AUS) vs [WC] Marta Kostyuk (UKR)
Jamie Loeb (USA) vs Daniela Seguel (CHI)
Fangzhou Liu (CHN) vs Rebecca Peterson (SWE)
Jasmine Paolini (ITA) vs [13] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)

[10] Francoise Abanda (CAN) vs Jia-Jing Lu (CHN)
[WC] Isabelle Wallace (AUS) vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK)
Ipek Soylu (TUR) vs Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
Alexandra Cadantu (ROU) vs [22] Vera Lapko (BLR)

[11] Luksika Kumkhum (THA) vs Tereza Martincova (CZE)
Su-Jeong Jang (KOR) vs Dalila Jakupovic (SLO)
Yafan Wang (CHN) vs Barbara Haas (AUT)
Jing-Jing Lu (CHN) vs [20] Sara Errani (ITA)

[12] Miyu Kato (JPN) vs Magdalena Frech (POL)
Sofya Zhuk (RUS) vs [WC] Sara Tomic (AUS)
Katie Boulter (GBR) vs Kayla Day (USA)
[WC] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) vs [21] Xinyun Han (CHN)

[DUN I LOVE]

Agnieszka będzie miała numerek 26 przy nazwisku. Przykro się na to patrzy.

[Damian]

[Damian]

Australian Open - rozstawienie:

1 Simona Halep (ROU)
2 Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
3 Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
4 Elina Svitolina (UKR)
5 Venus Williams (USA)
6 Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
7 Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
8 Caroline Garcia (FRA)
9 Johanna Konta (GBR)
10 CoCo Vandeweghe (USA)
11 Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
12 Julia Goerges (GER)
13 Sloane Stephens (USA)
14 Anastasija Sevastova (LAT)
15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
16 Elena Vesnina (RUS)
17 Madison Keys (USA)
18 Ashleigh Barty (AUS)
19 Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)
20 Barbora Strycova (CZE)
21 Angelique Kerber (GER)
22 Daria Kasatkina (RUS)
23 Daria Gavrilova (AUS)
24 Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
25 Shuai Peng (CHN)
26 Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
27 Petra Kvitova (CZE)
28 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO)
29 Lucie Safarova (CZE)
30 Kiki Bertens (NED)
31 Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
32 Anett Kontaveit (EST)

[arti]

[Damian]

MAIN DRAW

[1] Halep vs [WC] Aiava
Bouchard vs Dodin
Davis vs Cepelova
Petkovic vs [27] Kvitova
[18] Barty vs Sabalenka
Giorgi vs [Q]
Osaka vs Kucova
Jabeur vs [16] Vesnina
[9] Konta vs Brengle
[Q] vs [PR] Gasparyan
Arruabarrena vs Hogenkamp
[WC] Ahn vs [20] Strycova
[29] Safarova vs [WC] Tomljanovic
Cirstea vs Diyas
[WC] Cabrera vs Haddad Maia
Cepede Royg vs [6] Ka.Pliskova

[3] Muguruza vs [WC] Ponchet
Hsieh vs [Q]
Vikhlyantseva vs Tsurenko
Kr.Pliskova vs [26] Radwanska
[21] Kerber vs [PR] Friedsam
Hibino vs Vekic
Maria vs Sharapova
Lepchenko vs [14] Sevastova
[11] Mladenovic vs Bogdan
Putintseva vs Watson
Hercog vs Alexandrova
Q.Wang vs [17] Keys
[28] Lucic-Baroni vs Rogers
McHale vs Sasnovich
Nara vs Vondrousova
Witthoeft vs [8] Garcia


[5] V.Williams vs Bencic
[Q] vs Larsson
Van Uytvanck vs Martic
Begu vs [31] Makarova
[23] Gavrilova vs Qualifier
[Q] vs Mertens
Cornet vs [WC] X.Wang
Kenin vs [12] Goerges
[13] Stephens vs Zhang
[Q] vs Parmentier
Brady vs Linette
[Q] vs [22] Kasatkina
[25] Peng vs Qualifier
[WC] Fourlis vs [WC] Rogowska
Sakkari vs Siniakova
[Q] vs [4] Svitolina

[7] Ostapenko vs Schiavone
Duan vs Duque-Marino
Niculescu vs Barthel
Krunic vs [32] Kontaveit
[24] Cibulkova vs Kanepi
Stosur vs Puig
Suarez Navarro vs [Q]
Babos vs [10] Vandeweghe
[15] Pavlyuchenkova vs Kozlova
[Q] vs Bondarenko
Flipkens vs Riske
Townsend vs [19] Rybarikova
[30] Bertens vs Bellis
Gibbs vs [Q]
Fett vs [PR] Eguchi
Buzarnescu vs [2] Wozniacki