Kerber Makes First Semi in Victoria

Angelique Kerber upset the odds to beat Victoria Azarenka for the first time in her career and reach the Australian Open semi-finals.

Kerber had lost all of her last six meetings with Azarenka but the seventh seed turned the tide to win a pulsating match 6-3, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena. The world No6 will now play Britain’s Johanna Konta in the last four.

Kerber had never before gone past the fourth round in Melbourne but a stirring display against Azarenka, who many had tipped to win the title, now puts her one victory away from the final.

“I can’t actually describe it in words,” Kerber said. “I was 0-6 [against Azarenka] before I came on court and I was just saying to myself, ‘just play like you play in practice, just go for it and believe you can beat her’. I’m so happy I beat her for the first time.”

The German raced into a 4-0 lead in the first set and while Azarenka brought it back to 4-3, she regained her composure to serve out when the Belarusian hit a backhand long.

The match was quickly flipped on its head in the second, however, when Azarenka stormed 5-2 clear but Kerber came back, saving five set points on her way to levelling at 5-5.

The contest had looked destined for a decider but Kerber now had the momentum and she won the next two games in a row to seal victory in one hour and 45 minutes.

“I was more aggressive than when it was 2-5,” Kerber said. “I was just saying to myself: ‘Forget the score, go for it and play the best you can play today’. I was not thinking about the score.

“At match point I had a little bit more in my mind but it’s just an amazing feeling to be in the semi-finals.”

Related articles

• Madonna Cuts Short Her Australian Tour, Reschedules Brisbane
• James Duckworth one step closer to Australian Open main draw
• James Duckworth one step closer to Australian Open main draw
• Tennis player's big day: Huge match then wedding
• 2015 sports offbeat: Referee reaches for a handgun instead of card
• Tennis player to play match on wedding day

Sharapova Succumbs to Serena

getty images

Reigning champion Serena Williams ramped up the power to beat fifth seed Maria Sharapova for the 18th match in a row and reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open 6-4, 6-1 on Tuesday.

Russian Sharapova broke the world number one in the first game and mounted a stiff challenge in the opening set but wilted in the second to extend a losing record against Williams that goes back 12 years.

The 34-year-old American, who twice had treatment during breaks in the rematch of last year’s final, has reached the last four at Melbourne Park on six previous occasions and gone on to win the title every time.

Williams, who is looking for her 22nd major singles title, has a 8-0 head-to-head record against her semi-final opponent Agnieszka Radwanska.

Fourth seed Radwanska advanced to her second Australian Open semi-final after beating Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3 earlier on at Rod Laver Arena.

The 26-year-old Pole jumped out to a 4-0 lead with two breaks of serve in the first set, and while the Spaniard finally managed to hold in the fifth game, Radwanska broke again on her second set point to seal it in 28 minutes.

Radwanska opened up a 2-0 lead in the second but then neither player held serve for the next three games until 10th seed Suarez Navarro won an 11-minute sixth game to level at 3-3.

Radwanska, who also made the last four in 2014, broke again in the eighth game before serving out for the match.

“I knew it would be a tough one,” Radwanska said. “She is very solid, like most Spanish players and I knew everything would come back to my side. I tried to be aggressive and focus on my serve and I think I did a good job.”

Related articles

• Keep your American Pharoah tears, Serena Williams deserves all the praise
• PHOTOS: Serena Williams is SI's Sportsperson of the Year
• Serena Williams, Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year, faces 2016 jinx
• Serena Williams' Sheer Dress Is A Grand Slam
• 2015 International Sportsperson of the Year: Serena Williams
• Serena Williams Shuts Down the Whiny Horse Lovers

Novak Eases Past Nishikori

Novak Djokovic rediscovered his groove to ease past Japan’s Kei Nishikori and set up an Australian Open semi-final with Roger Federer.

Djokovic made a career-high 100 unforced errors during a torrid performance against Gilles Simon in the previous round but it was back to business as usual for the world No1, who beat Nishikori 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena. The victory ensures Djokovic and Federer will meet for a 45th time, with the current head-to-head firmly in the balance at 22 wins each.

Djokovic came into the match with question marks about his form after a scrappy fourth-round performance against the Frenchman Simon, in which he came through in five sets.

The top seed reduced his error count down to 27 on Tuesday compared to Nishikori’s 54 and after the match the Serb revealed he cancelled practice on Monday in a bid to refresh.

“I haven’t practised yesterday, I didn’t hit a tennis ball,” Djokovic said. “Sometimes it’s good to reset your mind and rest your body. Less is more sometimes.”

Nishikori has not impressed in the latter stages of a grand slam since his US Open final appearance in 2014 and he came up short again, producing a disappointing display that lacked either control or consistency.

The world No7 beat Djokovic en route to that US Open final but he never looked like repeating the feat here, losing his serve six times overall in a brisk match lasting two hours and seven minutes.

“We’ve played more than a few times in the last couple of years and I lost to him at the US Open in 2014,” Djokovic said. “He’s not afraid to come out and play aggressive tennis which he did, I just needed to weather the storm, hang in there and wait for my opportunity. I did well in the important moments.”

Federer expended only slightly more energy earlier on Tuesday by beating Tomas Berdych in straight sets and Djokovic will know he needs to up his game again if he is to deny the Swiss a shot at an 18th major title.

“We keep playing each other in nearly every big tournament,” Djokovic said. “It’s always a big challenge. You don’t need to spend words on his achievements – he is a great champion and someone I have a lot of respect for. It will be a great match.”

Related articles

• So Who Had The Better Year, Serena Williams Or Novak Djokovic?
• Virat Kohli Beats Lionel Messi Sachin Tendulkar. Tops List Of Most Googled Sportsperson In India
• The Nadal-Federer show behind the mike
• Roger Federer Drops Stefan Edberg From Coaching Staff
• PowerHealth supports South Australian sports with ATP Challenger sponsorship
• 7 things to know about the IPTL in Singapore, starring Roger Federer

Serena Wins Opener in Melbourne

Getty Images

Serena Williams shrugged off her knee injury and lack of match practice to beat Italian Camila Giorgi in the first round of the Australian Open.

The American’s troublesome knee forced her to pull out of the Hopman Cup last week and she was pictured taking treatment during a practice session in Melbourne on Saturday.

The world number one had not played a competitive match since her shock US Open exit in September, but she made light of her preparation problems as she edged past Giorgi 6-4, 7-5 in just under two hours.

“It’s great,” Williams said, when asked about her knee injury. “It was an hour and 43 minutes and I didn’t feel it at all.”

Giorgi, ranked 36th in the world, was the highest non-seed Williams could have drawn but she gave away too many easy points, particularly on her serve, which yielded 12 double faults.

Williams was certainly not at her barnstorming best in Rod Laver Arena but, after a long winter break, the top seed believes the extra rest stands her in good stead as she chases a 22nd grand slam title.

“It helped me a lot,” Williams said. “I think I just needed a break. I have been going non-stop since the Olympics in London, and seeing that this is another Olympic year, I kind of wanted to start the year out really fresh and really go at it again as hard as I can.

“I just needed that time to just recover the best of my ability and get really fit, you know, and really train and get ready for the season.”

Taiwain’s Hsieh Su-wei now awaits in round two after she beat Latvian Jelena Ostapenko. The world No90 reached the Australian Open fourth round in 2008.

“She’s really young and really aggressive,” Williams said. “She’s really good, a talented player. She’s extremely young. Very dangerous.”

Sixth seed Petra Kvitova is also safely through to the second round after she cruised past Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-3, 6-1, but Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens both crashed out.

Wozniacki, seeded 16th, lost 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 to Kazakhstan’s world No76 Yulia Putintseva, while USA’s Stephens was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Chinese qualifier Qiang Wang.

Related articles

• Why Serena Williams' Sports Illustrated Win Is About So Much More Than Tennis
• Noam Laden 77 WABC News/Talk Radio New York Talks Serena Williams: Sports Illustrated Person of The Year
• Serena Williams is SI's 2015 Sportsperson of Year
• Serena Williams' Sheer Dress Is A Grand Slam
• Serena Williams Shuts Down the Whiny Horse Lovers
• People Are Really Upset That Serena Williams Won SI's Sportsperson Of The Year

Inglis and Duckworth Open Wildcards

Teenager Maddison Inglis has crashed Arina Rodionova’s party to score a maiden main-draw berth at next month’s Australian Open. Inglis produced a masterful performance to win the women’s wildcard playoff with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Rodionova, who was playing the day after marrying Richmond AFL player Ty Vickery.

Inglis’ triumph came a week after narrowly missing out on the final of the under-18 Australian championship. “I was exhausted after the 18s, just mentally and physically,” she said. “I don’t know how I got through it. I’m so happy right now. I actually can’t believe it still. I was so nervous during that whole second set, I can’t believe I got through it, to be honest.”

Apart from a coveted grand slam main-draw debut, the West Australian youngster is also guaranteed the biggest pay cheque of her fledgling career - at least $34,500. Rodionova was backing up after a huge weekend which saw her win a torrid three-set semi-final on Saturday morning before rushing off to her wedding.

The 26-year-old was understandably drained during Sunday’s final, her third straight loss in an Australian Open playoff decider after falling to Daria Gavrilova last year and Casey Dellacqua in 2013.

Earlier, James Duckworth capped his career-best season by winning the men’s wildcard playoff. He was handed a walkover in the final after Ben Mitchell made a mad dash to Brisbane to be with his partner for the birth of their first child.

After cracking world’s top 100 this year for the first time and also contesting all four grand slam events, Duckworth will make his fifth consecutive appearance in the men’s main draw at Melbourne Park. “It would have been nice to win properly but that’s the way it goes,” Duckworth said. “We’ve always had tough matches in the past so I wouldn’t have expected anything different today. There’s not much between us.”

Duckworth has slipped to 120th in the rankings after reaching No.83 in June and is hoping his wildcard playoff win is the beginning of another move forward. “I didn’t play so well the last four months of the year so to come here and win a few matches, especially some tight ones, some tight tiebreakers, really helps the confidence a lot,” said the 23-year-old. “Hopefully I can use it as a bit of a springboard and start the year off well and have a good year.”

Related articles

• Tennis player to play match on wedding day
• Tennis player to play match on wedding day
• Tennis player to play match on wedding day
• Rodionova set for playoff tie on wedding day
• James Duckworth one step closer to Australian Open main draw
• James Duckworth one step closer to Australian Open main draw