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

Wozniacki Wins Kremlin Cup

Caroline Wozniacki claimed her second WTA Tour title of the season with a hard-fought victory over top seed Sam Stosur in the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

The world No 11 Dane - who was provided with a late wild card into the event - won 6-2 4-6 7-5 in two hours and 14 minutes.

Wozniacki, winner of a tournament in Seoul last month, recovered from having her serve broken early in the final set to seal an impressive win on her second match point.

The No 3 seed, who trailed 0-2 in the decider, broke back in game six before Stosur lost her serve for the eighth and final time in the 12th.

The beaten Aussie has not won a title since becoming a shock champion at the US Open 13 months ago.

It was Wozniacki's first triumph over Stosur for more than three years and she admitted: "It was a tough match and it could have gone either way."

Wozniacki received a silver Cartier trophy and a cheque for $122,000, while Stosur pocketed $66,000

Related articles

• Caroline Wozniacki outduels Samantha Stosur to win Kremlin Cup
• Stosur chasing WTA success in Moscow
• Wozniacki tops Stosur in Kremlin Cup final
• Wozniacki sinks Stosur in Moscow final
• Wozniacki beats Stosur to win Kremlin Cup title
• Stosur falls in another WTA final

Wozniacki Wins Over Kanepi in Korea

Getty Images

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki cruised to victory over Kaia Kanepi in the final of the Korea Open, winning 6-1 6-0 in an hour and two minutes.

Such was the former world number one's dominance, she only allowed her Estonian opponent to hold serve once, in the fifth game of the match.

Now ranked world number 11, it was her first tour title since August 2011.

"I'm very pleased with how everything turned out. I want to enjoy it and be positive," said the Dane.

"I want to build up for the next season and hopefully my results this week will help me move forward and get back to playing my best."

Wozniacki had recently bowed out in the first round of the US Open,and also suffered an early exit at this year's Wimbledon.

Her crushing victory over Kanepi was in contrast to the semi-final, in which she had needed three sets to beat Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.

"Yesterday was a very difficult match, but the final is the final, and you just do anything you can to win," the Dane added.

"Today I did well at turning defence to offence and offence to defence. That's actually a strength of mine."

Meanwhile, British number two Heather Watson will meet Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Monday in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, after winning her final qualifying match against Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic.

British number one Laura Robson had planned to play in qualifying for the Tokyo event, but missed out after reaching Saturday's Guangzhou Open final.

Instead, Robson will work with her coach Zeljko Krajan for a few days before attempting to qualify for the China Open in Beijing next weekend.

Related articles

• Caroline Wozniacki vs. Kaia Kanepi: Final Preview - KDB Korea Open 2012
• Wozniacki, Kanepi to meet in Korea final
• Wozniacki demolishes Kanepi in Korea
• Wozniacki wins Korea Open over Kanepi
• Wozniacki routs Kanepi for Korea Open title
• Wozniacki, Kanepi to meet in Seoul final

Wozniacki Eases into KDB 2nd Round

Getty Images

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki eased into the second round of the KDB Korea Open with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Arantxa Rus.

The world number 11 needed a little over an hour to see off her Dutch opponent in Seoul.

Wozniacki will now face French qualifier Caroline Garcia in the second round after the 18-year-old beat Alexandra Cadantu 6-2 6-3 to progress.

Estonian third seed Kaia Kanepi secured a comfortable path into the second round as she secured a comfortable win over wildcard Han Sung-hee, losing only one game to the South Korean.

Last year's beaten finalist Galina Voskoboeva will be waiting for Kanepi in the next round after also easing past a wildcard, with the Kazakhstani beating Hyun Hui Hong 6-1 6-2.

Julia Goerges was the only seeded player to fall at the first-round stage on Tuesday as she was sent packing by Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa.

Goerges took the first set 6-1 with a commanding display before losing the next two 7-6 (7/5) 6-2.

Soler-Espinosa's reward for her hard-fought comeback is a second-round tie with Kiki Bertens, who beat Vania King in straight sets.

Varvara Lepchencko, Klara Zakopalova and Ekaterina Makarova - the other seeded players in action - all progressed with only Zakopalova dropping a set.

There were also wins for Magdelana Rybarikova, qualifier Jamie Hampton and Anabel Medina Garrigues

Related articles

• U.S. Loses, Federer Wins in Davis Cup; Weekend Dish
• Wozniacki Wins New Haven Semi Place
• Wozniacki Done at 1? Raonic Gives Self-Heimlich at US Open
• Cleaveland: Wozniacki's sincere effort not enough
• Preview: Roddick, Radwanska Among Strong Fields Week Before US Open
• Wozniacki crashes out in opener

Wozniacki Crashes Out of US Open

Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki's US Open campaign came to an abrupt end as she lost in straight sets to Irina-Camelia Begu.

It was a poor performance by the eighth seed, who was comfortably beaten 6-2 6-2 by the world number 96 from Romania.

Serena Williams needed just 55 minutes to dispatch fellow American Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 6-1.

Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska eased into round two with a thumping victory over Russia's Nina Bratchikova.

The Pole wore strapping on her right shoulder but showed no signs of discomfort in a 6-1 6-1 win and will be joined in the second round by 12th seed Ana Ivanovic, who beat Ukrainian qualifier Elina Svitolina.

Another ex-world number one, Venus Williams, dispatched American compatriot Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3 6-1.

Two-time champion Williams has slipped to 46th in the world amid her struggles with Sjogren's Syndrome but looked in superb condition during the 62 minutes she spent on court.

Next up for the seven-time Grand Slam champion is German sixth seed Angelique Kerber, who overwhelmed Britain's Anne Keothavong.

Wozniacki, who played with strapping on her right knee, was the day's biggest casualty.

"I didn't play particularly well, made too many errors. It's unfortunate because it's a huge tournament, a tournament you want to play well in," said the 22-year-old, who also lost in round one at Wimbledon in June.

"It's frustrating to have some injuries, but it happens to everyone. It's just about moving on.

"After the year's finished you can evaluate, you can see what was good and wasn't so good and work from there. I still have plenty of years in me. Hopefully I can just turn it around and play even better."

Three-time champion Serena Williams had no trouble reaching the second round, where she will play Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez for a place in the last 32.

"The conditions were really crazy, but, hey, it's the US Open so you have to be ready for the worst conditions," said the reigning Wimbledon and Olympic champion.

"I was ready and, coming here as Olympic champion, I feel so great."

Earlier on Tuesday, world number two Radwanska needed just 54 minutes to book a meeting with Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.

There was no such success for her sister, Urszula Radwanska, as she went down 6-1 6-1 to 20th seed Roberta Vinci of Italy.

Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion from Serbia, won 6-3 6-2 and will next play unseeded Swede Sofia Arvidsson, a 6-4 6-2 winner over 41-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm.

Jelena Jankovic, the Serbian 30th seed, beat Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1 6-2, while home favourite Sloane Stephens progressed after a 6-3 6-4 victory over 22nd seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy.

Related articles

• Radwanska breezes through first round at U.S. Open
• Wozniacki suffers surprise defeat
• Serena Williams holds off Radwanska for Wimbledon title
• Olympic Tennis Women's Draw Preview: Serena Tough Start

Wozniacki Withdraws from New Haven

Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki faces a race to be fit for the US Open after being forced to retire from her New Haven semi-final against Maria Kirilenko.

The former world number one was the four-time defending champion in New Haven and has not lost a set in the event since 2010.

However, Wozniacki picked up a knee injury in her quarter-final and it was obviously still bothering her against Kirilenko as she lost the first set 7-5 and then called the trainer onto the court.

Wozniacki had never lost in the tournament having won all 20 matches since making her debut as an 18-year-old in 2008, but was forced to retire after the knee became too much to handle.

She now faces an anxious few days as she tries to get fit in time for the start of the US Open in New York on Monday.

"I could feel it from the start," she said. "But, you know, it just started to get a bit worse. I decided to stop because if you don't feel a hundred percent, you can't compete at a hundred percent. It's better to let it rest. I wasn't going to win this match anyways if I'm not on a hundred percent fit level."

Wozniacki added she only played after doctors said she would not make the injury any worse - and she was keen to join Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Chris Evert as the only players to win the same tournament five consecutive times.

"You know, you defend it again and again, all of a sudden you're in this elite group that has won a tournament four times," she said. "I mean, there's a lot of players that never win a tournament and there's a lot of players that never win four. Winning the same one four times in a row is definitely special."

Kirilenko admitted that she could see Wozniacki was struggling from the other side of the net, and feels she made the right decision.

"She was fighting," Kirilenko said. "She was running. When I hit a great shot, she couldn't run for it. She made the right decision. She has to take a rest before the US Open."

Related articles

• Wozniacki retires with knee injury at New Haven
• Wozniacki Wins New Haven Semi Place
• Cleaveland: Will the warrior princess be back for semis?
• Kvitova wins, Wozniacki retires in New Haven
• Caroline Wozniacki's New Haven Streak Ends

Wozniacki Wins New Haven Semi Place

Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki eased into the semi-final of the New Haven Open as she blew away Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets.

The Danish third seed has won the New Haven title for four years running and has never lost a match at the tournament.

That unblemished record never looked like disappearing against Cilbulkova, despite the fact Wozniacki later revealed she had been suffering with a knee injury during the match.

Having taken the first set 6-2, Wozniacki felt a twinge in her right knee in the first game of the second and called the trainer.

Having had the knee wrapped, the Dane continued and showed no ill effects as she closed out a thoroughly one-sided 6-2 6-1 success.

However, Wozniacki revealed she would have the knee assessed once again before deciding whether to compete in the semi-finals on Friday.

"You need to judge whether you can continue or you cannot," she explained. "You need to judge whether it's going to get worse or not.

"It's all decisions you need to make yourself, decisions that are important because you don't want to suffer long-term injury - doesn't matter what tournament it is."

If she does opt to play, Wozniacki will face Russian seventh seed Maria Kirilenko who was an equally convincing 6-1 6-2 winner against Olga Govortsova of Belarus.

Related articles

• Wozniacki hurts knee, but wins again in New Haven
• Wozniacki reaches New Haven quarterfinals
• Wozniacki overcomes knee injury to reach semifinals of New Haven event, where she's 20-0
• Wozniacki remains undefeated in New Haven
• New Haven Open 2012: Caroline Wozniacki And Others Advance
• Kvitova, Wozniacki roll into New Haven quarters