McIntyre Tennis

Tuesday's Women's Results at the Australian Open

By: Mike McIntyre

Photos: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Petra Kvitova was playing in her first Australian Open since 2016.

Kvitova was beaten in an epic match by Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.

US Open finalist Madison Keys opened with a 6-1, 7-5 victory against Qiang Wang of China.

8th seeded Caroline Garcia of France with a routine 7-5, 6-3 win against Germany's Carina Witthoeft.

Garcia will next face 18 year old Marketa Vondrousova who is already ranked 62nd in the world.

The 22 year old Witthoeft is currently ranked 50th in the WTA rankings right now, hovering near her career high.

Garbine Muguruza was able to finish her first match in three tries in 2018 without injury difficulty. She advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Jessika Ponchet.

Donna Vekic raises her arms following a 7-5, 6-3 win against Japan's Nao Hibino. She will face Angelique Kerber next.

Maria Sharapova was fired-up in her return to Melbourne.

Sharapova is one of two players along with Kerber who have won the Aussie Open in their careers. The two are expected to face one another in the third round.

A selfie with her fans after a 6-1, 6-4 win against Tatjana Maria.

Canada's Genie Bouchard trying to cool-off in her first round match with Oceane Dodin.

The Genie Army has stuck with their player through tough times the past few years.



It's nice to see Bouchard smiling once again on the court. We'll see how long that lasts however as she will next face World No. 1 Simona Halep.

Tuesday WTA Results From The Sydney International

By:  Mike McIntyre

Photos: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

The action continued on Tuesday at the Sydney International with several high profile matches. I'm really impressed with how stacked the draw is at this event and it's a great test for some of the game's top stars ahead of the Australian Open next week.

On Tuesday Australian's Daria Gavrilova defeated wildcard compatriot Olivia Rogowska in a tight match 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to advance to the second round. Gavrilova is currently ranked 25th in the WTA Tour rankings and at the age of 23 seems poised to make some moves in 2018.

Gavrilova will next face another Aussie - Sam Stosur - who also advanced in three sets. The former US Open champion (2011) took down Carina Witthoeft of Germany 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

In other matches Ekaterina  Makarova fell against Barbora Strycova. It was the Czech who prevailed 6-4, 6-1.

One veteran player with something to prove in 2018 is Aga Radwanska who suffered through a difficult season a year ago in terms of her on-court results. She's off to a great start with a huge win over 4th seeded Johanna Konta whom she defeated in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 on Ken Rosewall Arena. She will face youngster Cici Bellis in her next match.

Dominika Cibulkova has early season success in Australia in the past as she was a finalist at the Aussie Open back in 2014. Cibulkova is a dangerous unseeded floater here in Sydney and beat Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-4.

The most anticipated match of the day however was between 2nd seeded American Venus Williams and former World No. 1 Angie Kerber. Kerber went undefeated in her four singles matches last week at the Hopman Cup and has carried forward that momentum in Sydney. She dropped the opening set against Venus before coming back for the upset 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. It is amazing what a difference a year makes as suddenly Kerber is being talked about as an Aussie Open favorite after a tough year in 2017 that has seen her ranking drop to 22nd in the world.

Keep checking back with us this week for WTA results and analysis from the Sydney International. And feel free to follow us on Twitter as well!