Konta wins in upset over Sloane Stephens

Johanna Konta gave a solid display of strength and focus to win at the Brisbane International on New Year’s Day. The 28-year-old earned a huge upset against third-seeded Sloane Stephens to win in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 on the court at Pat Rafter Arena on the grounds of the Queensland Tennis Centre. It was an important moment for Konta who had the support and the key to start a new rivalry against the 2017 US Open champion. Both had a strong serve percentage but tallied 80 total unforced errors in what on paper looked to be disastrous but was slightly one way for the British star.

This was the first meeting between the two stars making it an interesting first rounder in the Australian Open Series. The American had a great finish to her season making it to the final of the WTA championship. Despite losing to Elina Svitolina, she won four in a row to end on a positive note after a dismal run through Asia. Konta didn’t have a great finish to 2018 and looked to get on the right track on her home soil. The Brit made the quarterfinal last year and eyed a chance to surpass that.

When it looked as if she would get the best start to her offense, Stephens closed the 40-0 deficit. After six breaks and ten minutes of a stalemate, Konta managed to hold on against the third seed. Getting the break early from the American wasn’t going to happen as the former US Open kept the Brit back in the second game to level things early. Konta remained steadfast despite having to put a lot of effort into her serve. She and Stephens went five breaks where accurate winners helped her stay on serve.

Both were clearly on the hunt for the break of serve and for Konta, getting it was a great point in the opening set. With her forehand warmed up, she added some aggression to get the job done against the third seed and lead 3-1. Another game slipped away from Stephens who during the game complained that the racket tension was too tight. Her coach Sly Black came out telling her to make her less comfortable and be the one to dictate going forward.

She got her serve back into play but there was still some struggle in the American’s second serve and first serve returns. She faced another deficit as she let an open court situation fall apart. It was soon a 5-2 hold for Konta who soon had her first set point opportunity but let the ball land long of the baseline. It set up deuce which Stephens had yet to win one but her moment came to hold service in the eighth.

A big statement from the American came with her blanking Konta in the following battle with her getting the shot to level the playing field with the ball in hand. Konta didn’t let that be a problem for her as she fought through the difficulties to win the set after 59 minutes. Both had the first serve above 60 percent but the difference came down to returns which Stephens suffered greatly on scoring 15 of 33.

As the second got underway, Konta made it two in a row capturing another victory against the third seed. They took a break on the court due to an issue in the stands. After a near 12 minute break, the two got back to work on the court with Stephens answering Konta well in the rallies. It resulted in a victory to be in it to win it after two. Stephens added a second straight which Konta wanted to put a stop to. She did it to even up the score at two all with a break before holding to get back out front. Stephens called down Black who told her to keep up the intensity and adjust the forehand.

His words resulted in Stephens keeping Konta within reach but she once again trailed after another hold from the number one Brit came to light in the seventh. She consolidated it with a break of the American who was facing the end of the road with Konta serving for the match. Konta demonstrated a high level of consistent concentration and focus sitting two points from victory. She reached match point on a line drive winner followed by the win that came on a drive that landed long on the return for Stephens completing 1 hour and 52 minutes.

I thought it was a tough match,” Konta said. “The first three games took about a half hour so there was very little in it from the beginning. I’m just very happy that I was able to maintain my level quite consistently throughout against Sloane you have to do that because she can run away. I’m happy to have another chance at playing another match here.”

Konta will face fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the next round who she has defeated in the tournament before.

Bouchard gets terrific victory to start ASB Classic

Eugenie Bouchard got the victory she wanted to start off the 2019 WTA season at the ASB Classic Monday. The 24-year-old superstar stayed focused on the court to take care of business against Madison Brengle with a 6-3, 6-3 win in straight sets on center court at the ASB Arena in New Zealand.

Both met back during their ITF days when both looked to be on the same path to WTA greatness. Since then both the American and Canadian look to get a good grip of 2019 and make their journey at Auckland mean something. Bouchard finished last season with a bang winning six in a row at the Luxembourg Open before losing to eventual champion Julia Goerges. Brengle played in ITF tournaments since mid-September making it imperative to gain wins in the WTA and stay consistently around on the tour.

For the Canadian, it was coming together well to start the opening set holding before breaking Brengle in the second game. It led to the ideal situation that Bouchard wanted to have in her first match of the new season containing a 3-0 lead. The American couldn’t let the set get away from her and on serve, she put down an attack that got her on the board. She made sure to consolidate the hold with a break getting within reach of Bouchard after five. The 24-year-old returned the favor breaking back on Brengle after having a chat with coach Michael Joyce who told her to stay focused during the changeover.

She battled the American in the seventh coming out with the win that took a mental beating on Brengle. During a conference chat with her coach, Brengle lost all self-esteem that she could come back leaving her coach with a one-track response of positivity. It turned into a small victory for the 28-year-old hoping to avoid bringing the set to an end. The ball was in Bouchard’s hands in the ninth and played it perfectly with an ace down the T that finished 34 minutes.

The second set didn’t go so easy as Brengle found her ways and battled against the Canadian to stay tight on the score. Through six games, they had their moments of breaking one another and service games to love but the margin remained only temporary as the competition was heating up for a possible push to the brink of the match. Bouchard was intent on making sure that she won the first match of the new season and broke away from Brengle with a solid service game. With the American down to her last moment in the tournament, Brengle tried to force deuce but it didn’t come to her giving the Canadian an advance to the second round in 1 hour and 11 minutes.

“It was straightforward scoreline but it was a tough battle so I’m happy that I got my focus back late in the second set and tried to play some good tennis,” Bouchard said after the match.  She’ll look forward to more awaiting the winner between Alison Van Uytvanck or Bibiane Schoofs.

Germany wins first match against Spain at Hopman Cup

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Angelique Kerber clinched the first win for Germany at the Hopman Cup Sunday afternoon. The world number two held her own game well against Spain’s Garbine Muguruza to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on centre court at the RAC Arena.

The two met for the first time since Wimbledon 2017 when the Spaniard went on to win it herself. Adding a second slam. Kerber followed the success up a year later to add a third to her career. This marked the ninth time they’ve faced off and a great way to heat up the competition. Muguruza has five match wins in a row against the German who would be playing for her country against the heart of Spain. “I’m looking forward to it,” Muguruza said. “It’s one of those matches that you train hard to compete and to fight and have a good match against the best.” Kerber won every match in Hopman last season and despite the challenge would do everything to keep her streak in Perth alive.

The 25-year-old served to begin the match but had Kerber in tow with her after each point. The German had a breakpoint at hand but didn’t secure the victory early. Instead, they extended the opening game to three breaks with Muguruza holding. Kerber found herself in the same situation on serve with the Spaniard fighting for control. The two fought through nine minutes with the world number two capturing her first service hold.

Kerber broke the Spaniard creating a lead after three gaining two points to begin a rush to victory. The 30-year-old added another three game wins with her angled winners that made it a tough time for Muguruza. It wasn’t until the seventh game that the world number 18 managed to get another victory for herself. The damage had been done and tough to overcome as Kerber served up three set points in the eighth before getting it on a long forehand landing wide. Germany had its first lead after 40 minutes with Kerber in fine form.

The second set was Muguruza’s chance to make up for the early mistakes and started things with a great serve to love. Kerber stayed on pace to hold in the second and stayed in tow with the Spaniard through five. There was a moment in the sixth when Kerber put the pressure on Muguruza to falter but a key save helped her hold on. She got herself into position in the eighth with a break on the German to lead 5-3. The 25-year-old coasted to level the playing field with Kerber blanked in the ninth ending the set in 39 minutes.

With one to go, both players went for it all as one of them would set the bar for their country to carry momentum along in the competition. Things were looking good for Kerber after a hold in the second where she put things into a tactical gear to get the best of Muguruza. It turned into a key moment in the set where the German began to bring the drop shot that caught the 25-year-old off guard. Despite her attempts to react, the returns from the Spaniard fell wide to give her opponent another small margin.

Muguruza had a shot to turn the tables around with a break chance against Kerber. Unfortunately, the returns didn’t come easy as Kerber fired the ball on the rallies pushing the Spaniard to the baseline where her responses showed signs of a struggle. She forced deuce with Kerber but couldn’t get the right shot in to get another break chance. Kerber was in a great position playing at 4-1 with Muguruza in danger of putting Spain in a hole. She recovered on serve holding off Kerber but the margin weighed heavily in favor of Germany.

The 30-year-old set herself up for a victory holding in the seventh with just one more win that came on the serve of Muguruza who was feeling the pressure in the late stages of the set. She pulled together a great service game with many coming at the net to clinch another win to her belt. It was up to Kerber to get it done on serve in the ninth and did so even with Muguruza gaining two points in the process. It came down to a final return from the Spaniard which landed just long of the corner baseline to complete the win in two hours and three minutes.

I went out there and tried to play my good tennis and be aggressive,” Kerber said after the match. “It’s a great feeling to start a new season here.”