WTA

Azarenka overcomes Kuznetsova in Qatar Open first round

By Sports Desk March 01, 2021

Victoria Azarenka booked her spot in the second round of the Qatar Open with a 6-2 6-3 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday. 

It was the first time the pair had faced off since the final of the 2016 Miami Open and Azarenka, who won back-to-back titles in Doha in 2012 and 2013, struck first, eventually claiming the opening set in 44 minutes. 

She needed six match points to see off Kuznetsova in the second set to tee up a last-16 meeting with either Laura Siegemund or Elena Rybakina. 

There was also a win for former world number one Garbine Muguruza, who defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-2 7-6 (7-4).

"Veronika was a very tough opponent," Muguruza told a media conference. "[I'm] just happy with this win. We played a year ago, and I remember it was a tough match. I'm happy to have closed it in two sets."

Fifth seed Kiki Bertens, meanwhile, was dumped out by a rampant Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets. 

The 2017 French Open champion hit 26 winners on her way to an emphatic 6-0 6-2 win against her Dutch opponent, who was playing her first match in five months following Achilles surgery. 

Anett Kontaveit overcame number seven seed beaten Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady 6-1 6-2 to set up a second-round clash with Angelique Kerber, who beat Cagla Buyukakcay 6-4 6-2.

In the day's other match, Maria Sakkari beat Mayar Sherif 6-0 6-3. 

Meanwhile, teenage qualifier Clara Tauson shocked number one seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Lyon Open. 

There were also wins for Arantxa Rus, Nina Stojanovic, Timea Babos, Greet Minnen and Fiona Ferro in France. 

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    Fritz recorded a 6-4 6-3 victory over the fourth seed to make a flying start to his second appearance at the season-ending event in Turin.

    With world number one Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur – who face off later on Sunday – also lurking in the Ilie Nastase Group, Fritz knew the importance of using his serve as a weapon.

    He won 85% (33/39) of his first-serve points to Medvedev's 79% (30/38), also firing off nine aces and not committing a single double fault, compared to eight of each for the Russian. 

    "The serve was a big part of it for sure," Fritz said after the match. "He's such a good returner. 

    "You can make a lot of first serves, but if they are not very high quality, he just puts so many returns in the court.

    "It was huge for me, I hit a lot of lines, a lot of spots to start out games. I got out of a lot of service games with no pressure. 

    "Some of the ones we got tight in, I was either able to grind through the long rallies or get myself some free points."

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    Coco Gauff explained how she kept her cool despite the helter-skelter nature of her WTA Finals clash with Qinwen Zheng.

    Gauff prevailed 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in Riyadh on Saturday to become the youngest WTA Finals champion since 2004.

    She was pushed all the way by Olympic champion Zheng, who led 5-3 at one stage in the decider and also clawed back four matchpoints before Gauff eventually got over the line.

    "Tired, it's been a hard season," Gauff told Sky Sports after her victory.

    "It was a really great match. Qinwen played some unbelievable tennis. I was just trying my best to hang in there and I never gave up.

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    Gauff is the first player since Serena Williams (12, between 2013 and 2015) to win at least eight consecutive hard-court finals.

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    "At the end of the match, when I, like, fell on the floor, I didn't think I was going to do that," said Gauff, who has secured the year-end world number three ranking.

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    Coco Gauff triumphed over Qinwen Zheng after three sets to become the youngest WTA Finals champion in 20 years.

    Having fallen behind in Saturday's final in Riyadh, Gauff bounced back to prevail 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

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    A short Zheng return clipped the top of the net, with Gauff scrambling from the baseline to meet it before flicking a forehand to the left of her opponent, with this year's Olympic champion unable to get there.

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    Zheng made a blistering start, but despite going a break up in the second set, she could not maintain the momentum.

    Gauff's wobble in the decider meant the WTA Finals championship match had to be decided by a third-set tie-break for the first time since the tournament's introduction in 1972.

    At 20, Gauff is the youngest player to win the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova in 2004, and the youngest American champion of the event since Serena Williams in 2001.

    Only Nancy Richey and Anna Smashnova (10 each) have won more titles after their first 10 WTA Tour-level finals than Gauff (nine) in the Open Era.

    Meanwhile, she is the first player since Williams (12, between the 2013 US Open and 2015 Cincinnati Open) to win at least eight consecutive hard-court finals, and the youngest to do so since Martina Hingis in 1998.

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