Hot Rod

Here is an update from today's matches.

First of all in Brisbane, Maria and Ana met up in a much anticipated match in the singles final. The match went the full three sets, with Maria coming out with a 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 win.


Great win for Maria.


She got off to a good start by jumping out to a 4-1 lead.


However Ana came back from down a break and eventually took the first set in a tiebreaker.


Maria shook off losing the first set and elevated her level of play to win the last two sets and the match.


I`m really proud of Maria for playing so well throughout the week and capping it off by coming through a tough match to capture her first title of the year and 34th singles title of her career. This is a great way for her to start out the new year.


On the other hand, this was a tough loss for Ana, who wasn't able to keep up the good form from the first set. Still she had a nice run, which is something for her to build on for the Australian Open.

Also in the doubles final, Sabine and Martina Hingis defeated Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 7-5 to win the title. Great win for Sabine, who also captured her first title of the year.

Meanwhile at the Hopman Cup final, Aggie defeated Serena Williams for the first time 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 and then teamed up with Jerzy Janowicz to win the mixed doubles match in straight to clinch the title for Poland.


Great win for Aggie.

So that's the story from what was a great day for some of our favorites. Next up on the schedule will be the final warmup tournaments, which are the Apia International Sydney and the Hobart International. Petra, Aggie, Domi, Flavia, Alize and Sabine are scheduled to play in Sydney, while Camilia Giorgi and Dani will be playing in Hobart.

JoJoF92

what an epic battle it was! oh my gosh, I was so nervous the whole time and frustrated xd I'm so glad Maria came out winning ^^ she deserved it. it was a great week and a perfect start of the season

Hot Rod

Here is the latest update from Down Under.

First of all in Sydney, Petra won the Apia International.


Great win for Petra. This is a good way for her to head into the Australian Open.

Speaking of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year gets underway later tonight. Maria will begin her quest for her second Australian Open title tomorrow morning as she will take on Petra Martic. Ana, Genie, Julia, Sabine, Ula, Elena and Sorana will also be in action. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well and can get off to good starts in Melbourne.

Also here are the first pics of some of our favorites in Melbourne.

Hot Rod

Here is the first update from the Australian Open.

First of all, Maria defeated Petra Martic 6-4, 6-1; while Genie defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-2, 6-4. Good wins for them.


Maria had some trouble closing out the first set, but otherwise had a nice solid performance,


while Genie had little trouble in her match.

Unfortunately the news wasn't so good with some of our other favorites as Ana was upset by Lucie Hradecka 6-1, 3-6, 2-6; Sabine was defeated by Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 4-6, 2-6; Elena was defeated by Katerina Siniakova 2-6, 5-7; Sorana was defeated by Alexandra Panova 5-7, 0-6 and Ula was defeated by Zarina Diyas 6-3, 4-6, 2-6. Disappointing results there.


Ana's loss was especially disappointing. She got off to a great start in the first set, but her old troubles resurfaced.

Things wasn't all bad as Julia routed Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-1.


Good win for Julia. This was her best performance in a while. I hope that it will be a big confidence boost for her.

So that's the story from day 1 of the Australian Open. Coming up on Day 2 later tonight, Vika will begin her quest for her third Australian Open by taking on Sloane Stephens. This looks like a pretty tough match for Vika, who is unseeded after her rankings dropped due to her long layoff late last year. This is a good opportunity to see where her game is at after recently coming back. Also Petra, Aga, Dani, Vera Z, Domi, Alize and JJ will be in action as well. Plus we'll get our first all hotties matchup, which is a match up between Team Italia's finest as Flavia will face Camilia Giorgi. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well in today's matches and we'll get a good competitive match between Flavia and Camilia.

Hot Rod

Here's an update from the Day 3 matches at the Australian Open.

First of all, we got a big time scare with Maria, who came back to defeated Alexandra Panova 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.


Maria really had me worried for a while, especially when she was down 1-4 in the third set.


However she did a good job of showing her championship toughness by coming back and saving two match points to pull out the win.

Genie had a much easier time in her match, routing Kiki Bertens 6-0, 6-3; while Julia defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.


Good win for Genie, who looked pretty sharp,


while Julia did a good job of pulling out a tough win over the tough Klara Zakopalova.

Also doubles got underway with Flavia, Elena and Sania winning their matches in straight sets, while Alize lost her's in three sets.

So that's the story from Day 3 in Melbourne. Coming up later tonight on Day 4 will be a much more action packed day. First of all in the marquee match, we'll get another all hotties matchup where Vika will take on Caroline. This will be their first meeting in a while and i`m obviously looking forward to seeing it. Aggie, Petra, Domi, Dani, Camila Giorgi and Alize will also be in action, while Vera Z will face Serena Williams. Plus Dani and Julia will be in action in doubles. I really hope that all of our favorites will do well in tonight's and tomorrow's matches and we'll get a good competitive match between Vika and Caroline.

JoJoF92

Maria must really love giving us heart attacks from time to time. well, this was a big one I'm sure this match has shortened my life by a few years but I'm really glad she came out winning at the end and we didn't have to say goodbye to her yet. I really want her to have a good run at AO

science girlfriend

wanna give her a hug
ugh I was so worrried!

science girlfriend

Congrats to Masha re: her final!!!
But she will lose to Sererena again I bet

JoJoF92

maybe not, you know. the spell has to be broken once it's a new day. I have faith she can do it : ) I don't want Serena to take another AO from her she's so greedy

RomanFan84

I love seeing pics of female tennis players. Seeing them is great motivation for me at the gym. What bods!

Hot Rod

I`m glad that you share an appreciation for female tennis players like Maria.

Speaking of Maria, i`m starting to get over her loss to Serena Williams in the Australian Open final. It was another tough loss for Maria. She did a good job of coming back from down a break in the second set, but just wasn't able to find a way to breakthrough on Serena Williams' serve. I really feel like Maria is getting ever closer to finally breaking the Serena jinx and hope that she will finally be able to do it soon.

In the meantime, Maria will make a rare appearance for Team Russia in Fed Cup against the Radwanska Sisters and Poland this weekend in Krakow, Poland. I hope that Maria and Aggie will get to play each other. Alize, Camila Giorgi, Sabine, Julia and Domi are also scheduled to play in their Fed Cup ties this weekend.

JoJoF92

surprisingly I was over it the next day Maria did an amazing job. if Serena didn't have her killer serves I think she would've won. I agree she's getting closer but as long as Serena's level doesn't drop while playing her I don't know if she can beat her anytime soon I'm just hoping that Serena won't get to the later stages of the rest of the slams this year, and if it's up to Maria then she'll get one of them

Fedcup Pova is so fun! she's posting so many pictures but she might be jet-lagged still and it's a huge change in weather from Oz, it might get to her but I hope she'll be fine for those matches

science girlfriend

I got over the loss too (maybe b/c Im used to them )

great icon JoJoF92! now I have to change mine too


surprised abt the fed Cup but happy
so happy to see mah team together

JoJoF92

thanks gotta brag with Maria here too

it really is so nice to see her spending some time with her teammates once in a blue moon Fed Cup is so fun when she's participating

science girlfriend

^ true true!
they're all so sunshiny

ugh Im gonna lose my nerve сells during this leg of the Cup I just know it Poland is a good team

my icon is ****ty b/c I just resized the photo & the quality is gone (Im pretty lame @ art)