Brisbane International (Women's)
*Brisbane, Australia
$1,000,000; WTA Premier
Draw is here*
Three of the world’s top four women—world No. 1 Serena Williams, reigning Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, and four-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova—bring star power to a glowing field in Brisbane.
Sharapova indulged her sweet tooth launching her Sugarpova candy line and showed her familiar appetite for the fight in fist-pumping throughout a 6-3, 6-0 annihilation of Caroline Garcia in her first match since last August. Sharapova, who says she’s fully fit after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, hit six aces against one double fault in her first match under new coach Sven Groeneveld.
It was a sweet start for Sharapova, but don’t expect the player behind the brand and reigning champion Williams to trade chocolate kisses should they rekindle their rivalry in the semifinals. Though Sharapova says the pair are not feuding following sniping comments at Wimbledon, the fact that Williams has brought the intensity—and slamming shot-making—in winning 13 straight matches against her rival tells you she will be ready should they meet in a rematch of the 2013 French Open final. Williams opens Tuesday against Andrea Petkovic.
“This tournament is super useful because it's such a big event, everyone comes to play, it's the same surface as [the Australian Open] and it's super hot, so it definitely gets you ready,” said five-time Australian Open champion Serena.
World No. 2 Azarenka, who concedes that she felt fatigued following her U.S. Open final loss in September, has installed a new training team and meets Australian wild card Casey Dellacqua in the first round. Azarenka could face Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals in a rematch of the 2013 Brisbane round of 16, which Vika won, 6-3, 6-3.
Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who swept Azarenka at the WTA Championships last fall, could face No. 5 seed Angelique Kerber in the bottom-half quarterfinals—if Kerber can defuse hard-hitting Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the round of 16.
*
ASB Classic (Women's)
*Auckland, New Zealand
$250,000; WTA International
Draw is here*
Venus Williams hit with New Zealand No. 1 Marina Erakovic in front of the steps to the Auckland Museum to promote the tournament over the weekend, then exhibited explosiveness in beating Andrea Hlavackova in the opening round.
The climb through the draw for top-seeded Roberta Vinci begins against 16-year-old Croatian wild card Ana Konjuh, who won the 2013 Australian Open and U.S. Open junior titles, in a match of experience vs. exuberance. Yanina Wickmayer was born in Belgium, but looks right at home in Auckland—she’s reached the final in three of the last four years. The 2010 champion could face fifth-seeded Jamie Hampton in the top-half quarterfinals. Hampton reached the final four last year, falling to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwanska. No. 4 seed Sorana Cirstea, the 2013 Toronto runner-up to Serena Williams, is seeking her first win in Auckland and could play the Venus Williams-Yvonne Meusburger winner for a semifinal spot in the top half of the draw.
Second-seeded Ana Ivanovic makes her Auckland debut against American Alison Riske, who reached the U.S. Open round of 16 in September. No. 6 seed Lucie Safarova stands as a potential quarterfinal opponent for the former No. 1. Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens, the No. 3 seed, opens against Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig two years after the pair faced off in Australian Open qualifying. Both women are coming off 30-plus win seasons.
*
Shenzhen Open (Women's)
*Shenzhen, China
$500,000; WTA International
Draw is here*
On the day the world bids farewell to 2013, fans can say hello to a familiar face. Former world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva launches her comeback, but won’t exactly ease her way back into action as she faces world No. 3 and home favorite Li Na in Tuesday’s first round, days after Zvonareva and partner Olga Govortsova bowed in the opening round of doubles. It will be Zvonareva’s first singles match since she lost to Serena Williams at the 2012 Olympics.
Defending champion Li defeated Klara Zakopalova in the inaugural 2013 final and the pair could square off again in the semifinals. The third-seeded Zakopalova, a flat hitter who can take the ball early, beat talented 17-year-old Donna Vekic, 6-3, 7-5, in her opener.
World No. 7 Sara Errani had a much tougher test, rallying from a 2-4 deficit in the final set to squeeze out a 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (3), over Chinese wild card Zheng Sasai. Errani will play Vania King in a second-round match of former Grand Slam doubles champions. The pair split two prior meetings, with King prevailing in their most recent match last year at Indian Wells.
Chinese seventh seed Zheng Jie is another one to watch in the bottom half of the draw. The former Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles champion permitted just three games in thrashing Shahar Peer in the first round. Zheng, a 2010 Australian Open singles semifinalist, has managed just six games in two prior losses to Errani, her potential quarterfinal opponent, and is 1-1 lifetime vs. King.
Peng Shuai was a 2013 Shenzhen semifinalist has a solid shot to return to the final four this week as the 42nd-ranked Chinese starts the season aiming for a Top 20 return in 2014.
*