Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens yesterday blasted organizers of this week’s Brisbane International, accusing them of favoring the male players and not respecting the women.
The WTA tournament is being run alongside the Brisbane leg of the men’s inaugural ATP Cup, which has monopolized the Queensland Tennis Centre’s center court since it began on Friday.
The ATP Cup’s last round-robin matches in Brisbane are to be played today, meaning that women’s matches are to be relegated to the outside courts until tomorrow.
Photo: AFP
While most women’s players have been reluctant to comment on their treatment this year, Stephens, who is on the WTA players’ council, was not so reticent.
“I think there have been a lot of challenges just because it’s a new event, combined with the girls,” she said. “When you’re a No. 1 player in the world who is going to play on the side court, I don’t think that is that great. I think it’s kind of a respect thing.”
Stephens spoke after her first round loss to Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova.
AUCKLAND CLASSIC
Serena Williams yesterday found her power game after a sluggish start as she overcame qualifier Camila Giorgi to open her 2020 season with a straight-sets victory at the Auckland WTA Classic.
With an eye on the Australian Open later this month, the 38-year-old worked her way into a blistering performance that proved too much for the 167cm Italian.
“I feel really good. It was fun to be out there,” Williams said after sealing her 6-3, 6-2 victory with her eighth ace against the 99th-ranked Giorgi. “It’s really good that I still have some power left in my arms and my legs.”
At 3-3 in the first set, Williams found her range and the result was never in doubt from there on.
Auckland is an important tournament for the veteran as she prepares for the Australian Open.
Williams has been joined in Auckland by the new wave of US tennis stars, headed by the tournament third seed Amanda Anisimova, who did not disappoint.
The 18-year-old, who captured world attention reaching the semi-finals of the French Open last year, took 78 minutes to beat the Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova 6-3, 6-4.
SHENZHEN OPEN
Reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka and top seed Belinda Bencic yesterday suffered shock defeats at the Shenzhen Open, dealing a setback to their Australian Open preparations.
World No. 11 Sabalenka lost 6-4, 6-4 to the Czech left-hander Kristyna Pliskova, as the Belarusian’s title defense came to a juddering halt in the second round.
Earlier, on a day of upsets in southern China, world No. 8 Bencic — the top seed in southern China — was defeated in her opening match of the year.
The Swiss was a surprise loser to the 58th-ranked Anna Blinkova, the Russian coming back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“I didn’t feel great in the beginning of the match,” the 21-year-old Blinkova told reporters. “I didn’t play bad, but I managed to increase the level of my game slowly, step by step.”
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