Stan Wawrinka (VCORE Tour G, SHT-PRO) successfully defended his title at the Aircel Chennai Open, winning his second consecutive title at the tournament. Stan carried out a confident straight-sets final against Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene. Stan finished the first set with his signature backhand, and took the match in the second set with a forehand winner, the final score coming to 6-3, 6-4. In his first match of the tournament, Stan faced rising-star Borna Coric (VCORE Tour 97, POLYTOUR SPIN) Borna did well against the world No. 4, holding his serve well in the sixth game of the first set. The world No. 90 Croatian secured his eighth ATP career against world No. 82 Robin Haase with a confident 6-2, 6-2 score line in the previous match.
Meanwhile at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Juan Monaco (VCORE Si 98), claimed his first doubles title of the year with friend and partner Rafael Nadal. They won their final match 6-4, 6-4 against Julian Knowle/Phillip Oswald.
Ana Ivanovic (EZONE Ai 98) made it to the finals at the Brisbane International after a strong run at the tournament. She opened with a 6-4, 6-1 win over local Jarmila Gajdosova, in which she saved all of the seven break points on her serve. She went on to win two challenging matches en route to the final, boasting 13 aces and 10 saved breakpoints in her protracted final match against Maria Sharapova. Despite being unable to get a win, Ana’s performance at this tournament proved to be a strong prologue to her Australian Open run.
In doubles, Martina Hingis (EZONE Ai 100, POLYTOUR PRO 125, SHT-PRO)/Sabine Lisicki (VCORE Tour 97, POLYTOUR SPIN) won the tournament with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over No. 4 seeds Caroline Garcia/Katarina Srebotnik. The two scored five aces over their opponents’ three, and five break points over their opponents’ two. “When Sabine is on, I think we're a great match,” commented Hingis on her partnership with Sabine—their first time pairing up since May of 2014. “If the opportunity arises again at some point to play with Sabine, I'll be very happy," she continued. "It was a mix between my aggressive game and her making some amazing shots at the net," commented Sabine on the duo’s performance. This marks a staggering 41 doubles titles for Martina, and Sabine’s fourth.
Tournament Results
Aircel Chennai Open
Men’s Singles (Final)
Stan Wawrinka (VCORE Tour G, SHT-PRO) )(SUI) def. Aljaz Bedene (SLO) 6-3, 6-4
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Men’s Doubles (Final)
Juan Monaco (VCORE Si 98)(ARG)/Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Julian Knowle (AUT)/Phillip Oswald (AUT) 6-4, 6-4
Brisbane International
Women’s Doubles (Final)
Martina Hingis (EZONE Ai 100, POLYTOUR PRO 125, SHT-PRO)(SUI)/Sabine Lisicki (VCORE Tour 97, POLYTOUR SPIN)(GER) def. Caroline Garcia (FRA)/Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 6-2, 7-5
Women’s Singles (Final)
Maria Sharapova (RUS) def. Ana Ivanovic (EZONE Ai 98) (SRB) 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3
*Photographs of Stan, Juan, Ana, Martina, and Sabine taken at 2014 US Open
*Comments taken from the official WTA website.