Karolina Pliskova blog. the original pic. Melbourne Summer 2021

Serena Williams in press conference. Melbourne 2021

Serena Williams withdrew from the semifinals at the Yarra Valley Classic citing a shoulder injury, but she reassured the press that she's feeling more than confident after a strong performance in the lead-up:

"I feel pretty good. I've gotten a lot of treatment already on my shoulder. But I'm super confident it's going to be great.

"I'm feeling very confident, I think is a better word, and getting ready for hopefully the next two weeks."

Australian open 2021. Main draw singles

Sakkari advances to semis in Melbourne 2021 summer

The Greek star erased a hefty first-set deficit to oust No.8 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany, 6-4, 6-2 and claim her first victory over the former World No.1 in their three meetings.

"I have my Greeks here, which feels great!" Sakkari said during her post-match interview on court, thrilling her sturdy number of supporters on Margaret Court Arena. "That’s the first thing I’m looking forward to when I come to Australia, so it was great."

Kerber advances in 2021 Melbourne Summer

Kerber, meanwhile, emerged triumphant after an hour and 19 minutes, in a battle between Top 30 players. Three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber picked up an early break in the first set which she never rescinded, then held on in the second set, completing the match with a love service hold.

This is, for me, I think, a good sign that I can find my rhythm a little bit, and have another match tomorrow," Kerber said, after her win.

Kerber will now take on No.5 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece in the semifinals.

"I think it’s good to have another match against a good opponent," said Kerber. "It will be another good match where I can also get tested and play high-level tennis."

Azarenka advances in 2021 Melbourne Summer

In her first match of the season, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus had to survive a closely-contested battle, as the No.3 seed came back from deficits in the opening set and the match-tiebreak, saving two match points to overcome Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 1-6, [11-9]

Play will be suspended across all tournaments Thursday and the schedule reworked for Friday.

All matches scheduled Thursday at Melbourne Park have been postponed after a hotel quarantine worker at the Grand Hyatt, where a large number of players are staying, tested positive for COVID-19. 

Authorities have advised that everyone who stayed at the Grand Hyatt between 16-29 January will need to be tested and isolate until they receive a negative test result.
 
“We have been advised that you need to isolate at all times other than when you travel to and from your test.

“We will work with everyone involved to facilitate testing as quickly as possible.”

Grampias Trophy. Main draw singles. Melbourne Summer 2021

Kerber advances in 2021 Melbourne Summer

Former World No.1 Kerber, who won the first of her three Grand Slam titles at the 2016 Australian Open, went the distance against Katerina Siniakova, eventually outlasting the Czech, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Serena Williams advances in 2021 Melbourne Summer

Serena Williams posted a strong showing in Melbourne Park on Wednesday, as the 23-time Grand Slam-winner beat Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Yarra Valley Classic.

"It’s definitely nice to get another win," Williams said during her on-court interview after the match. "She’s clearly a great player, so it wasn't easy, but it was good to come through."

Simona Halep advances in 2021 Melbourne Summer

Three months after the Polish teenager beat Halep in emphatic fashion - 6-1, 6-2 in the round of 16 - en route to winning her first Grand Slam title last fall, and ending the Romanian's 2020 season, the pair were projected to meet in the last eight of this week's WTA 500 event.

Andreescu in press conference. Melbourne Summer 2021

Following the last two weeks in quarantine, it feels so good to finally be back on the court," Andreescu said in a statement. "After discussing it with my team, we have decided to focus this week on training for the Australian Open and miss the Grampians.

"Many thanks to Tennis Australia and the WTA for their hard work in providing us all of these choices...See you all at the Australian Open!"

Iga Swiatek advances in the 2021 Melbourne Summer

Reigning Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek rallied from a set down to win the last 11 of 12 games to defeat her good friend Kaja Juvan 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of the Gippsland Trophy. Swiatek faces No.9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Round of 16.

Kanepi advances in Melbourne 2021 summer

Kaia Kanepi notched another upset in her lengthy career with her 12th win over a Top 10 player. The Estonian beat world No.7 Aryna Sabalenkaa 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 on Tuesday at the Gippsland Trophy.

Simona Halep advances in 2021 Melbourne Summer

MELBOURNE, Australia -- In her opening WTA match of 2021, Simona Halep started off her season superbly.

The No.1 seed at the Gippsland Trophy faced a tough test from Russia’s Anastasia Potapova in their first meeting before ultimately prevailing 6-4, 6-4, and claiming a spot in the round of 16 at the WTA 500 event.

"I needed this victory, because I didn’t play an official match since October of last year, so it’s been a long time," a smiling Halep said, during her on-court post-match interview. "I just wanted to feel the court, feel the game. I knew that it was going to be a difficult match, [Potapova] hits very strong

Karolina Pliskova advances in 2021 Melbourne Summer

Up next for Pliskova is a match against No.13 seed and former Australian Open semifinalist Danielle Collins, who eased to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Serbia's Nina Stojanovic. 

Serena Williams ti third round of the 2021 Melbourne Summer

On Margaret Court Arena, Williams extended her dominance against former Top 20 player Daria Gavrilova in an hour and 34 minutes thanks to a 6-1, 6-4 victory - extending her career head-to-head against the Aussie to 4-0 without the loss of a set. Q

Karolina Pliskova in press conference. Melbourne Summer 2021

"I think you cannot really work on things if you have to [practice] against one player. You have to combine whatever she wants to do. I was lucky enough, I had my Czech mate [Karolina] Muchova with me, so it was quite fun. If I needed to do something, she was quite open to do it. 

"Still it's not like you're playing with your coach. I was just able to hit once with Sascha [Bajin] in those two weeks. I think it's not really enough to do what you really want to improve.

"Mainly we played some points, mostly we hit. It was just like more getting into the tournament rhythm because I didn't play points really till Abu Dhabi. Actually, it was my first points at those matches there. So it was not ideal.

Petra kvitova in press conference. Melbourne 2021.

Petra Kvitova enjoyed a delicious tradition after being released from quarantine:

"Yeah, we've been in the Munchen German restaurant, which is very close to Czech. Florian [Zitzelsberger, her trainer] is German, so we will enjoy the time over there. 

"When I was in the final here two years ago, we went there every night before my match. It was nice memories to be there out again.

Venus advances in 2021 Melbourne Summer.

MELBOURNE, Australia 

 Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was one of four Americans to book a spot in the second round of the Yarra Valley Classic on Sunday's opening day of action from the WTA 500 event.

Melbourne Summer 2021. Order of play. 31 Jan

Donna Vekic in Melbourne 2021. the best moments

a Sofia Kenin by Fila. Melbourne 2021.

Simona Halep in Melbourne 2021. Go Simona ❤️

GIPPSLAND Trophy Open 2021. Main draw singles

The GIPPSLAND TROPHY is led by World No.2 Simona Halep of Romania as the top seed, with reigning US Open champion Naomi Osaka of Japan seeded second at the bottom of the draw.

Halep could face No.6 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland in this event's quarterfinals, which would be an eye-opening rematch were it to occur. The pair most recently faced off in the round of 16 at last year's Roland Garros, where Swiatek shocked Halep en route to her first Grand Slam title in Paris.

The top half of the Gippsland Trophy draw stays challenging, as the second quarter is led by No.4 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who carries a 15-match winning streak into the event and won the 2021 season's first title in Abu Dhabi. Sabalenka is projected to face No.8 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.