BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL
Brisbane, Australia
December 29, 2013 – January 4, 2014
$1,000,000/Premier
Hard/Outdoors
Results – Saturday, January 4, 2014
Singles – Final
(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. (2) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 64 75
Doubles – Final
Kudryavtseva/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) d. Mladenovic/Voskoboeva (FRA/KAZ) 63 61
Final Facts
– Williams wins the 58th title of her career; 14 more than any other active player and the seventh most in history.
– Williams’ win-loss record in finals now stands at 58-17, and 35-11 in hardcourt finals.
– Williams is the first player in the tournament’s 18-year history to defend the title.
– Williams improves her head-to-head against Azarenka to 14-3.
– Williams has now won 22 consecutive matches since losing to Azarenka in the Cincinnati final; she has also won 34 of her last 36 matches against Top 5 players, with her only defeats in that period, which dates back to Wimbledon 2011, coming against Azarenka.
– Azarenka falls to 17-15 in WTA finals, and 16-7 in hardcourt finals.
– Williams and Azarenka will retain their respective positions of No.1 and No.2 when the new rankings are released.
– Kudryavtseva and Rodionova win their third WTA title together; Kudryavtseva now has six career titles to her name, while Rodionova has seven.
Final Quotes
Serena Williams: “I’m really happy here and I love coming here to Brisbane. Definitely excited to have won and I’m really, really happy with the way I played and the intensity level. It’s definitely always interesting to play someone like Victoria – I know her game, I know what she does – but she goes out and improves, so every time I go out there and play her, things I thought were her weaknesses are now her strengths.”
Victoria Azarenka: “I want to congratulate Serena on a great week and a great match today. I always enjoy playing you and I hope to meet you again in Melbourne. Since my first year here I’ve had such good memories and I’ll take some from this year too.”
SHENZHEN OPEN
Shenzhen, China
December 29, 2013 – January 4, 2014
$500,000/International
Hard/Outdoors
Results – Saturday, January 4, 2014
Singles – Final
(1) Li Na (CHN) d. (5) Peng Shuai (CHN) 64 75
Doubles – Final
Niculescu/Zakopalova (ROU/CZE) d. Kichenok/Kichenok (UKR/UKR) 63 64
Final Facts
– Li wins the eighth title of her career; it was her third title in China – her previous two coming in Guangzhou in 2004 and Shenzhen in 2013.
– Li’s win-loss record in finals now stands at 8-11, and 5-6 in hardcourt finals; it was also her first successful title defense.
– Li dropped just one set all week, in her 75 46 64 quarterfinal win over Niculescu.
– Li improves her head-to-head record with Peng to 6-1.
– Peng falls to 0-6 in WTA finals; her previous final appearance came in Brussels last year.
– Niculescu and Zakopalova win their first WTA title together; both now have three career titles to their names.
Final Quotes
Li Na: “I’m happy to defend my title for the first time. It proved I can do it. Everything is moving in the right direction and after this tournament I’m going to Melbourne to prepare for the Australian Open.”
Topics: 10sballs.com, Brisbane International, Kichenok, Kudryavtseva, Li Na, Mladenovic, Niculescu, Peng Shuai, Rodionova, Serena Williams, Tennis, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka, Voskovobea, Wta, Zakopalova