VENUS WINS AUCKLAND TITLE
Venus Williams will enter the Australian Open confidently after capturing the Auckland title on Saturday with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki. The Kastles superstar improved to 6-0 lifetime against Wozniacki to clinch her 46th singles title. Now ranked 18th in the world, Williams dropped only 15 games en route to the final. Though Wozniacki claimed her first set in six meetings with Williams, the American atoned for her loss to Ana Ivanovic in last year’s Auckland final.
HINGIS VICTORIOUS IN BRISBANE
Less than 12 hours after Venus Williams‘ triumph in Auckland, Martina Hingis joined her Kastles teammate in the winner’s circle. Hingis and Sabine Lisicki defeated No. 4 seeds Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 7-5 to earn the Brisbane doubles title. The Swiss has now won eight consecutive matches and 16 straight sets after capturing the Kremlin Cup with Flavia Pennetta to end 2014. Check out the Kastles’ Facebook page for 50+ photos of Hingis’ run in Brisbane courtesy of Christopher Levy.
PAES REACHES CHENNAI FINAL
Leander Paes nearly gave the Kastles a title trifecta to start the 2015 season, falling just shy of his seventh Chennai championship on Sunday. Yen-Hsun Lu and 2012 Wimbledon doubles champ Jonathan Marray defeated Paes and first-time partner Raven Klaasen 6-3, 7-6(4) in the final. Nevertheless, Paes and Klaasen enjoyed an excellent debut, highlighted by a quarterfinal win over Mahesh Bhupathi and Saketh Myneni. Paes has now won six of his last seven matches against his ex-partner Bhupathi.
EXTRA FEATURE FROM AUCKLAND
Before raising the winner’s trophy in Auckland, Venus Williams experienced tennis with a new breed of ballkids. Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova played an exhibition match during which three dogs retrieved balls between points. With wristbands above their paws and treats from the chair umpire, the balldogs held their own. Tournament title sponsor ASB uploaded a video of the charismatic canines, and in less than one week on YouTube, the 92-second clip has been viewed more than 1.7 million times.
EXTRA FEATURE FROM BRISBANE
New World No. 9 Martina Hingis is all smiles these days after winning back-to-back titles in Moscow and Brisbane. During her Brisbane run, Hingis took time to answer 10 questions about topics ranging from her hectic offseason and childhood heroes to her favorite music and television shows. In the end, the Mylan WTT Finals MVP was asked for her New Year’s resolution. “Well, I’ll try to keep the chocolate a little lower,” said Hingis. “But I’m Swiss, so I can’t hide that.” Click here to watch the interview.
EXTRA FEATURE FROM CHENNAI
Leander Paes is the most decorated Indian tennis player in history, and as such, he was spotlighted extensively during the Chennai Open. All four of Paes’ matches were played on Stadium Court, with 20+ minutes of highlights available on the tournament’s YouTube page. In addition, Paes answered questions posted on social media and accepted a cake in honor of his 25th year on the ATP World Tour. “I wish I was singing ‘Happy Birthday’ for my 25th birthday,” the 41-year-old Paes joked.
Topics: Leander Paes, Martina Hingis, Mylan WTT, Tennis, Tennis News, Venus Williams, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis
BREAKING #TENNIS NEWS: #VENUS & @mhingis WIN TITLES, @Leander REACHES FINAL IN GREAT OPENING WEEK FOR @WashKastles- http://t.co/PV9yQWiPbU
RT @TennisNewsOne: BREAKING TENNIS NEWS: VENUS & HINGIS WIN TITLES, PAES REACHES FINAL IN GREAT OPENING WEEK FOR KASTLES http://t.co/6tfOp4…
RT @TennisNewsOne: BREAKING TENNIS NEWS: VENUS & HINGIS WIN TITLES, PAES REACHES FINAL IN GREAT OPENING WEEK FOR KASTLES http://t.co/6tfOp4…
RT @TennisNewsOne: BREAKING TENNIS NEWS: VENUS & HINGIS WIN TITLES, PAES REACHES FINAL IN GREAT OPENING WEEK FOR KASTLES http://t.co/6tfOp4…
RT @TennisNewsOne: BREAKING TENNIS NEWS: VENUS & HINGIS WIN TITLES, PAES REACHES FINAL IN GREAT OPENING WEEK FOR KASTLES http://t.co/6tfOp4…