AUSTRALIAN OPEN PREVIEW: LEANDER PAES FORMS DREAM TEAM WITH MARTINA HINGIS AS SWISS SEEKS 9TH TITLE

Martina Hingis and Leander Paes look to bring a Grand Slam title back to Washington.

 

Australian Open Preview: Hingis and Paes Team Up

Leander Paes and Raven Klaasen Win Auckland Title in 2nd Final of 2015

 

 

Washington Kastles 2015 Australian Open Preview

Hingis Returns to Greatest Grand Slam of Hall-of-Fame Career

 

Former Champs Venus, Paes Lead Kastles’ Other Contenders

 

 

As a member of the Washington Kastles, Martina Hingis knows a thing or two about winning streaks. After all, she joined the Kastles just in time to help them pass the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers with 34 consecutive victories.

 

But long before the Kastles entered the record books, Hingis earned a page all to herself by winning 50 straight matches at the Australian Open from 1997 to 2000.

 

This week, the Swiss returns to the scene of her greatest triumphs for the start of the 2015 Australian Open, where she and Kastles captain Leander Paes will vie for the mixed doubles championship.

 

Hingis enters with eight Australian Open titles in singles, doubles and mixed — her dominance most daunting while she was only a teenager.

 

The Hall-of-Famer swept the singles and doubles titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999 before falling in the final of both events in 2000. Over that stretch, Hingis dropped only seven sets as she won 27 singles and 23 doubles matches in a row.

 

She added another doubles title in 2002 and her first mixed major in 2006, making her the only men’s or women’s player to win singles, doubles and mixed titles during the Australian Open’s hard-court era (1988-present).

 

But when she competed in Melbourne 12 months ago, Hingis wasn’t in any of the three main draws. Instead, Australian tennis fans found her in the legends’ doubles round robin alongside a 57-year-old Martina Navratilova.

 

What a difference a year makes. With four WTA Premier titles since the 2014 Australian Open, Hingis has jumped from No. 180 to No. 9 in the world doubles rankings and emerged as a contender in both women’s and mixed doubles.

 

Though they have never teamed on tour, Hingis and Paes are 17-2 in mixed doubles with Washington, keying the Kastles to the King Trophy in 2013 and 2014. Hingis and Flavia Pennetta will be the No. 4 seeds in women’s doubles after reaching the US Open final in their first major as a team.

 

Paes and Raven Klaasen are expected to be seeded 10th in their Grand Slam men’s doubles debut, while Australian citizens Anastasia Rodionova and Arina Rodionova reunite at a major for the first time since 2012.

 

The Rodionovas aren’t the only sisters signed up for women’s doubles. Four-time champions Venus Williams and Serena Williams will be unseeded and undeniably dangerous when the doubles draws are released in the coming days.

 

While Serena is the clear favorite in singles, Venus enters in better form after defeating World No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki on Jan. 10 to win the Auckland title. She hopes to carry that momentum into her eighth Australian Open quarterfinal, or beyond.

 

Also representing the Kastles in singles are Kevin Anderson, Sloane Stephens, Shelby Rogers and Jarmila Gajdosova. They hope to add to Washington’s Grand Slam Honor Roll, which includes 99 major titles won by past and present Kastles.

 

 

 

MARTINA HINGIS

Partners: Pennetta (WD), Paes (XD)

 

Hingis is making her first main draw appearance at the Australian Open since 2007. In Paes and Pennetta, she has a pair of partners who could help her add to her legacy down under. Paes and Hingis have won more than 60% of their games in two seasons as Kastles teammates. And Pennetta’s power from the baseline set the sure-handed Hingis up well during their run to the US Open final. Expect the Melbourne fans to motivate Hingis as she plays for a ninth Australian Open title.

 

 

 

 

LEANDER PAES

Partners: Klaasen (MD), Hingis (XD)

 

Though he is teaming with Hingis and Klaasen for the first time at a major, Paes won titles in his Grand Slam debuts with both of his most recent partners, Radek Stepanek and Cara Black. The Indian legend has already won the Auckland title and reached the Chennai final this year with Klaasen, who came close to capturing his first major title at the 2014 Australian Open. He and Eric Butorac, who are both WTT veterans, beat Bob and Mike Bryan en route to the final.

 

 

 

 

ANASTASIA RODIONOVA

Partners: Rodionova (WD), Farah (XD)

 

The Rodionova reunion comes after Anastasia and Arina enjoyed their best seasons in 2014. Anastasia captured three WTA titles and peaked at No. 15 before splitting with Alla Kudryavtseva. Arina, the 2011 WTT Finals MVP, won three ITF titles and a WTA $125K event to reach her current ranking of No. 63 — a career high. At the 2012 Australian Open, the sisters stole the first set from current World No. 1s Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci before falling 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

 

 

 

 

VENUS WILLIAMS

No. 18 seed in Women’s Singles

 

A tricky draw separates Venus from her first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance since 2010. First up is María Torró-Flor, who took her to three sets at Wimbledon. Venus could meet Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the third round and No. 6 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth, having lost to both in finals last summer. Her reward for winning those match-ups could be a quarterfinal clash with Petra Kvitova, who edged Venus in an instant classic en route to the Wimbledon title.

 

 

 

 

KEVIN ANDERSON

No. 14 seed in Men’s Singles

 

With his highest seed at a Grand Slam, Anderson will be keen to reach his first major quarterfinal. He’s come close the last two years, winning 20 matches at the majors and advancing to the fourth round five times. Anderson is seeded 14th in Australia, just as surprise champion Marin Cilic was at the US Open. But tall tasks await the 6-foot-8 Kastle. Anderson is 1-4 against potential third-round opponent Richard Gasquet, with 2014 finalist Rafael Nadal waiting on deck.

 

 

 

 

SLOANE STEPHENS

Unseeded in Women’s Singles

 

Two Australian Opens ago, Stephens stunned Serena Williams and No. 1 seed Victoria Azarenka won the title. Now, Stephens and Azarenka are facing off in the first round… and it could have been worse! The 34th-ranked Stephens and 41st-ranked Azarenka could be opening up against Serena since they are unseeded players who were randomly placed in the draw. Still, Sloane vs. Vika was a semifinal in 2013 and a fourth-rounder in 2014. This just feels weird.

 

 

 

 

SHELBY ROGERS

Unseeded in Women’s Singles

 

Rogers enjoyed a storybook ending to 2014, complete with an all-expense-paid trip to Singapore for the first-ever WTA Rising Stars Invitational. But 2015 hasn’t been as kind to the Kastles substitute, who lost her openers in Auckland and Sydney. Now playing the Australian Open main draw for the first time, Rogers will face adopted Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic. When they met in Montréal last summer, Rogers defeated Tomljanovic 6-4, 7-6(5). Tomljanovic won their two prior matches.

 

 

 

 

JARMILA GAJDOSOVA

Unseeded in Women’s Singles

 

Gajdosova continues to make great strides in her comeback from mono. Last week in Sydney, the Kastles substitute reached the quarterfinals by beating World No. 13 Andrea Petkovic and World No. 11 Dominika Cibulkova. Should she defeat Alexandra Dulgheru, Gajdosova will likely play No. 3 seed Simona Halep in the second round. With powerful groundstrokes and the passionate support of her fellow Aussies, Gajdosova is capable of the upset.

 

 

 

 

Leander Paes and Raven Klaasen Win Auckland Title

Kastles Captain Captures Championship for 19th Consecutive Season

Auckland doubles champions Raven Klaasen and Leander Paes

(Photo Courtesy of NZ Festival of Tennis on Facebook)

 

Leander Paes and Raven Klaasen weren’t expected to be experienced going into the Australian Open. But after capturing the Auckland title on Saturday, Paes and Klaasen are among the favorites to win the first Grand Slam of the year.

 

The Indian and South African overcame a 5-2 first-set deficit to defeat Dominic Inglot and Florin Mergea 7-6(1), 6-4, giving Paes 55 doubles titles and 19 straight seasons with at least one championship.

 

Paes and Klaasen are 7-1 in their first season as a team, having also played in the Chennai final on Jan. 11. Meanwhile, World No. 1s Bob and Mike Bryan were upset in the opening round of Auckland.

 

Suddenly, the doubles outlook entering the Australian Open has changed. The Bryans lost their only match since Nov. 16, while Paes has already reached as many finals in 2015 as he did all of last season.

 

“It’s been a good start to the year,” said Paes. “It just goes to show that when you persevere and work hard together, we’re very potent as a team.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paes and Klaasen encountered a difficult draw from the start, winning their first three matches in a match tiebreaker.

 

The No. 4 seeds beat Brisbane champions Jamie Murray and John Peers 7-6(3), 4-6, [10-6], before edging Chennai champion Yen-Hsun Lu and his partner Oliver Marach 4-6, 6-3, [10-6]. Then, in the semifinals, Paes and Klaasen rallied to defeat No. 2 seeds and 2013 US Open finalists Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 3-6, 6-3, [10-4].

 

“Leander is arguably one of the best doubles players of all time,” said Klaasen. “He’s still willing to learn and improve and teach me those things I haven’t heard before. Looking forward, my improvement curve is going fast, and he’s improving, too. The way things are going now, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

 

Though Paes and Klaasen had never paired prior to 2015, Kastles fans got a glimpse at their potential when they played one another at the Smith Center on July 14.

 

With Washington on an 18-match winning streak, Klaasen’s San Diego Aviators upset Paes’ Kastles 22-18. In their head-to-head sets, Klaasen won men’s doubles with Somdev Devvarman and Paes won mixed with Martina Hingis (Highlights).

 

Klaasen was also on the 2009 Springfield Lasers team that lost to Washington in the WTT Finals at the original Kastles Stadium. His run with Paes ends a successful stretch for the Kastles in Auckland. On Jan. 10, Venus Williams won the singles title at the ASB Classic, which is held at the same venue as the Heineken Open men’s event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEANDER PAES MEN’S DOUBLES TITLES BY YEAR Year Tournaments 2015 Auckland 2014 Kuala Lumpur 2013 Winston-Salem, US Open 2012 Chennai, Australian Open, Miami, Shanghai 2011 Chennai, Miami, Cincinnati 2010 Miami, Shanghai 2009 French Open, US Open 2008 Bangkok 2007 Rotterdam, Indian Wells 2006 ‘s-Hertogenbosch, US Open 2005 Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Bangkok 2004 Halle, Gstaad, Toronto, Delray Beach 2003 Dubai, Delray Beach, Gstaad 2002 Chennai, Mallorca 2001 Atlanta, Houston, French Open, Cincinnati 2000 Orlando, Tokyo 1999 Chennai, French Open, ‘s-Hertogen., Wimbledon, Newport 1998 Doha, Dubai, Chennai, Rome, Shanghai, Paris 1997 Chennai, Prague, Montreal, New Haven, Beijing, Singapore     LEANDER PAES MEN’S DOUBLES TITLES BY PARTNER Partner              Titles  Years Mahesh Bhupathi      26      1997-2002, 2004, 2011 Radek Stepanek       5       2004, 2012-2013 Lukas Dlouhy         4       2008-2010 Martin Damm          4       2006-2007 David Rikl           4       2003-2004 Nenad Zimonjic       3       2003, 2005 Jan Siemerink        2       1999-2000 Raven Klaasen        1       2015 Marcin Matkowski     1       2014 Daniel Nestor        1       2013 Janko Tipsarevic     1       2012 Jurgen Melzer        1       2010 Paul Hanley          1       2005 Wayne Arthurs        1       1999

 

Topics: Anastasia Rodionova, AO2015, AusOpen, Australian Open preview, Jarmila Gajdosova, Kevin Anderson, Leander Paes, Martina Hingis, Mylan WTT, Raven Klaasen, Shelby Rogers, Sloane Stephens, Tennis, Venus Williams, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis

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