Draws Announced For Fed Cup By BNP Paribas World Group And World Group II Ties

The ITF has announced the draws for the 2016 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties taking place on 6-7 February.

Three Zone Group I events are also taking place on 3-6 February: Europe/Africa Zone Group I in Eilat, Israel; Americas Zone Group I in Santa Cruz, Bolivia; and Asia/Oceania Zone Group I in Hua Hin, Thailand.

All nations contesting the Zone Group I events are bidding to qualify for the Fed Cup World Group II play-offs on 16-17 April, with two teams qualifying from the Europe/Africa Zone, and one team from both the Americas and Asia/Oceania Zones.

Live scoring is available on the official Fed Cup website. The English and Spanish websites both feature a live blog, reports, photographs, audio interviews and live streaming. There is also a fan zone showing the best social media content at http://www.fedcup.com/showyourcolours.

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

ROMANIA v CZECH REPUBLIC
Venue: Sala Polivalenta Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, ROU (hard – indoor)
Simona Halep (ROU) v Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
Monica Niculescu (ROU) v Petra Kvitova (CZE)
Simona Halep (ROU) v Petra Kvitova (CZE)
Monica Niculescu (ROU) v Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
Andreea Mitu/Raluca Olaru (ROU) v Denisa Allertova/Barbora Strycova (CZE)

GERMANY v SWITZERLAND
Venue: Leipziger Messe, Leipzig, GER (hard – indoor)
Andrea Petkovic (GER) v Belinda Bencic (SUI)
Angelique Kerber (GER) v Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
Angelique Kerber (GER) v Belinda Bencic (SUI)
Andrea Petkovic (GER) v Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
Annika Beck/Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) v Viktorija Golubic/Martina Hingis (SUI)

FRANCE v ITALY
Venue: Palais des Sports de Marseille, Marseille, FRA (hard – indoor)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Camila Giorgi (ITA)
Caroline Garcia (FRA) v Sara Errani (ITA)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Sara Errani (ITA)
Caroline Garcia (FRA) v Camila Giorgi (ITA)
Oceane Dodin/Pauline Parmentier (FRA) v Martina Caregaro/Sara Errani (ITA)

RUSSIA v NETHERLANDS
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Moscow, RUS (hard – indoor)
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v Kiki Bertens (NED)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) v Richel Hogenkamp (NED)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) v Kiki Bertens (NED)
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v Richel Hogenkamp (NED)
Darya Kasatkina/Maria Sharapova (RUS) v Cindy Burger/Arantxa Rus (NED)

WORLD GROUP II FIRST ROUND

SLOVAKIA v AUSTRALIA
Venue: Aegon Arena, National Tennis Centre, Bratislava, SVK (hard – indoor)
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) v Arina Rodionova (AUS)
Jana Cepelova (SVK) v Samantha Stosur (AUS)
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) v Samantha Stosur (AUS)
Jana Cepelova (SVK) v Arina Rodionova (AUS)
Jana Cepelova/Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) v Casey Dellacqua/Samantha Stosur (AUS)

CANADA v BELARUS
Venue: PEPS, Québec City, CAN (hard – indoor)
Francoise Abanda (CAN) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) v Olga Govortsova (BLR)
Francoise Abanda (CAN) v Olga Govortsova (BLR)
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Gabriela Dabrowski/Carol Zhao (CAN) v Olga Govortsova/Vera Lapko (BLR)

Venus Williams
photo credit: Beth
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode

USA v POLAND
Venue: Holua Tennis Center, Kailua Kona, USA (hard – outdoor)
Sloane Stephens (USA) v Magda Linette (POL)
Venus Williams (USA) v Paula Kania (POL)
Venus Williams (USA) v Magda Linette (POL)
Sloane Stephens (USA) v Paula Kania (POL)
Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Coco Vandeweghe (USA) v Klaudia Jans-Ignacik/Alicja Rosolska (POL)

SERBIA v SPAIN
Venue: Kraljevo Sports Centre, Kraljevo, SRB (hard – indoor)
Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) v Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) v Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) v Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) v Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)
Ivana Jorovic/Nina Stojanovic (SRB) v Lara Arruabarrena/Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP)

NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR FED CUP BY BNP PARIBAS WORLD GROUP AND WORLD GROUP II TIES

The ITF has announced the official team nominations for the 2016 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties taking place on 6-7 February.

Three Zone Group I events are also taking place on 3-6 February: Europe/Africa Zone Group I in Eilat, Israel; Americas Zone Group I in Santa Cruz, Bolivia; and Asia/Oceania Zone Group I in Hua Hin, Thailand.

All nations contesting the Zone Group I events will be bidding to qualify for the Fed Cup World Group II play-offs on 16-17 April, with two teams qualifying from the Europe/Africa Zone, and one team from both the Americas and Asia/Oceania Zones.

Live scoring will be available on the official Fed Cup website throughout the week. The English and Spanish websites will both feature a live blog, reports, photographs, audio interviews and live streaming. There will also be a fan zone showing the best social media content at http://www.fedcup.com/showyourcolours.

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Trophy

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

ROMANIA v CZECH REPUBLIC
Venue: Sala Polivalenta Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, ROU (hard – indoor)

Romania
Simona Halep
Irina-Camelia Begu
Monica Niculescu
Andreea Mitu
Captain: Alina Cercel-Tecsor

Czech Republic
Petra Kvitova
Karolina Pliskova
Barbora Strycova
Denisa Allertova
Captain: Petr Pala

GERMANY v SWITZERLAND
Venue: Leipziger Messe, Leipzig, GER (hard – indoor)

Germany
Angelique Kerber
Andrea Petkovic
Julia Goerges
Annika Beck
Captain: Barbara Rittner

Switzerland
Belinda Bencic
Timea Bacsinszky
Viktorija Golubic
Martina Hingis
Captain: Heinz Guenthardt

FRANCE v ITALY
Venue: Palais des Sports de Marseille, Marseille, FRA (hard – indoor)

France
Kristina Mladenovic
Caroline Garcia
Pauline Parmentier
Oceane Dodin
Captain: Amelie Mauresmo

Italy
Sara Errani
Camila Giorgi
Francesca Schiavone
Martina Caregaro
Captain: Corrado Barazzutti

Maria Sharapova
photo credit: Ian Gampon
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode

RUSSIA v NETHERLANDS
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Moscow, RUS (hard – indoor)

Russia
Maria Sharapova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Ekaterina Makarova
Darya Kasatkina
Captain: Anastasia Myskina

Netherlands
Kiki Bertens
Richel Hogenkamp
Cindy Burger
Arantxa Rus
Captain: Paul Haarhuis

WORLD GROUP II FIRST ROUND

SLOVAKIA v AUSTRALIA
Venue: Aegon Arena, National Tennis Centre, Bratislava, SVK (hard – indoor)

Slovakia
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Dominika Cibulkova
Daniela Hantuchova
Jana Cepelova
Captain: Matej Liptak

Australia
Samantha Stosur
Casey Dellacqua
Jarmila Wolfe
Kimberly Birrell
Captain: Alicia Molik

CANADA v BELARUS
Venue: PEPS, Québec City, CAN (hard – indoor)

Canada
Gabriela Dabrowski
Francoise Abanda
Carol Zhao
Aleksandra Wozniak
Captain: Sylvain Bruneau

Belarus
Victoria Azarenka
Olga Govortsova
Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Vera Lapko
Captain: Eduard Dubrou

Sloane Stephens Fed Cup By BNP Paribas
photo credit: Александр Осипов
https://www.flickr.com/photos/da_belkin/6959726552/in/photolist-bB1qeo-bB1pMy-bPV3A8-bB1qh3-bPSCDn-bB1q3L-qPTsgj-qQ3Hk8-bPSCi2-qQBh4U-qasNCW-r7ow37-bAXZUN-bPSD3V-bAY17u-bAXZG3-bAXZwy-bPSDEi-bPSDFg-bPSD7v-bAY1fs-bPSD6K-bAXZiS-bAY1Gw-bPSErT-bPSDh6-bAY16A-bB1noG-bPSCXZ-bAXZ7U-bAXZVy-bAXZWS-bAXZsf-bAXZ59-bPSDDe-bPSCWr-bPUZY2-bAXZFf-bAXYXs-bAY1qG-bPV1Pn-bPSDeP-bB1myE-bAXZhY-bAY1iW-bAY1ey-bAY1XE-bAXZnU-bAXZoQ-bPSDvV

USA v POLAND
Venue: Holua Tennis Center, Kailua Kona, USA (hard – outdoor)

USA
Venus Williams
Sloane Stephens
Coco Vandeweghe
Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Captain: Mary Joe Fernandez

Poland
Magda Linette
Paula Kania
Alicja Rosolska
Playing captain: Klaudia Jans-Ignacik

SERBIA v SPAIN
Venue: Kraljevo Sports Centre, Kraljevo, SRB (hard – indoor)

Serbia
Jelena Jankovic
Bojana Jovanovski
Ivana Jorovic
Nina Stojanovic
Captain: Tatjana Jecmenica

Spain
Garbine Muguruza
Carla Suarez Navarro
Lara Arruabarrena
Lourdes Dominguez Lino
Captain: Conchita Martinez

Safarova Grabs Last WTA Finals Spot

Daria Kasatkina as handed Lucie Safarova has handed the last spot in the season ending WTA Finals in Singapore by defeating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-2 at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow Russia.

Safava would not had made it to Singapore if Navarro had made it to the finals of the Kremlin Cup.

Lucie Safarova will join Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber and Flavia Pennetta in Singapore.

Lucie Safarova
photo credit: Tatiana
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

Safarova won two Grand slam titles in the doubles event of the French Open and Australia Open this year, but the highlight of singles career this year was playing at the French Open Finals.

Timea Bacsinszky and Venus Williams are on standby as first and second alternates, respectively.

Newfanzone Wimbledon 2015 Preview

The third and world most prestigious Grand Slam competition takes center stage on Monday and Newfanzone.com takes an in-depth look on the chances of the big names and possible upsets in the competition.

MEN’S PREVIEW

Obviously the favorite going into Wimbledon will have to be Novak Djokovic. The Serb who is the top seed for this competition will look to defend his title following the footstep of Swiss Great Roger Federer who is also in this competition. Novak’s mental strength will push him through again and he will make at least the Semis in this competition.

British No.1 Andy Murray had a good clay court season and just recently won at the Queens. If there is anybody who loves to play in Wimbledon it has to be the Scott Andy Murray.

Since getting married to Kim Sears the third seed has only lost to Novak Djokovic and the Wimbledon title might just be the perfect wedding gift for him.

Andy Murray, photo credit Kate
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43555660@N00/7381761806/in/photolist-cfisBh-cccBHE-9Q9NNi-9QcEx7-9QcENf-9Z5qp7-e54daR-mPmFn8-mRgT1h-cccD2E-dbsMQE-e5aJoq-cccCX9-bUQost-6cksF6-dfA9oT-bUQn8r-bUQnFK-bUQoUa-e559ne-bUQoxc-dbyNhi-nAZ51B-8kCqj3-6zTgmb-nAYhfu-6zPqXv-e6oK1H-9WDUCT-pLz9Z8-cccBu7-e5aMGS-mPnSnV-9sA5m8-9sA4AX-6zSRpj-9QcE4h-dbyR8b-dbyRum-efDT4N-eeKzKC-mPo7qn-ct8Rfw-9Z2u7K-9Z2tsz-9Z5q29-ct8Ww1-cccDgf-e51KYK-mjz5Pk

Second seed and 7 time champion Roger Federer have not been in great form this year with a third round exit in Australia and a loss in the last eight at Roland Garros to compatriot and eventual winner Stanislas Wawrinka.
Even though the Swiss recently won at Halle, the form of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will be too much for the Swiss to cope and a Semi-final finish will be great for the Swiss.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal has had a bad start to 2015 which has made him slip down to tenth in the rankings. The two time Wimbledon champion recently won the Stuttgart Open but was also disappointing at the Queens.

Rafael Nadal is a big name anytime but I don’t think he has all it takes to win the title this year.

Newfanzone.com player to watch for 2015 Kei Nishikori has had a fairly good season so far by his standards with a Barcelona Open title in the bag.

The 5th seed is good technically but needs to work more on his physical abilities if he wants to win Grand slams in the future.

Other players who can upset the big names and make it to the last four in the competition include; Stanislas Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych and Kevin Anderson.

STATISTICS(Male)

PRIZE MONEY: £26,750,000

MOST TITLES: R.Federer (7)
P.Sampras (7)
W. Renshaw (7)

DEFENDING CHAMPION : N.Djokovic

SURFACE: Grass (outdoors)

NEWFANZONE VERDICT

It is going to be a tight one in Wimbledon but Andy Murray might yet win another Wimbledon title and he is our pick for the title.

WOMEN’S PREVIEW

Serena Williams looks like the woman to beat in every Grand Slam competition and going by what we have seen so far this year,there is no doubt that she is the favorite to win the title in Wimbledon even though she is not the defending champion.

Serena has not won on Grass since winning the Olympics title in 2012 in London and she has not gone Past the fourth round of Wimbledon since last winning it in 2012 but trust the American to win this one as she eyes Steffi Graf’s record of winning all four Grand Slams in a year.

World No.4 Maria Sharapova has not really played well this year despite winning titles in Brisbane and Rome.

Winning the title in Wimbledon might be a way to show the world that she is still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the big stage in women’s tennis.

Petra Kvitova
photo credit Kate
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

Defending Champion and second seed Petra Kvitova is one lady that can give Serena a run for her money when it comes to playing on grass.

The Czech has made the quarter-finals in her last 5 Wimbledon tournaments and it seems SW-19 is her favorite when it comes to Grand Slams competition.

French Open finalist Lucie Safarova will be one person to watch after her impressive performance at Roland Garros. The Czech No.2 might have form easy to come by and make two successive Grand Slam finals.

STATISTICS (Female)

PRIZE MONEY : £26,750,000

MOST TITLES: M.Navratilova

DEFENDING CHAMPION : P.Kvitova

SURFACE: Grass (outdoors)

NEWFANZONE VERDICT

Serena Williams looks like the woman to beat in every Grand Slam tournament and she is our pick to win her third Grand Slam title this year.

Wimbledon 2015: Williams, Djokovic Are Top Seeds

WTA World Number one Serena Williams and ATP Number Novak Djokovic have both been seeded top of the singles event at Wimbledon.

Djokovic is followed by number two seed Roger Federer while homeboy Andy Murray is seeded third.

below is the list for the top ten seeds at this year’s Wimbledon men’s singles:

Novak Djokovic doha 2015. photo credit novakdjokovic.com

1 DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB)
2 FEDERER, Roger (SUI)
3 MURRAY, Andy (GBR)
4 WAWRINKA, Stan (SUI)
5 NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN)
6 BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE)
7 RAONIC, Milos (CAN)
8 FERRER, David (ESP)
9 CILIC, Marin (CRO)
10 NADAL, Rafael (ESP)

Current French Open and Australian Open holder Serena Williams is seeded as number one for this year’s Wimbledon ahead of defender champion Petra Kvitova at number two followed by Simona Halep who is seeded as number three.

Williams is still in line to complete a clean sweep of all four major’s after securing the Australian And French Open.

If she can pull this off it would make her joint second with with Steffi Graf who also has 22 grand slam’s to her name.

Women Single’s:

1 WILLIAMS, Serena (USA)
2 KVITOVA, Petra (CZE)
3 HALEP, Simona (ROU)
4 SHARAPOVA, Maria (RUS)
5 WOZNIACKI, Caroline (DEN)
6 SAFAROVA, Lucie (CZE)
7 IVANOVIC, Ana (SRB)
8 MAKAROVA, Ekaterina (RUS)
9 SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP)
10 KERBER, Angelique (GER)

Latest ATP And WTA Top Ten Rankings (March 16th 2015)

Great Britain’s Andy Murray has moved from last week’s 5th position to 4th this week, and that is the only movement in the ATP Top Rankings. Only ten points separate Murray and Japan’s Nishikori who swopped places with Murray.

Djokovic continues to hold sway at the top of the rankings log with an amazing 13,205. precisely 4,000 points more than his closest challenger Roger Federer.

The Women’s Top Ten Rankings remains same as last week and even the previous week, the USA’s World Number One Serena Williams has got over a thousand points lead on world number two Maria Sharapova of Russia whose got 8,215.

The gaze of the Tennis World is fully on the BNP Paribas Open at Indian wells which is in full swing

Rank Previous Rank Name Country Ranking Points
1 1 Novak Djokovic Serbia 13,205
2 2 Roger Federer Switzerland 9,205
3 3 Rafael Nadal Spain 5,675
4 5 Andy Murray Great Britain 5,425
5 4 Kei Nishikori Japan 5,415
6 6 Milos Raonic Canada 4,980
7 7 Stanislas Wawrinka Switzerland 4,595
8 8 David Ferrer Spain 4,535
9 9 Tomas Berdych Czech Republic 4,340
10 10 Marin Cilic Croatia 3,450

Rank Previous Rank Name Country Ranking Points
1 1 Serena Williams USA 9,592
2 2 Maria Sharapova Russia 8,215
3 3 Simona Halep Romania 6,571
4 4 Petra Kvitova Czech Republic 6,395
5 5 Caroline Wozniacki Denmark 4,825
6 6 Ana Ivanovic Serbia 4,425
7 7 Eugenie Bouchard Canada 4,306
8 8 Agnieszka Radwanska Poland 4,065
9 9 Ekaterina Makarova Russia 3,420
10 10 Andrea Petkovic Germany 3,190

Latest ATP And WTA Rankings (March 9th 2015)

Rank Previous Rank Name Country Ranking Points
1 1 Novak Djokovic Serbia 13,165
2 2 Roger Federer Switzerland 9,205
3 4 Rafael Nadal Spain 5,675
4 5 Kei Nishikori Japan 5,415
5 3 Andy Murray Great Britain 5,370
6 6 Milos Raonic Canada 4,980
7 7 Stan Wawrinka Switzerland 4,595
8 9 David Ferrer Spain 4,535
9 8 Tomas Berdych Czech Republic 4,340
10 11 Marin Cilic Croatia 3,450

No movement at the top of the ATP Rankings as Djokovic sits safely at the top with 13,165, followed by the man that recently beat him at the Dubai Championships Roger Federer. Nadal as moved from fourth to third closely followed by Japan’s Kei Nishikori who’s now world number 4, Great Britain’s Andy Murray who this weekend led his Country to an important victory over the USA in the BNP Paribas Davis Cup has slipped from 3rd to fourth in the latest ATP Rankings.

Rank Previous Rank Name Country Ranking Points
1 1 Serena Williams USA 9,592
2 2 Maria Sharapova Russia 8,215
3 3 Simona Halep Romania 6,571
4 4 Petra Kvitova Czech Rep 6,395
5 5 Carol Wozniacki Denmark 4,730
6 6 Ana Ivanovic Serbia 4,425
7 7 Eugenie Bouchard Canada 4,306
8 8 Agnieszka Radwanska Poland 4,065
9 9 Ekaterina Makarova Russia 3,420
10 10 Andrea Petkovic Germany 3,190

Serena Williams- Australia Open. photo credit Sascha Wenninger
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sufw/3230642357/in/photolist-5VtTqi-5WX5Xq-5WSGyV-5WWE6y-5WSp9V-5WTbg8-5WX92E-5WST22-7wgFZn-5WSzsX-5WXcY1-5WWFej-5WXe9h-5WWXkh-5WXb1q-5WXjas-5WT6oB-5WWHMC-7ACUtq-7Az8Me-5Wiprw-5We3Zg-5We1LH-5WiocQ-5Win9Y-5We8uM-5WdZCz-5VVS6i-sojv-7yhQaj-7Az9cn-7AzdpR-7Aze1p-7Azde2-7Azcp6-7AzdH4-7AzcU8-7ACUPJ-7ACWP7-7Azc72-7ACWzh-7ACW6L-7AzazR-7AzabF-5Wik11-5WdYwZ-dN14Rt-BpW7G

the Women’s ranking witnessed no movement in the top ten this week, all the ladies have kept their previous ranking positions.

FED CUP BY BNP PARIBAS RESULTS: 8 February 2015

Please find below Sunday’s results from the 2015 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties taking place on 7-8 February.

In the World Group semifinals, on 18-19 April, Russia will be at home to Germany, while France will be away to Czech Republic.

Maria Sharapova photo credit upi.com

Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland and USA, the four winners in World Group II, have qualified for the World Group play-offs on 18-19 April, where they will be joined by the four World Group first round losers, Australia, Canada, Italy and Poland.

Belarus, Japan, Paraguay and Serbia, who all qualified from their respective Zone Group I events which finished on Saturday, will contest the World Group II play-offs on 18-19 April, where they will be joined by the four World Group II losers, Argentina, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

The draw for the World Group play-offs and World Group II play-offs will be held at the ITF offices in London on Tuesday 10 February at 10:00 GMT. The seeds will be based on the new Fed Cup Nations Ranking of 9 February.

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 99 nations entered in 2015. The event celebrated its 50th birthday in 2013 in the ITF’s centenary year. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Fed Cup. Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) is an international sponsor and beIN SPORTS is the Official Global Media Rights Partner. Follow all the action on http://www.fedcup.com, http://www.fedcup.com/es, http://www.twitter.com/fedcup, http://www.facebook.com/FedCup, http://www.Weibo.com/fedcupofficial and http://www.fedcup.tv.

Serena Williams, photo credi Александр Осипов
https://www.flickr.com/photos/da_belkin/6959258742/in/photolist-bAY2aG-bAXDjE-9gY3Nx-bPSgHc-bPShya-bPShJ8-bPSgL6-bAXDrh-bAXDAy-bAXEq7-bPSiLT-bAXCyh-bAXE35-bPSipD-bAXEE3-bPSE64-bB1nV3-bPSEg6-bB1nfs-bB1mCy-bPShg4-bPSC1M-bB1nJS-bPSEh2-bPV23c-bPV1Tv-bB1n1w-bAY1C1-bB1nMj-bAY1Nm-bPSDTk-bPSF6c-bB1n3W-bPSi2k-bPV14a-bAY1SL-bPV35F-bPSEEi-bPSEUi-bAY1L5-bAXDBE-bB1ocN-bB1nTs-bAY1Hy-bPSj7Z-bB1n7q-bB1mWo-bAY2gA-bPSEj8-bPV12V

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

CZECH REPUBLIC defeated CANADA 4-0
Venue: PEPS, Quebec City, CAN (hard – indoors)

Karolina Pliskova (CZE) d. Francoise Abanda (CAN) 62 64
Tereza Smitkova (CZE) d. Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) 61 62
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) d. Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) 64 62
Francoise Abanda (CAN) v Tereza Smitkova (CZE) not played
Denisa Allertova/Lucie Hradecka (CZE) d. Francoise Abanda/Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) 61 76(2)

FRANCE defeated ITALY 3-2
Venue: 105 Stadium, Genoa, ITA (clay – indoors)

Sara Errani (ITA) d. Caroline Garcia (FRA) 76(2) 75
Camila Giorgi (ITA) d. Alize Cornet (FRA) 64 62
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 64 63
Caroline Garcia (FRA) d. Camila Giorgi (ITA) 46 60 62
Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) d. Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci (ITA) 61 62

RUSSIA defeated POLAND 4-0
Venue: Krakow Arena, Krakow, POL (hard – indoors)

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 64 26 62
Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Urszula Radwanska (POL) 60 63
Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 61 75
Urszula Radwanska (POL) v Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) not played
Vitalia Diatchenko/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Klaudia Jans-Ignacik/Alicja Rosolska (POL) 64 64

GERMANY defeated AUSTRALIA 4-1
Venue: Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, GER (hard – indoors)

Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) d. Angelique Kerber (GER) 46 62 64
Andrea Petkovic (GER) d. Samantha Stosur (AUS) 64 36 1210
Angelique Kerber (GER) d. Samantha Stosur (AUS) 62 64
Andrea Petkovic (GER) d. Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 63 36 86
Julia Goerges/Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. Casey Dellacqua/Olivia Rogowska (AUS) 67(2) 76(7) [10-6]

WORLD GROUP II FIRST ROUND

NETHERLANDS defeated SLOVAKIA 4-1
Venue: Omnisport Apeldoorn, Apeldoorn, NED (clay – indoors)

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) d. Kiki Bertens (NED) 62 75
Arantxa Rus (NED) d. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 63 64
Kiki Bertens (NED) d. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 61 26 61
Arantxa Rus (NED) d. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) 63 26 64
Richel Hogenkamp/Michaella Krajicek (NED) d. Kristina Kucova/Kristina Schmiedlova (SVK) 75 61

ROMANIA defeated SPAIN 3-2
Venue: Danube Arena, Galati, ROU (hard – indoors)

Simona Halep (ROU) d. Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 62 61
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) d. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) 63 62
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) d. Simona Halep (ROU) 64 63
Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) d. Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 62 64
Irina-Camelia Begu/Monica Niculescu (ROU) d. Anabel Medina Garrigues/Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 57 63 62

SWITZERLAND defeated SWEDEN 3-1
Venue: Helsingborg Arena, Helsingborg, SWE (hard – indoors)

Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) d. Rebecca Peterson (SWE) 76(4) 60
Belinda Bencic (SUI) d. Johanna Larsson (SWE) 61 62
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) d. Johanna Larsson (SWE) 63 76(5)
Rebecca Peterson (SWE) v Belinda Bencic (SUI) not played
Johanna Larsson/Rebecca Peterson (SWE) d. Viktorija Golubic/Xenia Knoll (SUI) 57 62 [10-5]

USA defeated ARGENTINA 4-1
Venue: Pilara Tennis Club, Buenos Aires (clay – outdoors)

Venus Williams (USA) d. Paula Ormaechea (ARG) 63 62
Serena Williams (USA) d. Maria Irigoyen (ARG) 75 60
Paula Ormaechea (ARG) d. CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) 64 64
Venus Williams (USA) d. Maria Irigoyen (ARG) 61 64
Taylor Townsend/CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) d. Tatiana Bua/Nadia Podoroska (ARG) 62 63

Serena And Novak Win Australian Open

It was a happy ending for the top seeds in Australia as both Serena and Novak clinched the much coveted title in Melbourne.

Serena Williams- Australia Open. photo credit Sascha Wenninger
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sufw/3230642357/in/photolist-5VtTqi-5WX5Xq-5WSGyV-5WWE6y-5WSp9V-5WTbg8-5WX92E-5WST22-7wgFZn-5WSzsX-5WXcY1-5WWFej-5WXe9h-5WWXkh-5WXb1q-5WXjas-5WT6oB-5WWHMC-7ACUtq-7Az8Me-5Wiprw-5We3Zg-5We1LH-5WiocQ-5Win9Y-5We8uM-5WdZCz-5VVS6i-sojv-7yhQaj-7Az9cn-7AzdpR-7Aze1p-7Azde2-7Azcp6-7AzdH4-7AzcU8-7ACUPJ-7ACWP7-7Azc72-7ACWzh-7ACW6L-7AzazR-7AzabF-5Wik11-5WdYwZ-dN14Rt-BpW7G

Serena Williams who defeated American Madison Keys in the Semi-final was business like as usual as she crushed Russian and 2nd seed Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6-3!7-6(7-5) to win the Australaian Open title

Serena has not lost to Sharapova since 2004 a record that has spanned up to 16 meetings so it was not a surprise seeing Sharapova lose in such manner.

18th time Grand Slam champion Navratilova presented Serena with her 19th Grand slam title which sees her just three Grand Slam title short off Steffi Graph.

To the Men’s Final, Novak Djokovic secures his 5th Australian Open title having secured a 7-6(7-5),6-7(4-7),6-3,6-0 victory over 6th seed Andy Murray in three hours 38 minutes.

Novak Djokovic – Australian Open, photo credit Richard Fisher-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardfisher/3329548987/in/photolist-65dPit-yAgbh-4kZ8q1-yAg8H-jUeHSD-yAgag-yAggE-65i5vL-65dNV2-4qFTZ7-4W48DN-4W48y5-4VYTgv-4VYTs2-4W48zL-4W48Hs-5PPtz3-5PKdSR-jUex6v-7wgFZn-4VYTmT-dQ1AQt-4VYThr

The Serb started the game of fire but Murray was not ready to cave in easily as he ensured he won the second set to make the game at 1 set apiece.

It was eventually won when the Scot backhand sentenced him to a fourth final loss in Melbourne Djokovic raised his arms,exhaled,smailed and pointed to his coach Boris Becker and the rest of his entourage.

Djokovic has now won the most singles title at the Australian Open in the professional era and moves past Roger Federer and Andre Agassi who has four titles.

Australian Open: Murray, Serena, Sharapova Through To Finals

Andy Murray came from a set down to beat Czech and 7th seed Tomas Berdych 6-7(6),6-0,6-3,7-5 to book a fourth appearance in the Australian open final.

Murray said “there was a little bit of extra tension-it was a big match. A lot was made about Dani Vallverdu,my former coach working with Tomas. But we’ve been friends since we were 15years old and I felt that the focus was unfair and unnecessary. This is sports and there is more to life than sport”.

According to the Guardian Murray complained to the umpire about something Berdych said on the changeover,and it simmered like a lawsuit from that point.

Murray has never won the Australian Open and is one of only two players to lose three times in the final( Stefan Edberg is the other) but he has high hopes for this one as he awaits the winner of the other semi-final between Djokovic and defending champion Wawrinka.

Serena Williams

In the ladies, Serena ended the fairytale run of fellow American Madison Keys beating her 7-6(5),6-2 in the process.

Keys said she was pleased with her performance and ability to compete with the injury she had.

Serena made her feelings known saying “I was just happy to get through it today. I think i was able to serve big when I needed to. So that really helped a lot. She hits a very,very hard ball,she also hits it very deep. So its a little different trying to prepare for that. So i wasn’t really ready for that”.

The world No. 1 will next face Russian Maria Sharapova in the final who defeated Ekaterina Makarova 6-3,6-2.

Shararpova was too strong for her fellow Russian who really had no Plan B against the former world No.1.

Sharapova has lost 15 times in a row against Williams so she knows she has to be at her best if she is to win the first Grand slam of the year.

Nominations Announced For Fed Cup By BNP Paribas World Group And World Group II Ties

The ITF has announced the official team nominations for the 2015 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties taking place on 7-8 February.

Four Zone Group events are also taking place in the week commencing 2 February: Europe/Africa Zone Group I in Budapest, Hungary (4-7 February); Americas Zone Group I in San Luis Potosi, Mexico (4-7 February); Asia/Oceania Zone Group I in Guangzhou, China (4-7 February); and Europe/Africa Zone Group II in Tallinn, Estonia (4-7 February)

All nations contesting the Zone Group I events will be bidding to qualify for the Fed Cup World Group II play-offs on 18-19 April, with two teams qualifying from the Europe/Africa Zone, and one team from both the Americas and Asia/Oceania Zones.

Live scoring for the World Group and World Group II ties will be available on the official Fed Cup website throughout the weekend of 7-8 February and both the English and Spanish websites will feature a live blog, reports, photographs, audio interviews, podcasts and live streaming. A live blog and full coverage of the Zone Group events will run 4-7 February. There will also be a fan zone showing the best social media content at http://www.fedcup.com/showyourcolours.

Elina Svitolina photo credit Александр Осипов
https://www.flickr.com/photos/da_belkin/7105790927/in/photolist-bPSE64-bB1nV3-bPSEg6-bB1nfs-bB1mCy-bPShg4-bPSC1M-bB1nJS-bPSEh2-bPV23c-bPV1Tv-bB1n1w-bAY1C1-bB1nMj-bAY1Nm-bPSDTk-bPSF6c-bB1n3W-bPSi2k-bPV14a-bAY1SL-bPV35F-bPSEEi-bPSEUi-bAY1L5-bAXDBE-bB1ocN-bB1nTs-bAY1Hy-bPSj7Z-bB1n7q-bB1mWo-bAY2gA-bPSEj8-bPV12V-bPSDXr-bAY1Do-bB1mxC-bPSisP-bAXDQU-bAXEJ1-bAXDhm-bPSjc6-bAXELo-bPSh6K-bPSiGD-bPSgS6-bAXERj-bAXCKS-bPSgTB

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

CANADA v CZECH REPUBLIC
Venue: PEPS, Quebec City, CAN (hard – indoors)

Canada
Sharon Fichman
Gabriela Dabrowski
Francoise Abanda
Captain: Sylvain Bruneau

Czech Republic
Karolina Pliskova
Tereza Smitkova
Denisa Allertova
Lucie Hradecka
Captain: Petr Pala

ITALY v FRANCE
Venue: 105 Stadium, Genoa, ITA (clay – indoors)

Italy
Sara Errani
Camila Giorgi
Roberta Vinci
Karin Knapp
Captain: Corrado Barazzutti

France
Alize Cornet
Caroline Garcia
Kristina Mladenovic
Pauline Parmentier
Captain: Amelie Mauresmo

POLAND v RUSSIA
Venue: Krakow Arena, Krakow, POL (hard – indoors)

Poland
Agnieszka Radwanska
Urszula Radwanska
Alicja Rosolska
Klaudia Jans-Ignacik
Captain: Tomasz Wiktorowski

Russia
Maria Sharapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Vitalia Diatchenko
Captain: Anastasia Myskina

GERMANY v AUSTRALIA
Venue: Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, GER (hard – indoors)

Germany
Angelique Kerber
Andrea Petkovic
Sabine Lisicki
Julia Goerges
Captain: Barbara Rittner

Australia
Samantha Stosur
Casey Dellacqua
Jarmila Gajdosova
Olivia Rogowska
Captain: Alicia Molik

Serena Williams, photo credi Александр Осипов
https://www.flickr.com/photos/da_belkin/6959258742/in/photolist-bAY2aG-bAXDjE-9gY3Nx-bPSgHc-bPShya-bPShJ8-bPSgL6-bAXDrh-bAXDAy-bAXEq7-bPSiLT-bAXCyh-bAXE35-bPSipD-bAXEE3-bPSE64-bB1nV3-bPSEg6-bB1nfs-bB1mCy-bPShg4-bPSC1M-bB1nJS-bPSEh2-bPV23c-bPV1Tv-bB1n1w-bAY1C1-bB1nMj-bAY1Nm-bPSDTk-bPSF6c-bB1n3W-bPSi2k-bPV14a-bAY1SL-bPV35F-bPSEEi-bPSEUi-bAY1L5-bAXDBE-bB1ocN-bB1nTs-bAY1Hy-bPSj7Z-bB1n7q-bB1mWo-bAY2gA-bPSEj8-bPV12V

WORLD GROUP II FIRST ROUND

NETHERLANDS v SLOVAKIA
Venue: Omnisport Apeldoorn, Apeldoorn, NED (clay – indoors)

Netherlands
Kiki Bertens
Richel Hogenkamp
Arantxa Rus
Michaella Krajicek
Captain: Paul Haarhuis

Slovakia
Dominika Cibulkova
Magdalena Rybarikova
Anna Schmiedlova
Kristina Kucova
Captain: Matej Liptak

ROMANIA v SPAIN
Venue: Danube Arena, Galati, ROU (hard – indoors)

Romania
Simona Halep
Irina-Camelia Begu
Monica Niculescu
Alexandra Dulgheru
Captain: Alina Cercel-Tecsor

Spain
Garbine Muguruza
Silvia Soler-Espinosa
Lara Arruabarrena
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Captain: Conchita Martinez

SWEDEN v SWITZERLAND
Venue: Helsingborg Arena, Helsingborg, SWE (hard – indoors)

Sweden
Johanna Larsson
Rebecca Peterson
Susanne Celik
Sofia Arvidsson
Captain: Lars-Anders Wahlgren

Switzerland
Belinda Bencic
Timea Bacsinszky
Viktorija Golubic
Xenia Knoll
Captain: Heinz Guenthardt

ARGENTINA v USA
Venue: Pilara Tennis Club, Buenos Aires (clay – outdoors)

Argentina
Paula Ormaechea
Maria Irigoyen
Nadia Podoroska
Tatian Bua
Captain: Maria-Jose Gaidano

USA
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
Varvara Lepchenko
Madison Keys
Captain: Mary Joe Fernandez

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 96 nations taking part in 2015. The event celebrated its 50th birthday in 2013 in the ITF’s centenary year. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Fed Cup. Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) is an international sponsor. Follow all the action on http://www.fedcup.com, http://www.fedcup.com/es and at http://www.fedcup.tv as well as on social media at http://www.twitter.com/fedcup, http://www.facebook.com/FedCup and http://www.Weibo.com/fedcupofficial.

Australia Open: Wawrinka, Djokovic Through As Keys Defeats Williams.

2014 Wimbledon semi-finalist and big serving Canadian Milos Raonic lost a chance to play a second Grand slam semi-final after losing to Serb Novak Djokovic in straight sets 7-6(5),6-4,6-2.

The win against Raonic,was Djokovic tenth win without a loss against Canadian opponents.

Defending Champion Stanislas Wawrinka continued his impressive title defence with a straight sets 6-3,6-4,7-6(6) over Japanese Kei Nishikori.

“It wasn’t really a bad week for me. It is not easy getting to a quarter final at Grand slams. But I have to keep doing this;playing tough all the time,playing a lot of matches,especially at Grand slams”.Nishikori said after losing to Wawrinka.

Nishikori could not replicate the form that saw him defeat Wawrinka and Djokovic en route his first Grand Slam final.

Wawrinka will now face Djokovic is what promises to be an exciting semi-final clash and Novak has said that “the crowd are definitely expecting a marathon like the last couple of years and am sure both of us will give our best to perform the best possible tennis”.

Novak Djokovic, photo credit David Jones
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidcjones/8325891736/in/photolist-dFJnxw-d9a1ys-7wiCww-oLHews-p2aXN1-p4cRkK-p2aVBC-d99anW-6s2NgT-dsVq2f-dsVd5D-9DrroJ-egS23A-egKS3H-egRBku-egKPFx-egKN22-egKHD4-egR9cq-egKj4F-8swdaw-8swcQG-8swaiE-8st5mV-8sw7fC-8st4rZ-8sw6qd-8sw5gE-8st2ga-8st1MX-8st1gB-ajKhAu-7iSNdT-7iSMYX-7iSMGZ-7iSMkX-d7LdZ5-egTSsb-egN5zB-egTPJ7-egTL6G-egTGyY-egTFxu-egMTVp-egMSvr-egMR6i-egMPPB-egMzS8-egMyNz-egMh6a

In the ladies, America Madison Keys overcame a major injury scare to defeat Venus Williams 6-3,4-6,6-4.

The World No.35 won the opening set in 29 minutes but went behind 4-1 in the second set due to an injury. Keys returned with her leg strapped to finish the second set which she lost but she was too good in the third as she send Venus packing.

“It was definitely a flashback to wimbledon for me”. I have had some problems with that part of my leg so it was kind of an overwhelming moment. It was scary”. Keys said after eliminating Venus.

In the other semi-final Serena Williams just needed 65 minutes to dispatch Dominika Cilbukova in straight sets 6-2,6-2.

Cibulkova admitted that she was definitely second best against the American saying “it was a tough match for me today. She was just playing really well today,I have to say. She was putting so much pressure on the serve and return. I didn’t have a chance to play my game and felt under so much pressure. It was a good day for her”.

Serena will next face her sister conqueror and fellow American Madison Keys in the last four.