British number one Johanna Konta beat Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets to reach the quarter finals of the Wuhan Open as she attempts to qualify for the end of season WTA Finals. In the last eight, Konta will face either world number one Angelique Kerber or Czech Petra Kvitova. Konta started well in the opening set, but could not create a meaningful breakthrough. At 5-5 she held on to save a break point before breaking Suarez Navarro in the following game. The 26-year-old from Eastbourne then forced her Spanish opponent into a number of errors with some powerful hitting as she took the first set 7-5.
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British number one Johanna Konta breezed into the second round in China with a straight sets victory over German Annika Beck. Konta, who is close to breaking into the WTA top 10, is seeded nine at the Wuhan Open and faces Shuai Zhang of China in the next round. The win is the latest in what has been a very successful year for the 25-year-old, after becoming the first British woman since Virgina Wade to reach the semi-final of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open and winning her first tour level tournament on the hard courts of Stanford.
Heather Watson was forced to pull out of her first round match at the Wuhan Open against American Madison Brengle after feeling dizzy and having double vision. The British number two, who played twice in one day to make it through qualifying in China, retired while trailing 3-6 1-2. During the US Open earlier this month, Watson needed treatment as she lost to Richel Hogenkamp in the heat and humidity of New York. Blood tests after the match came back clear and thoughts of a relapse of the glandular fever which hammered her in 2013 were but to bed after impressive wins over Chang Liu and Samantha Crawford on Saturday helped her reach the first round.
Caroline Wozniacki beat Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka to win Pan Pacific Open, her first title of the year. The former world number one battled through injury to seal her 24th career WTA title, and first since February 2015, in straight sets 7-5, 6-3. Wozniacki, who had previously won in Tokyo in 2010, went down 3-1 in the opening set to Osaka, playing in her first tour level final. The Dane, who has been hampered by injuries in recent times and had dropped to 74 in the world rankings at the end of August, needed a medical time out in the first set.
Angelique Kerber added the title in New York to the Australian Open crown she won in January to seal her status as the new WTA world number one in style. Kerber was assured of the rankings top spot after her final opponent, Karolina Pliskova, beat outgoing number one Serena Williams in the semi-finals, but the German became a two-time major winner with a three set victory on Saturday. Czech Pliskova was in outstanding form, entering the final on an eleven match winning streak, but had never made it further than the third round of a Grand Slam before this fortnight in New York. Kerber on the other hand, was playing in her third Slam final of the year, having beaten Williams in Melbourne before losing to her at Wimbledon.
Angelique Kerber will become the new world number won after she won her US Open semi-final, while a loss ended Serena Williams hopes of a record 23rd major title. Going into the final Grand Slam of the year, Kerber needed to beat American Williams' result to take the top spot in the WTA Rankings. And following Williams' straight sets defeat to Czech 10th seed Karolina Pliskova, the German knew a win over former world number one Caroline Wozniacki would see her become number one.
Defending champion Heather Watson defeated Brazilian Teliana Pereira in the first round of the Hobart International. The British number two spent just one hour and thirteen minutes on court in Australia as she comfortably beat the world number forty-six 6-3 6-0. However Watson, who claimed the title in Hobart last year with a straight sets victory over American Madison Brengle, had a tougher match than the scoreline suggests. The world number 53 broke her opponents serve twice during the first set but faced ten break points of her own, of which Pereira converted one.
After the top four WTA ranked players all had to withdraw from tournaments due to injury in the past week, there have now been further injuries to some of the worlds best female players. Czech Petra Kvitova and Pole Agnieszka Radwanska are the latest stars to pull out of warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open, after withdrawing from the Sydney International. Last week Serena Williams retired from her singles match at the Hopman Cup with a recurring knee injury while Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Maria Sharapova all withdrew from the Brisbane International with various problems. Now world number five Radwanska and number six Kvitova have joined the long injury list.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka has won her first title since 2013 by defeating German Angelique Kerber to win the Brisbane International. After being plagued by injury since her last tour trophy, at Cincinnati two years ago, the unseeded Belarusian won in straight sets 6-3 6-1. The tournament, which many players use as a warm-up for the Grand Slam of the year, has provided great match practice for Azarenka, who has won the Australian Open on two previous occasions, in 2012 and 2013. It was unseeded 26-year-old's third appearance in the final in Brisbane, after winning her first tour title there seven years ago before loosing to Serena Williams in 2014.
The British pairing of Heather Watson and Andy Murray missed out on the Hopman Cup final after Australia Green secured victory over France in Perth. Home favourites Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova will now play Ukraine in Sunday's final. After earlier completing a comprehensive victory over Germany, Watson and Murray needed French pair Kenny De Schepper and Caroline Garcia to beat the Australians in order to make it through to the final. It wasn't looking good for the Brits after Kyrgios rushed to a 6-4 6-4 singles win in just 56 minutes but the tie was even after Garcia beat Gavrilova 6-4 7-6 (9-7).
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