Kerber knocked out at Brisbane international, top 5 all lose as WTA 2017 begins

The top-ranked players in women’s tennis may have established themselves in 2017 – and over the years – as the best in the sport, but early on in the 2017 season, have all suffered early losses at their respective tournaments. Following on the heels of Serena Williams’ loss at Auckland’s ASB Classic yesterday to compatriot Madison Brengle, it is World No. 1 Angelique Kerber who has lost her quarter-final match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine at the quarter-finals of the Brisbane season opener.

Angelique Kerber

World No. 1 Angelique Kerber had a scintillating, incredibly consistent 2016 season, and looked to get a strong start to the new season, but has today lost to Elina Svitolina at the quarterfinals of the Brisbane Open in Australia.

Kerber did not look to be in optimal form in her match yesterday either, surviving a scare from cricketer turned tennis player Ashleigh Barty; the 271-ranked Australian completely dominated Kerber in the second set of the pair’s match, hitting winners from all over the court as Kerber struggled to keep up.

Although the German put the pressure on in the third set to get a win, she was outclassed today by Elina Svitolina of Ukraine – this time with the tables reversed. It was the sixth-seeded Svitolina who won the first set convincingly, with Kerber clawing back for the second before Svitolina pushed on to win the third set.

Svitolina last defeated Kerber in Beijing in 2016, and carries her good form into the new season.

Elina Svitolina bt Angelique Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Serena Williams

Having struggled with injuries off and on during the 2016 season, a well-rested Serena Williams looked to make a comeback in the new season and regain her top spot – which she can still do by the Australian Open.

But the younger Williams sister, the top seed at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, lost out in the second round to compatriot Madison Brengle in the second round of the tournament. 72^nd ranked Brengle joked about Williams “thinking [I] was rubbish” during the course of the match but would go on to beat her after taking the pair’s second set to tiebreak.

Brengle eventually lost out to Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals.

Madison Brengle bt Serena Williams 6-4, 7-6, 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska

World No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska, top seeded at the WTA Shenzhen Gemdale Open in China, suffered a loss to eighth-seeded Alison Riske of the United States at the quarter-finals of the tournament – and got bagelled by Riske en route.

Known as the “Ninja” for her speedy, perfectly-placed shots, Radwanska had a mixed bag of results in 2016, but bettered her year-end results from 2015, finishing the last season as the World No. 3 – winning her 20^th WTA title en-route.

8th-seed Riske will now play Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the semi-finals of the tournament.

Alison Riske bt Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 3-6, 6-0

Simona Halep

Like Radwanska, Halep was also in the top field at the Shenzhen Open, where she was seeded second. Up against Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, Halep floundered in three sets at a tournament she has won in the past – most recently in 2015.

There were a total of 15 breaks in that match, four of which came in the final set.

20-year-old Siniakova will face Nina Stojanovic of Serbia for a semi-final spot here, while Shenzhen is Halep’s only tournament prior to the Australian Open.

Katerina Siniakova bt Simona Halep 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

Dominika Cibulkova

Second-seeded at Brisbane, World No. 5 Dominika Cibulkova came into 2017 on the back of a strong season, having ended 2016 as the champion at the WTA Finals with a win over World No. 1 Angelique Kerber. That had been Cibulkova’s debut appearance at the Tour Finals, and the Slovak made a few finals last year as well in addition to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Despite this, however, the 27-year-old lost out in the quarter-finals today, with French player Alize Cornet defeating her in straight sets – 6-3, 7-5.

Alize Cornet bt Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 7-5