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hobartinternational.com.au January 11, 2014 Hobart - Spanish qualifier Garbine Muguruza is the 2014 Hobart International singles champion. Muguruza won her maiden WTA title, thrashing Czech seventh seed Klara Zakopalova 6-4 6-0 in the final of the Hobart International today.

The rising star had too much power for her veteran opponent, blowing her away with her groundstrokes on Saturday to become the second qualifier to win Hobart in three tournaments. The 20-year-old Ana Ivanovic-lookalike joins Germany’s Mona Barthel, who won in 2012, as the only qualifiers to win the tournament.

Six-foot Muguruza, the world No.58 but tipped for big things, knocked second seed and Wimbledon semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens out on the way to her first WTA final. The Venezuelan-born right-hander didn’t drop a set from the qualifiers to the final as she tuned up for a first-round meeting with Estonian 24th seed Kaia Kanepi at the Australian Open.

She swept aside compatriot Estrella Cabeza Candela 6-0 6-1 in the semi-finals to set up her meeting with 31-year-old Zakopalova. The Czech had beaten top seed Sam Stosur 6-3 6-2 in the semi-finals and will meet the Australian again in round one of the Australian Open.

The doubles final was won by Klára Zakopalová and Monica Niculescu. They defeated Lisa Raymond and Shuai Zhang 6-2 6-7 [10-8]

hobartinternational.com.au January 10 2014 Hobart - Top seed Samantha Stosur was upset at the Hobart International by the player she has drawn to play in next week’s Australian Open first round. Stosur produced a lackluster and error-strewn performance to fall 6-3 6-2 to Czech world no.37 Klara Zakopalova in the semi-finals of the Hobart International championships.

Just hours before their match, the pair was drawn to meet again at the Australian Open in Melbourne after it gets underway on Monday. There was a bizarre start to Stosur’s first semi-final on home soil since 2005, the world no.17 needing a medical timeout after the warm-up when she suffered a bleeding nose.

The 29-year-old laughed as she had her blood pressure taken by the tournament doctor, eventually taking the court after a delay of around 10 minutes. Stosur lost her opening service game but broke back immediately. Zakopalova broke again in the sixth to lead 4-2 and then saved seven break points in the next game as the Australian attacked.

Surviving that onslaught, the Czech served out the set. Stosur found herself down an early break again in the second but broke back for 2-2. She meekly lost her next service game to love and was broken again for 5-2 before Zakopalova served out the match. Zakopalova will play the winner of the other semi-final between Spaniards Garbine Muguruza and Estrella Cabeza Candela, who play later today, in tomorrow’s final.

hobartinternational.com.au January 09 2014 Hobart - Top seed Sam Stosur has put together her most complete performance of the season to breeze into the semi-finals of the Hobart International. Stosur put recent struggles behind her to notch an impressive 6-3 6-2 quarter-final victory over Serbian world No.34 Bojana Jovanovski today.

The Australian rediscovered her rhythm on serve in the best conditions of the tournament so far, and eliminated the unforced errors that had threatened her Australian Open preparations. She finished it off with a superb serve down the T to set up a semi-final against seventh-seeded Czech Klara Zakopalova, who beat American Alison Riske 6-4 7-5.

World No.17 Stosur had barely scraped into the quarter-finals, needing third-set tiebreakers to down her early opponents after losing all three matches at the Hopman Cup. But she won 72 per cent of points on her first serve against Jovanovski, who made the Australian Open fourth round last year, to set up an emphatic victory in one hour and 12 minutes.

hobartinternational January 08 2014 Hobart - Top seed Samantha Stosur has called on all her fighting abilities to down Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic in a heartstopping third-set tiebreaker in the second round of the 2014 Hobart International. Stosur saved two match points in the tense conclusion before converting a second match point of her own for a gritty 6-4 2-6 7-6(7) win today.

Stosur, the world No.17, came into the match with only a scrappy three-set win over qualifier Madison Brengle from four matches this season. The 2011 US Open champion said she’d improved with each match since losing all three at the Hopman Cup, and she showed that against the massive forehand firepower of the tall Mladenovic.

Stosur was broken in the first game of the match but then broke Mladenovic twice to lead the first set 5-3. The 20-year-old Frenchwoman broke again for 5-4 but her serving let her down and a double fault gifted the set to the Australian. Mladenovic got the early break again in the second and led 5-2 before clinching the set with an ace. Stosur broke early to lead the third 2-0 but was immediately broken by Mladenovic and in a tense set both players held until the nail-biting decider.

hobartinternational.com.au January 6, 2014 Hobart - Samantha Stosur admitted relief at her first win of the season after an almighty scare from American qualifier Madison Brengle at the Hobart International today.

The top-seeded Australian entered the tournament after three straight losses at the Hopman Cup as she shakes up her preparation for the Australian Open. Stosur downed world No.147 Brengle 6-7(4) 6-1 7-6(5) in a rain-interrupted nail-biter at the Domain Tennis Centre.

Stosur will next meet Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic, who she beat in straight sets at the French Open last year. The world No.17 says she is building her game as she looks to avoid a repeat of last year’s second round exit at the Australian Open.

Casey Dellacqua has made a winning start to the 2014 Hobart International. Dellacqua moved into the second round with a 6-4 6-4 win against Belgian qualifier Alison Van Uytvanck in front of a supportive crowd on the Domain Tennis Centre’s centre court.

Rising Chinese talent Shuai Zhang knocked compatriot and 2005 Hobart International champion Jie Zheng out of the 2014 Hobart International. Zhang defeated Zheng 6-3 6-1 in the opening match on Court Events Tasmania on day two. 

The world no. 51 only lost nine points on serve during the first round match, and never gave her more-experienced opponent a chance to get into the match.

Zhang’s performance should come as no surprise after a stellar finish to the 2013 season. She won her first WTA title in September and recorded 19 wins from her final 23 matches of the season. It helped her clash her ranking from outside the top 100 in August to finish the year at a career-high mark of 51. Zhang will play either seventh seed Klara Zakopalova from Czech Republic or Austrian Yvonne Meusburger in the second round. They play their first round match later today.

American Alison Riske has stunned Russian fourth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round of the 2014 Hobart International today. Riske knocked the world no. 30 out of the tournament with with 6-3 6-2 win. The 23 year-old American, ranked 55, played aggressive tennis and had her higher ranked opponent on the back foot throughout the match.