Former US Open champions Dominic Thiem and Emma Raducanu will headline the qualifying field for the Australian Open as they look to reignite their careers in 2024 following struggles with injuries.
Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Danielle Collins were among those to win their first-round matches at the Adelaide International
Williams had little trouble against the 31-year-old German although the gusty breezes at Auckland Tennis Centre played havoc with her ball toss, especially when she was serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set.
Serena Williams crashed out of the Auckland Classic after fellow American Madison Brengle pulled off a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 upset in a see-saw second round contest.
Yuan broke Stephens when the American was serving for the match at 6-5. Stephens led 5-4 in the tie-break but could not hold on to her advantage and crashed out.
Former US Open champion Del Potro fired down 11 aces and did not face a break point during the one hour, 33 minutes match.
Venus Williams became one of the oldest players to win a WTA title when she beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final of the Auckland Classic on Saturday.
A round-up of tennis matches played on Tuesday.
Novak Djokovic will prepare for a tilt at an 11th Australian Open title by representing Serbia at the United Cup mixed team tournament while old rival Rafael Nadal and former women's world number one Naomi Osaka return at Brisbane after time away.
Sania Mirza suffered her fourth successive defeat, a straight set mauling, at the hands of Italian Francesca Schiavone and crashed out of the ASB Classic WTA tournament in Auckland on Wednesday. The Indian ace lost 0-6, 3-6 to her fourth seeded opponent in the second round of the US $220,000 hard court event, thus making a disappointing start to the season. She also lost in the doubles.
World number three Elena Rybakina overcame Cristina Bucsa in two hard-fought sets to make the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International on Wednesday, while Jessica Pegula and Jelena Ostapenko had to work even harder to make the last eight.
Chanting protestors interrupted Shahar Peer's second round match at the Auckland Classic on Wednesday before the Israeli advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-0 victory over Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova.
Rafael Nadal looked razor sharp again during his latest meeting with qualifier Thiem
A noticeable presence of protestors outside the venue failed to stop Olympic champion Elena Dementieva from marching into the semi-finals of the Auckland Classic on Thursday.
Top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and third-ranked Slovak Daniela Hantuchova enjoyed contrasting opening-round victories in the Auckland Classic on Tuesday.
Hurkacz, Swiatek win as Poland march into United Cup final
Seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will still play the Australian Open despite withdrawing from her scheduled warm-up tournament in New Zealand for health reasons, according to tournament director Craig Tiley.
Images from Day One of the Australian Open, in Melbourne, on Monday.
Elena Dementieva overpowered Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 at the Sydney International on Thursday to set up an all-Russian final against Dinara Safina.
Elena Dementieva beat fellow Russian Dinara Safina 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the final of the Sydney International on Friday to complete a perfect buildup to next week's Australian Open.
Former world number four Kimiko Date's international comeback ended in defeat in the first round of the Auckland Classic on Monday. Now playing under the name Date-Krumm, she succumbed 6-4, 6-3 to American Jill Craybas in her first WTA tournament outside Japan in 13 years.
Former world number one Martina Hingis was knocked out by Jelena Jankovic at the Sydney International.
China's Zhu Lin, who outlasted Venus Williams 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a rain-hit match that ran two hours and 23 minutes.
Jankovic will face Vera Zvonareva in Saturday's final after the Russian overcame American Jill Craybas.
A round-up of all tennis action on Saturday.
World number eight Caroline Wozniacki pulled out of her first match at the Sydney International with a wrist injury on Monday.
Tommy Paul led a parade of seeded players into the quarterfinals on Wednesday at the Adelaide International in Australia.
The Danish World No 3 ended 2017 with the biggest title of her career in Singapore and returned a day after thrashing Madison Brengle in her season opener to hit 21 winners against eight unforced errors in the 53-minute win over Martic.
Naomi Osaka faces Zheng before possible meeting with Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff turned the tables on her father
Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro served notice of his strong form ahead of the Australian Open when he crushed defending champion Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the Sydney International on Saturday.
American multiple grand slam champion Venus Williams collected the 49th title of her illustrious career by defeating Japan's Misaki Doi 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the inaugural Taiwan Open on Sunday.
Former World number one Serena Williams must rethink her approach to Grand Slams after her latest bid to win a record-equalling 24th major prize came unstuck at Melbourne Park, her coach Patrick Mouratoglou has said. The 38-year-old American, who is looking to match Australian great Margaret Court's record, has reached four Grand Slam finals since giving birth to daughter Olympia in 2017 but failed to win any of them.
Dominic Thiem, U.S. Open winner in 2020, has secured a place in the main draw of the Australian Open after the withdrawal of Reilly Opelka, the tournament organisers confirmed on Friday.
Richard Gasquet won a 13th career singles title by beating fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5 6-4 in the Open Sud de France final in Montpellier on Sunday.
The Maharashtra Open in Pune and the Rio Open in Brazil, that precedes the Australian Open, will be rescheduled.
With next week's Australian Open in mind, a weary Venus Williams has opted to skip the Hobart International while her American compatriot Sloane Stephens has pulled out of the Sydney International with a minor wrist injury.
Daniil Medvedev fired Russia into the final of the ATP Cup on Saturday with a tense 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over an injury-hampered Alexander Zverev after the German destroyed a racket in frustration over a lost service break.
Juan Martin Del Potro, who reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open on two occasions, has been battling problems with his right knee since June last year
The former US Open champion said he needs more recovery time after leading Argentina to the Davis Cup title for the first time in November.
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