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It was another fantastic week on the circuit for Australia’s men as they won three titles. There was also success for two women on the ITF in doubles.
ATP
Two ATP events were held this week with a 500 tournament held in Washington (USA) and a 250 event in Kitzbuhel (Austria).
Just one Aussie was in Kitzbuhel, with Rameez Junaid losing in the first round of doubles, while Washington had seven Australians in main-draw action.
John-Patrick Smith and Lleyton Hewitt faced each other in the opening round. Hewitt, in his final appearance at Washington, won 6-4 6-4 to record his second win of the year in the ATP. He was then defeated by Feliciano Lopez in the second round in three sets.
Sam Groth was the star in Washington, making the quarter finals for his first appearance in the final eight of an ATP 500 event, defeating two top-20 players along the way, before being defeated by eventual winner Kei Nishikori.
WTA
Two events were also held in the WTA with both being held in America at Washington and Stanford.
In Stanford, Ajla Tomljanovic made her third quarter-final for the year, defeating Madison Keys in the second round before being beaten by Karolina Pliskova in the final eight.
In Washington, Sam Stosur continued her brilliant form to make the semi-finals, before being defeated by the winner, Sloane Stephens. Stosur, who moved back into the top 20 after the week, has won 18 out of her last 23 matches, and also registered her 500th win in the WTA to become the fifth Aussie to do so.
.@BamBamSam30 joins 500 win club! Congrats–> http://t.co/pQJIdXCEse #WTA ? pic.twitter.com/YLjti9H3vC
— WTA (@WTA) August 4, 2015
ATP Challenger
Three Challengers were held last week, in Segovia (Spain), Liberec (Czech Republic), and Cortina (Italy). Just one Aussie competed, with Adam Hubble playing doubles in Liberec and losing in the opening round.
ITF
Five Australians won titles on the ITF circuit this week.
Starting in Thailand, Jordan Thompson won his second singles title of the year, beating two Australians on the way – in the second round he ended Jacob Grills’ run, then defeated Ben Mitchell in the semis.
A 6-2 6-2 win over Ti Chen in the final gave Thompson his fourth singles title and first outside of Australia.
#itf Here is Thompson, with his trophy, after the win in Thailand. Well done to the Sydney based player. pic.twitter.com/Lf14GiYGLD
— Shane Jones (@TennisResultsAu) August 9, 2015
Thompson and Mitchell later combined to make the doubles final at the same event, just falling short of the title.
In the USA, at the F24 event, Luke Saville also beat two Australians on his way to the title. At the quarters he beat Andrew Whittington, before making his way to the final with a straight-set win over Matt Reid.
Saville did not lose a set all week, taking out the final over Kevin King 6-4 6-4. It was his first singles title of 2015 and his seventh overall, and moves him back into the top 200.
#itf Here is Saville, with his novelty cheque, after the win in the USA. Well done to the South Aussie! pic.twitter.com/ShVVIQlgXp
— Shane Jones (@TennisResultsAu) August 10, 2015
In Italy, Maverick Banes teamed up with Brazilian Bruno Sant’Anna to add a ninth doubles title to his trophy cabinet, winning the final against Italian opponents.
Banes has now four doubles titles in 2015.
#itf Here is Banes, in yellow on the right, after the win at Italy F21. Well done to the Queenslander. pic.twitter.com/hugO49Fy2f
— Shane Jones (@TennisResultsAu) August 9, 2015
On the women’s side, Alexandra Nancarrow continued her fantastic season with another doubles title in Bulgaria to go with titles in Spain, Belgium, and Serbia for her fifth title in four countries playing doubles in 2015. She now has 20 doubles titles overall and 16 in the last 20 months.
It was almost two titles in Plovdiv for Nancarrow, with a singles title, but she lost the final to a qualifier.
Sally Peers, in a tournament in Vienna, also tasted success in doubles, winning her 12th title and second this year. Peers and her partner did not lose a set during the three matches they played.
#itf Here is Peers, and her partner, after the win in Vienna. Well done to the Victorian. pic.twitter.com/IJmDZMNUMu
— Shane Jones (@TennisResultsAu) August 10, 2015
Finally Gavin Van Peperzeel, Brad Mousley, and Nives Baric made the semi-finals in Slovakia, Turkey, and Tunisia respectively.
Rankings
Bernard Tomic remains Australia’s highest ranked male, at 26 in the world.
Groth moved to a career-high ranking of 53 with his quarter-final appearance at Washington, going up nine spots from 62.
Van Peperzeel, after his title win last week, moved into the top 300 for the first time in his career to be 295 in the world.
Peers continues to improve on his doubles ranking as well, up to a career-high of 15.
Stosur moves back into the top 20 for the first time since January, sitting 18th as the highest placed Australian female in the tour.
Storm Sanders, for the first time in 2015, is back inside the top 400 at 393 in the world.
Casey Dellacqua stays at 15 in the world to be the highest doubles player.
This week
Time to grab the maple syrup as the WTA and ATP head to Canada for a Premier Event in Toronto and a Masters event in Montreal.
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