The first tournaments of the year on the WTA tour have now finished with Serena Williams and Li Na both retaining their titles in Brisbane and Shenzhen respectively.  Auckland though was a bit of a surprise as Ana Ivanovic fought off the nerves to win her first title in over two years.  Here are my thoughts about each tournament.

WTA Brisbane: Serena Williams d. Victoria Azarenka, 6-4 7-5 (Final)

Serena Williams

It was another injury riddled year for the Brisbane International; however thankfully none of the retirements affected the tournament from the quarter-final stages onwards.  It was rather refreshing to see such big clashes in week one although the results remained predictable.  The season has begun just as 2013 ended with Serena Williams beating her nearest rivals in straight sets whilst playing below her best.  Victoria Azarenka did very well to reach the final and as always, gave Serena a very competitive match.  I think her spirit and motivation is back after she admitted struggling with it at the WTA Champs in Istanbul, but her tennis was very patchy including that unreliable serve.  She will certainly face an uphill struggle to defend her Australian Open crowd with Serena in the draw.

For Maria Sharapova, I thought it was a very solid first week after months out with that shoulder injury and she will improve as the season goes on.  Aside from Serena, I was most impressed by Jelena Jankovic, who put in a fantastic performance to defeat Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals.  Jankovic looks back to her best and although she laboured at the end of her semi-final loss to Azarenka, there was so much to get excited about with her game.  She is serving better than ever and is showing the belief in her shots again, namely the backhand, which looks like a potent weapon.

Moo’s Match of the week: Jankovic d. Kerber, 6-7(8) 6-3 6-1, QF

Moo’s Original Predictions: 72% correct picks, correctly predicted the champion and finalist

WTA Auckland: Ana Ivanovic d. Venus Williams, 6-2 5-7 6-4 (Final)

Ana Ivanovic

International events are normally messes, but after a shaky start, Auckland’s draw held up remarkably well.  I do have a soft spot for this event and the crowds were superb as always.  This was a really huge win for Ana Ivanovic, who had failed to serve out the match in the second set.  At the second time of asking, Ivanovic prevailed to claim her first title since the Tournament of Champions event in Bali at the end of 2011.  No doubt the “Ivanovic to be a dark horse at the Australian Open” bandwagon will kick into full force now… I am not on this one! Venus Williams had a great week and she looked so relaxed in Auckland.  I really hope she withdraws from Hobart and rests up before the Aussie Open.

There weren’t any great matches (apart from the final, which I am eager to watch back when I get the chance!)  although there were some notable results.  The most impressive came from the young 16-year-old, Ana Konjuh, who in her first WTA main draw match, defeated the number one seed, Roberta Vinci.  Konjuh is a name to keep your eyes on in the coming years for sure.  Garbine Muguruza and Jamie Hampton both shone in their first tournaments back from injury, which ended their 2013 seasons early.  We also learnt that Sorana Cirstea and Lucie Safarova remain unable to produce consistently solid performances as they lost in straight set openers.  Both possess superb ball striking abilities, but are just unable to wane it in when things are not going to plan.

Moo’s Match of the week: Venus d. Hlavackova, 6-3 7-6(1), R1 (I didn’t watch the final!)

Moo’s Predictions: 42% correct picks, correctly predicted the finalist

WTA Shenzhen: Na Li d. Shuai Peng, 6-4 7-5 (Final)

No surprises that Na Li came through to win Shenzhen.  I did not watch any of her matches although the scorelines did imply it wasn’t particularly straightforward for Li and there were quite a few wobbles along the way.  I thought it was great to see Shuai Peng reach the final and I would love to see her win a WTA title before she retires.  Without doubt, she is one of the most consistent players out there and if she wasn’t so riddled with injuries, would be a solid top 25 player.  Apparently Peng had a MTO in the final so the injuries remain a big issue.  Other notable results were Annika Beck making the semi-finals and Sara Errani falling in the second round to a resurgent Vania King.  I think it is too early to reserve judgement on Errani and how her season is going to pan out.

Moo’s Predictions: 52% correct picks, correctly predicted the champion

What a fun and frantic first week! What were your highlights from the first week on the WTA tour in 2014?