SYDNEY: Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat her Czech Fed Cup teammate Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) to win the Sydney International women’s singles title here on Friday.

In the men’s semi-finals, Viktor Troicki of Serbia and Mikhail Kukushkin advanced to Sunday’s final. Troicki beat Gilles Muller 6-2, 6-4 and Kukushkin defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 6-4.

Earlier, Alexandr Dolgopolov retired injured from the Kooyong exhibition tournament in Melbourne with a right-knee injury, handing Spain’s Fernando Verdasco the title and placing the Ukrainian player’s Australian Open appearance in doubt.

Dolgopolov, seeded 21st at the Australian Open that begins on Monday, lost the opening set 7-6 (3) before calling for medical staff because of the injury, and saying he could not continue.

The Ukrainian is scheduled to play Paolo Lorenzi of Italy in the first round of the Australian Open.

The 26-year-old Dolgopolov said the injury felt the same as the one he sustained in July playing in Hamburg, Germany, which required surgery and 10 weeks off the tour.

SYDNEY: INDIA’S Sania Mirza and Behtanie Mattek-Sands of the US pose with the trophy after winning the doubles final 6-3, 6-3 against the American pair of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears on Friday.—AFP

“When I was warming up and playing the first set it was fine and the last few games I started feeling something strange in the knee and it started to get worse,” he said. “I’m not sure I’ll be playing in the Open because it feels quite the same like I did before the surgery. My physio is saying 99 per cent (the) meniscus that I injured before.”

In a final round-robin match at Kooyong, Richard Gasquet of France beat Kei Nishikori of Japan 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).

Czech qualifier Jiri Vesely beat South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Friday to reach the final of the Heineken Open at Auckland, New Zealand.

Vesely will face France’s Adrian Mannarino in Saturday’s final.

Mannarino beat compatriot Lucas Pouille, a lucky loser from the qualifying draw, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

In the WTA event at Hobart, England’s Heather Watson advanced to the final with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alison Riske of the US. She’ll play American Madison Brengle, who beat Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

“As far as preparation goes it’s brilliant for me,” Watson said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence from these wins.”

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2015

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