Murray Starts Strong

Here's take 1 for my new format.

WTA Premier:  Brisbane, Australia

Kaia Kanepi (EST) def. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 6-2 6-1

-Murray wins 2nd career title, last '10 Palermo

-Other QF:  2) Andrea Petkovic (GER), 3) Francesca Schiavone (ITA)-SF, 4) Serena Williams (USA), 5) Kim Clijsters (BEL)-SF, 6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB), Iveta Benesova (CZE)

-Other seeds:  1) Stosur (R2 l. to Benesova), 7) Pavlyuchenkova (R2 l. to Kanepi), 8) Cibulkova (R2 l. to Hantuchova

-Kvitova chose to play Hopman Cup rather than defend her title

-Petkovic the only returning QF-ist

-Williams and Clijsters both pulled out with injuries, not a good sign

ATP 250:  Brisbane, Australia
1) Andy Murray (GBR) def. 3) Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) 6-1 6-3


-Murray wins 22nd career title, last '11 Shanghai
-Other QF:  2) Gilles Simon (FRA)-SF, 6) Radek Stepanek (CZE), 8) Bernard Tomic (AUS)-SF, Marcos Baghdatis (CYP), Santiago Giraldo (COL), Denis Istomin (UZB)
-Other seeds:  4) Mayer (R1 l. to Istomin), 7) Melzer (R1 l. to Petzschner), 5) Nishikori (R2 l. to Baghdatis)
-Tomic makes first career tour semi, Simon fails in title defense
-19-yr-old Aussie James Duckworth wins first tour match
-Simon, Stepanek, Giraldo, and Baghdatis were all in the QF here last year

ATP 250:  Chennai, IND

4) Milos Raonic (CAN) def. 1) Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-7 7-6 7-6

-Raonic wins 2nd career title, last '11 San Jose

-Other QF:  2) Nicolas Almagro (ESP)-SF, 3) Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI), Dudi Sela (ISR), Q) Go Soeda (JPN), Q) Yuichi Sugita (JPN), David Goffin (BEL)

-Other seeds:  5) Dodig (R2 l. to Soeda), 6) Fognini (R1 l. to Sela), 7) Malisse (R1 l. to Goffin), 8) Rochus (R1 l. to Sugita)

-Wawrinka fails in title defense, Malisse was runner-up last year

-Wawrinka and Tipsarevic were in the QF here last year

ATP 250:  Doha, Qatar

3) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. 4) Gael Monfils (FRA) 7-5 6-3

-Tsonga wins 8th career title, last '11 Vienna

-Other QF:  1) Rafael Nadal (ESP)-SF, 2) Roger Federer (SUI)-SF, 5) Viktor Troicki (SRB), 7) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS), 8) Andreas Seppi (ITA), Albert Ramos (ESP)

-Other seeds:  6) Bogomolov (R2 w/o to Ramos)

-Federer fails in title defense, withdrawing from only 2nd career tournament with a walkover, but defeating 2011 runner-up Davydenko in R1

-Federer, Nadal, Tsonga, Troicki, were all in the QF here last year

-Seeds went 15-0 in first two rounds (Bogomolov gave walkover)

WTA International:  Auckland, New Zealand

Jie Zheng (CHN) def. 4) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 2-6 6-3 2-0 ret.

-Zheng wins 4th career title, last '06 Estoril (5.5 year drought)

-Other QF:  1) Sabine Lisicki, 3) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)-SF, Angelique Kerber (GER)-SF, Sara Errani (ITA), Elena Vesnina (RUS), Lucie Hradecka (CZE)

-Other seeds:  2) Peng (R2 l. to Hradecka), 5) Goerges (R2 l. to Kerber), 6) Vinci (R2 l. to Vesnina), 7) Wickmayer (R2 l. to Errani), 8) Niculescu (R2 l. to Zheng)

-Arn did not defend her title, Wickmayer was '11 runner-up, no players returned to quarters

-Seeds went 8-0 in R1 but only 3-5 in R2.

Let me know how you like this compared to the blurbs I did last year.