Top tennis stars for Brisbane
30 August 2015 by News Desk
Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer are among top tennis stars set to defend their titles at the Brisbane International tennis tournament.
Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, and Sharapova (pictured) a five-time major-winner, will seek to keep their Brisbane titles as a warm-up for the Australian Open that starts in January 2016
Federer won his 1000th match in a three-set final against Milos Raonic in 2015 and is only the third man in history to win at least 1000 matches, joining Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors. He says he is looking forward to being back in Australia.
Swiss-based Federer who is ranked number two in the world after losing out on this year’s Wimbledon trophy, told reporters: “I’m coming back to Australia with a little bit more pressure having to defend the title but I’ve played there two years now and it’s gone so well.”
Japan’s world number four Kei Nishikori has confirmed he will play, along with Sharapova, who beat Ana Ivanovic in the 2015 decider down under. “Everything around the tournament in Australia is great,” she said. “The courts are great, the tournament director does an incredible job of making all the players feel like they’re home and it’s just a nice and special way to start off the year.”
