2013/05/24

Serena Destroys Pennetta, Venus Edges Date-Krumm in Miami

Serena Williams with Noah Makarome, aged 13 from Wesley Chapel, Dylan O'Brien, aged 12 from Altamonte Springs, Morgan Cooley, aged 14 from Boca Raton and Ashley Kratzer, aged 13 from Juno Beach. Photo by Robin Fenlon

Serena Williams with Noah Makarome, aged 13 from Wesley Chapel, Dylan O’Brien, aged 12 from Altamonte Springs, Morgan Cooley, aged 14 from Boca Raton and Ashley Kratzer, aged 13 from Juno Beach. Photo by Robin Fenlon

(March 21, 2013) Playing her first tournament since reaching world No. 1 again, Serena Williams demolished Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday in the second round of the Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.

 

“I don’t think it was too much rust,” Williams said of her tennis. “I think I missed a few shots, but only because I was off footwork-wise. It’s always just good to win a match and stay in the tournament and keep going.”

 

“It was a little frustration because I felt like I should be putting the balls away for my opponent quick, but she was so quick and she was running every ball down,” Williams added.  I was trying to get myself more pumped up and more energy because I was playing a former ‑‑ I believe she was in the top 10 at one point.”

 

Should Williams win the tournament, she would break the tournament record of five titles, a record she shares with Steffi Graf.

 

“That would be really cool,” Williams said.  “I have a lot of matches to play.  If I can just stay relaxed ‑‑ I really feel like I can do it, but, you know, I’m sometimes my own worst enemy.  I just want to get through every match one at a time.”

 

American Sloane Stephens, who defeated an injured Serena Williams to make the Australian Open semifinals in January, recovered from a first set bagel to beat Olga Govortsova of Belarus 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

 

“I wasn’t playing that great,” Stephens said of the first set. “I mean, it’s not that I wasn’t playing great.  I was asleep out there.  I definitely just needed to wake up and start playing.
“I thought I played some good points even in the first set when I was, like, not there.  But definitely tough.  A lot of just battling and just hanging in there.”

 

“I was just happy to get through in the end.”

 

“I think after I won a game in the second set I was much better and I thought, I’m just going to go ahead and play,” added Stephens.
“She played actually really well.  It wasn’t all just me, but she was playing some good tennis.
So it was tough in that case, too.  But just, you know, once I got a game, I was like, Okay, now I can play.

 

Stephens will be taking on Venus Williams in the third round.  In a clash of veterans, 32-year-old Venus Williams defeated 42-year-old Kimko Date-Krumm in a very tight contest 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4  which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours in the evening session.  Venus Williams needed 7 match points to close the match. The match was so close that Venus Williams won just two pints more than her opponent – 106-104.

“The toughest part is when you reach the finish line and you’re not able to get across,” Venus Williams said after the match. “Really it’s credit to her as she really hit amazing shots. I was pretty determined out there and one (match point) had to come through if I kept putting myself in that position.”

 

Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland took out Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.

 

“Just very happy to have a quick match,” Radwanska said. “The first match is always a little bit tough and tricky.”

 

“I was really trying to focus on my serve especially.  You know, against the wind it’s a little bit difficult.  Really tried to stay close to the baseline to be strong, as well.
“And I think that was the key.”

Tenth seed Marion Bartoli was forced to retire from her match with Andrea Petkovic with a left foot injury.

On the men’s side,  Bernard Tomic  earned second round meeting with second seed Andy Murray after beating qualifier Marc Gicquel 7-5, 7-6(3) on Thursday afternoon. Jarkko Nieminen came back to beat David Nalbandian 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

 

Other winners on the day included Viktor Troicki, Yen-Hsun Lu, Santiago Giraldo,.Alejandro Falla, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Olivier Rochus and Guillaume Rufin.

More to follow…

 

Results so far for Thursday, March 21, 2013

 

WTA Singles – Second Round
[1] S Williams (USA) d. F Pennetta (ITA) 61 61
[4] A Radwanska (POL) d. S Hsieh (TPE) 63 62
[5] N Li (CHN) d. K Bertens (NED) 63 61
[7] P Kvitova (CZE) d. S Peng (CHN) 57 62 62
[9] C Wozniacki (DEN) d. [Q] K Pliskova (CZE) 57 63 63
[WC] A Petkovic (GER) d. [10] M Bartoli (FRA) 63 41 ret. (left foot)
[13] D Cibulkova (SVK) d. K Mladenovic (FRA) 62 63
[16] S Stephens (USA) d. O Govortsova (BLR) 06 64 64
R Oprandi (SUI) d. [17] L Safarova (CZE) 76(4) 46 76(5)
[19] V Williams (USA) d. K Date-Krumm (JPN) 76(3) 36 64
[WC] G Muguruza (ESP) d. [23] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 46 62 62
[WC] A Tomljanovic (CRO) d. [24] J Goerges (GER) 76(4) 62
[25] V Lepchenko (USA) d. I Begu (ROU) 63 64
M Rybarikova (SVK) d. [27] M Barthel (GER) 63 76(5)
[30] K Flipkens (BEL) d. [Q] S Voegele (SUI) 64 62
A Morita (JPN) d. [31] Y Wickmayer (BEL) 76(2) 26 63

ATP Singles – First Round
B Tomic (AUS) d. [Q] M Gicquel (FRA) 75 76(3)
J Nieminen (FIN) d. D Nalbandian (ARG) 26 64 63
T Bellucci (BRA) d.*[LL] D Brands (GER) 26 64 62
Y Lu (TPE) d. [Q] R Ginepri (USA) 63 61
S Bolelli (ITA) d. J Levine (CAN) 46 63 76(4)
D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) d. D Istomin (UZB) 62 64
S Giraldo (COL) d. [WC] R Williams (USA) 62 64
V Troicki (SRB) d. P Andujar (ESP) 62 63
[Q] G Rufin (FRA) d. [Q] M Copil (ROU) 64 46 61
L Kubot (POL) d. [Q] F Dancevic (CAN) 46 64 63
[WC] G Pella (ARG) d. C Berlocq (ARG) 21 ret. (left knee)
[Q] O Rochus (BEL) d. T Ito (JPN) 46 64 31 ret. (cramping)
D Goffin (BEL) d. R Haase (NED) 76(4) 36 61
I Dodig (CRO) d. L Lacko (SVK) 46 60 64
A Bedene (SLO) d. B Becker (GER) 64 63
A Falla (COL) d. G Soeda (JPN) 75 61
WTA Doubles – First Round
[WC] L Raymond (USA) / L Robson (GBR) d. [6] R Kops-Jones (USA) / A Spears (USA) 75 62
[8] J Goerges (GER) / Y Shvedova (KAZ) d. D Jurak (CRO) / K Marosi (HUN) 26 75 10-8
D Hantuchova (SVK) / A Medina Garrigues (ESP) d. [WC] M Keys (USA) / A Tomljanovic (CRO) 62 63
A Groenefeld (GER) / P Martic (CRO) d. V King (USA) / M Niculescu (ROU) 26 62 11-9
T Babos (HUN) / M Minella (LUX) d. L Dekmeijere (LAT) / O Govortsova (BLR) 62 62
S Hsieh (TPE) / S Peng (CHN) d. M Lucic-Baroni (CRO) / J Zheng (CHN) 16 62 10-6

ATP Doubles – First Round
[5] A Qureshi (PAK) / J Rojer (NED) d. J Janowicz (POL) / F Mayer (GER) 46 64 10-6
[7] M Llodra (FRA) / L Paes (IND) d. C Kas (GER) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) 63 75
N Almagro (ESP) / O Marach (AUT) d. J Cabal (COL) / S Gonzalez (MEX) 63 64
T Huey (PHI) / D Inglot (GBR) d. J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) 64 63
SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, 22 MARCH, 2013

STADIUM start 11:00 am
[WC] M Keys (USA) vs [2] V Azarenka (BLR) – WTA
[3] D Ferrer (ESP) vs [Q] D Tursunov (RUS) – ATP

Not Before 3:00 PM
T Kamke (GER) vs [5] J Del Potro (ARG) – ATP

Not Before 5:00 PM
[WC] E Bouchard (CAN) vs [3] M Sharapova (RUS) – WTA

Starting at 8:00 PM
[1] N Djokovic (SRB) vs L Rosol (CZE) – ATP
[8] S Errani (ITA) vs D Hantuchova (SVK) – WTA

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
[18] E Makarova (RUS) vs S Kuznetsova (RUS) – WTA
[WC] J Blake (USA) vs [24] J Benneteau (FRA) – ATP
[19] A Dolgopolov (UKR) vs N Davydenko (RUS) – ATP
[11] G Simon (FRA) vs [WC] L Hewitt (AUS) – ATP

Not Before 5:00 PM
[22] J Jankovic (SRB) vs [WC] V Duval (USA) – WTA

COURT 1 start 11:00 am
I Sijsling (NED) vs [15] T Haas (GER) – ATP
[6] A Kerber (GER) vs F Schiavone (ITA) – WTA
[14] M Kirilenko (RUS) vs [Q] B Mattek-Sands (USA) – WTA
U Radwanska (POL) vs [12] A Ivanovic (SRB) – WTA

Not Before 6:00 PM
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) vs M Mirnyi (BLR) / M Youzhny (RUS) – ATP

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
[15] R Vinci (ITA) vs C Mchale (USA) – WTA
[12] J Monaco (ARG) vs A Ramos (ESP) – ATP
[Q] D Sela (ISR) vs [7] J Tipsarevic (SRB) – ATP
[6] A Peya (AUT) / B Soares (BRA) vs D Marrero (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) – ATP

Not Before 5:00 PM
S Devvarman (IND) vs [30] F Lopez (ESP) – ATP

COURT 3 start 11:00 am
J Hampton (USA) vs [20] C Suarez Navarro (ESP) – WTA
M Llodra (FRA) vs [32] F Fognini (ITA) – ATP
[32] A Cornet (FRA) vs L Robson (GBR) – WTA
[26] K Anderson (RSA) vs H Zeballos (ARG) – ATP

COURT 6 start 11:00 am
V Hanescu (ROU) vs [13] K Nishikori (JPN) – ATP
A Medina Garrigues (ESP) vs [21] K Zakopalova (CZE) – WTA
J Zheng (CHN) vs [11] N Petrova (RUS) – WTA
[4] E Makarova (RUS) / E Vesnina (RUS) vs N Grandin (RSA) / V Uhlirova (CZE) – WTA

COURT 7 start 11:00 am
[22] J Chardy (FRA) vs X Malisse (BEL) – ATP
[31] M Granollers (ESP) vs J Melzer (AUT) – ATP
S Halep (ROU) vs [26] T Paszek (AUT) – WTA
[WC] S Kuznetsova (RUS) / F Pennetta (ITA) vs [2] A Hlavackova (CZE) / L Hradecka (CZE) – WTA

Not Before 4:00 PM
[WC] C Harrison (USA) / R Harrison (USA) vs G Dimitrov (BUL) / F Nielsen (DEN) – ATP

COURT 8 start 11:00 am
[29] E Vesnina (RUS) vs [Q] D Vekic (CRO) – WTA
G Zemlja (SLO) vs [23] F Mayer (GER) – ATP
[Q] S Soler-Espinosa (ESP) vs [28] S Cirstea (ROU) – WTA
A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) / L Safarova (CZE) vs [WC] G Muguruza (ESP) / F Schiavone (ITA) – WTA

COURT 9 start 11:00 am
M Cilic (CRO) / L Dlouhy (CZE) vs D Bracciali (ITA) / J Knowle (AUT) – ATP
R Gasquet (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs [3] M Bhupathi (IND) / D Nestor (CAN) – ATP
[4] R Lindstedt (SWE) / N Zimonjic (SRB) vs M Klizan (SVK) / A Seppi (ITA) – ATP
I Begu (ROU) / A Rosolska (POL) vs M Erakovic (NZL) / H Watson (GBR) – WTA
[5] L Huber (USA) / M Martinez Sanchez (ESP) vs K Mladenovic (FRA) / G Voskoboeva (KAZ) – WTA

Share
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, interviews, news conference, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nicola Pietrangeli Stadium Court to be Pink for SuperTennis Record Event to Raise Funds to Fight Breast Cancer

Nicola Pietrangeli stadium at the Foro Italico in Rome will be pink on Saturday will play host to SuperTennis Record  a non-competitive tennis event to be held to raise funds for Komen Italia to fight breast cancer.

Two-thousand people including VIP’s and amateur will try to break the record for the longest rally which according to the Guinness Book of Records, stands at 100 strokes. Expected to take part – Flavia Pennetta, Mara Santangelo, Massimo Caputi, Max Giusti and Paolo Bonolis.

Supertennis Record is open to anyone over 12 years old and enrollment is free on the www.supertennisrecord.com.

On Saturday May 12, 2012 at 5.30 pm, participants will meet at the Villetta Ruggeri in via dei Gladiatori 64, Rome, to register and collect their kit. They must have tennis shoes and a racket and, once the registration has been approved, they can move onto the court to do the test.

 

For more information www.supertennisrecord.com.

Share
Filed Under: Events, Front Page News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Interviews with Pennetta, Simon and Harrison at the Miami Seaquarium Photo Shoot

MIAMI, Florida – Lucia Hoffman attended the Miami Seaquarium photo shoot on Monday at the Sony Ericsson Open where she had a chance to watch the players swim with the dolphins and interviews with Gilles Simon and Ryan Harrison.

Miami Seaquarium

Flavia Pennetta

Gilles Simon

Ryan Harrison

Caroline Wozniacki at WTA All-Access

 

 

Share
Filed Under: Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments, Video Tagged With: , , , ,

Ferrer and Errani Win Acapulco Titles

David Ferrer of Spain holds the Acapulco International trophy after defeating his compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in the men’s final in Acapulco February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Karina Tejada (MEXICO – Tags: SPORT TENNIS)

 

 

Top seed David Ferrer bested Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2 to earn his third consecutive Mexican Open title on Saturday in Acapulco in just under an hour.

“I am very, very happy,” Ferrer said. “I played my best match of the week tonight. I felt I was very solid and my game went really well. As Fernando hits so hard, I knew I had to be solid and counter him and I think I did it very well, especially at the beginning. I also know Fernando didn’t play his best tennis today but that’s tennis. You have good days and sometimes bad days.

“I am very proud to have won in Acapulco for a third consecutive time. I don’t think too far ahead and take my schedule week by week. Now I have two important tournaments coming up in Indian Wells and Miami, with a few points to defend in Miami. It will be great if I manage to do well, but if not, it is not a big deal. I will keep on working hard.”
 

“I want to apologize for having played so bad,” the conquered Verdasco said. “I am extremely disappointed I wasn’t able to have the fight I was expecting to have. I just couldn’t keep the ball in the court today. It’s always tough to lose a final, but losing it that way hurts a lot more. I want to congratulate David and all his team because he is a wonderful champion and once again he proved it here tonight.”

 

For Ferrer this is his second consecutive clay court title in a s many weeks. Last week he was the champion in Buenos Aires.  Ferrer is 18-1 for the 2012 season with his only loss to No. 1 Novak Djokovic  in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

Despite a poor singles performance, Verdasco regrouped with doubles partner David Marrero to win the doubles crown over Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-3, 6-4.

“At least I won the doubles final, ” Verdasco said. “It’s my first ATP World Tour 500 doubles title. The feeling after winning the doubles is much better now. So I’m glad I won one of the two finals. I think we had similar games because we were all Spanish. We’re all baseline players. The match was close. The key was we just had a better day.”

“I’m going to Indian Wells tomorrow. I’ll prepare to change surfaces and hope that my knee will respond ok. I think that this week was really good, as I got a lot of points in singles and doubles. Now I can be more relaxed and confident in the coming weeks.”
“I am very happy, Marrero said. This is the fourth time I’ve played with Fernando. The first two times, I played really bad, and now I’ve started to play good. Last week, we played well and won a tournament, and now we’ve done it this week as well. I have to say thank you to Fernando. He’s a great player and a very good friend of mine. I hope Fernando would like to play continuously.”

Sara Errani defeated Italian compatriot Flavia Pennetta to claim the women’s title in Acapulco 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-0.

Errani wins her third WTA title, her first since the summer of 2008, when she won back-to-back titles in Palermo and Portoroz.

“It was such a tough final against Flavia, Errani said.  “I had to run a lot and try to play my game and be aggressive in the important moments. It’s never easy playing an Italian but I played really well, especially in the third set. I can take a lot of confidence from this going into Indian Wells, but I always want more.“

“We both played well tonight, but Sara played really well in the important moments,” said Pennetta who was in her seventh consecutive Acapulco final. “I made a lot of mistakes in the tiebreak and in the third set I was tired physically and it went really fast. It has been a great week overall, but it would have been better to win the tournament.”

Errani was a double winner on Saturday, also taking the doubles title with Roberta Vinci. “It has been a great week for me, ” noted Errani. “To finish the week with the singles and doubles trophy is better than I could have hoped for.”

ABIERTO MEXICANO TELCEL
Acapulco, México
February 27-March 3, 2012
Red Clay/Outdoors

Results – Saturday, March 3, 2012
Women’sSingles – Final
(3) Sara Errani (ITA) d. (2) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 57 76(2) 60

Doubles – Final
(1) Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. (2) Domínguez Lino/Parra Santonja (ESP/ESP) 62 61

Men’s Singles – Final
[1] D Ferrer (ESP) d [8] F Verdasco (ESP) 61 62

Men’s Doubles – Final
D Marrero (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) d M Granollers (ESP) / M Lopez (ESP) 63 64

 
 

 

Share
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, tennis news, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Zheng Jie Wins Auckland When Pennetta Retires with Injury

Zheng Jie www.photosport.co.nz

By Stephanie Neppl

Zheng Jie of China has won the 2012 ASB Classic when Italy’s Flavia Pennetta was forced to pull out due to injury.

The final was moved indoors due to inclement weather, and No. 4 seed Pennetta charged ahead and won the first set 6-2. However, she frequently received treatment on her lower back. Despite being down a break in the second set, Zheng turned the tides and won the set 6-3. Pennetta’s physical struggles continued and she could not play on after going down 0-2 in the third set.

The victory was Zheng Jie’s first since she won a title in Stockholm in 2005. She called her gap between titles, “too long” and said she hopes to come back next year. “I am so excited and so happy to win this title because this is the first time I’ve won my first tournament of the year,” she said.

Pennetta said she isn’t sure what the injury is and would get an MRI tomorrow. “I think now the important thing is to recover.” She first felt the injury at 4-2 in the first set and said despite oncourt treatments the pain just got worse and worse.

Zheng said she felt sad for Pennetta. “I want to say sorry for Flavia and the problems with her back. I hope she is better for next week.”

 

Stephanie Neppl is in Auckland, New Zealand covering the ASB Classic for the tournament web site. She is the Social Media Manager for Tennis Auckland covering the ASB Classic and Heineken Open.

Follow the ASB Classic on their web site http://www.asbclassic.co.nz/, twitter https://twitter.com/#!/ASBClassicAuckland and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ASBClassic.

ASB CLASSIC
Auckland, New Zealand
January 2-8, 2012
$220,000/International
Hard/Outdoors

Results – Sunday, January 8, 2012
Singles – Final
Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (4) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 26 63 20 ret. (low back injury)

Doubles – Final (played Saturday)
(3) Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE/CZE) d. (4) Goerges/Pennetta (GER/ITA) 67(2) 62 107 (Match TB)

Share
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Pennetta and Lisicki Advance in Auckland

Flavia Pennetta (Photo courtesy of ASB Classic)

 

By Stephanie Neppl

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Top seed Sabine Lisicki was tested in her first match of 2012, winning over French wildcard Virginie Razzano 6-4 6-4 on day one of the 2012 ASB Classic.

Lisicki, who lost in the first round here last year after making it through qualifying rounds, was pleased with the win although she said her serve needs some work. “It’s tough to get into the season,” she said. “I lost a bit of focus but I closed it out well.”

Lisicki said even though she’s the top seed she’d not feeling any extra pressure. “My goal is to play as many matches as possible before the Australian Open,” she said.

Lisicki will next face fellow German Mona Barthel, who beat Jelena Dokic of Australia in a match that ended around midnight. The first set went to a tiebreak, and Barthel led 5-1 before Dokic rallied before losing it 7-5. The second set went quickly as Dokic’s errors mounted.

Fourth seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy had her hands full with Romania’s Sorana Cirstea but the 2010 ASB Classic runner-up battled the wind and her opponent to advance to the second round 6-4 7-6 (5).

The big hitting Romanian fought off four match points but Pennetta was able to close her out before Cirstea was able to force a third set. The Italian, who did not play in 2011, was happy to be back in Auckland. “It’s nice to be back,” she said. “I’ve got good memories from playing here.”

The US’ Christina McHale, the youngest player in the top 100, started off first round action on centre court with a convincing 6-2 6-3 win over Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania. McHale, making her Auckland debut, said she was pleased with her first match back after the offseason.

Elena Baltacha of Great Britain won her first round match in a tough tussle with Kiwi Sacha Jones in front of the Brit’s new Federation Cup captain, Judy Murray. Jones nearly let a big second set lead go but managed to force a third only to see Baltacha close out the match 6-2 4-6 6-3.

Other winners on the day include Italy’s Sara Errani and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.

In the qualifying final round, two young Americans made the main draw with Alison Riske and Jamie Hampton both advancing. 2008 ASB Classic runner-up Aravane Rezai of France and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic also made it through the qualifying rounds.

Stephanie Neppl in Auckland, New Zealand covering the ASB Classic for the tournament web site. She is the Social Media Manager for Tennis Auckland covering the ASB Classic and Heineken Open.

Follow the ASB Classic on their web site http://www.asbclassic.co.nz/, twitter https://twitter.com/#!/ASBClassicAuckland and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ASBClassic.

ASB CLASSIC

Auckland, New Zealand
January 2-7, 2012

Results – Monday, January 2, 2012
Singles – First Round
(1) Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. (WC) Virginie Razzano (FRA) 64 64
(4) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 64 76(5)
Christina McHale (USA) d. Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) 62 63
Sara Errani (ITA) d. Johanna Larsson (SWE) 61 61
Elena Baltacha (GBR) d. (WC) Sacha Jones (NZL) 62 46 63
Lucie Hradecka (CZE) d. Alberta Brianti (ITA) 64 36 62
Mona Barthel (GER) d. Jelena Dokic (AUS) 76(5) 61

Doubles – First Round
(2) Mirza/Vesnina (IND/RUS) d. (WC) Erakovic/Marino (NZL/CAN) 64 75
(3) Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE/CZE) d. Arvidsson/Larsson (SWE/SWE) 61 64
Barrois/Groenefeld (GER/GER) d. Cirstea/Jurak (ROU/CRO) 63 61
Cornet/Niculescu (FRA/ROU) d. Bogdan/Dulgheru (ROU/ROU) 63 64

Singles Qualifying – Final Round
Jamie Hampton (USA) d. (1) Anne Keothavong (GBR) 61 64
Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 64 64
Alison Riske (USA) d. Regina Kulikova (RUS) 62 67(3) 62
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) d. (WC) Monica Puig (PUR) 63 63

Schedule of Play – Tuesday, January 3, 2012
CENTRE COURT start 1:00 pm
[Q] A Riske (USA) vs [3] S Kuznetsova (RUS)
[Q] A Rezai (FRA) vs [2] S Peng (CHN)
G Arn (HUN) vs [5] J Goerges (GER)
J Hampton (USA) / J Woehr (GER) vs E Birnerova (CZE) / A Brianti (ITA) – POSSIBLE COURT CHANGE

Not Before 7:00 PM
M Erakovic (NZL) vs A Kerber (GER)
[1] K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO) vs L Dekmeijere (LAT) / M Moulton-Levy (USA)

 

COURT 2 start 1:00 pm
[8] M Niculescu (ROU) vs [Q] J Hampton (USA)
J Zheng (CHN) vs A Morita (JPN)

 

COURT 4 start 1:00 pm
[7] Y Wickmayer (BEL) vs [Q] K Pliskova (CZE)
R Marino (CAN) vs [6] R Vinci (ITA)
[WC] M Rybarikova (SVK) vs E Vesnina (RUS)
S Errani (ITA) / R Vinci (ITA) vs S Lisicki (GER) / S Peng (CHN) – after suitable rest

Share
Filed Under: Contributors, Features, Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

2012 ASB Classic Preview

2012 ASB Classic Preview

By Stephanie Neppl

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – One of the strongest fields in ASB Classic history will contest the 2012 tournament, with the top eight seeds all ranked within the top 30 players in the world.

 

The top seed is German Sabine Lisicki, who played as a qualifier in the 2011 tournament before having a career best year in 2011. Lisicki won two titles and made the semifinals at Wimbledon, helping her be named the WTA’s Comeback Player of the Year. Lisicki faces French wildcard Virginie Razzano in the first round.

 

Peng Shuai of China is the second seed, and the returning semifinalist had a strong and consistent 2011 season which saw her end the year ranked No. 17. She will start against a qualifier.

Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova is a two-time grand slam winner and returns to Auckland after losing a three-set battle with Peng in the second round in 2011. The Russian plays a qualifer in the first round.

 

Italian Flavia Pennetta rounds out the top four seeds. The 2010 runner-up had some big wins in the second half of 2011, taking out Maria Sharapova at the US Open and WTA No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki at the China Open.  Pennetta opens against Romanian Sorana Cristea.

 

The remaining top seeds are German Julia Goerges, who reached the semifinalis last year; Italian Roberta Vinci, who won three titles in 2011; 2010 winner and 2011 runner-up Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium; and Romanian Monica Niculescu. Georges faces defending champion Greta Arn of Hungary and Vinci plays Canadian Rebecca Marino. Wickmayer and Niculescu open against qualifiers.

 

The rest of the field include upcoming American Christina McHale, US Open semifinalist Angelique Kerber; Aussie and former top 5 player Jelena Dokic, 2009 runner-up Elena Vesnina and New Zealand’s No. 1 Marina Erakovic.

 

Top eight seeds:

1 – Sabine Lisicki (Germany)
2 – Peng Shuai (China)
3 – Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
4 – Flavia Pennetta (Italy)
5 – Julia Goerges (Germany)
6 – Roberta Vinci (Italy)
7 – Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium)
8 – Monica Niculescu (Romania)

 

2012 Kia Motors Doubles Draw

 

The 2012 Kia Motors Doubles Draw has been released, and the field boasts the defending Wimbledon and French Open champions as well as half of the reigning Australian Open champions.

 

The top seeds are defending champions Kveta Peschke  and Katarina Srebotnik, who won Wimbledon in 2011. The pair will open their title defence against Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia and Megan Moulton-Levy of the US.

 

Second seeds are Elena Vesnina of Russian with India’s Sania Mirza, who had a great 2011 including a runner up finish at the French Open. They lost that final to our third seeds, the Czech duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. The reigning French Open doubles team face off in their first match against the Swedish team of Sofia Arvidsson and Johanna Larsson.

 

Italian Flavia Pennetta, the #4 singles seed who won the Australian Open doubles title in 2011 with partner Gisela Dulko, is playing with #5 singles seed Julia Goerges of Germany and they will face Kiwi Emily Fanning and Russian Regina Kulikova in their first match.

 

Kiwi Marina Erakovic is playing with Canada’s Rebecca Marino, and they open against Mirza and Vesnina.

 

For the full doubles draw, please click here.

Stephanie Neppl in Auckland, New Zealand covering the ASB Classic for the tournament web site.

Follow the ASB Classic on their web site http://www.asbclassic.co.nz/, twitter https://twitter.com/#!/ASBClassicAuckland and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ASBClassic.

ASB CLASSIC – AUCKLAND, NZL
$ 220,000.00
DECEMBER 31 – JANUARY 07, 2012

ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, JANUARY 02, 2012
CENTRE COURT start 1:00 pm
C Mchale (USA) vs A Dulgheru (ROU)
[4] F Pennetta (ITA) vs S Cirstea (ROU)
[WC] S Jones (NZL) vs E Baltacha (GBR)
[WC] M Erakovic (NZL) / R Marino (CAN) vs [2] S Mirza (IND) / E Vesnina (RUS)

Not Before 7:00 PM
[1] S Lisicki (GER) vs [WC] V Razzano (FRA)
M Barthel (GER) vs J Dokic (AUS)

COURT 2 start 10:00 am
Qualifying – R Kulikova (RUS) vs A Riske (USA)
Qualifying – P Parmentier (FRA) or A Rezai (FRA) vs C Vandeweghe (USA)

Not Before 1:00 PM
L Hradecka (CZE) vs A Brianti (ITA)
[3] A Hlavackova (CZE) / L Hradecka (CZE) vs S Arvidsson (SWE) / J Larsson (SWE) – POSSIBLE COURT CHANGE

COURT 4 start 10:00 am
Qualifying – [WC] M Puig (PUR) vs K Pliskova (CZE)
Qualifying – A Keothavong (GBR) vs J Hampton (USA) or I Falconi (USA)

Not Before 1:00 PM
J Larsson (SWE) vs S Errani (ITA)
A Cornet (FRA) / M Niculescu (ROU) vs E Bogdan (ROU) / A Dulgheru (ROU) – POSSIBLE COURT CHANGE
S Cirstea (ROU) / D Jurak (CRO) vs K Barrois (GER) / A Groenefeld (GER) – POSSIBLE COURT CHANGE

Share
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tennis News Net Notes for December 6, 2011

 

In the News:

ESPN Deportes reports that Tito Vasquez, the Argentine Davis Cup Captain will not be back as his contract will not be renewed by Argentina’s tennis federation.

 

A report on affaritaliani.libero.it says that the mother of Flavia Penetta has been sentenced to a year in jail for involuntary manslaughter for the death of a worker on the family’s farm due to a fuel explosion. Italian press say that Concetta Pennetta will appeal the verdict.

Andy Roddick will co-host a weekend show for FOX Sports Radio with syndicated morning radio host Bobby Bones. The Saturday afternoon program will feature a mix of sports, pop culture and entertainment, in addition to interviews. The broadcast will originate fromfrom Austin, Texas. The show is slated to begin on January 7, 2012 and will air from 1 – 4 p.m. ET/10 a.m. – 1 p.m. PT across the network in markets including Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Phoenix.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the FOX Sports Radio lineup,“ said Roddick. Hosting a radio program is something I’ve always wanted to do, and to have this opportunity with my close friend Bobby is truly amazing. We can’t wait to get started!”

Emilio Sanchez  was honored with Davis Cup Award of Excellence during this past weekend’s  Davis Cup final in Seveille, Spain.

“Emilio Sanchez was a great contributor to the Davis Cup for nearly two decades, as a player, captain, and dedicated supporter of the event,” said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. “In recognition of his achievements and in appreciation for his contributions to the sport and to Davis Cup, we are proud to present him with the Davis Cup Award of Excellence.”

 

Sanchez competed in Davis Cup for his nation 12 times between 1984 and 1996, compiling a 32-23 record. In 2005, he took on the role of captain, and in 2008, he led the Spanish team to the Davis Cup title, defeating Argentina. In addition to his Davis Cup involvement, Sanchez was part of the Spanish teams that won the Hopman Cup in 1990 and the World Team Cup in 1992. With Sergio Casal, he won the men’s doubles silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games.

 

 

British newspapers report that the mother of World No.4 Andy Murray, Judy Murray is being considered by the Lawn Tennis Association for Great Britain’s new Fed Cup captain.

 

Tournaments

 

Venus Williams is scheduled  to compete in 2012 BMW Malaysian Open

 

Caroline Wozniacki has committed to play the Sydney International event.

The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis announced,  that 2011 Champion Andy Roddick has entered the tournament. The field will also include Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils, Marin Cilic, Sam Querrey, James Blake, John Isner, Lleyton Hewitt and Jack Sock.

 

The tournament also announced the order of play for evening sessions from Monday, February 20 – Wednesday, February 22:

 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 – 7 P.M.

John McEnroe Doubles Exhibition followed by Nadia Petrova (1st Round Singles)

 

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21 – 7 P.M.

Gael Monfils (1st Round Singles) followed by another Featured Men’s 1st Round Singles Match

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 – 7 P.M.

Andy Roddick (1st Round Singles) followed by Milos Raonic (1st Round Singles)

Share
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, Net Notes, tennis news Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tennis News Net Notes for October 11, 2011

Andy Murray of Britain waves to fans after his win over Michael Berrer of Germany during their second round match at the Thailand Open 2011 tennis tournament in Bangkok September 29, 2011 . REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (THAILAND – Tags: SPORT TENNIS)

 

In The News

In just a few weeks after brining up the posibility of a players action due to a very crowded tournament schedule, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal  admit to media in Shanghai  that  gathering the top  players together to strategize may be a tough task.
“Whether it happens or not, it’s quite a tough thing to do because there’s a lot of players to coordinate and sometimes guys don’t go to the same tournaments,” said Murray.

“Tennis players aren’t always the easiest people to get hold of when they’re not at tournaments.”

“There is something there, but is not the right moment to talk about it,” Nadal said on Tuesday. “Always is better talk about the things when you know exactly what’s going to happen and when you know exactly what we are going to do.”

 

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Roger Federer withdrew from the Shanghai  Rolex Masters due to injuries.

 

Youth was served at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Tuesday as teens Bernard Tomic and Ryan Harrison scored upsets. Austrlaian Tomic took out  fifth seeded Mardy Fish of the US 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, while American Harrison stopped Serbia’s Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-3.

 

Dulko and Pennetta Qualify for TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships

 

The teams and schedule for 24th edition of Hopman Cup  were announced on Tuesday. The mixed teams event takes place in Perth, Australia from Saturday, December 31, 2011 -  Saturday,  January 7, 2012.

GROUP A

(1)Czech Republic – Petra Kvitova & Tomas Berdych

(4)USA – Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Mardy Fish

Denmark – Caroline Wozniacki & Frederik Nielsen

Bulgaria – Tsvetana Pironkova & Grigor Dimitrov

GROUP B

(2)France – Marion Bartoli & Richard Gasquet

(3)Spain- Anabel Medina Garrigues & Fernando Verdasco

Australia – Jarmila Gajdosova & Lleyton Hewitt

China – Li Na & Wu Di

The Brisbane International tournament announced that Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur and Ana Ivanovic have committed to play .

For Williams this will be the first time she has ever played the Australian Open warm-up event.

“It is brand new [for me] so all that is going to be really exciting and it will help me with my seeding going into the Australian Open too so that would be good, ” said Williams.

“I’m really excited to see everything, like how people are, you know my fans, I have such a great fan base in Australia, it’s my favourite Slam [the Australian Open] to play so I [am] really looking forward to going to Brisbane.”

 

American Andy Roddick will be participating in the Kooyong Classic January 11-14, 2012. Joining Roddick in the exhibition event will be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils both of France, Jurgen Melzer of Austria and Australian’s own Bernard Tomic.

Mike Dickinson of the Daily Mail reports that Rafael Nadal has accepted around £750,000 to break from playing his usual Wimbledon warm-up at Queens Club to participate in the Gerry Weber Open at Halle.

 

Upsets of the Day

Shanghai Rolex Masters

B Tomic (AUS) d [5] M Fish (USA) 46 61 64
F Lopez (ESP) d [9] J Tipsarevic (SRB) 76(2) 76(3)
[Q] R Harrison (USA) d [11] V Troicki (SRB) 63 63

WTA Linz – Tuesday Results, Wednesday Schedule

ATP World Tour Shanghai Rolex Masters – Tuesday Results, Wednesday Schedule

WTA Osaka – Tuesday Results, Wednesday Schedule

Share
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, Net Notes, tennis news Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Dulko and Pennetta Qualify for TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships

 

The doubles team of Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta are the third pair to qualify for the year-end TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, to be held in Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, Turkey from October 25-30, 2011. This year Dulko and Pennetta return to the championships for a second time. In 2011 the team captured the Australian Open doubles title.

 

Dulko/Pennetta will join the teams of Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik and Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond in the year-end tournament. The teams of Victoria Azarenka/Maria Kirilenko and Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova are competing for the final doubles place.

 

“It is terrific that last year’s doubles champions will be back to defend their title in Istanbul,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA.  “Gisela and Flavia broke through to win their first Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open, held the World No.1 doubles ranking between them for eight months, and have hit great form recently to reach consecutive finals at Premier tournaments in Asia.”

 

“Prior to the trip to Asia, we didn’t think we would have a chance to make it to Championships, but since then we’ve played very well and reached two finals.  We are so happy to get back to the Championships together and hope to play well.  We usually do well when the pressure is high, so it will be a great opportunity to play in a new city and new venue,” said Gisela Dulko.

Share
Filed Under: Front Page News, tennis news, tournaments Tagged With: , , ,
«Older Posts