2013/05/19

Kvitova Withdraws From Istanbul Replaced by Stosur

Defending WTA Championships title holder Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from Istanbul with a viral illness. She is replaced in the draw by first alternate Samantha Stosur.

“Yesterday when I played I thought that it’s nerves, but normally nerves are gone after first set,” Kvitova told media.  “It was actually during all the match, so I thought that it’s something wrong.  That’s why I have to pulled out.

“I mean, I never withdraw from a tournament.  This first time for me, so I don’t really experience this kind of press conferences.

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t like to give up, so I’m feeling really disappointing.  I hope that Sam (Stosur) will win some matches for me.”

Kvitova is scheduled to play for the Czech Republic in the Fed Cup final against Serbia in Prague.

“I try my best to be ready for the Fed Cup, Kvitova said.  “It’s final at home and I would like to ‑‑ I really want to play in front of our crowd, my family and friends, and try to win the Fed Cup title again.

“So I will try my best to be ready for the weekend.

Stosur on joining the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships Istanbul field: “I came to Istanbul straight from Moscow where I played on Sunday, so I got here late, so obviously it is a little bit strange to come here straight after playing a tournament as an alternate and now get a chance to play in the Championships. Obviously, it’s never good when a player pulls out, but I will make the best of the opportunity and look forward to playing tomorrow. I am at Championships for the third time and really happy to be here in Istanbul.”

With Kvitova’s withdrawal, if Maria Sharapova wins her match on Wednesday, she will move on to the semifinals. Stosur still has a chance to advance to semifinals but would need to win both of her round robin matches, depending on other round-robin results.

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Steady Radwanska Notches First Win Over Kvitova in Istanbul

 

(October 23, 2012) No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska defeated defending WTA Championships titleholder No. 6 Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 to open round-robin play in the “White Group” in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Radwanska won the first seven points of the match and rushed out to a 3-0 lead in the first set. Kvitova broke to get the match back on serve, but was broken again at 3-4 and the Pole held to close out the first set 6-3.

In the second set the Czech Kvitova was broken in her first two service games, broke back once but never got back into the set.

“For sure was a little bit up and down, especially with the serve,” said Radwanska.  “Was a lot of breaks.  I think she didn’t really use her serve like was really always her big weapon.

“I think today she wasn’t serving that good, that’s why I could really break her a couple of times in the set.  I think it was the key for me in that match.  But, you know, the first match is always tough.  I think we all might play different the next matches.”

This was Radwanska’s first victory over Kvitova (1-4) and she talked about what she did differently this time around.

“I saw the statistic before the match and I thought it would be nice to change,” the Pole said of her losing record against the Czech.

“But it’s always tough, especially for the first match.  Every week is different surface, especially here.  It’s really hard to adjust.

“Just very happy that I could play really my best tennis today and close that match in two sets.

Radwanska liked the court conditions: “It’s actually slow, slower than the usual hard court, so for sure it was a good move that I was here a little bit earlier and trying to adjust to that surface for couple of days before.

I think was the good move.”

She’s very smart and she knows what I will play, Kvitova said of her opponent.  “She knows which side I will choose.  That’s why I think she’s reading the game very well.

“I mean, she’s really dangerous player because you never know if she’s playing slice or dropshot or she can just play on the line or the cross.”

Kvitova, who committed 41 errors in the match admitted she was nervous:

“I was nervous all the match.  I felt my fingers weren’t still moving and I didn’t move on my legs.

“I’m disappointing in myself.  I had a lot of errors and it wasn’t good tennis from my side.

“Yeah, but still, I mean, it’s the Championships and I have a second chance.”

For Kvitova the loss snapped her 25-match indoor win streak and it was her first loss at the Year-End Championships for her career – she went undefeated in 2011.

TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS – ISTANBUL 2012
Istanbul, Turkey
October 23-28, 2012
$4,900,000/SEC
Hard/Indoors

Results – Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Round Robin – Red Group
(3) Serena Williams (USA) d. (5) Angelique Kerber (GER) 64 61

Round Robin – White Group
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (7) Sara Errani (ITA) 63 62
(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (6) Petra Kvitova (CZE) 63 62

Order Of Play – Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Stadium (from 17.00hrs)
1. Serena Williams vs. Li Na
2. Victoria Azarenka vs. Angelique Kerber
3. Maria Sharapova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska

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Kirilenko and Petrova Claim Final Doubles Spot At TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA (October 20, 2012) – The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced on Saturday that Russians Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova have claimed the final doubles place at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, which will be staged at the Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This final qualification rounds out an exceptional player field for the WTA’s year-end finale, to be held from October 23-28 and featuring the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams, competing for the coveted title and a share of $4.9 million in prize money.

 

Earlier today in the semifinal at the Kremlin Cup (Moscow), Kirilenko and Petrova defeated the American team of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears to secure the last doubles place. The Russian duo will join the Italian team of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, the Czech team of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka and the defending champions, Americans Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond to complete the doubles draw.

 

“Congratulations to Maria and Nadia on qualifying for the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships,” said Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman and CEO. “These two have had an amazing 2012, winning the title in Miami, reaching the Roland Garros final and earning the bronze medal at the Olympics in London. We are excited for them to join the field in Istanbul.”

 

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to qualify for Istanbul by winning this important match at the Kremlin Cup,” said Kirilenko. “Nadia has been to the Championships before and even won the doubles title, but for me it will be the first time and I’m really looking forward to the experience. We’ve passed through a lot of situations this year to achieve this goal, and felt a lot of different emotions. Now we feel very strong.”

 

“I think the Championships add excitement for the players – motivation to win tournaments and reach the highest ranking, for a chance to play this event,” said Petrova. “I think it’s great for the public as well to see the biggest stars and those that have accomplished the most through the year. Last year I saw some of the matches on TV and was impressed by the size of the crowds, so I’m looking forward to that. I’ve been to Istanbul before for a smaller tournament and I was fascinated by the city. Ever since then I’ve been very eager to go back!”

 

The Russian duo teamed up on a regular basis in 2012 winning their biggest title to date at the Sony Open Tennis (Miami). In addition, they reached the finals at Roland Garros, the UNICEF Open (‘s-Hertogenbosch) and will be competing in their fourth doubles final of the year in Moscow on Sunday. They also captured bronze medal at the Olympics. Throughout their career Kirilenko and Petrova have played periodically together as far back as 2008, winning their first two events they played together: the 2008 Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati) and 2009 Kremlin Cup (Moscow).

 

With 31 career doubles titles between them (Petrova with 20, Kirilenko with 11), both are also successful singles players, with Petrova winning 12 titles and reaching a high of No.3 in the world, and Kirilenko collecting 5 titles and a career-high of No.12. Petrova is making her fifth appearance at the Championships, having previously competed in singles three times and doubles once, while Kirilenko is making her debut at the event.

 

The doubles event features 4 teams in a single elimination draw, which will be held at Sinan Erdem Arena on Thursday, October 25, with top-seed being Errani/Vinci and No.2 seed being Hlavackova/Hradecka.

 

This year’s singles field includes five Grand Slam champions and the eight qualifiers have won 21 of the 26 biggest events of the year including the Grand Slams, Olympics and WTA Premier-level events (listed in order of seeds): Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), Maria Sharapova (Russia), Serena Williams (United States), Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland), Angelique Kerber (Germany), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic), Errani (Italy) and Li Na (China). Additionally, Samantha Stosur (Australia) and Marion Bartoli (France) will be the first and second alternates, respectively.

 

The singles draw ceremony will be held on Sunday, October 21, at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski. The players will be selected into two groups – Red and White – with round robin matches to begin on Tuesday, October 23.

 

“The Turkish Tennis Federation is very proud to once again host the world’s best tennis players in Istanbul for the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships” said Ayda Uluc, President of the Turkish Tennis Federation. “We would like to thank our partners in this event, the Ministry of Youth and Sport and TEB BNP Paribas, for their valuable support. We are looking forward to a week of thrilling tennis from these exceptional players.”

 

“We will once again welcome the world’s best tennis players to the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships – Istanbul, which was brought to our country by the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the Turkish Tennis Federation,” said Varol Civil, TEB CEO. “We are proud to support this great event as its ‘title sponsor’. It is truly exciting to count down to the Championships where the best women’s tennis players will showcase their talents to millions of people. Reaching a record number of 34 million people last year, our country will once again be on the top of the global agenda through the exciting tennis at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships – Istanbul.”

 

Tickets for the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul, as well as info about the event, are available for purchase through Biletix – either online at www.biletix.com or at Biletix ticket counters in Turkey.

 

Follow all the latest news about the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul on www.wtachampionships.com, www.facebook.com/WTA, and www.twitter.com/WTA using #WTAChamps.

 

 

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Kerber Qualifies for WTA Champions with Win Over Wozniacki at China Open

By Abigail Hinto

BEIJING, China – As Angelique Kerber officially qualified on Thursday for the first time in her career for the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul, she notches her 59th win of the season to reach the quarterfinals of the China Open with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 over Caroline Wozniacki. Even as Wozniacki steadied her game after a lopsided first set (she had 3 winners and 10 unforced errors in the first set compared to 8 winners and 3 unforced errors in the second set), it just didn’t seem it would be enough to defeat a more confident Kerber who attacked more and defended better. Kerber’s defense off her backhand side was especially impressive. She never seemed to get off-balance from that side and defends with pace and precision, managing several times turn around rallies to win them. As Wozniacki tried to up her attack, she found herself facing someone like the player she was when she was on the top of her game.

Abigail Hinto is in Beijing this week covering the China Open for Tennis Panorama News. Follow her updates on twitter @TennisNewsTPN.

The match was a study in psychology. There’s Wozniacki, trying to re-find her game, more negative in her body language. From the start of the match, there’s an annoyed look in Wozniacki’s face that exudes a negative energy. Even as she wins points and games and connects with winners, she seemed expectant and ready to face defeat. When she tries to be aggressive and loses the point, she shrugs her hands towards her dad. It wasn’t until she got a second break in the second set did a “C’mon!” come out from her. And it wasn’t until she found herself locked in a battle in the third set did the old fight and cussedness come out. Contrast against a confident Kerber who fistpumps to her box after connecting on a beautiful winner, or gets angry with herself when she commits an error. The two players’ attitudes for most of the match were as much a contrast as their results are this year.

 

This was the type of match Caroline Wozniacki used to win when she was the no. 1 player in the world. A 3-set battle where she eventually wears down and frustrates her opponent with her dogged defense and comes out the winner. But on a crisis of confidence, confused with her game, against someone whose career is going the opposite direction, it’s Wozniacki who caves, goes for the riskier backhand down the line shot down match point and pushes it wide. She loses 1-6, 6-2, 4-6.

“This has been the best year of my career,” said Kerber, the first German to play the year end event since2001. “To have the opportunity to play at the WTA Championships will be an amazing way to end 2012.”

Abigail Hinto is in Beijing this week covering the China Open for Tennis Panorama News. Follow her updates on twitter @TennisNewsTPN.

 

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Stars of WTA launch 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – WTA stars Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki were in Istanbul, Turkey today to officially launch the 42nd edition of the WTA’s prestigious year-end event – the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul. The WTA’s crown jewel finale, to be held in Istanbul through 2013, will feature the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams competing for the coveted title and a share of the $5 million in prize money.

The 2011 Championships, co-title sponsored by BNP Paribas and its Turkish partner Türk Ekonomi Bankası (TEB), and also supported by Rolex, Turkish Airlines, Sony Xperia, Oriflame and others, were held in Istanbul for the first of three years and were a huge success, registering the highest attendance in 12 years at 87,763 fans, and setting record broadcast and digital audience milestones. The 2011 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul broadcast more than 500 hours of live coverage in 164 countries through 22 international TV broadcasters, the widest reach of a WTA Championships to date.

“The WTA, together with our great partners the Turkish Tennis Federation, TEB, BNP Paribas and the Ministry of Youth & Sports, set an incredible foundation in Turkey for our sport during the 2011 Championships. With our Top 10 coming from ten different countries right now, we are the most global sport for women in the world and last year’s record attendance and international broadcast reach solidified the status of our WTA Championships as a truly world class, global sporting event. Together with our players and our great partners, we look forward to setting new milestones in Istanbul later this year,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA.

Osman Tural, PTT General Manager and TTF Board Member, stated: “As Turkish Tennis Federation, we are continuing our efforts on making women’s tennis popular with every member of our management staff with the enthusiasm of achieving such a success. We believe that the support for sports and athletes must continue and our aim is make women’s tennis get the attention it deserves. This tournament has been an important step for Turkey’s bid for the 2020 Olympics candidacy. Besides these achievements, this tournament provided significant economic value for Turkey’s economy and I sincerely believe that we will be proud of this event again this year. I would like to thank our Ministry of Youth And Sports, Spor Toto Organization and Turkish people for believing in us and hope that TEB sets an example for other organizations.”

TTF President Ayda Uluç said: “As Turkish Tennis Federation, we are proud of holding one of the most prestigious tournaments in the tennis world – TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships- once again in our country. The world’s eye turned to Istanbul last year for this organization with over 37 million fans watching globally, making it the widest reach of any event in TTF’s history. And I also would like to thank Mr. Varol Civil one more time for his support which made a great contribution to the improvement of Turkish tennis.”

“We are proud to give TEB’s name to one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments, TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul, which has been brought to Turkey through invaluable efforts of the Ministry of Youth & Sports and Turkish Tennis Federation in 2011,” said TEB CEO Varol Civil. “It is our goal to embrace tennis through the tournament by making use of the experience of our global partner BNP Paribas, who has been supporting tennis for almost 40 years. Last year the event captured the whole world’s attention; we succeeded in increasing attention to tennis in our country and also contributed to promoting Turkey on a global level. As TEB, this year we are not only the title sponsor of the tournament, but also the main sponsor of TTF; therefore we are now holding a much greater responsibility for the development of tennis. With TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul, which will be organized for the second time in Turkey, we will proudly continue investing in tennis and our country’s image”.

“I am so happy to be able to be in Istanbul today to kick off the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. Playing at the 2011 Championships, with sold out crowds every night, was an incredible feeling I will never forget. I cannot wait for the opportunity to come back this fall and hope we put on another amazing week of tennis for the great fans in Turkey,” said Agnieszka Radwanska.

“Istanbul is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and I look forward to coming back here and showing its incredible tennis fans the very best of our sport,” said Caroline Wozniacki. “Being here today definitely gives me the inspiration and motivation to work hard for the rest of the season and try my best to qualify for the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships.”

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