2013/05/19

Madrid Open – Saturday Results, Sunday Schedule

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MUTUA MADRID OPEN
Madrid, Spain
May 4-12, 2013
Red Clay/Outdoors

Results – Saturday, May 4, 2013

Women’s Singles – First Round
(7) Sara Errani (ITA) d. Urszula Radwanska (POL) 63 61

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) d. Mona Barthel (GER) 64 61

Julia Goerges (GER) d. Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 64 61

Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. Kiki Bertens (NED) 75 76(8)

Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 63 61

Laura Robson (GBR) d. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 67(4) 62 62
(WC) Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) d. (WC) Simona Halep (ROU) 62 46 64

(WC) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. Sloane Stephens (USA) 63 75

Women’s Doubles – First Round

(WC) Jankovic/Lucic-Baroni (SRB/CRO) d. (6) Groenefeld/Peschke (GER/CZE) 76(5) 76(1)
Grandin/Uhlirova (RSA/CZE) d. Moulton-Levy/Rosolska (USA/POL) 63 76(6)

Women’s Singles Qualifying – Final Round

(2) Christina McHale (USA) d. Mathilde Johansson (FRA) 62 64

(13) Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) d. (3) Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 76(4) 64

(6) Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. Melanie Oudin (USA) 63 61

(14) Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) d. (8) Madison Keys (USA) 62 75

María-Teresa Torró-Flor (ESP) d. (9) Johanna Larsson (SWE) 63 61

Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) d. (WC) Arazane Rezai (FRA) 36 63 76(5)

Camila Giorgi (ITA) d. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) 62 16 63

(WC) Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) d. (WC) Sara Sorribes-Tormo (ESP) 62 16 62

Order Of Play – Sunday, May 5, 2013

MANOLO SANTANA start 10:50 am
V Williams (USA) vs [WC] A Medina Garrigues (ESP) – WTA
[1] S Williams (USA) vs [Q] Y Putintseva (KAZ) – WTA

Not Before 3:15 PM
D Goffin (BEL) vs F Verdasco (ESP) – ATP

Not Before 5:00 PM
T Paszek (AUT) vs [5] N Li (CHN) – WTA
[WC] P Andujar (ESP) vs [10] M Cilic (CRO) – ATP

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO start 11:00 am
[10] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs Y Shvedova (KAZ) – WTA
[8] P Kvitova (CZE) vs Y Wickmayer (BEL) – WTA
T Pironkova (BUL) vs [4] A Radwanska (POL) – WTA
J Benneteau (FRA) vs [16] G Simon (FRA) – ATP
B Tomic (AUS) vs R Stepanek (CZE) – ATP

STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am
[6] A Kerber (GER) vs S Hsieh (TPE) – WTA
Qualifying – X Malisse (BEL) vs [WC] P Riba (ESP) – ATP – Q
[16] A Ivanovic (SRB) vs [Q] B Mattek-Sands (USA) – WTA
J Chardy (FRA) vs H Zeballos (ARG) – ATP
[12] R Vinci (ITA) vs V Lepchenko (USA) – WTA

PISTA 4 start 11:00 am
Qualifying – M Matosevic (AUS) vs T Kamke (GER) – ATP – Q
Qualifying – J Souza (BRA) vs P Mathieu (FRA) – ATP – Q
A Morita (JPN) vs S Cirstea (ROU) – WTA
L Raymond (USA) / L Robson (GBR) vs J Husarova (SVK) / S Lisicki (GER) – WTA

PISTA 5 start 11:00 am
Qualifying – G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) – ATP – Q
[Q] M Torro-Flor (ESP) vs F Schiavone (ITA) – WTA
Qualifying – M Llodra (FRA) vs R Haase (NED) – ATP – Q
[Q] C Giorgi (ITA) vs [11] N Petrova (RUS) – WTA
K Zakopalova (CZE) vs [13] M Kirilenko (RUS) – WTA

PISTA 6 start 11:00 am
[15] D Cibulkova (SVK) vs [Q] L Tsurenko (UKR) – WTA

Not Before 12:30 PM
Qualifying – S Stakhovsky (UKR) vs S Giraldo (COL) – ATP – Q
J Jankovic (SRB) vs [Q] C Scheepers (RSA) – WTA
J Zheng (CHN) vs S Kuznetsova (RUS) – WTA

PISTA 7 start 11:00 am
E Vesnina (RUS) vs [14] M Bartoli (FRA) – WTA
F Pennetta (ITA) vs K Kanepi (EST) – WTA
Qualifying – I Sijsling (NED) vs J Levine (CAN) – ATP – Q

Not Before 3:00 PM
L Dekmeijere (LAT) / O Kalashnikova (GEO) vs J Goerges (GER) / Y Shvedova (KAZ) – WTA
L Safarova (CZE) vs E Makarova (RUS) – WTA

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Pavlyuchenkova Earns First Clay Court Title at Portugal Open

 

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova photo courtesy of Taste of Tennis

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova photo courtesy of Taste of Tennis

(May 4, 2013) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won her first clay court event of her career by defeating Carla Suarez Navarro for the Portugal Open title. It’s the Russian’s fifth title on the WTA tour and second on tour this year as she won in Monterrey.

 

“I definitely had a slow start,” Pavlyuchenkova said.  “I was a little bit disappointed about that, it was the third match this week I started like that. Also, Carla was playing really well – it wasn’t easy to play my game because she was holding me back on the baseline, putting a lot of spin on the ball and moving me around. But I just tried to start playing point by point, fighting every point. It wasn’t easy, but I just tried to dig deep and fight and that really helped me in the end.”

 

“Today I had chances to win the first set but Nastia was playing so well at those moments, and then she played really, really well in the second set,” Suarez Navarro said. “She just kept getting better as the match went on and deserved to win today. But it was a really good week for me – I’m very happy I was able to make another final here.”

 

Both women will remain at No. 19 and No. 23, respectively when the rankings come out on Monday.

PORTUGAL OPEN
Oeiras, Portugal
April 29-May 5, 2013
Red Clay/Outdoors

Results – Saturday, May 4, 2013
Women’s Singles – Final
(3) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 75 62

Women’s Doubles – Final
(2) Chan/Mladenovic (TPE/FRA) d. (4) Jurak/Marosi (CRO/HUN) 76(3) 62

Men’s Singles – Semifinals
[1] [WC] D Ferrer (ESP) d [3] A Seppi (ITA) 61 64
[2] S Wawrinka (SUI) d [Q] P Carreno-Busta (ESP) 63 36 61

Men’s Doubles – Semifinals
[1] A Qureshi (PAK) / J Rojer (NED) d [4] D Bracciali (ITA) / F Fognini (ITA) 64 46 10-6

SCHEDULE – SUNDAY, 5 MAY, 2013

CENTRE COURT start 12:30 pm
[1] A Qureshi (PAK) / J Rojer (NED) vs [3] S Gonzalez (MEX) / S Lipsky (USA)

Not Before 3:30 PM
[1] [WC] D Ferrer (ESP) vs [2] S Wawrinka (SUI)

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Before the Curtain Rises on the Madrid Open Sharapova, Azarenka and Li Na Meet The Press

 

Victoria Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka

By Tumaini Carayol

(May 3, 2013) MADRID – In grand pursuit of their fabled holy grail – an extension to a two week event that would mark it a true equal of the Miami and Indian Wells events – the organizers of the Madrid Open have pushed the boundaries as far as they can stretch. The event is exclusively advertised as a ten-day tournament, beginning on the Friday and flowing into a second Sunday.

 

Not many fans responded on Friday, but at a tournament where the majority of televised matches paint a picture of an empty event unable to attract much interest in one of the most notable cities in the world, the presence of any single fan delighting in a qualifying match between 90-something-ranked female players is perhaps cause for celebration.

 

The lack of action around the grounds was mirrored behind the scenes as Victoria Azarenka fielded questions to a four-fifths empty media centre. Even during the peak days of the biggest tournaments, this is standard fare for the former world number one who continues in her epic age-old struggle to win over the press, but it was a pitiful showing regardless. Still, the Belarusian arrived with a spring in her step as she fielded questions ahead of her first full tournament since February.

“I feel good,” she said. “I’m really glad to be back playing, and can’t wait to start the tournament and see where my game is at. You know, it’s a very good place to start. It’s a very competitive field right away, so I’m glad to be a part of it. It’s a great preparation for the French Open.”

Maria Sharapova with media

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova followed almost immediately afterwards. In stark contrast to her rival, the Russian is considerably easier to crack open. After being asked by Tennis Panorama about her brief trip back to the Motherland, the world number two smiled and positively gushed in reply

“It was chaos, “ she laughed. “It was really nice to be back for just a couple days, but it was such a quick trip. Yeah, I rarely go back there, but it’s such a nice welcome when I do. I sometimes forget how ‑‑ I don’t know what I mean to the sport there and in general. It was nice to have that sort of reception back in my home country and see a lot of fans.

“I mean, the event that we had for Sugarpova was incredibly successful. It blows my mind way every time I see that type of reception because I consider myself quite normal and not so recognizable at times. When I’m there it’s a whole different ballgame.

 

Li Na

Li Na

Later came Li Na. As per usual, even the most formulaic and standard questions were transformed by the 2011 French Open champion into charming and entertaining retorts. However, the most interesting answer from the Chinese number one came when she decided to discuss her much-publicized collaboration with Justine Henin’s former coach, Carlos Rodriguez.

 

“Actually I was feeling pretty good from beginning of the year until now. I was training so hard with Carlos. Yeah, he didn’t come with me in Stuttgart, so when I was here, so many people just ask me, ‘Are you still working with Carlos?’ I said, ‘Of course.’’’

 

‘’So, yeah, he will be come here. I mean, I was, how you say, so happy he can come to my team to coach me. I think for me, he’s not only tennis coach. I think after I was working with him I feel much stronger in my mind and also much stronger on the court.

 

Later on, the main draws were conducted in the public plaza beside the courts. The ladies were first, with top-seeded Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka drawn into the same half as Sharapova was granted a significantly easier prospective route to the final. The men’s draw came later as most fans began to plan their final exits. After long and tiring discussions about 5th-seeded Nadal’s prospective placement in the draws of the upcoming clay-court events, the Barcelona champion slotted inconspicuously into David Ferrer’s quarter.

 

And with that, a quiet and understated first day in Madrid concluded. Despite what the numerous advertising hoardings around the city may suggest, tomorrow the tournament shall truly begin.

 

Tumaini Carayol is in Madrid covering the Madrid tournament for Tennis Panorama News. He is a contributing writer at On The Baseline, and writes about professional tennis at his site Foot Fault.

MUTUA MADRID OPEN
Madrid, Spain
May 4-12, 2013
€4,033,454/Premier
Red Clay/Outdoors

Order Of Play – Saturday, May 4, 2013
Manolo Santana (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: García-López vs. Andreev
2. Camila Giorgi vs. Garbiñe Muguruza (NB 12.30hrs; Singles Q Final)
3. Sara Sorribes-Tormo vs. Alexandra Dulgheru (Singles Q Final)
4. Sloane Stephens vs. Daniela Hantuchova
5. Urszula Radwanska vs. Sara Errani (NB 19.00hrs)
6. Lourdes Domínguez Lino vs. Simona Halep

Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Riba vs. Donskoy
2. Yulia Putintseva vs. Aravane Rezai (Singles Q Final)
3. ATP: Sanjurjo Hermida vs. Haase
4. Magdalena Rybarikova vs. Laura Robson
5. Jankovic/Lucic-Baroni vs. Groenefeld/Peschke

Stadium 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Malisse vs. Muñoz-de la Nava
2. ATP: Ramírez Hidalgo vs. Rufin
3. Julia Goerges vs. Bojana Jovanovski
4. Sabine Lisicki vs. Sofia Arvidsson
5. Mona Barthel vs. Kirsten Flipkens

Pista 4 (from 11.00hrs)
1. María-Teresa Torró-Flor vs. Johanna Larsson (Singles Q Final)
2. Chanelle Scheepers vs. Melanie Oudin (NB 12.30hrs; Singles Q Final)
3. ATP: Falla vs. Souza

Pista 5 (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Matosevic vs. González
2. ATP: Berlocq vs. Stakhovsky
3. ATP: Llodra vs. Kubot
4. ATP: Sijsling vs. Brugués-Davi

Pista 6 (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Gómez-Herrera vs. Kamke
2. ATP: Sousa vs. Giraldo
3. ATP: Cipolla vs. Levine
4. ATP: Elias vs. Mathieu (NB 15.00hrs)

Pista 7 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Christina McHale vs. Mathilde Johansson (Singles Q Final)
2. Stefanie Voegele vs. Lesia Tsurenko (Singles Q Final)
3. Madison Keys vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Singles Q Final)
4. Alizé Cornet vs. Kiki Bertens
5. Grandin/Uhlirova vs. Moulton-Levy/Rosolska

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Ferrer Leads Top Three Men’s Seeds Into Portugal Open Semis

Portugal Open

PORTUGAL OPEN
Oeiras, Portugal
April 29-May 5, 2013
Red Clay/Outdoors

Results – Friday, May 3, 2013
Womens Singles – Semifinals
(3) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Romina Oprandi (SUI) 06 63 61
(4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Kaia Kanepi (EST) 64 61

Women’s Doubles – Semifinals
(2) Chan/Mladenovic (TPE/FRA) d. Kudryavtseva/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) 63 64

Men’s Singles – Quarterfinals
[1] [WC] D Ferrer (ESP) d V Hanescu (ROU) 64 76(2)
[2] S Wawrinka (SUI) d [WC] G Elias (POR) 64 64
[3] A Seppi (ITA) d [8] T Robredo (ESP) 64 63
[Q] P Carreno-Busta (ESP) d [4] F Fognini (ITA) 36 64 64

Men’s Doubles – Semifinals
[3] S Gonzalez (MEX) / S Lipsky (USA) d [2] D Marrero (ESP) / M Melo (BRA) 63 16 11-9

Men’s Doubles – Quarter-finals
[1] A Qureshi (PAK) / J Rojer (NED) d R Bopanna (IND) / A Ram (ISR) 46 63 10-4

Order Of Play – Saturday, May 4, 2013

CENTRE COURT start 11:55 am
[3] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [4] C Suarez Navarro (ESP) – WTA

Not Before 2:30 PM
[Q] P Carreno-Busta (ESP) vs [2] S Wawrinka (SUI) – ATP
[1] [WC] D Ferrer (ESP) vs [3] A Seppi (ITA) – ATP

CENTRALITO start 1:00 pm
[4] D Jurak (CRO) / K Marosi (HUN) vs [2] H Chan (TPE) / K Mladenovic (FRA) – WTA
[1] A Qureshi (PAK) / J Rojer (NED) vs [4] D Bracciali (ITA) / F Fognini (ITA) – ATP

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Wawrinka, Pavlyuchenkova Advance in Portugal

Portugal Open

PORTUGAL OPEN
Oeiras, Portugal
April 29-May 4, 2013
$235,000/International
Red Clay/Outdoors

Results – Thursday, May 2, 2013
Women’s Singles – Quarterfinals
(3) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (7) Elena Vesnina (RUS) 63 67(3) 76(3)
(4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. (LL) Monica Puig (PUR) 62 64
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. Ayumi Morita (JPN) 64 63
Romina Oprandi (SUI) d. (WC) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 62 62

Women’s Doubles – Semifinals
(4) Jurak/Marosi (CRO/HUN) d. (1) Kops-Jones/Spears (USA/USA) 36 61 108 (Match TB)

Women’s Doubles – Quarterfinals
(2) Chan/Mladenovic (TPE/FRA) d. Bratchikova/Lepchenko (RUS/USA) 62 61
Kudryavtseva/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) d. Klemenschits/Piter (AUT/POL) 60 75

Men’s Singles – Second Round
[2] S Wawrinka (SUI) d A Ramos (ESP) 16 63 64
[3] A Seppi (ITA) d A Falla (COL) 64 60
[8] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] R Haase (NED) 64 64
[WC] G Elias (POR) d D Istomin (UZB) 36 61 64

Men’s Doubles – Quarterfinals
[2] D Marrero (ESP) / M Melo (BRA) d M Elgin (RUS) / D Istomin (UZB) 76(2) 36 10-3
[3] S Gonzalez (MEX) / S Lipsky (USA) d [Alt] E Donskoy (RUS) / A Kuznetsov (RUS) 64 62
[4] D Bracciali (ITA) / F Fognini (ITA) d [WC] F Gil (POR) / P Sousa (POR) 63 64


Order Of Play – Friday, May 3, 2013

CENTRE COURT start 10:25 am
R Oprandi (SUI) vs [3] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) – WTA
[4] C Suarez Navarro (ESP) vs K Kanepi (EST) – WTA
Not Before 1:50 PM
[WC] G Elias (POR) vs [2] S Wawrinka (SUI) – ATP
Not Before 3:50 PM
[1] [WC] D Ferrer (ESP) vs V Hanescu (ROU) – ATP

CENTRALITO start 11:00 am
A Kudryavtseva (RUS) / A Rodionova (AUS) vs [2] H Chan (TPE) / K Mladenovic (FRA) – WTA
[1] A Qureshi (PAK) / J Rojer (NED) vs R Bopanna (IND) / A Ram (ISR) – ATP
Not Before 2:00 PM
[Q] P Carreno-Busta (ESP) vs [4] F Fognini (ITA) – ATP
Not Before 4:00 PM
[3] A Seppi (ITA) vs [8] T Robredo (ESP) – ATP

COURT 1 start 1:00 pm
[3] S Gonzalez (MEX) / S Lipsky (USA) vs [2] D Marrero (ESP) / M Melo (BRA) – ATP

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Seeds Cirstea and Paire Lose at Portugal Open

Sorana Cirstea

Sorana Cirstea

PORTUGAL OPEN
Oeiras, Portugal
April 29-May 5, 2013
$235,000/International
Red Clay/Outdoors

Results – Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Women’s Singles – Second Round
(3) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (Q) Estrella Cabeza Candela (ESP) 63 76(4)
(4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 64 63
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. (5) Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 61 62
(7) Elena Vesnina (RUS) d. Monica Niculescu (ROU) 64 64
Ayumi Morita (JPN) d. Urszula Radwanska (POL) 62 63
Romina Oprandi (SUI) d. Peng Shuai (CHN) 61 63
(LL) M Puig (PUR) d F Schiavone (ITA) 63 62
(WC) S Kuznetsova (RUS) d. (Q) Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 64 64

Women’s Doubles – Quarterfinals
(1) Kops-Jones/Spears (USA/USA) d. Foretz Gacon/Hrdinova (FRA/CZE) 26 64 103 (Match TB)
(4) Jurak/Marosi (CRO/HUN) d. Paszek/Tatishvili (AUT/GEO) 64 63

Women’s Doubles – First Round
(2) Chan/Mladenovic (TPE/FRA) d. (WC) Gavrilova/Luz (RUS/POR) 63 46 102 (Match TB)
Kudryavtseva/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) d. Pereira/Savinykh (BRA/RUS) 64 46 104 (Match TB)

Men’s Singles – Second Round
[1] [WC] D Ferrer (ESP) d E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 64 46 63
[4] F Fognini (ITA) d P Lorenzi (ITA) 76(5) 57 64
V Hanescu (ROU) d [6] B Paire (FRA) 76(2) 64
[Q] P Carreno-Busta (ESP) d D Goffin (BEL) 16 62 62

Men’s Doubles – First Round
[2] D Marrero (ESP) / M Melo (BRA) d [WC] F Silva (POR) / L Tavares (POR) 61 61
[3] S Gonzalez (MEX) / S Lipsky (USA) d R Haase (NED) / I Sijsling (NED) 46 76(5) 10-4
R Bopanna (IND) / A Ram (ISR) d J Erlich (ISR) / D Inglot (GBR) 53 ret. (Erlich – lower back)
[WC] F Gil (POR) / P Sousa (POR) d J Murray (GBR) / J Peers (AUS) 64 64
M Elgin (RUS) / D Istomin (UZB) d D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) / H Zeballos (ARG) 63 76(2)

SCHEDULE – THURSDAY, 2 MAY, 2013

CENTRE COURT start 10:50 am
R Oprandi (SUI) vs [WC] S Kuznetsova (RUS) – WTA
Not Before 1:50 PM
[WC] G Elias (POR) vs D Istomin (UZB) – ATP
Not Before 3:50 PM
A Ramos (ESP) vs [2] S Wawrinka (SUI) – ATP
[3] A Seppi (ITA) vs A Falla (COL) – ATP

CENTRALITO start 12:00 noon
[3] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [7] E Vesnina (RUS) – WTA
K Kanepi (EST) vs A Morita (JPN) – WTA
[Q] R Haase (NED) vs [8] T Robredo (ESP) – ATP

COURT 1 start 11:00 am
N Bratchikova (RUS) / V Lepchenko (USA) vs [2] H Chan (TPE) / K Mladenovic (FRA) – WTA
[LL] M Puig (PUR) vs [4] C Suarez Navarro (ESP) – WTA
Not Before 1:30 PM
[4] D Bracciali (ITA) / F Fognini (ITA) vs [WC] F Gil (POR) / P Sousa (POR) – ATP

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
A Kudryavtseva (RUS) / A Rodionova (AUS) vs S Klemenschits (AUT) / K Piter (POL) – WTA
Not Before 12:30 PM
[Alt] E Donskoy (RUS) / A Kuznetsov (RUS) vs [3] S Gonzalez (MEX) / S Lipsky (USA) – ATP
[1] R Kops-Jones (USA) / A Spears (USA) vs [4] D Jurak (CRO) / K Marosi (HUN) – WTA
M Elgin (RUS) / D Istomin (UZB) vs [2] D Marrero (ESP) / M Melo (BRA) – ATP

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Top Seed Bartoli and Fifth Seed Benneteau Fall at Portugal Open

Peng Shuai

Peng Shuai

(April 30, 2013) Top-seeded Marion Bartoli was ousted at the Portugal Open  by No. 34 Peng Shuai 6-0, 1-6, 6-4 in the first round.

“I”m very happy to win in such windy conditions,” said Peng, “The clay was blowing around a lot, making it even more difficult.”

“After Miami my shoulder wasn’t feeling so good so I actually went back to China, got treatment in Beijing and trained in Tianjin before coming to Europe. But they don’t have many clay courts in China, so I practiced on hardcourts. I had three or four days on clay courts in Stuttgart, so I’ve only really been playing on clay for a week and a half.

“So I’m really happy to beat such a good player today. In the end both of us were playing very well.”

Pablo Carreno-Busta of Spain ranked No. 228 in the world upset fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau in the first round 6-3, 6-4.

 

PORTUGAL OPEN
Oeiras, Portugal
April 29-May 5, 2013
Red Clay/Outdoors

Results – Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Women’s Singles – First Round
Peng Shuai (CHN) d. (1) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 60 16 64
Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. (2/WC) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 26 64 64
(3) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (Q) Shahar Peer (ISR) 64 64
(LL) Monica Puig (PUR) d. (8/WC) Julia Goerges (GER) 76(3) 62
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) 62 46 63
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 64 63
Monica Niculescu (ROU) d. Tamira Paszek (AUT) 61 63
Romina Oprandi (SUI) d. Kiki Bertens (NED) 63 63
(Q) Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 63 64
(Q) Estrella Cabeza Candela (ESP) d. (Q) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 57 61 63

Women’s Doubles – First Round
(1) Kops-Jones/Spears (USA/USA) d. Black/Castano (ZIM/COL) 75 63
(4) Jurak/Marosi (CRO/HUN) d. King/Niculescu (USA/ROU) 26 75 1311 (Match TB)
Foretz Gacon/Hrdinova (FRA/CZE) d. Erakovic/Robson (NZL/GBR) 63 63
Paszek/Tatishvili (AUT/GEO) d. Moulton-Levy/Rosolska (USA/POL) 57 64 106 (Match TB)
Bratchikova/Lepchenko (RUS/USA) d. (WC) Araujo/Vale Costa (POR/POR) 62 62

Men’s Singles – First Round
[Q] P Carreno-Busta (ESP) d [5] J Benneteau (FRA) 63 64
[WC] G Elias (POR) d [7] H Zeballos (ARG) 63 64
[8] T Robredo (ESP) d D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 26 75 63
V Hanescu (ROU) d [Q] R Machado (POR) 64 64
A Falla (COL) d A Kuznetsov (RUS) 75 64
[Q] R Haase (NED) d P Andujar (ESP) 46 62 63
P Lorenzi (ITA) d [Q] N Desein (BEL) 63 46 62
A Ramos (ESP) d C Berlocq (ARG) 76(4) 26 63

Men’s Doubles – First Round
[1] A Qureshi (PAK) / J Rojer (NED) d P Lorenzi (ITA) / A Seppi (ITA) 63 46 10-6
[4] D Bracciali (ITA) / F Fognini (ITA) d P Marx (GER) / F Mergea (ROU) 64 76(6)
[Alt] E Donskoy (RUS) / A Kuznetsov (RUS) d B Paire (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 63 64

SCHEDULE – WEDNESDAY, 1 MAY, 2013

CENTRE COURT start 10:50 am
[5] S Cirstea (ROU) vs K Kanepi (EST) – WTA
Not Before 1:50 PM
[1] [WC] D Ferrer (ESP) vs E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) – ATP
Not Before 3:50 PM
P Lorenzi (ITA) vs [4] F Fognini (ITA) – ATP
[Q] P Carreno-Busta (ESP) vs D Goffin (BEL) – ATP

CENTRALITO start 11:00 am
Y Wickmayer (BEL) vs [4] C Suarez Navarro (ESP) – WTA
V Hanescu (ROU) vs [6] B Paire (FRA) – ATP
Not Before 2:00 PM
[LL] M Puig (PUR) vs F Schiavone (ITA) – WTA
A Morita (JPN) vs U Radwanska (POL) – WTA

COURT 1 start 11:00 am
S Peng (CHN) vs R Oprandi (SUI) – WTA
[Q] G Voskoboeva (KAZ) vs [WC] S Kuznetsova (RUS) – WTA
Not Before 2:00 PM
[3] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [Q] E Cabeza Candela (ESP) – WTA
[WC] F Gil (POR) / P Sousa (POR) vs J Murray (GBR) / J Peers (AUS) – ATP

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
[WC] F Silva (POR) / L Tavares (POR) vs [2] D Marrero (ESP) / M Melo (BRA) – ATP
Not Before 1:00 PM
M Niculescu (ROU) vs [7] E Vesnina (RUS) – WTA
R Haase (NED) / I Sijsling (NED) vs [3] S Gonzalez (MEX) / S Lipsky (USA) – ATP
[4] D Jurak (CRO) / K Marosi (HUN) vs T Paszek (AUT) / A Tatishvili (GEO) – WTA

COURT 3 start 11:00 am
A Kudryavtseva (RUS) / A Rodionova (AUS) vs T Pereira (BRA) / V Savinykh (RUS) – WTA
Not Before 2:00 PM
[1] R Kops-Jones (USA) / A Spears (USA) vs S Foretz Gacon (FRA) / E Hrdinova (CZE) – WTA

COURT 4 start 11:00 am
[WC] D Gavrilova (RUS) / B Luz (POR) vs [2] H Chan (TPE) / K Mladenovic (FRA) – WTA
J Erlich (ISR) / D Inglot (GBR) vs R Bopanna (IND) / A Ram (ISR) – ATP
M Elgin (RUS) / D Istomin (UZB) vs D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) / H Zeballos (ARG) – ATP

 

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Portugal Open – Monday Results, Tuesday Schedule

Portugal Open

PORTUGAL OPEN
Oeiras, Portugal
April 29-May 5, 2013
Red Clay/Outdoors

Results – Monday, April 29, 2013
Women’s Singles – First Round
(4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Marina Erakovic (NZL) 63 60
(5) Sorana Cirstea (ROU) d. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 62 26 61
(WC) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. (6) Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 67(2) 63 62
(7) Elena Vesnina (RUS) d. (WC) Maria Joao Koehler (POR) 64 61
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 61 75
Ayumi Morita (JPN) d. Laura Robson (GBR) 62 75

Women’s Doubles – First Round
Klemenschits/Piter (AUT/POL) d. (3) Grandin/Uhlirova (RSA/CZE) 64 60

Women’s Singles Qualifying – Final Round
Shahar Peer (ISR) d. Catalina Castaño (COL) 76(1) 64
Estrella Cabeza Candela (ESP) d. Stéphanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) 64 60
Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) d. Monica Puig (PUR) 63 63
Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. Vania King (USA) 63 62

Men’s Singles – First Round
[6] B Paire (FRA) d I Sijsling (NED) 76(5) 63
E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) d G Muller (LUX) 61 ret. (left shoulder)
D Goffin (BEL) d [WC] P Sousa (POR) 76(1) 46 64
D Istomin (UZB) d E Donskoy (RUS) 26 76(6) 64

SCHEDULE – TUESDAY, 30 APRIL, 2013

CENTRE COURT start 10:50 am
[1] M Bartoli (FRA) vs S Peng (CHN) – WTA
Not Before 1:50 PM
V Hanescu (ROU) vs [Q] R Machado (POR) – ATP
Not Before 3:50 PM
D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs [8] T Robredo (ESP) – ATP
[7] H Zeballos (ARG) vs [WC] G Elias (POR) – ATP

CENTRALITO start 11:00 am
[5] J Benneteau (FRA) vs [Q] P Carreno-Busta (ESP) – ATP
K Kanepi (EST) vs K Mladenovic (FRA) – WTA
Not Before 2:00 PM
F Schiavone (ITA) vs L Dominguez Lino (ESP) – WTA
U Radwanska (POL) vs [2] [WC] D Cibulkova (SVK) – WTA

COURT 1 start 11:00 am
M Niculescu (ROU) vs T Paszek (AUT) – WTA
[3] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [Q] S Peer (ISR) – WTA
P Andujar (ESP) vs [Q] R Haase (NED) – ATP
Not Before 3:00 PM
[1] R Kops-Jones (USA) / A Spears (USA) vs C Black (ZIM) / C Castano (COL) – WTA
[WC] S Araujo (POR) / J Vale Costa (POR) vs N Bratchikova (RUS) / V Lepchenko (USA) – WTA

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
A Ramos (ESP) vs C Berlocq (ARG) – ATP
P Lorenzi (ITA) vs [Q] N Desein (BEL) – ATP
[8] [WC] J Goerges (GER) vs [LL] M Puig (PUR) – WTA
Not Before 3:00 PM
[4] D Jurak (CRO) / K Marosi (HUN) vs V King (USA) / M Niculescu (ROU) – WTA-After Suitable Rest

COURT 3 start 11:00 am
S Arvidsson (SWE) vs [Q] G Voskoboeva (KAZ) – WTA
K Bertens (NED) vs R Oprandi (SUI) – WTA
Not Before 2:00 PM
T Paszek (AUT) / A Tatishvili (GEO) vs M Moulton-Levy (USA) / A Rosolska (POL) – WTA-After Suitable Rest
Not Before 4:00 PM
B Paire (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs V Hanescu (ROU) / G Muller (LUX) – ATP-After Suitable Rest

COURT 4 start 11:00 am
A Falla (COL) vs A Kuznetsov (RUS) – ATP
[Q] A Rezai (FRA) vs [Q] E Cabeza Candela (ESP) – WTA
Not Before 1:00 PM
S Foretz Gacon (FRA) / E Hrdinova (CZE) vs M Erakovic (NZL) / L Robson (GBR) – WTA
[4] D Bracciali (ITA) / F Fognini (ITA) vs P Marx (GER) / F Mergea (ROU) – ATP
Not Before 4:00 PM
[1] A Qureshi (PAK) / J Rojer (NED) vs P Lorenzi (ITA) / A Seppi (ITA) – ATP-After Suitable Rest

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Madrid Names Final Wild Card List

MutuaMadridOpenLogo

(April 29, 2013) The Mutua Madrid Open has named the men and women who will make up the list of wild cards at this year’s edition of the Caja Mágica competition, which will take place between the 3rd and 12th of May.

Pablo Andújar, Romania’s Marius Copil, recent quarterfinalist at the Conde de Godó tournament, Tommy Robredo, and Madrid local Javier Martí have all received invites to compete in the main event. While this will be Copil’s first time to play in the Mutua Madrid Open, all the others already have experience in the competition. Pablo Andújar has taken part in the last two editions, Martí received a wild card invitation last year, where he was sent out of the first round by Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny, and Robredo is a veteran of the tournament, having taken part in every edition of the competition between 2002 and 2009, reaching the quarter-finals in 2004.

Meanwhile, Spain’s Guillermo García-López and Pere Riba, as well as Ukraine’s Sergei Stakhovsky have all received wild card invites to play in the preliminary phase of the tournament. García-López, who recently reached the Bucharest final, has taken part in the last four editions of the competition, reaching the third round in 2009 and 2010. The fourth and final invitation to compete in the preliminary phase of the competition will go to the winner of the Under 18 Mutua Madrid Open, which gets underway today. In the doubles competition,

Spanish pair Fernando Verdasco and David Marrero have also received a wild card invite.

In the women’s competition Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova, Romania’s Simona Halep and Spain’s Lourdes Domínguez, Anabel Medina and Silvia Soler have all received invites to the main draw. The veteran of the bunch is Hantuchova, who will have another chance to shine on the Madrid clay, as will Halep, who at just 20 years of age has already shown her ability in last year’s first round nail-biter against Venus Williams. Meanwhile, Medina, Soler and Lourdes Domínguez, who is at the top of her game having reached the Marrakech final last week, will be looking to become the first Spanish women to ever reach the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals.

Three of the wild card invites for the preliminary phase have gone to Germany’s Andrea Petkovic, Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru and France’s Aravane Rezai, who beat Venus Williams in the final of the 2010 Mutua Madrid Open to be crowned champion, while the fourth will go to the winner of the Under 18 Mutua Madrid Open competition. The three wild cards for the doubles competition have gone to Lisa Raymond and Laura Robson as well as the two Spanish pairings of Silvia Soler/Carla Suárez and Garbiñe Muguruza/Tita Torró, the latter of whom have already won the Hobart WTA title this year.

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Sharapova Defends Stuttgart Title with Victory Over Li Na

Sharapova Porsche

By Tumaini Carayol

(April 28, 2013) STUTTGART – Maria Sharapova arrived in Stuttgart as merely the defeNding champion. One Porsche mega-deal later, the Russian had almost assumed home-crowd support as fans and staff alike cheered the Russian on passionately throughout the week.

 

After her perilous struggles in the rounds before, Sharapova saved her most impressive victory for last, showcasing a performance of the highest quality to refuse Li Na her title 6-4, 6-3. The Russian struck the ball cleanly and with precision, while her movement improved dramatically overnight as she closed out the match in two impressive sets.

 

“I definitely thought it would be the toughest match of the tournament because, you know, she’s the second seed and someone I lost to last time I played against her,” she said.

 

“Probably because I knew she’d be the freshest of both of us. I tried to do the right things from the beginning and not have a let-down like I did in the other matches. I’m extremely happy that I pulled through.”

 

Sharapova’s afternoon was most succinctly summed up by a break point in set two. Chasing from side to side, the Russian found herself on the back foot as Li attempted to dominate. Eventually she stretched for a last-ditch left-handed forehand which barely trickled over, but as the Chinese number one attempted to put away the weak reply, Sharapova had already begun sprinting back to her forehand side, into the open court. A stunning on-the-run forehand down the line passing shot followed as she wrestled the break from her opponent’s grasp and hammered the final nail into the coffin that held Li Na’s title hopes.

 

“I think the main thing (in the earlier rounds) is the way that I fought,” said Sharapova later. “The way I came back from being down from, you know winning the first set.

 

“Losing the second could have been tough and easy to let the third set go but I kept fighting to give myself a chance to get into the next round. And then I played my best tennis today. So no matter how difficult those matches were, no matter how tired I was.”

 

On the question of pressure after recording a breathtaking 20th straight victory on red clay, Sharapova showcased a relaxed outlook to her outstanding previous 12 months on the red dirt.

 

“It’s more exciting. I really feel like I deserve to be in that position where I’m considered one of favorites because I needed to work to be in this position for many years. I’ve worked on getting stronger. I’ve worked on getting patient. I’ve worked on getting my game to adapt a little more on clay. There’s a reason why I’ve got myself there. It didn’t take a day, it didn’t take months, it took many years.

 

It remains difficult to name the players who will figure as the top favorites for Roland Garros as the second Grand Slam draws ever-nearer, but if one thing is for sure, it’s that Sharapova will top them all.

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