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Post by jimm on Jan 8, 2008 18:03:18 GMT
Zvonareva reaches QFs; Bondarenko bows out in Hobart
Hobart, Australia (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva reached the quarterfinals, while top-seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko exited the $170,000 Moorilla Hobart International tennis tournament.
Bondarenko gave way to Greek Eleni Daniilidou 6-3, 6-3, while Zvonareva zipped past Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-3, 6-2 on the hardcourts at Domain Tennis Centre.
Zvonareva's quarterfinal opponent will be fellow Russian Elena Vesnina, a 6-3, 6-2 victor against Spaniard Nuria Llagostera Vives on Day 3.
Sixth-seeded Indian Sania Mirza booked her spot in the quarters with a 6-3, 6-4 second-round decision against Russian lucky-loser Alla Kudryavtseva. Mirza will face Italian Flavia Pennetta here on Wednesday, as Pennetta was leading qualifier Jelena Dokic 5-0 when the Aussie retired with an ankle injury.
In other second-round play, Aussie wild card Casey Dellacqua held off Russian Anna Lapushchenkova 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, Romanian qualifier Edina Gallovits grounded Belarusian Olga Govortsova 6-3, 6-2 and qualifier Ashley Harkleroad got past fellow American Meilen Tu 7-6 (11-9), 2-6, 6-1.
The other quarters will pit Daniilidou against Dellacqua and Gallovits versus Harkleroad.
Hobart serves as a final tuneup for the Australian Open.
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Post by jimm on Jan 8, 2008 18:05:23 GMT
Oi! You secretly desire a Sharapova forum too! tut tut Yes I like Venus. She is more personable and fun than Serena. Despite Richard's infamous prediction, Venus has probably achieved even more than Serena has. Nevertheless, Serena's demolition of Sharapova at last years A0 was special. Think maybe your heart was ruling your head though when you tipped Maria to be #1 at the end of the year! Mind you, I can talk. Big Masha has loads of forums We dont need one here. Still I hope she slaughters S Williams next time round.
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Post by jimm on Jan 9, 2008 12:29:22 GMT
Medibank International Sydney-AUS January 6-11, 2008 $600,000
Go to wap.sonyericsson.com/tennis on your mobile phone for the latest scores from Sydney
> Order of Play > Draws
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Singles - Quarterfinals (1) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (Q) Kaia Kanepi (EST) 62 60 (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 64 60 Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) d. (3) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 64 46 64 (4) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 63 36 62
Doubles - Quarterfinals Perebiynis/Poutchek (UKR/BLR) d. (3) Chan/Chuang (TPE/TPE) 64 64 Dechy/Safina (FRA/RUS) d. Granville/Uhlirova (USA/CZE) 61 62
Moorilla Hobart International Hobart-AUS January 6-11, 2008 $170,000
Go to wap.sonyericsson.com/tennis on your mobile phone for the latest scores from Hobart
> Order of Play > Draws
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Singles - Quarterfinals (2) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Elena Vesnina (RUS) 63 63 Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. (6) Sania Mirza (IND) 75 16 63 (Q) Ashley Harkleroad (USA) d. (Q) Edina Gallovits (ROU) 64 64 Eleni Daniilidou (GRE) d. (WC) Casey Dellacqua (AUS) 64 75
Doubles - Quarterfinals (2) Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual (ESP/ESP) d. Brémond/Cetkovska (FRA/CZE) 60 26 107 Pennetta/Salerni (ITA/ARG) d. (4) Hradecka/Voracova (CZE/CZE) w/o (Voracova: viral illness) Daniilidou/Woehr (GRE/GER) d. A.Radwanska/Shvedova (POL/RUS) 36 76(2) 108
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Post by jimm on Jan 10, 2008 10:06:32 GMT
Moorilla semis Thursday, January 10, 2008 Singles - Semifinals Eleni Daniilidou (GRE) d. Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 64 63 Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d (Q) Ashley Harkleroad 6-2 6-1 Doubles - Semifinals Daniilidou/Woehr (GRE/GER) d. Domínguez Lino/Parra Santonja (ESP/ESP) 62
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Post by jimm on Jan 10, 2008 10:09:26 GMT
Sydney semis
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Singles - Semifinals (1) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (4) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 62 26 64 (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) 75 76(4)
Doubles - Semifinals Yan/Zheng (CHN/CHN) d. Dechy/Safina (FRA/RUS) 75 61 Perebiynis/Poutchek (UKR/BLR) d. Molik/T.Sun (AUS/CHN) 64 26 108
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Post by jimm on Jan 10, 2008 13:35:16 GMT
Dokic looks forward to Australian Open Thursday January 10, 6:34 PM
The worst years of her life are behind Jelena Dokic.
She only hopes the best years of her tennis career are not.
The 24-year-old Dokic made the first serious step toward a comeback to the top level of her game at Melbourne Park, scoring a straight sets victory in the first round of the Australian Open qualifying tournament.
Dokic beat New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 6-4 6-1 in a style that encouraged, more than thrilled, her.
For the former world No.4 who made the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2000 and then suffered a decline brought on largely by her domineering and unstable father, Thursday's success was proof that all the pain and suffering might be worth it.
The least of Dokic's troubles was the extra weight she had piled on while "sorting out her life" for the past two years.
She said she had lost 16kg since commencing training last October.
"I have, obviously, a couple more (kilos) to go," Dokic said.
"But I think I've done a good job."
Seemingly, she has done an even better job of getting herself emotionally fit.
During the upheaval that her father Damir orchestrated when his daughter should have been confirming herself as one of the world's best players, Dokic switched nationalities, endured serious humiliation and lost the will to play.
"I didn't think I'd ever play again," she said.
"I've been to hell and back.
"I had to sort through a lot of problems ... I had a lot of issues.
"They are private, people don't know about it."
The light was switched back on again about six months ago when Dokic was at home in Croatia.
She hadn't picked up a racquet in a couple of years, hadn't trained in seven months and hadn't wanted to.
"It just happened overnight," she said.
"I just thought to myself 'I'll give it a shot again'"
Dokic said the realisation that tennis was the thing she loved most in the world lifted a burden from her and gave her life new purpose.
"I was pretty out of it, I didn't have the will to play.
"Then something clicked and I realised that I really missed it."
As well as providing her with the chance to make the draw of a grand slam tournament, Thursday's win provided a good test for a troublesome ankle which had caused some controversy for Dokic.
She had been confronted earlier this week with the problem of being in the field in a tournament in Hobart and being given a wildcard entry into the Australian Open qualifying tournament.
Under the rules, she couldn't pull out of one tournament in order to enter a another.
Fortunately, the ankle injury bobbed up at just the right time and just the right level of seriousness to get her out of Hobart and into Melbourne.
Dokic took the precaution of taping it for Thursday's match and was pleased with the way it stood up.
"I'm still a bit cautious, but it was a lot better than I thought it would be," she said.
Apart from Dokic, every other Australian woman in the qualifying tournament became a first round casualty."
Good win for Jelena!
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Post by jimm on Jan 10, 2008 13:54:04 GMT
NO.2 seed Vera Zvonareva stormed into the final of the Hobart International with a comprehensive 6-2 6-1 win over qualifier Ashley Harkleroad.
Zvonareva took just 59 minutes to defeat the American and book a meeting with Greek world No.43 Eleni Daniilidou in Friday's final.
The Russian converted five of seven break point opportunities in the match but down-played her performance after the win.
"I was just trying my best," she said.
"Ashley is a very good player."
Harkleroad had no chance against Zvonareva, who rallied from the back of the court almost to perfection.
She moved Harkleroad from side to side and at times seemed to have the ball on a string.
Ranked No.23 in the world but a former world No.9, Zvonareva said she was happy with her consistency and looking forward to the final.
Harkleroad, who was playing her sixth match in less than a week with qualifying and main draw action, said the succession of matches had finally taken their toll.
"I was a little bit tired out there both physically and mentally," she said.
"I was also a little bit nervous.
"That is not the reason I lost, I lost a bit of composure out there."
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Post by jimm on Jan 11, 2008 17:46:38 GMT
WTA boss to raise corruption issue 6 hours ago The head of women's tennis has admitted anti-corruption will be "the first item on the agenda" when he addresses 250 players before the start of the Australian Open next weekend. Women's Tennis Association chief executive Larry Scott revealed several players had approached the WTA after being approached to throw matches. "We have identified that there's an awful lot of gambling on tennis and that players have been approached by people who are trying to persuade them to throw a match or provide information about a match with incentives of money," Scott said. "That's obviously against all the rules. We've got no proof of corruption having taken place, so I don't believe there is any corruption in women's tennis now. "But we are taking all reasonable steps to combat the threat and have been focussing a lot of attention on educating players on the importance of coming forward to share information with us. "Several players have come forward to talk to us about the approaches [to throw matches]. They have acted very, very responsibly by coming to us and ensuring we have this information." Scott believes any player found to have been involved in corruption should be banned for life. "Sport is nothing without the integrity and fairness of competition," he told BBC Sport. "As a leader of sport, that is something I feel committed to. Therefore I think we must have the right to impose a lifetime ban on any athlete that was associated with corruption."
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Post by jimm on Jan 12, 2008 11:21:58 GMT
Sharapova thankful for cool Open By Guy Hand January 12, 2008 MARIA Sharapova has praised Australian Open organisers for changing the tournament's extreme heat policy to avoid any repeat of conditions she described as "inhuman" during a match last year.
The world No.5's three-set first round match against Camille Pin in 2007 had to be completed in 40-plus degree heat on Rod Laver Arena after the match had started prior to the temperatures soaring to dangerous levels.
After the heat left her delusional at times during the match, the Russian then blew a gasket afterwards.
She blasted officials for not having a clause in the heat policy to allow the roof to be closed or for play to be stopped once a match had started.
But the changes to the rules this year ensure that matches can be now stopped once a set is completed, or on Rod Laver Arena, the referee has the option of closing the roof.
“I'm happy Australian Open organisers listened to the players because that's very important when you know your opinions are heard,” Sharapova said.
“There were a few of the guys playing out there three out of five sets, while the other hundreds of players were in the comfort of the locker room. I think the players are very thankful.”
Sharapova, beaten finalist in the women's singles last year, believes she is capable of going one better in 2008.
“I don't think you can ever count me out,” she said. “I'm one of the toughest competitors out there. I never leave the court without giving 100 per cent.”
She kicks off her Open with a first round match against Croatian Jelena Kostanic Kosic, though most are already looking ahead to her possible second round match-up with comeback mum Lindsay Davenport.
Davenport has already won tournaments since returning to competitive play seven months after giving birth to her first child.
Should the former world No.1 beat unseeded Italian Sara Errani, it could set up one of the most intriguing matches of the tournament if Sharapova can despatch her first round opponent as expected.
AAP
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Post by jimm on Jan 12, 2008 12:35:09 GMT
Hopman Cup organiser, WTA support Sania -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Print article | E-mail article | Post comment | View comments
Melbourne, Jan 12 (IANS) Hopman Cup organiser Paul McNamee and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) members have come out strongly in support of Sania Mirza, saying she is just not the kind who would ever show disrespect to her country or the national flag.
McNamee has come out in support of Sania saying she loves representing India and would never intentionally be disrespectful to her country, said the newspaper, The Australian.
A WTA insider also backed Mirza, saying none who had met the world No.31 would ever accuse her of being disrespectful.
"She is probably one of the most respectful people I know, especially when it comes to her heritage," the source said.
Also coming out in her support has been her manager and international tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi.
Both McNamee and Bhupathi also questioned the legitimacy of the photograph, saying the angle of the shot distorted the proximity of Mirza's feet to the small plastic flag.
"Sania would have been there sitting at the back of the box, certainly not at the front," McNamee said.
McNamee said Mirza, who was watching partner Rohan Bopanna in his singles match, was following a practice adopted by most players in keeping her legs raised to assist in overcoming a lactic acid build-up to prevent cramping.
"Her feet were up, like a lot of the girls do, because she had to get ready to play mixed doubles following her singles. It is just a normal situation," McNamee said.
Sania arrived into Melbourne Thursday after being knocked out of the Hobart International by Italy's Flavia Pennetta. Before that she played in the Hopman Cup in Perth.
IANS
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Post by jimm on Jan 12, 2008 12:44:28 GMT
JELENA DOKIC's Australian Open campaign has ended before most players have arrived after she lost in the second round of qualifying, bringing an abrupt halt to the tournament's most unlikely comeback story. But as Dokic now turns her attention to second- and third-tier events on the fringe of the WTA circuit in a bid to boost her ranking following a two-year absence from the tour, she has given Tennis Australia a typically forthright serve. Dokic, 24, yesterday lost in two brief sets to Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn, with the cumulative effect of having to play six matches in seven days in Hobart and Melbourne sapping all energy from her. While insisting she had no cause for disappointment, Dokic expressed frustration and bemusement at Tennis Australia's decision to overlook her for a wild-card into next week's main draw. Instead, she was given wild-cards into the qualifying draws in Hobart and at the Australian Open. "I think I definitely deserved one and I don't even think they waited to see how I would play in Hobart," Dokic said. "The wild-cards were announced after the first day of qualifying in Hobart. "I was disappointed they didn't even take me into consideration but that is the way Tennis Australia does things. That is the system and we can see the results of all that." Discretionary wild-cards were given to Monique Adamczak, Sophie Ferguson, Christina Wheeler and, most contentiously, Jarmila Gajdosova, who is still seeking Australian citizenship. Gajdosova, who is drawn to play defending champion Serena Williams in the first round, said tournament director Craig Tiley had been in contact with ITF officials as late as Thursday night to ensure she could compete as an Australian. Anastasia Rodionova, formerly of Russia, will also play her first home Grand Slam as an Australian, after earning direct entry into the main draw. "They are applying to be Australians so I don't think that is the issue," said Dokic, who was born in the then Yugoslavia and abruptly changed her nationality back to Serbian from Australian on the eve of the 2001 Australian Open. "The issue is who they gave it to. "I have done more in one week and had more big wins in one week than some of those girls have beaten in their whole career. "I think I have been overlooked but that is the way it goes. "What goes around comes around, so we will see what happens later."
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Post by SuperMarion on Jan 12, 2008 14:07:42 GMT
To be fair, Jelena has had wild cards before, only to get heavily beaten in the first round.
She has did well the past few weeks. But after so long away from top level tennis, it's probably better for her in the long term to enter big tournaments on merit, rather than past glories.
So no Kournikova princess. Every lady gotta work hard! Then it will be all the more satisfying when the likes of Dokic, Sprem, and Myskina, eventually see the fruit of their labors.
Besides, losing to Tanasugarn is no disgrace. She has been a player of pedigree, top forty thirty territory. It's an indication of the prestige of A0 that a players of that calibre are having to pre-qualify.
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Post by jimm on Jan 14, 2008 10:50:06 GMT
January 14, 2008
Jankovic Survives Paszek; Favorites Open With Wins
MELBOURNE, Australia - Despite early season rust and some inspired opponents, first round matches ultimately held true to form on Day 1 of the Australian Open on Monday, with Jelena Jankovic and Lindsay Davenport fighting off the biggest challenges but several other big names working for their opening victories as well.
Having lost seven of her last eight matches, No.3 seed Jelena Jankovic seemed down and out against Tamira Paszek in one of the first matches of the day as the Austrian phenom won the first set and, after dropping the second set, went up 4-1 in the third. But the feisty Jankovic ran down everything she could, saving one match point down 5-4 with a backhand winner after a monstrous rally then fending off two more match points down 6-5, eventually winning it, 26 62 1210, in just over three hours.
"I wasn't playing so well today and my opponent was really solid and making me work very hard," Jankovic said. "I was just trying to stay positive somehow and I found a way to win. It was unbelievable. When I was down those match points, I was lucky a few times maybe. But overall, a win is a win."
Although Jankovic did save the first match point on a winner, she survived the other two on unforced errors from Paszek. Afterwards, the world No.4 had some words of encouragement for her hard-hitting 17-year-old opponent.
"It's hard. We all want to win, and a Grand Slam is a Grand Slam, and we all fight and train very hard to be here and to perform our best. Maybe she got a little bit nervous; I don't blame her, we all do. It's a matter of staying calm and keeping your emotions together so you can play those big points well. She's young and has big potential. She'll be there with the top players very soon."
Davenport, who comes in unseeded but has three majors to her name (including this one in 2000), went the distance against Sara Errani, dropping the second set and rallying back from 4-2 down in the third to beat the tenacious Italian, 62 36 75, and set up a second round clash with No.5 seed Maria Sharapova.
"It was definitely the most challenging match I've had since coming back; I was so excited about coming back here and, ironically, played the worst that I've played since I've been back," said Davenport, who squandered match points leading 5-4 in the third but eventually closed it out three games later. "It was quite windy and she played very, very well. At the end of the day though, I got through it. I'm happy to have toughed it out there at the end."
By winning the opening round match, the 31-year-old passes Steffi Graf's prize money record; but her focus seemingly remains on her next opponent, someone she has lost to in four of five career meetings.
"Maria is a great player, one of the few players I don't have a winning record against in the draw," Davenport said. "We play similar styles. She has outplayed me the last couple of times we played. I'm going to definitely hit the ball well, be more aggressive than I was today and just do everything a lot cleaner."
Sharapova beat tricky left-hander Jelena Kostanic Tosic in straight sets, 64 63, her greatest asset of the day clearly being her serve, on which she didn't face a break point the entire match. But Davenport may test that.
"She's going to be a completely different opponent than the opponent I played today," Sharapova said. "Lindsay's a big hitter and has a big serve. She's more of a 1-2 ball combination-type of player. It's going to be very important to serve well and return well and hopefully get a good hit on the first ball."
Former champions Justine, Serena, Amélie make solid starts
Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Amélie Mauresmo - who, put together, have owned this tournament for the last five years - all made emphatic starts to what they hope will be repeat performances, beginning with No.7 seed Williams, a 63 63 winner over Australian wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova.
"I just thought about my last match on that court, that I was able to win it here last year," said Williams, a champion here in 2003, 2005 and 2007. "I didn't think about the ceremony or holding up the trophy. I just got right back into the swing of things and thought, 'I have to stay focused.'"
Henin, seeded No.1 and a winner at Roland Garros and the US Open last year, extended her Sony Ericsson WTA Tour win streak to 29 matches with a 62 62 win over Aiko Nakamura. Nakamura used her flat, two-fisted groundstrokes to jump ahead in the second set, 2-0 - even having a point for 3-0 - but Henin fought back with six consecutive games of her own.
"It was very tough because it was quite windy and she has a game that isn't the easiest for me at the start of a tournament," said Henin, who won here in 2004. "I had to get used to the conditions and the rhythm, but after that it was better. I took the net a little more. The first round of a Grand Slam is never my favorite one, so I'm glad it's behind me now."
Mauresmo, who won her first Grand Slam title here in 2006, recovered from a slow start but eventually prevailed in three sets over Tatiana Poutchek, 67(6) 60 60, racing through the second and third sets in a total of just 52 minutes. Despite her lowly No.18 seeding, which reflects an injury-plagued 2007 that saw her nearly fall out of the Top 20, the talented Frenchwoman has always played well here, and was satisfied at how she was able to turn Monday's match around.
"I was very happy about that. I was definitely more aggressive in the second and third sets; I was trying to be aggressive at the beginning too, but the rhythm just wasn't there. I was making too many unforced errors. I felt I wasn't doing the right thing tactically at the beginning. I was lucky enough not to get frustrated too much after that set and really be able to refocus."
Also among Monday's winners were No.11 seed Elena Dementieva, No.12 seed Nicole Vaidisova, No.13 seed Tatiana Golovin and No.15 seed Patty Schnyder. No.23 seed Vera Zvonareva and No.32 seed Julia Vakulenko became the first seeds to bow out, and in the feature night match, home crowd favorite Alicia Molik won a tight two-setter over Kaia Kanepi.
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Post by SuperMarion on Jan 14, 2008 16:01:13 GMT
I felt that Paszek would push Jankovic, but that Jankovic would squeak through... And there it was. Also I felt if there were to be an upset then it would be Mauresmo.. And indeed she stuttered in the first set. Who would have thought Lindsay would get into such a battle with Errani. It's fascinating that many if not most fans have been tipping Lindsay to defeat Maria since the draw was announced. As long as Skippy wins!! That's all that matters!!
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Post by jimm on Jan 14, 2008 17:01:45 GMT
Yes Eranni realy took it to her. But Big Maria kinda lost her way in her 2nd set having to save break points. But she got past a tricky lefty. So we'll see in R2 whats what
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