WTA: May 3-9 2004 Mastercard German Open, Berlin, GER Tier I $1,300,000 - 56 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores draws & schedule .pdf results - order of play draws, .html: s qual. - singles - doubles photos: qSat - qSun - Mon - Tues - Wed - Thurs - Fri - Sat - Sun webcam interviews (in German, .pdf) Berlin: map s1 # 2 Kim Clijsters s2 # 3 Amelie Mauresmo s3 # 13 Venus Williams s4 # 5 Anastasia Myskina

Tourney pages: Berlin: 2006 - 2005 previous other tourney pages next Berlin: #13 Venus Williams 6'1", 160 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Berlin: #3 Amelie Mauresmo 5'9", 152 lbs, RH, 1H-BH

    Venus Williams withdrew from the final of the German Open in Berlin on Sunday, due to sprained left ankle incurred during her semifinal. Venus said: "There’s a lot of swelling. I am waiting for the test to see exactly what it is. But I am very optimistic it is only strained and nothing worse." Venus is next scheduled to play in the French Open later this month (Venus is shown with crutches and flowers during the award ceremony on Sunday).
    # 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France was thus declared the German Open champion (Amelie is shown during her semifinal on Saturday). Amelie said: "Yes, it’s a pretty strange way to finish a tournament. Of course, I saw the end of Venus’ match yesterday, but I was expecting that it was not too bad and she could play today. It’s a shame for everybody, but what can I say... For sure I would have preferred to go on court and play. You want to win by playing and not by staying at the hotel or whatever."

    24-year-old Amelie was born in Geneva, Switzerland and has a residence in St. Germains en Laye, France. Amelie is now 11-12 in WTA singles finals; her most recent win had been in Philadelphia last October, but this was the 3rd final she had reached this year. Amelie wields a Dunlop "300G" bat, and is coached by Loic Courteau. Amelie wears Nike attire and shoes.

    In the German Open semifinals on Saturday in Berlin, 3rd-seeded # 13 Venus Williams of the US had to work harder to defeat # 28 Karolina Sprem of Croatia 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 (Venus is shown after match point).
    Venus twisted her left ankle during the match, which led to her withdrawal from the final. On Saturday, Venus said: "I don't know what's going to happen. I'm going to deal with it tonight. But I'm extremely motivated to play. So that's a good sign."
    Karolina led 3-0 in the 3rd set. Venus said: "Karolina played an excellent match, but I knew I couldn't play super spectacular like she was. At 3-0 I told myself to stay clam, try my best to break her serve and not to get stressed."
    Karolina said: "At 3-0 I felt my legs start to get tired... It was a great experience for me because Venus is definitely one of the best players out there at the moment."

    Also on Friday in Berlin, 2nd-seeded # 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated 6th-seeded # 8 Jennifer Capriati of the US with surprising ease, 6-2, 6-0 (photo shown).
    Amelie said: "I'm very happy with how I played today. I felt I was very much in control. It was a good match physically and tactically and I felt very comfortable out there. The first few games were close but after that I got into a rhythm." story 1
    Jennifer said: "There wasn't much I could do today. Amelie was just was playing very well. It was as if she was in a zone... I didn't have a chance. You kind of know sometimes you can't touch someone playing that good."

    The German Open photo gallery (in the links above) gets better every year. They post the photos even before the matches are finished every day, there are lots of them, and they are good, both on and off court. The photos from 2002 and 2003 are still available also. The only drawback (if you don't have broadband internet access) is that the photos are all posted full size on one page for each tourney day, so for dial-up users the pages will take a long time to load. Yahoo! already has some good photos from this tourney, too.

    Spanish great Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario came out of retirement, a bit, anyway, to play doubles partnered with Frenchwoman Mary Pierce in Berlin. Arantxa and Mary won their 1st round match against Alina Jidkova and Tathiana Garbin on Monday, 6-4, 6-1. In the 2nd round, trailing 2-6, 0-1 after a Thursday rain delay, Arantxa and Mary came from behind on Friday to defeat 2nd-seeded Elena Likhovtseva and Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, but on Saturday Arantxa and Mary finally lost to Conchita Martinez and Janette Husarova, who advanced to the final against Meghann Shaughnessy and Nadia Petrova. Arantxa has also asked the ITF for an invitation to play in this years Olympic games in Athens, Greece. Arantxa retired at the end of the 2002 season after winning 29 WTA singles titles (including the 1994 US and French Opens, the same year that her compatriot Conchita Martinez won at Wimbledon) and 67 WTA doubles titles, and earning almost $17 million in prize money. Arantxa was ranked # 1 in WTA singles in 1995.

    The main draw for Berlin had 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes. There were 12 qualifiers, 2 Lucky Losers, and 4 wild cards in the main draw. The 2 qualifying rounds were on Saturday & Sunday.
    Berlin time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 2 hours (US Pacific Daylight Time +9, EDT +6). Early round play begins at noon local time. Berlin has live scoring, by points.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Athens 2004 Olympics & Cincinnati s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Practicing in Berlin on Sunday, May 2, Daniela Hantuchova stretched out with a jumprope... Retired Spanish great Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (center) was also in town, to play doubles partnered with Mary Pierce (right)

Berlin, 1st Round, Mon noon loser's prize: $3,200 US; points: 1 #15 s11 Paola Suarez ARG d #67 q Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-2, 7-5 *#36 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP d #18 s14 Conchita Martinez ESP 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo #20 s16 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR d #24 Magdalena Maleeva BUL 6-3, 6-1 #30 Elena Bovina RUS d #171 q Zi Yan CHN 6(6)-7, 7-5, 6-2 *#43 q Jelena Kostanic CRO d #32 Tina Pisnik SLO 7-6(4), 6-3 *#50 Anca Barna GER d #46 Nicole Pratt AUS 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 Anca Barna #52 Denisa Chladkova CZE d #57 Arantxa Parra ESP 6-4, 6-0 *#95 q Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI d #53 Cara Black ZIM 6-1, 6-3 *#80 q Marta Marrero ESP d #76 q Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-2, 6-3 #90 q Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA d #143 wc Stefanie Gehrlein GER 6-3, 7-5 #128 wc Julia Schruff GER d #135 q Meilen Tu USA 6-1, 6-1 Julia Schruff Berlin, 1st Round, Tues noon #11 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #91 q Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 6-3, 6-4 #14 s10 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #74 wc M-G Mikaelian SUI 6-3, 6-1 #17 s13 Patty Schnyder SUI d #45 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-2 6-2 Patty Schnyder *#42 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #19 s15 Jelena Dokic SCG 6-0, 6-3 Meghann Shaughnessy #21 s17 Maria Sharapova RUS d #31 Dinara Safina RUS 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 Maria Sharapova Maria said: "Going into the match as my first clay court match was a little tough. And then playing somebody from your own country isn’t easy either. I started off well and was dictating the rallies. I played a good first set. But then I got tired and also mentally tired. She took advantage of it and used it well. Then in the third I was 2-0 down. I was feeling tired, but told myself that I have to do everything to win. And I did. [Dinara] is definitely a good player. And I am very excited to be here. It is great. Berlin is definitely one of my favourite cities. It reminds me a lot of my hometown in my country. I am definitely going to visits some sights." interview #23 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d SR11 Sandrine Testud FRA 7-5, 6-1 #25 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #70 q Barbora Strycova CZE 6-4, 7-6(4> #26 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #79 q Tatiana Golovin FRA 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 #28 Karolina Sprem CRO d #98 wc Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-4, 6-2 #34 Petra Mandula HUN d #77 LL Julia Vakulenko UKR 6-3, 6-3 *#47 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #35 Mary Pierce FRA 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(3) #54 Barbara Schett AUT d #63 LL Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-3, 6-3 #68 Gisela Dulko ARG d #150 q Michaela Pastikova CZE 6-4, 6-3

Berlin, 2nd Round, Tues noon loser's prize: $6,300 US; points: 25 #6 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS d #50 Anca Barna GER 6-4, 6-3 Nadia Petrova #8 s6 Jennifer Capriati USA d #128 wc Julia Schruff GER 6-1, 6-1 Jennifer Capriati serving to Julia Schruff on Center Court Jennifer said: "...the first set was tough. It was going back and forward. [Julia] is a good player and hit some good shots. I think I was able to stay strong on my serve and kind of figured out what she is trying to do, but still was able to play my game. I got into a good rhythm." interview Berlin, 2nd Round, Weds noon #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #80 q Marta Marrero ESP 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 Kim Clijsters #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #68 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-1, 6-2 #5 s4 Anastasia Myskina RUS #43 d q Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-2, 6-4 #9 s7 Elena Dementieva RUS d #90 q Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 #10 s8 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #47 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-1, 6-2 *#23 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #11 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 #13 SR3 s3 Venus Williams USA d #26 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 7-5, 6-3 Venus Williams #14 s10 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #30 Elena Bovina RUS 6-2, 6-0 #15 s11 Paola Suarez ARG d #54 Barbara Schett AUT 6-4, 6-3 #17 s13 Patty Schnyder SUI d #95 q Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-3, 6-4 #20 s16 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR d #25 Nathalie Dechy FRA 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 #21 s17 Maria Sharapova RUS d #34 Petra Mandula HUN 5-4 retired-- right shoulder strain #28 Karolina Sprem CRO d #42 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-2, 7-6(3) *#52 Denisa Chladkova CZE d #36 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 2-6, 6-4, 6-3

Berlin, 3rd Round, Thurs noon loser's prize: $12,450 US; points: 42 *#28 Karolina Sprem CRO d #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL walkover left wrist tendonitis Kim Clijsters announcing her withdrawal to reporters Kim said: "My wrist did not respond well to [my 2nd round] match. I'm pulling out and will not go to Rome next week... I will undergo further tests on Friday. For the French Open, I would say it's 50-50 but I don't know. We have to wait." story Kim announced her withdrawal from the 2004 French Open on May 9th. #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #52 Denisa Chladkova CZE 6-1, 6-2 #5 s4 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #17 s13 Patty Schnyder SUI walkover left arm strain *#15 s11 Paola Suarez ARG d #6 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-1, 7-6(6) #8 s6 Jennifer Capriati USA d #21 s17 Maria Sharapova RUS 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 Jennifer Capriati Jennifer said: "I didn’t play my best tennis but it wasn’t too bad... [Maria] is good in her hitting zone where she can place the balls pretty hard and flat in the corners. Moving her is her weakness. She has a good first serve and some good seconds." Maria said: "I think I played a very decent match. In the third set I wasn’t mentally there. Physically I was feeling good and felt I could run all the points. But mentally... and then [Jennifer] got afew lucky balls on the line. So, maybe next time. Overall I think I played a good match." About her habit of rather loud "grunting," which in her case sounds more like a yelp, Maria said: "I don’t think it helps with anything. It’s just something that comes out of my mouth." interview *#14 s10 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #9 s7 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 *#23 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #10 s8 Ai Sugiyama JPN 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 #13 SR3 s3 Venus Williams USA d #20 s16 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR 6-3, 6-1

Berlin, QFs, Fri noon loser's prize: $24,600 US; points: 75 #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #14 s10 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1 Amelie said: "It's great to be in the semifinals. The conditions were tough out there today because the court was slow [from rain on Thursday] so I could not play as aggressive as I wanted. I am pleased with the way I played and with the way I felt physically throughout the match." *#8 s6 Jennifer Capriati USA d #5 s4 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-3, 6-2 Jennifer Capriati Jennifer said: "Today was a good win for me for a lot of different reasons. First I came back after a tough match yesterday and also because I lost to Myskina earlier this year... Myskina is very tough to play. I am happy with the way I played." interview #13 SR3 s3 Venus Williams USA v #15 s11 Paola Suarez ARG 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-2 Venus Williams Venus said: "Today was a tough day. I didn't hit any balls in, nothing was really working. I had to rely on whatever I could do, at least I came through with a win." story *#28 Karolina Sprem CRO d #23 Fabiola Zuluaga COL 6-3, 6-3 Karolina Sprem Karolina said: "I'm really excited to be in my first Tier I semifinal. I've been playing really well and working hard lately and I'm delighted with the results... I've never played Venus before. I'm not going to think about her game tomorrow, I'm just going to focus on what I can do and go on the court to give 100%."

Berlin, SFs, Sat 2pm loser's prize: $48,600 US; points: 135 #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #8 s6 Jennifer Capriati USA 6-2, 6-0 Amelie Mauresmo Amelie said: "I'm very happy with how I played today. I felt I was very much in control. It was a good match physically and tactically and I felt very comfortable out there. The first few games were close but after that I got into a rhythm." story Jennifer said: "There wasn't much I could do today. Amelie was just was playing very well. It was as if she was in a zone." #13 SR3 s3 Venus Williams USA d #28 Karolina Sprem CRO 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 Venus Williams Karolina led 3-0 in the 3rd set. Venus said: "Karolina played an excellent match, but I knew I couldn't play super spectacular like she was. At 3-0 I told myself to stay clam, try my best to break her serve and not to get stressed." Karolina said: "At 3-0 I felt my legs start to get tired... It was a great experience for me because Venus is definitely one of the best players out there at the moment."

Berlin, Final, Sun 1:30pm loser's prize: $ 95,900 US; points: 210 winner's prize: $ 189,000 US; points: 300 #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #13 SR3 s3 Venus Williams USA walkover-- left ankle sprain

Doubles finalists Meghann Shaughnessy & Nadia Petrova (left, combined doubles rank of 22) and Conchita Martinez and Janette Husarova (right, combined doubles rank of 32) during their semifinals on Saturday Berlin, Doubles Final, Sun 2nd match losers' prize: $29,100 US winners' prize: $57,500 US d22 s4 Nadia Petrova & Meghann Shaughnessy d d32 s5    Janette Husarova & Conchita Martinez 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 Nadia, left, and Meghann won their 4th doubles title as a team in only the 9th event they played together. It was their 12th match victory in a row. Berlin, Qualifying 1st Round, Sat, May 1 #104 Silvija Talaja CRO d #65 Lubomira Kurhajcova SVK 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1         #91 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR d # 330 Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-1 Berlin, Qualifying Finals, Sun, May 2 #43 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #92 Gala Leon Garcia ESP 6-3, 6-1 #67 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #85 Els Callens BEL 6-0, 6-1 #70 Barbora Strycova CZE d #97 Dally Randriantefy MAD 6-4, 6-3 #76 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #82 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 *#79 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #84 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-2, 6-0 Tatiana Golovin *#80 Marta Marrero ESP d #77 Julia Vakulenko UKR 6-2, 6-2 #90 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA d #102 Conchita Martinez Granados ESP 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-4 #91 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR d #104 Silvija Talaja CRO 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 #95 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI d #119 Roberta Vinci ITA 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 Emmanuelle Gagliardi *#135 Meilen Tu USA d #63 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-2, 6-2 *#150 Michaela Pastikova CZE d #72 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-2, 6-3 #171 Zi Yan CHN d NR Syna Schreiber GER 6-0, 6-3 Berlin, Withdrawals #16 s12 Silvia Farina Elia ITA left adductor strain #22 Francesca Schiavone ITA right thigh strain

See also: QuickShop: Sporting Goods
WTA PhotoRankings - Martina Hingis - Anna Kournikova - Tennis Articles - 2004 WTA Schedule and Links

Current WTA Results & Tennis News

You can link to many Real Video postmatch interviews of WTA players at the 2004 WTA Player Interviews page.

WTA PhotoRankings:
the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.