WTA: Apr 12-18 2004 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, SC Tier I $1,300,000 - 56 players - outdoor: green clay Live Scores draws & schedule .pdf results order of play photos interviews Charleston: forecast - weather radar - map Post & Courier: Sports (free reg req) # 6 Serena Williams, # 16 Venus Williams # 4 Lindsay Davenport, # 6 Elena Dementieva Estoril Open, Estoril, POR Tier V (with ATP) $110,000 - 32 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores draws & schedule .pdf results order of play Estoril-Lisbon area: map # 31 Elena Bovina, # 39 Alicia Molik # 40 Emilie Loit, # 55 Denisa Chladkova

Tourney pages: Charleston: 2006 - 2005 Estoril: 2006 - 2005 previous other tourney pages next Charleston: #16 Venus Williams 6' 1", 160 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Estoril: #40 Emilie Loit 5' 5¾", 134½ lbs, LH, 2H-BH

    On Sunday in the Family Circle Cup Final in Charleston, 4th-seeded # 16 Venus Williams of the US defeated Conchita Martinez of Spain 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to win her 30th WTA singles title (photo shown).

    Venus said: "The first set I wasn't moving forward enough, and I just really was making too many mistakes, and just that second set from the first point I wanted to turn it around, and I really just started moving in and coming to the net.  And actually when I was coming in, I felt really good up there, so I didn't stop.  I just kept it going.
    "...[Conchita is] a good player and she changed her game plan throughout the match.  Sometimes she'd hit harder and sometimes she slowed it up and hit the moon balls, and I think what was key for me was not to rush and to definitely play my game and to try to move forward." interview

    About Conchita's "routine" which disturbed Patty Schnyder in their SF on Saturday, in which Conchita waits to get the ball back so she can serve her 2nd serve with the same ball as the 1st serve, Venus said: "[Conchita] took the allotted time and she never got a time warning during the play, so if you're not getting warnings, then it's all legal."

    Conchita said: "...the first couple games I started really strong and hitting my forehand... I'm going to take my time and hopefully see the tape and see what I did wrong [in the last 2 sets] and try to improve that... I don't think [Venus] made any mistakes later in the second and the third, and came to the net [more often]... she's really tall, so the ball comes a little different, and I didn't feel like I was in a rhythm today." interview

    Earlier on Sunday, in the Final in Estoril, Portugal, 2nd-seeded # 40 Emilie Loit of France won her 2nd WTA singles title in 2 weeks by narrowly defeating # 61 Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 7-6(1) (photo shown).

    Emilie said: "It has been two spectacular weeks. It's been my Grand Slam... I'm very happy with what I have achieved, it's the result of all the work I've been doing the past few weeks... Technically, today I wasn't so good. Yesterday was a lot better. I didn't play my best tennis but I was so confident that I felt that I can win the title." story

    Iveta said: "It was a tough match today. I was down 4-1 in both sets and came back to serve for both sets but I couldn't hold. I wasn't aggressive enough. But I have to give credit to Emilie, she played really well on the big points. It's a bit disappointing to lose such a close match, but I've played good tennis and improved the whole week, so it's been a great tournament for me."

    Just a coincidence: Two unrelated Navratilovas, Martina Navratilova and Gabriela Navratilova, played in the doubles finals of this week's tourneys (both lost).

Charleston:
    23-year-old winner Venus Williams has won her 30 WTA singles titles mostly by hitting hard and deep; she hit a 119 MPH serve in this tourney. She missed about 6 months of the past year with an abdominal strain and other ailments, and this will be her first tourney final in over a year. Venus wears Reebok garb and swings a Wilson bat, one of the Hammer varieties. Venus is coached by her father Richard.

    1994 Wimbledon singles champ Conchita Martinez celebrated her 32nd birthday on Friday. She has won 32 WTA singles titles, earned well over $10 million in career prize money, and won her 700th career match this week. She does not play the power game; Conchita answers the big belters with lots of spin and changes in pace (and a 1-handed backhand). She has not won any singles titles recently, but is still a contender; she reached the final at Eastbourne last year. Conchita is apparently attired by some European company whose logo is indecipherable to American yokels; she also uses a Wilson stick, which looks to be the H-Tour model. Conchita has residences in Barcelona, Spain and San Diego, USA, where she rides her Honda Shadow 750 and Harley-Davidson Heritage Springer 1300.

    The main draw for Charleston had 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes. There were 8 qualifiers, 3 Lucky Losers, and 4 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals were on Sunday.
    Charleston time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) -4 hours (=US Eastern Dayight Time, PDT +3). Charleston has live scoring by points. TV coverage is on ESPN and ESPN2.

Estoril:
    24-year-old winner Emilie Loit won her first WTA singles title at Casablanca last week, which moved her up to a career-high ranking of # 33 this week (she is ranked # 40 on the drawsheet, and thus on this page, because drawsheets usually use week-old rankings). Her striking utensil is made by Head, her clothes look to be Lacoste, her footwear is Nike. Emilie is coached by Samuel Letort.

    21-year-old Iveta Benesova was born and keeps her residence in Most, Czech Republic. Iveta is now 1-2 in WTA singles finals; she won her first tourney in Acapulcon earlier this year. She is currently also at a career-high rank. Iveta chops with a Wilson axe, and has been seen this year in both adidas and Nike togs.

    The main draw for Estoril had 8 seeds, with NO 1st-round byes. There were 4 qualifiers and 2 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals were on Monday.
    Estoril time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 1 hour (US Pacific Daylight Time +8, EDT +5). Estoril has live scoring by points.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Charleston & Estoril s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"?

Charleston, 1st Round, Mon 10am loser's prize: $3,325 US; points: 1 #17 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI d #90 Marlene Weingartner GER 7-5, 7-6 *#84 wc M-G Mikaelian SUI d #22 s14 Fabiola Zuluaga COL 6-2, 6-2 *#34 Karolina Sprem CRO d #24 s15 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-4, 6-4 Karolina Sprem #25 s16 Conchita Martinez ESP d #117 q Tian Tian Sun CHN 6-1, 6-0 *#100 q Dally Randriantefy MAD d #28 Lisa Raymond USA 7-5, 2-6, 2-6 *#81 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #33 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 6-2, 6-3 *#92 LL Samantha Reeves USA d #50 Laura Granville USA 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 *#75 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #53 Cara Black ZIM 6-4, 6-0 *#118 q Teryn Ashley USA d #54 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 *#176 wc Kelly McCain USA d #59 Arantxa Parra ESP 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 #62 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #87 q Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-0 *#122 q Severine Beltrame FRA d #64 Jie Zheng CHN 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 Charleston, 1st Round, Tues rain delayed start of play #14 s10 Paola Suarez ARG d #444 SR26 Anne Kremer LUX 6-4, 6-4 #18 s12 Jelena Dokic SCG d #132 q Tatiana Panova RUS 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 Jelena Dokic #21 s13 A Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR d #131 q Yuka Yoshida JPN 6-1, 6-1 *#126 q Catalina Castano COL d #27 s17 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 *#57 Akiko Morigami JPN d #29 Mary Pierce FRA 6-2, 6-3 #37 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #51 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 6-4, 6-1 #38 Lina Krasnoroutskaya RUS d #47 Anca Barna GER 6-1, 7-5 #42 Amy Frazier USA d NR wc Martina Navratilova USA 6-4, 6-4 #44 Petra Mandula HUN d #45 Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-3, 6-1     Ashley said: "I pretty much got blown off the court today. I haven't played in about, I don't know, three or four weeks before this, so I'm just trying to get back, and I'm not too worried about this tournament, to tell you the truth... I'm not excited at all about it right now. I'm having some issues off the court just growing up, and I'm just taking it day by day. I'm trying to get back into it right now." interview #46 Kristina Brandi PUR d #65 Claudine Schaul LUX 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 #49 Nicole Pratt AUS d #120 wc Alexandra Stevenson USA 6-4, 7-6(3) *#60 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #52 Jill Craybas USA 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Charleston, 2nd Round, Tues loser's prize: $6,500 US; points: 25 #7 SR1 s2 Serena Williams USA d #176 wc Kelly McCain USA 6-1, 6-0 #11 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #122 q Severine Beltrame FRA 6-4, 6-0 #16 SR4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #92 LL Samantha Reeves USA 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 Venus Williams *#84 wc M-G Mikaelian SUI d #81 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-3, 7-6(0)

Charleston, 2nd Round, Weds #4 s5 Lindsay Davenport USA d #60 Jelena Jankovic SCG 7-5, 6-3     Lindsay said: "I have to give credit to Jelena. She played very, very well. Right now, I'm just very happy to get through... I was forced into [errors] because she got so many balls back and at the same time was pretty aggressive herself... Sometimes you've got to win matches when the girl plays really well and you're not quite 100 percent on top of your game. It's satisfying." article free reg req #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #75 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-2, 6-2 #8 s7 Jennifer Capriati USA d #38 Lina Krasnoroutskaya RUS 6-3, 6-1 Jennifer Capriati     Jennifer said: "When I was out there, it just really felt like I was doing what I had been doing in practice, really working on my game plan and concentration with a purpose out there. But every match is different. Because I played one good match, I can't look ahead to future matches and think every match is going to be the same thing. I'm not going to let down my guard at all...     "Health-wise, there's nagging stuff. It's not like I'm pain-free, or nothing's wrong with me. But it's definitely manageable. I've just got to be tough and realize this is how it's always going to be. And physically, if I just get myself in really good shape, I can grind it out." article free reg req #9 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS d #57 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(7) Nadia Petrova *#105 LL Alina Jidkova RUS d #14 s10 Paola Suarez ARG 4-6, 6-4, 6-3     About reaching the main draw as a "Lucky Loser" (replacing injured Meghann Shaughnessy) after losing in qualifying, Alina said: "You're always hoping it will happen. You promise yourself, 'If I get in, I'll play well.' There's no pressure because you're already out. This is a second chance given to you, so you try to do your best." article free reg req #17 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI d #42 Amy Frazier USA 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 *#44 Petra Mandula HUN d #18 s12 Jelena Dokic SCG 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 #21 s13 A Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR d #46 Kristina Brandi PUR 0-6, 6-1, 6-2 #25 s16 Conchita Martinez ESP d #118 q Teryn Ashley USA 6-1, 6-4 Conchita Martinez toasting her 700th career victory with tourney director Frankie Whelan *#100 q Dally Randriantefy MAD d #34 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 #49 Nicole Pratt AUS d #126 q Catalina Castano COL 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 #62 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #112 LL Shenay Perry USA 6-1, 6-4 Charleston, 3rd Round, Thurs loser's prize: $12,775 US; points: 42 #4 s5 Lindsay Davenport USA d #49 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-1, 6-1 Lindsay Davenport     Lindsay said: "I was trying to play patient and aggressive tennis today. I knew [Nicole is] more of a retriever, and probably it's going to be far behind the baseline just trying to get balls back and just trying to play a nice solid match. And you know, I'm happy that it was a lot easier than last night [against Jelena Jankovic]. Last night, I think was a difficult match, and so I'm happy to be able to go through a little bit quicker today." interview *#17 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI d #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-3, 6-1 *#25 s16 Conchita Martinez ESP d #7 SR1 s2 Serena Williams USA walkover-- left knee     Serena said: "The surgery site is 100 percent, and it’s another part of the area of the knee that is kind of just compensating for the surgery site and it was [caused by playing] too many tournaments in a row." Serena had already withdrawn from the US team for next week's Fed Cup opening round. Her next scheduled tourney is the Italian Open, May 10th. *#44 Petra Mandula HUN d #8 s7 Jennifer Capriati USA 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5     Petra said: "...I knew that if I can just play my game, which is to be aggressive, and come through the points, then I can win, and that's how it was. It was a really tight match, but I had nothing to lose and I was confident.     "...[The drop shot] is my favorite shot, and that's why I prefer to play on clay because on hard court you can't really hit that. I don't know how many points I made from the drop shot, but I think it's a good percentage of my winners.     "...definitely this is my biggest win. And I think I won because I even played good. It's not that [Jennifer] was not that good or I was lucky or whatever. So I played good, I think. I was better today." interview     Jennifer said: "[Petra] played really well and was teeing off, and I had a good rhythm, [but] just didn't step up and win those key points, important points, and go for it like she went for it."     [Petra was] hitting out on her shots, and it was just basically who took the initiative... it was getting tight, and it's just a matter of a few points here and there, and she came up with some good serves, and she served good games at the end, so it was difficult to break her. You know, there's nothing wrong with my serve either. I think she just played really well and was really on today." interview #9 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS d #105 LL Alina Jidkova RUS 6-1, 6-1 #11 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #21 s13 A Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 #16 SR4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #84 wc M-G Mikaelian SUI 6-4, 6-1     Venus said: "...my service games were good, and I think on my return games I was trying - going for too much, and finally at 5-4 I was thinking, 'okay, Venus, just take some off', because each return game I was making two and three errors off the return, and that makes it harder to break. So finally I took some off and then was more aggressive in the rally, and finally in the second set I started to find more range and I could gradually go for more. So for me it was the return games that was key because the service games were easier for me to hold tonight." interview #62 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #100 q Dally Randriantefy MAD 6-3, 6-1

Charleston, QFs, Fri loser's prize: $25,050 US; points: 75 *#17 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI d #4 s5 Lindsay Davenport USA 6-3, 6-2 Patty Schnyder     "I was just ready... I just saw the balls really early, and she hit some really good backhands down the line and she had a good rhythm. So I stayed with her and made her work, and at the end I served really well, and her forehand was a little bit off.     "...for me the dream is to win the French Open, and to have some good wins before that on clay it helps, helps a lot.     "I love playing here. I think the court suits me really good, the high bounce and the pretty fast court, and I love the balls also... And the people also, they love me and they remember me, and so we are having fun like playing and watching, I think." interview *#25 s16 Conchita Martinez ESP d #9 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-3, 6-1     Conchita said: "I tried to play my game, tried to dominate a little bit because [Nadia] has a huge serve, and just tried to bring my returns in, and then tried to play with my forehand and maybe hit some winners there, but she's a great player and she's been playing really good tennis.     "...I think I'm hitting the ball really well, especially with my forehand. I'm hitting it again and winning points with that, which is my strength, and my backhand slice and topspin is also working good. So I feel like I'm hitting the ball like I used to hit it when I was in the Top 5. So that's great, and hopefully with that I can continue." interview *#16 SR4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #11 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-3, 6-4     Venus said: "[Vera] was playing well and she's a good player and very determined. So I definitely had to be on top of my game and not really anything below... I think I was putting a lot of pressure on her serve and her second serve." interview *#62 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #44 Petra Mandula HUN 7-6(4), 6-2 Jelena Kostanic     Jelena said: "I really proved to myself that I can play good tennis, that I can be in semifinals in such a big tournament... And sometimes confidence is just the only thing, you know, to make that little step... I'll break [into the] Top 50 next week, so it's really going well for me, and I hope my career can really go that way." interview

Charleston, SFs, Sat loser's prize: $49,125 US; points: 135 #16 SR4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #62 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-4, 6-1 #16 Venus Williams     Jelena said: "...I also played well last week, but I didn't go so far, and it did a lot for my confidence. I mean I beat good players. Playing semifinals at such a big tournament is a great thing, and just to know that I can do it means a lot to me. So I mean I can lose next matches, but it doesn't matter. I know I did it once. I can do it again." interview *#25 s16 Conchita Martinez ESP d #17 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-4, 6-3 Patty Schnyder leaving Conchita Martinez with no handshake after the match     Conchita has always had a regular "routine" while serving, which includes wanting to use the same ball after she has won a point, and particularly to use the same ball on the 2nd serve that she used on the 1st serve. As the match progressed, Patty became upset with Conchita's routine, which does take some time (players are allowed 25 seconds between points). Patty sometimes held the ball Conchita wanted, then refused to shake hands with Conchita at the end of the match.     Conchita said: "Obviously I have a routine out there, and I tried to do the best that I can with it, and don't try to disturb anybody with it. I'm just trying to play the best tennis that I can and win matches, and that's what I do out there, and it worked today, obviously being in the final tomorrow.     "...I can do with those 20 seconds whatever I want, and I have a routine. I like to do that, not to bother anyone. It's just my own thing, and when I do it, I feel like I'm more concentrated, more focused, and that's what I do. I don't think I try to harm anybody with that.     "...I'm open about it. I mean I have no hard feelings. If she wants to come and - obviously I don't know what her problems were. I mean I did what I do best is just try to play the best tennis that I can out there, and I never had a history with her, always been polite and say hi and whatever. We're not the best friends, but never had a problem." interview     Patty said: "...she does it to everybody, and I don't think she needs it because she has a great game. She's a great player, and I don't understand why she's doing this... she's showing no respect to the ball person. She's like walking around between first and second serve, letting everybody wait. I don't think it's the way you should behave, and especially she has such a great career. Why does she need it? And such a good game this week, and I don't understand why she's doing it." interview

Charleston, Final, Sun loser's prize: $ 96,000 US; points: 210 winner's prize: $ 189,000 US; points: 300 #16 SR4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #25 s16 Conchita Martinez ESP 2-6, 6-2, 6-1

Charleston, Doubles Final losers' prize: $29,000 US winners' prize: $57,000 US s2 Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suarez d s2 Lisa Raymond & Martina Navratilova 6-4, 6-1 Charleston, Qualifying Finals, Sun #87 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR d #170 Lioudmila Skavronskaia 6-1, 6-3 *#132 Tatiana Panova RUS d #92 Samantha Reeves USA 6-3, 6-2 #100 Dally Randriantefy MAD d #152 Janet Lee TPE 1-6, 4-1 retired *#131 Yuka Yoshida JPN d #105 Alina Jidkova RUS 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(4) *#126 Catalina Castano COL d #112 Shenay Perry USA 6-1, 7-5 *#122 Severine Beltrame FRA d #113 Tara Snyder USA 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 #117 Tian Tian Sun CHN d #129 Maureen Drake CAN 6-2, 6-2 #118 Teryn Ashley USA d #151 Abigail Spears USA 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 Charleston, Withdrawals #1 s1 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL #3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA back strain #37 Meghann Shaughnessy USA ankle sprain

Estoril, 1st Round, Mon 11am loser's prize: $800 US; points: 1 *#88 Klara Koukalova CZE d #74 Tathiana Garbin ITA 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 #76 Martina Sucha SVK d #97 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-1, 6-2 #86 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #284 Asa Svensson SWE 6-1, 6-3 *#96 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA d #89 Sandra Kleinova CZE 6-2, 6-7(4, 6-0 Estoril, 1st Round, Tues #31 s1 Elena Bovina RUS d #180 wc Iva Majoli CRO 6-4, 6-2 Elena Bovina #40 s3 Emile Loit FRA d #79 Els Callens BEL 6-2, 6-2 #55 s4 Denisa Chladkova CZE d #111 Yulia Beygelzimer UKR 6-3, 6-2 #56 s5 Barbara Schett AUT d #128 q Marta Ani EST 6-1, 6-7(8), 6-4 #61 s6 Iveta Benesova CZE d #140 q Natalie Gussoni ARG 7-6(4), 6-3 #66 s7 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #99 Rita Grande ITA 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 *#73 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #70 s8 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 6-3 *#103 q Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #71 Lubomira Kurhahcova SVK 6-1, 6-2 #72 Ludmila Cervanova SVK d #80 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 #102 Marta Marrero ESP d #156 Virag Nemeth HUN 6-1, 6-1 *#685 wc Neuza Silva POR d #108 q Julia Schruff GER 3-6, 6-4, 11-8 Estoril, 1st Round, Weds *#98 Henrieta Nagyova SVK d #39 s2 Alicia Molik AUS 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)

Estoril, 2nd Round, Weds loser's prize: $1,450 US; points: 12 *#102 Marta Marrero ESP d #31 s1 Elena Bovina RUS 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3 #40 s3 Emilie Loit FRA d #72 Ludmila Cervanova SVK 6-2, 6-0 #56 s5 Barbara Schett AUT d #103 q Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 7-5, 7-5 *#88 Klara Koukalova CZE d #66 s7 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-3, 6-4 Estoril, 2nd Round, Thurs #55 s4 Denisa Chladkova CZE d #685 wc Neuza Silva POR 6-2, 6-1 #61 s6 Iveta Benesova CZE d #86 Flavia Pennetta ITA 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 *#76 Martina Sucha SVK d #73 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-2, 6-4 #96 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA d #98 Henrieta Nagyova SVK 7-5, 7-5

Estoril, QFs, Fri loser's prize: $2,600 US; points: 24 #40 s3 Emilie Loit FRA d #88 Klara Koukalova CZE 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 *#61 s6 Iveta Benesova CZE d #55 s4 Denisa Chladkova CZE 6-2, 6-2 *#102 Marta Marrero ESP d #56 s5 Barbara Schett AUT 6-0, 6-2 Marta Marrero *#96 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA d #76 Martina Sucha SVK 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Estoril, SFs, Sat loser's prize: $4,800 US; points: 43 #40 s3 Emilie Loit FRA d #102 Marta Marrero ESP 6-4, 6-4 #40 Emilie Loit #61 s6 Iveta Benesova CZE d #96 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-3, 7-5 Iveta Benesova

Estoril, Final, Sun loser's prize: $9,000 US; points: 67 winner's prize: $16,000 US; points: 95 #40 s3 Emilie Loit FRA v #61 s6 Iveta Benesova CZE 7-5, 7-6(1)

Estoril, Doubles Final, Sat loser's prize: $3,000 US winner's prize: $5,500 US s2 Emmanuelle Gagliardi & Janette Husarova d Olga Blahotova & Gabriela Navratilova 6-3, 6-2 Estoril, Qualifying Finals, Mon #103 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #114 Virginie Razzano FRA 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 *#128 Marta Ani EST d #105 Conchita Martinez Granados ESP 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 #108 Julia Schruff GER d #178 Marta Domachowska POL 6-0, 7-5 #140 Natalie Gussoni ARG d #149 Michaela Pastikova CZE 6-3, 6-1

    (Apr 15) 2nd-seeded # 7 Serena Williams withdrew from the Family Circle Cup prior to her scheduled 3rd round match vs Conchita Martinez. Serena is apparently still troubled by her left knee, which she had tendon repair surgery on last August. Serena said: "The surgery site is 100 percent, and it’s another part of the area of the knee that is kind of just compensating for the surgery site and it was [caused by playing] too many tournaments in a row." Serena had already withdrawn from the US team for next week's Fed Cup opening round. Her next scheduled tourney is the Italian Open, May 10th.

    (Apr 14) # 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne withdrew from the Family Circle Cup due to low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) resulting in dizziness. 2003 Family Circle champ Justine said: "I'm really disappointed I have to withdraw... It's a tournament I like a lot and was looking forward to playing... I have felt bad for two weeks now and that's enough. I will now go back home and do everything I have to in order to get better." Justine also will not play for Belgium in their Fed Cup tie next week against Croatia. Meghann Shaughnessy also had to withdraw due to an ankle sprain. Justine & Meghann are both scheduled to play next at the German Open in Berlin, May 3rd.

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