WTA July 26-Aug 1 Acura Classic, San Diego, CA Tier I $1,300,000 - 56 players - outdoor: hard Live Scores draw, .pdf results draw.html match recaps tourney photos: 2004 - archives Yahoo! Acura Classic news photos - WTA photo gallery TV schedule - tourney history San Diego forecast - local radar s1 # 14 Serena Williams s2 # 3 Amelie Mauresmo s3 # 4 Anastasia Myskina s4 # 5 Lindsay Davenport

Tourney pages: San Diego: 2005 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next San Diego: #5 Lindsay Davenport 6'2½", 175 lbs, RH, 2H-BH San Diego: #4 Anastasia Myskina 5'8½", 130½ lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    Tripled d Tired: 28-year-old 4th-seeded # 5 Lindsay Davenport won her 3rd tourney in a row by defeating a very tired French Open champ, 23-year-old 3rd-seeded # 4 Anastasia Myskina of Moscow, Russia, 6-1, 6-1 (Lindsay is shown with the glassware; Anastasia is shown during her semifinal win on Saturday over Vera Zvonareva). It was Lindsay's 14th match victory in a row, and the last time she was playing so well in July and August, she won the 1998 US Open.

    Lindsay said: "[Anastasia] was far from her best today. She looked like somebody who was spent." story

    Anastasia said: "I was really exhausted. I just couldn't find a way to fight. Lindsay played unbelievable and you have to play 200 percent to beat her. I only played 50 percent of my game... It's not enough time. My body is really sore. I wish I had a day off. It wasn't great tennis, but still it's life."

    In a marathon evening semifinal match on Saturday, 3rd-seeded # 4 Anastasia Myskina of Moscow, Russia defeated her compatriot, 12th-seeded # 14 Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6(4)-7, 7-6(15) (photo shown). The match lasted 2 hours and 28 minutes, and the 3rd set tiebreak was the longest in WTA history.

    Anastasia said: "I thought I was going to lose. Vera played unbelievably. I tried to fight and fought for every point. I tried to forget the score and play for every point." story

    Vera said: "I played my best tonight and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Tonight it didn't work."

    Amazingly, Anastasia had played Vera only once before; on clay in Berlin in 2003, where Vera won, 6-1, 6-2.

    Lindsay now leads Anastasia 4-0 in career matches. Lindsay is actually ranked # 4 this week, and Anastasia Myskina # 5, but the drawsheets for each tourney are based on the rankings of the week before that tourney, and those rankings are usually used on this page.
    28-year-old Californian Lindsay has now won 43 WTA singles titles in 76 finals (if you include the 1996 Olympic title), including 3 Grand Slam tourneys. She won the past two weeks at Stanford and LA, so this is her third in a row. Before the ascent of the Williams sisters, Tracy Austin was quoted as rating Lindsay's serve as the best in the WTA. Lindsay hits the ball hard and deep, but she is not as mobile as some players. Lindsay wears Nike and hits with a Wilson "H Tour". Lindsay, who was trained in her youth by Robert Lansdorp, has been coached by Adam Peterson since March, 2003. Davenport career record

    Born in Moscow on July 8, 1981, Anastasia still picks up her mail there. She has won 8 of the 13 WTA singles finals she has played in, including this year's French Open and last years Tier I Kremlin Cup. Strong off both wings, Anastasia says she thinks her backhand is stronger. Her mobility is excellent, she observes and reacts to her opponents very well, and although she doesn't appear to be walloping the ball as much as some other players, it still leaves her racquet with plenty of pace on it at times. Although Anastasia's serve is not particularly powerful, she gets it in with something on it fairly consistently. Anastasia once wore Puma togs, but last year she became "Property of Nike," and she chops with a Head axe. She is coached by Jens Gerlach, who reportedly was once but is no longer her significant male other as well. Anastasia has also worked a bit with Dutchman Robert Lansdorp, who coaches Maria Sharapova, and once coached Lindsay Davenport. Myskina career record

    The 2004 Acura Classic website is very good, very refreshing to see after the past couple of weeks of lousy websites from California.
    The main draw for San Diego has 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers, 1 Lucky Loser, and 4 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Sunday.
    San Diego time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) minus 7 hours (=US Pacific Daylight Time, EDT -3). Early round play begins at 10am local time. San Diego DOES have live scoring, including qualifying.

WTA SCOREBOARD: San Diego s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Maria Sharapova spoke to the press on Monday... Vera Zvonareva spoke to The Tennis Channel after posing for the first issue of the Russian edition of Glamour... Elena Dementieva also modeled for Russian Glamour... and Svetlana Kuznetsova signed autographs after winning her 2nd round match on Wednesday.

San Diego, 1st Round, Sun-Tues loser's prize: $3,475 US; points: 1 #11 s9 Paola Suarez ARG d #64 Aniko Kapros HUN 6-1, 6-3 Sun Paola Suarez *#39 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #12 s10 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 Tues #14 s12 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #32 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-4, 7-6(5) Mon Vera Zvonareva     Vera said: "It was a really tough match for me. First round in a tournament is always tough to play. I expected a tough match. My game is improving, especially when you play lots of matches against the top players." match summaries *#115 wc Ashley Harkleroad USA d #15 s13 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 Mon Ashley Harkleroad suggested that a linesperson might consider corrective eyewear *#25 Chanda Rubin USA d #17 s14 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR 6-0, 6-3 Mon *#22 Elena Bovina RUS d #18 s15 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Mon Elena Bovina *#55 Iveta Benesova CZE d #19 s16 Silvia Farina Elia ITA 6-2, 6-4 Sun #20 Karolina Sprem CRO d #65 Marta Marrero ESP 6-3, 6-2 Mon #23 Amy Frazier USA d #45 Petra Mandula HUN 6-4, 6-4 Sun     Amy said: "I felt really good. [Petra] hit the ball so hard. I knew I had to get the ball deep. Overall I was really happy with the way I played... I love these tournaments. I love playing in California on the hard courts." match summary *#62 q Marion Bartoli FRA d #24 Fabiola Zuluaga COL 6-3, 6-4 Mon *#225 q Lilia Osterloh USA d #26 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 7-6(5), 6-2 Mon #28 Mary Pierce FRA d #47 Claudine Schaul LUX 6-4, 6-2 Sun     Mary said: "The first set was close, it was tight. We were holding serve and I thought I was giving [Claudine] a tough time on her serve, making her work for it, so I felt I was coming close to having chances and opportunities of breaking her... I’m happy winning my first match. Those are always usually the toughest as far as getting into it and just getting accustomed to the environment." match summary #29 Alicia Molik AUS d #38 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-3, 6-4 Mon *#66 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #30 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-2, retired-- right neck strain Tues *#33 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #31 Lisa Raymond USA 7-5, 6-0 Mon Eleni Daniilidou     Eleni said: "The first set was really close. Actually I really didn’t start very good. I wasn’t moving good. I wasn’t so focused... [In the 2nd set] I played very well. I was moving well and I was serving very good." match summaries *#36 Conchita Martinez ESP d #34 Emilie Loit FRA 6-1, 6-2 Tues Conchita Martinez #35 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #85 q Marissa Irvin USA 7-6(3), 6-3 Mon     Daniela said: "At the beginning [Marissa] was playing really well, not missing a ball. It was very difficult but I just hung in there... I knew exactly what I had to do on court, it was just a matter of timing to put it all together today... I feel the tennis is there, I just need to win more matches. But things are definitely going in the right direction." match summaries #37 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #56 Anca Barna GER 6-2, 6-1 Sun *#46 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP d #44 Saori Obata JPN 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 Sun #48 Kristina Brandi PUR d #70 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 Mon #49 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #334 wc Amber Liu USA 7-6(4), 6-0 Sun     Amber said: "I think I had an opportunity, I’m kind of disappointed, it kind of slipped by me. I’m more disappointed in the second set. I didn’t have as much drive as I did in the first set... I got a little bit frustrated. I think it was a good experience overall." match summary *#51 Gisela Dulko ARG d #50 LL Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-3, 6-4 Tues *#67 Barbora Strycova CZE d #53 wc V Ruano Pascual ESP 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 Tues *#89 wc Barabara Schett AUT d #61 q Jill Craybas USA 7-5, 6(8)-7, 6-2 Mon

San Diego, 2nd Round, Tues-Weds loser's prize: $6,750 US; points: 25 *#29 Alicia Molik AUS d #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 Wed Alicia Molik     In the 3rd set, Alicia lost only two points on her five service games, and none in the last three. Alicia said: "I was impressed with the way I served it out. Forget the match. To serve it out at love against someone like Mauresmo, I think I can pat myself on the back." story     Alicia had lost to Amelie in January at her native Australian Open. Alicia said: "[I was playing for] revenge a little bit. In saying that I didn't win last time, I was more determined this time. I knew that if I did get my chances, I would work that much harder and make sure that I would close it out."     Amelie said: "[Alicia] played great, especially on her service game. It was very difficult for me to break her because she was serving so well." #4 s3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #89 wc Barabara Schett AUT 6-3, 6-4 Tues     Anastasia said: "I was up 4-0 in the second set and I kind of lost concentration and Barbara started playing a little bit better. I’m just real happy it was in two sets." match summary #5 s4 Lindsay Davenport USA d #20 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-4, 6-0 Wed Lindsay Davenport #6 s5 Elena Dementieva RUS d #48 Kristina Brandi PUR 6-1, 6-1 Tues #8 s6 Maria Sharapova RUS d #225 q Lilia Osterloh USA 6-3, 6-3 Tues Maria Sharapova     Maria said: "I knew it wouldn't be easy and I just tried to be consistent. I think I did well for not playing for a while and coming off such a big win [in the Wimbledon final, where Maria last played]." #9 s7 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #35 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-1, 6-2 Wed #10 s8 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #66 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 6-2, 6-2 Wed *#62 q Marion Bartoli FRA d #11 s9 Paola Suarez ARG 6-3, 6-0 Wed #14 s12 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #46 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 6-0, 6-3 Tues #16 s1 Serena Williams USA d #49 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6(3)-7, 6-3, 6-2 Tues Serena Williams     Serena said: Everyone tends to play beyond themselves against me. I made a lot of mistakes... It's boiling down to missing key shots. It's a little disgusting that I'm missing those shots but I know if I make them it will be a different story."     Jelena said: "When I first got on court I was a bit scared because [Serena] was hitting so hard. I was afraid I was going to get hit in the face. The balls were going like 300-mph. But then she wasn't hitting as hard and I knew I could play with her." #22 Elena Bovina RUS v #33 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-1, 6-4 Wed #23 Amy Frazier USA d #115 wc Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-2, 6-0Tues #25 Chanda Rubin USA d #37 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-4, 6-3 Wed *#51 Gisela Dulko ARG d #28 Mary Pierce FRA 6-3, 7-6(1) Wed #36 Conchita Martinez ESP d #55 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-3, 6-4 Wed #39 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #67 Barbora Strycova CZE 6-4, 6-3 Wed

San Diego, 3rd Round, Thurs loser's prize: $13,150 US; points: 42 #4 s3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #25 Chanda Rubin USA 6-1, 6-2 Anastasia Myskina     Anastasia said: "I was really concentrating. I played every point because I know Chanda really well, and I know how good she can play even though this isn't her best year." #5 s4 Lindsay Davenport USA d #36 Conchita Martinez ESP 6-1, 6-2 #6 s5 Elena Dementieva RUS d #39 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-2, 7-6(2) #8 s6 Maria Sharapova RUS d #51 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-0, 6-1 Maria Sharapova     Maria said: "I just made it quick. I played very solid and I was on a roll even though [Gisela] served very well. I was able to make some returns and put pressure on her."     Anastasia Myskina will play Maria in the quarterfinals on Friday. They have played only twice before, both matches were this year, on hard courts, and Anastasia won both times. In the 3rd round of the Australian Open in January, Anastasia defeated Maria 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. And in the 4th round of the Pacific Life Open, not so far away at Indian Wells, California in March, Anastasia defeated Maria 6-2, 6-1. The score might not be so close this time, and a justifiably higher confidence level might give Maria the win, but no Russian has a better record against the Russians than Anastasia Myskina.     About playing Maria, Anastasia said: "It's going to be very tough for me. Now [Maria is] playing much better... I want to prove that French is not only one tournament I was playing good... I think she's more comfortable here... Her mentality is more American, but she still speaks good Russian. She's still a nice girl. She handles pressure very good."     About playing Anastasia, Maria said: "I haven't beaten [Anastasia] yet and I like these kind of challenges... She's very consistent, she moves very well and she gets everything back. You have to stay patient. Indian Wells was a terrible day for me. I've become such a more experienced player." story - Myskina career record - Sharapova career record *#14 s12 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #9 s7 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-2, 6-3 Vera Zvonareva #10 s8 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #62 q Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 6-2 #16 s1 Serena Williams USA d #22 Elena Bovina RUS 6-4 6-2 Serena Williams #23 Amy Frazier USA d #29 Alicia Molik AUS 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

San Diego, QFs, Fri ESPN2-TV 8pm loser's prize: $25,600 US; points: 75 #4 s3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #8 s6 Maria Sharapova RUS 7-5, 6-2 Anastasia Myskina     Anastasia is often tentative in the opening games of major matches, and this one was no exception. Maria led 5-2 in the first set before Anastasia settled down and won 11 of the next 13 games.     Anastasia said: "I was more consistent, and it helps that I've been watching [Maria] play the past few days. She's improved a lot but I played my game against her. If you play her game, you'll lose 6-0, 6-0. She's very strong in the head, and that's the strong part of her game. It means a lot to beat Maria. She won Wimbledon; she's a great player. I gained a lot of confidence from this match." story     Maria said: "I tried to find a way to win tonight but I couldn't find anything special that could help me win. [Anastasia's] level of play definitely went up, and when I had to pick up my level, I didn't."     Anastasia is now 3-0 against Maria; all three matches were played this year. career records: Myskina - Sharapova #5 s4 Lindsay Davenport USA d #10 s8 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-1, 6-3 Lindsay Davenport #6 s5 Elena Dementieva RUS d #23 Amy Frazier USA 6-2, 6-1 #14 s12 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #16 s1 Serena Williams USA walkover-- left knee sprain Serena Williams announcing her withdrawal to the press

San Diego, SFs, Sat ESPN-TV Noon loser's prize: $49,900 US; points: 135 #4 s3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #14 s12 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-2, 6(4)-7, 7-6(15) career matches: Vera leads 1-0 #5 s4 Lindsay Davenport USA d #6 s5 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-2, 6-4 career matches: Lindsay leads 9-4 Lindsay Davenport     Lindsay broke Elena's serve in the first game of the match, and controlled most of the points the rest of the way. Elena had trouble with her serve, as usual (9 double faults), but looked much stronger in the 2nd set. Although Lindsay broke Elena's serve to start the 2nd set, Elena broke back immediately. The 18-point 3rd game of the set was the longest of the match, and found both players rightfully disgusted with poor line calls (the line crew was changed before the 4th game). If Elena had held serve to bring the score to 2-1 on serve, it would have been a different match. But after Elena lost a point on her advantage due to a clearly bad line call, Lindsay gained the advantage and then Elena was broken by her 3rd double fault of the game.     Both players injured their right knees during the match. Elena took an injury time out after the 5th game of the second set to a trainer tape her leg above the knee; Lindsay jammed her knee during the final game of the match.     Lindsay said: "At 5-4, it was hurting when I landed on my leg. It looks like very little swelling. I tested negative on the really important spots on my knee. I feel lucky. It could have been a lot worse... The pain was unrelated to my previous surgery (in 2002). I'm very relieved about that. I don't think anything major is wrong... I want to play [in Sunday's final]. This would be an unbelievable thing for me to win three [tournaments] in a row." story     Elena said: "[Lindsay] did everything right. She was playing the best I've ever seen against me. She's very confident after winning two titles [the past two weeks at Stanford and LA]."     About the bad line calls, Elena said: "It was too much. There were a lot of mistakes both ways."

San Diego, Final, Sun loser's prize: $ 97,000 US; points: 210 winner's prize: $ 189,000 US; points: 300 plus a new Acura TL *#5 s4 Lindsay Davenport USA d #4 s3 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-1, 6-1 career matches: Lindsay leads 4-0

San Diego, Doubles Final losers' prize: $15,700 US winners' prize: $29,000 US *cdr11 s2 Cara Black & Rennae Stubbs d cdr3 s1 Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suarez 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 San Diego, Qualifying Finals, Sun *#85 Marissa Irvin USA d #50 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 #61 Jill Craybas USA d #78 Martina Sucha SVK 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 #62 Marion Bartoli FRA d #155 Vilmarie Castellvi PUR 6-1, 6-1 *#225 Lilia Osterloh USA d #139 Eugenia Linetskaya RUS 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 San Diego, Withdrawals #7 Jennifer Capriati USA hamstring pull #13 s11 Venus Williams USA right wrist sprain #16 s1 Serena Williams USA after 3rd round - left knee sprain

    (Aug 1, 2004) Injured # 2 Kim Clijsters (who has withdrawn from this year's US Open to give her left wrist injury more time to recover) will lose 237 points next week (the points she earned at San Diego last year) and fall in the rankings (# 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne has a bigger "cushion" and will stay # 1 a while longer). Due her recent wins, Lindsay Davenport will move up to # 2 on Monday, with Amelie Mauresmo, Anastasia Myskina, & Kim Clijsters close behind at 3, 4, and 5. Unfortunately Kim will lose many more points (which she earned last year) over the next several weeks, and drop yet further in the rankings. When she returns to play, due to the practice established for the Williams sisters, the WTA will be obliged to give her (and Justine, if she is out much longer) an advanced "special ranking."

    (Jul 30, 2004) # 16 Serena Williams withdrew from the Acura Classic on Friday, due to a sprained left knee she incurred in her 3rd round victory over Elena Bovina on Thursday evening. The injury is to the same knee that Serena had surgery on a year ago; hopefully the injury is not serious this time. Serena plans to get an MRI scan of her knee in Los Angeles later Friday.
    Opinion: When injuries force withdrawals, previous round losers, if available, should advance as "lucky losers," with the WTA furnishing the additional prize money required. In this case the fans would see Vera Zvonareva playing Elena Bovina. Obviously this would be far better than no match at all.

    (Jul 27, 2004) # 13 Venus Williams withdrew from the Acura Classic on Tuesday, still ailing from the right wrist sprain she incurred while getting up from tying her shoes in LA last week. In the Acura draw, for the first time this year, Venus Williams no longer recieved an advanced "special ranking" seeding due to prior injuries (although her sister Serena still did). Now will she be put back on "special ranking"? The WTA works in strange and mysterious ways.

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