WTA Aug 9-15 Idea Prokom Open, Sopot, POL Tier III w/ATP 300,000 - 30 players - outdoor: red clay draws & schedule .pdf - draw & results, .html interview excerpts website map - court map - photo gallery Yahoo! Sopot news photos s1 # 4 Anastasia Myskina s2 # 17 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi s3 # 40 Dinara Safina s4 # 47Anabel Medina Garrigues Women's Open, Vancouver, CAN Tier V $110,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard draws & schedule, .pdf - results - weather radar photo gallery - Vancouver Sun: Sports s1 # 56 Marion Bartoli s2 # 75 Milagros Sequera s3 # 77 Alina Jidkova s4 # 81 Laura Granville

Tourney pages: Sopot: 2003 previous other tourney pages next Sopot: #66 Flavia Pennetta 5'7¾", 128 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Vancouver: #174 Nicole Vaidisova 5'11", 139 lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    In the final on Saturday in Sopot, 9th-seeded # 66 Flavia Pennetta of Italy won her 1st WTA singles title by defeating 11th-seeded # 71 Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 (Flavia is shown about to serve to Klara in the final).
    On Friday the semis were rained out in Sopot, and top-seeded # 4 Anastasia Myskina withdrew from the tourney. Anastasia had incurred a right rib sprain, and she didn't want to aggravate the injury with the Olympics beginning on Sunday. This gave Klara Koukalova a walkover to the final (Klara also reached the Sopot final in 2003).
    In the semi that was played earlier on Saturday, Flavia Pennetta defeated Polish wild card # 138 Marta Domachowska 6-2, 6-2.

    In the Vancouver final on Sunday, 15-year-old Czech qualifier # 174 Nicole Vaidisova (who attends a school in Florida called the "Bollettieri Academy") defeated 4th-seeded 23-year-old 2-time NCAA champ (when she was at a rival tennis camp called Stanford) # 81 Laura Granville from Chicago 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 (Nicole is shown during the tourney, but the Vancouver photo gallery doesn't say which match). It was Nicole's 1st WTA singles title; Laura is still waiting for hers.

    22-year-old Flavia Pennetta won her 1st WTA singles title playing in her 3rd final; she lost in the finals at Acapulco in March this year and at Palermo three weeks ago. She has won 7 ITF singles titles. Born in Brindisi, Flavia resides in Milan. Flavia started playing tennis at age 5. She swings a Head bat and wears Tacchini togs, but with Nike shoes (since Martina Hingis, and earlier, Pete Sampras, cited troubles with Tacchini shoes, a number of players in Tacchini garb have opted for different footwear). Flavia is coached by Barbara Rossi.
    Klara Koukalova, also 22, was born and resides in Prague. Klara is now 0-5 in WTA singles finals; she'll get one eventually (she has won 5 ITF singles titles). Klara wears Lacoste togs and chops with a Wilson axe.

Sopot
    The very nice Sopot website, previously Polish only, has an English version this year. Thank you, Sopot.
    The main draw for Sopot had 8 seeds, with 2 1st-round byes. There were 4 qualifiers, 5 Lucky Losers, and 2 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals were on Monday.
    Sopot is near Gdansk, Poland, the time there is GMT (UCT, ZULU) plus 2 hours (=US EDT+6, PDT +9). Early round play begins at 2:30pm local time. Sopot has live scoring by points.

Vancouver:
    The main draw for Vancouver 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.
    The time in British Columbia is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) minus 7 hours (=US Pacific Daylight Time, EDT-3). .

WTA SCOREBOARD: Sopot & Vancouver s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Anastasia Myskina met the press on Monday     Anastasia said: "I'm hoping that this will be a good week for me. I'm still feeling well after my victory at the French Open. I like playing on clay, this surface suits my game. It's quite a responsibility to be seeded number one, you want to live up to the expectations but a lot of the girls are playing very well and all of them could potentially beat me. You just have to play your game...     "Where does my strength come from? Rest assured there are no magic tricks involved. I just use one hand for my forehand and two hands for my backhand. Besides it is the head that's really important. Since all the girls are playing fast and hard now I have to do the same." interview fragment

Sopot, 1st Round, Mon-Tues loser's prize: $2,180 US; points: 1 #41 s3 Dinara Safina RUS d #136 LL Michaela Pastikova CZE 6-4, 6-4 Tues *#79 Ludmila Cervanova SVK d #47 s4 A Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-1 Mon #52 s5 Iveta Benesova CZE d #480 wc Magdalena Kiszczynska POL 6-2, 6-3 Tues     Iveta said: "I did not know what to expect of this match. I have never played against Magda before, never even heard her name. True, 58 minutes is not a long time for a match, but I have to admit, she really made me run. I am really surprised that she is only 16 years old. When I was her age, I did not play in tournaments this big. I don't know if I'd have the courage back then to compete on the central court. This was a great experience for her. Her game is not perfect yet, and she is still a little weak physically, but that's understandable due to her young age." interview fragment     Magdalena said: "I did not play a very good match. I was stressed and couldn't focus. I just couldn't get used to the idea that I was taking part in such a big tournament, and playing on the central court. Before the match I thought that I wouldn't feel the difference. However, when I saw how big the crowd was, I understood that this atmosphere would distract me. I wanted to play relaxed, but just couldn't. I have never before seen Iveta play. I knew that she was the best Czech player and ranked about 50th in the world, but nothing else. In this match I was watched by my new coach - Marcin Stanglewicz. After eight years with Sjergiej Sobolew, my parents decided it was time for a change." interview fragment #66 s9 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #147 q Sandra Mamic CRO 6-1, 6-2 Tues Flavia Pennetta #69 s10 Marta Marrero ESP d #99 Catalina Castano COL 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 Mon Marta Marrero #71 s11 Klara Koukalova CZE d #183 LL Martina Muller GER 7-5, 6-3 Tues #74 Lubomira Kurhajcova SVK d #159 Alice Canepa ITA 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 Tues *#138 wc Marta Domachowska POL d #78 Martina Sucha SVK 6-0, 6-2 Mon     Marta said: "I know I played a very good first set, I think I made very few errors. I do not remember the last time I was able to finish a set this quickly. To be honest I have never seen her play before. I knew her name, but all I knew about her came from other players. I know how Smashnova-Pistolesi plays, but I haven't gone through the tactics for my next match with my coach yet. Tomas Janda from the Czech Republic is presently my coach. We have been working together for a month. I am satisfied with the work we did with Paweł Ostrowski, and I know I owe him a lot, but I want to introduce something new into my game. We are working on everything with the new coach but the main goal is introducing some diversity into my game. I am hoping to advance into the top 50 soon, but right now I am focusing on playing every match to my full potential." interview fragment #80 Vera Douchevina RUS d #314 LL Katarina Bondarenko UKR 6-0, 6-2 Tues #106 Silvija Talaja CRO d #133 q Selima Sfar TUN 6-4, 6-2 Tues *#119 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE d #109 S Cohen-Aloro FRA 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 Mon #110 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #158 q Zsofia Gubasci HUN 6-2, 6-0 Tues #135 q Eva Birnerova CZE d #464 LL Klaudia Jans POL 6-2, 6-2 Tues #186 LL Libuse Prusova CZE d #309 Barbara Schwartz AUT 6-1, 6-2 Tues

Sopot, 2nd Round, Weds loser's prize: $4,100 US; points: 19 #4 s1 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #119 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-2, 6-2 Wed Anastasia Myskina     Anastasia said: "It was a good match. I was a bit nervous at first, but regained my self confidence and was able to relax. I played well... I am under the impression that my new racquet added some strength to my shots. It was custom made by Head to suit my game. I have not played with it for very long, but am already getting attached to it...     "The type and time of the rest periods is dictated by the game schedule, and I decide what to do in my free time with the help of my coach, still I usually do what I want. Count me out of today's player's party, since I have an important match tomorrow and want to be rested up...     "Yes, I do have one player I find it most difficult to compete against - Lindsay Davenport. She is much more powerful physically than I am, and after a few painful losses I have this sense of respect for her, which blocks me. She seems to be everywhere on the court when I play her. I have no idea how to beat her." interview fragment #138 wc Marta Domachowska POL d #18 s2 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR 7-6(4), 6-1 Wed     Marta said: "I wasn't playing as well as I'd like to after the Warsaw tournament [last April] but now I'm really getting my game together... It's a big success for me, but I realize there is still a lot I have to work on. Especially my volley, if I went to the net more often this match would have been easier." interview fragment *#74 Lubomira Kurhajcova SVK d #41 s3 Dinara Safina RUS 6-2, 6-4 Wed #52 s5 Iveta Benesova CZE d #106 Silvija Talaja CRO 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 Wed *#110 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #79 L Cervanova SVK 6(6)-7, 6-1, 7-5 Wed #66 s9 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #186 LL Libuse Prusova CZE 6-4, 6-2 Wed #69 s10 Marta Marrero ESP d #135 q Eva Birnerova CZE 6-2, 7-6(4) Wed #71 s11 Klara Koukalova CZE d #80 Vera Douchevina RUS 7-6, 3-6, 6-4Wed

Sopot, QFs, Thurs loser's prize: $7,600 US; points: 37 #4 s1 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #52 s5 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-3, 6-4 Anastasia Myskina     Anastasia said: "I did make too many unforced errors in this match, and I can't say that I'm feeling confident with my game. So I am very happy that even though I wasn't playing very well, I still managed to win. My first serve percentage was very low, but that has never been the strongest part of my game. I don't like practicing my serve." interview fragment #66 s9 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #110 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-2, 7-6(4) *#138 wc Marta Domachowska POL d #69 s10 Marta Marrero ESP 6-1, 6-4 Marta Domachowska #71 s11 Klara Koukalova CZE d #74 Lubomira Kurhajcova SVK 6-2, 6-1 Klara Koukalova

Sopot, SFs, Fri loser's prize: $14,300 US; points: 66 *#71 s11 Klara Koukalova CZE d #4 s1 Anastasia Myskina RUS walkover     Anastasia said: "This has been an incredibly difficult decision for me. I'm used to giving it my 100 percent. I've had back pains for a couple of weeks now. I'd have to play two matches today. It's just too risky at this level. The pain I feel does not impede play, but it makes it very difficult, especially while serving. I would have absolutely no confidence in my serve. I decided that under the circumstances it would be pointless to go out there and lose in 45 minutes. I feel very bad about it, but I can't afford a serious injury before my start in Athens. I hope you understand...     "I have been coming to Sopot for a couple of years and am hoping that the tournament organizers will invite me next year as well. I feel really good here...     "The greatest moment of my career was winning a set with my coach. He always criticizes the way I play, and after I beat him I could tell him a thing or two. Seriously, the my greatest moment was winning the French Open... interview excerpts #66 s9 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #138 wc Marta Domachowska POL 6-2, 6-2     Marta said: "During the match I often saw balls clearly, but somehow couldn't get to them. I miss hit a lot too. I just did not play to my full potential. Did the fact that Myskina pulled out of the tournament have anything to do with the way I played today? I don't think so. Or the fact that I practiced with Pennetta? No. The fact that she knew how to play against me means that I knew how to play against her.     "Practicing with your potential opponent is a common thing at tournaments. It has nothing to do with the match. I know I could have slowed the game down a bit, I wanted to end points too quickly. It just wasn't my day. My legs felt tired after the whole tournament...     "I will take a two day rest and start practicing on hard courts, later I'm traveling to the States to play in the US Open... I've been working with my new coach for a month. What he is focusing on with me, is consistency and patience, both of which I lack - the work is already showing effects...     "I give all the prize money to my parents." interview excerpts

Sopot, Final, Sat loser's prize: $ 26,750 US; points: 103 winner's prize: $ 50,000 US; points: 145 #66 s9 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #71 s11 Klara Koukalova CZE 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 --> Flavia Pennetta with the hardware after winning her 1st WTA singles title     Flavia said: "I'm all happy. You can't even imagine what I'm feeling right now. I did not think I could do it. Two matches in one day, both against very good players - that's a very demanding schedule. That's why I'm even happier with my win. When Klara caught up to me in the second set, I started worrying that it could be the third final I lose this season. After the match I found out that Koukalova lost five in a row!     "The spectators helped me a lot. The fans here in Sopot knew me from the earlier editions, and that's probably why the cheered me on so hotly. I have no idea where the Italian fans came from, I doubt that they traveled all this way just for my match, but it was nice nevertheless. I am definitely coming back next year.     "The intervention of the doctor wasn't caused by any serious injury. I just felt that during my second serve my back was getting stiff and needed a massage. I was just getting tired.     "I'd like to get into the top ten very much, though I doubt I'll be able to do it this season. I have a big drive to succeed. The goal for this year was to enter the top thirty, and that's definitely doable. My next tournaments are Cincinnati, New Haven, and Shanghai.     "My whole family plays tennis, I don't even remember, who took me to the courts first. It was probably my dad. interview excerpts     Klara said: "It was a difficult match. Pennetta played very well the whole time, though we were both nervous, after all, it's the final. Everything was OK, I just didn't manage to win. By best stroke today? Hmm, I don't know. Maybe my backhand. After winning the second set, I thought that maybe I can win, but after losing three games in a row in the third set, I just couldn't make up the difference. Comebacks like that happen very rarely in final matches of big tournaments. This is my second final here in Sopot and my second loss. I have played five finals so far and lost every one. I'm waiting for my lucky number. You think it's going to be six? Thanks!     "In 2003 I said that the prize money are going towards my house in Prague. I'm still building it, so this year I'm spending the money on the same thing... I'm not buying any good-luck charms, but I'm bringing my parents to the next final.     "If I was to compare the two finals... there is no comparison. I won only two games in 2003, now I was close to winning. I was running better, serving better.     "Would I rather have played Anastazja Myskina in the semifinal? Not really, because I could have lost.     "I did not feel out of rhythm because I did not play on Friday, after all I did practice for an hour and a half." interview excerpts

Sopot, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $ US winners' prize: $ US cdr291 Nuria Llagostera Vives & Marta Marrero d cdr467 Klaudia Jans & Alicja Rosolska 6-4, 6-3 Sopot, Qual Finals, Mon Aug 9 #158 Zsofia Gubasci HUN d #464 Klaudia Jans POL 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 #147 Sandra Mamic CRO d #186 Libuse Prusova CZE 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) #133 Selima Sfar TUN d #314 Katarina Bondarenko UKR 6-2, 6-3 #135 Eva Birnerova CZE d #183 Martina Muller GER 6-2, 6-1 Sopot, Withdrawals #54 s6 Magui Serna ESP injury #55 s7 Anca Barna GER olympics? #58 s8 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP ill #65 Barbora Strycova CZE illness #86 Henrieta Nagyova SVK hip injury

Vancouver, 1st Round, Mon-Wed loser's prize: $800 US; points: 1 #56 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #152 Adriana Serra Zanetti ITA 6-0, 6-1 Tues #75 s2 Milagros Sequera VEN d #120 An Serra Zanetti ITA 6-4, 6-3 Mon Milagros Sequera #77 s3 Alina Jidkova RUS d #223 q V Garcia Sokol ARG 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 Tues #81 s4 Laura Granville USA d #125 Samantha Reeves USA 7-5, 6-1 Mon Laura Granville     2-time NCAA champ Laura's ranking has slid from # 28 in June, 2003. Laura said: "I had a poor clay-court season this year. I tried to play a bit too much and was worn down. I'm concentrating now on trying to be fresh and ready for every tourney I enter." story #83 s5 Marissa Irvin USA d #154 Meilen Tu USA 6-1, 6-1 Tues #85 s6 Rita Grande ITA d #101 Eis Callens BEL 6-4, 6-4 Mon Rita Grande #88 s7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #250 q Seiko Okamoto JPN 6-0, 6-1 Weds #94 s8 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA d #127 Lioudmila Skavronskaia RUS 6-3, 6-4 Tues *#115 Camilie Pin FRA d #107 Severine Beltrame FRA 6-0 retired-- abdominal illness Tues #111 Shuai Peng CHN d #164 Natalie Grandin RSA 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 Tues *#118 Jennifer Hopkins USA d #112 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-3, 6-4 Mon *#142 Galina Voskoboeva RUS d #117 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-2, 6-4 *#207 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #144 Yuka Yoshida JPN 6-2, 6-3 Tues Sesil Karatantcheva practicing on Monday #150 Vilmarie Castellvi PUR d #184 wc 27 Marie-Eve Pelletier CAN 6-0, 6-4 Weds *#174 q Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #156 Abigail Spears USA 6-4, 6-4 Tues Nicole Vaidisova practicing on Monday *#195 Bethanie Mattek USA d #161 wc Maureen Drake CAN 7-5, 6-2 Tues

Vancouver, 2nd Round, Weds-Thurs loser's prize: $1,450 US; points: 10 *#115 Camilie Pin FRA v #56 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 Thurs #75 s2 Milagros Sequera VEN d #150 Vilmarie Castellvi PUR 6-1, 7-5 Thurs #77 s3 Alina Jidkova RUS d #111 Shuai Peng CHN 7-5, 7-5 Weds #81 s4 Laura Granville USA d #195 Bethanie Mattek USA 6-3, 7-6(4) Weds *#174 q Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #83 s5 Marissa Irvin USA 75 46 64 Thurs #85 s6 Rita Grande ITA d #118 Jennifer Hopkins USA 6-2, 6-2 Weds *#207 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #88 s7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 7-5, 6-4 Thurs Sesil Karatantcheva kept her head on ice while talking to reporters on Wednesday #94 s8 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA d #142 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 6-4, 7-6(4) Weds

Vancouver, QFs, Fri loser's prize: $2,600 US; points: 20 *#174 q Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #75 s2 Milagros Sequera VEN 6-4, 6-1 #77 s3 Alina Jidkova RUS d #85 s6 Rita Grande ITA 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 #81 s4 Laura Granville USA d #94 s8 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 #115 Camilie Pin FRA d #207 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 6-2, 1-6, 6-1

Vancouver, SFs Sat loser's prize: $4,800 US; points: 36 *#174 q Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #77 s3 Alina Jidkova RUS 7-5 3-6 6-4 #81 s4 Laura Granville USA d #115 Camilie Pin FRA 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4

Vancouver, Final Sun loser's prize: $9,000 US; points: 56 winner's prize: $16,000 US; points: 80 *#174 q Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #81 s4 Laura Granville USA 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 Nicole Vaidisova during one of her matches at the 1st Vancouver Women's Open     Nicole said: "I feel great. It was my goal coming from qualies to try to win this tournament. It just really feels great because I did my best." story

Vancouver, Doubles Final loser's prize: $3,000 US winner's prize: $5,500 US cdr157 s3 Bethanie Mattek & Abigail Spears d cdr251 Els Callens & Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 6-3 Vancouver, Qual Finals, Mon Aug 9 #174 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #244 Anousjka Van Exel NED 6-3, 6-3 #207 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #220 Angelika Bachmann GER 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-0 #250 Seiko Okamoto JPN d #274 Antonia Matic GER 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 #223 Vanina Garcia Sokol ARG d #267 Sunitha Rao USA 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4

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