WTA: Jan 2-8 2005 Uncle Toby's, Gold Coast, AUS Tier III $170,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard draws & schedule .pdf Gold Coast WTA Photo Gallery # 12 Nadia Petrova, # 14 Patty Schnyder, # 17 Ai Sugiyama, # 18 Karolina Sprem ASB Classic, Auckland, NZL Tier IV $140,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard draws & schedule .pdf NZcity.co.nz: Tennis Auckland WTA Photo Gallery # 26 Amy Frazier, # 28 Jelena Jankovic # 34 Eleni Daniilidou, # 37 Shinobu Asagoe ITF: Jan 1-8 2005 Hopman Cup, Perth, AUS - results teams & schedule - photo gallery Hopman Cup pics: Yahoo! - Sportal Exhibition: Jan 5-8 2005     Watson's Water Challenge, Hong Kong, CHN

Tourney pages: Gold Coast-Auckland-Perth-HK: 2006 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Perth: #31 Daniela Hantuchova 5' 11¼", 123 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Hong Kong: #6 Elena Dementieva 5' 11", 141 lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    On Saturday at the Hopman Cup in Perth, after a very slow start, 21-year-old # 31 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated 19-year-old # 33 Gisela Dulko of Argentina 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 (photo shown). Slovakia won the "tie" over Argentina 3-0, and thus won this year's Hopman Cup.
    Daniela said: "I had to work hard for every point because I didn’t really feel like I had a good rhythm. I just had to really dig deep and I think the most important thing was the first break of the second set, where I felt like I was getting a little bit of momentum. When I broke [Gisela] in the third set at the end I felt like I was in control and I had a pretty good last game on my serve." interview

    Meanwhile in Hong Kong, in the Watson's Water exhibition final, 23-year-old # 6 Elena Dementieva of Russia handily defeated 23-year-old # 9 Venus Williams of the US, 6-3, 6-2, to win the very nice, though not WTA-sanctioned, title (photo shown).
    Elena said: "It's really a great start to the year no matter whether it's an exhibition or not. I was trying to play my best and I really did it... This will give me all the confidence before the Grand Slams. I was trying so hard to win this tournament." BBC story

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    The websites for this week's WTA tourneys leave much to be desired. Photos from these tourneys have been almost unobtainable. The ITF & exhibition events in Perth & Hong Kong have better websites, and photos are available from those events.

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Gold Coast:
    2nd-seeded # 14 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland defeated # 65 Samantha Stosur 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the Gold Coast final on Saturday; it was their first meeting.

Patty said: "In the beginning [Samantha] was all over me, but I was really lucky it turned around in the second set. I got up 4-2 without really playing that well, but then I started to play better, get the rallies going, and in the third set, I really deserved to win.     "It was a tough match. [Samantha] is a really great player." WTA story     Samantha said: "In the first set, I didn’t do anything wrong and couldn’t have done much more. In the second set, I had my chances to break, but they slipped away. The third set was very tough, particularly losing my serve at 5-5, up 40-0.     "I’m very motivated to come back here next year and go one better. I love playing here. Last year the semis, this year the final. One step at a time." Patty Schnyder & her 9th WTA singles trophy

    26-year-old Patty Schnyder has now won 9 WTA singles titles in 14 finals; the most recent was at the big Zurich indoor tourney in 2002. Patty wears adidas and bats left-handed with a Head racket.
    20-year-old Aussie Samantha Stosur is a native of Brisbane. Gold Coast is located on the eastern coast of Australia just south of Brisbane, so this is her home tourney. It was also her first WTA singles final; she has won 4 ITF singles titles. Samantha also wears adidas togs, but she chops with a Volkl axe.

    The main draw for Gold Coast had 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes (the draw was expanded this year from 30 to 32 players). There were 4 qualifiers and 2 wild cards in the main draw.
    Saturday's Final in Gold Coast began at 11:30am local time. Gold Coast time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) +10 hours (Pacific Time+18, often=the next day, 6 hours earlier; ET+15). Gold Coast is located on the eastern coast of Australia just south of Brisbane.

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Auckland:

In the Auckland final on Saturday, unseeded # 87 Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia defeated 4th-seeded # 37 Shinobu Asagoe of Japan 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. Afterwards, Katarina and her doubles partner Shinobu got on the same side of the court and defeated Leanne Baker and Francesca Lubiani 6-3, 6-3. Since the semis were also played on Saturday (due to earlier rain delays), this made for a very long day for Katarina & Shinobu.     Katarina was troubled by a thigh injury, and lost the 1st 4 games of the 2nd set before treatment from the WTA trainer relieved her pain. Katarina said: "I want to thank the WTA trainers. I think they've done a miracle right here." story     Katarina & Shinobu were 1-1 in previous matches; both bat right handed with the 2-handed backhand. Katarina Srebotnik & her 3rd WTA singles trophy

    23-year-old Katarina Srebotnik has now won 3 WTA singles titles in 5 finals. Katarina wields a Wilson racket.
    28-year-old Shinobu Asagoe, though a fine player, is now 0-3 in WTA singles finals; she has won 8 ITF singles titles and 5 WTA doubles titles, and reached the quarterfinals of last year's US Open. Shinobu swings a Yonex bat and also wears Yonex shoes & clothing.

    The main draw for Auckland had 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There were 4 qualifiers in the main draw.
    Saturday's rain-delayed semifinals in Auckland began at 11am local time, the Final followed after the winners of the semis had an hour to rest. Auckland time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) +13 hours (Pacific Time+21, often=the next day, 3 hours earlier; ET+18).

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Perth
    The Hopman Cup is not a WTA-sanctioned event, but an ITF event featuring WTA & ATP pairs from 9 nations competing as teams. As you might expect, each international tie has 3 matches, 2 singles and 1 doubles.

    Perth time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) +8 hours (Pacific Time +16, often=the next day, 8 hours earlier; ET +13).

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    15-year-old # 77 Nicole Vaidisova, who won her 1st 2 adult WTA tourneys in 2004, was to play doubles only in Hong Kong, then was to play singles also in place of # 2 Amelie Mauresmo, who withdrew due to an injury. But Nicole was forced to withdraw from her Thursday matches due to illness, and the resulting walkover win has placed Elena Dementieva into the final.
    # 7 Serena Williams withdrew from the singles and played 2 matches of doubles only; Serena is still troubled by the abdominal injury she incurred during the WTA Championships in November.
    And # 4 Maria Sharapova withdrew from her Friday singles match due to stomach illness-- this year's Watson's may have set a record for % of matches rearranged due to withdrawals.

    Watson's is an exhibition tourney, not a WTA-sanctioned event; no ranking points are awarded. The 8-player tourney website has live scoring and promises video, but they are very slow to update their results page.

    Singles matches at Watson's are full 3-set tiebreaker matches; doubles matches were to be single 8-game pro sets until the 3-set final, but Thursday's doubles was best of 3 sets because Nicole Vaidisova's illness scratched one of the singles matches.

    Hong Kong time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) +8 hours (Pacific Time +16, often=the next day, 8 hours earlier; ET +13).

WTA SCOREBOARD: Gold Coast, Auckland, Perth, & Hong Kong s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"?

Gold Coast, 1st Round, Sun-Tues Mon story - Tues story loser's prize: $1,260 US; points: 1 #12 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #79 Jie Zheng CHN 6-2, 6-3 Tues     Nadia said: "I wasn’t exactly happy with the way I played. I wasn’t really dominating with my serve, she broke me a few times. Sometimes even it was just a simple miss of a shot... I haven’t played any practice matches, that made it a little bit difficult. And also first match first match I have to start focusing and keep my concentration from the beginning till the end... Being the first seed... doesn’t put the pressure on me. I just try to play as many matches as I can at the beginning of the season. It’s very difficult to stay healthy during the first tournament because you have to bring your body back ready for competing." story #14 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI d #60 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-2, 6-4 Mon *#44 Dinara Safina RUS d #17 s3 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-3, 6-2 Tues     Ai said: "Obviously it's disappointing to lose when you are the defending champion. I really like playing here and I wanted to do well for the fans. I couldn't move well out there today and my rhythm really comes from how I move... When I didn't start well, [Dinara] started to take control. She served well and attacked and didn't make too many mistakes...     "Last year I did well in Gold Coast, but didn't do well in Sydney or the Australian Open, so maybe this year I will do better at those events." *#65 Samantha Stosur AUS d #18 s4 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-4, 6-2 Mon     Samantha, a Gold Coast native who reached the semis of this tourney last year, is now 3-0 against Karolina. Samantha said: "Playing [Karolina] I don't get fazed by all her power. I know exactly what I want to do against her and I did it again today and got my most convincing win over her... I know everyone is probably thinking I should maybe get to the semis again. [But] it doesn't really matter. I only really worry about what I think I can do and just go out there and play." #20 s5 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #92 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-3, 7-5 Sun *#38 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #21 s6 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-4, 6-2 Sun     Nathalie said: "I played against a really good opponent. I think [Flavia] played a really great match. I wasn’t able to raise level of my play as much as I wished... I would have for sure loved playing more matches here on the Gold Coast, but I still have doubles here, so I’ll try to play more matches in that one and try to get into rhythm." story #24 s7 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #45 Emilie Loit FRA 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 Mon #25 s8 Magdalena Maleeva BUL d #82 Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-4, 6-1 Sun #27 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #296 q Zi Yan CHN 6-1, 6-4 Mon Tatiana met a new boyfriend at Gold Coast, but is unsure whether they can sustain their relationship while she is on the WTA Tour     Tatiana said: "I'm happy that I won, because it's obviously very hard to play the first match. But I didn't really think my game was really where I wanted it to be... It's my first match in two months in a tournament so it's good to get out there and get the rhythm. I was pretty happy with the way I played and the crowd was great too... [Net play is] what I'm working on and I think today I didn't do it quite well enough. [Zi] hit a lot of short balls and I think a lot of the time I wasn't really able to always come in." #36 Iveta Benesova CZE d #278 wc Tiffany Welford AUS 6-4, 6-2 Sun Iveta Benesova met the press after her win on Sunday *#133 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #43 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-2, 6-4 Mon #46 Klara Koukalova CZE d # 351 wc Jaslyn Hewitt AUS 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 Mon     Jaslyn is the sister of former ATP # 1 Lleyton Hewitt. Jaslyn said: "I was really happy with the way I played in the second set... I played some of my best tennis I've ever played. I guess my inexperience came out in the third set, but next time I'll learn... [Klara is] Top 50 and I was pretty much on top of her in that second set; I could have had it 6-0, so it actually gives me a lot of confidence." #54 Denisa Chladkova CZE d #98 Severine Beltrame 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 Sun *#78 Li Na CHN d #58 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-3 6-1 Sun *#117 q Camille Pin FRA d #84 Anca Barna 6-2, 6-4 Mon *#136 q Angela Haynes USA d #112 LL Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-3, 6-1 Tues

Gold Coast, 2nd Round, Tues-Weds Weds story loser's prize: $2,155 US; points: 16 #12 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #78 Li Na CHN 7-5, 6-3 Weds Nadia signed autographs for Gold Coast fans #14 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI d #136 q Angela Haynes USA 6-4, 6-1 Weds Patty Schnyder #20 s5 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #54 Denisa Chladkova CZE 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 Tues *#133 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #24 s7 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-2, 0-6, 7-6(3) Weds     15-year-old Sesil trailed 1-4 in the 3rd set before recovering to defeat the veteran Elena. Sesil said: "This was a very sweet win and I know I will remember it. There was a point when I thought I could lose that match, but I know that it's not over until the final point... In the first set, I played well but the second set went so quick. [Elena] was winning it all and it wasn't until the game at 3-4 in the third set that I felt I was really back in the match. The points were so long and I hoped that being younger might help me. I was lucky to be the winner." #25 s8 Magdalena Maleeva BUL d #46 Klara Koukalova CZE 7-5, 6-2 Tues #27 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #44 Dinara Safina RUS 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 Weds *#65 Samantha Stosur AUS d #36 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-2, 7-6(3) Tues Samantha said: "I was a bit disappointed I couldn't get it at 5-2 or 5-3 but [Iveta] picked it up a little bit and when she did that some of my balls started to drop a bit short and didn't have as much on it... I had to try and get myself back up towards the end of the second set." story #38 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #117 q Camille Pin FRA 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Weds

Gold Coast, QFs, Thurs WTA story loser's prize: $3,900 US; points: 30 *#20 s5 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #12 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS walkover-- glutial strain When Nadia was unable to play, it was discovered that all-time WTA great Steffi Graf's husband was hanging around the tourney (some guy named Agassi) and he was asked to play an exhibition match to fill in the schedule-- Andre also posed for this pic with Sesil Karatantcheva #14 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI d #133 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 6-2, 6-3     Patty said: "I just played well today. My game came together and I made it very difficult for [Sesil]. I think that I would have beaten a lot of players the way I played today."     Sesil said: "[Patty] was just on her game today. I don't think I played bad, but she wouldn't let me do much. I could have done some things differently and maybe done a little better, but today was her day." *#65 Samantha Stosur AUS d #25 s8 Magdalena Maleeva BUL 2-6, 6-3, 6-4     Samantha said: "In the first set, she was playing so well and hardly missing anything. I just tried to hang in there and in the second I tightened up my game, stopped doing some silly things and it started to come together. When I won the second set, I thought I had a pretty good chance to take the match."     Samantha lost in the Gold Coast semifinals in 2004. Samantha said: "I'm looking forward to tomorrow, I really want to make the final and be here on Saturday. Last year, I was disappointed to lose in three sets. I'll just have to play like I have this week and not focus too much on what round it is." #27 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #38 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4

Gold Coast, SFs, Fri WTA story loser's prize: $7,400 US; points: 55 *#65 Samantha Stosur AUS d #20 s5 Silvia Farina Elia ITA 6-4, 2-6, 6-1     Samantha said: "I think in the start of the second set I kind of lost my way at the start there. I wasn’t thinking very well, I was all over the place and lost my legs. At the start of the third I just tried to forget about it and give it everything I had. Whatever I had left I just tried to bring it out for the third set." #14 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI v #27 Tatiana Golovin FRA 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

Gold Coast, Final, Sat loser's prize: $14,280 US; points: 85 winner's prize: $27,000 US; points: 120 #14 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI d #65 Samantha Stosur AUS 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 Patty Schnyder delivered her left-handed backhand Samantha Stosur answered with her RH 2H-BH Patty applauded after match point

Gold Coast, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $8,000 US winners' prize: $4,250 US Elena Likhovtseva & Magdalena Maleeva d Maria Elena Camerin & Silvia Farina Elia 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 Elena Likhovtseva's 21st WTA doubles title, & Magdalena Maleeva's 5th Gold Coast, Qual Finals, Sun Jan 2 *#117 Camille Pin FRA d #112 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-3, 6-2 *#296 Zi Yan CHN d #128 Melinda Czink HUN 7-5, 6-2 *#133 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #118 Selima Sfar TUN 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 #136 Angela Haynes USA d #193 Sunitha Rao USA 7-6(8), 6-3 Gold Coast, Withdrawals: #15 Elena Bovina RUS left foot #51 Nicole Pratt AUS r knee strain #52 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP #72 Marissa Irvin USA r elbow     Nicole Pratt injured her right knee in practice, and had to withdraw on the morning of her 1st-round match. Nicole said: "This morning I knew I couldn't play. I’m very disappointed because this is my home tournament and I really wanted to play. I had an MRI today in Brisbane and the doctor said that I should be ok again to play after 3-4 days rest. I’ll reassess on Friday and if all is ok I’ll play the event in Canberra next week to get some match practice for the Australian Open."

Auckland, 1st Round, Mon-Tues Mon story - Tues story loser's prize: $1,000 US; points: 1 #26 s1 Amy Frazier USA d #76 Laura Granville USA 6-3, 6-3 Mon     Amy said: "I'm so happy with the way I played today. I think the first match of the year everyone's a little anxious." #28 s2 Jelena Jankovic CRO d #61 Claudine Schaul LUX 7-5, 6-2 Tue     Jelena won despite not practicing the past 3 days due to a cold & fever. Jelena said: "[I did] not have much energy and I [felt] very weak and slow on the court. It was really tough on the court, but I think I played okay." *#88 Mara Santangelo ITA d #34 s3 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 Tue     Eleni won this tourney in 2003 & 2004. Eleni said: "I got here very early and I felt very good. I'm just very disappointed with this kind of match."     Mara said: "I didn't expect to win this match at all. [Eleni is] a great player. She's won here twice. I'm so happy. I played great tennis." #37 s4 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #91 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 6-4, 6-1 Tue #41 s5 Marion Bartoli FRA d #97 Abigail Spears USA 6-0, 6-1 Mon *#205 q Janette Husarova SVK d #48 s6 Kristina Brandi PUR 6-1, 6-2 Tue *#57 Martina Sucha SVK d #49 s7 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 6-4, 6-4 Mon *#87 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #55 s8 Alina Jidkova RUS 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 Tue #59 Jill Craybas USA d #162 LL Meilen Tu USA 6-2, 6-2 Tues *#176 q Shahar Peer ISR d #68 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 Tue #69 Shenay Perry USA d #74 Marta Domachowska POL 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 Mon #77 Tatiana Panova RUS d #82 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA 6-3, 7-5 Mon #79 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #94 Anne Kremer LUX 6-3, 6-3 Tue *#141 wc Lina Krasnoroutskaya RUS d #86 Aniko Kapros HUN 7-6(5), 6-1 Mon *NR wc Marina Erakovic NZL d #148 q Marie-Eve Pelletier CAN 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 Tue     16-year-old Marina, one of the world's top Juniors in 2004, was given a wild card entry for her home tourney, and got plenty of crowd support. Marina said: "They were really great. I knew that if I played well, I would have a good chance." *#189 wcq Lucie Sfarova CZE d #158 q Yuka Yoshida JPN 6-0, 6-1 Tue

Auckland, 2nd Round, Weds WTA story loser's prize: $1,825 US; points: 12 #26 s1 Amy Frazier USA d #189 wcq Lucie Sfarova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Amy said: "I was really happy with the way I played. Obviously, I had never played [Lucie] before and I knew she was really strong from the ground... She hits the ball so hard and I am sure some of the balls that went long normally go in for her. She has a big lefty serve and I am sure great things are ahead of her." #28 s2 Jelena Jankovic CRO d #79 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-1, 6-0 #37 s4 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #69 Shenay Perry USA 6-1 retired #41 s5 Marion Bartoli FRA d #59 Jill Craybas USA 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 *#77 Tatiana Panova RUS d #57 Martina Sucha SVK 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3 #87 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #141 wc Lina Krasnoroutskaya RUS 7-6(5), 6-1 *#176 q Shahar Peer ISR d #88 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 #205 q Janette Husarova SVK d NR wc Marina Erakovic NZL 6-4, 6-0

Auckland, QFs, Thurs-Fri WTA story loser's prize: $3,400 US; points: 24 all rain delayed to Friday - indoors #26 s1 Amy Frazier USA d #77 Tatiana Panova RUS 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2 Fri *#41 s5 Marion Bartoli FRA d #28 s2 Jelena Jankovic CRO 36 76(6) 61 Fri #37 s4 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #205 q Janette Husarova SVK 6-2 retired--     abdominal injury Fri #87 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #176 q Shahar Peer ISR 6-1, 6-4 Thurs-Fri

Auckland, SFs, Sat 11am loser's prize: $6,300 US; points: 43 *#37 s4 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #26 s1 Amy Frazier USA 7-6(4), 6-4 *#87 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #41 s5 Marion Bartoli FRA 7-5, 2-6, 7-5

Auckland, Final, Sat loser's prize: $12,000 US; points: 67 winner's prize: $22,000 US; points: 95 *#87 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #37 s4 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 Katarina Srebotnik after match point

Auckland, Doubles Final, Sat loser's prize: $3,475 US winner's prize: $6,500 US Shinobu Asagoe & Katarina Srebotnik d Leanne Baker & Francesca Lubiani 6-3, 6-3 The fans got to watch Katarina & Shinobu all day on Saturday, not at all a bad thing Auckland, Qual Finals, Mon #148 Marie-Eve Pelletier CAN d #202 Angelika Bachman GER 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 #158 Yuka Yoshida JPN d #245 Jessica Kirkland USA 6-3, 6-3 *#176 Shahar Peer ISR d #162 Meilen Tu USA 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 #205 Janette Husarova SVK d #293 Angelique Kerber GER 6-2, 6-1 Auckland, Withdrawals: #29 Mary Pierce FRA injury? #81 Petra Mandula HUN back injury Yoon Jeong Cho KOR back injury

Perth, Hopman Cup, Saturday Group B qualifying prelim Netherlands 2 d Zimbabwe 1 *#244 Michaella Krajicek NED d #139 Cara Black ZIM 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-0 Netherlands won ms & lost xd

Perth, Hopman Cup, Sunday Argentina 2 d Italy 1 #19 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #33 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-1, 6-3 Argentina won xd & ms Francesca Schiavone

Perth, Hopman Cup, Monday Australia 2 d Slovak Republic 1 #13 Alicia Molik AUS d #31 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 6-3 Australia won xd, lost ms Daniela Hantuchova & Alicia Molik Germany 2 d Russia 1 #3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #68 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-3, 6-3 Germany won xd & ms Anastasia Myskina

Perth, Hopman Cup, Tuesday USA 2 d Netherlands 1 #40 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #244 Michaella Krajicek NED 7-5, 6-4 USA won ms, lost xd Meghann Shaughnessy Michaella Krajicek Italy 2 d Germany 1 #19 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #68 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 Italy won xd & ms

Perth, Hopman Cup, Wednesday Argentina 2 d Russia 1 #3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #33 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-2, 6-1 Argentina won ms & xd Anastasia Myskina Gisela Dulko Netherlands 2 d Australia 1 #13 Alicia Molik AUS d #244 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-3, 7-5 Netherlands won ms & xd (walkover) Alicia Molik Michaella Krajicek

Perth, Hopman Cup, Thursday Slovak Republic 2 d USA 1 #31 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #40 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-4, 6-2 Slovakia won ms, lost xd Daniela Hantuchova Italy 2 d Russia 1 #3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #19 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-3, 6-2 Italy won ms & xd Argentina 2 d Germany 1 *#68 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #33 Gisela Dulko ARG 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 Argentina won ms & xd Anna-Lena Groenefeld

Perth, Hopman Cup, Friday USA 2 d Australia 1 #13 Alicia Molik AUS d #40 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-2, 6-3 USA won ms & xd Alicia Molik Slovak Republic 3 d Netherlands 0 #31 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #244 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-4, 6-2 Slovakia won ms (retired) & xd (walkover)

Perth, Hopman Cup Final, Saturday Slovak Republic 3 d Argentina 0 #31 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #33 Gisela Dulko ARG 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 Daniela Hantuchova

Maria Sharapova, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, & Nicole Vaidisova made the photogs happy in Hong Kong on Monday Venus Williams explained to the press why she couldn't fit into the other photo Svetland Kuznetsova & Maria Sharapova also met the press on Monday Elena Dementieva & Venus Williams were looking good at a party on Tuesday, as were Maria, Svetlana, Arantxa, Vera, & Nicole (Serena Williams was the only no-show, apparently yet to arrive in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Round-Robin, Weds 6:30pm *#6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #4 Maria Sharapova RUS 6(2)-7, 6-3, 6-1 Elena Dementieva     Elena said: "It's a very nice start for the year, especially against a good player. I did a lot of positive things today... My serve needs improving and I think it was probably the weakest link of my game last year. My game is improving." story     Maria was distracted by some line calls, and by a spectator who threw a ball onto the court. Maria said: "I didn't play that well. If I had to give myself points from one to 10, I would give myself a three." #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #11 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-3, 6-3 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario & Svetlana Kuznetsova d Vera Zvonareva & Maria Sharapova 8-3 Hong Kong, Round-Robin, Thurs 6:30pm #6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #77 Nicole Vaidisova CZE walkover-- illness #9 Venus Williams USA d #11 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 Venus Williams Vera Zvonareva & Elena Dementieva d Serena Williams & Venus Williams 7-5, 7-5 Serena & Venus Williams looked good, but lost the doubles no photos of the winners Elena & Vera were posted Hong Kong, Round-Robin, Fri 6:30pm *#9 Venus Williams USA d #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(5) Venus Williams     Venus trailed 1-4 in the 3rd set before recovering to win. Venus said: "This is really what I need. Playing against all the top players, I need these challenges. I need coming back from behind."     About facing Elena Dementieva in the final, Venus said: "She's a great player. I just feel like I played so well so far and at the right moment and I hope to continue that. Each time I am playing better." Yahoo-AFP story Elena Dementieva & Arantxa Sanchez Vicario d Vera Zvonareva & Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 6-3

Hong Kong, Final, Sat 2:30pm #6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #9 Venus Williams USA 6-3, 6-2 Elena Dementieva after match point, and with her new punchbowl Serena Williams & Venus Williams d Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario & Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-0 Vera Zvonareva, Elena Dementieva, Maria Sharapova, and Serena & Venus Williams auctioned off rackets for charity on Saturday

    (Dec 28) The Unretired: Former WTA # 1 Martina Navratilova, who announced she would retire by the end of 2004 (for sure this time), will play doubles at the Gold Coast partnered with Nathalie Dechy of France. And 48-year-old Martina will be playing in the ladies doubles at the Australian Open later in January, and possibly throughout 2005, teamed with 21-year-old Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Martina will also be playing mixed doubles partnered with Leander Paes in Melbourne (they were the 2003 champs).
    (Dec 31) 48-year-old Former WTA # 1 Martina Navratilova took exception with reporters suggesting her longevity is due to a low caliber of play in the WTA. Martina said: "I've been asked that question for the past five years and frankly I consider it an insult. Women's tennis is really strong and all I can say is I'm that damn good... I'm sorry but I really have to blow my own horn here - I'm still that good. The ball doesn't know how old you are...
    "Since 1984 I haven't lost a match from being tired and I might be playing some singles events this season depending on the surface. The main problem is movement but I've worked on that and I feel I really have time to hit the ball. I have changed my grip a lot with both shots and worked hard on my flexibility."

    (Dec 30) # 29 Mary Pierce of France has withdrawn from the ASB Classic and from the following week's Sydney tourney, citing an unspecified injury. Hopefully the injury is not too serious, and Mary is making sure she will be well in time for the Australian Open.

    (Dec 26) # 1 Lindsay Davenport of the US has withdrawn from the 2005 Hopman Cup, hobbled by a knee injury she sustained in her exhibition loss to Maria Sharapova on December 17 in Baltimore. # 40 Meghann Shaughnessy has replaced Lindsay on the US team. Lindsay IS expected to be ready for play in time for the Australian Open (Jan 16), and is also still entered in the Sydney International (Jan 9).

WTA Player Exhibitions:

Fri, Dec 17, Baltimore, MA: *#4 Maria Sharapova RUS d #1 Lindsay Davenport USA 7-5, 6-3     Maria said: "It was a really good match and we both played really well. You always play more for the crowd in these kinds of matches, but if it's a competitive match like tonight it's more entertaining." story, free reg req Sat, Dec 18, Tampa, FL: #4 Maria Sharapova RUS d #137 Angela Haynes USA 6-2, 6-1 story Maria Sharapova & Maria Kirilenko d Angela Haynes & Nicole Vaidisova 8-6     Maria said: "The court was very fast, so the points were a little bit shorter, but I served quite well and got an advantage from my serve. I tried to dictate a little bit and play to the crowd... When this [benefit] came up, I definitely wanted to be in it. It was fun, and I'm glad I could fit it into my schedule. I'm just playing these two charity events. This is the only offseason we get - two months, maybe not even that... I don't have any goals for [2005]. Be happy." story Sat, Dec 18, Charleroi, Belgium, SFs: *#21 Nathalie Dechy BEL d #8 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL 6-2, 7-5 #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #6 Elena Dementieva RUS Sun, Dec 19, Charleroi, Consolation: #6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #8 J Henin-Hardenne BEL 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 Sun, Dec 19, Charleroi, Final: *#21 Nathalie Dechy BEL d #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-4, 6-2 Sun, Jan 2, Chiang Mai, THA: #4 Maria Sharapova RUS d #9 Venus Williams USA 6-4, 6-3 Maria Sharapova + 1 set doubles: Maria Sharapova & Tamarine Tanasugarn v Venus Williams & Suchanan Viratprasert

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Current WTA Results & Tennis News

link to postmatch interview videos of WTA players at the 2004 WTA Player Interviews page.

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