WTA Oct 10-16 Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia Tier I +ATP $1,300,000 - 28 players - indoor: supreme Olympisky Sports Stadium Live Scores - Live Video WTA .pdf: draws & OOP - match notes draw & results - venue webcam Photos: Yahoo! news - tourney gallery WTA Photo Gallery: Moscow Moscow: weather - map Gazeta.ru: Tennis - english from World Lingo # 1 Maria Sharapova, # 4 Amelie Mauresmo # 6 Mary Pierce, # 8 Elena Dementieva PTT Thailand Open, Bangkok, Thailand Tier III $200,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard Rama Gardens Hotel WTA .pdf: draws & OOP - match notes WTA Photo Gallery: Bangkok Bangkok: weather - map # 9 Nadia Petrova, # 21 Nicole Vaidisova # 34 Gisela Dulko, # 35 Klara Koukalova

Tourney pages: Moscow: 2006 - 2004 - 2003 previous   other tourney pages     next Moscow: #6 Mary Pierce 5' 10", 150 lbs, RH 2H-BH Bangkok: #21 Nicole Vaidisova 5' 11", 139 lbs, RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, 30-year-old 3rd-seeded # 6 Mary Pierce of France (residence: Bradenton, Florida, USA) defeated 25-year-old unseeded # 22 Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 6-3 (Mary is shown after match point).

    Mary said: "This tournament was not on my original schedule for this year, but I saw last month that I might qualify for the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles, so decided to stay in Europe and play the big events to try to get my points up. It looks like I've made the right decision because I will move up in the standings on Monday." WTA story

    Francesca said: "I am of course disappointed, but maybe I need a little practice in the finals of these big tournaments. This was my first Tier I final, and [Mary] was just too good for me today. She really played her best tennis, and I have to give her credit for playing a great tournament. I have been working very hard on my fitness and my game, and I hope to get another chance soon. I am very happy with my week and hope to continue my form next week in Zurich."

    Mary and Francesca had played only once before, in the 2nd week of 2004 Fed Cup play, when Mary won on a red dirt court by a similar score, 6-3, 6-4.
    2005 French Open & US Open finalist Mary is now 18-20 in WTA singles finals. Francesca was playing for her first WTA singles title in her 4th final; she has been playing very well lately, and reached the Bali final a couple weeks ago, where she was defeated by # 2 Lindsay Davenport. If she continues to play so well, she should pick up a title soon.
Pierce career record - Mary-Pierce.org
Schiavone career record

    Meanwhile in the final of the Thailand Open in Bangkok, 16-year-old 2nd-seeded # 21 (actually # 18 this week, but the rankings usually used on this page match the drawsheet, which is based on last week's rankings) Nicole Vaidisova from Prague, Czech Republic (who received her primary training at the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida) narrowly defeated 23-year-old top-seeded # 9 Nadia Petrova from Moscow, Russia, 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-5 (Nicole is also shown after match point).

    Nicole said: "It feels good. I don't think it could get any better than this. I was pretty consistent today, and I'm happy with the way I played overall. I think I challenged [Nadia] today and showed that I could beat a higher ranked player when I'm on my game." WTA story

    Nadia said: "I couldn't serve today. I've been struggling with a right pectoral strain since my last tournament, and yesterday after my three set match it seemed to get worse. I tried to fight through it, but in the third set it really started to hurt. Then my serve was just very off.
    "Today it was hard to challenge. [Nicole] was going for winners and getting them. I tried to play my best, but I just couldn't do it."

    Nicole and Nadia had played only once before, in the 4th round of this year's US Open, when Nadia prevailed in a very close match, 7-6(4), 7-5.
    Young Nicole, who is now 5-1 in WTA singles finals, is on a roll. She has won 15 straight matches, giving her the titles in Seoul and Tokyo the past two weeks, and now in Bangkok for three in a row. He last loss? To Nadia, in the US Open quarters.
    Although Nadia almost always reaches the quarterfinals and frequently reaches semis, she was playing for her first WTA singles title in only her 4th final. Nadia is understandably fed up with this, and wants to win very badly, which is one reason why she was in Bangkok this week instead of at her hometown Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Unfortunately if she doesn't win one soon, some fools in the media will begin to suggest that she isn't a good player (as they did with Anna Kournikova), which is, of course, ridiculous.
Vaidisova career record - NicoleVaidisova.com
Nadia Petrova Wallpaper - Petrova career record - Nadia's Fanpage

Moscow: interactive satellite photo of Moscow centered on Olympisky Stadium - Russia news
    The main draw for Moscow has 8 seeds, with 4 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Saturday, qualifying finals are on Monday.
    The time in Moscow is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 4 hours. That is Eastern Daylight Time in the US + 8 hours, PDT+11 hours.

Bangkok: interactive satellite photo of Bangkok - Thailand news
    The main draw for Bangkok has 8 seeds., with NO 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (2 rounds) starts on Saturday, qualifying finals are on Sunday.
    The time in Bangkok is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 7 hours. That is Eastern Daylight Time in the US + 11 hours, PDT+14 hours.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Moscow & Bangkok s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Ekaterina Makarova and Maggie Maleeva were lassoed into participating in the Kremlin Cup draw on Saturday (reliable Maggie often performs this task). Maggie won the Kremlin Cup in 2002, and won the Cup's predecessor, the Moscow Ladies Open, in 1994 and 1995. On Monday, Maria Sharapova told the press about playing in her first Kremlin Cup, and said that she would play Fed Cup for Russia someday, and was given a stubby table lamp with the shade removed (no, wait, that's the Russian Sportswoman of the Year award). On Monday in Moscow, Elena Dementieva had a nice chat with the press, while Maria Sharapova attended a reception, and wowed the crowd by singing The Theme from Star Wars, translating the complex Bill Murray lyrics from English to Russian on the spot.

Moscow, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed 11am losers' prize: $8,300 US; points: 1 #10 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI d #33 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 Mon Patty Schnyder #12 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #62 wc Magdalena Maleeva BUL 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 Wed Anastasia in ready position, Maggie launching a backhand, and Anastasia lining up a forehand *#63 q Samantha Stosur AUS d #13 s7 Alicia Molik AUS 6-3, 6-2 Tue Samantha Stosur #14 s8 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #106 q Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-0, 6-4 Tue Svetlana's backhand *#30 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #15 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-3, 7-5 Tue Flavia Pennetta #16 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #38 Vera Douchevina RUS 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 Mon Elena's forehand *#41 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #17 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-2, 6-1 Tue #19 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #46 LL Virginie Razzano FRA 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 Tue #22 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #59 q Iveta Benesova CZE 6-3, 6-2 Tue #23 Dinara Safina RUS d #28 Silvia Farina Elia ITA 6-1, 7-5 Tue Dinara lining up a forehand, and after winning a point #24 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #26 wc Maria Kirilenko RUS Wed Vera finishing a backhand #40 Kveta Peschke CZE d #48 wc Evgenia Linetskaya RUS 6-2, 6-2 Tue

Moscow, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 11am losers' prize: $15,600 US; points: 42 #1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #19 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 1-6, 2-4 retired--left ankle sprain Wed Maria serving, Anna-Lena's forehand, and Anna-Lena after spraining her ankle     Anna-Lena tried to play on after a medical timeout, but she found she could not continue. This was a disaster for Anna-Lena, because she was ahead by a set and a break, and had she won not only would she have advanced to the quarters of a Tier I tourney, but she also would have received 100 "quality" ranking points for defeating the # 1 player.     Anna-Lena said: "Of course I'm very disappointed, especially because I was just a couple of points from winning the match. I'm leaving tomorrow for Germany to get an MRI [scan] and see how bad the injury is. I want to find out what I have to do to get well, and get ready for next season." WTA story     It was the first time that one of Maria's opponents has had to retire while in the lead. Maria said: "That's not the way I like to win matches... I wasn't winning that match. [Anna-Lena] was doing the right things and I wasn't... I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous before the match. I knew she was a strong player. I wasn't myself on the court today." AP story *#22 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #4 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 6-1, 6-1 Thu Francesca Schiavone     Francesca said: "I was very focused, very motivated today and managed to impose my tactics on [Amelie]... I just did everything a little better than her." Reuters story     Amelie had 33 unforced errors in the 14 games played. Amelie said: "It was just one of those days when nothing worked. I stayed back and that wasn't working. I came in and that didn't work either. My footwork was off, and I just couldn't do anything against [Francesca]. She already had one match on this surface, and for me it is very different from Filderstadt [where the surface was much faster], and I was just not able to make the adjustment." WTA story     Francesca will play Svetlana Kuznetsova in a quarterfinal on Friday. Francesca will need to play very well again: she has never taken a set from Svetlana, who leads Francesca 3-0 in career matches. #6 s3 Mary Pierce FRA d #30 Flavia Pennetta ITA 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Wed Mary serving to Flavia #8 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS d #41 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 6-0, 6-1 Thu Elena Dementieva *#16 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #10 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 Wed #12 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #40 Kveta Peschke CZE 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 Thu Anastasia lining up a backhand, and sending one on its way     2003 & 2004 Kremlin Cup champ Anastasia will play her fellow Muskovite and friend Elena Dementieva in a quarterfinal on Friday. Elena has been playing very well recently; Anastasia has been playing better again after slumping earlier in the year. Anastasia leads Elena 8-4 in career matches, and has won the last four times they have played, including the 2004 French Open final 6-1, 6-2, the 2004 Kremlin Cup final 7-5, 6-0, and the 4th round at Wimbledon this year 1-6, 7-6(9), 7-5.     Elena and Anastasia both received their early training at Moscow's premiere tennis training center, the Spartak Academy (as did Anna Kournikova), where they were coached by Dinara Safina's mother and others. About playing against Elena, Anastasia said: "It is always harder to play against good friends. I hope this match will be interesting... However, I will prepare for this game as I would for a usual match." RIA Novosti story #14 s8 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #24 Vera Zvonareva RUS 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 Thu Svetlana's forehand (her primary weapon), and Vera's backhand #23 Dinara Safina RUS d #63 q Samantha Stosur AUS 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 Thu

Moscow, QFs, Fri 11am WTA story losers' prize: $29,000 US; points: 75 *#23 Dinara Safina RUS d #1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 Dinara digging up a low backhand, Maria fielding a backhand, and both at the net after match point     Maria was up a set and a break at 6-1, 4-3. Then Dinara won 8 of the next 9 games to win the 2nd set, and take a 5-1 lead in the 3rd. Maria then won 4 straight to get to 5-5 before Dinara finished out the match by holding serve, and a breaking Maria's serve on a wide shot by Maria in the final game.     Dinara was strongly supported by the Moscow crowd. Dinara said: "Anywhere I looked I saw a familiar face. On one side it was my brother [ATP pro Marat Safin], then I turn around and see my coach... Everyone was cheering me on and I felt I just can't lose in such circumstances." Reuters story     About the 3rd set, Dinara said: "I played softly on a match point and then waited for [Maria's] mistakes. I was almost crying. And at 5-5, I began to attack myself." AP story     Maria said: "I think today I played much better, especially in the first set, than in my first match on Wednesday. In the second set I broke [Dinara] in the seventh game to lead 4-3, but she broke right back and she looked a lot more confident after that.     "At 5-1 down [in the 3rd set], I just relaxed and played my tennis. At the decisive moment, I just missed my chance... In the end it was one or two points which decided the outcome, but what can I say, life goes on. I'm going home to Florida to have some rest and get ready for the WTA Championships." #6 s3 Mary Pierce FRA d #16 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(6) Mary serving, Elena's backhand, and Mary's backhand     Elena led 6-0 in the 3rd set tiebreak, then Mary rattled off 8 straight points to take the match away from her. Mary said: "I think I was 6-2 down once [in a tiebreak] and won, but never from 6-0... [Elena] started to play short and I received easy balls. If she played in the match the way she played a tiebreaker, I could have won the match 6-0, 6-0. Maybe she was waiting for my mistake. But I just capitalized on those opportunities she gave me." #8 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS d #12 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-2, 6-3 Elena's backhand, Anastasia's backhand, and Elena after match point *#22 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #14 s8 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-3, 6-1     No photos or quotes were available from this match, which is ridiculous.

Moscow, SFs, Sat 1pm losers' prize: $54,300 US; points: 135 #6 s3 Mary Pierce FRA d #23 Dinara Safina RUS 7-6(2), 6-3 Mary's forehand, Dinara chasing one down, and Mary reaching for another     Mary said: "I could not concentrate on the match in the beginning, but at 4-all I calmed down and adjusted myself to [the] specific surface here and realized how to play." *#22 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #8 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-3, 6-1 Francesca's backhand, Elena's backhand, and Francesca after match point     Francesca said: "I was very focused, very motivated and I had good tactics. I was also very tough today just like when I played Mauresmo and my other matches here." Reuters story     It was Elena's 24th birthday. Elena said: "I must admit, [Francesca] surprised me a lot by playing such good tennis today. She was hitting heavy topspin balls which I could not get used to. Somewhere midway through the first set I lost my rhythm and could not find it until the end.     "I'm very disappointed, not because today is my birthday, but because I felt like I had a very good chance to finally win this tournament and I just couldn't come up with the goods."

Moscow, Final, Sun 1:30pm loser's prize: $102,000 US; points: 210 winner's prize: $189,000 US; points: 300 #6 s3 Mary Pierce FRA d #22 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-4, 6-3 Mary serving, Francesca hitting a forehand on the run, and Mary's backhand

Moscow, Doubles Final, Sun losers' prize: $31,450 US winners' prize: $59,000 US *cdr8 s2 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur d cdr6 s1 Cara Black & Rennae Stubbs 6-2, 6-4 Moscow, Qual Finals, Mon Oct 10 losers' prize: $4,500 US #41 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #69 Lisa Raymond USA 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 *#106 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI d #46 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-3, 6-1 #59 Iveta Benesova CZE d #122 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-2, 6-1 #63 Samantha Stosur AUS d #99 Tszvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 7-5 Moscow, Withdrawals #7 Venus Williams USA left knee #18 Ana Ivanovic SCG left wrist strain #27 Elena Bovina RUS r shoulder

Bangkok, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed 3pm losers' prize: $1,325 US; points: 1 #9 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #51 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-1, 6-2 Wed     Nadia said: "At the beginning it took me a while to adjust to the lights. I found it difficult to see the ball and struggled a little on my return of serve. Other than that though, I think I served well and played well on important points.     "The key was to try and break [Nuria] and hold my serve. In heat like this you don't want to spend too much time on the court. I tried to work as quickly as I could." WTA story #21 s2 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #103 Abigail Spears USA 7-5, 6-2 Wed     It was Nicole's 11th straight win, after winning the titles in Seoul and Tokyo the past two weeks. Nicole said: "Sure, I have a little confidence after winning two titles, but everything is new here... new balls, a new court and different temperatures. It's very different than Seoul and Tokyo. It was a slow start, but then I got more comfortable in the second set and was able to get the win." #34 s3 Gisela Dulko ARG d #75 Jamea Jackson USA 6-4, 7-5 Tue *#79 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #36 s4 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 7-6(2), 6-4 Tue #37 s5 Sania Mirza IND d #216 Henrieta Nagyova SVK 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 Tue     Sania said: "It was a very strange match, very up and down. The first round is always the toughest, you have to adjust to playing with new balls, on a new court and in a new stadium, but once you get past that first match it's a little easier because you have more confidence... I could have played better but I think I played okay overall. I started and ended on a strong note." #39 s6 Conchita Martinez ESP d #118 wc Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-3, 6-2 Tue #50 s8 Shahar Peer ISR d #111 Severine Bremond FRA 6-3, 6-4 Mon #60 Catalina Castano COL d #65 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 6-3, 6-2 Tue *#134 q Saroi Obata JPN d #66 Mashona Washington USA 6-2, 6-3 Tue *#183 Meng Yuan CHN d #70 Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Mon *#76 Martina Sucha SVK d #73 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Mon *#105 q Melinda Czink HUN d #84 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 Tue *#108 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #91 Rika Fujiwara JPN 7-5, 7-6(5) Mon #97 LL Shenay Perry USA d #250 Ana Timotic SCG 7-6(4), 6-1 Tue *#112 q Stephanie Foretz FRA d #110 LL Martina Muller GER 6-2, 6-0 Tue *#208 wc Suchanan Viratprasert THA d #176 q Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-2, 7-6(1) Tue

Bangkok, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 3pm WTA Thu story losers' prize: $2,485 US; points: 16 #9 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #134 q Saroi Obata JPN 6-3, 6-2 Thu     Nadia said: "It was extremely hot out there today, and very hard to recover after long points. I was feeling like I was a little out of energy and a little uncoordinated during some points. Overall I played well but I think I played too defensively. I should have been more aggressive and fighting for every point." #21 s2 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #208 wc Suchanan Viratprasert THA 6-3, 6-1 Thu #34 s3 Gisela Dulko ARG d #108 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-2, 6-3 Wed *#183 Meng Yuan CHN d #37 s5 Sania Mirza IND 7-5 retired-- lower back strain Thu     Sania said: "My injury happened during the match. I went to hit an overhand and it felt like I basically hyperextended my back. I couldn't really move very well after that, and it felt very stiff.     "It's not the way I wanted to end my year, but I can't control that. I've never retired from a match in my life. It was hard. I'm going to take a break from tennis now. It has been a long year and a very eventful one. I'm going to take some time to relax and then start preparing for next year." #39 s6 Conchita Martinez ESP d #60 Catalina Castano COL 6-2, 6-0 Thu #50 Shahar Peer ISR d #97 LL Shenay Perry USA 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(2) Wed *#112 q Stephanie Foretz FRA d #76 Martina Sucha SVK 7-6(7), 6-3 Wed #79 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #105 q Melinda Czink HUN 6-3, 6-3 Thu

Bangkok, QFs, Fri 3pm losers' prize: $4,660 US; points: 30 #9 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #112 q Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-4, 6-0 #21 s2 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #39 s6 Conchita Martinez ESP 6-3, 6-0 #34 s3 Gisela Dulko ARG d #183 Meng Yuan CHN 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 *#79 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #50 Shahar Peer ISR 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

Bangkok, SFs, Sat 3pm losers' prize: $8,750 US; points: 55 #9 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #79 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 Antonella's forehand, and Nadia after winning the 2nd set     The temperature was 91°F with very high humididty. Nadia said: "It was one of the toughest matches here, because it was so hot and I couldn't concentrate in the first set. In the third set I was strong in the return, and served two aces to finish the match." AP story     About her final opponent, Nicole Vaidisova, Nadia said: "She has good serves, very strong, attacks fast and goes for winners." #21 s2 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #34 s3 Gisela Dulko ARG 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(3) Gisela's backhand, and Nicole's     About her final opponent, Nadia Petrova, Nicole said: "She is a top 10 and a big server. She has solid groundstrokes."

Bangkok, Final, Sun 3pm+ loser's prize: $16,400 US; points: 85 winner's prize: $30,500 US; points: 120 *#21 s2 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #9 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-5 Nicole watching her backhand fly, Nadia's backhand, and Nicole with her third trophy in three weeks

Bangkok, Doubles Final, Sun losers' prize: $4,850 US winners' prize: $9,100 US cdr74 s2 Shinobu Asagoe & Gisela Dulko d cdr17 s1 Virginia Ruano Pascual & Conchita Martinez 6-1, 7-5 Bangkok, Qual Finals, Mon, Oct 10 10am losers' prize: $700 US *#134 Saroi Obata JPN d #97 Shenay Perry USA 6(3)-7, 6-3, 6-2 #105 Melinda Czink HUN d #147 Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-2, 7-6(5) *#176 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE d #110 Martina Muller GER 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 #112 Stephanie Foretz FRA d #181 Ryoko Fuda JPN 6-3, 6-4 Bangkok, Withdrawals #35 Klara Koukalova CZE Moscow #45 s7 Marion Bartoli FRA #53 Meghann Shaughnessy USA #54 Lucie Safarova CZE Moscow #55 Jill Craybas USA #57 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG #61 Marta Domachowska POL Moscow #74 Alona Bondarenko UKR Moscow #120 Maria Elena Camerin ITA could not find transport from Tashkent

    (October 10, 2005) The Russians are Here, The Russians are Here (except one):
    Eleven of the thirty-two players in the Kremlin Cup main draw are Russians; nine of those reside in Moscow or its suburbs. One Muskovite, # 9 Nadia Petrova, chose to play in Bangkok this week, pursuing that elusive first WTA singles title.
    2003 and 2004 Kremlin Cup champ Anastasia Myskina has the best overall record among the Russki players in the top 20 against each other.
    Dark horse among the Russians is wild card # 48 Evgenia Linetskaya, who has lost once each to Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze, and has never played any of the other Russians in the draw.
    Below are the head-to-head standings of the top 4 Russkis against the twelve Russians who are in the top 40 (as of Oct 10):


    (Oct 9, 2005) # 18 Ana Ivanovic withdrew from the Kremlin Cup on Sunday with a left wrist strain, making room for a "lucky loser" (the highest-ranked player to lose in the qualifying finals) in the main draw. This means that # 41 Sesil Karatantcheva will be in the main draw even if she loses her qualifying final.

    (Oct 7, 2005) # 7 Venus Williams has withdrawn from the Kremlin Cup due to an ongoing left knee injury. # 27 Elena Bovina also withdrew due to a right shoulder injury that has kept her out of action since the French Open in May. Elena has been able to play very little this year, and her rank is beginning to plummet as a result.

    (Oct 5, 2005) # 1 Maria Sharapova, who withdrew from Filderstadt due to an ongoing right pectoral muscle injury, arrived in Moscow on October 1 to prepare to play in the Kremlin Cup tourney for the first time.

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