WTA July 25-31 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, CA Tier II $585,000 - 28 players - outdoor: hard schedule & results - draw, .pdf draw, .html - news photos WTA Gallery: Stanford Stanford: weather radar - forecast USOpenSeries BOTWC page SJ Mercury - SF Chronicle Stanford Daily Sports # 1 Lindsay Davenport, # 9 Venus Williams # 12 Patty Schnyder, # 14 Kim Clijsters Budapest Grand Prix, Budapest, HUN Tier IV $140,000 - 32 players - outdoor: red clay order of play - draw & results draws & schedule .pdf - photos WTA Gallery: Budapest Budapest: radar - forecast - map # 53 Anna Smashnova, # 57 Katarina Srebotnik # 60 Roberta Vinci, #62 Jelena Kostanic

Tourney pages: Stanford & Budapest: 2006 Stanford: 2004 - 2003 Budapest: 2004 previous other tourney pages next Palo Alto: #14 Kim Clijsters 5' 8½", 150 lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    In the final of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford on Sunday, 22-year-old 4th-seeded # 14 Kim Clijsters from Bree, Belgium, defeated 25-year-old 2nd-seeded # 9 Venus Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA, 7-5, 6-2 (Kim is shown after match point).
    Kim did not lose a set in her four matches at Stanford. The injuries that plagued her last year, and earlier this year, are no longer a problem. Kim said: "My knee's history, my wrist is history and the hip is good." AP story
    Venus, who still leads Kim 6-3 in career matches, was tired from her 3-set Saturday afternoon semifinal (Kim played her semi Saturday night, but only 2 sets). Venus said: "I was definitely on my last leg. I just didn't have it today. I felt like I tried, but I didn't have the energy."

    Eleven and Zero: In the Budapest final on Sunday, 29-year-old top-seeded # 53 Anna Smashnova of Israel defeated unseeded 26-year-old # 93 Catalina Castano of Columbia, 6-2, 6-2. Anna Smashnova has never lost a WTA singles final; she is 11-0 in that category.
    Anna said: "It was a tough match, and finals are never easy. The score doesn't reflect it, but there were several close points." AP story
    Catalina said: "It was a great week, a great tournament. Hungary is very beautiful and hopefully I will come back next year and win the title." WTA story

Stanford:
    22-year-old Kim Clijsters has won 25 WTA singles titles in 38 finals. Kim reached the # 1 ranking in WTA singles in August 2003, and although she was displaced by her compatriot Justine Henin-Hardenne, retained a solid # 2 position. Then Kim seriously injured her left wrist in her 2nd round match at Indian Wells in March 2004, and when she returned to play in October, she incurred another, separate left wrist injury, which required surgery. Since returning to play in the Spring of 2005, Kim has been playing very, very well again.
    Kim swings an axe called a Babolat "Pure Drive Team", a terrifically popular 11.2 oz (strung) 27" bat balanced head-light with a 100 sq." string area & stiffness 70. Kim wears Fila togs, and is coached by Marc Dehous.
Clijsters career record - Kim Clijsters Wallpaper - Kim's official website

    Venus Williams is 33-20 in WTA singles finals, including 5 Grand Slam tourney victories. This year Venus had been hitting more errors off her forehand, and players have been attacking her there, but her game has improved again, giving her this year's Wimbledon title. Venus is fleet of foot as well as hitting hard and deep; her serve was once clocked at 126 mph, which was the women's record until her sister Serena hit one at 127 mph at Wimbledon in 2004.
    Venus wears Reebok garb and chops with a Wilson axe, a new nCode model called the N4 OS (her previous bat was the Hammer H4). The N4 OS, with a 111 sq" head, is 27.5" long, weighs 9.4 oz strung, and is balanced 4/5" head heavy. Venus reportedly has her bats strung with Wilson 16-gauge Natural Gut. She is coached by her father, Richard Williams.
Venus Williams career record - Venus & Serena Williams Wallpaper

Budapest:
    Five-foot-two Anna Smashnova is now 11-0 in WTA singles finals, having won her 10th just 2 weeks ago in Modena. After winning 4 titles in 2002, she finished that year and 2003 ranked in the top 20; her career high was # 15 in 2003.
    Anna was born in Minsk, Belarus, and her family moved to Israel when she was 14. She was Tennis Magazine Rookie of the Year in 1994, graduated from American Int'l HS outside Tel Aviv in 1995, and completed mandatory service in the Israeli Army in 1997. Anna married her coach Claudio Pistolesi in December, 2002, and for a short time was known as Anna Pistolesi. Then she became Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi for a while, and then dropped the Pistolesi and became Anna Smashnova again (there is no report that she dropped Claudio, however).
    Anna wears Lotto and chops with a Babolat Pure Drive axe, favoring her 1-handed backhand and clay courts.
Smashnova career record

    5' 7½" Catalina Castano was born and resides in Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia. This is her first WTA singles final; she has won 6 ITF singles titles. She has been playing well recently; she reached a career-high rank of 67 in June, and her only previous semifinal appearance was in Bogota in 2002.
    Like Anna, Catalina wears Lotto, and the stick she hits the ball with is a Babolat Pure Drive. Catalina, who began playing tennis at age 10, prefers red clay courts (like she is playing on this week). Once coached by Rene Gomez, Catalina is now coached by Pablo Giacopelli.
Castano career record

    The time in Palo Alto (Stanford) is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) minus 7 hours. That is Pacific Daylight Time in the US, =EDT -3 hours. Early round play begins at 11am local time (qualifying finals are first on Monday).
    The time in Budapest is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 2 hours. That is 9 hours ahead of PDT in the US, 6 hours ahead of EDT. Early round play begins at 11am local time (qualifying finals are first on Monday).

WTA SCOREBOARD: Stanford & Budapest s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Ai Sugiyama & Patty Schnyder were looking very nice at the Stanford player party

Stanford, 1st Rd, Mon-Tues losers' prize: $4,025 US; points: 1 *#65 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #15 s5 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(6) Tue Meghann Shaughnessy #18 s6 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #61 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-2, 6-3 Mon #19 s7 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #97 q Marissa Irvin USA 6-2, 6-4 Tue #23 s8 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #78 q Alina Jidkova RUS 6-4, 6-1 Tue Francesca at the Stanford player party #26 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #1008 wc Alexandra Stevenson USA 6-2, 6-1 Tue     Alexandra reached a high rank of #18 in 2002, then struggled, then saw her ranking plummet when she had shoulder surgery last September.     Daniela said: "Right from the beginning, I felt like I had control of the match. I think I played smart and consistent, keeping my mistakes to a low level. It's nice to see [Alexandra] back. I think she just needs some time to get back into it after recovering from her injury." WTA story     About today's loss, Alexandra said: "It's upsetting. In my head I was expecting it to be a good match... I got through the whole match so that was good. It's hard to go out and realize it's going to take a little time, but you can't really be down on yourself or you have no chance." SF Chronicle story #30 Marion Bartoli FRA d #59 Mashona Washington USA 6-1, 6-3 Mon Marion at the Stanford player party #32 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #52 Samantha Stosur AUS 7-6(10), 6-2 Mon Ai on the run in the 1st set #35 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #66 q Shahar Peer ISR 7-5, 6-1 Tue *#54 Iveta Benesova CZE d #46 Shaui Peng CHN 6-4, 7-6(3) Tue #51 Lisa Raymond USA d #112 wc Angela Haynes USA 6-4, 7-6(7) Mon #55 Amy Frazier USA d #71 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 6-3, 6-0 Mon Amy at her post-match press conference     Amy said: "I've played Maria for a long time, and she's such a tough opponent. I expected a very tough match today, but obviously she didn't play her best." SF Chronicle story *#70 LL Sania Mirza IND d #56 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 Tue

Stanford, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu WTA Thu story losers' prize: $7,600 US; points: 25 *#35 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA 5-0 retired-- low back strain Thu Lindsay listening to physiotherapist Nadine Waeghe before retiring from the match     Lindsay has been having pain and spasms on the lower left side of her back, troubling her most when she extends while serving, or turns. She was reaching for a backhand during practice earlier on Thursday when her back locked up.     Lindsay said: "I knew it was going to be a tough day. I did everything I could do. It's frustrating because [the back pain is] so on and off. ... It's almost moody. I get clearance to play, clearance to practice and clearance to do stuff, and then it flares up again... It was pretty clear after I served the first game that I didn't have any real mobility in my back and wouldn't be able to reach much." AP story #9 s2 Venus Williams USA d #70 LL Sania Mirza IND 6-3, 6-2 Wed Venus launching a backhand     Venus said: "Mirza played well. She moves very well and has good groundstokes." WTA story     Sania said: "I had a lot of chances, but I'm happy with the way I played. It was a good match and much closer than the score suggests. [Venus] played better on the important points, especially on game points that I had." #12 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI d #30 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-4, 7-5 Wed Patty during the press "all-access" hour on Monday #14 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #32 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-1, 6-2 Thu< Kim after match point     About playing her former doubles partner Ai (Kim and Ai were one of the two top-ranked doubles teams until Kim stoppped playing doubles after she incurred a serious left wrist injury in 2004) Kim said: "I learned in our previous matches I let her dictate too much. I felt like if I was going to win, I'd have to hit the ball deep and hard to put [Ai] on her back foot." #18 s6 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #51 Lisa Raymond USA 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Wed Nathalie signing autographs on Thursday night #19 s7 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #55 Amy Frazier USA 6-0, 6-3 Wed *#54 Iveta Benesova CZE d #23 s8 Francesca Schiavone ITA 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) Thu< #26 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #65 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 Thu<     Daniela said: "I was a little tired in the second set and it was tough to break [Meghann]. In the third, I tried to be solid and calm. I have been serving pretty well lately-- I've been working on it a lot. Serves and returns are major keys to the game."

Stanford, QFs, Fri losers' prize: $14,100 US; points: 49 #9 s2 Venus Williams USA d #19 s7 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-3, 6-3 Venus has had a fine forehand lately #12 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI d #54 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-2, 6-1 #14 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #26 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 6-1 Kim addressing the media after the win *#35 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #18 s6 Nathalie Dechy FRA 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 Anna-Lena answering fan questions on Friday, mostly about whether a Nordhorn is a brass or a woodwind instrument (actually, its her home town)     Nathalie said: "I played well the first set and felt that I was controlling the match, but then [Anna-Lena] improved her game. In the second set, she started taking the ball earlier and serving and moving better, and the next thing I knew, I was 4-1 down. I picked up my game a little bit, but it was too late. It's always disappointing after a match like this because I thought that I had some great opportunities, being in the quarterfinals." WTA story

Stanford, SFs, Sat WTA story losers' prize: $26,500 US; points: 88 #9 s2 Venus Williams USA d #12 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 Venus and Patty show their right and left handed backhands     Patty had 5 match points in the 2nd set, but could not convert. Venus said: "Today was a tough day from the jump. [Patty] played very well today, probably the best that she's played against me. She definitely had a lot of opportunites during the match. These are the kinds of matches that are very nice to win."     Patty said: "It was tough to come back from those [unconverted match] points. I'd be glad to play like this every week." #14 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #35 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-4, 6-0 In Anna-Lena's first Tier II semi, Kim kept her on the run     Kim said: "At the beginning, [Anna-Lena] was doing everything right - hitting well, serving very well. But I just kept fighting. Even when I was down a break, I stayed in it and eventually was able to break her rhythm. It was really important for me to break right back, which I was able to do."     Anna-Lena said: "I tried to be agressive today, and I made a lot of errors. If you drop your level against [Kim], she will take advantage of it, and that's what happened tonight... I'm very satisfied with my week here. I defeated a lot of good players, so I'm very happy with my week."

Stanford, Final, Sun loser's prize: $49,500 US; points: 137 winner's prize: $93,000 US; points: 195 *#14 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #9 s2 Venus Williams USA 7-5, 6-2 Kim firing a forehand, after match point, and displaying the glassware

Stanford, Doubles Final, Sun losers' prize: $15,700 US winners' prize: $29,000 US cdr9 s1 Cara Black & Rennae Stubbs d cdr18 s2 Elena Likhovtseva & Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-5 Vera Zvonareva, Elena Likhovtseva, Rennae Stubbs and Cara Black Stanford, Qual Finals, Mon Jul 25 #65 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #81 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR 6-3, 6-3 #66 Shahar Peer ISR d #70 Sania Mirza IND 6-2, 7-6(10) #78 Alina Jidkova RUS d #284 Neha Uberoi USA 6-4, 6-4 #97 Marissa Irvin USA d #131 Shikha Uberoi IND 6-2, 6-4 Stanford, Withdrawals #125 Chanda Rubin USA probably l knee "This is a much better trophy..."

Budapest, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed 11am losers' prize: $1,000 US; points: 1 #53 s1 Anna Smashnova ISR d #124 q Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-1, 6-2 Tue Anna at ready #57 s2 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #127 q Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-2, 6-4 Tue Katarina's serve *#93 Catalina Castano COL d #60 s3 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 Mon Catalina Castano #62 s4 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #90 Emilie Loit FRA 6-1, 6-2 Mon Jelena Kostanic *#105 Eva Birnerova CZE d #68 s5 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 6-4, 6-1 Tue #69 s6 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG d #100 A Parra Santonja ESP 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 Mon Mariana Diaz-Oliva #76 s7 Martina Sucha SVK d #233 q Katarina Kachlikova SVK 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 Tue Martina demonstrates the meaning of "racquet back..." *#258 wc Anikó Kapros HUN d #79 s8 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-4, 3-4    retired Tue Aniko at her post-match press conference *#106 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #80 Denisa Chladkova CZE 6-2, 6-2 Mon #83 Sanda Mamic CRO d #149 Conchita Martinez Granados ESP 7-5, 6-4 Tue #85 Laura Pous Tio ESP d #152 Hanna Nooni SWE 6-1, 6-3 Tue #91 Michaela Pastikova CZE d #109 Selima Sfar TUN 6-1, 6-4 Tue #92 Julia Schruff GER d #115 Ludmila Cervanova SVK 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(1) Mon #98 Rika Fujiwara JPN d #139 LL Sabine Klaschka GER 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 Tue #108 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP d #198 wc Ágnes Szávay HUN 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 Wed *#172 q Olga Savchuk UKR d #113 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-3 3-1 retired-- right hip strain Tue

Budapest, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 11am losers' prize: $1,825 US; points: 12 #53 s1 Anna Smashnova ISR d #172 q Olga Savchuk UKR 6-0, 6-1 Thu #57 s2 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #106 E Bychkova RUS 2-6, 7-6(11), 6-3 Wed #62 s4 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #92 Julia Schruff GER 6-2, 6-2 Wed *#108 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP d #105 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 Thu *#85 Laura Pous Tio ESP d #69 s6 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 7-5, retired-- right thoracic strain Wed #76 s7 Martina Sucha SVK d #83 Sanda Mamic CRO 6-2, 6-3 Thu Martina at the player party on Wednesday night *#258 wc Anikó Kapros HUN d #91 Michaela Pastikova CZE 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) Thu Aniko, probably on Thursday, possibly Tuesday (they don't say) #93 Catalina Castano COL d #98 Rika Fujiwara JPN 6-1, 6-2 Thu

Budapest, QFs, Fri 11am losers' prize: $3,400 US; points: 24 #53 s1 Anna Smashnova ISR d #258 wc Anikó Kapros HUN 6-2, 6-0 *#85 Laura Pous Tio ESP d #57 s2 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) #62 s4 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #108 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 *#93 Catalina Castano COL d #76 s7 Martina Sucha SVK 6-4, 6-3

Budapest, SFs, Sat 11am losers' prize: $6,300 US; points: 43 #53 s1 Anna Smashnova ISR d #62 s4 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-2, 6-0 *#93 Catalina Castano COL d #85 Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-7, 6-1, 6-0

Budapest, Final, Sun loser's prize: $12,000 US; points: 67 winner's prize: $22,000 US; points: 95 #53 s1 Anna Smashnova ISR d #93 Catalina Castano COL 6-2, 6-2 Anna with her 11th WTA singles trophy-- she has none for runner-up

Budapest, Doubles Final, Sun losers' prize: $3,475 US winners' prize: $6,500 US cdr64 s1 Emilie Loit & Katarina Srebotnik v cdr125 s4 Marta Marrero & Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 Emilie Loit & Katarina Srebotnik Budapest, Qual Finals, Mon Jul 25 losers' prize: $550 US #124 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #193 Eva Hrdinova CZE 6-3, 6-3 #127 Stephanie Foretz FRA d #139 Sabine Klaschka GER 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 *#233 Katarina Kachlikova SVK d #148 Elise Tamaela NED 6-2, 2-1 retired-- low back strain #172 Olga Savchuk UKR d #184 Kyra Nagy HUN 6-2, 7-5 Budapest, Withdrawals #21 Silvia Farina Elia ITA #45 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP #72 Akiko Morigami JPN #169 Henrieta Nagyova SVK r knee #434 Maja Matevzic SLO

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