WTA: Jan 9-15 2004 Medibank Int'l, Sydney, AUS Tier II $585,000 - 28 players - outdoor: hard draws & schedule .pdf Yahoo! news photos - Sydney WTA Photo Gallery Sydney: city map # 1 Lindsay Davenport, # 3 Anastasia Myskina # 6 Elena Dementieva, #11 Vera Zvonareva Classic, Canberra, AUS Tier V $110,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard draws & schedule .pdf - Canberra WTA Photo Gallery Canberra: city map # 23 Silvia Farina Elia, # 32 Anna Smashnova # 40 Meghann Shaughnessy, # 41 Marion Bartoli Moorilla Int'l, Hobart, TAS Tier V $110,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard draws & schedule .pdf - news & match photos Hobart WTA Photo Gallery Hobart: city map # 26 Amy Frazier, # 33 Gisela Dulko # 36 Iveta Benesova, # 37 Shinobu Asagoe

Tourney pages: Sydney-Canberra-Hobart: 2006 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Sydney: #13 Alicia Molik 5' 11¾", 159 lbs RH, 2H-BH Hobart: #66 Jie Zheng 5' 4½", 126 lbs RH, 2H-BH

    All-Aussie Final: On Saturday in the final in Sydney, 6th-seeded Adelaide-born, Melbourne-residing # 13 Alicia Molik of Australia defeated her Brisbane-born, Gold Coast-residing compatriot, # 65 Samantha Stosur 6(5)-7, 6-4, 7-5 (Alicia is shown after match point).
    Alicia said: "I didn't think I was playing at the highest level out there today, but a win is a win is a win, as they say I'm definitely going to take it... I found it difficult returning [Samantha's] serve. I just don't think that I really stepped up to the ball as much as I should have. I probably made it a little bit difficult for myself, but Sam was playing great tennis." story
    Samantha said: "Obviously, there's some disappointment, but on the whole I'm pretty excited with not only today but the last couple of weeks. If I'm going to lose to anyone, I'd rather lose to Alicia than anyone else. She deserves everything that she's getting at the moment."

    Alicia & Samantha had never before played a WTA match against each other.
    24-years-old-January-27th Alicia Molik has been steadily moving up the ranks since winning the Bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics. She had won 4 previous WTA singles titles. Born in Adelaide & residing in Melbourne, Alicia wears fashions by Adi Dassler's company and is one of very few players who swat with a Dunlop bat, in her case with a 1-handed backhand, and a very powerful serve.
    20-year-old Samantha Stosur is a native of Brisbane. Last week at nearby Gold Coast, where she currently resides, she reached her first WTA singles final; she has won 4 ITF singles titles. Samantha also wears adidas togs, but she chops with a Volkl axe.

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    In Friday's final in Hobart, Tasmania, 21-year-old # 80 Jie Zheng of China defeated 2nd-seeded almost-20-years-old # 33 Gisela Dulko of Argentina (Jie is shown with the Tasmania-shaped trophy). It is Jie's 1st WTA singles title. Afterward, teamed with Zi Yan, Jie also won her 1st WTA doubles title, as the pair defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues & Dinara Safina 6-4, 7-5.
    Jie said: "My feelings are so good, this is the first time I’m a WTA singles champion; it’s so exciting. My game felt good; my backhand from the baseline was very strong today." story
    Gisela said: "[Jie] played a great match, I felt like I was playing against the Great Wall of China because she didn’t miss one ball. She deserved to win the tournament. I have no excuse. I think she played a good match and there is nothing bad that I can say.
    "I’m happy anyway because I had a good week. It was a good week to prepare for the Australian Open. I feel more confident than a week ago so I think it was nice to be here and win some matches."

    It was the 1st WTA singles final for both ladies, and they had never played each other before. Jie has also won 4 ITF singles titles (and 15 doubles), while Gisela has won 6 ITF singles titles, plus 1 WTA & 6 ITF doubles. Gisela wears Nike and swings a Babolat; Jie also dons Nike duds, but swings a Wilson hatchet.

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In Saturday's final in Canberra, 17-year-old qualifier # 101 Ana Ivanovic from Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro, defeated 22-year-old Lucky Loser # 128 Melinda Czink from Budapest, Hungary (and Delray Beach, Florida) 7-5, 6-1.     Ana said: "It's an amazing feeling. I didn't expect to win this tournament. I was a little nervous in the beginning today and [Melinda] was playing very well... It was a tough match and I am very excited to be the winner. It is my first WTA title and it will give me more energy to keep working hard and to keep improving." story     Melinda said: "I'm very happy with how I have played this week, but I'm disappointed that I didn't play my best tennis today. It was a match I could have won, but I didn't take my chances when they came. I think we were both quite nervous in the start, but Ana played a great match. She's a very good young player."

Ana Ivanovic

    It was the 1st WTA singles final for both, though Melinda has won 14 ITF singles titles (and 3 doubles), and Ana has won 5 ITF singles titles. Ana defeated Melinda 6-1, 6-3 in the qualifying finals, but Melinda made the main draw anyway as a "Lucky Loser" after Katarina Srebotnik withdrew to give an injury time to heal.
    Ana is right-handed, Melinda is a lefty; both ladies use the standard 2-handed backhand. Ana wears Nike and wields a Wilson wacket, the stick that Melinda hits the ball with is labeled Volkl.

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    Local time for all 3 tourneys this week is GMT (UCT, ZULU) +10 hours (Pacific Time+18, often=the next day, 6 hours earlier; ET+15).
    The Canberra drawsheet appears to have some incorrect ranks listed on it; the ranks listed here are fresh from the WTA website rankings pages.

NOTEABLE WTA RESULTS: s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"?

Sydney, 1st Round, Sun-Tues loser's prize: $4,025 US; points: 1 #12 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS d #96 q Ludmila Cervanova SVK 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 Tues #13 s6 Alicia Molik AUS d #19 Francesca Schiavone ITA 7-6(4), 6-1 Tues #14 s7 Patty Schnyder SUI d #18 Karolina Sprem CRO 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 Tues Patty volleying Patty victorious *#27 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #17 s8 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 Tues Tatiana Golovin #21 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #30 Lisa Raymond USA 7-5, 6-3 Sun Nathalie Dechy #23 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #54 LL Denisa Chladkova CZE 6-2, 6-4 Mon *#28 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #24 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 Mon #25 Magdalena Maleeva BUL d #288 wc Sophie Ferguson AUS 6(3)-7, 6-2, 6-2 Mon Maggie Maleeva this photo from the WTA site appears to be current, but sometimes they use file photos without saying so #31 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #114 q Silvija Talaja CRO 7-6(2), 6-2 Tues Daniela Hantuchova #34 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #42 wc Conchita Martinez ESP 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Mon Eleni Daniilidou *#65 wc Samantha Stosur AUS d #35 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-3, 6-3 Tues *#80 q Shuai Peng CHN d #53 q Mashona Washington USA 6-4, 6-2 Mon

Sydney, 2nd Round, Tues-Weds Weds WTA story loser's prize: $7,600 US; points: 25 #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA d #21 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-3, 6-4 Tues "Will this n-Code thing really work as well as my old H-Tour?" *#80 q Shuai Peng CHN d #3 s2 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-1, 6-3 Tues #6 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS d #34 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 Wed Elena Dementieva *#23 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #11 s4 Vera Zvonareva RUS 7-6(7), 6-3 Wed Fabiola Zuluaga #12 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS d #31 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-0, 6-2 Wed Nadia Petrova #13 s6 Alicia Molik AUS d #28 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-3, 6-4 Wed Alicia Molik     Alicia was treated for a left groin strain, but felt much better after a visit from the trainer. Alicia said: "I just felt like my adductor was a little bit tight," Molik said. "I just decided to get the trainer out there. It's amazing what tiger balm does, what wonders it does.     "[Jelena] absolutely loved it when I gave her pace; she was thriving on it. That's why I think in the second set I tried a little harder, made more of a conscious effort to get the ball up a little bit higher, to get more spin on the ball, to stop, I guess, going for bigger first serves. She probably struggled a little bit more on my kickers, so I threw in more of those. I hit heavier balls. I probably mixed up my groundstroke rallies with her a little bit more." #14 s7 Patty Schnyder SUI d #25 Magdalena Maleeva BUL 6-4, 6-2 Wed Patty Schnyder *#65 wc Samantha Stosur AUS d #27 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 Wed     Samantha said: "I wasn't expecting an easy match by any means. [Tatiana is] a good player and she is probably going to get a lot harder than what she is. We both found it a bit tough out there at times, we both went up and down and just tried to hang in there. In the end, I think I just played a little more tough and maybe fought a bit harder till the end."     Samantha will face #1 Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. Samantha said: "I just want to go out there tomorrow and enjoy it and just try and soak it up and play well basically. I'll be happy if I play well and just give it all I've got."

Sydney, QFs, Thurs WTA story loser's prize: $14,100 US; points: 49 *#65 wc Samantha Stosur AUS d #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA walkover--    bronchitis Lindsay said: "I've been sick all week and I was feeling actually a little bit better yesterday. I hit for a little under an hour, then woke up this morning feeling a lot worse again and tried to warm up and really have been struggling with some energy and catching my breath." Hopefully Lindsay will be back to 100% by next week, for the 1st round of the Australian Open. #6 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS d #14 s7 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 Elena ran Elena won About her semifinal opponent, Elena said: "[Samantha] has a huge serve, but I've never seen her play so it's going to be my first meeting against her. It's very interesting for me to play for the first time against someone, and just see what I can do tomorrow." *#80 q Shuai Peng CHN d #12 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-3, 4-2 retired-- heat illness Shuai Peng #13 s6 Alicia Molik AUS d #23 Fabiola Zuluaga COL 6-1, 6-2 Alicia Molik     Alicia said: "From the minute I walked on the court to the minute I walked off, I felt like it was at a very high level for the whole time. So especially the way I started, I was expecting to get through it in two sets and I was hoping to get through it in a quick two sets, and did I that."

Sydney, SFs, Fri WTA story loser's prize: $26,500 US; points: 88 *#65 wc Samantha Stosur AUS d #6 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS walkover-- heat illness     Oncourt temps in Sydney have been as high as 118°F.     Elena said: "...this morning I really was feeling bad, dizzy and very weak. So I think that I'm having all the symptoms of a heat illness."     Samantha said: "Certainly having one walkover is a bit strange, but having two, it's a bit ridiculous. I mean, I'm in the final. I'll take it and look forward to playing tomorrow, but it's certainly not the way I wanted to get there." #13 s6 Alicia Molik AUS d #80 q Shuai Peng CHN 6-4, 6-3 Alicia Molik     Alicia said: "[Shuai] surprised me a couple times with a few of the shots she came up with. She started serving really well at the start... I was happy with the way I played. I probably could have played a little bit better, but, still, to finish a match off in two sets, it was pretty convincing." story

Sydney, Final, Sat loser's prize: $ 49,500 US; points: 137 winner's prize: $ 93,000 US; points: 195 #13 s6 Alicia Molik AUS d #65 wc Samantha Stosur AUS 6(5)-7, 6-4, 7-5 Alicia flew Alicia scrambled Alicia & Samantha

Sydney, Doubles Final losers' prize: $15,600 US winners' prize: $29,000 US *Bryanne Stewart & Samantha Stosur d s3 Elena Dementieva & Ai Sugiyama walkover--    Dementieva heat illness Sydney, Qualifying Finals, Sun #53 Mashona Washington USA d #106 Sanda Mamic CRO 7-6(6), 7-6(0) *#80 Shuai Peng CHN d #54 Denisa Chladkova CZE 6-1, 6-2 *#114 Silvija Talaja CRO d #64 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 #96 Ludmila Cervanova SVK d #132 Kelly McCain USA 7-5, 6-4 Sydney, Withdrawals #8 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL r knee #10 s4 Jennifer Capriati USA shoulder #15 Elena Bovina RUS left foot #16 Paola Suarez ARG

Canberra, 1st Round, Sun-Tues WTA Tues story loser's prize: $800 US; points: 1 #20 s1 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #77 Tatiana Panova RUS 7-6(0), 6-4 Tues #32 s2 Anna Smashnova ISR d #70 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-0, 6-0 Tues     Anna said: "I was happy with how I played in my first match of the year, but I don’t think [Arantxa] played so well. I still have to improve and I need to play more matches." *#85 Aniko Kapros HUN d #40 s3 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-2, 6-3 Tues #41 s4 Marion Bartoli FRA d #92 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-2, 6-0 Tues *#61 Claudine Schaul LUX d #45 s5 Emilie Loit FRA 7-5, 6-4 Sun *#82 Yuliana Fedak UKR d #50 s6 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-0, 6-3 Tues     Yuliana said: "I was very happy with how I played. In the first set I made no mistakes and it gave me much confidence."     Nicole has been recovering from a week-old knee injury. Nicole said: "The knee felt fine, but I think it just showed today that I am a bit short on match practice at the moment. I just need to start playing more matches. I would have loved to have done that here, but unfortunately that won’t be the case." *#125 q Evie Dominikovic AUS d #51 s7 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 63 62 Tues #58 s8 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #94 Anne Kremer LUX 6-2, 6-1 Sun *#128 LL Melinda Czink HUN d #62 D Randriantefy MAD 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(8) Mon *#68 Anna-lena Groenefeld GER d #63 Vera Douchevina RUS 7-5, 6-4 Mon Anna-lena Groenefeld this photo from the WTA site appears to be current, but sometimes they use file photos without saying so #66 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #365 wc Monique Adamczak AUS 7-5, 6-0 Mon #71 Marlene Weingartner GER d #99 Michaela Pastikova CZE 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 Sun *#89 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA d #76 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 7-6(0), 6-0 Sun #84 Anca Barna GER d #155 q Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 7-5, 6-4 Mon #101 q Ana Ivanovic SCG d #146 q Lenka Nemeckova CZE 6-2, 6-1 Mon #244 qwc Michaella Krajicek NED d #340 wc Lauren Breadmore AUS 6-1, 6-0 Mon

Canberra, 2nd Round, Tue-Wed loser's prize: $1,450 US; points: 10 #20 s1 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #68 Anna-lena Groenefeld GER 6-2, 6-3 Wed *#128 LL Melinda Czink HUN d #32 s2 Anna Smashnova ISR 6-2, 6-1 Wed #41 s4 Marion Bartoli FRA d #244 qwc Michaella Krajicek NED 6-4, 6-4 Wed *#71 Marlene Weingartner GER d #58 s8 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-4, 6-3 Tues *#84 Anca Barna GER d #61 Claudine Schaul LUX 6-1, 3-2 retired Tues *#82 Yuliana Fedak UKR d #66 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-2, 7-6(6) Wed *#89 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA d #85 Aniko Kapros HUN 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 Wed #101 q Ana Ivanovic SCG d #125 q Evie Dominikovic AUS 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Wed

Canberra, QFs, Thurs WTA story loser's prize: $2,600 US; points: 20 *#82 Yuliana Fedak UKR d #20 s1 Silvia Farina Elia ITA 6-2, 6-4     Yuliana said: "I feel very excited it is my first win against a Top 20 player and my first semifinal... I am a little nervous, but I will just try and play like I play." *#101 q Ana Ivanovic SCG d #41 s4 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-1, 2-0 retired--    bilateral hamstring strain Ana Ivanovic this photo from the WTA site appears to be current, but sometimes they use file photos without saying so     Ana said: "I was a little nervous to start with and I had two break points against me in the first game, but when I managed to win that game I felt much more relaxed and I played much better. It gives me a lot of confidence for tomorrow. My serve was much better tonight and I hit some good groundstrokes. I'm very excited about playing in the semifinals." *#128 LL Melinda Czink HUN d #71 Marlene Weingartner GER 6-3, 6-4     Melinda said: "My confidence is growing with every match I play here... Today was warmer, but I have done a lot of work on my fitness and I felt good on court... This is my first Tour semifinal so I'm very excited. I'm hoping to do well." *#89 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA d #84 Anca Barna GER 6-4, 6-2     Lindsay said: "I don't think I played as well as I can today, but I am pleased I took my opportunities. I didn't really know what to expect coming into this tournament, but the fast surface suits my game and I'm really looking forward to the semifinals tomorrow. The tournament is very wide open and I think anyone can win from here."

Canberra, SFs, Fri loser's prize: $4,800 US; points: 36 *#101 q Ana Ivanovic SCG d #82 Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-1, 6-2 Ana Ivanovic this photo from the WTA site appears to be current, but sometimes they use file photos without saying so     Ana said: "It was very hot today but when you get into your game you don't think about that and I was very happy with how I played... I wasn't so happy with my first serve today, but my second serve was good and I had good rhythm on my ground strokes."     Ana defeated Melinda Czink 6-1, 6-3 in the qualifying finals, but Melinda made the main draw anyway as a "Lucky Loser" after Katarina Srebotnik withdrew to give an injury time to heal. Now Ana will play Melinda again in the tourney final. Ana said: "It will be strange to play Melinda again after playing her a few days ago, but I know a little about her now and I think the final is up to me. It is my first WTA final so I'm happy to be playing and hopefully I can play well." *#128 LL Melinda Czink HUN d #89 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA 7-6(1), 7-6(4) Melinda Czink this photo from the WTA site appears to be current, but sometimes they use file photos without saying so     Referring to her qualifying loss to Ana Ivanovic, Melinda said: "I think I am playing much better now. I have played a number of matches and I am feeling confident. It means a lot to me to make my first final. It is some payback for all the hard work I have done in the past six months. I have worked very hard on my fitness and now I think that is paying off."     "I feel very excited to be through to my first final. I only expected to play here for a few rounds and then to go to Melbourne for qualifying for the Australian Open. But this is how it has worked out and I am very happy."

Canberra, Final, Sat loser's prize: $9,000 US; points: 56 winner's prize: $16,000 US; points: 80 #101 q Ana Ivanovic SCG d #128 LL Melinda Czink HUN 7-5, 6-1

Canberra, Doubles Final, Sat loser's prize: $3,000 US winner's prize: $5,500 US *Tathiana Garbin & Tina Krizan d Gabriela Navratilova & Michaela Pastikova 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 Canberra, Qualifying Finals, Sun #101 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #128 Melinda Czink HUN 6-1, 6-3 #125 Evie Dominikovic AUS d #154 Delia Sescioreanu ROM 6-3, 6-0 #146 Lenka Nemeckova CZE d #150 C Martinez Granados ESP 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) #155 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #177 Sandra Kloesel GER 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 Canberra, Withdrawals #87 Katarina Srebotnik SLO left groin

Hobart, 1st Round, Sun-Mon loser's prize: $800 US; points: 1 *#78 Na Li CHN d #26 s1 Amy Frazier USA 7-5, 7-5 Mon     Na said: "I feel very excited to get this win. I went out with a simple strategy because she is a very good player. I never gave up. I just wanted to concentrate." #33 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG d #181 q Nan-nan Liu CHN 6-4, 6-3 Mon Gisela Dulko     Gisela said: "I’m happy because I won, but I’m not really that happy about how I played. I don’t think I played 100 per cent, but I feel good anyway...     "I was a little bit nervous because I played four matches at the Hopman Cup and I played better and better in each one but I wasn’t winning. I was feeling better and better throughout the match..."     "It’s always hard [playing an opponent for the 1st time] because you never know how she plays, but it was a good match I think. She’s a tough player." story #36 s3 Iveta Benesova CZE d #88 L Kurhajkova SVK 6-1, 6-7(1), 6-1 Sun #37 s4 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #86 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-4, 6-3 Mon #39 s5 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #47 K Brandi PUR 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3 Sun #43 s6 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #189 q Martina Muller GER 6-1, 6-4 Mon #44 s7 Dinara Safina RUS d #74 Laura Granville USA 6-4, 6-2 Mon Dinara Safina     Dinara said: "I wasn’t very confident this morning. I was warming up and I was not so sure. But I went on the court and I fired. I knew that this match was going to be tough because last time I played [Laura] I lost to her. She doesn’t make many mistakes, you have to beat her. I was really happy with my crosscourt [shots]. She had to run around a lot." story #46 s8 Klara Koukalova CZE d #138 q Cara Black ZIM 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 Mon #49 Marta Marrero ESP d #435 wc Daniella Dominikovic AUS 6-2, 6-2 Sun *#291 wc Casey Dellacqua AUS d #55 Alina Jidkova RUS 7-5, 6-4 Mon     Casey said:"It’s extremely exciting for me, [Alina is] the highest ranked player I’ve ever beaten. I just went out there and believed in myself and knew that I could do it and had inspiration from the other Australian girls... I didn’t feel any pressure. I felt inspiration due to Alicia Molik doing so well and I watched Sam [Samantha Stosur] up on the Gold Coast and watching her play has always given me goosebumps because I’m so proud of her...     "I’ve had really good preparation. I did the Australian Open Training Camp in December and had some time at home for Christmas and then played a good qualifying match on the Gold Coast last week. And I’ve been training really hard and it all came together tonight, which is really exciting...     "I thought I served particularly well, so I was really happy with that because I’ve put a lot of time and effort into that." story #57 Barbora Strycova CZE d #137 q Jennifer Hopkins USA 6-4, 6-2 Mon *#93 Kveta Peschke CZE d #56 Martina Sucha SVK 7-6(5), 6-2 Sun *#97 Abigail Spears USA d #59 Jill Craybas USA 6-1, 6-3 #66 Jie Zheng CHN d #102 Mariana Diaz Oliva 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 Mon *#73 Marta Domachowska POL d #67 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-2, 7-5 Sun #75 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #91 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 Mon     Nicole said: "The first couple of matches of the year are always a struggle, but I’m confident and I think it was a good win."

Hobart, 2nd Round, Tues loser's prize: $1,450 US; points: 10 #33 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG d #97 Abigail Spears USA 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Gisela Dulko     Gisela said: "I’m playing good. You should always think that you can be here until the last day, that’s my thought always when I go to a tournament. There’s a lot of good players here so every match is going to be tough, but I’m ready to play." story #36 s3 Iveta Benesova CZE d #57 Barbora Strycova CZE 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Iveta Benesova     Iveta said: "I’m feeling the ball pretty good and I hope in the next match I will get better and better, but I feel good. I just want to take it one match at a time." story *#66 Jie Zheng CHN d #37 s4 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 6-2, 6-3 *#93 Kveta Peschke CZE d #39 s5 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-0, 6-2 *#73 Marta Domachowska POL d #43 s6 M E Camerin ITA 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 *#75 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #44 s7 Dinara Safina RUS 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 Nicole Vaidisova #46 s8 Klara Koukalova CZE d #49 Marta Marrero ESP 6-1, 7-5 #78 Na Li CHN d #291 wc Casey Dellacqua AUS 7-6(1), 6-0     Casey said: "I’m feeling not too bad, a little bit disappointed because I stuck with her in the first set and had a set point but I didn’t pull it off... I got a little bit nervous when I got that set point because I was a little surprised that I was playing that well... It was actually a real experience for me because I’ve never played in front of a crowd like that before. It was amazing, the Tasmanian people were great... I’m feeling extremely happy overall. I had my first WTA win yesterday and to get to play someone like Na Li was unbelievable, so it has been a good experience." story

Hobart, QFs, Weds WTA story - TenTas story loser's prize: $2,600 US; points: 20 #33 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG d #93 Kveta Peschke CZE 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 #36 s3 Iveta Benesova CZE d #75 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Iveta Benesova     Iveta said: "I played [Nicole] for the first time, and she’s young and she’s talented. She hits the ball pretty hard, she’s a strong girl and has a big serve, so it was tough... It wasn’t about tennis today, I was just pushing the ball back over the net and I was luckier in the end."     Nicole said: "I’m definitely not happy with the way I played. Nobody wants to lose, but I just gave away too many free points... The wind was terrible. It definitely made things hard. But it was windy for me and windy for [Iveta], so I’m definitely not excusing myself because of that." *#66 Jie Zheng CHN d #46 s8 Klara Koukalova CZE 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 Jie Zheng *#78 Na Li CHN d #73 Marta Domachowska POL 6-3, 3-6, 6-1

Hobart, SFs, Thurs TenTas story loser's prize: $4,800 US; points: 36 #33 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG v #36 s3 Iveta Benesova CZE 7-5, 6-2 Gisela Dulko     Gisela said: "I'm really happy to be in the final, it will be the first time for me. Today was a great match. Iveta is a great player, she's very talented... I was a little bit more confident in the second than the first. I ended the match playing really good, so I hope to be at that level tomorrow." #66 Jie Zheng CHN d #78 Na Li CHN 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 Jie Zheng     Jiang Hong Wei, who coaches both Jie and Na, acts as a translator at interviews. Jie said: "It was really windy, so it was hard to play well [Na]. "I tried to hit to her forehand. I like to play from the baseline. I think my backhand is my strength."

Hobart, Final, Fri loser's prize: $9,000 US; points: 56 winner's prize: $16,000 US; points: 80 *#66 Jie Zheng CHN d #33 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-2, 6-0

Hobart, Doubles Final, Fri loser's prize: $3,000 US winner's prize: $5,500 US s1 Zi Yan & Jie Zheng d s2 A Medina Garrigues & D Safina 6-4, 7-5 Hobart, Qualifying Finals, Sun *#137 Jennifer Hopkins USA d #134 Milagros Sequera VEN 26 63 62 *#138 Cara Black ZIM d #136 Angela Haynes USA 61 62 *#189 Martina Muller GER d #170 Libuse Prusova 60 36 75 #181 Nan-nan Liu CHN v #191 Maureen Drake CAN 6-3, 6-1 Hobart, Withdrawals #81 Petra Mandula HUN back injury

2004 Sydney, Canberra, Hobart tourney page

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See also: QuickShop: Sporting Goods
WTA PhotoRankings -- Martina Hingis -- Anna Kournikova -- Tennis Articles -- 2005 WTA Schedule and Links

Current WTA Results & Tennis News

You can link to many Real Video postmatch interviews of WTA players from Grand Slam tournaments at the 2004 WTA Player Interviews page.

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