WTA Aug 15-21 Rogers AT&T Cup, Toronto, CAN Tier I $1,300,000 - 56 players - outdoor: hard Live Scores - results wta draws & schedule .pdf draws, .html photos: tourney gallery - Yahoo! news Toronto WTA Photo Gallery interviews - audio Toronto: weather radar - forecast # 3 Amelie Mauresmo # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova # 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne # 7 Serena Williams # 9 Nadia Petrova # 10 Kim Clijsters # 14 Anastasia Myskina # 15 Nathalie Dechy

Canadian Open Tourney pages: Montreal: 2006 - 2004 Toronto: 2003 previous other tourney pages next Toronto: #5 Justine Henin-Hardenne 5' 5¾", 126 lbs, RH 1H-BH Toronto: #10 Kim Clijsters 5' 8½", 150 lbs, RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in the final of the Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto, 22-year-old 7th-seeded # 10 Kim Clijsters from Bree, Belgium, defeated her compatriot, 23-year-old 4th-seeded # 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne 7-5, 6-1 (Justine is shown after winning her semifinal match on Saturday, Kim is shown with the trophy after the match on Sunday).
    Kim said: "I was seeing the ball really well today. I knew I needed to be aggressive. There was a lot of wind out there. They were not easy conditions." Reuters story
    Justine said: "I think Kim played pretty solid, very consistent. But the conditions were difficult. It was real windy, and I never found a good rhythm. I was a little bit tired... No excuses. She played better than me." WTA story
    Kim now leads Justine 10-9 in career matches.

    On Saturday in the semifinals of the Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto, 22-year-old 7th-seeded # 10 Kim Clijsters from Bree, Belgium, defeated 23-year-old 14th-seeded 24-year-old 9th-seeded # 14 Anastasia Myskina from Moscow, Russia, 6-4, 6-1 (photo shown).
    Anastasia broke Kim's serve take a 2-1 lead in the 1st set, but Kim broke back. In the 10th game, with Anastasia serving at 4-5, Kim broke her serve again to take the 1st set. In the 2nd set Anastasia was very tired, and her game showed the effects of Kim keeping her running throughout the match.
    Kim said: "This has been my best match of the tournament... I knew it was going to be a tough one because we've had some tough matches in the past. And so I knew I had to play better than I was playing before if I wanted to win today...
    "I watched [Anastasia] play against Gisela, the match before. She seemed to be moving really good from side to side. Maybe forward she was struggling a little bit [due to her sprained left ankle]. But from side to side, she was moving really well. Today against me as well. She does it really well. Even when she's on the run, she can hit it so hard and flat. That's definitely one of her strengths. No matter how far she has to go on the run, she can still smack a winner...
    "We were talking even when we were walking on the court. We were still talking. It was fun, yeah [smiling]." interview - wma audio
    Anastasia said: "It was really good match I think... My leg feel much, much better. It's definitely not a hundred percent, but it's really good. Of course, I was a little bit tired because I play a lot of matches before, but it still was good match... [My confidence is] much better right now. I look more happy on the court for sure...
    "I know Kim really well, the way she play... she did a good thing to move me around. Then I get really tired by the second set. So that's the way she should play against me. That's the way she played...
    "I think she's really tough person. She came back from this big injury and still winning almost every tournament. Think it great for her, and I really happy for her, and I think she's going to play really well at the US Open." interview - wma audio

    In the evening semi on Saturday, Kim's compatriot, 23-year-old 4th-seeded # 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated 26-year-old 2nd(top)-seeded # 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 (photo shown).
    Amelie broke Justine's serve in the first game of the 3rd set-- then Justine won six straight games to take the match.
    Justine said: "I had some ups and downs in the match. I started very well. Even when [Amelie] came back in the first set, I think I've been very consistent, won a lot of points with the forehand. I was up 2-Love in the second and lost a little bit of energy and aggressivity. She took all the opportunities. She was serving much better, came to the net much more often.
    "When she broke me first game of the third set, I was a little bit scared at that point that it could be a quick third set. But it turned over. I could break back very quickly in the third set. That gave me a lot of confidence back. I think in the third set, I've been very, very consistent.." interview - wma audio
    Amelie said: "[In the 2nd set] I was feeling that [Justine] was going down physically, and that I was maybe going to be able to make the difference physically in that third set. I guess that was the contrary that happened. She came back pretty strong, really able to put, again, the pressure on me on each point." interview - wma audio

    Kim Clijsters was born in Bilzen, Belgium, and lives in Bree (in the Dutch-speaking part of the country). Kim has now won 27 WTA singles titles in 40 finals, including 3 in the past 4 weeks at Stanford, Los Angeles and Toronto. 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, reportedly strung with 16 gauge Babolat VS Natural ThermoGut Touch. Kim wears Fila togs, and is coached by Marc Dehous.
Clijsters: career record - wallpaper - website

    Justine Henin-Hardenne, born in Liege, now lives in Marloie (in the French-speaking part of Belgium). Justine is now 23-11 in WTA singles finals, including 4 Grand Slams, the most recent of which was the 2005 French Open. Justine obtained her hyphen by marrying Pierre-Yves Hardenne, she wears "The Mark with 3 Stripes", and swings a Wilson nTour bat. The nTour is a control racket 27.25" long, with a 95 sq." head (a 105 is also available), 10.8 ounces strung, balanced 1 point head-heavy, with a stiffness rating of about 61. Justine's bats are reportedly strung with BDE Performance 16 Natural Gut.
    At the Family Circle Cup in April, 2004, Justine felt lightheaded and withdrew without playing a match. Hypoglycemia was thought to be the cause. It was found that she had cytomegalovirus, an illness akin to chickenpox and mononucleosis, that causes fever, chills, and fatigue. Justine took time to recover, then missed Wimbledon after being upset by Tathiana Garbin at Roland Garros, still feeling weak. After returning to play to win the Olympic gold medal, she lost to Nadia Petrova in the 4th round of the US Open, still feeling ill, and sat out the rest of the season. Justine was sidelined again at the start of 2005 by a small broken bone in her knee, and did not return to play until the NASDAQ-100 in Miami in March. On April 17, in only her 2nd tourney back, Justine won the 2005 Family Circle Cup title; since then she has won the Warsaw and Berlin titles as well.
    Justine has been coached since she was 14 by Carlos Rodriguez, and has also been coached by Pat Etcheberry.
Henin: career record - wallpaper - website

    The Rogers AT&T Cup, sometimes called the Canadian Open, is played alternating years in Toronto and Montreal. When the WTA is in Toronto, the ATP plays their version a week earlier in Montreal, and vice versa.
    The main draw for Toronto has 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes. There are 12, that's TWELVE, qualifiers and 3 Lucky Losers in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Sunday.
    Toronto time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) minus 4 hours (=US Eastern Daylight Time, PDT +3). Early round play begins at 11am local time. Toronto DOES have live scoring, including qualifying.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Toronto s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? 2004 Rogers Cup champ Amelie Mauresmo, Serena Williams, Tatiana Golovin, and Canadian wild card Marie-Eve Pelletier attended the "Aces are Wild" players' party in Toronto on Sunday

4-time Canadian Open winner Monica Seles hit balls to the crowd after she was honored on Monday night during the dedication ceremonies for the new Rexall Centre - Seles interview wma audio Toronto, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 11am losers' prize: $3,325 US; points: 1 #15 s10 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #49 Fabiola Zuluaga COL 6-2, 6-4 Tue Nathalie Dechy *#43 Na Li CHN d #18 s11 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 Tue #19 s12 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #75 q Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-2, 7-6(3) Tue Ana Ivanovic     Ana said: "I start the match really good. In the second set, I got a little bit nervous. I was more holding back, and [Tathiana] started to play much better and put me under pressure. But I'm really happy I could manage to win that match in the end." interview - wma audio *#71 q Alina Jidkova RUS d #22 s13 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 4-6, 4-4 retired Tue #24 s14 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #104 q Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 6-4, 7-5 Tue #24 s15 Dinara Safina RUS d #44 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-1, 6-2 Tue Safina interview wma audio #25 s16 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #80 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-4, 6-4 Mon Tatiana twists a serve at Karolina #26 s17 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #68 wc Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 Mon Ai returned after taking a week off for a left thigh strain to heal #27 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #127 LL Shenay Perry USA 6-2, 6-2 Tue #35 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #65 q Lucie Safarova CZE 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 Mon #29 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #253 wc Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-2, 6-2 Mon Wozniak interview wma audio 5' 7" Shinobu delivers a 6-footer's serve *#50 Conchita Martinez ESP d #30 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-1, 6(1)-7, 7-5 Tue #36 Gisela Dulko ARG v #47 Marta Domachowska POL 6-4, 6-1 Mon Gisela's fine forehand form-- western grip, mucho topspin #37 Marion Bartoli FRA d #52 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-4, 3-0 retired-- left knee injury Mon #38 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #59 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Tue #40 Virginie Razzano FRA d #112 LL Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Tue *#66 q Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG d #41 Evgenia Linetskaya RUS 3-0 retired-- gastrointestinal illness Tue #53 Dally Randriantefy MAD d #128 LL Shikha Uberoi IND 6-3, 6-2 Mon *#64 q Laura Granville USA d #61 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-2, 6-1 Mon #74 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN d #116 wc Marie-Eve Pelletier CAN 6-0, 6-1 Mon #69 LL Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #149 wc Stephanie Dubois CAN 6-3, 6-2 Tue #76 q Jie Zheng CHN d #135 q Maria Emilia Salerni ARG 6-3, 6-4 Tue *#101 q Rika Fujiwara JPN d #79 q Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-0, 6-3 Tue #91 LL Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA d #126 q Selima Sfar TUN 6-2, 7-5 Mon

Toronto, 2nd Rd, Tue-Wed 11am WTA Tue story - WTA Wed story losers' prize: $6,300 US; points: 25 #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #53 Dally Randriantefy MAD 6-2, 6-3 Tue Amelie Mauresmo     Amelie said: "I need a little time to really get my rhythm back, I have a few adjustments to make in my game. A few things worked pretty well today. I'm thinking about the serve especially. other things, I'm still looking for, including the right timing on the court." - wma audio #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #35 A Medina Garrigues ESP 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 Tue Svetlana Kuznetsova     Svetlana said: "[2nd round matches after a 1st round bye] are very dangerous because other players have already played some and know the ball, the surface... Maybe I was a little bit nervous in the first set and couldn't find my game... Reuters story     "It's tough sometimes because I'm not playing as well the last two weeks as I would love to. I wanted very badly to be there and to win matches. I have lots of faith on myself and want to play at my best level and to fight a lot. The game didn't go in the start as I want to, but I think I turned it well and had a good level later on." #5 s4 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #66 q Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 6-1, 6-3 Wed Justine Henin-Hardenne     This was Justine's first action since Wimbledon, because she was waiting for a hamstring-back injury to heal. About her injury, Justine said: "It's getting better. But you'll see me playing with my tape probably through the end of the year, because my doctor told me that I really have to take care of this because it's not 100 per cent. I know that it's maybe going to bother me in the next few weeks, new few months." Canadian Press story     "It's never easy to play a first match. For myself, it's my first round since Wimbledon. It's not especially easy. But it depends also from the opponent and how you deal with the situation. But I'm pretty happy with the way I play today, with my attitude. I served pretty good. I played well on the important points. Just lost my concentration a little bit at the end of the match. But nothing really serious. So I'm very happy about that." - wma audio #7 s5 Serena Williams USA d #91 LL Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Tue Serena Williams     Serena's left knee, strained by her favoring a left ankle injury incurred last April, was hurting during the match. Serena said: "Ankle's good, but I'm just dealing with some issues with my knee because of my ankle. Since it went bad, my ankle, my knee got a little weak. Well, weaker than it has been in the past.     "I didn't feel very good at all. I wasn't even moving to any balls. I have [Wednesday] off, so maybe that can help. But I'll have to see what my therapist says...     "[Stephanie] hit a very weird ball. She had a lot of spin, and when the ball bounced it was way above my head." Toronto Sun story - wma audio #9 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS d #38 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Wed Sesil and Nadia's backhands     Nadia said: "I did expect a difficult match. I knew [Sesil] was a good player and I watch her at the French Open, so I had an idea how she plays, what her style is...     "In the beginning it was difficult. I haven't been playing well. I was kind of trying out my game, was not focused really well. After I lost that set, I pulled myself together. I started to play more consistent, went for my shots, started to be more aggressive." Canadian Press story - wma audio - Karatantcheva wma audio #10 s7 Kim Clijsters BEL d #40 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-3, 6-0 Wed Kim Clijsters     Kim fell behind by a break at the start of the match, but you can't tell from the final score. Kim said: "It just took me a while to get used to the new stadium. I didn't hit a ball the last two days until my warm up today. I just wanted to have a couple days off without touching the racquet. Didn't want to have anything to do with tennis. I think you just have to get used to it a little bit again." - wma audio #14 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #64 q Laura Granville USA 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 Wed Although Anastasia had some trouble with her serve last week in Stockholm, her confidence & concentration look good here     Anastasia said: "Since Wimbledon I've gotten used to playing three sets. Almost every match I'm going for three sets. I don't really think about the score. I just know that I'm better. I play pretty good match no matter what." wma audio - Granville interview wma audio *#27 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #15 s10 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-2, 6-4 Wed #19 s12 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #37 Marion Bartoli FRA 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) Wed #23 s14 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #69 LL Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 6-4, 6-2 Wed *#50 Conchita Martinez ESP d #24 s15 Dinara Safina RUS 7-5, 6-2 Wed *#36 Gisela Dulko ARG d #25 s16 Tatiana Golovin FRA 2-6, 6-0, 6-1 Wed *#76 q Jie Zheng CHN d #26 s17 Ai Sugiyama JPN 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 Wed #29 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #71 q Alina Jidkova RUS 6-4, 6-3 Wed #43 Na Li CHN d #74 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 6-4, 6(5)-7, 6-2 Wed *#124 LL Hana Sromova CZE d #101 q Rika Fujiwara JPN 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 Wed Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Martina Navratilova after match point of their 6-4, 6-2 doubles victory over Roberta Vinci & Galina Voskoboeva on Wednesday Navratilova interview wma audio

Toronto, 3rd Rd, Thu 11am Canadian Press story losers' prize: $12,450 US; points: 42 #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #50 Conchita Martinez ESP 6-0, 6-2 Amelie Mauresmo *#36 Gisela Dulko ARG d #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 7-6(3), 7-6(8) Gisela's backhand, Svetlana cringing as her back is stretched by physician Amber Donaldson, and Gisela after match point     Gisela reportedly played a fine match. Svetlana, unfortunately, was hurting throughout the match due to a low back injury. She was treated by a trainer late in the 1st set. Although clearly in pain, she did not retire from the match. Svetlana is entered in next week's New Haven tourney, but it appeared possible that she might have to withdraw from New Haven to let her injury heal before the US Open the following week.     About her back, Svetlana said: "I would love to tell you what's happening, but I don't know because the doctor still not here and I didn't have chance talk to the doctor... It's hurting very much. I think I should have stopped playing. But... when it's match so close, it's so difficult to say you go and that's it.     "I hurt it when I was 5-4 up, 4-5 to Gisela, 30-Love on my serve. I'd been serving very well in the first set. I was pushing so much. When I serve at 30-Love, I don't remember exactly what score was, I just felt I couldn't turn my body. I just didn't know what to do. I was like sometimes it just hurts, you know, something pulls, you wait for a couple minutes and it's go away. And I still keep trying.     "I played two more points, and I said, 'It's hurting too much. I cannot turn my body to the side. I cannot push myself for the serve.' I said, 'I got to call for a trainer.' So trainer come. But I know it's no way to help with this injury. It's something inside. It's not like muscle pull or something so much different.     "I just didn't know what to do. And I said, 'Okay, I'll play two more games and I'll see what's going on.' And I-- I had like a break. So I knew I cannot keep going for more, I cannot play my backhand at all. My forehand, I can move only the hand. I cannot turn my body. I could run more or less. So I said, 'Okay, I'll hang out, see what's going on.'...     "I just couldn't take this decision to pull out. I never did it in my life. So this was hard to me..." interview - wma audio     Gisela said: "My game plan was to move [Svetlana] a little bit. I think I did it pretty well. We both run a lot. I think was a very tough match for both of us. I think was two sets, but was two hours and a half match, so was pretty long for two sets...     "...she was injured, but she fight till the last point. It was a really tight match. And I think, yes, it's a really big win for me because I get opportunity to be in quarterfinals of this big tournament." interview - wma audio - wma audio in Spanish #5 s4 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #76 q Jie Zheng CHN 6-2, 6-4 Justine Henin-Hardenne     Justine said: "I think I'm moving pretty well on the court, which is good. I worked very hard in the last few weeks. I can feel it physically on the court, so I'm pretty happy about that.     "My injury is getting better. It's not yet a hundred percent, but it's getting better, so I'm happy about that, too. Even if I had a couple of problems at the beginning of the match to find a good rhythm, I think after that I've been very calm, I played a good tennis. The conditions were pretty difficult today. Was really windy. Also my first night session since the US Open, so it's really different for me, this session. I needed a little bit of time to get used to it. But pretty happy the way I played...     "[Jie] was hitting the ball pretty hard. I had to move well to win the match." interview - wma audio *#23 s14 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #7 s5 Serena Williams USA walkover-- left knee pain #9 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS d #43 Na Li CHN 6-2, 3-0 retired-- right ankle sprain #10 s7 Kim Clijsters BEL d #19 s12 Ana Ivanovic SCG walkover-- right pectoral strain #14 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #29 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 7-6(5), 7-5 Shinobu firing a cannonball, Amber Donaldson taping Anastasia's twisted left ankle, and Anastasia after match point     Anastasia fell to the court in pain after twisting her left ankle during the match, but after having it taped by the trainer (photo shown), returned to the service-break-swapping combat.     About her sprained ankle, Anastasia said: "It's definitely not good. But, hopefully, by tomorrow, I'm going to be okay. Really hope so... I'm going to do a lot of treatment today, and hopefully tomorrow I'm going to be good." interview - wma audio #27 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #124 LL Hana Sromova CZE 6-2, 6-2

Toronto, QFs, Fri 11am WTA story losers' prize: $25,050 US; points: 75 #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #9 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS 4-6, 7-5, 2-0 retired-- right pectoral strain Amelie's forehand, Toronto's sqeegee crew after the rain delay, and unhappy Nadia, as physician Amber Donaldson checks her injury     Amelie said: "I was able to step up and play better and better as the match was going. I didn't think I was playing badly, but [Nadia] was very solid, didn't give me any free points, and I was going for things and missed a few shots here and there that made the difference.     "I was surprised [when Nadia retired from the match] because I was just focusing on me and what I have to do. Obviously, I saw that she called the trainer, but I didn't think it was that bad." interview - wma audio     Nadia said: "It's unfortunate that the match had to end this way. I have felt a little soreness and tightness since last week. I think it might be because of the three weeks of not playing matches. Today was very humid outside and the balls were a little heavier. I had to put extra force in my shots." #5 s4 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #27 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 7-5, 7-6(4) Justine and Nicole serving-- strangely, this is the only photo of young & pretty Nicole to appear at Yahoo! all week (the WTA and tourney galleries have not yet posted any either)     Justine said: "This was a difficult match for me tonight. Nicole played very well; she played like a Top 10 player tonight. We had a lot of good rallies. I'm happy to win the match." #10 s7 Kim Clijsters BEL d #23 s14 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-0, 6-1 Kim serving to Flavia, and Kim back on court after the match to give the media a photo op during the rain delay-- the depth of water on the court exceeded seven inches     Kim, who was a bit tired after winning titles 2 of the past 3 weeks (Stanford & LA), has reached the semis of this tourney by playing only 28 games (bye; 6-3, 6-0; walkover; 6-0, 6-1).     About her semifinal opponent, Anastasia Myskina, Kim said: "I saw the first set today, and [Anastasia] was hitting the ball really well. She was hitting the ball clean. Some of the best tennis I've seen her play maybe this year. She looks happy. She's a good friend of mine. It's going to be fun out there tomorrow."     Asked about taking advantage of Anastasia's injury, Kim didn't seem to think it would be kosher cricket. Kim said: "It's a tough situation, I guess. I'll see. I'm not going to finish every rally in a drop shot tomorrow. That would be stupid. No, I'm going to see. I'll see how she's feeling. I mean, she recovered. She was moving well from side to side today as well. We'll see." interview - wma audio #14 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #36 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-4, 7-5 Anastasia serving, Gisela returning, and Anastasia after match point     Anastasia & Gisela had played only once before, in the quarterfinals of the 2004 Fed Cup, on red clay in Buenos Aries, when Anastasia, who thrives on Fed Cup play, won 6-1, 7-5. Anastasia defeated Gisela on Sunday, July 11-- Gisela had defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova the day before.     Anastasia's left ankle, badly sprained during her 3rd round win on Thursday, was supported by a cast or brace with, reportedly, two splints on both sides. Her extensive interview quotes are categorically regrouped below:     About the injury, Anastasia said: "[The ankle brace] didn't really feel uncomfortable. I just felt big help from this cast because at least it was holding my ankle and it was much better with this cast...     "[How much the ankle hurts] depends on the moves. Some moves it really bothers me, but some of them was okay...     "[As the match went on]... maybe the blood was circulate in this spot [pointing to ankle]. By end of match I felt much better than in the beginning... last night I had acupuncture and it hurt so badly. At that time, when the needle was in my leg, I felt I'm not going to even move any more [laughter].     "[Treatment for the ankle injury on Thursday] lasted almost the whole afternoon after my match. I had just the soft tissue, acupuncture, steam, ice, everything. So pretty much it took me the whole night to be ready for this match today... By the end of the day, I felt so tired. I just really went to bed. Practically well, I feel much better last night already in the end of the night. I felt that I can try at least. And I tried...     "My coach spoke to the doctor. They said it's not going to go worse. Especially with this tape, it's really hold my ankle, so it's not going to go worse for sure..."     About her tennis, Anastasia said: "I'm happy that I was able to push myself today in playing, I think, pretty good. I'm just really happy with that...My coach even said that I played well. That's really new [smiling]. I'm really happy with that.     "I didn't really think that Gisela played really smart with me today, so that was big advantage for me. Definitely, the dropshot was the key, but she didn't use it... She didn't really move me around the court... Usually she plays a lot of angles, not today really...     "I'm more confident right now on the court. I feel that I can win now. Because at the beginning of the year, I was losing lot of easy matches. I was really in bad condition. But now I'm feeling much better...     "I don't really count the ranking points. I just need to get more confidence before US Open. That's what I need more, to stay in this tournament, to prove to myself that I can play, that I'm able to play, and I'm able to win..."     About her semifinal opponent, Kim Clijsters, Anastasia said: "Kim is just a great person. Besides that, she's a great tennis player. Whatever she's doing on the court, she's doing amazing- especially the way she moves on the court, it's just unbelievable. So for me it's really going to be tough tomorrow. I have to play unbelievable to win the match. Hopefully I will do it." interview - wma audio Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina, and Kim Clijsters during the WTA Championships in LA on November 3, 2003

Toronto, SFs, Sat noon & 6:30pm WTA story losers' prize: $49,125 US; points: 135 *#5 s4 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 career matches Justine leads 4-3 Justine chasing a forehand, Amelie serving, and Justine after match point     Amelie broke Justine's serve in the first game of the 3rd set-- then Justine won six straight games to take the match.     Justine said: "I had some ups and downs in the match. I started very well. Even when [Amelie] came back in the first set, I think I've been very consistent, won a lot of points with the forehand. I was up 2-Love in the second and lost a little bit of energy and aggressivity. She took all the opportunities. She was serving much better, came to the net much more often.     "When she broke me first game of the third set, I was a little bit scared at that point that it could be a quick third set. But it turned over. I could break back very quickly in the third set. That gave me a lot of confidence back. I think in the third set, I've been very, very consistent.." interview - wma audio     Amelie said: "[In the 2nd set] I was feeling that [Justine] was going down physically, and that I was maybe going to be able to make the difference physically in that third set. I guess that was the contrary that happened. She came back pretty strong, really able to put, again, the pressure on me on each point." interview - wma audio #10 s7 Kim Clijsters BEL d #14 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-4, 6-1 career matches Kim leads 7-3 Kim serving, Anastasia showing what she thinks about an error she just hit, Kim's backhand, and Kim & Anastasia after match point     Anastasia broke Kim's serve take a 2-1 lead in the 1st set, but Kim broke back. In the 10th game, with Anastasia serving at 4-5, Kim broke her serve again to take the 1st set. In the 2nd set Anastasia was very tired, and her game showed the effects of Kim keeping her running throughout the match.     Kim said: "This has been my best match of the tournament... I knew it was going to be a tough one because we've had some tough matches in the past. And so I knew I had to play better than I was playing before if I wanted to win today...     "I watched [Anastasia] play against Gisela, the match before. She seemed to be moving really good from side to side. Maybe forward she was struggling a little bit [due to her sprained left ankle]. But from side to side, she was moving really well. Today against me as well. She does it really well. Even when she's on the run, she can hit it so hard and flat. That's definitely one of her strengths. No matter how far she has to go on the run, she can still smack a winner...     "We were talking even when we were walking on the court. We were still talking. It was fun, yeah [smiling]." interview - wma audio     Anastasia said: "It was really good match I think... My leg feel much, much better. It's definitely not a hundred percent, but it's really good. Of course, I was a little bit tired because I play a lot of matches before, but it still was good match... [My confidence is] much better right now. I look more happy on the court for sure...     "I know Kim really well, the way she play... she did a good thing to move me around. Then I get really tired by the second set. So that's the way she should play against me. That's the way she played...     "I think she's really tough person. She came back from this big injury and still winning almost every tournament. Think it great for her, and I really happy for her, and I think she's going to play really well at the US Open." interview - wma audio

Toronto, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $96,000 US; points: 210 winner's prize: $189,000 US; points: 300 *#10 s7 Kim Clijsters BEL d #5 s4 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL 7-5, 6-1 career matches Kim leads 10-9 Kim serving to Justine, Justine firing a forehand, and Kim after match point

Toronto, Doubles Final, Sun 11am losers' prize: $29,100 US winners' prize: $57,500 US *cdr45 s6 Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Martina Navratilova d     cdr19 s3 Virginia Ruano Pascual & Conchita Martinez 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Martina Navratilova     About how long she will continue playing, 48-year-old Martina said: "I'm just not saying anything at all. It's great to be here now. I appreciate it very much. It's a big bonus to still be playing and be healthy enough to be able to compete. Found me a great partner, so that makes it better. Yeah, so I'm not planning anything. Playing next week, two weeks from now at the Open, and that's it."     20-year-old Anna-Lena said: "...On the court [Martina is] teaching me so much stuff, where to stay, where to hit the balls, what to do. It's really a great help, great opportunity for me to learn so much about doubles also, then also about other things off the court. So it's really interesting, I really enjoy it." interview Toronto, Qual Finals, Sun Aug 14 10am losers' prize: $1625 US #64 Laura Granville USA d #129 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 6-2, 6-2 #65 Lucie Safarova CZE d #154 Saori Obata JPN 6(6)-7, 6-3, 6-3 #66 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG d #163 Silvija Talaja CRO 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 *#104 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP d #69 An Serra Zanetti ITA 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 #71 Alina Jidkova RUS d #127 Shenay Perry USA 6-3, 6-3 #75 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #112 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 #76 Jie Zheng CHN d #139 Martina Muller GER 6-2, 6-1 #79 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #124 Hana Sromova CZE 0-6, 6-3, 6-1 *#126 Selima Sfar TUN d #89 Jamea Jackson USA walkover-- r groin strain *#128 Shikha Uberoi IND d #91 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 #101 Rika Fujiwara JPN d #177 Elena Vesnina RUS 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 #135 Maria Emilia Salerni ARG d #227 Olena Antypina UKR 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 Toronto, Withdrawals #2 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS right pectoral strain #8 Venus Williams USA flu #11 s8 Mary Pierce FRA right quad strain #13 Alicia Molik AUS US Open prep #16 Elena Bovina RUS right shoulder #17 Vera Zvonareva RUS left ankle sprain #20 Elena Likhovtseva RUS gastrointestinal illness #28 Francesca Schiavone ITA left knee sprain #31 Anna Chakvetadze RUS left groin strain #32 Shuai Peng CHN #39 Kveta Peschke CZE back #56 Magdalena Maleeva BUL right elbow #201 Chanda Rubin USA left ankle inflammation?

    (Aug 14, 2005) Rita Grande from Rivoli, Italy (career-high: # 24) was in the qualifying draw for Toronto after a long absence due to an elbow injury; although she was edged out 7-6(6), 6-4 by Selima Sfar of Tunisia, it is good that she is back and, hopefully, fully healed.

    (Aug 18, 2005) 12th-seeded # 19 Ana Ivanovic from Belgrade, Serbia, has withdrawn from the Rogers AT&T Cup, giving # 10 Kim Clijsters a walkover into the quarterfinals. Ana is suffering from a right pectoral muscle strain, the same area that is ailing # 2 (# 1 next week) Maria Sharapova.
    (Aug 17, 2005) # 7 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Rogers AT&T Cup, giving # 23 Flavia Pennetta a walkover into the quarterfinals. Serena's left knee, strained by her favoring a left ankle injury incurred last April, was hurting on Tuesday during the her 2nd round match against # 91 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, whom Serena defeated with difficulty, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Serena said: "Ankle's good, but I'm just dealing with some issues with my knee because of my ankle. Since it went bad, my ankle, my knee got a little weak. Well, weaker than it has been in the past." Serena still intends to play in the US Open, which begins August 29.
    (Aug 16, 2005) 8th-seeded # 11 Mary Pierce withdrew from the Rogers Cup on Tuesday due to a lingering right quadriceps strain. Mary was replaced in the draw by a 4th Lucky Loser, # 124 Hana Sromova, who gets Mary's 1st round bye. # 31 Anna Chakvetadze also withdrew, and was replaced by a 5th Lucky Loser, # 127 Shenay Perry. In addition to the withdrawals, Daniela Hantuchova, Evgenia Linetskaya, and Maria Kirilenko had to retire from their 1st round matches due to injury or illness. Please get healthy, ladies.
    (Aug 14, 2005) Top-seeded # 2 Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Rogers AT&T Cup due to an inflamed right pectoral muscle, which had also caused her to withdraw from a quarterfinal in Los Angeles on Friday. Francesca Schiavone (left knee sprain) and Kveta Peschke (back injury) have also withdrawn. 3 "Lucky Losers" have been added to the 12 qualifiers in the main draw.
    (Aug 13, 2005) # 8 Venus Williams withdrew from Toronto on Saturday, apparently still suffering from the flu. Sister Serena, who withdrew from the last two tourneys with ankle trouble, is expected to play, however. A full list of withdrawals is at the bottom of the Toronto "scoreboard" below.

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