WTA: Apr 3-9 2006 Amelia Island Bausch & Lomb Championships, Amelia Island, FL Tier II $600,000 - 56 players - outdoor: green clay Amelia Island Plantation: hotel at left, courts right- click for interactive sat pic Live Scores full page - Live Scores compact WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes results - draw, .html - schedule - TV schedule ESPN2 Florida Times-Union: Tennis free reg required FTU photos: Mon - Tue - Wed - Thu - Fri - Sat - Sun Yahoo! B&L news photos - WTA Photo Gallery Amelia Island: weather radar - forecast - map # 7 Nadia Petrova, # 9 Patty Schnyder # 11 Francesca Schiavone, # 14 Svetlana Kuznetsova

Tourney pages: Amelia Island: 2005 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Amelia Island: #11 Francesca Schiavone 5' 5½", 141 lbs RH, 1H-BH Amelia Island: #7 Nadia Petrova 5' 10¼", 143 lbs RH, 2H-BH

    On Sunday on Amelia Island, Florida, in the final of the Bausch & Lomb Championships, top-seeded 23-year-old # 7 Nadia Petrova from Moscow, Russia, defeated 3rd-seeded 25-year-old # 11 Francesca Schiavone of Italy, 6-4, 6-4 (Francesca is shown during the match, Nadia is shown with the Waterford crystal). Nadia hit 4 aces; Francesca had 5 double faults. AP story

    Surprisingly, Francesca still leads Nadia 4-1 in career matches. Francesca is now 0-7 in WTA finals, something she is eager to remedy. Nadia lost her first four WTA singles finals, but now has won three in a row, this one, the Linz final last year, and the Doha final last month. It was also Nadia's 23rd match victory of the year (she is tied for 1st in that stat).

    Nadia said: "I'm quite happy everything finished in two sets. I think we both didn't really play our best, but we both wanted to win and were trying as much as we could out there...
    "I've won my first title on clay, so this definitely gives me a lot of confidence starting out the clay season. It feels really good to finish off the week with the title...
    "Today, I was really patient. Especially on the fast surfaces, I was trying to attack a little bit more. That was putting me on the edge of my game and making more unforced errors that usual. I felt [Francesca] couldn't make huge winners on this surface." WTA story

    Francesca said: "I went a little bit down in the second set. You can't do that in these situations. Against Petrova or any other top player. Double faults are something that's coming after not very good concentration. You serve. It's not from the other player or situation. If you're not focused, it can happen...
    "Petrova has gotten so much better now. She's much more consistent and a more difficult player to play against."

    Francesca is playing with a new bat this year, having traded in her Fischer for a Babolat AeroPro Drive. Nadia, who also swings a Babolat (the Pure Storm model), is training with a new coach this year, having traded in Glen Schaap (who now works for Dinara Safina) for Andy Fahlke from Germany.

    On Wednesday night at Amelia Island, about 250 fans witnessed the longest tiebreaker in WTA history. In the 1st round of doubles, Nicole Pratt & Bryanne Stewart defeated Rennae Stubbs & Corina Morariu 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (22-20). The match ended 11:14 p.m. when a forehand half-volley by Stubbs went into the net, ending the 42-point tiebreak, which lasted 32 minutes. Pratt & Stewart won on their 15th match point, 12 of which came during the tiebreaker.
    The previous Open-era record was set in 1999, when Tara Snyder won a 1st set tiebreaker over Emmanuelle Gagliardi in Madrid by the score of 21-19. Emmanuelle recovered to win the match in three sets. Florida Times Union story free reg req

The Bausch & Lomb has expanded from a 48 to a 56 player draw this year. With a 56 player draw, there are 16 seeded players, and the top 8 seeds receive 1st round byes.     (Mar 31, 2006) # 5 Lindsay Davenport and # 6 Mary Pierce have withdrawn from the Bausch & Lomb Championships due to their ongoing low back (Lindsay) and right foot (Mary) injuries.     Former WTA # 1 Martina Hingis is not playing at Amelia Island, or the following week at Charleston. Martina is taking four weeks off; her next action will be in the J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland.     Amelia Island is located in northeast Florida, north of Jacksonville, near the Georgia border.     Amelia Island Plantation covers 1350 acres with 23 green clay tennis courts and 4 eighteen-hole golf courses.     The main town on Amelia Island is called Fernandina Beach.     Amelia Island time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) -4 hours (=US Eastern Dayight Time, PDT +3). Amelia Island has live scoring by points.

NWS Jacksonville weather radar: Amelia Island current conditions:

WTA SCOREBOARD: The Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Anna-Lena Groenefeld helped WTA Tour Supervisor Laura Ceccarelli with the draw on Sunday; on Monday Francesca Schiavone and Patty Schnyder were among the players entertaining the press at the "all access hour."

Amelia Island, 1st Round, Mon-Tue 10am loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 #20 s9 Dinara Safina RUS d #53 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 6-2, 6-2 Mon *#93 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #21 s10 Nathalie Dechy FRA 7-6(2), 6-4 Mon #25 s11 A Medina Garrigues ESP d #52 q L Dominguez Lino ESP 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 Mon *#54 Jill Craybas USA d #27 s12 Jelena Jankovic SCG 2-6, 7-6(8), 4-0    retired- cramping Mon *#95 LL Alona Bondarenko UKR d #28 s13 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-0, 6-1 Mon #30 s14 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #40 Catalina Castano COL 6-4, 6-2 Tue #31 s15 Lucie Safarova CZE d #56 Michaella Krajicek NED 7-5, 6(2)-7, 6-4 Mon *#87 wc Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #32 s16 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-0, 7-5 Mon Meghann's backhand     Meghann has been ranked as high as # 11 in the WTA, but struggled last year. She has improved recently, and upset Justine Henin-Hardenne two weeks ago at the NASDAQ-100.     Meghann defeated Marion on her 5th match point. Meghann said: "It's always a little more tense when you're trying to close out a match. To keep going back and forth like that is not good on the heart...     "I missed a couple first serves and she started returning aggressively. I lost the initiative and that started to complicate the second set." Florida Times-Union story free reg req #33 Shahar Peer ISR d #85 wc Kristina Brandi PUR 6-1, 6-0 Mon #34 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #49 Laura Granville USA 7-6(5), 6-2 Tue *#103 q Olga Savchuk UKR d #35 Kveta Peschke CZE 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 Tue *#42 Mara Santangelo ITA d #38 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-3, 6-2 Mon *#79 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #39 Marta Domachowska POL 6-3, 7-5 Mon *#71 Lisa Raymond USA d #41 Sania Mirza IND 6-3, 6-4 Tue #46 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #74 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 6-3, 6-0 Tue *#73 Elena Vesnina RUS v #47 Virginie Razzano FRA 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 Tue #48 Vera Dushevina RUS d #67 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-2, 6-1 Mon *#123 wc Katerina Bohmova CZE d #51 Amy Frazier USA 6-1, 7-5 Mon *#58 Samantha Stosur AUS d #57 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-3, 6-1 Tue *#110 q Conchita Martinez Granados ESP d #62 Shuai Peng CHN 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Mon #63 Julia Schruff GER d #91 q Martina Sucha SVK 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Mon #77 Karolina Sprem CRO d #89 wc Mashona Washington USA 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 Mon #84 q Laura Pous Tio ESP d #115 q Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 Mon #90 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #130 q Milagros Sequera VEN 6-2, 6-4 Tue

Amelia Island, 2nd Round, Tue-Wed 10am-11am loser's prize: $3,370 US; points: 14 #7 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #123 wc Katerina Bohmova CZE 6-1, 6(6)-7, 6-3 Tue Nadia serving to Katerina, and Katerina's lefty 2-handed backhand drive     Nadia has not been feeling well for several days. About the 2nd set lapse, Nadia said: "I didn't have any energy left. That's why my concentration went down... I was really struggling until [2-3 in the 3rd set]. I had that feeling then, I started to play the right game to seal it. I was getting that energy back to finish off the match... Usually when you come off a match, you can really say that was a key shot. For me, with the energy level, my head was completely empty. I don't know what was happening out there." Florida Times-Union story free reg req     Katerina upset Amy Frazier in the 1st round on Monday. Katerina's mother, also Katerina (Katerina Skronska-Bohmova), was also a WTA player, and is young Katerina's coach.     Katerina only broke Nadia's serve once in the match, and missed an opportunity in the 2nd game of the 3rd set, when she led 40-15 on Nadia's serve, but could not convert the two break points. Katerina said: "It was a shame. If I would have made that, it probably would have changed the third set... I think that [Nadia] started to play more solid. She came a lot back to her game [like it was] in the first set. Her serve came back, so it was tougher." #9 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI d #71 Lisa Raymond USA 6-2, 6-2 Wed Patty preparing to slice a backhand     The win gave Patty a 7-0 career record against Lisa. Patty said: "[Lisa] cannot rally for two hours with me. She has to just take the chance, and maybe it works. She hit some good shots, and she made some good winners and nice attacks...     "[The previous wins over Lisa] gave me confidence coming into the match, especially on clay. On hard courts, we had some tough three-setters. She doesn't like my game at all." Florida Times Union story, free reg req #11 s3 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #110 q C Martinez Granados ESP 6-4, 6-1 Tue Francesca serving to Conchita #13 s4 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #84 q Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-4, 6-4 Tue #14 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #34 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 Wed     Svetlana led 6-1, 4-1 in the 2nd set-- then Sofia got into the match. Svetlana said: "I overheated again; I overplayed. I was going for too much. I do it on different surfaces... After big one [winning the title last week in Miami], everybody wants to beat you. Everybody gives their best in your match; next match, maybe they don't play as well." Florida Times Union story, free reg req *#63 Julia Schruff GER d #17 s6 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-4, 6-4 Wed #18 s7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #46 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-3, 6-4 Wed *#73 Elena Vesnina RUS d #19 s8 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-2, 6-1 Wed #20 s9 Dinara Safina RUS d #33 Shahar Peer ISR 6-2, 6-0 Wed #25 s11 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #103 q Olga Savchuk UKR 6-1, 7-5 Wed *#79 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #30 s14 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-4, 6-3 Wed #31 s15 Lucie Safarova CZE d #42 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Tue #48 Vera Dushevina RUS d #95 LL Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-1, 6-4 Wed #54 Jill Craybas USA d #77 Karolina Sprem CRO 6(2)-7, 6-4, 6-1 Wed Karolina following a backhand, and Jill lining one up     Jill won the NCAA singles title while with the Florida Gators in 1996. Jill said: "I felt pretty strong going into the third set. The second set was still even pretty much until the very end. I think after I won the second set I felt a little shift in momentum, and I capitalized on that...     "[Karolina] had been double faulting a lot, but I feel like you're going to if you're hitting your second serve at like 96, 100 miles an hour. I was paying attention to the speed. But she also benefited from it with a lot of aces, too...     "I think matching her pace was actually a little bit better for me. It might have put pressure on her that she felt like she couldn't overpower me with that pace." Florida Times Union story, free reg req     Karolina, who hit a career-high ranking of # 17 in 2004 but has struggled since then, hit 10 aces with 13 double faults. She had three break points when leading 4-3 in the 2nd set, but hit three errors. Karolina said: "I didn't take those three chances. Everything could change if I had a 5-3 or 5-4. If I had that and I was serving again, I think it would be easier. After that, I know that I had my chances [but] in the third set I couldn't play anymore." *#87 wc Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #58 Samantha Stosur AUS 7-5, 6-4 Wed     About her next opponent, her former doubles partner Nadia Petrova, Meghann said: "Nadia is a great player. We played doubles together for a couple years. We both know the way each plays... Nadia plays very fast as well, but it's all flat. I've always enjoyed playing power players." *#93 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #90 An. Serra Zanetti ITA 6-4, 6-1 Wed

Amelia Island, 3rd Round, Thu 11am loser's prize: $6,575 US; points: 25 #7 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #87 wc Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-1, 6-3 Meghann following a forehand, Nadia watching her backhand     Nadia said: "I had a really good match. My strategy was to go out there and take control, and I think I did that pretty well. I was happy with my serve and the way I was hitting the ball. Meghann had some unlucky points and I was able to take advantage of those." WTA story #9 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI d #48 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-3, 7-5 Vera and Patty following backhands #11 s3 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #79 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-1, 6-3 Francesca after winning a point *#31 s15 Lucie Safarova CZE d #13 s4 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 Lucie and Nicole following backhands     Lucie served 11 aces. Lucie said: "I felt very good with my serve. I struggled with it in the second [set], but everything else felt very good... I felt very comfortable. I served very well in third set. It was why I won." Florida Times Union story, free reg req     Almost-17-year-old Nicole had not played a match for about a month due to a right shoulder injury. Nicole served 8 aces-- and had 7 double faults. Nicole said: "I had a chance to get back [into the match], but I had too many errors, stupid mistakes. It's kind of frustrating because with just three sets if you feel a little bit off, you can't get back." #14 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #25 s11 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-4 Svetlana's principal weapon, her forehand, and Anabel watching her backhand fly #18 s7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #20 s9 Dinara Safina RUS 6-4, 6(4)-7, 6-3 *#93 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #73 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 #54 Jill Craybas USA d #63 Julia Schruff GER 6-3, 6-2

Amelia Island, QFs, Fri 11am, ESPN2-TV at 1pm WTA story loser's prize: $12,860 US; points: 49 #7 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #93 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-3, 6-0 Nadia lining up a backhand, and launching another *#14 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #9 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-3, 6-1 Svetlana's backhand, and Patty's forehand     Svetlana said: "In the first set, I was just trying to get used to [Patty's] game because she's a lefty. She can put your ball in pretty uncomfortable places. It's pretty hard to do. I've been trying to make her game [many changes of pace and spin] my game. I don't want to be the same all the time. I don't want people to get used to my game." Florida Times Union story, free reg req     Patty said: "[Svetlana] did everything great. When she wanted to rally, when she wanted to defend she was there. When she was attacking it was in. She was really a complete player and a great player today." #11 s3 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #18 s7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-2, 6-3 Anna-Lena following a backhand, Francesca following a forehand #31 s15 Lucie Safarova CZE d #54 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 6-2

Amelia Island, SFs, Sat 1pm ESPN2-TV WTA story loser's prize: $25,060 US; points: 88 #7 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #31 s15 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-3, 6-2 Nadia serving a cannonball, Lucie's lefty backhand, Nadia's righty backhand, and Nadia after match point     Nadia said: "I just took everything into my hands. I tried to sometimes be more precise, not go for angles, just put the ball in the court. I was really forcing [Lucie] to do those mistakes. That actually worked out well today. Serving very good helped me to finish off the match easily.     "On a day like today, you don't get physically so tired, you get mentally very tired, because you really try to be more concentrated and be more sharp on court. I'm really happy that it went that way."     Lucie said: "Today against Nadia, it was pretty windy, and I didn't play that well. I think she was playing very, very good today...     "It was a great week here for me. When you lose, it's a little bit sad for you. I think I played very good matches here. After four matches which were very tough, I get a little bit tired, but that's tennis. You have to come with it. I should have been ready today." #11 s3 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #14 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 7-6(2), 3-2 retired-- right adductor strain Svetlana lining up a backhand, Francesca following a forehand     Svetlana said: "I can play with pain, but sometimes you have to take care of yourself. I've been playing well, winning matches in two sets. But changing from hard to clay, this is what makes huge difference. Even if I won this match, I wouldn't be able to play tomorrow. It took me a while to say let's withdraw."     Francesca said: "When I was with the wind, I tried to make [Svetlana] move a lot. From one side it should be easier, because the ball is coming very fast and heavy...     "It's not easy to stay all the time in good physical condition. She came from seven, eight matches, very tough."

Amelia Island, Final, Sun 2pm ESPN2-TV loser's prize: $48,900 US; points: 137 winner's prize: $95,500 US; points: 195 #7 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS d #11 s3 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-4, 6-4 Francesca's backhand, Nadia's backhand, and two views of Nadia after match point

Amelia Island, Doubles Final, Sun after singles loser's prize: $15,440 US winner's prize: $30,000 US cdr35 Shinobu Asagoe & Katarina Srebotnik d cdr58 Liezel Huber & Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-4 Shinobu & Katarina with their new glassware     It was Shinobu & Katarina's third title as a team; they won previously at the Tier III Tokyo Indoor in 2004 and at Auckland in 2005 [Tier IV]. Katarina said: "This is the biggest win for us as a team. We had a tough draw, so this means a lot. We had Kuznetsova and Likhovtseva, Groenefeld and Petrova, Peschke and Schiavone. Those are really tough teams to beat and then we had another one to play in the final. I think we got stronger with every match and it feels great to finish with the title." WTA story Amelia Island, Qual Finals, Sun Apr 2 loser's prize: $885 US; points: 4 #52 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #205 Neha Uberoi USA 6-2, 6-2 #84 Laura Pous Tio ESP d #108 Ivana Lisjak CRO 6-1, 6-2 #91 Martina Sucha SVK d #116 Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-2, 6-3 #93 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #105 Bethanie Mattek USA 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 *#130 Milagros Sequera VEN d #95 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-4, 6-3 *#115 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #100 Meng Yuan CHN 6-3, 6-4 #103 Olga Savchuk UKR d #139 Meilen Tu USA 6-2, 6-2 #110 Conchita Martinez Granados ESP d #133 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-1, 6-2 Amelia Island, Withdrawals #5 Lindsay Davenport USA bulging disc #6 Mary Pierce FRA r foot #44 Jelena Kostanic CRO r knee sprain #45 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP r wrist #64 Akiko Morigami JPN #298 Paola Suarez ARG r calf strain

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