WTA Oct 30-Nov 5 Gaz de France Stars, Hasselt, BEL Tier III $175,000 - 32 players - indoor: hard Ethias Arena, Grenslandhallen WTA .pdf: draws & OOP - match notes .html: OOP-results - draw pics: tourney - Yahoo news - WTA - videos Hasselt: weather radar - forecast maps: MapQuest - MultiMap - Michelin # 6 s1 Kim Clijsters, # 14 s2 F Schiavone # 15 s3 Ana Ivanovic, # 20 s4 A-L Groenefeld Bell Challenge Quebec City, CAN Tier III Pavillon de l'Éducation physique et des sports,    Laval University campus site in French English via AltaVista $175,000 - 32 players - indoor: hard draws & OOP, .pdf - OOP & results pics: Yahoo! news - WTA Quebec: weather radar - forecast # 12 Jelena Jankovic, # 19 Marion Bartoli # 40 Sofia Arvidsson, # 43 Severine Bremond

Tourney pages: Hasselt: 2005 - 2004 Quebec City: 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Hasselt: #94 Kaia Kanepi 5' 11", 163 lbs, RH 2H-BH Hasselt: #6 Kim Clijsters 5' 8½", 150 lbs, RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Hasselt, Belgium, in the final of the Gaz de France Stars, 23-year-old top-seeded # 6 Kim Clijsters from nearby Bree, Belgium, in her 5th match after returning from a left wrist injury that has kept her sidelined since August, defeated 21-year-old qualifier # 94 Kaia Kanepi from Haapsalu, Estonia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 (photos shown).

    Kim and Kaia had never before met on the field of combat. Kim said: "Kaia was playing very well and I had to fight until the very end. I knew she was playing well. I was already impressed after seeing in the qualifying rounds. She sure has a great career ahead of her.
    "She has been playing with a lot of risks this week, and it works. I was expecting her to be making more errors towards the end, but she didn't.
    "I was pretty relieved to be able to break towards the end, because I often got into trouble during my own service games." tourney story

    Kim, one of the two Great Walls of Belgium, now has a 33-15 record in WTA singles finals. She also won titles this year at Stanford and Warsaw, despite injuries keeping her off court much of the time.
Kim Clijsters Wallpaper - Hasselt player's blog by Kim Clijsters

    It was Kaia's first venture beyond the semis. Kaia defeated one current and two former top-20 players, Francesca Schaivone, Nathalie Dechy and Eleni Daniilidou, plus # 35 Michaella Krajicek, on her way to her first WTA singles final; she also won 3 qualifying rounds, giving her 7 straight match victories. Kaia was very happy to have reached her first final.
    Kaia said: "[Kim] hits her forehand so well on the run, is so quick and gets more balls back than anyone else, so it's not easy to win points against her. But I think I played really well, and was returning well. Although it was my first match against a Top 10 player and first final, I wasn't nervous. I had fun - that's why I played well." WTA story

    In the Quebec City final on Sunday, 22-year-old 2nd-seeded # 19 Marion Bartoli of France (residence: Geneva, Switzerland), crushed, killed, destroyed, and double-bageled 19-year-old 8th-seeded # 49 Olga Poutchkova of Russia (residence: Washington, D.C.!?) 6-0, 6-0.

    Marion said: "I didn't have expectations coming into this match, so maybe that helped. Also, maybe [Olga] was tired from yesterday. She's a little younger and less experienced, too. Whenever she'd start taking control of the points I'd hit it just as hard back, and I think that discouraged her a little bit." WTA story

    Marion and Olga had played twice before, both times this year. In the 1st round of the US Open Marion defeated Olga 6-4, 6-0, and about two weeks later, in the quarters in Bali, Marion won again, 6-2, 6-4. Olga said: "[Marion] played very strong, came up with good angles, and just didn't give me any chances... She's the toughest player for me. She's two-handed and it's hard to figure out where she'll hit. I'm surprised she hasn't won a Grand Slam yet. Maybe we'll meet up in a Grand Slam final someday - but I hope not to lose 6-0, 6-0 again."

    Marion is now 3-1 in WTA singles finals; both other titles also came this year, at Auckland in January, and in Tokyo in October.Olga is now 0-2 in previous finals; she lost to Martina Hingis in the Kolkata final this year.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Hasselt & Quebec City s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Hasselt: The main draw for Hasselt has 8 seeds, with 4 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Saturday, qualifying finals are on Monday.     Hasselt, Belgium, is at left - click for lo-res sat pic     Start times: Mon-Fri noon, Sat 1pm, Sun 2pm.     The time in Hasselt is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 2 hours. That is Eastern Daylight Time in the US + 6 hours, PDT+9 hours. Belgium news Kim Clijsters faced the press in Hasselt, not far from her home in Bree, Belgium, on Monday. Through three consecutive days of intensive media grilling, Kim has stuck to her story that she did not steal the fillings, and that she does not now and has never had in her possession any of the flower known as "lupen." The secretary has disavowed any knowledge of her actions.

Hasselt, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed noon losers' prize: $1,300 US; points: 1 #6 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #140 LL Anne Kremer LUX 6-3, 6-2 Wed Anne's forehand, Kim driving a backhand, and after match point     Kim said: "I'm very happy to have won. It hasn't always been my best tennis, there were too many ups and downs. I stuck to my own game though, but still made some wrong choices, which is normal after such a long absence." tourney story     Kim was playing in her first match since she incurred a left wrist injury at this year's Canadian Open in Montreal on August 16. Kim said: "Physically I am back into shape and I have the idea the wrist has become stronger compared to before the injury. I'm not really holding back."     About her next opponent, Kim said: "I only played Martina Muller once. At the US Open [where Kim defeated Martina 6-1, 6-2]. She is a very energetic player, who works well with the balls. Quite comparable to Kremer. Her service is not her best side. Every match I play this year I see as a bonus." #14 s2 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #37 Meg. Shaughnessy USA 6-2, 6-1 Tue #15 s3 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #251 LL Andrea Petkovic GER 6-3, 7-5 Tue *#61 q Aravane Rezai FRA d #20 s4 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-1, 6-3 Tue *#41 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #25 s5 Ai Sugiyama JPN 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 Tue Ai about to fire her primary weapon, her 2-handed backhand drive, and Eleni's 1-handed version #26 s6 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #89 Vera Dushevina RUS 7-6, 6-1 Mon #30 s7 Samantha Stosur AUS d #99 LL Olga Savchuk UKR 6-4, 6-1 Wed *#35 Michaella Krajicek NED d #32 s8 Mara Santangelo ITA 5-2 retired-- left wrist tendon injury Wed #36 Martina Muller GER d #119 LL Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Wed *#88 Karolina Sprem CRO d #39 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-4, 6-2 Mon *#94 q Kaia Kanepi EST d #42 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-4, 6-4 Tue *#109 wc Kirsten Flipkens BEL d #48 Elena Vesnina RUS 4-0 retired-- respiratory illness Tue Kirsten wishing Elena well after she retired from the match due to illness *#296 q Angelique Kerber GER d #50 Romina Oprandi ITA 6-1, 4-6, 4-1 retired-- gastrointestinal illness Tue *#325 wc Caroline Maes BEL d #65 LL Yuliana Fedak UKR 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 Wed #66 LL Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #NR Elena Bovina RUS 6-4, 6-2 Tue *#118 Sandra Kloesel GER d #98 q Roberta Vinci ITA 6-1, 6-7, 6-4 Tue

Hasselt, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu noon losers' prize: $2,200 US; points: 16 #6 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #36 Martina Muller GER 6-3, 6-2 Thu Kim running down a forehand, and thumb wrestling with Martina after match point     Kim said: "I still have some mixed feelings like yesterday. There were a few games where the ball was going exactly where I wanted it to go and I was controlling my points, like how I usually play. But there are definitely games where I'm still not patient enough and am not making the right decisions. Sometimes I'd be a meter or two behind the baseline and would go for a big shot instead of a safer one. But the more I play, the more that will come back." Kim's Hasselt player's blog #14 s2 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #66 LL Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-3, 6-4Thu #15 s3 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #296 q Angelique Kerber GER 6-3, 6(3)-7, 6-3 Thu #26 s6 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #109 wc Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-3, 6-4 Wed *#118 Sandra Kloesel GER d #30 s7 Samantha Stosur AUS 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 Thu #35 Michaella Krajicek NED d #325 wc Caroline Maes BEL 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 Thu #61 q Aravane Rezai FRA d #88 Karolina Sprem CRO 5-7, 7-6, 6-1 Wed *#94 q Kaia Kanepi EST d #41 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-3, 6-4 Thu

Hasselt, QFs, Fri noon WTA story losers' prize: $4,050 US; points: 30 #6 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #118 Sandra Kloesel GER 6-1, 6-0 Kim launching a forehand, and after winning a point     Kim said: "I was seeing the ball and moving a lot better. I was doing those things for a few games here and there in previous matches this week, but today I played well throughout the whole two sets." *#94 q Kaia Kanepi EST d #14 s2 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-2, 7-5 Kaia's service toss, and Francesca about to fire a forehand *#35 Michaella Krajicek NED d #15 s3 Ana Ivanovic SCG 6-3, 6-4 Michaella sneaking a peak during her service toss, and Ana chasing a forehand #26 s6 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #61 q Aravane Rezai FRA 7-6, 6-2

Hasselt, SFs, Sat 1pm WTA story losers' prize: $7,700 US; points: 55 #6 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #26 s6 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Kim about to lightly tap a forehand, Vera driving one, Kim's backhand volley, and after match point     Kim said: "It was very close. This was the type of match where every single point was important. But it was fun. This is what you work for, what you train for. Even if I lost, I would have had a good feeling about this match. Of course, when you come out of it a winner, it's much better." *#94 q Kaia Kanepi EST d #35 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-4, 6-4 Kaia twisting a serve Michaellaways, Michaella driving a backhand, and Kaia's forehand drive

Hasselt, Final, Sun loser's prize: $14,650 US; points: 85 winner's prize: $28,000 US; points: 120 #6 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #94 q Kaia Kanepi EST 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Kaia driving a backhand, Kim lining up a forehand, and after match point

Hasselt, Doubles Final, Sun losers' prize: $4,350 US winners' prize: $8,250 US cdr2 s1 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur d cdr127 Eleni Daniilidou & Jasmine Woehr 6-2, 6-3 Doubles # 1s Lisa and Samantha (they are tied in the rankings) after match point, and with their trophies Hasselt, Qual Finals, Mon Oct 30 losers' prizes: q1 $200 US; q2 $350 US; q final $650 US #61 Aravane Rezai FRA d #119 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-1, 6-4 #94 Kaia Kanepi EST d #140 Anne Kremer LUX 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-2 *#296 Angelique Kerber GER d #251 Andrea Petkovic GER 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 #98 Roberta Vinci ITA d #99 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-1, 6-3 Hasselt, Withdrawals #5 s1 Nadia Petrova RUS low back injury #9 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI tired #10 Dinara Safina RUS fatigue syndrome #11 s4 Nicole Vaidisova CZE illness #13 Anna Chakvetadze RUS influenza #17 Anastasia Myskina RUS left foot injury #24 s8 Katarina Srebotnik SLO hip strain #28 Flavia Pennetta ITA left wrist injury #31 Maria Kirilenko RUS right hip injury #45 Elena Likhovtseva RUS left wrist tendonitis #114 Stephanie Foretz FRA injury

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Quebec City: The main draw for Quebec City has 8 seeds., with NO 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Saturday, qualifying finals are on Monday.     PEPS, Laval University, Quebec City - click for sat pic     2005 start times: Mon-Thu 11am; Fri noon, Sat 12:30pm.     The time in Quebec City is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) minus 5 hours. That equals US Eastern Standard Time, which is PST +3 hours. Canada news At the player party on Sunday night in Quebec City, Marion Bartoli was presented with a Canadian diamond necklace, one of which is given to a lucky Bell Challenge player each year. Then all the players got small so they could fit into one photo together. Top row, from left to right... uh... I will avoid unforced errors, the pretty ladies are too small to name. At right, good girls Galina Voskoboeva, Anastassia Rodionova, and Chanda Rubin are shown admiring how small they got to fit into the center photo.

Quebec City, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed 11am losers' prize: $1,300 US; points: 1 #12 s1 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #100 Milagros Sequera VEN 6-1, 6-3 Wed #19 s2 Marion Bartoli FRA d #96 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 6-1, 6-4 Tue *#91 Ashley Harkleroad USA d #40 s3 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 7-6(5), 6-3 Tue #43 s4 Severine Bremond FRA d #70 Jill Craybas USA 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Wed #44 s5 Sybille Bammer AUT d #106 Victoria Azarenka BLR 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 Tue #46 s6 Shenay Perry USA d #95 Melinda Czink HUN 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Mon *#83 Anastassia Rodionova RUS d #47 s7 Jamea Jackson USA 6-2, 2-1 retired-- right groin strain Tue #49 s8 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #235 Valérie Tétreault CAN 6-0, 6-2 Mon *#74 Laura Granville USA d #52 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-4, 6-4 Mon #55 Vania King USA d #93 Varvara Lepchenko UZB 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 Tue *#182 q Abigail Spears USA d #80 Nicole Pratt AUS 7-6(6), 6(2)-7, 6-3 Tue #81 Martina Sucha SVK d #493 Chanda Rubin USA 6-4, 6-2 Mon #120 q Lilia Osterloh USA d #252 wc Marie-Eve Pelletier CAN 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 Tue *#231 q Greta Arn GER d #122 wc Stephanie Dubois CAN 6-3, 6-3 Tue #126 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN d #338 Alina Jidkova RUS 6-4, 6-2 Mon *#346 q Tanja Ostertag GER d #323 q Ioana Raluca Olaru ROM 6(4)-7, 6-3, 6-4 Tue

Quebec City, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 11am losers' prize: $2,200 US; points: 16 #12 s1 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #55 Vania King USA 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Thu #19 s2 Marion Bartoli FRA d #74 Laura Granville USA 6-4, 6-3 Wed #43 s4 Severine Bremond FRA d #231 q Greta Arn GER 6-1, 6-4 Thu *#81 Martina Sucha SVK d #44 s5 Sybille Bammer AUT 7-5, 6-4 Wed #46 s6 Shenay Perry USA d #182 q Abigail Spears USA 6-1, 7-5 Wed #49 s8 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #346 q Tanja Ostertag GER 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 Thu #83 #120 q Lilia Osterloh USA RUS d Anastassia Rodionova 6-4, 6-1 Thu *#126 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN d #91 Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-1, 6-4 Wed

Quebec City, QFs, Fri noon WTA story losers' prize: $4,050 US; points: 30 *#49 s8 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #12 s1 Jelena Jankovic SCG 2-6, 6-4, 3-1 retired-- low back pain     About the low back pain the forced her out of the match, Jelena said: "It started in the second set, and got worse and worse; I tried to play the third set but I had so much pain and it was an uncomfortable feeling so I just couldn't continue.     "It's something I also had at the US Open. Compared to the other top players, I'm not so strong physically, so I have to work harder. I need to work on that and my tennis during the off-season. It's really disappointing for me, because I had a really good chance to do well here, but what can I do?"     Olga said: "I just want to wish that [Jelena will] be healthy, and back on the Tour soon. I'm not that pleased with the way I was playing before she got injured, but I guess today was just my lucky day. Tomorrow might be someone else's lucky day, who knows. I feel sorry about what happened." #19 s2 Marion Bartoli FRA d #46 s6 Shenay Perry USA 6-1, 6-0     Marion said: "I played really, really well today. Shenay is improving; I played her here last year, and I think she's going to be a very good player soon." #43 s4 Severine Bremond FRA d #81 Martina Sucha SVK 6-1, 6-4     Severine said: "I'm happy with the way I played today. I'm playing better with every match, and I hope it'll go on like that. Tomorrow will not be easy; Poutchkova is very good. I'll try to adjust and do my best." #120 q Lilia Osterloh USA d #126 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-3, 6-2     Lilia said: "I knew I had to step up my game this evening, and I'm really pleased with how I performed today. Each match is getting better and better. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's match. I'll definitely have to bring my A-game."

Quebec City, SFs, Sat 1pm WTA story losers' prize: $7,700 US; points: 55 #19 s2 Marion Bartoli FRA d #120 q Lilia Osterloh USA 3-6, 6-3, 6-1     Marion injured her right forearm during the match. Marion said: "This match was very, very hard. I had to be mentally strong, because I was injured and down a set. I didn't know if I'd be able to complete the match or not. Finally, I started thinking that it was still possible to win, and I did it, so I was happy."     Lilia said: "I just ran out of gas. It was my seventh match in eight days but I gave it everything I had. After the first set I had nothing left; I still fought until the end, though. I felt maybe if I was a little fresher, I could have closed it out in straight sets, but she's a great player and she was fighting as well." *#49 s8 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #43 s4 Severine Bremond FRA 2-6, 6-0, 7-5     Olga said: "I'm really happy with the way I handled it in the end. The first set was like a warm-up for me; it's the third time this tournament I've lost the first set and won the next two. It was pretty tight at the end. You have to learn how to win those important points to become a higher-level player; I have a lot of room to grow but I'm definitely becoming much better and more steady."

Quebec City, Final, Sun loser's prize: $14,650 US; points: 85 winner's prize: $28,000 US; points: 120 #19 s2 Marion Bartoli FRA d #49 s8 Olga Poutchkova RUS 6-0, 6-0 Marion about to wallop a forehand with her unusual grip (always maintaining the 2-handed backhand grip, even on the forehand), Olga inquiring as to whether the metric system might be different in Canada, and Marion after match point

Quebec City, Doubles Final, Sun losers' prize: $4,350 US winners' prize: $8,250 US cdr215 Laura Granville & Carly Gullickson v cdr394 Alina Jidkova & Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-4 Quebec City, Qual Finals, Mon Oct 30 11am losers' prizes: q1 $200 US; q2 $350 US; q final $650 US #120 Lilia Osterloh USA d #304 Anna Tatishvili GEO 6-3, 6-3 *#323 Ioana Raluca Olaru ROM d #182 Abigail Spears USA 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 *#346 Tanja Ostertag GER d #209 Agnes Szavay HUN 7-5, 6-4 *#231 Greta Arn GER d #211 Shikha Uberoi IND 6-4, 6-3 Quebec City, Withdrawals #18 Lindsay Davenport USA low back? #57 Catalina Castano COL injury #82 Eva Birnerova RUS left ankle injury #86 Marta Domachowska POL #92 Meilen Tu USA back injury

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