WTA Oct 23-29 Generali Ladies, Linz, AUT Tier II $600,000 - 28 players - indoor: hard Intersport Arena Live Scores - draw & results, .html WTA .pdf: draws & OOP - match notes photos: Yahoo! news - WTA Linz: weather radar - forecast maps: Google - Michelin - MultiMap # 3 Maria Sharapova # 5 Nadia Petrova # 8 Patty Schnyder # 11 Nicole Vaidisova # 13 Ana Ivanovic # 14 Jelena Jankovic # 16 Anna Chakvetadze # 17 Francesca Schiavone

Tourney pages: Linz: 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Linz: #5 Nadia Petrova 5' 10¼", 143 lbs, RH 2H-BH Linz: #3 Maria Sharapova 6' 1½+", 130 lbs, RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Austria, in the final of the Generali Ladies Linz, 19-year-old top-seeded # 3 Maria Sharapova (residence: Bradenton, Florida, home of the Bollettieri Academy) defeated her compatriot, 24-year-old 2nd-seeded # 5 Nadia Petrova from Moscow, 7-5, 6-2 (Nadia is shown during the match, Maria is shown after match point).
    The win will put Maria at # 2 in the WTA rankings on Monday, still trailing # 1 Amelie Mauresmo but overtaking now # 3 Justine Henin-Hardenne. All three have a chance to finish the year at # 1, depending upon their performance at the season-ending WTA Championships in Madrid, which begin November 7.

    Nadia held two set points when Maria served trailing 4-5 in the 1st set, but could not covert them. Then Nadia's serve was broken on a double fault. As Maria served for the set, Nadia again was unable to convert two break points.
    Nadia said: "I picked it up at the end of the first set, but then when I had set points I kind of backed off a little bit. Instead of trying to put pressure on [Maria] I just put the ball on the other side. Hopefully I'll take a lesson out of it so next time I have the same opportunities I'll finish off the set, close out the points and not wait for somebody to do something. That was the mistake." Reuters story

    Maria said: "I thought I played really good tennis today. After feeling a little bit tired at the end of yesterday, I thought this is the last one so go out there and give it all you've got. I really felt I played smart and solid."

    Maria now leads Nadia 5-1 in career matches, and Maria won last time they played, in this year's Aussie Open quarterfinals, but the score was close: 7-6(6), 6-4.
    2006 US Open and 2004 Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova is now 15-4 in WTA singles finals; she won her 14th title last week in Zurich; she has now won five titles this year. Maria Sharapova Wallpaper with 2006 US Open - Sharapova career record

    Nadia Petrova is 6-6 in WTA singles finals, but Nadia lost her first 4 finals, and has won 6 of her last 8 (starting with the 2005 Linz final), 5 of them this year, most recently three weeks ago in Stuttgart. Nadia Petrova Wallpaper - Petrova career record

    In the late match on Thursday in Linz, a close 2nd rounder, 31-year-old # 29 Mary Pierce of France (residence: Bradenton, Florida) led 22-year-old # 27 Vera Zvonareva from Moscow, Russia, 6-4, 6-5, when Mary fell on the court. Vera immediately ran to get Mary some ice.
    Mary had ruptured a cruciate ligament of her left knee (one press report says anterior cruciate, another report says front cruciate). Mary, who was playing in only her 8th tourney of the year due to a right foot injury, was taken from the court on a stretcher, will have surgery, and will be sidelined for an estimated six months. AFP story - WTA story

WTA SCOREBOARD: Linz 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     Linz: The main draw for Linz 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.     Linz - Intersport Arena is at lower left - click for lo-res sat pic     Start times: Mon noon; Tue-Thu noon; Fri 1pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1:45pm.     The time in Linz is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 2 hours. That is Eastern Daylight Time in the US + 6 hours, PDT+9 hours. Austria news Maria Sharapova arrived at the Linz airport on Monday, fresh from her victory in Zurich... On Tuesday in Linz, Nicole Vaidisova signed autographs, while during the "all-access hour" Patty Schnyder told reporters again "yes, naturally curly," and Maria Sharapova wondered how to respond when asked if she would serve & volley with two out and runners on 1st and 2nd... on Monday, Julia Schruff found out if her hairdresser knows for sure (just a little off around the edges, please) Among the young ladies looking very nice at the Linz player party on Tuesday night were: Michaella Krajicek, retired Austrian former WTA #7 Barbara Schett, Chanda Rubin, Daniela Hantuchova, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, and Ai Sugiyama.

Linz, 1st Rd, Mon noon, Tue-Wed noon losers' prize: $4,175 US; points: 1 #13 s5 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #35 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-1, 7-6(2) Wed #14 s6 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #44 wc Sybille Bammer AUT 6-1, 6(3)-7, 6-3 Wed Jelena, in her first match wearing Reebok, driving a backhand, and lefty Sybille driving a high forehand #16 s7 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #24 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 7-5, 6-2 Tue *#27 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #17 s8 Francesca Schiavone ITA 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 Tue *#23 Shahar Peer ISR d #18 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 7-6(4) Mon *#65 q Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #19 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER Tue *#48 q Elena Vesnina RUS d #22 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 4-3 retired--right rib injury Wed Daniela was visibly in pain during the match     Daniela was hit by a ball last week in Zurich, and although she reached the final there, the injury has not yet healed. On Saturday in Zurich, Daniela said: "I was hit really hard in the doubles and it was really hurting me, and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to play. It happened in our first doubles match. Mary Pierce just went for one of her big shots with the forehand, and it went straight in the rib. It was hard to get my breath. In the first two days it was not really fun because I couldn't really get up on my serve and stretch." Reuters story *#29 Mary Pierce FRA d #26 Ai Sugiyama JPN 7-6(3), 7-6(5) Tue Mary signing autographs on Monday #30 Samantha Stosur AUS d #33 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-4, 3-2 retired-- right hip strain Mon Samantha paused for refreshment; Maria awaited the trainer's verdict on her hip strain #31 Mara Santangelo ITA d #32 q Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Tue #41 q Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #492 Chanda Rubin USA 6-1, 6-2 Wed #42 wc Nathalie Dechy FRA d #159 wc Tamira Paszek AUT 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 Tue

Linz, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu noon WTA story losers' prize: $7,820 US; points: 25 #3 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #41 q Eleni Daniilidou GRE 7-5, 6-1 Thu Maria's service toss, Eleni's 1-handed backhand drive, Maria following her 2-hander, and after winning a point, and Maria at Tuesday night's player's party     Maria said: "I thought [Eleni] played really good solid tennis from the beginning. I don't think she made a lot of errors until 5-all...     "I thought I was playing well. I thought I was moving pretty well in the first set but she was obviously playing pretty good tennis and getting a lot of balls back no matter how hard or deep I hit. You've just got to keep steady and hope at some point with a bit of luck or patience your opponent will break down." AP story #5 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS d #23 Shahar Peer ISR 6-1, 6-1 Wed Shahar driving a forehand, and Nadia a high backhand     Nadia said: "Before I came on court I thought it was going to be very tough, and the way I approached this match I decided to keep it as short as I could by trying to put pressure on [Shahar]... I just tried to play clean tennis and take the opportunities and tried to keep the points short, come in from time to time." Reuters story #8 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI d #42 wc Nathalie Dechy FRA 6(1)-7, 6-4, 6-3 Thu Nathalie's forehand, Patty's lefty backhand, and Patty at the player's party on Tuesday night #11 s4 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #31 Mara Santangelo ITA 7-6(4), 6-0 Wed Nicole and Mara belting backhands #13 s5 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #65 q Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-2, 6-2 Thu Ana's forehand drive, and Agnieszka's backhand     Ana said: "It was a very tough match even though the score didn't say that. [Agnieszka is] a very good player and runs very well, so you have to win all of the points yourself. She's not going to give you any free points." #14 s6 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #48 q Elena Vesnina RUS 6(4)-7, 6-4, 6-2 Thu Jelena and Elena driving forehands *#30 Samantha Stosur AUS d #16 s7 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-4, 6-4 Thu #27 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #29 Mary Pierce FRA 4-6, 6-6 retired-- ruptured left knee ligament Thu Mary firing a forehand, Vera launching a backhand, and Mary leaving, in the undesired horizontal position     Mary led 6-5 in the second, with 3 match points, when she fell on the court. Vera immediately ran to get Mary some ice. Mary had ruptured a cruciate ligament of her left knee (one press report says anterior cruciate, another report says front cruciate). Mary, who was playing in only her 8th tourney of the year due to a right foot injury, was taken from the court on a stretcher, will have surgery, and will be sidelined for an estimated six months. AFP story - WTA story

Linz, QFs, Fri 1:30pm losers' prize: $14,600 US; points: 49 #3 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #13 s5 Ana Ivanovic SCG 7-6(3), 7-5 Maria's forehand drive, Ana's backhand, Maria dispatching a twist serve, and after winning a point #5 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS d #30 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-1, 6-3 Nadia and Samantha driving backhands #8 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI d #27 Vera Zvonareva RUS 7-6(2), 6-4 Patty's backhand, Vera ready to wallop one, and Patty after match point #11 s4 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #14 s6 Jelena Jankovic SCG 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-4 Nicole lining up a forehand, Jelena's backhand, and Nicole after winning a point

Linz, SFs, Sat 2pm losers' prize: $27,300 US; points: 88 #3 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #8 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI 7-5, 7-5 Patty's backhand drive, Maria's right-handed version, after match point, and acknowledging the crowd #5 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS d #11 s4 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-1, 6-2 Nadia and Nicole launching backhands, and Nadia after match point

Linz, Final, Sun 1:45pm loser's prize: $51,000 US; points: 137 winner's prize: $95,500 US; points: 195 #3 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #5 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-5, 6-2 Maria's forehand, Nadia about to connect with a backhand, Maria's backhand, and after match point

Linz, Doubles Final, Sun after singles losers' prize: $16,120 US winners' prize: $30,000 US cdr2 s1 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur d cdr46 Katarina Srebotnik & Corina Morariu 6-3, 6-0 Samantha & Lisa won their 8th title of 2006 Linz, Qual Finals, Mon Oct 23 noon losers' prizes: q1 $640 US; q2 $1,195 US; q final $2,230 US #32 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #67 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 6-4 #41 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #56 Catalina Castano COL 6-3, 6-3 #48 Elena Vesnina RUS d #90 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-3, 6-1 #65 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #89 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-1, 6-3 Linz, Withdrawals #9 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI tired #10 Dinara Safina RUS fatigue syndrome #12 Lindsay Davenport USA low back #21 Tatiana Golovin FRA right ankle sprain #25 Flavia Pennetta ITA left wrist surgery #53 Venus Williams USA left wrist #95 Serena Williams USA left knee & ankle

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