2006 Stuttgart, Tokyo & Tashkent WTA Singles Results     N Petrova, M Bartoli, & T Sun, Champions

tennis.quickfound.net  

  WTA Oct 2-8

Porsche GP, Stuttgart, GER Tier II
$650,000 - 28 players - indoor: hard
draws & OOP, .pdf
pics: Yahoo! - WTA
Stuttgart: radar - forecast - map
# 1 A Mauresmo, # 4 S Kuznetsova
# 6 E Dementiva, # 7 N Petrova

Japan Open, Tokyo Tier III (with ATP)
$175,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard
draws & OOP, .pdf - draws & results
pics: news - tourney - WTA
week's sched
Tokyo: radar - forecast - map - map2
# 24 M Bartoli, # 27 A Sugiyama
# 29 M Kirilenko, # 31 A Medina Garrigues

Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan Tier IV
$145,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard
draws & schedule .pdf - WTA Photos
Tashkent Weather - Asian Tennis Fed.
Iroda Tulyaganova
# 47 M E Camerin, # 51 E Vesnina
# 59 S Mirza, # 62 A Bondarenko

Tourney pages: Stuttgart-Tokyo-Tashkent: 2007 Filderstadt-Tokyo-Tashkent: 2005
F'stadt-Tokyo: 2004 Tashkent: 2004 Filderstadt-Tashkent: 2003 Tokyo: 2003
previous other
tourney pages
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Stuttgart:
click for Petrova news photo search
#7 Nadia Petrova
5' 10¼", 143lb RH 2H-BH
Tokyo:
click for Bartoli news photo search
#24 Marion Bartoli
5' 6¾" 128lb RH 2H-FH&BH
Tashkent:
click for WTA gallery
#128 Tiantian Sun
5' 9" 138½lb RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Stuttgart, in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, 4th-seeded 24-year-old # 7 Nadia Petrova from Moscow, Russia, defeated 19-year-old unseeded # 22 Tatiana Golovin of France (residence: on Brickell Key, Miami, Florida), 6-3, 7-6(4) (Nadia is shown atop the grand prize of the Porsche Grand Prix, a new Porsche 911 Targa 4S, which, added to the $100,000 prize money, makes this possibly the most desired Tier II title on the WTA Tour).
    Nadia has always outranked Tatiana--but Tatiana still leads Nadia 3-1 in career matches. All three of their meetings, which were on three different surfaces, have been close; in their most recent previous encounter, in the 3rd round of this year's US Open, Tatiana won 7-5, 6(4)-7, 6-3.
    Nadia said: "I think I've learned from the losses against [Tatiana], and I tried to dominate with my game today and really put pressure in the difficult moments... I have played my best tennis of the year here, and I am delighted to win this title. It was a hard match, and I was jittery at the end, but I came through." Reuters story - AFP story
    Tatiana said: "My problem was not fatigue from playing long matches - it was Nadia... The other times I played she definitely had a different strategy against me and it really worked. She was really using her forehand down the line, and normally her backhand is the shot that always bothers me. This time it was actually her forehand and I needed a little time to adjust to that and realize what she was doing. I finally got a handle on that in the second set, but it was a little bit too late."
    Nadia is now 6-4 in WTA singles finals, but she lost her first four, and won her last six, five of them this year. Tatiana is now 0-3 in WTA singles finals.
Nadia Petrova Wallpaper - Tatiana Golovin Wallpaper

    Meanwhile in Tokyo, in the final of the AIG Japan Open, 22-year-old top-seeded # 24 Marion Bartoli of France (residence: Geneva, Switzerland), defeated 22-year-old wild card # 90 Aiko Nakamura from Osaka, Japan, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 (Marion is shown serving to Aiko). The win should put Marion in the WTA top 20 for the first time on Monday.
    This final was unique in WTA history: two players who play 2-handed on both sides had never before met in a WTA singles final. But that is not all. Marion plays both her forehand and backhand with her 2-handed backhand grip (left hand above the right), while Aiko plays on both sides with her 2-handed forehand grip (right hand above the left).
    Marion said: "Aiko was well-prepared and moving fast, especially in the first set. I tried to make her run more in the second set, and she looked more and more tired. Good first serves were the key to my victory today. I was able to play aggressively. I was able to take advantage of her second serves as well." WTA story
    Aiko said: "I was totally absorbed in the game in the first set, which I believe was almost perfect. But I woke up to reality in the second set, and Marion was beginning to hit harder, deeper into the court. I tried to stay calm, believing that chances would come my way, but she just kept getting better in the second set and I could not get my rhythm back."
    Aiko and Marion had never before met on the field of combat. Marion is now 2-1 in WTA singles finals; this was the first final of Aiko's career.

    In the Tashkent final on Sunday 25-years-old-on-Columbus-day # 128 Tiantian Sun from Beijing, China, defeated 24-year-old local hero (and 2000 Tashkent champ) wild card # 222 Iroda Tulyaganova from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 6-2, 6-4 (Tiantian is shown with the hardware after the match, attired in traditional Uzbek garb).
    Tiantian said: "It feels good. It was easier than I expected it to be. But it wasn't as easy as it seemed; Iroda is a very good player and she was playing at home." WTA story
    Iroda said: "[Tiantian] played well, she served well. It is not a loss for me, it's a win, because I've come back from all of my injuries, and reached the final at the Tashkent Open."
    Tiantian and Iroda had never before met on the field of combat. 2004 Olympics doubles champion (partnered with Ting Li) Tiantian has just won the first WTA singles final of her career; Iroda, who was sidelined much of the time from 2002 until recently by a serious right elbow injury, is now 3-4 in WTA singles finals.

Tokyo player's blog by Ai Sugiyama

WTA SCOREBOARD: Stuttgart, Tokyo & Tashkent
The Wimbledon Centre Court scoreboard at match point during the 1977 ladies singles semifinal as Virginia Wade defeated Chris Evert, and advanced to defeat Betty Stove in the final, becoming the last British woman to win the singles title at Wimbledon-- a portion of a photo from Virginia's book Courting Triumph, click for book excerpts
s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser
ranks are for the previous week
How do players get into the "draw"?


    Stuttgart: The main draw for Stuttgart 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.
   
Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle/Porsche-Arena, Mercedesstrase 69, 70372 Stuttgart
HMSH/Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, GER - click for sat pic

   
Early round play at Stuttgart   
begins at 1pm local time.


    Daylight savings time in Stuttgart is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 2 hours. That is Eastern Daylight Time in the US + 6 hours, PDT+9 hours. Germany news

click for tourney gallery     click for WTA gallery     click for WTA gallery
Svetlana Kuznetsova (left) and Elena Dementieva (right) met the press on Monday,
as they prepared to play in Stuttgart's nice new Porsche Arena (that's the photo in the center).
click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery
Nadia Petrova and Patty Schnyder were also looking good on Monday & Tuesday; attendees at the player party Tuesday night
included Nadia (with Mr. Microphone™ ), Svetlana, Jelena Jankovic, Tatjana Malek, and top-seed Amelie Mauresmo. party video
Stuttgart, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed 1pm
losers' prize: $4,400 US; points: 1
#9 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI d #NR Chanda Rubin USA 6-2, 6-2 Mon

click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery
Patty's backhand drive, and Chanda's running forehand

#11 s6 Dinara Safina RUS d #32 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(9) Tue
*#71 q Iveta Benesova CZE d #14 s7 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-3, 6(5)-7, 3-0 retired--right wrist injury Wed
#16 s8 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #18 Mary Pierce FRA 7-6(7), 6-3 Wed

click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery
Jelena's forehand drive, and Mary's backhand

#17 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #163 wc Tatjana Malek GER 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 Tue

click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery
Anna-Lena fielding a drop shot, and Tatjana about to drive a forehand

#19 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #56 q Sybille Bammer AUT 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 Wed

click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery
Daniela about to launch a backhand, and Sybille reaching for one

#22 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #38 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 Tue

click for Golovin news photo search     click for Golovin news photo search     click for Likhovtseva news photo search
Tatiana serving and running down a backhand, and Elena following a forehand on the run

#23 Shahar Peer ISR d #81 LL Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-3, 6-3 Tue
#25 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #36 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-1, 6-4 Tue
*#34 Michaella Krajicek NED d #30 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-2, 6(2)-7, 6-1 Mon

click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery
Michaella about to belt a backhand, and Samantha about to fire a forehand

#37 wc Martina Muller GER d #73 wc Kveta Peschke CZE 6-0, 7-6(4) Tue

click for tourney gallery
Martina's backhand

#75 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #76 q Karolina Sprem CRO 6-1, 6-4 Wed
Stuttgart, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu Wed WTA story - Thu WTA story
losers' prize: $8,230 US; points: 25
#34 Michaella Krajicek NED d #105 LL Lisa Raymond USA 6-4, 6-2 Thu
#4 s2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #37 wc Martina Muller GER 6-1, 6-4 Wed

click for tourney gallery
Svetlana preparing to lightly tap a forehand

#6 s3 Elena Dementiva RUS d #25 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 Wed

click for tourney gallery     click for Dementiva news photo search     click for Dementiva news photo search
Elena signing autographs on Tuesday, her service toss, and her backhand drive

    After breaking Katarina's serve to take a 5-4 lead in the 3rd set, Elena fell to the court due to a painful cramp in her left thigh. After treatment from the trainer, play continued, and Katarina broke back to 5-5. But Elena broke Katarina's serve again, and then held serve for the match.

    Elena said: "I didn't want to give up and I put in so much, everything that I had today... I wanted to continue because I was almost closing the match. It was a very difficult moment. I was thinking that if I won one more game I'm going to have a day off and that was really going to help me recover. I didn't want to lose and wanted to fight, fight." Reuters story

    About Maria Sharapova's announcement on Tuesday that she would play Fed Cup for Russia, Elena said: "If [Maria] plays it's going to be very helpful for the team. She's a very strong player and we have a lot of chances to win if she's playing."
    Maria's father Yuri is boisterous at matches to a point that many people find offensive and distracting. But, Elena said: "I don't see any problems with her father. He's an emotional guy but it is nothing to do with his daughter. Maria is a nice girl and I don't see any problems."

#7 s4 Nadia Petrova RUS d #17 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-3, 6-4 Thu
#9 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI d #23 Shahar Peer ISR 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4 Thu

click for Peer news photo search     click for Schnyder news photo search
Sharhar's backhand drive, and Patty spinning a forehand

    Patty said: "[Shahar] is a very dangerous player. Her crosscourt backhand was the shot of the match; she saved three match points on that shot alone."

*#19 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #11 s6 Dinara Safina RUS 6-2, 6-2 Thu

click for Safina news photo search     click for Hantuchova news photo search
Dinara and Daniela driving backhands

    Daniela said: "I played what I think was my best match of the year today. I was really focused and couldn't really do anything wrong. It means a lot to me as I haven't been feeling well the last few days, and after losing to [Dinara] just last week in Luxembourg, to put in a performance like this is a great effort I think."

#16 s8 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #75 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 Thu
#22 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #71 q Iveta Benesova CZE 6-4, 6-3 Thu

click for Golovin news photo search
Tatiana after match point

Stuttgart, QFs, Fri 1:30pm
losers' prize: $15,400 US; points: 49
#4 s2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #16 s8 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-4, 6-1

click for Kuznetsova news photo search     click for Kuznetsova news photo search     click for Kuznetsova news photo search
Svetlana serving, driving a backhand, and after match point (I could not find a good pic of Jelena from this match)

*#9 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI d #6 s3 Elena Dementiva RUS walkover--left thigh injury
#7 s4 Nadia Petrova RUS d #19 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-2, 6-4

click for Hantuchova news photo search click for Petrova news photo search click for Petrova news photo search
Daniela preparing to slice a backhand, Nadia driving one, and Nadia after winning a point

#22 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #34 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-1, 6-2

click for Krajicek news photo search     click for Golovin news photo search     click for Golovin news photo search
Michaella and Tatiana driving backhands, and Tatiana after match point

Stuttgart, SFs, Sat 1:30pm WTA story
losers' prize: $28,750 US; points: 88
*#7 s4 Nadia Petrova RUS d #4 s2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

click for Kuznetsova news photo search     click for Petrova news photo search     click for Kuznetsova news photo search     click for Petrova news photo search
Svetlana serving, Nadia's running forehand, Svetlana's backhand, and Nadia after defeating Svetlana for the first time

    Nadia said: "I didn't expect to win today. I played very well in the first set and that's when I got the feeling that I could win today. In the second, there was nothing I could do, as Sveta played perfectly. At 4-all in the third anyone could have won, but I hung in there and I'm very happy now."

*#22 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #9 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-1, 5-7, 7-5

click for Golovin news photo search click for Schnyder news photo search click for Golovin news photo search click for tourney gallery
Tatiana and Patty firing forehands, Tatiana after defeating Patty for the first time, and alerting the media

    Tatiana said: "We were both fighting so hard in the end; I'm proud to finish it the way I did. I learned my lesson in our previous matches. I had a good game plan going in. I didn't want to have [Patty's] forehand bother my backand, so I focused my plan of attack onto her backhand instead. I started well, and think it took her a while to get into the match, which she did in the middle of the second set, and it was a tough fight all the way after that."

Stuttgart, Final, Sun
loser's prize: $53,650 US; points: 137
winner's prize: $100,000 US; points: 195
#7 s4 Nadia Petrova RUS d #22 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-3, 7-6(4)

click for Golovin news photo search     click for Petrova news photo search     click for Petrova news photo search
Tatiana's forehand, Nadia's backhand, and Nadia after match point

Stuttgart, Doubles Final, Sun
losers' prize: $16,680 US
winners' prize: $31,350 US
cdr2 s1 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur d cdr 11 s2 Cara Black & Rennae Stubbs 6-3, 6-4

click for WTA gallery
Lisa & Sam

Stuttgart, Qual Finals, Mon Oct 2 1pm
losers' prizes: q1 $680 US; q2 $1,265 US; q final $2,360 US
#56 Sybille Bammer AUT d #105 Lisa Raymond USA 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3
*#76 Karolina Sprem CRO d #60 Aravane Rezai FRA 3-6, 6-3, 2-1 retired-- abdominal strain
#71 Iveta Benesova CZE d #81 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(2)
#75 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #295 Karolina Kosinska POL 7-6(1), 6-4

Stuttgart, Withdrawals
#1 s1 Amelie Mauresmo FRA r shoulder injury
#2 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL torn muscle
#13 Anastasia Myskina RUS left big toe inflammation
#15 Ana Ivanovic SCG r shoulder
#54 Venus Williams USA left wrist
#88 wc Serena Williams USA knee?

click for Petrova news photo search
 

    Tokyo: The main draw for Tokyo 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.
   
Ariake Tennis Forest Park, 2-2-22 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Ariake Tennis Forest Park, Tokyo, JAP - click for sat pic

   
Early round play at Tokyo   
begins at 10am local time.


    The time in Tokyo is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 9 hours. That is Eastern Daylight Time in the US + 13 hours, PDT+16 hours. Japan news

Although this Tokyo tourney is an outdoor event, the Center Court stadium has a retractable roof, which is closed in foul weather.

click for WTA Tokyo photo gallery     click for WTA Tokyo photo gallery     click for WTA Tokyo photo gallery
Looking good at the player's party on Sunday:
Severine Bremond, top-seeded Marion Bartoli, Gisela Dulko, Maria Kirilenko, Marta Domachowska, and Alicia Molik.
Tokyo, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 10am Wed WTA story
losers' prize: $1,300 US; points: 1
#24 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #57 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 Tue

click for Bartoli news photo search     click for CBS Sportsline tennis news photos     click for tourney gallery
Marion launching her unusual 2-handed forehand (with left-hand-top grip), Jill following her conventional 1-hander,
and Marion with a cake presented for her 22nd birthday (which was Monday, Oct 2) after the match

#27 s2 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #68 Emma Laine FIN 6-4, 6-3 Wed

click for tourney gallery     click for Laine news photo search
Ai lining up a backhand, and lefty Emma firing a forehand

    Ai said: "I really enjoyed the crowd today. They were so enthusiastic and it makes me feel good to have such great support from my home fans. I've had some great years in tennis, but last year was not so great. My motivation was down a bit. Now I'm enjoying my tennis more than in my whole career. I really look forward to working hard, to training and practicing hard. I really enjoy each match."
    Ai also said: "At the beginning of my match against Emma Laine, I was a little bit nervous. It's my first match in Japan since the Toray Pan Pacific Open in February. Playing in my home country is not the same as if I was playing elsewhere. I have a higher expectation of myself. I want to perform well. The match started well. Emma is a tough player and she played well, but I was still able to win in straight sets."
Tokyo player's blog by Ai Sugiyama

*#93 wc Akiko Morigami JPN d #29 s3 Maria Kirilenko RUS 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) Mon

click for Kirilenko news photo search     click for Morigami news photo search     click for Morigami news photo search
Maria's forehand, Akiko's backhand, and after match point

#31 s4 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #103 Klara Zakopalova CZE 7-6(3), 7-5 Wed
*#84 Marta Domachowaska POL d #35 s5 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 7-6(4), 7-6(1) Mon
*#52 Jamea Jackson USA d #39 s6 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-4, 6-1 Tue

click for CBS Sportsline tennis news photos     click for CBS Sportsline tennis news photos
Jamea and Gisela following forehands

*#226 Paola Suarez ARG d #40 s7 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-4, 6-4 Wed

click for tourney gallery
Paola following a backhand

*#117 q Lilia Osterloh USA d #41 s8 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Tue
*#209 q Junri Namigata JPN d #44 Catalina Castano COL 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 Wed

click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery
Catalina following a backhand, and Junri lining up a forehand

*#215 Alicia Molik AUS d #50 Jelena Kostanic CRO 7-5, 6-3 Wed

    Former # 8 Alicia is working her way back up the rankings after missing many months due to an inner ear infection which disrupted her balance and vision.

    Alicia said: "I came here ready to play. I never really felt threatened today and feel confident for my next match. I feel my best match all year was my match last week in Guangzhou against Jelena Jankovic. Measuring how I feel now against how I was before my illness, I think I will be able to tell better when I get to Europe and play against higher-ranked players. That will give me more of an indication of where I am."

*#80 Vania King USA d #53 Severine Bremond FRA 6-4, 6-3 Wed

click for tourney gallery
Vania running netward

*#91 q Camille Pin FRA d #58 Elena Daniilidou GRE 6-1, 1-1 retired--
    left calf strain
Wed
*#167 LL Youlia Fedossova FRA d #72 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-1, 6-2 Wed
*#138 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #74 Julia Schruff GER 6-3, 6-0 Tue c2 m3
#82 Vera Dushevina RUS d #232 q Shikha Uberoi IND 7-6(3), 6-3 Tue
#90 wc Aiko Nakamura JPN d #292 wc Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-3, 6-3 Tue

click for tourney gallery     click for tourney gallery
Caroline following a backhand, and Aiko running to net

Tokyo, 2nd Rd, Wed-10am Thu-rain-Fri 9am Thu WTA story
losers' prize: $2,200 US; points: 16
5 Thu matches ppd to Fri by rain

click for tourney gallery
Rain in Tokyo resulted in the usual WTA umbrella photo-op, and pretty 16-year-old Caroline Wozniacki was nominated for the job

#24 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #82 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-2, 6-4 ppd-Fri
#27 s2 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #80 Vania King USA 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 Thu

click for King news photo search     click for Sugiyama news photo search
Vania's forehand, and Ai's backhand

    Ai said: "I knew it would be tough. But it was tougher than expected. We played on a fast court and [Vania] hits flat balls. But the big crowd out there really helped."

    Vania said: "I'm happy because I feel I've improved a lot. I know I played really well today. I'm also very upset that I lost because my shot was called out on match point and I thought it was in so, it's very frustrating for me right now.
    "Ai Sugiyama is a great player and I have a lot of respect for her. She played really well today. At this point, I'm just looking ahead to my next tournament in Bangkok."

*#90 wc Aiko Nakamura JPN d #31 s4 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 5-2 retired--left hamstring strain ppd-Fri
#52 Jamea Jackson USA d #215 Alicia Molik AUS 6-3, 6-1 ppd-Fri
*#138 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #84 Marta Domachowaska POL 6-1, 6-0 Wed
#91 q Camille Pin FRA d #117 q Lilia Osterloh USA 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 ppd-Fri
*#167 LL Youlia Fedossova FRA d #93 wc Akiko Morigami JPN 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 Thu

click for Fedossova news photo search     click for tourney gallery
Youlia driving a forehand, and Akiko a backhand

#209 q Junri Namigata JPN d #226 Paola Suarez ARG 2-4 retired--right calf strain ppd-Fri
Tokyo, QFs, Fri 10am
losers' prize: $4,050 US; points: 30
#24 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #209 q Junri Namigata JPN 6-2, 6-1 Fri
*#138 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #27 s2 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-3, 6-4

click for Sugiyama news photo search     click for Chan news photo search
Ai's forehand, and Yung after match point

*#90 wc Aiko Nakamura JPN d #52 Jamea Jackson USA 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(4) Fri
#91 q Camille Pin FRA d #167 LL Youlia Fedossova FRA 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 Fri
Tokyo, SFs, Sat 10am WTA story
losers' prize: $7,700 US; points: 55
#24 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #91 q Camille Pin FRA 6-0, 6-1

click for Bartoli news photo search     click for Bartoli news photo search
Marion's backhand, and after match point

    Marion said: "I was feeling really good today, after being ill earlier in the week and playing two matches yesterday. Japan has a special place in my heart because one of the first trips I made overseas as a junior was to Hiroshima for team championships, then to Osaka for a juniors championship. My cousin lives here and speaks Japanese. Also, I have some Japanese friends who speak French, so I have been very well looked after over the years whenever I come here."

#90 wc Aiko Nakamura JPN d #138 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4

click for Nakamura news photo search     click for Chan news photo search     click for tourney gallery
Aiko's forehand, Yung-Jan's backhand, and Akiko after reaching her first WTA singles final

    Aiko said: "I am really happy. My will to win was strong and that made me tense in the beginning, but in the second set, I felt it was okay to make mistakes, I should take each stroke at full power, without hesitations. Then gradually, I was able to get my rhythm back. I was nervous, having to play in front of a big crowd, and not to mention that I was in the semifinals for the first time."

Tokyo, Final, Sun 11am
loser's prize: $14,650 US; points: 85
winner's prize: $28,000 US; points: 120
#24 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #90 wc Aiko Nakamura JPN 2-6, 6-2, 6-2

click for Bartoli news photo search     click for Nakamura news photo search
Marion's forehand, and Aiko's backhand

Tokyo, Doubles Final, Sun
losers' prize: $4,350 US
winners' prize: $8,250 US
cdr228 Jelena Kostanic & Vania King d cdr223 Yung-Jan Chan & Chia-Jung Chuang 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2

click for WTA gallery
Vania & Jelena

Tokyo, Qual Finals, Mon Oct 2 10am
losers' prizes: q1 $200 US; q2 $350 US; q final $650 US
#91 Camille Pin FRA d #352 Ioana Raluca Olaru ROM 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
#117 Lilia Osterloh USA d #167 Youlia Fedossova FRA 6-3, 6-3
#209 Junri Namigata JPN v #319 Liga Dekmeijere LAT 6-3, 6-1
#232 Shikha Uberoi IND d #243 Yurika Sema JPN 6-3, 7-5

Tokyo, Withdrawals
#32 Mara Santangelo ITA Stuttgart
#33 Jie Zheng CHN
#42 Shenay Perry USA right knee
#49 Shuai Peng CHN

click for Bartoli news photo search
 

    Tashkent: The main draw for Tashkent 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.
   
Olympic Park, Seoul, Korea
Tashekent, UZB (tourney site unknown) - click for sat pic

   
Early round play at Tashkent   
begins at 10am-11am local time.


    The time in Tashkent is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 5 hours. That is Eastern Daylight Time in the US + 9 hours, PDT+12 hours. Uzbekistan news

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Sanja Ancic & Elena Vesnina, and Olivia Sanchez, Pauline Parmentier, & Stephanie Dubois, were among the players looking good
at the tourney party; Sania Mirza checked her email (no spam please) in the player's lounge on Wednesday.
Tashkent, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 10am, Wed 11am Tue WTA story
losers' prize: $1,085 US; points: 1
#47 s1 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #363 q Jing Ren CHN 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 Mon
#51 s2 Elena Vesnina RUS d #283 q Shengnan Sun CHN 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 Tue
#59 s3 Sania Mirza IND d #201 Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-3, 6-1 Wed
*#222 wc Iroda Tulyaganova UZB d #63 s5 A Yakimova RUS 6-3, 7-6(5) Mon
#65 s6 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #185 L Skavronskaia RUS 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5 Wed
*#252 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #87 s7 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(2) Tue

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Dominika's backhand

    Dominika said: ""I'm happy that I won. But my game was not good. I was nervous. In fact, we were two nervous players on court. I tried not to think that she was serving for the match. I told myself to play my shots, like in practice."

#96 s8 Anastassia Rodionova RUS d #364 q Olga Govortsova BLR 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 Tue
#97 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #177 Sanja Ancic CRO 7-5, 6-0 Tue
#104 Tamarine Tanasugarn INA d #172 wc Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-4, 7-5 Mon
#112 Tatiana Poutchek BLR d #156 Chin-Wei Chan TPE 6-4, 7-5 Tue
*#262 Olivia Sanchez FRA d #113 Alberta Brianti 7-6(4), 7-6(6) Tue
*#118 Hana Sromova CZE d #115 Stephanie Dubois CAN CZE 6-2, 6-2 Tue
*#119 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #116 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-3, 6-4 Tue
#128 Tiantian Sun CHN d #340 LL Mariya Koryttseva UKR 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 Wed
*#332 LL Ekaterina Dzehalevich BLR d #137 Anne Keothavong GBR 6-3, 6-2 Mon
*#149 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS d #139 Kira Nagy HUN 7-5, 6-3 Mon
Tashkent, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu noon-11am Wed WTA story - Thu WTA story
losers' prize: $1,995 US; points: 12
#47 s1 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #149 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-1, 6-3 Wed

    Maria Elena said: "[Alla] missed a lot. She can play much better, maybe she was nervous."

*#119 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #51 s2 Elena Vesnina RUS 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Wed

click for WTA story with photo
Kateryna launching a backhand

    Kateryna said: "I was lucky."

    Elena said: "I did not feel confident at all. I knew it was going to be a tough match. Kateryna was playing well, she's a good player."

#59 s3 Sania Mirza IND d #118 Hana Sromova CZE 6-4, 7-5 Thu

    Sania said: "I'm just happy to go through. I started playing better in the second set but I was lucky. [Hana] had so many set points. It could have gone either way."
    About her quarterfinal opponent, Olga Poutchkova, Sania said: "It's going to be a good match. She's one of the players I've known longest, five or six years, and we play a similar kind of game."

#65 s6 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #262 Olivia Sanchez FRA 7-5, 6-1 Thu
#96 s8 Anastassia Rodionova RUS d #332 LL E Dzehalevich BLR 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 Wed
#97 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #252 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-4, 6-4 Thu
*#222 wc Iroda Tulyaganova UZB d #104 Tamarine Tanasugarn INA 6-4, 6-1 Wed
*#128 Tiantian Sun CHN d #112 Tatiana Poutchek BLR 6-4, 6-4 Thu
Tashkent, QFs, Fri 11am Fri WTA story
losers' prize: $3,670 US; points: 24
*#97 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #47 s1 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-0, 6-1 Fri

    Victoria said: "I had a perfect game. After [Maria Elena] held serve she got confident, so I had to be ready to stay there."

    Maria Elena sprained her right ankle while warming up for the match, but, Maria Elena said: "[Victoria] played unbelievably."

*#65 s6 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #59 s3 Sania Mirza IND 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 Fri

    Sania said: "Sometimes you don't get used to the conditions, and then you don't win. The balls were flying, and I just didn't get to feel them on my racquet. I haven't been feeling the ball in any of my matches here."

*#128 Tiantian Sun CHN d #96 s8 Anastassia Rodionova RUS 6-1, 6-3 Fri
*#222 wc Iroda Tulyaganova UZB d #119 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-1, 6-2 Fri c2 m2

    Iroda said: "It was easier than I expected. [Kateryna] was making too many mistakes and couldn't put the ball in court. But I'm glad that I was able to keep my concentration."

Tashkent, SFs, Sat 11am WTA story
losers' prize: $6,765 US; points: 43
*#222 wc Iroda Tulyaganova UZB d #65 s6 Olga Poutchkova RUS 6-4, 6-0

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Iroda about to launch a forehand (this pic might be from earlier in the week)

    Olga defeated Iroda in the semis two weeks ago in Kolkata. Iroda said: "[Olga] believes that she can do anything. But I wanted to show her that I have self-belief too, twice that self-belief."

    Olga said: "I was just angry with myself, and lost control. I've had a long tour, and I'm tired."

#128 Tiantian Sun CHN d #97 Victoria Azarenka BLR 7-5, 6-4

    Tiantian said: "The key was confidence. I was confident even when I was down in the first set. She hits so hard, so I decided to stay in there and make her make mistakes."

    Victoria said: "I was not nervous, but I didn't do anything right. [Tiantian] played very well, mixing her game up, and I just couldn't find my rhythm."

Tashkent, Final, Sun 2pm
loser's prize: $12,450 US; points: 67
winner's prize: $22,925 US; points: 95
#128 Tiantian Sun CHN d #222 wc Iroda Tulyaganova UZB 6-2, 6-4

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Tiantian after match point, and meeting the press after the match

Tashkent, Doubles Final, Sat
losers' prize: $3,670 US
winners' prize: $6,760 US
cdr267 s4 Victoria Azarenka & Tatiana Poutchek d cdr104 s2 Maria Elena Camerin & Emmanuelle Gagliardi
    walkover--Camerin right ankle sprain

Tashkent, Qual Finals, Sun Oct 1
losers' prizes: q1 $320 US; q final $590 US
#252 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #340 Mariya Koryttseva UKR 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2
#283 Shengnan Sun CHN d #380 Galyna Kosyk UKR 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2
*#363 Jing Ren CHN d #332 Ekaterina Dzehalevich BLR 7-5, 7-5
#364 Olga Govortsova BLR d #586 Angelina Gabueva RUS 6-3, 6-1

Tashkent, Withdrawals
#20 Na Li CHN
#55 Sybille Bammer AUT Stuttgart
#64 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK
#69 Martina Sucha SVK
#70 Nicole Pratt AUS
#80 Vania King USA Tokyo
#81 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS Stuttgart
#83 Yulia Beygelzimer UKR
#86 Kaia Kanepi EST Tokyo
#99 Olga Savchuk UKR
#125 Conchita Martinez Granados ESP
#143 Ivana Lisjak CRO

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