WTA Jan 8-14 Medibank Int'l, Sydney, AUS Sydney Int'l Tennis Ctr, Olympic Park Tier II $600,000 - 28 players - outdoor: hard WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes Sydney: radar - forecast - map # 2 Kim Clijsters, # 3 Amelie Mauresmo # 6 Patty Schnyder, # 7 Nadia Petrova Canberra Int'l, Canberra, AUS Domain Tennis Centre Tier IV $145,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes Canberra: radar - forecast - map # 32 Anabel Medina Garrigues, # 42 Lucie Safarova # 45 Shahar Peer, # 51 Roberta Vinci ITA Moorilla Int'l, Hobart, Tasmania, AUS Tier IV $145,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes Hobart: radar - forecast - map # 26 Katarina Srebotnik, # 29 Klara Koukalova # 40 Anna Smashnova, # 46 Amy Frazier

Sydney-Canberra-Hobart tourney pages: 2007 - 2005 - 2004 previous   other tourney pages     next Hobart: #60 Michaella Krajicek 5' 9", 150 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Sydney: #8 Justine Henin-Hardenne 5' 5¾", 126 lbs, RH, 1H-BH Photos: Yahoo! Sydney WTA galleries: Sydney - Hobart

    On Friday in the final of the Morilla International in Hobart, Tasmania, just-turned-17-year-old unseeded # 60 Michaella Krajicek from Almere, The Netherlands crushed, killed and destroyed 22-year-old 5th-seeded # 50 Iveta Benesova from Most, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-1 (Michaella is shown while leaving the court after the match).
    Michaella said: "I feel very good. I played a tremendous match. It was one of my best matches in my whole career. I'm very happy to win my second title so soon. It gives me a lot of confidence for the Australian Open. I've played a lot of matches and I think I'm in good shape." WTA story
    Iveta said: "Michaella is a great player... It just wasn't my day... Against a player like Michaella you have to be 100 percent out there and I wasn't." Reuters story
    Michealla and Iveta have practiced together often, but had never before faced each other in a WTA singles match. Michaella (whose half-brother Richard won that Wimbledon thing in 1996) is now 2-0 in WTA singles finals; she won in Tashkent in 2005. Iveta is now 1-4 in finals; she won her title in Acapulco in 2004.
    Michaella will play # 78 Kristina Brandi from Puerto Rico in the 1st round of the Australian Open, probably on Tuesday.

    Meanwhile, in Sydney, in the final of the Medibank International, 23-year-old 5th-seeded # 8 Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco) narrowly defeated 25-year-old 7th-seeded #15 Francesca Schiavone from Milan, Italy (whom the WTA says now lives in London, England), 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 (Justine is shown after match point).
    Francesca led 6-4, 4-1 before Justine turned the match around. Justine said: "I wasn't in good position at that point. I couldn't find a solution. I was between the fact that I had to be aggressive but I had to be patient, and I couldn't find the good balance. [Francesca] was dominating the points, and she was coming to the net, which was what I was supposed to do.
    "So I was a little bit frustrated. But she was playing great. She did put on me a lot of pressure, and it was hard for me to handle this. But after that, I just tried to stay focused on every point... But even in the third set I was 5-3 down, so I just never thought it was over. That's probably what helped me to win the match." WTA story
    Francesca said: "...I am doing a good job, in a right way, correct way. [It is] very good to play against Justine, one of the best players. And I was very near, very close, to winning."

    Although they hadn't met in over three years, they had played three times before; Justine won all three times in straight sets, but none of the matches were blowouts.
    Justine is now 24-11 in WTA singles finals (and has won 4 Grand Slam titles); Francesca is 0-6.

    In the Canberra final on Friday, 23-year-old top-seeded # 32 Anabel Medina Garrigues from Valencia, Spain, defeated 26-year-old unseeded # 75 Yoon Jeong Cho from Seoul, Korea, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4.
    Anabel said: "At 0-6 I felt like I didn't want to stay on court. But then I relaxed and I said to myself 'okay Anabel, play like you can and if you lose it doesn't matter.' Then I start to play better. When you are seeded No. 1, every other player wants to beat you. I have had some tough matches so that makes it good to win. I am very happy but very tired also." interview
    Yoon Jeong said: "It is disappointing, but this is still a good result for me to take the top seed to three sets like this. I don't think I was nervous, but in the third set I was tired, and I started to lose confidence."
    Anabel & Yoon Jeong had never before met on the field of combat. Anabel is now 5-2 in WTA singles finals; Yoon Jeong is 0-3.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Sydney, Canberra & Hobart s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Justine Henin-Hardenne (foreground) and Anastasia Myskina (background, with coach Jens Gerlach) took a break while practicing in Sydney on Sunday-- Martina Hingis practiced also, preparing to face Justine in the 1st round on Monday

Sydney, 1st Rd, Sun-Mon 11am WTA Mon story losers' prize: $4,175 US; points: 1 #8 s5 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #NR wc Martina Hingis SUI 6-3, 6-3 Mon Justine delivering a backhand on the run, and Martina congratulating Justine after match point     Although Justine won in straight sets, and was, Martina said, at a "different level," Martina was not blown out of the match. Martina, broken in her 1st service game, also broke Justine's serve in the 1st set. And when Justine served for the match, up one break at 5-3 in the 2nd, Martina held two break points against her-- but could not convert.     Justine said: "The first match is never easy, the first match of the season. But against Martina, it's much more difficult that that. I think the key point was to deal with the special situation today, the comeback for Martina, my first round here. But as soon as I said to myself, 'it's gonna be like normal first round and you need to deal with that; you need to use your experience,' that's what I did."     Martina said: "I have to be patient. It just takes a lot of tournaments, a lot of matches...     "I see that (my level is) enough for maybe Top 20, but if you want to play someone like Justine, a Top 10 player, it's a different ballgame.     "I wish I had more to give. I'm a competitor. You just want to give it a bigger fight." #14 s6 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #35 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 Sun Shinobu nailing a forehand, and Svetlana after match point #15 s7 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #26 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-1, 6-2 Mon Francesca's 1-handed backhand and Ai's 2-handed variety #16 s8 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #47 wc Samantha Stosur AUS 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Mon Nicole launching a backhand, and after match point #17 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #34 Sania Mirza IND 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 Mon Daniela's forehand, Sania scrambling back from the net to field a lob by Daniela, and Daniela after match point *#117 q Yuliana Fedak UKR d #18 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Mon #19 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #41 Shuai Peng CHN 6-2, 6-4 Sun Ana's forehand and backhand-- unfortunately no photos of Shuai on her 20th birthday were available #20 Dinara Safina RUS d #21 Anna-lena Groenefeld GER 6-2, 6-1 Mon *#55 q Na Li CHN d #22 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-4, 6-1 Mon #25 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #30 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-4, 3-0 retired-- abdominal strain Sun *#99 q Zi Yan CHN d #37 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-3, 6-3 Mon *#44 q Vera Dushevina RUS d #36 wc Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 Mon

Sydney, 2nd Rd, Tue 11am WTA story losers' prize: $7,820 US; points: 25 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #55 q Na Li CHN 6-3, 6-1 Na watching her backhand travel, and Kim's trademark splits forehand     Coming from winning the Watson's Water exhibition tourney in Hong Kong, Kim is finding the heat of the Australian summer difficult to adjust to. Kim said: "I was struggling so much at the start of the set, the first set... My skin was burning.... But then the second set was better." *#19 Ana Ivanovic SCG #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 6-3, 7-5 Ana's backhand, Amelie's flying forehand, and Ana after match point     Ana had also upset Amelie in their last meeting, in the 3rd round of the 2005 French Open, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Ana said: "It was [Amelie's] first match in this year, and it's always hard after a long break. I think I put her quite a lot under pressure, so she didn't have too many chances." WTA story     Amelie said: "I probably would have needed at least one match before playing against [Ana]. She's been playing well for the last few months. That's just the way it is." *#17 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #6 s3 Patty Schnyder SUI 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Daniela's backhand, Patty hitting a forehand volley, and Daniela after match point #7 s4 Nadia Petrova RUS d #25 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1, 6-2 Nadia's backhand, Maria's backhand, and Nadia after winning a point #8 s5 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #44 q Vera Dushevina RUS 6-2, 6-2 Justine lining up a slice backhand     Justine said: "I think...I need the rhythm of the competition. Even if I played well in my first two matches, I hope I'm going to have a few matches against top-10 players." #14 s6 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #20 Dinara Safina RUS 6-3, retired--    L foot blister #15 s7 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #99 q Zi Yan CHN 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 #16 s8 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #117 q Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-3, 6-3

Sydney, QFs, Wed 11am WTA story losers' prize: $14,600 US; points: 49 *#15 s7 Francesca Schiavone ITA d 2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL walkover-- L hip strain Kim gingerly walking down the steps after telling the press about her withdrawal     Kim first felt the injury while warming up for the match. Kim said: "I was hitting for about 20 minutes, just my ground strokes, and I was feeling fine. Then all of a sudden I just started to do serves, and as soon as I served I just felt really, really sharp pains... I'll probably have an MRI... I don't know what the diagnosis is yet." *#8 s5 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #7 s4 Nadia Petrova RUS walkover-- left adductor strain #14 s6 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #19 Ana Ivanovic SCG 7-6(3), 6-3 Svetlana chasing down a forehand, Ana after an error, and Svetlana after match point     Ana had defeated Svetlana 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the NASDAQ-100 at Key Biscayne last year. Svetlana said: "The key was fighting, run [down] every ball. I think here it was much harder to beat her because of the wind, because it suits her game much more than mine, because she plays flat." #16 s8 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #17 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 3-1 retired-- gastrointestinal illness Nicole's forehand, Nicole's backhand, and Daniela feeling ill after losing a point

Sydney, SFs, Thu 11am WTA story losers' prize: $27,300 US; points: 88 #8 s5 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #14 s6 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-3, 6-1 Justine launching a backhand, and after match point     Justine said: "I was very comfortable on the court, and was moving great and felt very powerful. I think I've never been as relaxed on the tennis court in the past, so I think that was great. I was feeling amazing on the court. It was feeling today like I didn't stop for four months playing competition, so that was great.     "For me now it's a bonus. I have four matches here before the Australian Open. I'm very happy the way I'm playing right now, and I hope I can keep going in this way." #15 s7 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #16 s8 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-4, 6-3 Nicole's forehand, Francesca giving instructions to the ball before sending it on its way, and Francesca after match point     Although they haven't met in over three years, Francesca and Justine Henin-Hardenne have played three times before; Justine won all three times in straight sets, but none of the matches were blowouts.     About playing Justine in the final, Francesca said: "[Justine] is very focused every point. I think that she has this very good part of her that she is always focused. She can see the play, you know. She know always what to do, and what you are doing."

Sydney, Final, Fri 7:30pm loser's prize: $51,000 US; points: 137 winner's prize: $95,500 US; points: 195 #8 s5 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #15 s7 Francesca Schiavone ITA 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 Justine firing a forehand, Francesca charging a backhand, and Justine delivering a twist serve

Sydney, Doubles Final, Thu losers' prize: $16,120 US winners' prize: $30,000 US cdr20 s3 Rennae Stubbs & Corina Morariu d cdr22 s4 Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suarez 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 Sydney, Qual Finals, Sun Jan 8 11am losers' prize: $2,230 US #44 Vera Dushevina RUS d #126 Shenay Perry USA 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 #55 Na Li CHN d #104 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 #99 Zi Yan CHN d #116 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR 6-3, 6-1 #117 Yuliana Fedak UKR d #132 Ivana Lisjak CRO 6-2, 6-3 Sydney, Withdrawals #12 Nathalie Dechy FRA left knee? #39 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL ITF ban

Canberra, 1st Rd, Sun-Mon 11am WTA Mon story losers' prize: $1,035 US; points: 1 #32 s1 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #81 q E Gagliardi SUI 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 Mon #45 s4 Shahar Peer ISR d #67 Karolina Sprem CRO 7-5, 6-3 Sun #51 s5 Roberta Vinci ITA d #70 Maria Vento Kabchi VEN 6-4, 6-4 Sun #54 s6 Catalina Castano COL d #74 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-0, 7-5 Mon *#141 q Anastassia Rodionova RUS d #56 s7 Marta Domachowska POL 6-4, 6-0 Mon *#75 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR d #58 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-4, 6-4 Sun #59 s9 Virginie Razzano FRA d #78 Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1 Mon *#97 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #63 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-3, 6-3 Mon *#100 Melinda Czink HUN d #64 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 6-2, 6-2 Sun #66 Aiko Nakamura JPN d #232 q Eva Hrdinova CZE 6-2, 6-2 Mon *#79 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #72 Zuzana Ondraskova RUS 6-1, 6-4 Sun #76 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #216 Anda Perianu ROM 6-1, 7-6(5) Sun #95 Julia Schruff GER d #104 Tatiana Panova RUS 7-5, 6-3 Sun *#86 q Emma Laine FIN d #93 Tszvetana Pironkona BUL 6-0, 6-4 Mon #135 LL Yvonne Meusburger AUT d #479 wc Shayna McDowell AUS 6-3, 6-1 Mon *#157 q Tatiana Poutchek BLR d #225 wc Sophie Ferguson AUS 6-0, 6-2 Mon

Canberra, 2nd Rd, Tue 11am WTA story losers' prize: $1,925 US; points: 12 #32 s1 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #157 q Tatiana Poutchek BLR 6-0, 6-1     Anabel said: "I played much better today, but the match was closer than the score. My shots were a lot more solid, and I think I handled the conditions better." #45 s4 Shahar Peer ISR d #97 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 7-6(0), 6-2 *#66 Aiko Nakamura JPN d #51 s5 Roberta Vinci ITA 7-5, 6-0 #54 s6 Catalina Castano COL d #76 Tathiana Garbin ITA 7-6(4), 7-5 *#100 Melinda Czink HUN d #59 s9 Virginie Razzano FRA 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 #75 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR d #86 q Emma Laine FIN 6-4, 6-4 #79 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #141 q Anastassia Rodionova RUS w/o-- L patella tendinopathy #95 Julia Schruff GER d #135 LL Yvonne Meusburger AUT 6-7(0), 6-4, 6-1

Canberra, QFs, Wed 11am WTA story losers' prize: $3,580 US; points: 24 #32 s1 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #79 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-3, 6-4     Anabel said: "Today was a tough match. It was very windy and it was difficult to control shots. I had to concentrate on keeping many balls in court and then taking my chances. It was a good win, because [Ekaterina] is a tough player." #45 s4 Shahar Peer ISR d #66 Aiko Nakamura JPN 2-6, 6-3, 6-0     The win put Shahar in her first WTA singles semifinal. Shahar said: "When it was the rain delay I talked to my coach, and he told me to stop thinking about too many things and just go back out and play my tennis.     "This is a huge moment for me. I think it is a bit of breakthrough. There is always steps in tennis and now I am through the quarterfinal step." #54 s6 Catalina Castano COL d #95 Julia Schruff GER 5-2 retired-- heat illness #75 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR d #100 Melinda Czink HUN 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Canberra, SFs, Thu 11am losers' prize: $6,650 US; points: 43 #32 s1 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #45 s4 Shahar Peer ISR 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4 *#75 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR d #54 s6 Catalina Castano COL 6-3, 2-6, 6-3

Canberra, Final, Fri 7pm loser's prize: $12,345 US; points: 67 winner's prize: $22,900 US; points: 95 #32 s1 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #75 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 Anabel during the match, and with the glassware afterward

Canberra, Doubles Final, Fri after singles losers' prize: $3,640 US winners' prize: $6,750 US cdr154 s3 Marta Domachowska & Roberta Vinci d cdr197 s4 Claire Curran & Liga Dekmeijere 7-6(5), 6-3 Canberra, Qual Finals, Sun Jan 8 10am losers' prize: $555 US *#141 Anastassia Rodionova RUS d #81 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 #86 Emma Laine FIN d #163 Ryoko Fuda JPN 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 *#157 Tatiana Poutchek BLR d #135 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 6-2, 6-1 #232 Eva Hrdinova CZE d #435 Christina Horiatopoulos AUS 6-1, 6-2 Canberra, Withdrawals #33 s2 Marion Bartoli FRA left hip flexor strain #42 s3 Lucie Safarova CZE right adductor strain #376 wc Jelena Dokic AUS left abductor strain     Lucie Safarova said: "I have had treatment three times today and tried to practice in the morning, but it is not good. I have pain when I serve and when I return, so for me I think it was better that I don't play. It is very disappointing because I have been looking forward to playing in Canberra."

Hobart, 1st Rd, Sun-Mon 11am WTA Mon story losers' prize: $1,035 US; points: 1 *#167 q Anne Kremer LUX d #29 s2 Klara Koukalova CZE 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 Mon     Anne said: "I think I was pretty consistent. I was moving pretty well and reading [Klara's] game play well. I didn't make a lot of errors in the first and third sets.     "It's great. I haven't beaten a player in the top 30 for a while so it's always nice to beat a seed and a player ranked that high. It's a good win for me." *#62 Laura Granville USA d #40 s3 Anna Smashnova ISR 6-2, 6-3 Mon     Laura said: "I think I played consistently today. It was a tough match. I really had to play well to win. I was pretty happy with my groundstrokes and I thought I moved it around. I think I just got a lot of balls back and that helped me." #46 s4 Amy Frazier USA d #65 L Dominguez Lino ESP 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-0 Sun #50 s5 Iveta Benesova CZE d #96 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 Sun *#87 Stephanie Foretz FRA d #52 s6 Mariana Diaz Oliva ARG 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 Sun #53 s7 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #102 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-3, 6-0 Sun #57 s8 Jill Craybas USA d #120 wc Nicole Pratt AUS 7-5, 7-5 Sun #60 Michaella Krajicek NED d #83 Maret Ani EST 6-4, 6-4 Mon Michaella, who turned 17 on Monday, was presented with a lovely cake by tourney officials *#89 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #61 Evgenia Linetskaya RUS 61 36 62 Mon *#77 Mashona Washington USA d #73 Emile Loit FRA 6-3, 6-3 Mon *#92 Jamea Jackson USA d #80 Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 Sun #82 Mara Santangelo ITA d #201 q Olga Poutchkova RUS 7-5, 7-5 Mon #84 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #94 Martina Sucha SVK 6-4, 6-0 Mon #85 Kristina Brandi PUR d #108 q Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-2, 6-2 Mon #101 Severine Bremond FRA d #302 q Christina Wheeler AUS 6-2, 6-4 Mon *#184 wc Casey Dellacqua AUS d #169 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 Mon

Hobart, 2nd Rd, Tue-rain-Wed 11am WTA story losers' prize: $1,925 US; points: 12 #46 s4 Amy Frazier USA v #85 Kristina Brandi PUR 7-6(3), 4-1 Tue-rain-Wed c2 noon #50 s5 Iveta Benesova CZE d #77 Mashona Washington USA 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 Tue     Iveta said: "I'm pretty happy with today's match. It was an important match to me. I hadn't beaten [Mashona] before, and I felt the ball pretty good." *#84 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #53 s7 N Llagostera Vives ESP 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 Tue #57 s8 Jill Craybas USA d #101 Severine Bremond FRA 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 Tue #60 Michaella Krajicek NED d #87 Stephanie Foretz FRA 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Tue     Michaella said: "I was a little bit tired at the beginning, and that's why I lost the first set, but in the second set I played a little bit better, and my serve was going much better, and I moved better." #62 Laura Granville USA d #92 Jamea Jackson USA 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 Tue #82 Mara Santangelo ITA d #167 q Anne Kremer LUX 7-5, 6-1 Tue #89 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #184 wc Casey Dellacqua AUS Wed cC noon+

Hobart, QFs, Wed 11am WTA story losers' prize: $3,580 US; points: 24 *#50 s5 Iveta Benesova CZE d #46 s4 Amy Frazier USA 7-6(3), 7-6(4) *#82 Mara Santangelo ITA d #57 s8 Jill Craybas USA 7-6(3), 6-3     Mara has reached a WTA singles semi for the first time. Mara said: "I played aggressive and tried to stay focussed every single point. I had some problems with my serve in the first set but after that it was okay. I'm so happy. I hope to be fresh tomorrow." #60 Michaella Krajicek NED d #89 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-2, 6-3     Michaella said: "Today was a good match, and I'm really happy with the way I played, so hopefully I can do well tomorrow. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I have a tough opponent [Jelena Kostanic]. I was watching her, she's left handed so it's going to be a different match." *#84 Jelena Kostanic CRO d #62 Laura Granville USA 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

Hobart, SFs, Thu noon WTA story losers' prize: $6,650 US; points: 43 #50 s5 Iveta Benesova CZE d #82 Mara Santangelo ITA 4-6, 7-5, 6-1     Iveta said: "I'm pretty happy and excited. I was down in the first set and I'm really happy I came back and found a way to win the match. It's definitely good for my confidence to know that I can win tough matches. It's not good for my energy though, I feel a little tired after." #60 Michaella Krajicek NED d #84 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-4, 6-2     Michaella said: "I was serving well and I was really happy with the way I played. In the second set [Jelena] made some mistakes, and her serve wasn't going that well, so that was good for me of course."

Hobart, Final, Fri 6:30pm loser's prize: $12,345 US; points: 67 winner's prize: $22,900 US; points: 95 *#60 Michaella Krajicek NED d #50 s5 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-2, 6-1 Iveta's backhand, and Michaella's forehand

Hobart, Doubles Final, Fri after singles losers' prize: $3,640 US winners' prize: $6,750 US cdr64 s1 Emilie Loit & Nicole Pratt d cdr173 s5 Jelena Kostanic & Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-1 Hobart, Qual Finals, Sun Jan 8 10am losers' prize: $555 US #108 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP d #169 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 #167 Anne Kremer LUX d #214 Anne Keothavong GBR 6-4, 6-1 *#302 Christina Wheeler AUS d #198 Kristina Barrois GER 6-3, 6-1 #201 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #213 Nika Ozegovic CRO 6-3, 6-1 Hobart, Withdrawals #26 s1 Katerina Srebotnik SLO gastroenteritis #30 Kveta Peschke CZE

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    Where's 'Nastia? Former WTA # 2 Anastasia Myskina from Moscow, Russia (who finished 2005 at # 14), did not play the 1st week of the year, and was not entered in singles the 2nd week. Anastasia was to play doubles this week in Sydney, partnered with her compatriot Dinara Safina. But Dinara developed a blister on her left foot, and they had to withdraw.

    In doubles at Sydney, the former top team (29 titles) of Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suarez was reunited for the first time since May of last year; Paola had not been playing due to a hip injury.
    On Monday, "Vivi" & Paola won their 1st round match against Tiantian Sun & Shuai Peng, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. On Tuesday, they defeated Tina Krizan & Jennifer Russell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals, where on Thursday they defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Liezel Huber 6-4, 6-1.
    But in the Sydney doubles final on Friday, 3rd-seeded Rennae Stubbs & Corina Morariu defeated Vivi & Paola, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

    2nd-seeded Marion Bartoli withdrew from the Canberra tourney. Last week's champ in Auckland sustained a left hip flexor strain there, and of course she would like it to heal before next week's Australian Open.
    Wild card Jelena Dokic has withdrew from the Canberra tourney due to the aggravation of a strained left abductor muscle. Jelena should be healthy in time for the Australian Open (Jan 16).

    Local time for all 3 tourneys this week is GMT (UCT, ZULU) +10 hours (Pacific Time+18, often=the next day, 6 hours earlier; ET+15).

Sydney: Olympic Park map, .pdf - Sydney Map     The main draw for Sydney has 8 seeds, with 4 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Friday, qualifying finals are on Sunday. interactive satellite photo of Sydney centered on the Int'l Tennis Centre
Canberra: Canberra map     The main draw for Canberra has 8 seeds. There are NO 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Friday, qualifying finals are on Sunday. interactive satellite photo of Canberra centered on the Nat'l Sports Club
Hobart: interactive satellite photo of Hobart (low resolution) - map     The main draw for Hobart has 8 seeds, with NO 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Friday, qualifying finals are on Sunday. Australia news

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You can link to many Real Video postmatch interviews of WTA players from Grand Slam tournaments at the 2006 WTA Player Interviews page.

WTA PhotoRankings:
the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.