WTA: May 1-7 2006 J&S Cup, Warsaw, POL Tier II $600,000 - 28 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores link repaired WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes order of play - draws, .html tourney gallery - Yahoo! news photos - WTA Photos TVP: Tennis Polish, with some photos Warsaw: weather radar- forecast - map # 2 Kim Clijsters, # 8 Patty Schnyder # 9 Elena Dementieva, # 10 Svetlana Kuznetsova Estoril Open, Estoril, POR Tier IV +ATP $145,000 - 32 players - outdoor: red clay Estadio Nacional Live Scores - WTA pdf.: draws & OOP results - order of play Yahoo! news photos - tourney gallery - WTA photos Estoril: weather radar large - forecast - map # 20 Flavia Pennetta, # 30 Gisela Dulko # 43 Lourdes Dominguez Lino, # 46 Roberta Vinci

Tourney pages: Warsaw & Estoril: 2005 Warsaw: 2004 Estoril: 2004 previous   other tourney pages     next Warsaw: #2 Kim Clijsters 5' 8½", 150 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Estoril: #48 Jie Zheng 5' 4½", 126 lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Warsaw, in the semifinals of the J&S Cup, 22-year-old top-seeded # 2 Kim Clijsters from Bree, Belgium, defeated 4th-seeded # 10 Svetlana Kuznetsova from St. Petersburg, Russia, 7-5, 6-2 (Kim is shown after match point).
    Kim said: "I constructed points very well today, I was very patient and waited for the opportunities to hit my winners. I thought I was very consistent. We had some great rallies, which were fun for us both.
    "Compared to last year here, this year I was little more aggressive, didn't let [Svetlana] dominate points. It was very important not to start slow today like I did in a couple of previous matches, and I had to serve well, because she serves extremely well and if she got a break of serve, it would be very hard for me to get it back." WTA story
    It was the third straight year in which Svetlana has reached the Warsaw final and lost. Svetlana said: "I lost to a very tough opponent today. I'm really happy to have reached the final. I didn't come into the court enough. Kim really pushed me and I was on the defensive most of the time. Maybe I gave her a little too much space today."
    Kim now leads Svetlana 5-1 in career matches.

    Meanwhile in Portugal, in the final of the Estoril Open, the first all-Chinese WTA singles final in WTA history, 22-year-old 6th-seeded # 48 Jie Zheng from Cheng Du, Si Chuan, China, defeated her compatriot, 8th seeded # 56 Na Li from Wuhan, Hubei, China, 6(5)-7, 7-5 retired when Na was forced to stop by a right thigh injury, which appears to be an adductor strain. As of this writing the WTA results page says "heat illness," but photos show that Na clearly retired due to a bad thigh injury.
    Jie said: "I feel so sorry for Li Na, but it was a good match today and I look forward to Roland Garros." Reuters story
    Jie now leads Na 3-0 in career matches; Jie is now 2-1 in career WTA singles finals, Na is 1-2.

Warsaw: The main draw for Warsaw has 8 seeds, with 4 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers and 3 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Monday.     Warsaw daylight savings time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 2 hours (US Pacific Daylight Time +9, EDT +6). Warsaw has live scoring by points, with statistics.       Early round play in Warsaw begins at 11am local time. Subtract 1 hour from Warsaw for Estoril time.     Estoril: The main draw for Estoril has 8 seeds, with NO 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers and 2 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Monday.     Estoril daylight savings time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 1 hour (US Pacific Daylight Time +8, EDT +5). Estoril has the good ATP live scoring by points.     Warszawianka Sports Club - click for interactive sat pic & street map   Estoril Open venue - click for interactive sat pic & street map

WTA SCOREBOARD: J&S Cup, Warsaw, & Estoril Open s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? On Sunday, former # 1 Martina Hingis graphically indicated how long it has been since she has played a WTA match on clay. On Monday, top seeds Patty Schnyder, Kim Clijsters, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Elena Dementieva happily met the friendly Polish press. Polish # 1 Marta Domachowska attended the draw in Warsaw, her hometown, on Saturday, and despite being awfully darned pretty wound up with a tough 1st round match against # 17 Ana Ivanovic.

Warsaw, 1st Rnd, Mon-Tue 11am Tue WTA story Wed WTA story losers' prize: $4,175 US; points: 1 #11 s5 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #66 Emma Laine FIN 6-0, 6-1 Tue Francesca plotting grand strategy while awaiting serve, Emma watching her forehand fly, and Francesca at her post-match interview *#312 wc Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #12 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Tue Anastasia & Agnieszka launching backhands, Anastasia fielding a drop shot, and Agnieszka after match point     It was the biggest win of 2005 Wimbledon juniors champ Agnieszka's career. Agnieszka said: "I was very nervous today, especially when I was up 4-1 in the third set and [Anastasia] came back to 4-all. I just didn't give away any points and I was lucky to stay ahead. I didn't believe I could do it until the very last point."     It was Anastasia's worst loss, by ranking, in almost seven years. Anastasia said: "If [Agnieszka] keeps playing like this, she can win the tournament. I just didn't play well against her. It was my first match and I wasn't ready for the way she was playing. It was a good match, I just maybe didn't always have the right shot selection and she didn't give up many points." #13 s7 Venus Williams USA d #504 wc Urszula Radwanska POL 6-3, 6-3 Wed Venus firing a forehand, Urszula's backhand, and both at net after match point     Venus said: "I feel great to get one match under my belt. It's been a long time and I have been looking forward to getting back on the court. I was sad not to play Antwerp because I really wanted to win the diamond racquet, and also Miami because it's in my backyard, but I just realized I couldn't come back from my injury too soon like I've done in the past. I really wanted to be 100% fit and I feel I am now." #16 s9 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #41 Anna Smashnova ISR 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 ppd-Tue Daniela awaiting serve, and Anna running down a forehand     After winning the 1st set, Anna led 5-3 in the 2nd. Daniela said: "Even when I was a set and break down, I feel like I was trying to do the right things. I was not making [Anna] play enough and not putting that final shot in, and I turned it around I guess by trying all the time to be positive and forget about the errors as soon as I could and just really be focused on the next point." #17 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #42 Marta Domachowska POL 6-4, 7-5 Tue Marta serving to Ana, Ana fielding a drop shot, Marta's backhand, and Ana and Marta at net after match point #19 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #24 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 Tue Elena retreating to the baseline to field a lob *#25 Martina Hingis SUI d #22 Maria Kirilenko RUS 7-5, 7-6(1) Mon Martina lining up a forehand, and Maria eyeing a backhand     The match was delayed for an hour by rain during the 2nd set, and both players had trouble holding serve in the lousy weather. Maria led in both sets-- but could not hold her lead.    Martina said: "Especially at times when I would have a set point or a break point or something, [Maria] played quite cheeky and mixed it up. She's a very, very talented player and I always knew that.     "Either way [if I won or lost] it would have been a great match. The first set was very close. So was the second. It was just very difficult conditions and today it was whoever had the stronger head and stayed in the match. One shot here and there and it could have been different." AFP story     Martina had not played a WTA match on clay in four years. Martina said: "It's been a long time. Hopefully I'll get into it. I'm very happy to be through this first round. When you come from the hardcourt onto clay I think it's all up in the head. You have to be willing to be patient, a lot of rallies and a lot of hard work. But you also have time to try different variations. It takes time to find the strategy, and the movement is sometimes quite difficult." *#34 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #29 Jelena Jankovic SCG 7-5, 6-3 Mon Jelena reaching for a forehand, and Anna delivering a backhand *#80 LL Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #32 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-1, 6-1 Tue Tsvetana launching a cannonball serve, Katarina ready to belt a backhand, and Tsvetana firing a forehand #33 Klara Koukalova CZE d #45 Iveta Benesova CZE 7-6(3), 6-4Mon Klara preparing to serve, and Iveta about to swat a forehand *#148 q Julia Vakulenko UKR d #102 q Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-4, 6-1 Tue Emmanuelle about to serve, and Julia awaiting serve *#236 q Tatiana Perebiynis UKR d #136 q Galina Voskoboeva RUS 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 Tue Tatiana lining up a forehand

Warsaw, 2nd Round, Wed-Thu 11am, 11:30am losers' prize: $7,820 US; points: 25 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #148 q Julia Vakulenko UKR 6-3, 6-2 Wed Kim's forehand, and Julia lining one up *#17 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #8 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-3, 6-2 Thu Ana's forehand, Patty's backhand volley, and Ana after match point #9 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS d #236 q Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 6-2, 6-0 Wed Tatiana awaiting serve, and Elena's forehand #10 s4 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #80 LL Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6-1 Thu Svetlana and Tsvetana delivering Flexpoint forehands, and both at net after match point #11 s5 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #19 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-4, 6-1 Wed Francesca serving to Elena #13 s7 Venus Williams USA d #25 Martina Hingis SUI 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 Thu Martina's forehand, Venus launching a backhand, and both at net after match point *#34 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #16 s9 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 6-3 Thu Anna's forehand, Daniela serving, Anna watching her backhand slice fly, and Anna after the match *#312 wc Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #33 Klara Koukalova CZE 6-1, 6-2 Wed Klara & Agnieszka launching backhands     Agnieszka said: "I wasn't afraid of [Klara], I just concentrated on my game, and that was the success for me today. This is definitely the most important achievement of my career - to defeat two very good Tour players and be in the quarters."

Warsaw, QFs, Fri 11:30am WTA story losers' prize: $14,600 US; points: 49 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #11 s5 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-4, 6-4 Francesca serving, Kim's backhand, and both at net after match point     Kim said: "I played well and did what I had to do to beat Francesca. I was aggressive and mixed it up a little bit. To win a match like this, you have to fight to the end and run down every ball. Most challenging on clay is the movement; because my strokes are grooved, I'm feeling them well but sometimes it's difficult to find your footwork and your timing on clay." #9 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS d #312 wc Agnieszka Radwanska POL 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 Elena and Agnieszka launching backhands, Elena watching her forehand fly, and Elena between points     Elena said: "The match was very physical. [Agnieszka] played very well. After losing the first set I really had to focus in the second. I had to keep from letting her control the match, be more aggressive and not let her pull me into long rallies. In the first set she had a lot of lucky balls and it was hard for me to remain calm, but I just had to stay positive and focused on the last two sets. I'm not tired because the tiredness goes away after you win so I'll be ready for tomorrow." #10 s4 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #13 s7 Venus Williams USA 6-4, 6-2 Svetlana and Venus ready to tee off     Svetlana said: "My consistency helped me win today. I saw that just getting the balls back was working because [Venus] was missing a lot. I tried to focus on my serve and try not to double fault.     "Coming into the clay court season, I feel I do have an advantage over a lot of the other girls because I use a lot of spin and a lot of them are still hitting it pretty flat. You have to be physically fit to be good on clay, be patient and try to be in the right position." *#34 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #17 Ana Ivanovic SCG 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 Anna heading baselineward as she tracks an incoming lob, Ana watching her serve travel, and Anna after winning a point     Anna said: "I played well today. I made [Ana] run and I hit to her backhand. This is the farthest I've gotten in a Tier II tournament, so I'm very happy about that."

Warsaw, SFs, Sat 12:30pm WTA story losers' prize: $27,300 US; points: 88 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #9 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS 7-5, 6-4 Kim's backhand volley, Elena laughing, Kim ready to Babolat a backhand, Elena Yonexing one, and Kim after match point     Kim said: "[Elena and I have] always had very tough matches, but they're fun matches to play. There's a lot of very tough rallies, so I knew from the start it was going to be very tough out there and I was going to play well at the important points. And that's what I did well today." Reuters story     Elena said: "I didn't use my chances in the first set when I had a 3-0 lead. It was just a couple of points here or there really that made a difference. I feel I made too many unforced errors in the first set and in the second [Kim] just started to play well and it was difficult for me to play after I was so close to winning the first one." #10 s4 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #34 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-1, 6-1 Svetlana following a forehand, Anna's backhand, Svetlana watching her serve fly, and Svetlana after winning a point     Svetlana said: "I feel like I'm getting more comfortable on this surface with every match. It's tough out there and although it looked easy, it's still a lot of hard work. There's a lot of work going on off the court too, a lot of training and getting ready for this surface. Training in Barcelona definitely helps me at this time of year."     About playing Kim Clijsters in the final, Svetlana said: "I know it will be a good match tomorrow, [Kim] has a winning record on me [4-1] but the only time we played on clay, I won. I hope I can continue my success here and win the title tomorrow."     Anna said: "I hope to have a better result against [Svetlana] next time. I couldn't seem to do anything today, I couldn't find my rhythm. She just overpowered me."

Warsaw, Final, Sun 1pm loser's prize: $51,000 US; points: 137 winner's prize: $95,500 US; points: 195 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #10 s4 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 7-5, 6-2 Kim lining up a backhand, Svetlana belting one, Kim trying to shake the ball off her racquet after it got stuck in the strings--no, wait, that's a volley, and Kim after match point

Warsaw, Doubles Final, Sun after singles losers' prize: $16,120 US winners' prize: $30,000 US cdr75 s3 Elena Likhovtseva & Anastasia Myskina d cdr36 s2 Katarina Srebotnik & Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-4 Elena and Anastasia after match point (or so it appears), and with the hardware-- it was Anastasia's 5th WTA doubles title, and she was no doubt glad to team up with her friend Elena, who has won 26 of them, with a dozen different partners Warsaw, Qual Finals, Mon May 1 11am losers' prize: $2,230 US *#102 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI d #80 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) *#136 Galina Voskoboeva RUS d #98 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-0, 6-1 *#236 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR d #121 Meilen Tu USA 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 #148 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #165 Lucie Hradecka CZE 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 Warsaw, Withdrawals #4 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL back pain, wants to stay healthy for Roland Garros #14 s8 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER L hamstring strain #21 Nathalie Dechy FRA flu #37 Kveta Peschke CZE r wrist injury

Estoril, 1st Round, Mon-Tue 11am Mon WTA story losers' prize: $1,035 US; points: 1 #20 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #63 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(2) Mon Elena about to serve, Flavia's backhand, and Flavia after winning a point     Flavia had only played in three singles matches (1 WTA and 2 Fed Cup) since spraining her right ankle at Indian Wells in March.     Flavia said: "It was very tough. I started well today and won the first set, and in the second set [Elena] went to the bathroom and stayed seven or eight minutes. Then she started to play much better and I made more mistakes."     "My ankle hurt a little bit after the match today but I can practice normally now. Now I'm fine." #30 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG d #77 Zi Yan CHN 6-4, 6-4 Tue Gisela lining up a forehand #43 s3 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #481 wc M De Lattre POR 6-1, 6-2 Tue #82 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #47 s5 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-4, 6-4 Mon Antonella's backhand, Vera with one in her sights, and Antonella after match point #48 s6 Jie Zheng CHN d #123 LL Victoria Azarenka BLR 7-5, 6-4 Tue #50 s7 Émilie Loît FRA d #150 wc Frederica Piedade POR 6-1, 6-2 Tue #56 s8 Na Li CHN d #173 q Kristina Barrios GER 6-4, 6-3 Tue *#72 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG d #59 s9 Virginie Razzano FRA 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Mon Mariana's backhand #60 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #110 Bethanie Mattek USA 7-5, 6-4 Tue Eleni's forehand *#93 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE d #61 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-3, 6-3 Tue *#317 wc Paola Suarez ARG d #64 Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 7-5, 6-3 Mon Maria Antonia's 2-handed forehand, and Paola's backhand #69 Maret Ani EST d #183 q Shikha Uberoi IND 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 Tue *#94 Kaia Kanepi EST d #71 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-4, 6-1 Tue #84 Laura Pous Tio ESP d #90 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 6-0, 6-0 Tue *#122 q Katerina Bohmova CZE d #108 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 Tue Katerina at the player party on Monday (or Tuesday?) *#167 q Natalia Gussoni ARG d #120 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-3, 6-3 Tue Natalia's backhand

Estoril, 2nd Round, Wed-Thu 11am losers' prize: $1,925 US; points: 12 #20 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #69 Maret Ani EST 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 Wed Flavia fielding a drop shot, and after winning a point #30 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG d #317 wc Paola Suarez ARG 6-2, 6-1 Wed Gisela's fine forehand, and after winning a point #43 s3 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #94 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-1, 6-4 Thu Lourdes after match point #48 s6 Jie Zheng CHN d #84 Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Thu Jie following a forehand #50 s7 Émilie Loît FRA d #167 q Natalia Gussoni ARG 6-1, 6-0 Thu Emilie's backhand #56 s8 Na Li CHN d #122 q Katerina Bohmova CZE 6-2, 6-2 Thu Na's backhand #60 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #72 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 7-5, 7-5 Wed *#93 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE d #82 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 6-2, 6-1 Wed

Estoril, QFs, Fri losers' prize: $3,580 US; points: 24 #20 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #60 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 Flavia swatting a backhand, Eleni lining one up, and Flavia after winning a point *#56 s8 Na Li CHN d #30 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-3, 6-1 Na following a backhand, Gisela chasing a forehand, and Na after winning a point *#50 s7 Émilie Loît FRA d #43 s3 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 Émilie about to fire a forehand, and after winning a point #48 s6 Jie Zheng CHN d #93 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-1, 6-3

Estoril, SFs, Sat losers' prize: $6,650 US; points: 43 *#48 s6 Jie Zheng CHN d #20 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-2, 6-3 cC noon Flavia lining up a backhand, Jie belting one, and Jie after match point     About playing her friend Na Li on Sunday in the first all-Chinese singles final in WTA history, Jie said: "It will be exciting to play in the first final between Chinese. I have the higher ranking, but Li Na is more powerful on the court. We train together every day, so we know each other's games well." AFP story *#56 s8 Na Li CHN d #50 s7 Émilie Loît FRA 7-5, 6-2 cC2 m2 Na and Émilie firing forehands, Na's backhand, and Na and after match point     Na was also a finalist in Estoril in 2005, when she lost to Lucie Safarova. About Sunday's final, Na said: "I really want to finally win here. I have to be tough mentally, but I can only try to play my best."

Estoril, Final, Sun noon loser's prize: $12,345 US; points: 67 winner's prize: $22,900 US; points: 95 #48 s6 Jie Zheng CHN d #56 s8 Na Li CHN 6(5)-7, 7-5 retired--r thigh injury Jie eyeing a backhand, Na swatting one, Na's thigh hurting, Na congratulating Jie as the trainer works on her thigh, and Jie waving to the fans

Estoril, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $3,640 US winners' prize: $6,750 US cdr59 s2 Ting Li & Tiantian Sun d cdr132 Gisela Dulko & Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-2, 6-2 Ting & Tiantian with their new giant crystal goblets-- it was the 7th doubles title for both of them (including the 2004 Olympics), all as a team Estoril, Qual Finals, Mon May 1 11am losers' prize: $555 US #122 Katerina Bohmova CZE d #190 Natalie Grandin RSA 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) *#173 Kristina Barrios GER d #123 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-0, 1-6, 6-2 *#167 Natalia Gussoni ARG d #146 Yulia Beygelzimer UKR 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 #183 Shikha Uberoi IND d #251 Ana Vrljic CRO 6-4, 4-2 retired Estoril, Withdrawals #26 Lucie Safarova CZE #35 Mara Santangelo ITA back injury #38 Catalina Castano COL #39 Jill Craybas USA #44 Vera Zvonareva RUS illness #46 s4 Roberta Vinci ITA r leg injury #49 Jelena Kostanic CRO knee injury #52 Julia Schruff GER illness #58 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP wrist injury #53 Sybille Bammer AUT wrist injury #65 Shuai Peng CHN

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