WTA: May 7-13 2007 Qatar Total German Open, Berlin, GER Tier I $1,340,000 56 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes results - order of play - draws, .html pics: webcam - tourney - Yahoo! - WTA Berlin: weather radar - forecast # 1 J Henin, # 3 A Mauresmo # 5 S Kuznetsova, # 6 M Hingis ECM Prague Open, Prague, CZE Tier IV $145,000 32 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP order of play & results - draws, .html pics: tourney - Yahoo! - WTA Prague: weather radar - forecast # 23 M Bartoli, # 34 G Dulko # 37 O Poutchkova, # 41 M Krajicek

Tourney pages: Berlin & Prague 2006 Berlin 2005 - 2004 Prague: 2005 previous other tourney pages next Berlin: #15 Ana Ivanovic 6' 0", 160 lbs, RH 2H-BH Prague: #53 Akiko Morigami 5' 5", 123½ lbs, RH 2H-FH&BH

    On Sunday in Berlin, Germany, in the final of the Qatar Total German Open, 19-year-old 12th-seeded # 15 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia (residence: Basel, Switzerland) narrowly defeated 21-year-old 3rd-seeded # 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia (residence: Barcelona, Spain), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) (photo shown).

    Ana won despite a painful right ankle injury, which she had the trainer tape during the 2nd set. Ana said: "I took some painkillers, but they didn't kick in until the end of the third set, so I tried to hit winners earlier in the rallies. [The injury is] probably nothing too dangerous...
    "[The win is] obviously very exciting. Maybe I have more expectations now, but I also don't want to put too much pressure on myself." Reuters story - AP story - WTA story

    Earlier in the day Svetlana had completed her semifinal against top-seeded # 1 Justine Henin, left unfinished in the middle of the 3rd set due to rain in Berlin on Saturday, defeating Justine 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. It was only Svetlana's second win over Justine in sixteen matches.
    Svetlana said: "I'm obviously very disappointed with how I played today; I was a little tired and my shots weren't going where I wanted them to go. But Ana played well... Beating [Justine] was very important. The final was a minus, but there were more pluses. I played great matches against Justine and Nadia [Petrova]."

    Ana now leads Svetlana 2-1 in career matches. Their previous meetings, both on hardcourts, were also close.
    Ana is now 3-1 in WTA singles finals, winning last year in Montreal (over Martina Hingis) and in 2005 in Canberra. Svetlana is now 8-10 in WTA singles finals. Barcelona-trained Svetlana has not yet won a title on clay; this is Ana's first clay court title.

    Meanwhile in Prague, Czech Republic, in the final of the ECM Prague Open, 27-year-old 6th-seeded # 53 Akiko Morigami from Tokyo, Japan, won her first WTA singles title by defeating 22-year-old top seeded # 23 Marion Bartoli of France (residence: Geneva, Switzerland), 6-1, 6-3 (photo shown).

    Marion strained her right hip while warming up for the match. Marion said: "I wasn't moving well because of my injury but sometimes this is how it goes. But Akiko played well, and definitely deserved to win. And although I lost the final, I'm happy with my week and reaching my first final of the year." WTA story

    Akiko said: "Marion hits really well and is very consistent, so today my game plan was to move her around. Unlike in Seoul last year I executed my game plan all the way. from beginning to the end. Today I'm glad to say it went my way. But it's very unfortunate for Marion; hopefully she'll be healthy again soon."
    "My goals this year were to be in the Top 50 again and win a title; now I got both of them together!. I've been waiting for this for almost 10 years! It's so awesome."

    Marion still leads Akiko 2-1 in career matches; both of their prior meetings were on hardcourts.
    Akiko is now 1-1 in WTA singles finals; she has also won 1 WTA doubles title, 6 ITF singles titles, and 3 ITF doubles titles. Marion is now 3-2 in WTA singles finals, winning all three of her titles last year at Auckland, Tokyo (outdoor), and Quebec City. She has also won 3 WTA doubles titles, 6 ITF singles titles, and 1 ITF doubles title.

Prague player's blog by Victoria Azarenka

WTA SCOREBOARD: Berlin & Prague s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"?

German Open,  Berlin, Germany   Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Berlin: The main draw for Berlin has 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes.     There are 8 qualifiers and 4 wild cards in the main draw.     Qualifying finals are on Sunday.     Rott-Weiss Tennis Club - click pic for interactive sat pic & street map Latitude: 52.48506 Longitude: 13.259114 goto link for World Wind Berlin map     Berlin daylight savings time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 2 hours (US Pacific Daylight Time +9, EDT +6). Berlin news

On Monday, May 7, 2007, sinister-looking young ruffians Svetlana Kuznetsova, Martina Hingis, 17-year old wild card Sabine Lisicki, Amelie Mauresmo, in her first tourney back after an appendectomy (she won't use that excuse again), 2006 German Open champ Nadia Petrova, and Jelena Jankovic met the press and/or had mug shots taken in Berlin... At the players party on Tuesday evening, Martina Hingis advised Daniela Hantuchova on gourmet dining from buckets... other players being pretty at the party included Elena Dementieva, current German # 1 Martina Muller (aka Martina Müller, aka Martina Mueller), Ana Ivanovic, and Patty Schnyder, shown with compatriot Martina Hingis, whom she will play in the 3rd round on Thursday

Berlin, 1st Rnd, Mon 11am-Tue 10am early start due to rain losers' prize: $3,195 US (2006: $3,455); points: 1 rain stopped play on both Monday and Tuesday #11 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #28 Samantha Stosur AUS 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5) Tue #13 s10 Elena Dementieva RUS d #31 Mara Santangelo ITA 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Tue Elena's service toss *#110 q Zuzana Ondraskova CZE d #14 s11 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-1, 6-3 ppd-Wed Zuzana's forehand drive #15 s12 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #62 Laura Granville USA 6-2, 6-1 ppd-Tue Anna driving a forehand #16 s13 Shahar Peer ISR d #46 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-1, 6-2 Mon Shahar's backhand drive #17 s14 Na Li CHN d #39 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 Mon Na's service toss, and Maria driving a backhand #19 s15 Patty Schnyder SUI d #51 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-0, 7-5 ppd-Tue-rain-Wed Patty's lefty backhand *#48 Meilen Tu USA d #21 s16 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 ppd-Tue Meilen's service toss #25 Sybille Bammer AUT d #286 q Angelika Roesch GER 7-5, 6-1 Tue-rain-Wed *#40 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #26 Francesca Schiavone ITA 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 Tue-rain-Wed #29 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #55 Aravane Rezai FRA 7-6(15), 4-6, 6-0 ppd-Tue-rain-Wed #30 Lucie Safarova CZE d #138 q Olga Savchuk UKR 6-3, 6(6)-7, 6-0 Mon #32 Shuai Peng CHN d #163 q Andrea Petkovic GER 6-3, 7-5 Tue Shuai, who plays 2-handed on both sides, waiting to wallop a forehand *#74 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #33 Jie Zheng CHN 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Wed *#54 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #36 Emilie Loit FRA 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 Tue Elena driving a forehand #38 Severine Bremond FRA d #317 wc Sabine Lisicki GER 6-2, 6-1 Mon #42 Martina Muller GER d #44 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-0, 6-2 Tue Martina's forehand *#61 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #47 Flavia Pennetta ITA 63 62 ppd-Tue *#80 q Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #52 Kaia Kanepi EST 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2 Tue #56 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #84 LL Tamira Paszek AUT 7-6(3), 6-2 Mon-rain-Tue *#107 wc Tatjana Malek GER d #58 Vasilisa Bardina RUS 6-1, 6-3 Mon-rain-Tue #67 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #70 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-2, 6-1 Tue *#254 q Zi Yan CHN d #116 wc Kristina Barrois GER 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Tue Zi's backhand drive #115 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #127 q Galina Voskobeva RUS 6-4, 6-3 ppd-Tue-rain-Wed

Berlin, 2nd Round, Wed 10am early start due to rain losers' prize: $6,265 US (2006: $6,775); points: 35 #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #107 wc Tatjana Malek GER 6-1, 6-1 Wed Tatjana and Justine both preparing to swat (and probably slice) backhands #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #254 q Zi Yan CHN 6-3, 6-3 Wed Zi's two handed backhand drive, and Amelie's one-hander #5 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #25 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-1, 7-5 Wed Lefty Sybille and righty Svetlana driving backhands #6 s4 Martina Hingis SUI d #80 q Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 7-5, 7-6(7) Wed Martina driving a forehand, and Kateryna's backhand #7 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #29 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 Wed #9 s7 Nadia Petrova RUS d #38 Severine Bremond FRA 6-4, 6-2 Wed #10 s8 Dinara Safina RUS d #67 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-4, 6-3 Wed *#30 Lucie Safarova CZE d #11 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-4, 6-4 Wed #13 s10 Elena Dementieva RUS d #56 #56 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 Wed #15 s12 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #54 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-3, 6-2 Wed Pretty Ana postmatch, probably playing Meet the Press *#42 Martina Muller GER d #16 s13 Shahar Peer ISR 6-2, 7-6(2) Wed Shahar's forehand, Martina's backhand, and alerting the media *#74 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #17 s14 Na Li CHN 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 Wed #19 s15 Patty Schnyder SUI d #115 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-0, 6-1 Wed *#40 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #24 s17 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-4, 6-3 Wed #32 Shuai Peng CHN d #110 q Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 7-5, 6-1 Wed *#61 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #48 Meilen Tu USA 6-1, 7-6(4) Wed

Berlin, 3rd Round, Thu 11am WTA story loser's prize: $12,275 US (2006: $13,285); points: 60 Thursday: rain delays #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #74 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-1, 6-3 ppd-Fri Justine driving her one-handed backhand, and Maria Elena following her two-hander *#61 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 Thu-dark-Fri Julia driving a forehand, Amelie's backhand, and Julia after winning a point     Julia had trailed 2-6, 1-1, when the rain-delayed match was halted by darkness on Thursday; on Friday Julia won the first seven games played before Amelie could begin to get back into the match, too late.     Julia said: "I just went out there and tried to play my best. I've played a lot of tennis this past year and I have definitely gained experience; the win over Clijsters and today's against Mauresmo have given me lots of confidence."     Julia had already attacted attention by defeating Kim Clijsters last week in Warsaw, in what was the final match of Kim's career, and Julia's biggest win until then. But later on Friday, Julia returned to the court and completed the best day of her career by defeating # 10 Dinara Safina. #5 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #42 Martina Muller GER 6-3, 6-2 Svetlana firing a forehand, and Martina's backhand drive *#19 s15 Patty Schnyder SUI d #6 s4 Martina Hingis SUI 6-4, 6-0 Martina driving a forehand, and Patty's backhand     The match was stopped by rain with the score tied at 3-3; after they resumed play, Martina took a point to win her service game that had been interrupted, then Patty won the last nine games. Martina was hampered by the same hip injury which caused her to withdraw from the Family Circle Cup in Charleston last month. She also is having back and leg problems.     Martina said: "I haven't felt my best physically for a couple of weeks now, and I need to work on that; the cold heavy weather and the stopping and starting didn't help my hip or my leg either. But she handled the conditions much better than I did and just played much better. She played smart and deserved to win... I wanted to do the right thing and finish the match out of respect for Patty."     On Friday, due to the injuries, Martina withdrew from next week's Italian Open, where she is defending champion. She also might withdraw from the French Open later this month, to give the injuries more time to heal.     Martina said: "I'm not going to go and play tournaments unless I am 100 percent ready... [Withdrawing is] on my mind because I'm not going to make anybody happy, especially not myself, to go out there, and I don't know if it's going to get better that quickly... I'll see how far I can get in the next two weeks. It's not a lot of time, so every day has to be a good day, and we'll see." Reuters story     Patty said: "In the first set I hit a lot of angles, and my tactics worked well; we had lots of long rallies and close games... Obviously Martina was in great pain. But she's tough and I hope she will be able to get through a three-set match soon again." AP story #7 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #32 Shuai Peng CHN 6-1, 6(3)-7, 2-3 retired-- left ankle sprain #9 s7 Nadia Petrova RUS d #13 s10 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-3, 6-3 Nadia dispatching a forehand, and Elena about to launch a backhand #10 s8 Dinara Safina RUS d #30 Lucie Safarova CZE 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 #15 s12 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #40 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 5-0 retired-- left ankle sprain Alona driving a backhand, and Ana ready to slice one

Berlin, QFs, Fri 10am early start due to rain WTA story losers' prize: $24,075 US (2006: $26,050); points: 110 Friday: rain delay #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #7 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Fri-dark-Sat Justine following a forehand, Jelena driving a backhand, and Jelena congratulating Justine after match point     Jelena took a 4-0 lead in the 3rd set, but could not hold on. Jelena said: "[Justine] played unbelievably - she didn't make a mistake until it was 4-4 or something... I don't know how that could happen. I thought I had everything under control and I am really upset, I was so close to beating her. It was slippery out there and I didn't feel safe on the court. But it was all my own mistake that I lost, I wasted all my chances to win."     Jelena now trails Justine 0-5 in career matches, but all their meetings have gone three sets. Jelena said: "She is a champion. She is the only one I have trouble against - I have beaten all the other top 10 players." AP story - AFP story     Justine said: "It's always difficult to explain how that happens, but I fought all the way. I think [Jelena] was a little nervous at the end." #5 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #9 s7 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-6(5), 6-4 Svetlana's firing her principal weapon, Sveta telling the press its too bad to have to defeat a good girl like Nadia, and Nadia telling the press its not so bad losing a close one to a good girl like Svetlana     Nadia said: "[Svetlana] is the hardest hitter and the best mover on the tour. And if she plays like that, she is capable of winning [this tourney]. For me, it was disappointing to lose, but not the end of the world." AFP story *#61 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #10 s8 Dinara Safina RUS 6-3, 5-7, 6-3     The win put Julia into what is only her second WTA singles semifinal; she had never before reached even the quarterfinals of a Tier II tourney, and Berlin is, of course, a Tier I.     Julia said: "I play very aggressely, and I think if I play my best, I have a chance against anyone. I believe in myself more now, but I can't believe I've beaten three Top 10 players in the last eight days. I've been working very hard since December training in Paris. My arm and foot are sore but I kept fighting." #15 s12 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #19 s15 Patty Schnyder SUI 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 Ana arriving for the match, Ana's backhand, Patty's forehand, and Ana checking the cloud conditions

Berlin, SFs, Sat 11am early start due to rain losers' prize: $47,130 US (2006: $51,000); points: 195 Saturday: rain delay *#5 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 Sat-rain-Sun Justine firing a forehand; Svetlana belting a backhand     The semi was stopped by rain on Saturday with the score 6-4, 5-7, 3-2, and finished at 11am Sunday morning. Justine said: "It has been a bizarre week; I played two matches in one day then went on and off the court. I did play some good tennis this week though. Today was very tough, because I felt very tired and my arm felt very heavy. Kuznetsova is an excellent player and I think clay is one of her best surfaces...     "I feel that I have had good preparation for Roland Garros. Now I'm going to get some rest and recover in order to be fully prepared for Paris." #15 s12 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #61 Julia Vakulenko UKR 4-3 retired-- right wrist (AP) or forearm (WTA) injury Julia and Anna driving forehand and backhand     Julia was also forced to retire from her quarterfinal last week in Warsaw due to the same pain--after having defeated Kim Clijsters in the 2nd round. Taking painkillers, Julia defeated both Amelie Mauresmo and Dinara Safina on Friday, but on Saturday the pain was too much.     Ana said: "It's never nice to win this way. I am just looking forward to the challenge of playing the final."

Berlin, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $92,410 US (2006: $100,000); points: 300 winner's prize: $181,980 US (2006: $196,900); points: 430 *#15 s12 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #5 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) Svetlana's forehand, Ana's backhand, and Ana after winning a point

Berlin, Doubles Final, Sun after singles losers' prize: $27,730 US (2006: $30,000) winners' prize: $54,540 US (2006: $59,000) cdr3 s1 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur d cdr138 Tathiana Garbin & Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4 Samantha & Lisa, and Tathiana & Roberta Berlin, Qual Finals, Sun May 6 11am losers' prizes: q1:$830 pts:1; q2:$1,635 (2006: $1,765) pts:10; qualifier points: 15 #80 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR v #134 Yuliana Fedak UKR c3 m2 #84 Tamira Paszek AUT v #110 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE c2 m1 11am #91 Anne Kremer LUX v #115 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP c2 m2 #93 Tzipora Oblizer ISR v #138 Olga Savchuk UKR c4 m1 11am #127 Galina Voskobeva RUS v #1216 Dominice Ripoll GER c1 m2 #130 Hana Sromova CZE v #286 Angelika Roesch GER c4 m2 #152 Margalita Chakhnashvili GEO v #Andrea Petkovic GER c1 m1 11am #153 Andreaja Klepac SLO v #254 Zi Yan CHN c3 m1 11am Berlin, Withdrawals #8 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE right wrist #12 Serena Williams USA groin strain #18 Tatiana Golovin FRA right ankle #20 Vera Zvonareva RUS left wrist #35 Anastasia Myskina RUS left big toe pain & inflammation #45 Nicole Pratt AUS right knee #50 Sania Mirza IND r knee anterior cruciate ligament? #990 sr14 Elena Bovina RUS right foot, &? elbow nerve entrapment

Prague Open,  Prague, Czech Republic   Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Prague: The main draw for Prague has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes.     There are 4 qualifiers and 3 wild cards in the main draw.     Qualifying finals are on Monday.     I. Český Lawn-Tennis Klub - click pic for interactive sat pic-street map Latitude: 50.095835 Longitude: 14.439694 goto link for World Wind     Prague daylight savings time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 2 hours (US Pacific Daylight Time +9, EDT +6). Czech Republic news

On Monday, May 7, 2007, in Prague, Michaella Krajicek and Iveta Benesova hung out in the laundry room (they appear to be inspecting one of WTA European sponsor Whirlpool's fine products), while the pretty Czech player until recently known as Klara Koukalova (now Klara Zakopalova) won her qualifying final.

Prague, 1st Round, Mon-Wed 11am losers' prize: $955 US (2006: $1,035); points: 1 #23 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #1175 wc Kristyna Pliskova CZE 6-1, 6-2 Tue Marion driving her 2-handed forehand with backhand grip, and 15-year-old wild card Kristyna, whose twin sister Karolina almost reached the 2nd round, twisting a serve *#124 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #34 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-3, 7-6(5) Tue #37 s3 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #979 wc Karolina Pliskova CZE 7-6(2), 7-5 Tue *#106 Yvonne Meusburger AUT d #41 s4 Michaella Krajicek NED 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 Tue #49 s5 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #123 LL Renata Voracova CZE 7-5, 6-0 Tue-dark-Wed Nathalie swatting a backhand #53 s6 Akiko Morigami JPN d #79 wc Iveta Benesova CZE 6-3, 6-2 Tue Lefty Iveta's backhand drive; no photos of winner Akiko were available #59 s7 Virginie Razzano FRA d #92 Tiantian Sun CHN 6-0, 7-5 Mon Tiantian and Virginie driving forehands *#95 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK d #64 s8 Anastassia Rodionova RUS 61 60 Tue #68 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #100 Martina Sucha SVK 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Tue Victoria's forehand drive *#99 Sandra Kloesel GER d #69 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 7-5, 6-0 Mon *#137 q Andrea Hlavackova CZE d #76 Jill Craybas USA 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 Tue #85 Camille Pin FRA d #89 Catalina Castano COL 6-4, 6-1 Tue *#108 Julia Schruff GER d #86 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-4, 7-6 Mon Julia following a forehand *#150 Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR d #88 Alberta Brianti ITA 7-5, 6-3 Tue #103 Milagros Sequera VEN d #158 Julie Ditty USA 6-2, 6-4 Mon Milagros following a backhand #129 q Klara Zakopalova CZE d #131 q Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 6-2, 7-5 Tue

Prague, 2nd Round, Wed-Thu 11am losers' prize: $1,775 US (2006: $1,925); points: 15 #23 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #150 Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR 6-3, 6-4 Wed Viktoriya considering the possibilities *#108 Julia Schruff GER d #37 s3 Olga Poutchkova RUS 6-2, 6-2 Wed *#68 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #49 s5 Nathalie Dechy FRA 7-6(3), 6-1 Thu #53 s6 Akiko Morigami JPN d #103 Milagros Sequera VEN 6-1, 6-3 Akiko's two-handed forehand *#129 q Klara Zakopalova CZE d #59 s7 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-2, 7-6(1) Wed Klara firing a forehand #85 Camille Pin FRA d #106 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 6-4, 6-4 Thu #95 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK d #99 Sandra Kloesel GER 6-0, 6-4 Wed #124 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #137 q Andrea Hlavackova CZE 6-1, 6-3 Thu

Prague, QFs, Fri losers' prize: $3,310 US (2006: $3,580); points: 30 #23 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #95 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK 6-1, 6-4 #53 s6 Akiko Morigami JPN d #85 Camille Pin FRA 6-3, 6-1 Camille's forehand, and Akiko's backhand drive #68 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #124 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-1, 6-1 Victoria's forehand drive, Dominika fielding a backhand, and Victoria running down another forehand     Victoria said: "The wind today was just unbelievable. It was crazy! I've never seen something like that. It was tough to play in those conditions, but I still managed to win my quarterfinal against Cibulkova. I tried to be calm the whole match and be smart, and I did pretty well. She freaked out a few times because of the weather, and I don't think she played her best. But in the end I am in the semifinals again and it feels really good. I've been playing and winning a lot of matches the last few weeks; I've never played so well before. I'm feeling really confident right now." Prague player's blog by Victoria Azarenka *#129 q Klara Zakopalova CZE d #108 Julia Schruff GER 6-3, 6-1 Happy fun Praguester Klara after the match

Prague, SFs, Sat 11am losers' prize: $6,140 US (2006: $6,650); points: 50 #23 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA d #129 q Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-3, 6-2 Marion's running backhand, and Klara fielding one #53 s6 Akiko Morigami JPN d #68 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-3 4-5 retired-- right hip strain Akiko firing a cannonball, Victoria studying a foreand, and Akiko launching a backhand on the run

Prague, Final, Sun 3pm loser's prize: $11,395 US (2006: $12,345); points: 80 winner's prize: $21,140 US (2006: $22,900); points: 115 *#53 s6 Akiko Morigami JPN d #23 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-1, 6-3 Akiko dispatching a forehand, Marion delivering a backhand, and Akiko after match point

Prague, Doubles Final Sat 2pm losers' prize: $3,360 US (2006: $3,640) winners' prize: $6,240 US (2006: $6,750) cdr312 Petra Cetkovska & Andrea Hlavackova d cdr179 Shengnan Sun & Chunmei Ji 7-6(7), 6-2 Prague, Qual Finals, Mon May 7 11am losers' prizes: q1:$165 pts:1; q2:$280 pts:2; q3:$515 (2006 $555) pts:3; qualifier points: 7 *#131 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #123 Renata Voracova CZE 7-6(5), 6-3 #124 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #157 Ekaterina Ivanova RUS 6-0, 6-2 #129 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #165 Petra Cetkovska CZE 6-2, 6-4 #137 Andrea Hlavackova CZE d #372 Zsofia Gubaczi HUN 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 Prague, Withdrawals #52 Kaia Kanepi EST Berlin #61 Julia Vakulenko UKR Berlin #78 Eva Birnerova CZE #83 Vania King USA left thumb #87 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR #94 Jamea Jackson USA right hip bone spur, had surgery Dec '06

    (May 7, 2007) 6th-seeded # 8 Nicole Vaidisova has withdrawn from Berlin with a right wrist injury. # 84 Tamira Paszek, the highest-ranked loser in qualifying finals, has been made "Lucky Loser" and added to the draw. By procedures I do not fully understand, # 24 Tathiana Garbin, now 17th seed, has been given Nicole's 1st round bye. One would think they might have given the bye to 9th-seeded # 11 Anna Chakvetadze, who is not playing until Tuesday anyway, and put Tathiana in Anna's place. WTA Rules 391 page .pdf

    (May 2, 2007) # 12 (and former # 1) Serena Williams and # 35 (and former # 2) Anastasia Myskina have both withdrawn from next week's Qatar Total German Open in Berlin, Germany. Serena has a groin injury incurred in Charleston last month which has not yet fully healed. Anastasia is still plagued by pain and inflammation of her left big toe, a problem which has persisted since the summer of last year.

See also: QuickShop: Sporting Goods - Martina Hingis - Anna Kournikova

Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2007 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to hundreds of postmatch interview videos of WTA players at the 2007 WTA Player Interviews page.

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