WTA: Apr 9-15 2007 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, SC Tier I $1,340,000 - 56 players outdoor: green clay (Har-Tru) Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes tourney: draws - OOP - interviews pics: tourney - Yahoo! - WTA Post & Courier: Sports free reg req Charleston: weather radar - forecast # 8 Nicole Vaidisova # 9 Jelena Jankovic # 11 Serena Williams # 13 Dinara Safina # 15 Shahar Peer # 16 Patty Schnyder # 17 Ana Ivanovic # 18 Na Li

Tourney pages: Charleston: 2006 - 2005 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Charleston: #9 Jelena Jankovic 5' 9½", 134½ lbs, RH, 2H-BH Charleston: 3rd WTA Singles Title 1st Tier I Title

    On Sunday at Charleston, South Carolina, in the final of the Family Circle Cup, 22-year-old 2nd-seeded # 9 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia (residence: Bradenton, Florida, home of the Bollettieri Academy), won her first Tier I WTA singles title by handily defeating 20-year-old 4th-seeded # 13 Dinara Safina of Russia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), 6-2, 6-2 (Jelena is shown twisting a serve during the match, and with the Waterford crystal afterward).

    High winds gusting to 43 miles per hour had much effect upon the play. Rain stopped play for a few minutes during the first game of the match, but the line of showers was just skirting Charleston, and the rain did not return. Despite the winds, Jelena put 84% of her 1st serves in the box, and won 64% of those 1st serve points (Dinara: 62% and 41%). WTA story

    Jelena said: "It was really difficult because the wind is so strong and the balls were going all over the place. Especially when we were serving, we were both having trouble... I was just trying to watch the ball carefully and move my feet just so that I'm kind of set on the ball, but still, even though you move, it's going all over the place, so you cannot really tell... That was the difficult part, because you didn't know which direction it's blowing. And then the balls are just flying and you were hitting a lot of frames, and you cannot hit a clean ball...
    "I think if you hit the ball with a lot more spin and faster, the ball kind of goes in, because if you hit it soft, then the wind just completely pushes it out, and [Dinara] kind of took the pace off her ball, and I was hitting the ball through. I was going through the shot a lot more than her. Maybe that was the difference." interview

    Dinara said: "It was difficult to play the game, from the beginning of the match, but I think I was a little bit trying on myself, like I was struggling with the weather, but it was the same for [Jelena], so I think she was able to handle it better than me. And I think I was giving too many free points. I mean even with this weather you have to make someone play, you know. I was just giving too many easy points." interview

    When asked what she thought her chances were of winning the French Open, Jelena said: "Oh, my God. I never had a press conference likethis either. Is it safe to be here?... It really would be a dream come true, but I'm not really looking at this. I have another tournament before that, and I will give my best then. I hope to prepare really well and be ready for the French Open."

    Her performance in this tourney will raise Jelena's WTA ranking to # 7 on Monday, the highest of her career. Dinara will move up to # 10, tying her previous highest ranking.

    Jelena and Dinara had played only once before, in the 1st round of the Paris indoor tourney in 2004, where Dinara won 6-4, 2-0 retired when Jelena could not continue due to a left thigh strain. At that time both players were qualifiers; Dinara was ranked # 40, and Jelena was # 71.

    Jelena is now 3-5 in WTA singles finals, winning her first title later in 2004 at Budapest, and her 2nd title earlier this year at Auckland. Jelena's match record thus far in 2007 is 28-8.

    Dinara is now 5-4 in WTA singles finals; she won her fifth earlier this year at Gold Coast, Australia. Dinara's match record thus far in 2007 is 20-8.

WTA SCOREBOARD: The Family Circle Cup at Charleston s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? The Family Circle Cup  Charleston, South Carolina       NWS weather radar     Charleston current conditions     Charleston: The 56 player main draw for Charleston has 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes.     There are 16 qualifiers and 4 wild cards in the main draw.     Qualifying (2 rounds) is on Saturday & Sunday. Main draw play begins on Monday at 10am.   Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island- click for sat pic/map Latitude: 32.862241 Longitude: -79.902041 goto link for World Wind     The time at Charleston is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) -5 hours (=US Eastern Time, PT +3). South Carolina news       The Family Circle Cup is the longest-running WTA-only Tier I event in the US. The tourney was held at Hilton Head until the Family Circle Tennis Center was opened in the spring of 2001.     A 32-acre facility with a 10,200 seat stadium, the Family Circle Tennis Center has 13 green clay (Har-Tru) and 4 hard courts, all lighted for night play. A 10,000 square foot clubhouse also serves as the corporate headquarters for the Family Circle Cup. The FCTC was built with public help at a cost of $15 million. On Saturday, April 7, 2007, 6th-seeded Patty Schnyder, a finalist at Charleston in 2002 and 2006, and a semifinalist in 2004 and 2005, was looking very nice while helping out with the main draw ceremonies... On Monday, Patty, flanked by Corina Morariu and top-seed Nicole Vaidisova, visited the MUSC Childrens Hospital in Charleston... Also on Monday, 2nd-seeded Jelena Jankovic and 7th-seeded Ana Ivanovic were looking good while doing their autographs-and-press duties during the media "All-Access Hour..." On Monday, April 9, 2007, at the player party at Saks Fifth Avenue in downtown Charleston, Severine Bremond and Tatiana Golovin were viciously attacked by unstoppable plates of french fries... Severine recovered sufficiently to help Nathalie Dechy experiment in the cosmetics department, while Jelena Jankovic found just the right hat for those clay court matches when they don't let a little rain stop play... Meanwhile, large quantities of entirely innocent candies were viciously attacked by unstoppable Michaella Krajicek and Vania King, and Ana Ivanovic, Vasilisa Bardina, and Serena Williams tried things on, oblivious to the fact that they are already plenty pretty...

Charleston, 1st Round, Mon-Tue 10am loser's prize: $3,455 US; points: 1 #19 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #43 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-4, 6-4 Mon #20 s10 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #150 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-4, 6-1 Tue Dominika fielding a backhand, and Tatiana chasing down a forehand     Tatiana played five rounds last week to win her first WTA singles title on Sunday at Amelia Island, Florida.     Tatiana said: "I've never played back-to-back tournaments after winning one... It's so much work to kind of keep on moving and kind of get going. So hopefully I'll be better every day and I'll be able to loosen up, but today was more of a struggle against me because it was so hard physically to move, and [Dominika] was getting everything back and she's a great mover." interview #21 s11 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #88 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-2, 2-0 retired-- low back injury Tue #22 s12 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #54 wc Julia Vakulenko UKR 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 Tue Katarina driving a backhand #23 s13 Marion Bartoli FRA d #72 Shenay Perry USA 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 Mon Marion's backhand drive *#32 Venus Williams USA d #27 s14 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-2, 6-2 Tue Venus volleying a backhand     Venus said: "It was a good match to start out with. [Samantha] definitely hits a lot of spin, on the serve and off the ground strokes, so I feel like I played pretty good, and the score line I guess shows that." interview #29 s15 Sybille Bammer AUT d #58 Alicia Molik AUS 6-3, 6-1 Tue #30 s16 Mara Santangelo ITA d #68 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 7-5, 6-1 Tue Mara driving a forehand #31 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #33 Martina Muller GER 6-3, 7-6(4) Tue *#93 q Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #36 Severine Bremond FRA 6-2, 6-3 Mon Yung-Jan ready to wallop a backhand #37 Shuai Peng CHN d #134 q Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 7-5, 6-1 Mon Shuai considering the possibilities between points #41 Jie Zheng CHN d #94 q Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-4, 6-1 Mon *#51 Meilen Tu USA d #44 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-5, 6-4 Mon #45 Nicole Pratt AUS d #89 q Varvara Lepchenko UZB 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 Mon Nicole after winning a point #47 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #62 Romina Oprandi ITA 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 Tue *#70 Virginie Razzano FRA d #49 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-3, 6-4 Tue #52 Gisela Dulko ARG d #96 LL Julia Schruff GER 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tue Gisela's backhand drive #53 Vasilisa Bardina RUS d #65 Elena Vesnina RUS 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 Mon Vasilisa lining up a backhand #57 Michaella Krajicek NED d #213 sr Alina Jidkova RUS 6-4, 6-0 Mon Michaella's backhand drive #59 Aravane Rezai FRA d #75 q Vera Dushevina RUS 6-1, 7-5 Mon *#84 wc Ashley Harkleroad USA d #60 Laura Granville USA 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 Mon Ashley driving a forehand #64 Jill Craybas USA d #82 q Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO 7-6(3), 6-2 Mon #69 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #80 Vania King 6-1, 6-4 Mon #73 q Anastasia Rodionova RUS d #76 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-4, 6(5)-7, 7-5 Mon

Charleston, 2nd Round, Tue-Wed 10am loser's prize: $6,775 US; points: 35 *#57 Michaella Krajicek NED d #8 s1 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 Tue Michaella's service toss, Nicole firing a forehand, and Michaella launching one on the run     Michaella said: "I know [Nicole is] a very big server. We played each other a few times in juniors as well. We know each other a lot. We played when we were young together. She serves really well.     "On clay it's better to play her because you can return some serves. You have more chances to hit some more points in every game, and although she won a lot of games by lob or 40-15, it was good to let her play a few more points.     "And I think I played a good match today. I served well in the second and the third. The first [round match] was a little bit shaky for me, and the whole match was quite steady for me." interview     Nicole said: "I didn't feel in any part of the match that I really played well, or I got into the rhythm at all. So it wasn't that I had the match at one point. I just didn't feel like I played well, didn't do really well in any part of the game, so I'm a little disappointed with that...     "So many unforced errors. My rhythm was off. I just didn't feel great playing today, and of course, I'm disappointed. I wanted to do better. I practiced pretty well the last couple days, and then you go out and you play like I did today. It's disappointing." interview #9 s2 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #73 q Anastasia Rodionova RUS 6-1, 6-1 Wed Anastassia serving, and Jelena driving a backhand     Jelena said: "I thought that I played quite well for my first round here... it was starting to rain a little bit and it was a little bit slippery, but I did my best and I'm in the third round now...     "It's a really friendly crowd, and I really enjoy my time playing here. It's a really relaxing atmosphere, and for me and it's just great. I really enjoy it." interview *#93 q Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #11 s3 Serena Williams USA 5-3, retired-- right groin strain Tue     Serena said: "In practice yesterday I was sliding. I was working on some sliding, and I think I must have just strained it a little bit, and I took the rest of the day off and today all day, and I was just hoping it would get better...     "It's my groin. I think I just have a slight strain on it, or I don't know the exact diagnosis...     "Fed Cup is on hard court, so I don't think it should affect me. I hope it doesn't. I really didn't want it to affect this tournament, as I had goals to reach. So you know, I don't know." interview     The interview moderator informed the press that Yung-Jan goes by the Western name of "Latisha."     Yung-Jan said: "I think [Serena is] a great player... I was surprised she retired... I thought she just didn't warm up yet, and she didn't feel good with her forehand, backhand, but I didn't know that she had any pain or something." interview #13 s4 Dinara Safina RUS d #47 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-3, 6-4 Wed Eleni's 1-handed and Dinara's 2-handed backhands *#41 Jie Zheng CHN d #15 s5 Shahar Peer ISR 6-2, 6-3 Wed Jie's forehand drive, Shahar launching a backhand, Jie fielding one on the run, and Jie after match point *#37 Shuai Peng CHN d #16 s6 Patty Schnyder SUI 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 Wed Shuai's service toss, Patty running down a forehand, and Shuai after match point     Patty said: "If you look up at all the great rounds I had [in previous years at Charleston], it was just dry and hot, and today it was very, very wet and humid and cold again, so it makes it just very tough to play my game. And then my game has this extra, extra kick of my spin, my serves, just anything on the court, and somehow I couldn't compensate...     And [Shuai] played really well, didn't miss any more, and she really deserved to win it." interview     Shuai said: "[Patty] rallies really well and she's a really good player, and she hits a lot of spin on the clay, so they jump really high. [In the 1st set] I think I really wanted to hit too much winners, and I was too flat. And in the first set I called the coach on the court, and my coach Michael [Chang] was telling me like have to be more patient and just fight, and then play my tennis and fight." interview #17 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #52 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-0, 6(5)-7, 6-4 Wed Gisela and Ana delivering backhands #18 s8 Na Li CHN d #45 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-1, 6-4 Tue #19 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #51 Meilen Tu USA 6-1, 6-3 Wed Vera firing a forehand, and Meilen's backhand drive #20 s10 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #64 Jill Craybas USA 6-0, 6-1 Wed Tatiana driving a forehand *#31 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #21 s11 Francesca Schiavone ITA 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 Wed #22 s12 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #59 Aravane Rezai FRA 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5 Wed Katarina delivering a cannonball to Aravane *#69 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #23 s13 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 6-2 Wed Marion's two-handed forehand drive, and Lourdes' one-handed backhand drive-- Marion is right-handed, but uses the backhand grip (left hand on top) on both sides #29 s15 Sybille Bammer AUT d #70 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-0, 3-0 retired-- gastrointestinal illness Wed #30 s16 Mara Santangelo ITA d #84 wc Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-2, 6-0 Wed #32 Venus Williams USA d #53 Vasilisa Bardina RUS 6-2, 6-1 Wed Vasilisa slicing a serve Venusward, and Venus driving a backhand     Venus said: "It was under an hour, and [Vasilisa is] a good player. She actually generates a lot of speed and pace when she has the opportunity, so for me it was about adding some spin and giving her less opportunities to take control of the point, and of course, I feel more comfortable when I'm in control of the point, which is the way I play...     "I definitely feel like my game is coming around. I'm playing good tennis. I think the only thing that holds me back sometimes is my errors. Sometimes I make a few too many errors, and that has been my issue the last two tournaments... but I feel confident about my game and just have to be very, very consistent." interview

Charleston, 3rd Round, Thu 11am ESPN2-TV 1-2:30pm WTA story loser's prize: $13,285 US; points: 60 #9 s2 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #30 s16 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-3, 6-0 Jelena tossing the ball for her serve, Mara and Jelena driving backhands, and Jelena signing autographs later in the day     Jelena said: "I was playing aggressively, and then I just cruised through it. I was focused throughout the match. I was just trying to do my job out there...     "I didn't expect to have such a short match like this. Before we had some tough matches, and [Mara] has a really tough game. I don't really like her style of play. It doesn't suit me at all, but today I was focused and I did well." interview #13 s4 Dinara Safina RUS d #69 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-2, 6-2 Lourdes serving, and Dinara firing a forehand *#19 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #17 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB 6-3, 6-3 Vera driving a forehand, Ana fielding a drop shot, and Vera driving a backhand *#31 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #18 s8 Na Li CHN 6-4, 7-5 Na and Anabel driving forehands, and Anabel doing the autograph thing later on #20 s10 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #37 Shuai Peng CHN 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Shuai's forehand drive, and two of Tatiana's backhand drives-- when Shuai is moving, she often uses a one-handed forehand, but when she is stationary she drives two-handed with the backhand grip (left hand on top), as does Marion Bartoli     Tatiana said: "It was really windy out there, and [Shuai is] kind of a player that kind of really goes for her shots... I felt like I should have won the second set. I made a couple of stupid errors, a couple of easy mistakes... I was able to tough it out in the end... like I went to get that match. I went to go get the points because I knew that every time I stayed back she would kind of come in and make the points. So I really made myself work and made myself win the points." interview #22 s12 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #41 Jie Zheng CHN 7-5, 7-6(5) Katarina after match point *#57 Michaella Krajicek NED d #29 s15 Sybille Bammer AUT 6(4)-7, 6-2, 6-1 Sybille lightly tapping a backhand, and Michaella about to do the same #32 Venus Williams USA d #93 q Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-2, 6-1 Yung-Jan serving, and Venus driving a forehand     Venus said: "I think this is probably my best match this week. I felt really good on my return of serve. I think I put a lot of pressure on [Yung-Jan's] serve because of that, and when she tried to take some pace off her first serve, then I really had a good chance to look at the ball and place it well. So it was nice, especially with the conditions being windy...     "The important points and the rallies that were long I was able to win most of those. So I think it put a lot more pressure on her, because she's a good player. She hits a lot of pace on the ball when you give her a chance, and she knows how to tough it out. So I had to just keep her outside the game the best I could." interview

Charleston, QFs, Fri 11am ESPN2-TV 1-2:30pm Eurosport WTA story loser's prize: $26,050 US; points: 110 #9 s2 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #22 s12 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-2, 6-0 Jelena dispatching a backhand drop shot, Katarina driving a forehand, Jelena watching her winning shot fly on match point, and after match point     Jelena said: "I didn't expect to win so easy like this because before we had some tough matches, but today I stayed focused and I did well." interview     About playing Venus Williams in the semifinals, Jelena said: "[Venus] has one of the best serves in the game, and she moves well. She hits the ball quite hard, and when she's on the top of her game, it's really tough to beat her, but I will just play my game. I don't really focus on her. I just want to focus on myself and just go out there and enjoy my game." #13 s4 Dinara Safina RUS d #20 s10 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-3, retired-- right ankle injury Tatiana's running forehand, Dinara's backhand drive, and Tatiana leaving the court after retiring from the match     Tatiana said: "[Dinara] played really well, honestly, a lot of credit to her because I've known her for a really long time. We're really good friends. And she just really came out playing really well and hitting the lines, and it was just tough for me to start out.     "It was kind of chilly and it's tough to get warm, and I hurt my ankle at warmup today, so I tried to kind of play through it, and then it just got worse as the match went on, but definitely we had some pretty cool points and she had some pretty good shots...     "It's the change of surface. You know, then we went from hard courts to clay, and I've played like eight matches in nine days, so definitely my body is starting to feel it." interview     Like her semifinal opponent, Vera Zvonareva, Dinara withdrew from her doubles quarterfinal due to a left wrist injury. A ball struck her left wrist during her singles match on Thursday, and the wrist is still swollen.     Dinara said: "It was really hard because I'm very good friends with Katarina [Srebotnik, doubles partner], and she's one of my good friends on tour. So it was disappointing coming to her and said, 'Listen, I can't do this. I mean I'm scared that it's going to get worse, my wrist.' It was too tough for me to say, and she understood me and I'm really happy that she could understand me..."     "I injured it yesterday during my singles match. I called for a trainer at 4-1 in the second set. I mis-hit the ball and I hit the ball on the wrist. So when I had to hit the backhand, when I had to make contact with the ball, I could feel it. So you know, it's too risky." interview #19 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #57 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-1, 7-5 Vera running down a forehand, Michaella's backhand, and Vera following one     Vera withdrew from her doubles quarterfinal later on Friday due to a left wrist injury, but intends to continue in singles. Vera said: "I had this problem for a while, and I've just been battling it since the beginning of this week a little bit more, and I really felt it two days ago. And today is just much worse, and I think if I tried to play my doubles, I won't be able to come back on the court tomorrow for sure." interview *#32 Venus Williams USA d #31 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-4, 7-5 Anabel driving a forehand, Venus driving a backhand, and after match point     Venus said: "[I had] never played [Anabel] before, so obviously I expected to stick to the same game plan I've had, but I guess I didn't expect it to be as tough, and I think that I just started making a string of errors there that made it tough for me. There were a few games that went so fast. So that doesn't always help, but she's a really good player, especially on this surface." interview

Charleston, SFs, Sat 12:30pm ESPN2-TV 12:30-2:30pm Eurosport loser's prize: $51,000 US; points: 195 #9 s2 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #32 Venus Williams USA 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) Jelena firing a forehand, Venus launching one on the run, Jelena puffing a backhand past Venus, and after match point     Jelena said: "Venus was moving really well, and all the points were quite tough. I had to really earn it because she wouldn't give me anything easy...     "I would kind of come to the net, and I think against some of the other players that would be a winner and then she hits a winner on me, and I was like 'wow.' I mean she's one of the best athletes out there...     "I was down one set and a break in the second, and I was thinking to myself, 'what should I do. I need to change something.' And then I started moving her a lot more and playing a lot more to her forehand, putting pressure on her, and her game was starting to break down, and she got maybe a little bit nervous, or who knows what was going on, but I changed my game plan a little bit and was just hanging in there. That was really good...         "In the tiebreaker every point counts. But the funniest thing was that my racquet was about to break, the strings I mean, because I play with natural gut, and it was almost kind of ripped off. And I was maybe a few more points and it would break, and I was thinking, 'oh, my God, should I change and should I take another racquet?' And then I'm thinking 'if I take a new one now, it will be a different feeling. I can lose a couple points.' So I was really lucky at the end. It was just it didn't break. I hit that line on the match point. It turned out great." interview Jelena's frayed string at the end of the tiebreaker     Venus said: "Sometimes I'd play some good points, and then I'd make two errors in a row, and it was tough because [Jelena] wasn't really giving me any errors..." interview #13 s4 Dinara Safina RUS d #19 s9 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-3, 0-1 retired-- left wrist injury Dinara following a slice serve, Vera driving a forehand, and Dinara launching a lob on the run     Vera said: "It started since the beginning of the tournament... it was hurting really bad just in the beginning and the middle of the first set. It was really tough to compete, and then it got to the point where there's no chance I could do anything because I couldn't hit my backhands, and at this top level of tennis, you just cannot do it." interview     Vera withdrew from her doubles quarterfinal on Friday due to the injury, but tried to continue in singles. Like Vera, Dinara had withdrawn from her doubles quarterfinal due to a left wrist injury. A ball struck her left wrist during her singles match on Thursday, and the wrist is still swollen.     About her wrist, Dinara said: "I still have it taped for protection, because here on clay you can get a bad bounce and you hit it late... but it's much better." interview     Neither Vera nor Dinara are playing in the Fed Cup for Russia next weekend (both have played Fed Cup in the past), so they will have some time to heal before the European red clay season.

Charleston, Final, Sun 1pm ESPN2-TV Eurosport loser's prize: $ 100,000 US; points: 300 winner's prize: $ 196,900 US; points: 430 #9 s2 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #13 s4 Dinara Safina RUS 6-2, 6-2 Dinara driving a forehand, Jelena's backhand drive, and after match point

Charleston, Doubles Final after singles losers' prize: $30,000 US winners' prize: $59,000 US cdr11 s3 Zi Yan & Jie Zheng d cdr138 Shuai Peng & Tiantian Sun 7-5, 6-0 It was the ninth WTA doubles title for Zi & Jie, all as a team, including Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2006. Charleston, Qual Finals, Sun Apr 8 10am losers' prizes: q1: $900 pts: 1; q2: $1,765 US (2006: $1,765) pts: 10; qualifier points: 15 #73 Anastasia Rodionova RUS d #111 Melinda Czink HUN 7-5, 6-2 #75 Vera Dushevina RUS d #112 Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-3, 6-0 #82 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO d #107 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-4, 6-2 #89 Varvara Lepchenko UZB d #100 Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-4, 6-3 #93 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #155 Kristina Brandi PUR 6-3, 7-5 #94 Yuliana Fedak UKR d #99 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 *#134 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #96 Julia Schruff GER 6-1, 6-2 *#150 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #104 Anne Kremer LUX 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3) Charleston, Withdrawals: #1 Justine Henin BEL rest, some breathing problems #2 Maria Sharapova RUS right shoulder inflammation; left hamstring #3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA appendectomy #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS right wrist injury #6 Martina Hingis SUI left hip injury #25 Lucie Safarova CZE influenza #28 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER personal reasons #34 Olga Poutchkova RUS low back injury #38 Alona Bondarenko UKR #66 Maria Elena Camerin ITA

    Unlike most tourneys this year, the prize money payouts for Charleston are identical to the 2006 amounts.

    (Apr 7, 2007) # 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, # 6 Martina Hingis, and # 38 Alona Bondarenko have all withdrawn from the Family Circle Cup. Svetlana has a right wrist injury; Martina withdrew on Saturday due to a left hip injury she incurred earlier in the week, which she had hoped would recover in time for her to play.
    Martina's withdrawal will necessitate the addition of a "Lucky Loser" (the highest ranked loser from the qualifying finals) to the main draw.
    # 1 Justine Henin, # 2 Maria Sharapova, and # 3 Amelie Mauresmo had already withdrawn earlier. Fortunately, there are still many good players in the draw.

    (Apr 3, 2007) # 2 Maria Sharapova will be sidelined for 5 to 6 weeks due to right shoulder and left hamstring injuries. Maria has withdrawn from next week's Family Circle Cup in Charleston, and will also not be able to make her planned Fed Cup debut for Russia against Spain on April 21-22.
    In a statement on her official website, Maria said: "I haven't wanted to talk a lot about my injuries, but I'm afraid it has become obvious that I am having some problems with my right shoulder and left hamstring.
    "I hurt my shoulder right before I started playing in Hong Kong [at the Watson's Water Challenge in January], and kept hoping that I could work through it. I was told by doctors I had pretty severe inflammation, but decided to give it a shot. I think the anti-inflams and treatment helped me get through H.K and Australia. Unfortunately, my shoulder hasn't been able to be normal on its own, without the medicine.
    "My doctors have a positive outlook, despite telling me I cannot play for a while. They said I must drop out of the next two events, but they are confident that, with five or six weeks of rest, I will be ready for the next events.
    "I am especially bummed about the Fed Cup, as I was looking forward to playing in Moscow, and representing my country in a team environment for the first time. I will be speaking with the Russian Federation soon about future matches. The Family Circle Cup is always a great event, and a tournament I look forward to competing in again.
    "It's difficult for me to take time off from tennis, but the first thing is my health and that's something that I have made a big priority in my career. I can only look forward to getting back on the court ASAP. Thanks, as always, for your support."

    (March 31, 2007) After the Sony Ericsson Open final at Key Biscayne, Justine Henin said: "I'm not going to go to Charleston; I just withdrew from it. Because I better go home and see a specialist also for my breathing problems, and everything I had this week. So I need this time off, and I'm very sad. It's a tournament I like a lot. So I'll take the rest I need, and I'll get ready in a few weeks.
    "My next tournament's going to be Warsaw, but you need at least two weeks to feel better, then you need matches on clay. Practice is one thing, but you need matches, and I hope I will get a lot of matches before the French." interview

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.