WTA: July 16-22 2007 W&S Financial Open Tier III Lindner Tennis Center, Cincinnati, OH $175,000 - 32 players - outdoor: hard Live Scores - in popup window results - order of play WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes tourney draws     pics: tourney     WTA     Yahoo! WSF - CO Cincinnati: radar - forecast     Sports: Post - Enquirer # 8 A Chakvetadze, # 16 P Schnyder # 38 S Mirza, # 41 Meilen Tu player's blog by Patty Schnyder Internazionali Femminili Tier IV Country Time Club, Palermo, ITA $145,000 - 32 players - outdoor: r clay WTA .pdf: draws & OOP tourney .html: OOP - draw - pics Palermo weather - Italy News # 32 M Krajicek, # 33 M Muller # 36 A Radwanska, # 37 E Loit

Tourney pages: Cincinnati & Palermo: 2006 - 2005 Cincinnati: 2004 Palermo: 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Cincinnati: #8 Anna Chakvetadze 5' 7" 128 lb, RH, 2H-BH Palermo: #53 Agnes Szavay 5' 7" 139 lb, RH, 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the final of the Western & Southern Financial Group Open, 20 year old top seeded # 8 Anna Chakvetadze from Moscow, Russia, handily defeated 27 year old 7th seeded # 60 Akiko Morigami from Tokyo, Japan, 6-1, 6-3 (Anna is shown hoisting the glassware after the match).

    Anna said: "I didn't expect it to be so easy; I think [Akiko] was tired, because she had a tough match yesterday. I was trying to play every point very concentrated, because the last few days have been really up and down. If it had been like that today it would be really tough because she doesn't make easy mistakes and runs very fast. My game plan was to move her, make her run and be more aggressive." WTA story

    Surprisingly, Anna was 0-3 against Akiko in career matches prior to this match; Akiko defeated Anna in 2004, 2005, and 2006 on grass, hardcourt, and red clay.

    Akiko said: "Those three matches both of us played pretty well, but Anna's definitely a different player than a few years ago. The difficult thing about playing her is that she changes the direction every other ball, so I had to run side to side all the time. I tried to mix things up, but really just couldn't do it today... Anna was just too good. I give her a lot of credit."

    Anna is now 5-0 in WTA singles finals; she also won the titles earlier this year in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, and Hobart, Tasmania. Anna has a 42-11 match record for 2007.
    Akiko, who has an 18-16 match record for the year, is now 1-2 in WTA singles finals; she won her title earlier this year in Prague.

    Earlier on Sunday in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, in the final of the Internazionali Femminili, 18 year old 8th seeded # 53 Agnes Szavay from Budapest, Hungary, won her first WTA singles title when she crushed, killed and destroyed 24 year old 2nd seeded # 33 Martina Muller from Sehnde, Germany, 6-0, 6-1 (Agnes is shown with the hardware after the match).

    The win will raise Agnes's ranking to a career-high # 37 on Monday. Agnes said: "I played really well the whole week, except in my second round match with [Ekaterina] Bychkova, I played terrible there. But after that I played better and better in each match. Today I tried to attack a lot but be patient at the right times and it worked well. Now I'm feeling very good, as you can imagine." AFP story

    Martina said: "I was really tired, because I'd had some tough matches the day before; but [Agnes] played really well today. I wasn't playing well in the beginning and she took advantage of it. I like clay, but she likes it too, so it didn't make much of a difference. Hopefully we'll play again soon and I can make it closer." WTA story
    Agnes was playing in her first WTA singles final; she has also won 1 WTA doubles title, plus 3 ITF singles and 3 ITF doubles titles.
    Martina is now 1-1 in WTA singles finals; she won her title in Budapest in 2002. She also has 1 WTA doubles title, plus 10 ITF singles and 9 ITF doubles titles.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Cincinnati & Palermo s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? The W&S Financial Open  Cincinnati, Ohio       NWS weather radar     Cincinnati current conditions     Cincinnati: The main draw for Cincinnati 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.   Lindner Family Tennis Center - click for sat pic & street map Latitude: 39.34876 Long.: -84.276434 goto link for World Wind     The time at Cincinnati is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) -6 hours (=US Eastern Daylight Time, PDT +3). Ohio news   On Saturday, July 14, 2007, in Cincinnati, 2005 champ and 2007 2nd seed Patty Schnyder participated in the draw ceremony... On Monday, local wild card Kristin Flower, 5th seed Aiko Nakamura, and Bethanie Mattek signed autographs... And on Thursday, top seed Anna Chakvetadze visited the W&SFG HQ, and was awarded with a presumably lovely gift...

Cincinnati, 1st Round, Mon-Wed 11am WTA Tue story loser's prize: $1,205 US (2006: $1,300); points: 1 #8 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #74 Tatiana Poutchek BLR 6-4, 6-0 Tue Anna's running forehand, and Tatiana wondering why somebody had to wake Anna up     Anna, tired after a trip from Vermont where she helped Russia defeat the US in the Fed Cup semis, lost the first four games, then won twelve straight.     Anna said: "I just got here yesterday from Vermont. I didn't sleep well last night, because we had flights early in the morning, so I just didn't feel that I was ready to play. I was sleeping on the court the first few games and well, Tatiana played pretty solid, she didn't make mistakes. Then I found my game and just started to play better." Cincinnati Post story #16 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI d #190 LL Monique Adamczak AUS 6-2, 7-5 Tue Patty following a forehand     Monique failed to convert a set point when leading Patty 5-3 in the 2nd. Patty said: "[Monique] was moving much better than me. We were holding serve pretty easily in the match, so it was good I was able to break her and get it back on serve."     Patty also said: "I won my match against Adamczak tonight, 6-2, 7-5. It was only in the last two games that I felt comfortable, though. I was struggling a little bit. It was my first hardcourt match of the summer and along with that there are some adjustments you have to make, and I had a hard time tonight. Also, going in I didn't know how she'd play against me exactly, but I was surprised she was playing so aggresively. She took the balls so early and even her one-handed backhand was great; she was taking her shots on the rise and going crosscourt which was not typical. It was a good idea for her, of course! She was moving much better than me, too. She had a set point on my serve in the second set. I started rallying, and when I get into a long rally I'm comfortable.     "It was nice to play under the lights. Here with the heat, it's nice to play when it's a little cooler. The crowd was good too. It's tough to see all the people in a huge stadium like this - they vanish a little bit - but they were all happy and it was a good crowd for my first night session. It's always special to play here at night.     "After the match I was lucky; there was only one journalist to talk to, so I could rush to the Starbucks before it closed at 11!." Cincinnati player's blog by Patty Schnyder #38 s3 Sania Mirza IND d #141 Abigail Spears USA 6-4, 6-3 Mon Abigail about to swat a forehand, and Sania running one down *#385 q Anna Tatishvili GEO d #57 s5 Aiko Nakamura JPN 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) Tue     Anna said: "If this had been the first match of the tournament for me it would've been worse but I had three matches already [in qualifying]. I was used to the court. I was still a bit nervous in the first set, but in the second and third sets I played more relaxed. I didn't care about the score and started to play my game. In the tie-break, I think [Aiko] was more nervous than I was." #58 s6 Elena Vesnina RUS d #167 Angelika Bachmann GER 6-3, 6-4 Tue Elena meeting the press     Like Anna Chakvetadze, Elena had traveled from Vermont to Cincinnati after helping Russia defeat the US in their Fed Cup semi. Elena said: "I'm glad to have come out of the second set. I was playing well in the first set, and then I had some rallies in the second where I was getting a little tired.     "It's a lot more humid here than in Vermont. Vermont wasn't so hot... It has been crazy days for us. Saturday I was cheering for the team, then I was nervous from the match on Sunday [the deciding doubles with Nadia Petrova against Venus Williams and Lisa Raymond], then on Monday morning we had a 6am flight, which was about four hours. Now I have to concentrate on singles. I'm not playing for my team, I'm playing for myself; it's hard to change." #60 s7 Akiko Morigami JPN d #85 Camille Pin FRA 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(2) Mon Akiko's 2-handed forehand drive, and Camille's backhand #65 s9 Jill Craybas USA d #486 wc Alexa Glatch USA 6-2, 6-4 Tue #73 Angelique Kerber GER d #79 Anastasia Rodionova RUS 4-6, 6-4, 1-0     defaulted for hitting ball against wall (NOT into the crowd) after losing a point Tue Angelique's running forehand, and Anastasia, after having been defaulted for hitting the ball "very close" to spectators, showing where she hit it     News reports indicate that unruly spectators were heckling Anastasia during the match from courtside seats. They were warned for yelling while points were being played, but altough they continued heckling, were not removed. After losing a point, Anastasia hit the ball against the middle of the wall below the three heckling spectators (fans could not be the right word for them). Chair umpire Yvette Kahn then stopped play and called tournament referee William Coffey to the court to make a ruling. Coffey, who had not seen the incident, ruled that Anastasia would be defaulted immediately, without any warning. Anastasia said she hit the ball into the middle of the wall, a good distance from the fans. Coffey said that Kahn told him the ball "was very close" to hitting someone.     Anastasia said: "This is completely wrong. You need to let out your negative emotions somehow, and the safest place to let out your emotions is to hit the ball to the middle of the fence." Cincinnati Enquirer story     It was only the second time in the 34 year history of the WTA that a player has been defaulted. The previous defaulting was of Irina Spirlea of Romania in 1996. Spirlea, unlike Anastasia, was known for being very argumentative, and was disqualified from a match against Stephanie De Ville in the 2nd round in Palermo after De Ville won a 2nd set tiebreaker. Spirlea employed abusive language at an official after De Ville won a 2nd set tiebreaker.     On Wednesday the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced that Anastasia, by no means a wealthy player, was being fined $5,000 for an action which apparently should only have resulted in a warning or a single point penalty. *#223 q Brenda Schultz-McCarthy NED d #97 Catalina Castano COL 6-2, 6-4 Tue #99 Bethanie Mattek USA d #232 LL Iryna Kuryanovich BLR 6-1, 6-3 Tue *#150 Meng Yuan CHN d #101 Casey Dellacqua AUS 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 Wed Meng's backhand drive #105 Olga Govortsova BLR d #159 Alina Jidkova RUS 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tue #110 Lilia Osterloh USA d #196 Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR 6-2, 6-3 Mon Lilia about to slice a backhand, and Viktoriya following a serve #130 Varvara Lepchenko UZB d #NR wc Kirsten Flower USA 6-2, 6-2 Tue #139 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #NR wc Connie Hsu CHN 6-1, 6-3 Tue *#217 q Anda Perianu ROU d #160 Melinda Czink HUN 6-3, 6-2 Tue

Cincinnati, 2nd Round, Weds 11am-Thu 3pm WTA Wed story - WTA story loser's prize: $2,030 (2006: $2,200) US; points: 20 Thursday: rain delayed play #8 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #217 q Anda Perianu ROU 6-4, 6-3 Wed Anna driving a forehand, and Anda's backhand volley     Anna said: "I wasn't ready from the beginning, but I have to say [Anda] played pretty well today. I think I can play better and I can improve, but I played better than yesterday. Every match I hope to play better and better...     "I hadn't played against her and I'd never watched her play, so I didn't know what to expect. Usually I go to see my next opponent's match, but I think I was practicing during her match yesterday. Well I watched her today!." #16 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI d #223 q Brenda Schultz-McCarthy NED 6-2, 6-3 Thu Brenda spinning a forehand, Patty showing slice as she studies a backhand, and answering a few questions ("What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" Patty: "An African or an European swallow?") after the match     36-year-old Brenda is a former top-10 player who retired in 1999 due to a back injury, then returned to the WTA Tour last year. 6' 2" tall, Brenda set the all-time WTA service speed record of 130mph last year.     Patty said: "[Brenda] was hitting some interesting shots; her volleys were really deep and she was well inside the court, but I wasn't afraid of having long rallies with her. Somehow you just have to get that break and play solid on your serve, and try to play long rallies, and hope maybe she'll tire a little bit." Cincinnati Post story #38 s3 Sania Mirza IND d #130 Varvara Lepchenko UZB 6-2, 6-2 Wed Sania volleying a backhand, Varvara about to swat a forehand, and Sania signing autographs after the match     Sania said: "I hadn't played [Varvara] in like seven years - I mean we played under 13s together - but I kind of knew what I had to do today. I think I'm getting used to the court more after having played a few matches in singles and doubles. I feel like I'm hitting the ball better now. I just want to keep going, keep improving." #58 s6 Elena Vesnina RUS v #150 Meng Yuan CHN 6-1, 6-4 Thu Elena firing a cannonball, Meng running down a forehand, and Elena driving one     Anna will play her friend and compatriot, top seeded # 8 Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals on Friday. On Sunday, they were teammates, defeating the USA in the Fed Cup semifinals in Stowe, Vermont.     Elena said: "It'll be a tough match for both of us. It's hard to play against a friend. The last time I played against Anna she wasn't a top player - like last year. Right now she's playing very solid tennis, reading her opponents' games well, and moving really well. She has a strong character in her matches." Cincinnati Post story #60 s7 Akiko Morigami JPN d #73 Angelique Kerber GER 6-2, 6-2 Wed Angelique driving a backhand, and Akiko following one *#105 Olga Govortsova BLR d #65 s9 Jill Craybas USA 6(5)-7, 6-3, 6-1 Thu Jill following a forehand, and Olga driving one     A year ago Olga's ranking was over 300. Olga said: "Right now, it's not hard for me. It was hard to start. It was hard to go into the top 300. That was much harder than now. Right now, I'm feeling great." Cincinnati Post story     Jill said: "[Olga has] definitely improved. She's a little more consistent, and her serve got a little stronger in the second and third sets as well. A lot of it is playing matches too." *#139 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #99 Bethanie Mattek USA 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) Thu Bethanie launching a forehand on the run, and Akgul meeting the press after the match     Akgul trailed 0-4 at the start of the 3rd set. Akgul said: "I was thinking I just had to keep fighting and do whatever I can; doesn't matter if I lose, but still I have to fight, because if I lost 6-0 in the third set that would be a shame.     "It was a good match for me, because I saw her matches and I knew she was really good. In the first set, I really had no chances and she played unbelievable; I'm happy I was able to come back." Cincinnati Post story #110 Lilia Osterloh USA d #385 q Anna Tatishvili GEO 7-5, 6-1 Wed Anna firing a forehand, and Lilia belting a backhand     Columbus, Ohio native Lilia said: "[Anna is] a tough little competitor. She qualified and beat Nakamura. That's really good. I played her earlier in the year on clay, and we had a close match. I didn't know what to expect. I was just playing my game, and I was happy to get an early break." Cincinnati Post story

Cincinnati, QFs, Fri 3pm WTA story loser's prize: $3,740 (2006: $4,050) US; points: 35 #8 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #58 s6 Elena Vesnina RUS 6(3)-7, 6-0, 4-1 retired--right shoulder strain Anna and Elena driving forehands     Elena took a 5-2 lead in the 1st set, but when hitting an overhead smash late in the set injured her right shoulder.     Anna said: "It's never good to win a match when someone retires like this, and [Elena is] a friend too; but she told me it's not too bad, so we'll see. She has started to play better, I felt it today. I've never had an easy match against her." Cincinnati Post story     Anna will play Sania Mirza in a semifinal on Saturday. They have met only once before, in the semis earlier this year on a hardcourt in Hobart, Tasmania, when Anna won, 6-4, 6-1.     Anna said: "[Sania is] a very talented player with a huge forehand; in juniors we played under 18s and we played doubles together, so we know each other. I'm just focusing on each match one at a time. Tomorrow will be a good match." *#60 s7 Akiko Morigami JPN d #16 s2 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-3, 6-1 Akiko's right-handed 2-handed forehand, Patty's left-handed 2-handed backhand, and Akiko after the match     Patty usually does well in Cincinnati, and won the tourney in 2005. She had not had much trouble in previous matches against Akiko, so the score was a surprise.     Akiko said: "I tried not to think about her history here; when I had chances I attacked. I'm really happy with the way I played today."     Patty said: "Nothing seemed to work; I had many chances but couldn't take them. Suddenly my game collapsed, especially on the forehand side, and she didn't give me any chances. Ending a tournament like this is a horrible feeling." #38 s3 Sania Mirza IND d #105 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-1, 6-1 Sania and Olga driving forehand and backhand, and Sania after match point     Sania said: "I expected it to be tougher, but 6-1, 6-1 at any stage of a tournament is a pleasant surprise. I watched [Olga] play yesterday, and she was hitting a lot of winners and dictating the plays. I just knew I had to hang in there."     About playing top seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the semis, Sania said: "I'm really feeling my confidence coming back. I lost against her in Hobart. For me it's a no-pressure match. I'll just go out there and have fun." *#139 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #110 Lilia Osterloh USA 6-1, 6-4 Lilia's backhand--no photos of Akgul hitting a tennis ball have yet become available

Cincinnati, SFs, Sat 3pm WTA story loser's prize: $7,105 (2006: $7,700) US; points: 65 #8 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #38 s3 Sania Mirza IND 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 Anna driving a forehand, Sania launching one on the run, and Anna following a slice serve     Anna said: "It was really up and down on both sides. In the first set [Sania] didn't play very well, making a lot of mistakes. In the third, she was more relaxed because she was down 5-0. But overall it was a good match."     Sania said: "[Anna] played a great match; she's a tricky player to play. After the second set, I was mentally drained after playing so many close points. I think my level dropped a bit, and hers raised, and when you are playing the Top 10 you can't afford to do that." #60 s7 Akiko Morigami JPN d #139 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6(8)-7, 6-4, 6-3 Akiko's two-handed forehand, Akgul's one-handed forehand, and Akiko after match point     Akiko said: "I really enjoyed the match; we both played really well and I had to come up with some great shots. I had to battle to the end. I definitely had to be mentally tough.     "I knew who [Akgul] was, but I'd never really seen her play. My coach saw her play yesterday. I think she can play at this level. She's good!... She's a really tall girl and I thought her movement was not the best thing, so I made her move and it took time away from her. When I had opportunities I'd come into net. I just told myself to be aggressive and attack."     Akgul said: "I played well all week, she just played better today. [Akiko] played the big points better. Her short crosscourt game was very good. I got a bit tired, and if you get tired, you don't put in so many first serves. In the second set she became much more aggressive and started taking her chances."

Cincinnati, Final, Sun 1pm loser's prize: $13,520 (2006: $14,650) US; points: 100 winner's prize: $25,840 (2006: $28,000) US; points: 140 #8 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #60 s7 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-1, 6-3 Anna's service toss, Akiko's forehand drive, Anna driving a backhand, and after match point

Cincinnati, Doubles Final, Sun WTA story loser's prize: $4,020 US [2006: $4,350] winner's prize: $7,620 US [2006: $8,250] cdr106 s1 Sania Mirza & Bethanie Mattek d cdr222 Alina Jidkova & Tatiana Poutchek 7-6(4), 7-5 Bethanie's second WTA doubles title, and Sania fifth Cincinnati, Qual Finals, Mon Jul 16 losers' prizes: q1: $185 pts: 1; q2: $325 pts:3; q3: $605 US (2006: $650) pts: 4; qualifier points: 8 #139 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #232 Iryna Kuryanovich BLR 6-3, 6-4 *#223 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy NED d #190 Monique Adamczak AUS 6(5)-7, 6-0, 7-6(5) #217 Anda Perianu ROU v #NR Kristy Frilling USA 6-0, 6-4 #385 Anna Tatishvili GEO d #515 Katherine Ruckert USA 6-1, 6-1 Cincinnati, Withdrawals #7 Serena Williams USA left thumb sprain #11 Marion Bartoli FRA #21 Vera Zvonareva RUS left wrist #23 Katarina Srebotnik SLO #39 Meghann Shaughnessy USA #41 s4 Meilen Tu USA left wrist #43 Maria Kirilenko RUS #48 Milagros Sequera VEN #54 Laura Granville USA #63 s8 Severine Bremond FRA illness #70 Vasilisa Bardina RUS #84 Vania King USA #87 Yaroslava Shvedova RUS #104 Alberta Brianti ITA #126 Shenay Perry USA

Internazionali Femminili,  Palermo, Italy   Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Palermo: The main draw for Palermo 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.     Country Time Club - click for sat pic & street map Latitude: 38.189389 Longitude: 13.318852 goto link for World Wind     Palermo time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 2 hours (US Pacific Daylight Time +9, EDT +6). Italy news

Palermo, 1st Round, Mon-Wed 4pm-3pm-4pm losers' prize: $955 US (2006: $1,035); points: 1 *#109 Eva Birnerova CZE d #32 s1 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-2, 6-4 Mon #33 s2 Martina Muller GER d #123 q Andreja Klepac SLO 6-2, 6-1 Tue #36 s3 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #191 Mariya Koryttseva UKR 6-1, 6-4 Tue #37 s4 Emilie Loit FRA d #194 LL Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP 6-4, 6-3 Tue *#69 Karin Knapp ITA d #44 s5 Roberta Vinci ITA 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 Tue *#92 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #50 s6 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-3, 7-5 Mon *#161 q Sorana Cirstea ROU d #51 s7 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-2, 6-4 Tue #53 s8 Agnes Szavay HUN d #78 q Iona Raluca Olaru ROU 6-2, 6-1 Tue *#111 wc Sara Errani ITA d #56 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-2, 6-0 Tue #61 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #363 wc Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 6-3, 6-3 Tue *#72 Edina Gallovits ROM d #71 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-0, 6-1 Tue *#125 Kyra Nagy HUN d #93 Tatjana Malek GER 6-2, 7-5 Wed *#307 LL Conchita Martinez Granados ESP d #88 Caroline Woznicki DEN 6-3, 6-3 Tue #91 q Klara Zakopalova CZE d #351 wc Silvia Disderi ITA 6-2, 6-3 Tue #102 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #169 LL Ekaterina Ivanova RUS 6-3, 6-1 Tue #113 Sandra Kloesel GER d #129 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-2, 6-3 Mon

Palermo, 2nd Round, Wed-Thu 5pm-4pm losers' prize: $1,775 US (2006: $1,925); points: 15 #33 s2 Martina Muller GER d #307 LL Conchita Martinez Granados ESP 6-2, 6-1 Wed #36 s3 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #91 q Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-3, 6-4 Thu #37 s4 Emilie Loit FRA d #125 Kyra Nagy HUN 6-1, 6-1 Thu #61 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #161 q Sorana Cirstea ROU 7-6(5), 6-0 Thu #53 s8 Agnes Szavay HUN d #102 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 Thu #69 Karin Knapp ITA d #113 Sandra Kloesel GER 6-1, 7-6(3) Thu *#92 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #72 Edina Gallovits ROM 6-3, 6-1Wed *#111 wc Sara Errani ITA d #109 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-2, 6-0 Wed

Palermo, QFs, Fri 4pm losers' prize: $3,310 US (2006: $3,580); points: 30 #33 s2 Martina Muller GER d #92 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 *#53 s8 Agnes Szavay HUN d #36 s3 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-0, 6-3 *#69 Karin Knapp ITA d #37 s4 Emilie Loit FRA 6-3, 7-6(6) *#111 wc Sara Errani ITA d #61 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-2, 6-0

Palermo, SFs, Sat 4:00pm losers' prize: $6,140 US (2006: $6,650); points: 50 #33 s2 Martina Muller GER d #69 Karin Knapp ITA 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 #53 s8 Agnes Szavay HUN d #111 wc Sara Errani ITA 7-6(0), 6-1

Palermo, Final, Sun 10am loser's prize: $11,395 US (2006: $12,345); points: 80 winner's prize: $21,140 US (2006: $22,900); points: 115 *#53 s8 Agnes Szavay HUN d #33 s2 Martina Muller GER 6-0, 6-1 Agnes driving a backhand during the final, the only news photo posted from the entire tourney

Palermo, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $3,360 US (2006: $3,640) winners' prize: $6,240 US (2006: $6,750) cdr216 Mariya Koryttseva & Darya Kustava d cdr530 Karin Knapp & Alice Canepa 6-4, 6-1 Palermo, Qual Finals, Mon Jul 16 4pm losers' prizes: q1:$165 pts:1; q2:$280 pts:2; q3:$515 (2006 $555) pts:3; qualifier points: 7 #78 Iona Raluca Olaru ROU d #194 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 #91 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #169 Ekaterina Ivanova RUS 6-1, 6-0 #123 Andreja Klepac SLO d #307 Conchita Martinez Granados ESP 7-6(4), 6-3 #161 Sorana Cirstea ROU d #343 Paula Fondevila Castro ESP 7-6(4), 6-3 Palermo, Withdrawals #26 Tathiana Garbin ITA foot injury #83 Yvonne Meusburger AUT #170 sr Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP

    (Jul 12, 2007) # 7 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the July 14-15 US vs Russia Fed Cup semifinal, and from next week's Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Mason (Cincinnati), Ohio, due to a left hand injury she incurred at Wimbledon. Serena sprained her left thumb during her 4th round victory over Daniela Hantuchova on July 4. # 41 Meilen Tu has replaced Serena on the US Fed Cup roster. AP story

    The Cincinnati draw has been enlarged from 30 to 32 players for 2007, eliminating 1st-round byes.

    The Cincinnati tourney is a wee bit odd, inasmuch as 32 ladies (+ qualifiers) play for $175,000, and a few weeks later 64 men (+ qualifiers) play at the same place, in a tourney run by the same folks, for $2,450,000.
    The men are paid, on average, over 7 times as much per person as the ladies. This rarely is mentioned, which is strange considering the ruckus over equal pay at Wimbledon, where the discrepency was much smaller. Apparently everyone ignores this because the tourneys are not simultaneous.

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.