WTA Feb 19-25: Dubai, Memphis & Bogota Dubai Tennis Champ's, Dubai, UAE Tier II $1,000,000 - 28 players outdoor: hard (DecoTurf) Live Scores WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes pics: Yahoo! - tourney - WTA - videos sound bytes Dubai: weather # 2 Justine Henin, # 3 Amelie Mauresmo # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, # 6 Martina Hingis Cellular South Cup, Memphis, TN Tier III $190,000 - 30 players - indoor: hard Live Scores - WTA pdf.: draws & OOP Memphis: weather radar - forecast     Memphis Commerical Appeal: Tennis # 17 Shahar Peer, # 25 Marion Bartoli # 28 Samantha Stosur, # 44 Nicole Pratt Copa Colsanitas, Bogota, COL Tier III $170,000 - 32 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores - WTA pdf.: draws & OOP draws, .html - schedule pics: Yahoo news - tourney - video Bogota: weather # 29 Tathiana Garbin, # 40 Flavia Pennetta # 50 Emilie Loit, # 49 L Dominguez Lino

Tourney pages: Dubai, Memphis & Bogota: 2006 Dubai: 2005 - Memphis & Bogota: 2005 previous other tourney pages next Dubai: #2 Justine Henin 5' 5¾", 126 lbs, RH, 1H-BH Bogota: #64 Roberta Vinci 5' 4", 132 lbs, RH, 1H-BH Memphis: #53 Venus Williams 6' 1", 160 lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    On Saturday in the United Arab Emirates, in the finals of the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open, 24-year-old top-seeded # 2 Justine Henin of Belgium (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), playing in only her 2nd tourney of the year, defeated 27-year-old 2nd-seeded # 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France (residence: Geneva, Switzerland) 6-4, 7-5 (Justine is shown with the slightly odd hardware after the match).

    Justine took a 2-break lead at 4-1 in the 1st set, then Amelie won the next two games and had 3 break points to level the score. Justine said: "[Not allowing Amelie to break back to 4-4] was the key of the first set for sure, and probably of the match, because she was coming back in the match very strongly and I was starting to feel a little bit nervous. But I had good serves and was pretty aggressive...
    "I took the opportunities. I was very aggressive but I was patient when I had to be. The second set was tough. I kept my serve and then [Amelie] was under pressure at 5-5 and did two double-faults. tourney story

    Amelie said: "I said at the beginning of the week it was going to be difficult to get through to the end. I almost got there. It was only the matter of a few points here and there. [Justine] just played some great shots at the right time."
Henin mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4
Mauresmo mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2

    2003, 2004, 2006, and now 2007 Dubai champ Justine has never lost a match in the United Arab Emirates (16-0), and is now 30-15 in WTA singles finals. Amelie is now 24-21 in finals; Justine now leads Amelie 7-6 in career matches, and has won the last two times they have played.

    In Memphis on Saturday night, in the final of the Cellular South Cup, 26-year-old 7th-seeded # 53 (and former # 1) Venus Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, defeated 19-year-old top-seeded # 17 Shahar Peer from Maccabim, Israel, 6-1, 6-1 (Venus is shown with the nice glassware after the match).

    Venus said: "It's about errors for me. Today I didn't make too many errors. When my opponents benefit from my largesse, it gets harder for me. A lot of the errors in my early matches came from a lack of footwork. Today I knew I had to do more and that paid off huge. It's very exciting to win the title after not being on the top of my game early in the week. I have nothing to prove... I'm still looking to get better." tourney story

    Shahar said: "It was a very, very good week except for the final. The rest of the rounds were good, but this is the first time I have lost in a final, so it's not the happiest thing. Venus is very experienced and she was focused from the first game today. Against players like her I can't afford to start slowly."

    Shahar and Venus had never before met on the field of combat. Venus, who has been sidelined for much of the past year by a painful left wrist injury that never seems to heal, has now won 34 WTA singles titles, including 5 Grand Slam tourney titles; Shahar is now 3-1 in WTA singles finals.

    In Bogota on Sunday, in the final of the Copa Colsanitas, 24-years-old-last-Sunday 6th-seeded # 64 Roberta Vinci from Taranto, Italy, won the unfun way, defeating her compatriot, 29-year-old top-seeded # 29 Tathiana Garbin from Mestre, 6(5)-7, 6-4, 0-3 retired when Tathiana could no longer continue due to gastrointestinal illness (Roberta is shown with the very odd hardware after the match).
    After winning the 1st set tiebreaker, Tathiana led 4-0 in the 2nd, then Roberta won six games in a row to win the set. Tathiana then won three straight again before she was unable to continue. Roberta, who has won 3 WTA doubles titles, was playing in her first WTA singles final. Tathiana, who has won 8 WTA doubles titles, is now 1-4 in WTA singles finals. Both ladies have won 8 ITF singles titles; Roberta now leads Tathiana 4-3 in career matches.

    Tathiana said: "I felt sick since Saturday night. I got better Sunday morning but in the second set, when I was winning 3-0, the problem came back. I fought to try and finish the match but it was impossible." WTA story

    Roberta is a rarity in tennis nowadays: a routine serve-and-volley player. Roberta said: "I achieved my first title, but with what happened to Tathiana it is not something I can fully enjoy. I would have liked it if we were playing under the same conditions."

WTA Highlight Videos
Dubai Saturday Final Henin d Mauresmo: real video - windows media
Dubai Friday Henin d Kuznetsova: real video - windows media
Dubai Friday Mauresmo d Jankovic: real video - windows media
Dubai Thursday: real video - windows media
Dubai Wednesday late: real video - windows media
Dubai Wednesday early: real video - windows media
Dubai Tuesday: real video - windows media
Dubai Monday: real video - windows media
Dubai Martina Hingis Polo Lesson: real video - windows media
Dubai Player Party: real video - windows media

Memphis player's blog by Vania King

    (Feb 17, 2006) Nice: The folks in Dubai apparently noticed that the good girls were making less money at most tourneys this year-- so they tossed an extra $500,000 dollars into the prize money, a 50% increase.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Dubai, Memphis & Bogota s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Dubai Tennis Championships,  Dubai, United Arab Emirates   Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Dubai: The main draw for Dubai has 8 seeds, with 4 1st-round byes.     There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw.     Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Saturday, qualifying finals are on Monday.     Dubai Tennis Stadium at right -- click for satellite pic/map Latitude: 25.24243 Longitude: 55.342475 goto link for World Wind Dubai city map     The time in Dubai is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) +4 hours (US Pacific Time +12, ET +9). United Arab Emirates news On Monday, Feb 19, 2007 in Dubai, Sveta Kuznetsova & Justine Henin played a little promotional tennis in the desert, while Martina Hingis took polo lessons. On the 17th, Daniela Hantuchova met an Arabian horse, and practiced being pretty at the Al Qusr Hotel.

Dubai, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 2pm losers' prize: $10,170 US (2006: $6,850); points: 1 #10 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #45 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-1, 6-2 Tue Jankovic mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 Jelena serving up a twist, Aravane's flying forehand, and Jelena's backhand drive #13 s6 Patty Schnyder SUI d #23 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6(5)-7, 6-3, 6-3 Mon Francesca about to lightly tap a forehand, and Patty following a cannonball serve *#39 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #16 s7 Na Li CHN 6(5)-7, 7-6(3), 6-3 Mon     Daniilidou mp3 audio interview Eleni's forehand, and Na following a backhand #18 s8 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #56 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-1, 6-3 Tue Hantuchova mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 Daniela serving a cannonball, Elena following a backhand, and Daniela about to swat one--with her new Prince bat     Daniela, who formerly swung a Yonex RQ-7 (and before Yonex, a Babolat), this week is using a new Prince racquet. From a distance her new bat, which has Prince's O3 ports, appears to be all black, without the color around the ports that gives the O3 White and O3 Silver racquets their names. Daniela's new bat also has a continuous smooth unmarked profile at the 10 o'clock and 3 o'clock areas, where most current Prince sticks have perimeter weighting bulges. It does not appear to be one of the new "Speedport" models. The lack of noticiable perimeter weighting combined with the narrow beam make it look most similar to the O3 Hybrid Tour-- but that bat is orange and black, while Daniela's is all black, without even a Prince label on it, except the "P" at the base of the handle (and on the strings beginning with her 2nd round match). *#97 Alicia Molik AUS d #19 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-3, 6-4 Mon     Molik mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 Alicia twisting a serve, Anna-Lena following a backhand, and Alicia following a forehand *#124 q Tamira Paszek AUT #22 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 7-5, 6-3 Tue Tamira & Katerina serving #24 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #174 wc Selima Sfar TUN 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 Mon Ai launching her potent backhand drive #32 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #205 wc Monica Niculescu ROM 6-3, 6-0 Mon Maria following a forehand, and Monica & Maria following backhands #33 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #103 q Anne Kremer LUX 6-3, 6-4 Tue Anne serving, and Anabel following a backhand *#36 Mara Santangelo ITA d #34 Martina Muller GER 6-3, 7-6(4) Tue Mara's service toss, and Martina about to swat a forehand #42 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #110 q Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-3, 6-4 Tue Meghann's forehand drive, and Emmanuelle lining up one of her own *#116 q Vera Dushevina RUS d #62 Elena Likhovtseva 6-2, retired-- viral illness Tue Elena about to meet a backhand, and Vera driving one

Dubai, 2nd Rd, Wed 2pm WTA story losers' prize: $19,410 US (2006: $12,850); points: 40 #2 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #124 q Tamira Paszek AUT 4-6, 7-5, 6-1   Henin mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3     Paszek mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 Justine and Tamira firing forehands, and Justine's backhand #3 s2 wc Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #116 q Vera Dushevina RUS 6-2, 6-2    Mauresmo mp3 audio interview Vera driving a forehand, and Amelie about to gently nudge a backhand over the net     Amelie said: "I was concentrating a lot tonight on my footwork, as I know that’s what I have to work on right now, so this match was good for me." #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #42 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-1, 7-6(4)    Kuznetsova mp3 audio interview Svetlana launching a twist serve, Meghann about to connect with a forehand, and Svetlana's backhand     Svetlana said: "At the start of the second set, I let [Meghann] back into the match. I won the first set easily and had chances in the second, but after that, she served better and I couldn’t break her. I was happy in the tie-break that I was able to raise my level and finish it off in two sets." #6 s4 Martina Hingis SUI d #33 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 5-7, 6-3, 6-4    Hingis mp3 audio interview Martina's toss and serve, and Anabel & Martina delivering forehands #10 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #36 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-3, 7-5   Jankovic mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 No photos were found from this match, so Jelena is shown with a new friend she picked up at the player's party #13 s6 Patty Schnyder SUI d #97 Alicia Molik AUS 4-6, 6-3, 6-4    Schnyder mp3 audio interview Patty driving a backhand, and Alicia running down a forehand #18 s8 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #32 Maria Kirilenko RUS 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4)    Hantuchova mp3 audio interview Maria slicing a serve, Daniela reaching for a forehand with her new Prince bat (see 1st round comment), and after match point *#39 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #24 Ai Sugiyama JPN 5-7, 6-1, 7-5    Daniilidou mp3 audio interview Eleni firing a cannonball, Ai's forehand drive, and Eleni following a backhand

Dubai, QFs, Thu 2pm WTA story losers' prize: $36,050 US (2006: $24,065); points: 75 #2 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #39 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-0, 6-2   Henin mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 Eleni following a forehand, Justine's backhand drive, and after match point #3 s2 wc Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #18 s8 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 3-6, 6-4     Mauresmo mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 Daniela fielding a drop shot, Amelie running down a tough forehand, and after match point     Amelie said: "I really felt I was in control of the match in the first set, and then I fell asleep. I wasn’t doing anything in the second set. Then I was able to, little bit by little bit in the third set, get my rhythm going a little bit better.     "It’s not easy, as it was only my second match outside [after indoor tourneys the past 2 weeks], and I’m looking forward to playing better tomorrow." #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #13 s6 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-3, 6-4 Svetlana moving get a backhand, and Patty's forehand drive *#10 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #6 s4 Martina Hingis SUI 7-6(3), 6-2   Jankovic mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2     Hingis mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 Jelena following a slice serve, Martina fielding a drop shot, Jelena's backhand drive, and after match point     Martina had not fully recovered from her 2nd round match, which ended at about 1:30 am Thursday morning. Martina said: "The first set was key, pretty much. In the tiebreaker, [Jelena] just played some better shots and was more aggressive. You could tell that the fatigue was setting in after the first set. Maybe if I had won that, you kind of go with the momentum. After that, I had chances but didn’t take them."

Dubai, SFs, Fri 2pm WTA story - tourney story losers' prize: $67,020 US (2006: $45,150); points: 140 #2 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 1-6, 6-4, 6-0     Henin mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4     Kuznetsova mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 Justine firing a cannonball serve, Svetlana's forehand drive, Justine running one down, and after match point     Justine said: "I knew [Svetlana] had a lot of motivation and I could feel that she was really on the court to give me a hard time. I could feel it in the first set. She was hitting the ball very hard, and she was in the court and I was too far from my baseline.     "Slowly, in the second set, things were changing and that allowed me to come back into the match. I was leading 4-1 and she came back to 4-4, but I had a better attitude at that point and I just kept fighting.     "From 4-4 [in the 2nd set] to the end of the match, it was my best tennis, no more mistakes. I just went for the winners, good choices, and I’m happy the way the match ended for sure." #3 s2 wc Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #10 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB 6-2, 0-0 retired-- left ankle sprain     Mauresmo mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4     Jankovic mp3 audio interview part 1 - part 2 - part 3 Amelie serving, Jelena reaching for a forehand, Amelie's flying forehand, and the trainer attending to Jelena's ankle     Jelena said: "It was a sharp pain. It was hurting really bad, and right away, it was swollen. The physio put tape [on it], but it was so painful. I couldn't serve or land on my foot or continue to play. It's very disappointing for me to retire in the semifinal, and I hope the injury is not severe."     Amelie said: "I thought I was controlling the match pretty well, making [Jelena] move around a lot and not letting her get inside the baseline and dictate the way she likes to do. I was pretty satisfied about that."

Dubai, Final, Sat 7pm loser's prize: $124,790 US (2006: $84,500); points: 215 winner's prize: $231,080 US (2006: $159,000); points: 300 #2 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #3 s2 wc Amelie Mauresmo FRA 6-4, 7-5 Justine twisting a serve, Amelie's backhand drive, Justine's forehand, and after match point

Dubai, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $38,820 US (2006: $26,280) winners' prize: $73,950 US (2006: $49,300) cdr9 s1 Cara Black & Liezel Huber d cdr188 Svetlana Kuznetsova & Alicia Molik 7-6(6), 6-4 Dubai, Qual Finals, Mon Feb 19 12:30pm losers' prizes: q1: $1,570; q2: $2,885; q3: $5,320 US (2006: $3,650) *#124 Tamira Paszek AUT d #89 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 #103 Anne Kremer LUX d #131 Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR 6-2, 6-2 #110 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI d #158 Agnes Szavay HUN 7-5, 6-3 #116 Vera Dushevina RUS d #152 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 7-5, 6-4 Dubai, Withdrawals #1 Maria Sharapova RUS left hamstring strain #15 Serena Williams USA flu

Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & Cellular South Cup (Kroger St. Jude),  Memphis, Tennessee   Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Memphis: The main draw for Memphis has 8 seeds, with 4 1st-round byes.     There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw.     Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Friday, qualifying finals are on Sunday.     Racquet Club of Memphis -- click for satellite pic/map Latitude: 35.116135 Longitude: -89.890534 goto link for World Wind     The time in Memphis is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) -6 hours (= US Central Time, or US Pacific Time +2, ET -1). Tennessee news

Memphis, 1st Rd Sun-Tue 10am WTA Tue story loser's prize: $1,205 US (2006: $1,300); points: 1 #17 s1 Shahar Peer ISR d #98 Emma Laine FIN 6-4, 6-3 Tue *#67 Laura Granville USA d #25 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 Mon #28 s4 Samantha Stosur AUS d #113 Aleksandra Wozniack CAN 6-2, 5-7 Tue #44 s5 Nicole Pratt AUS d #123 Lilia Osterloh USA 6-3, 6-0 Mon #51 s6 Shenay Perry USA v #118 LL Youlia Fedossova FRA 6(4)-7, 6-3, 7-5 Mon #53 s7 Venus Williams USA d #65 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 Mon Akiko's forehand, Venus driving a backhand, and after winning a point     Venus said: "The first set went so quick and was fairly easy. The second set, I started to think and I made a few errors and it seemed like I couldn't stop the errors. It was like a windfall of errors. The third set I was like, 'It's your first match back. You're actually doing pretty good, V.' To come through and close it out, I felt good...     "[My injured left] wrist is still sore in practice. This match was the first time I've been hitting like that. A lot of it's adrenalin. It blocked a lot of pain...     "I really need the matches. I don't want to come play one match and then wait another three weeks. I need this." Memphis Commericial Appeal story     Venus, who was previously swinging a bat from Wilson's W series, now appears to be using the same model racquet as her sister Serena: a prototype model from Wilson's new K-Factor line, reputedly the new kBlade version of the current nBlade. #55 s8 Jill Craybas USA d #225 q Kelly Liggan IRL 6-4, 6-4 Mon     Jill said: "It took me a little while to get going. [Kelly] played great and kept the pressure on me. She made me come up with big shots at some important times." *#135 q Abigail Spears USA d #61 s9 Vania King USA 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(0) Mon #70 Camille Pin FRA d #96 Varvara Lepchenko UZB 7-5, 6-1 Tue #71 Meilen Tu USA d #80 Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-4, 6-3 Sun *#90 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK d #72 Eva Birnerova CZE 7-5, 6-3 Tue #83 Milagros Sequera VEN d #264 q Alina Jidkova RUS 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 Tue #86 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #88 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 Tue     2006 Memphis champ Sofia said: "[Ekaterina] is a very good player and played well; I am happy to win...     "I came here yesterday and was very happy to be back. I feel good and am playing better now. I'm just going to take it one match at a time." #121 Bethanie Mattek USA d #176 wc Lisa Raymond USA 6-2, 7-5 Mon *#159 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #119 Stephanie Foretz FRA 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 Mon #252 q Iona Raluca Olaru ROM d #279 wc Lauren Albanese USA 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Mon

Memphis, 2nd Rd Tue-Wed 10am WTA Wed story loser's prize: $2,030 (2006: $2,200) US; points: 20 #17 s1 Shahar Peer ISR d #83 Milagros Sequera VEN 6-0, 6-0 Wed Shahar's backhand drive     Shahar said: "Today I started off with a double fault but after that I served pretty well. [Milagros] likes to play at her own pace, but I played aggressive and tried to rush her. And obviously when someone wins 6-0, 6-0 the other person has not played their best tennis...     "I had a very good off-season, including one of my hardest months ever with my new team, and I guess that it was worth it." tourney story #28 s4 Samantha Stosur AUS d #70 Camille Pin FRA 6-2, 6(1)-7, 6-1 Wed *#86 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #44 s5 Nicole Pratt AUS 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 Wed Sofia following a forehand     Sofia won last week's ITF tourney in St. Paul. Sofia said: "Winning five singles matches last week gave me a lot of confidence, and of course I was very excited to come back to Memphis, where I did so well last year." #121 Bethanie Mattek USA d #51 s6 Shenay Perry USA v 6-2, 0-1 retired-- right knee injury Wed Shenay reaching for a backhand, and Bethanie driving one #53 s7 Venus Williams USA d #159 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-4, 6-4 Tue Venus launching a backhand     Caroline broke Venus' serve 4 times. Venus said: "I think I had a loose point, and from there I started making more errors. [Caroline] kept it close...     "There's always room to improve. I definitely feel that I'm doing a pretty good job. ... Coming back is tough. Most importantly, I feel I'm playing aggressively, trying to attack with my second serve and going for my shots." Memphis Commericial Appeal story *#71 Meilen Tu USA d #55 s8 Jill Craybas USA 6-3, 6-1 Tue #67 Laura Granville USA d #90 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 Wed *#252 q Iona Raluca Olaru ROM d #135 q Abigail Spears USA 6-3, 6-3 Wed

Memphis, QFs, Thu 10am tourney story loser's prize: $3,740 (2006: $4,050) US; points: 35 #17 s1 Shahar Peer ISR d #121 Bethanie Mattek USA 6-0, 6-3     About the lopsided score, Shahar said: "I didn't expect that. I played unbelievable - much better than yesterday. In the second set [Bethanie] broke me in the first game and started to come to the net more, but I knew that eventually I would get my chance. I'm happy with the way I played. I served well and moved well. I did my job." *#252 q Iona Raluca Olaru ROM d #28 s4 Samantha Stosur AUS 5-1 #53 s7 Venus Williams USA d #67 Laura Granville USA 7-6(2), 6-4     Venus said: "My serve has improved a lot since the first match. A lot of times I want to hit a great shot but I have to go for something a little more average and set myself up. Also, I want to get my feet moving out there - when that happens my game is so much better." #71 Meilen Tu USA d #86 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-0, 6-2     Meilen said: "I thought I could win but I didn't expect that scoreline. [Sofia is] a really good player. My objective was to make a lot of returns off her big first serve and then not let her control the points with her big ground strokes.     "Next up I play Shahar. I got my butt kicked the last time I played her, so I've got nothing to lose. I need to change my tactics a little."

Memphis, SFs, Fri 10am loser's prize: $7,105 (2006: $7,700) US; points: 65 #17 s1 Shahar Peer ISR d #71 Meilen Tu USA 6-4, 7-5 Meilen driving a backhand, and Shahar following one     Shahar had defeated Meilen 6-3, 6-0, last month at the Australian Open. Shahar said: "I knew [Meilen] was playing well this tournament, and in Australia I had my fans cheering for me, so I knew this would be a tougher match. I told her after the match she had some moments when I was just clapping for her winners, which seemed to come from nowhere. I had to work so hard to win points." tourney story     Meilen said: "I think the difference was that [Shahar has] been in this position more frequently than me and it comes down to one or two points at deuce or on ad points. She makes you go for more because she's very quick and has good defense. We both gave our hearts out there today. The better player won and that was her." #53 s7 Venus Williams USA d #252 q Iona Raluca Olaru ROM 6-3, 6-2 Iona driving a forehand, Venus about to launch a backhand, and after match point

Memphis, Final Sat loser's prize: $13,520 (2006: $14,650) US; points: 100 winner's prize: $25,840 (2006: $28,000) US; points: 140 *#53 s7 Venus Williams USA d #17 s1 Shahar Peer ISR 6-1, 6-1 Shahar belting a backhand, Venus about to swat one, and after match point

Memphis, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $4,020 US (2006: $4,150) winners' prize: $7,620 US (2006: $8,000) cdr115 s4 Nicole Pratt & Bryanne Stewart d cdr167 Akiko Morigami & Jarmila Gajdosova 7-5, 4-6, (10-5) Nicole & Bryanne Memphis, Qual Finals, Sun Feb 18 10am losers' prizes: q1: $185; q2: $325; q3: $605 US (2006: $650) *#264 Alina Jidkova RUS d #118 Youlia Fedossova FRA 7-5, 6-2 #135 Abigail Spears USA d #238 Angelika Bachmann GER 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 *#225 Kelly Liggan IRL d #188 Nathalie Grandin RSA 6-2, 6-0 *#252 Iona Raluca Olaru ROM d #201 Carly Gullickson USA 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-3 Memphis, Withdrawals #20 s2 Tatiana Golovin FRA upper respiratory infection #31 Jie Zheng CHN left ankle #37 Olga Poutchkova RUS toothache #75 Yuliana Fedak UKR #79 Yung-Jan Chan TPE

Copa Colsanitas,  Bogota, Colombia   Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Bogota: The main draw for Bogota has 8 seeds, with NO 1st-round byes.     There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw.     Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Saturday, qualifying finals are on Monday.     Club Campestre El Rancho -- click for satellite pic/map Latitude: 4.77497 Longitude: -74.046736 goto link for World Wind     The time in Bogota is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) -5 hours (US Pacific Time +3, same as ET). Colombia news

Bogota, 1st Rd Mon 11am+, Tue 10am loser's prize: $1,205 US (2006: $1,300); points: 1 #29 s1 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #199 Kathrin Woerle GER 6-4, 6-4 Tue Tathiana serving to Kathrin #40 s2 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #132 Tatjana Malek GER 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 Tatjana's backhand drive, and Flavia's backhand volley #49 s3 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #186 Sara Errani ITA 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 Tue Lourdes volleying a backhand, and Sara about to wallop a serve #50 s4 Emilie Loit FRA d #216 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-2, 6-1 Mon *#219 Nathalie Vierin ITA d #59 s5 Anastasia Yakimova RUS 6-2, 6-4 Mon #64 s6 Roberta Vinci ITA d #182 Katerina Bohmova CZE 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 Tue Roberta's backhand volley #125 s7 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #686 wc Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-2, 6-3 Tue The Klara until recently known as Koukalova, driving a forehand #128 s8 Hana Sromova CZE d #245 q Estrella Cabeza Candela ESP 6-1, 6-2 Tue *#162 q Alize Cornet FRA d #139 Kira Nagy HUN 6-2, 6-3 Tue Alize about to deliver a forehand #144 Jorgelina Cravero ARG d #294 q Anna Tatishvili GEO 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 Tue *#190 Conchita Martínez Granados ESP d #146 Sandra Zahlavova CZE 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 Mon #157 Paola Suárez ARG d #197 Zsofia Gubacsi HUN 6-0, 6-3 Mon Paola about to drive a backhand #161 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #1033 Marta Marrero ESP 6-2, 6-2 Tue *#187 Pauline Parmentier FRA d #165 Ivana Abramovic CRO 6-3, 7-6(5) Tue *#220 q Greta Arn GER d #191 itf Julie Ditty USA 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-3 Tue #391 wc Mariana Duque Marino COL d #573 wc Viky Nunez Fuentes COL 6-2, 6-3 Mon

Bogota, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu 10am loser's prize: $2,030 (2006: $2,200) US; points: 20 #29 s1 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #144 Jorgelina Cravero ARG 6-3, 6-0 Thu #40 s2 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #391 wc Mariana Duque Marino COL 7-6(7), 6-2 Thu Flavia driving a forehand, and Mariana reaching for one #49 s3 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #220 q Greta Arn GER 6-4, 6-3 Thu Greta driving a forehand, and Lourdes volleying a backhand #50 s4 Emilie Loit FRA d #157 Paola Suárez ARG 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 Wed Emilie's lefty forehand, and Paola's righty backhand #64 s6 Roberta Vinci ITA d #162 q Alize Cornet FRA 6-2, 6-3 Wed #125 s7 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #187 Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-2, 6-3 Wed Klara driving a backhand *#161 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #128 s8 Hana Sromova CZE 6-4, 6-3 Thu *#219 Nathalie Vierin ITA d #190 Conchita Martínez Granados ESP 6-2, 6-2 Wed Nathalie's backhand drive

Bogota, QFs, Fri loser's prize: $3,740 (2006: $4,050) US; points: 35 #29 s1 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #161 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 6-2, 7-5 #40 s2 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #219 Nathalie Vierin ITA 6-2, 4-2 retired #49 s3 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #125 s7 Klara Zakopalova CZE 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 Klara and Lourdes driving forehands *#64 s6 Roberta Vinci ITA d #50 s4 Emilie Loit FRA 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 Roberta's forehand drive

Bogota, SFs, Sat 11am loser's prize: $7,105 (2006: $7,700) US; points: 65 #29 s1 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #49 s3 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-3, 6-1 Lourdes about to launch a forehand, and Tathiana after match point *#64 s6 Roberta Vinci ITA d #40 s2 Flavia Pennetta ITA 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 Flavia about to fire a forehand, and Roberta about to slice a backhand

Bogota, Final Sun loser's prize: $13,520 (2006: $14,650) US; points: 100 winner's prize: $25,840 (2006: $28,000) US; points: 140 *#64 s6 Roberta Vinci ITA d #29 s1 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6(5)-7, 6-4, 0-3 retired-- gastrointestinal illness Roberta about to swat a forehand, and driving one, Tathiana's backhand volley, and ill Tathiana unable to continue

Bogota, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $4,020 US (2006: $4,150) winners' prize: $7,620 US (2006: $8,000) cdr111 s1 Paola Suárez & Lourdes Domínguez Lino d cdr123 s2 Flavia Pennetta & Roberta Vinci 1-6, 6-3, (11-9) Bogota, Qual Finals Mon Feb 19 10am losers' prizes: q1: $185 pts: 1; q2: $325 pts:3; q3: $605 US (2006: $650) pts: 4; qualifier points: 8 #162 Alize Cornet FRA d 266 Giulia Gabba ITA 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 *#245 Estrella Cabeza Candela ESP d #203 Evgeniya Rodina RUS 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 *#294 Anna Tatishvili GEO d #206 Jenifer Widjaja BRA 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 #220 Greta Arn GER d #480 Andrea Benitez ARG 6(2)-7, 6-4, 6-4 Bogota, Withdrawals #47 Sybille Bammer AUT flu #52 Maria Elena Camerin ITA Dubai #57 Romina Oprandi ITA leg #68 Catalina Castano COL Dubai #89 Alberta Brianti ITA #91 Sandra Kloesel GER #99 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE #100 Laura Pous Tio ESP #105 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP left knee #106 Clarisa Fernandez ARG #107 Melinda Czink HUN #108 Kirsten Flipkens BEL #114 Kristina Barrois GER back injury #115 Yulia Beygelzimer UKR #117 Tzipora Obziler ISR left calf strain #130 Galina Voskoboeva RUS #153 Olga Savchuk RUS

    (Feb 19, 2006) Unfortunate: It appears that the Dubai website this year is being done by the same people who do the WTA website. These people are notoriously unconcerned about prompt provision of information. So, over four hours after the completion of the qualifying finals, the qualifiers have not been inserted into the drawsheets available online. It is impossible for fans to see who will be playing who. And the Dubai website, in many ways, is simply a clone of what is on the WTA website anyway: same OOP page, same results page, etc. If they are going to do it that way, they might as well just link to the WTA site pages. This is sad, it would be better if someone more interested were doing the Dubai website.

    (Feb 18, 2006) 2nd-seeded # 20 Tatiana Golovin has withdrawn from the Memphis tourney due to an upper respiratory infection, and the draw has thus been shuffled a bit. Get well, Tatiana.

    (Feb 17, 2006) Nice: The folks in Dubai apparently noticed that the good girls were making less money at most tourneys this year-- so they tossed an extra $500,000 dollars into the prize money, a 50% increase.

    (Feb 17, 2006) The Bogota website, which for years has been one of the nicest websites for any WTA tourney, was working fine early this week, but for two days now brings up a "under construction" notice when I try to load the main page, and "page not found" for other pages. Hopefully it will grow back quickly.

    (Feb 16, 2006) # 1 Maria Sharapova and # 15 Serena Williams have both withdrawn from the Dubai tourney. The left hamstring strain which Maria incurred in Tokyo has not yet healed, and Serena is still suffering from the same flu which caused her to withdraw from Bangalore last week. # 3 Amelie Mauresmo has been added to the field to partially offset the loss of Maria & Serena.

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

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