WTA Feb 11-17: Antwerp & Vina del Mar Proximus Diamond Games Antwerp, BEL Tier II $600,000 28 players - indoor: hard (Decoturf) Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes tourney: draw - scores-OOP-results pics: Yahoo - tourney +video - WTA Antwerp: weather radar - forecast Antwerp Gazette: Tennis (in Dutch) # 1 Justine Henin, # 7 A Chakvetadze # 8 D Hantuchova, # 14 P Schnyder Cachantun Cup, Vina del Mar, CHI Tier III $200,000 - 32 players outdoor: red clay - tourney OOP Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP pics: Yahoo! - WTA Vina del Mar: weather # 33 F Pennetta, # 38 G Dulko # 49 E Loit, # 53 P Parmentier

Tourney pages: Antwerp: 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Vina del Mar: #33 Flavia Pennetta 5' 7¾" 128lb RH 2H-BH Antwerp: #1 Justine Henin 5' 5¾" 126lb RH 1H-BH

    On Sunday in Antwerp, in the final of the Proximus Diamond Games, 13,600 fans packed the Antwerp Sportpaleis to see 25-year-old top-seeded # 1 Justine Henin of Belgium (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco) defeated 20-year-old unseeded # 48 Karin Knapp from Lutago, Italy, 6-3, 6-3. Justine is shown holding tourney's new diamond-encrusted racquet trophy, which would be kept by the first to win the trophy 3 times within 5 years (Amelie Mauresmo captured its predecessor in 2007). However, the tourney is in its final year. Who besides diamond merchants would produce a trophy, valued at over $1.5 million, which will never be awarded?

    Justine said: "It was a tough week for me. But I wanted to clinch this one. It was great to win in Belgium... I'll keep fighting in the next few years to try and put Antwerp back on the calendar." AP story - WTA story
    Karin said: "I'd never thought I'd get this far. I get to play Justine, and in a full hall like this. It was great."

    Justine and Karin had never before met on the field of combat. 7-time Grand Slam tourney champ Justine is now 41-16 in WTA singles finals, and won twelve of her titles in the past year, including the French Open and US Open. Justine has a 36-1 match record since losing to Marion Bartoli in the Wimbledon semis last year; the one loss was to Maria Sharapova in this year's Australian Open quarters. Justine Henin Wallpaper
    Karin was playing in her first WTA singles final. She has won 1 ITF singles title, and 2 ITF doubles titles. Despite the loss, her ranking on Monday will nevertheless be a career-high, estimated at # 36.

    In the Vina del Mar final on Sunday 25-year-old (born Feb 25, '82) top-seeded # 33 Flavia Pennetta from Milan, Italy, defeated 25-year-old (born Feb 24, '82) 8th-seeded # 70 Klara (Koukalova) Zakopalova from Prague, Czech Republic, 6-4, 5-4 retired, when Klara could not continue due to a left ankle injury (Flavia is shown posing for a pic in Vina del Mar on Tuesday).

    Klara's injury occurred while Flavia was serving for the match, leading 6-4, 5-4, 15-0. Klara said: "I was very happy to make it to the final this week. Flavia deserved to win; she was playing better than me... I think I was expecting a forehand and was running towards it, but then she hit a backhand and I had to change directions, and I slipped and fell." WTA story

    Flavia said: "It always feels better to play the last point and have the sensation of winning, but this happens. It was an incredible week for me. I felt really comfortable all week here in Viña del Mar."

    Flavia now leads Klara 4-1 in career matches, and also won their only previous meeting in a final, in Sopot in 2004, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Klara's win came the last time they met, in the semis in Palermo in 2005, 6-4, 6-0.

    Flavia is now 5-6 in WTA singles finals; she won the Bangkok title last year (hardcourt), and won in Bogota and Acapulco in 2005 and Sopot in 2004 (all red clay). Klara is now 2-7 in WTA singles finals; her titles both came in 2005, in 's-Hertogenbosch (chlorophyll) and Portoroz (dirt).

Vina del Mar player's blog by Flavia Pennetta

WTA SCOREBOARD: Antwerp & Vina del Mar s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Proximus Diamond Games,  Antwerp, Belgium       The time in Antwerp is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) +1 hours (Pacific Time+9, ET+6). Belgium news Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Antwerp: The main draw for Antwerp 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.     click for broader view    Antwerp Sportpaleis Latitude: 51.231032 Longitude: 4.44111 goto link for World Wind ViaMichelin Antwerp city map 2008: Good-looking healthy young ladies at the Antwerp player party on Sunday, Feb 10 included Nathalie Dechy & Justine Henin, Meilen Tu & Ai Sugiyama, and Elena Likhovtseva & Yaroslava Shvedova... On Tuesday, top seeds Justine Henin, Patty Schnyder, Daniela Hantuchova, and Anna Chakvetadze met the press...

Antwerp, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed noon losers' prize: $4,175 US; points: 1 *#75 Yaroslava Shvedova RUS d #19 s5 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 Mon Sybille driving a backhand, and Yaroslava after winning a point *#112 q Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #20 s6 Agnes Szavay HUN 6-2, 6-3 Tue Agnes driving a backhand, and Alisa after winning a point *#101 LL Julie Ditty USA d #22 s8 Alona Bondarenko UKR 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Tue #34 s9 Na Li CHN d #82 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-1, 6-1 Mon Na's forehand drive #42 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #181 wc Caroline Maes BEL 7-5, 6-3 Tue Caroline driving a forehand, and Ai ready #43 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #79 q Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 7-6(1), 6-3 Wed Kateryna's service toss, and Tatiana driving a forehand *#93 q Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #45 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 Wed #46 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #83 Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Tue #48 Karin Knapp ITA d #64 Nathalie Dechy FRA 7-6(3), 6-4 Mon Karin driving a backhand *#162 wc Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #50 Shuai Peng CHN 6-0, 6-4 Mon Shuai about to swat a forehand, Yanina driving a backhand, and after match point *#67 LL Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #51 Meilen Tu USA 6-1, 6-2 Tue Sofia serving #73 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #98 Anne Kremer LUX 6-1, 6-1 Tue

Antwerp, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu noon WTA Wed story losers' prize: $7,820 US; points: 35 #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #73 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6(4)-7, 6-3, 6-1 Thu Tsvetana and Justine driving forehand and backhand, and Justine after match point *#67 LL Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #7 s2 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-3, 7-5 Thu Anna's forehand, and Sofia ready to lightly tap a backhand #8 s3 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #162 wc Yanina Wickmayer BEL 6-4, 6-3 Wed Daniela about to slice a backhand     Daniela said: "The first match of a tournament is always difficult, so I'm very happy to have won. [Yanina] played and served well, it certainly wasn't easy. The crowd was behind her a lot, which is logical, but I'm glad I managed to overcome this and make the next round." #14 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI d #42 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-3, 6-4 Wed Ai's backhand drive, and Patty's forehand #34 Na Li CHN d #46 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-4, 6-3 Wed Dominica and Na driving forehand and backhand *#112 q Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #43 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 Thu Kateryna about to swat a backhand, and Alisa after winning a point #48 Karin Knapp ITA d #75 Yaroslava Shvedova RUS 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Tue Yaroslava and Karin driving forehands #93 q Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #101 LL Julie Ditty USA 7-5, 6-4Thu Julie following a forehand, and Timea after match point

Antwerp, QFs, Fri noon WTA story losers' prize: $14,600 US; points: 70 #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #112 q Alisa Kleybanova RUS 6-4, 6-3 Alisa serving, Justine following a forehand, and Alisa congratulating Justine after match point (and Justine congratulating Alisa on playing well in her first WTA quarterfinal)     Justine said: "Again, this was not an easy match. As a qualifier, Kleybanova has been in some really good form and she played with a lot of confidence. I needed some time to find my rhythm and once again the crowd was amazing and helped me at the difficult moments." *#93 q Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #8 s3 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-2, 4-6, 4-1 retired--respiratory illness Timea serving, Daniela about to drive a backhand, Timea's forehand, and Daniela while the doctor checks her heart rate     Daniela has been fighting a cold for almost a week. Daniela said: "I don't know why I waited until the third set to stop. I can't believe I stayed out there for almost two hours... I thought it would get better, but out there today it only got worse. I could barely stand on the court and was tired after playing for five seconds." AFP story     Timea said: "It has been quite a week for me. I survived three qualification rounds and saved a match point in the first round which has all helped my confidence. I played a really solid match against Hantuchova and off course I noticed that something was wrong with her, but I just played my own match and gave it my all for each point and I feel I really deserve to be in the semis." *#48 Karin Knapp ITA d #14 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(2) Patty and Karin driving backhands #34 Na Li CHN d #67 LL Sofia Arvidsson SWE 7-5, 6-4 Na's service toss, Sofia fielding a forehand, and Na's backhand drive

Antwerp, SFs, Sat 1pm losers' prize: $27,300 US; points: 125 #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #93 q Timea Bacsinszky SUI 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 Justine and Timea running down forehands, and Justine after match point *#48 Karin Knapp ITA d #34 Na Li CHN 6-4, 7-6(5) Karin driving a forehand, Na about to swat one, Karin driving one on the run, and after winning a point

Antwerp, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $51,000 US; points: 190 winner's prize: $95,500 US; points: 275 #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #48 Karin Knapp ITA 6-3, 6-3 Justine and Karin driving forehands, Justine's backhand, and after match point

Antwerp, Doubles Final, Sun after singles losers' prize: $16,120 US winners' prize: $30,000 US cdr2 s1 Cara Black & Lizel Huber d cdr12 s2 Kveta Peschke & Ai Sugiyama 6-1, 6-3 Cara and Liezel laughing after the match, and Ai, Kveta, Liezel & Kara with the glassware... Cara's 37th career WTA doubles title, and Liezel's 25th Antwerp, Qual Finals, Mon Feb 11 10am losers' prizes: q1 $640 1pt; q2 $1,195 3pts; q3 $2,230 10pts; qualifier 15 points *#112 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #67 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 #73 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #101 Julie Ditty USA 6-2, 6-1 #79 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR d #126 Yuliana Fedak UKR 7-5, 6-3 #93 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #293 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) Antwerp, Withdrawals #10 Serena Williams USA dental (gum) surgery #12 Tatiana Golovin FRA low back #21 s7 Agnieszka Radwanska POL too far to travel? #24 Victoria Azarenka BLR knee #25 Vera Zvonareva RUS left ankle #32 Michaella Krajicek NED left wrist #35 Julia Vakulenko UKR right wrist #36 Eleni Daniilidou GRE bronchitis #37 Mara Santangelo ITA left foot #39 Tathiana Garbin ITA right thigh

Cachantun Cup,  Vina del Mar, Chile       Daylight savings time in Vina del Mar is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) -3 hours (US PT+5, ET+2). Chile news Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Vina del Mar: The main draw for Vina del Mar has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes.     There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw.     Qualifying (3 rounds) starts on Friday, qualifying finals are on Sunday.     click for broader view    Club Naval de Campo Las Salinas Latitude: -32.99253 Longitude: -71.545597 goto link for World Wind     2008 is the first year for the WTA Vina del Mar tourney. Vina del Mar is a suburb of Valparaiso, Chile, the seaport nearest Santiago, the capital, which is located inland. Club Naval de Campo Las Salinas is also the site of the ATP Movistar Open, which has been held there since 2001. 2008: South American # 1 Gisela Dulko, Chilean wild card Camila Silva, and others played some paddle tennis on the beach at Vina del Mar on Saturday, Feb 9... Young ladies looking good at the players party Saturday included Poles Alicja Rosolska, Marta Domachowska, & Klaudia Jans, and Spaniards Marta Marrero, Arantxa Parra Santonja, & Nuria Llagostera Vives...

Vina del Mar, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed 11am loser's prize: $1,325 US; points: 1 #33 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #118 Greta Arn HUN 6-2, 6-2 Tue Flavia posing for a newspaper photographer on Tuesday... Vina del Mar player's blog by Flavia Pennetta #38 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG d #NR wc Camila Silva CHI 6-4, 6-1 Mon *#104 Petra Cetkovska CZE d #49 s3 Emilie Loit FRA 6-2, 7-6(6) Mon #53 s4 Pauline Parmentier FRA d #88 Maria Emilia Salerni ARG 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 Mon #61 s5 Martina Muller GER d #549 wc Karina Andrea Koch Benvenuto CHI 6-4, 6-1 Tue #63 s6 Sara Errani ITA d #130 q Olivia Sanchez FRA 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 Tue #69 s7 Kaia Kanepi EST d #123 Evgenia Rodina RUS 6-3, 6-4 Tue #70 s8 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #100 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 Wed *#135 q Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #71 Camille Pin FRA 6-4, 7-6(5) Tue #84 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #113 Catalina Castano COL 7-6(3), 6-1 Mon #86 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #136 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-2, 7-5 Mon *#120 Julia Schruff GER d #109 Maret Ani EST 6-1, 6-1 Mon #110 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #671 wc Melisa Miranda Otarola CHI 6-3, 7-5 Tue #117 Rossana del los Rios PAR d #159 q Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 7-6(8), 6-4 Tue *#139 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO d #128 Bethanie Mattek USA 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) Tue #144 Mathilde Johansson FRA d #161 q Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 Wed

Vina del Mar, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu WTA Wed story loser's prize: $2,485 US; points: 20 #33 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #144 Mathilde Johansson FRA 6-4, 6-0 Thu #86 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #38 s2 Gisela Dulko ARG walkover--left hamstring injury     Gisela said: "I'm very sad that I have to withdraw from the Cachantun Cup. The organizers and the fans are great and I really enjoy being here in Chile. I hoped I could stay in the tournament longer. Unfortunately, I hurt my left leg during my first match. I hoped that it would get better but it's not 100 percent and after speaking with the doctor, it was decided that I need more time to heal. Again, I'm disappointed but plan to be back next year." #53 s4 Pauline Parmentier FRA d #117 R del los Rios PAR 6(0)-7, 6-1, 6-1 Wed #61 s5 Martina Muller GER d #120 Julia Schruff GER 6-3, 6-2 Wed *#135 q Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #63 s6 Sara Errani ITA 6-2, 6-0 Thu #69 s7 Kaia Kanepi EST d #110 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 Thu #70 s8 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #139 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO walkover--neck injury #84 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #104 Petra Cetkovska CZE 6-3, 6-4 Wed

Vina del Mar, QFs, Fri 2pm loser's prize: $4,660 US; points: 35 #33 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #69 s7 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-3, 6-3     Flavia said: "I have to tell you about last night... Sometimes when you play the night match it's hard to get to sleep afterwards, but last night was ridiculous. I went to the hotel afterwards and realized I wasn't that tired, so I went out to find a restaurant to eat at. Nowhere would take me, and it was 11:30! They all had reservations and line-ups - I guess for Valentine's Day - and so I went to the hotel again. All these people in love >:( So I ordered room service. Maria Elena was still awake packing, as she had to leave at 5am today. We talked for a little while but then she went to sleep and I was still awake. 1am, no sleep. 2am, no sleep. I switched the TV and internet on and off all night long trying to find something to watch or do! I almost went out again but figured it was a bit too late. Around 3:30, I finally started falling asleep... but then I woke up to Camerin leaving and couldn't sleep again! So I decided to call my travel agent to change my flight time from Viña del Mar... but then around 5:30 I was asleep again, until about 9. It wasn't much sleep, but after practice I took a siesta for about two hours. So in the end I think I got all the sleep I needed, even though it was in pieces!     "Today's match with Kanepi was pretty good for me - again, I didn't think I was playing amazingly but I was solid enough to win. And the first game... what an unbelievable game! It was 20 minutes. I've never played a game like that. When I lost that game and the third game, which was pretty long also, we were at 32 minutes already and we had only played three games. I thought if the match was going to be like that the whole time, I wouldn't survive! She played very well - she has a good serve and hits it really hard. I was just solid enough today." Vina del Mar player's blog by Flavia Pennetta #53 s4 Pauline Parmentier FRA d #61 s5 Martina Muller GER 7-5, 6-4 #70 s8 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #86 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 Klara about to connect with a backhand #84 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #135 q Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-3, 7-6(4)

Vina del Mar, SFs, Sat loser's prize: $8,750 US; points: 65 #33 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #53 s4 Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-2, 6-0 #70 s8 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #84 Mariya Koryttseva UKR 6-2, 7-5 Klara's flying forehand

Vina del Mar, Final Sun 3pm loser's prize: $16,400 US; points: 100 winner's prize: $30,500 US; points: 140 #33 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #70 s8 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-4, 5-4 retired--left ankle injury Klara and Flavia driving forehands, and Klara after her injury

Vina del Mar, Doubles Final Sat after singles losers' prize: $4,850 US winners' prize: $9,100 US cdr223 Alicja Rosolska & Liga Dekmeijere d cdr262 Mariya Koryttseva & Julia Schruff 7-5, 6-3 Vina del Mar, Qual Finals losers' prizes: q1: $200 ; q2: $375 ; q3: $700 US *#161 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP d #78 Marta Domachowska POL 6-2, 7-5 #130 Olivia Sanchez FRA d #298 Maria Irigoyen ARG 6-2, 6-1 #135 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #277 Agnes Szatmari ROU 6-1, 6-1 #159 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d #195 Marta Marrero ESP 6-1, 6-2 Vina del Mar, Withdrawals #55 Meghann Shaughnessy USA left knee #95 Andrea Petkovic GER #101 Julie Ditty USA Antwerp qualifying #116 Stephanie Cohen Aloro FRA #119 Roberta Vinci ITA shoulder #401 sr Clarisa Fernandez ARG left knee

    (Feb 10, 2008) The Antwerp draw has been slightly rearranged due to the withdrawal of # 21 Agnieszka Radwanska. Agnieszka won the Pattaya City title on Sunday, and from Thailand to Belgium is a long way to row.

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

Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2008 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to many postmatch interview & match highlight videos of WTA players at the 2008 WTA Player Videos page.

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