WTA Mar 3-9: Bangalore Bangalore Open new website Bangalore [Bengaluru], IND Tier II $600,000 - 28 players outdoor: hard (Rebound Ace) Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes tourney: OOP - s draw - d draw pics: Yahoo! news - WTA Bangalore: weather Deccan Herald # 4 Jelena Jankovic # 8 Venus Williams # 10 Serena Williams # 12 Patty Schnyder # 17 Agnes Szavay # 20 Sybille Bammer # 21 Vera Zvonareva # 27 Maria Kirilenko

Tourney pages: Bangalore: 2007 - 2006   Hyderabad: 2005 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Bangalore: #10 Serena Williams 5'9" 135lb RH 2H-BH Bangalore: #12 Patty Schnyder 5'6¼" 125lb LH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Bangalore, India, in the final of the Bangalore Open, 26-year-old 3rd-seeded # 10 Serena Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, defeated 29-year-old 4th-seeded # 12 Patty Schnyder from Baech, Switzerland, 7-5, 6-3 (photo shown).

    Serena fired 7 aces in the match, and won 62% of her 1st serve points (Patty: 1 ace, 49%). Serena's prize: $95,500.

    Serena said: "I did not want to make too many errors. That was my game plan, but I did not stick to it. It wasn't my best match. Patty played well and forced me to do better." AP story

    Patty had a 3-1 lead in the 2nd set--then Serena won the final 5 games. Patty stayed close, however, and won 46% of the points in the match (65), 12 fewer than Serena (77). Patty's prize: $51,000.

    Patty said: "[Serena] was a great opponent today and made it tough for me to play my game. I think the first set could have gone either way, and I had my chances. I was really happy with the way I played today especially my forehand, but she was serving and rallying really well too." WTA story

    Serena now leads Patty 7-3 in career matches, but Patty's three wins came in their previous four meetings. They played twice last year: On red clay in the quarterfinals in Rome last May, Patty defeated Serena (who had won the Miami title a few weeks earlier) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5). On an indoor carpet in the 1st round in Zurich last October, Patty won 6-0, 3-0 retired, when Serena could not continue due to a right thigh adductor strain she incurred before the match.

    Heavy-hitting 8-time Grand Slam tourney champion Serena is now 29-11 in WTA singles finals; she has a 8-1 match record in 2008. Serena's previous title came almost a year ago, at Miami (Key Biscayne).
    Topspinner Patty is now 10-13 in WTA singles finals; she has a 9-6 match record this year. Patty has not won a title since 2005 (in Cincinnati), but she also reached the finals in Linz and San Diego last year.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Bangalore s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Bangalore Open [Bengaluru Open],  Bangalore, India   tourney time:        = GMT +5½ hours        = US ET +10½ hours        = US PT +13½ hours India News - Bangalore city map Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     The 32-player main draw for Bangalore 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.   click for broader view   KSLTA courts, Cubbon Park, Bangalore Latitude: 12.975181 Longitude: 77.595239 goto link for World Wind     This is the 3nd year for the Bangalore tourney, which replaced the tourney in Hyderabad, India. Bangalore was elevated to Tier II ($600,000 total payout) status provisionally in 2008; the tourney will have to meet certain requirements, including improvement of facilities, if they are to keep Tier II status in the future. 2008: Pretty Indian sisters Neha (of New Jersey) & Shikha (of Mumbai) Uberoi took a break while practicing in Bangalore on Saturday, March 1... On Sunday, Vera Zvonareva, 2007 Bangalore champ Yaroslava Shvedova, Patty Schnyder, and Sybille Bammer attended the draw at the house of Karnataka state Governor H.E. Shri Rameshwan Thakur... On Monday in Bangalore top seed Jelena Jankovic practiced, and players including Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Jelena modeled traditional Indian saris...

Bangalore, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 11am Tue WTA story loser's prize: $4,175 US; points: 1 #17 s5 Agnes Szavay HUN d #824 wc Shikha Uberoi IND 6-1, 6-4 Mon Agnes serving, and Shika following a backhand #20 s6 Sybille Bammer AUT d #50 Akiko Morigami JPN 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 Mon Akiko driving a backhand, and Sybille's forehand drive #21 s7 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #123 q Monica Niculescu ROU 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 Tue Vera serving, and Monica following a forehand *#55 Zi Yan CHN d #27 s8 Maria Kirilenko RUS 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-1 Tue Maria after slicing a backhand, and Zi after driving one     Maria failed to convert a match point at 5-4 in the 2nd set. Zi said: "The ball jumps higher on this court, it took me time to adjust. I changed my tactics in the second set and played longer points. That gave me momentum." Reuters story #59 Shuai Peng CHN d #97 Anne Kremer LUX 6-1, 6-2 Tue *#NR Sanda Mamic CRO d #64 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-2, 6-2 Tue     Lefty Sanda was ranked # 83 in 2005, but had to stop playing due to pain in her left arm. She was off the Tour for 2½ years, during which she had surgery (for a nerve problem) on the arm three times. Sanda, who has an Information Technology degree from the University of Zagreb, spent her time away from the Tour working at the University.     Sanda said: "It all started with pain in my left arm, but still I continued playing. When it became unbearable I consulted doctors at home, and other places, but no one was able to detect the problem. At last an Austrian doctor detected that the problem was with the nerves of my arm and advised me to undergo surgery... Thereafter I had three surgeries on the arm."     "When I won the match I thought, Oh! My God I can still play!" IANS story *#110 Aiko Nakamura JPN d #80 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6(5)-7, 6-1, 6-2 Mon Aiko twisting a serve Tammyward #86 Anastasia Rodionova RUS d #231 q Tiantian Sun CHN 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 Tue #85 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #91 Yaroslava Shvedova RUS 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Yaroslava won the tourney in 2007, but couldn't quite get past Akgul this year #113 Olga Savchuk UKR d #121 Katie O'Brien GBR 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 Tue #117 Tzipora Obziler ISR d #155 q Angelika Bachmann GER 6-2, 6-3 Tue #272 q Agnes Szatmari ROU d #349 wc Isha Lakhani IND 6-2, 6-2 Tue

Bangalore, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu 11am Wed WTA story losers' prize: $7,820 US; points: 35 #4 s1 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #NR Sanda Mamic CRO 6-2, 6-2 Thu Earlier in the week, Sanda and Jelena did their impressions of Vijay Armitraj in Star Trek: The Motion Picture... Jelena is also shown belting a backhand on Thursday, and Sanda congratulating Jelena after match point     As have other players, Jelena commented on the bounciness of the courts. Jelena said: "You have to put a lot of spin on the ball. If I hit flat, the ball goes way out. You need to play a completely different game [on these courts]. I guess it is the same for everybody." Reuters story #8 s2 Venus Williams USA d #59 Shuai Peng CHN 6-2, 6(6)-7, 6-2 Thu Shuai serving, and Venus driving a backhand     Venus had 15 double faults in the match. Venus said: "It's past. You have to go on. I got to hit a lot of balls and that is good. [Shuai] played well, but I had the upper hand." AP story #10 s3 Serena Williams USA d #117 Tzipora Obziler ISR 7-5, 6-0 Wed Serena serving, Tzipora following a forehand, and Serena about to slice a backhand     Serena said: "I did not feel 100 per cent. I made too many errors today. There were a lot of bad calls out there." AP story #12 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI d #110 Aiko Nakamura JPN 6(1)-7, 6-4, 6-2 Wed Patty about to fire a forehand, and Aiko following a backhand     Patty said: "A win is a win. I was not comfortable for the first hour or so, but I kept firing myself up." *#85 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #17 s5 Agnes Szavay HUN 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 Wed Agkul's forehand drive, and Agnes driving a backhand *#86 Anastasia Rodionova RUS d #20 s6 Sybille Bammer AUT 7-6(5), 6-2 Wed Anastasia and Sybille following forehands #21 s7 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #272 q Agnes Szatmari ROU 7-6(5), 6-1 Thu Vera visited a sari maker (and a restaurant) in Bangalore for a WTA video on Wednesday     Vera said: "I could have played better. I didn't serve too well and I was trying to hit the ball too hard. I am not happy with the way I constructed my points."     About playing Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, Vera said: "Venus is going to have a tough match. I will be prepared and hope to raise the level of my game." #55 Zi Yan CHN d #113 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-2, 6-1 Thu

Shuai Peng & Tiantian Sun on Wednesday after defeating Venus & Serena Williams in the doubles quarterfinals, 5-7, 6-2, (11-9)

Bangalore, QFs, Fri noon WTA story losers' prize: $14,600 US; points: 70 *#55 Zi Yan CHN d #4 s1 Jelena Jankovic SRB 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Jelena and Zi following backhands, and Zi after the match, while driving a radio-controlled toy car around the court to amuse the crowd     It was one of the biggest wins of Zi's career. Zi also emerged victorious in her previous encounter with Jelena. That was last October in the 1st round in Bangkok, when Jelena won the 1st set 6-4, but retired due to heat illness after losing the 2nd set in a tiebreaker, 6(5)-7. Zi went on to reach the semis.     This time Jelena finished the match, although she did take a medical time out, clearly suffering from pain in her right shoulder. Jelena said: "I was struggling with my service in the first set. Then my shoulder began troubling me after the second set. I hope the injury is not serious." AP story #8 s2 Venus Williams USA d #21 s7 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-4, 6-3 Venus driving a forehand, and Vera dispatching a backhand     Vera said: "It was difficult to play Venus today. I have a lot of work to do. I have not been at my best form and need to get better." #10 s3 Serena Williams USA d #86 Anastasia Rodionova RUS 6-1, 6-4 Anastasia serving to Serena, Serena about to swat a forehand, and Anastasia congratulating Serena after match point     Serena said: "I was feeling the ball a lot better than in my first match. and I think because of this I wasn't making nearly so many errors.     "I'm really excited about playing Venus in the semis. She's a really tough opponent, but it's going to be fun playing her. It's just a shame it couldn't be in the final." #12 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI d #85 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) Patty driving backhands

Bangalore, SFs, Sat 5pm WTA story losers' prize: $27,300 US; points: 125 *#10 s3 Serena Williams USA d #8 s2 Venus Williams USA 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) Serena serving, Venus driving a backhand, Serena about to swat one, and after match point     Both sisters failed to convert a match point before they reached the 3rd set tiebreaker. Serena said: "I was really upset I didn't take the opportunity on my first match point and was lucky Venus did not either. I was happy I took it to the tiebreak." Reuters story     Venus said: "[Serena] always plays really tough, really challenging. She hit some serves that I really couldn't return." #12 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI d #55 Zi Yan CHN 6-3, 6-4 Patty about to fire a forehand, Zi and Patty following backhands, and after match point     Patty said: "I struggled with my first serve, but my second serve was fine. I kept hitting the ball deep, which [Zi] found difficult to return... I stayed very focused today and played my game the whole time; I'm feeling pretty good. Apart from my first serve, I think everything was pretty much working. She was fighting really well and making me run. When she has time it's hard to keep control of the points, so I had to push hard." AP story     Zi said: "[Patty] gave me a lot of trouble today. Her shots bounced too high and it was tough for me to play my game. Her serve was also pretty tough to handle, and although I had a lot of break points I was just unlucky on them. I hope to play more top players like her so I can get more experience."

Bangalore, Final Sun 6pm loser's prize: $51,000 US; points: 190 winner's prize: $95,500 US; points: 275 #10 s3 Serena Williams USA d #12 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI 7-5, 6-3 Serena's service toss, Patty about to fire a forehand, Serena driving a backhand, and after match point

Bangalore, Doubles Final after singles losers' prize: $16,120 US winners' prize: $30,000 US *cdr52 s3 Shuai Peng & Tiantian Sun d cdr19 s1 Yung-Jan Chan & Chia-Jung Chuang 6-4, 5-7, (10-8) Shuai and Tiantian... the Chinese National Tennis Association allows them to keep part of their winnings--but they don't say how much Bangalore, Qual Finals, Mon Mar 2 11am losers' prizes: q1 $640 1pt; q2 $1,195 3pts; q3 $2,230 10pts; qualifier 15 points #123 Monica Niculescu ROU d #145 Anne Keothavong GBR 6-2, 6-0 *#155 Angelika Bachmann GER d #129 Mathilde Johansson FRA 6-3, 7-5 *#231 Tiantian Sun CHN d #181 Sunitha Rao IND 6-2, 6-1 *#272 Agnes Szatmari ROU d #182 Melanie South GBR 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(6) Bangalore, Withdrawals #38 Dominika Cibulkova SVK lumbar spine injury #54 Casey Dellacqua AUS back injury #62 Meghann Shaughnessy USA left knee #63 Meilen Tu USA flu #84 Angelique Kerber GER shoulder #116 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS #194 Roberta Vinci ITA shoulder

    (Feb 4, 2008) Indian # 1 and WTA # 29 Sania Mirza has announced that she will not play in tournaments in India this year. Sania, a Muslim, has been assailed by religious groups for wearing normal tennis attire, is currently being prosecuted for allowing her bare feet to be near an Indian flag (disrespecting the flag is a crime in India), and was also criticized for shooting a commercial in a mosque in her home town.
    Sania said: "I am not playing in Bangalore Open. I have been advised by my manager not to play... Every time I have played in India, there has been some kind of problem. So we just thought it was better not to play this time." AFP story
    Sania's mixed doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi, whose company manages Sania's career, said: "[Sania] has really been pained by all that has happened in the last few months. It is really unfortunate. We want that she should have the right frame of mind when playing in tournaments."

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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.