WTA Jul 7-13 Budapest & Palermo Budapest Grand Prix Budapest, HUN Tier III $175,000 30 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores - in popup window WTA .pdf: draws & OOP .html OOP & results pics: Yahoo! - WTA - tourney Budapest: radar - forecast - map Hungary News # 15 A Szavay, # 17 A Cornet # 41 T Pironkova, # 50 I Benesova Internazionali Femminili Palermo, ITA Tier IV $145,000 32 players - outdoor: red clay WTA .pdf: draws & OOP .html: OOP - draw pics - WTA pics Italy News - Palermo weather # 23 F Pennetta, # 34 A Medina G # 55 A Rezai, # 56 C Suarez N

Budapest: 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004   Palermo: 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Palermo: #57 Sara Errani 5'4½" 132lb RH 2H-BH Budapest: #17 Alize Cornet 5'8" 132lb RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Budapest, Hungary, in the final of the Budapest Grand Prix, 18-year-old 2nd-seeded # 17 Alize Cornet from Nice, France, won her first WTA singles title by defeating 22-year-old # 134 Andreja Klepac from Koper, Slovenia, 7-6(5), 6-3 (Alize is shown after match point). Alize's prize is $28,000; Andreja's, $15,000.

    Alize won despite gastrointestinal illness. Alize said: "I was sick this morning; I went to see the doctor before my match and I was not sure I'd be able to play, so it was tough in the beginning of the match, especially since [Andreja] hits the ball so hard, and I knew I had to move well to have a chance. But when I was behind I just fought as hard as I could, and after I won the first set things went much better for me the rest of the match...

    "I knew she had a difficult match yesterday. For my part I had quite an easy day yesterday, so without my GI illness I was probably in a much better position today physically. But she's really a fighter." WTA story

    Alize and Andreja had never before met on the field of combat - in singles. Alize and her partner Janette Husarova defeated Andreja and Bryanne Stewart in a doubles semifinal on Saturday, 6-2, 6-1.

    After Sunday's singles final, Alize returned to the court, and, with her very able partner Janette, won her first WTA doubles title by defeating Iona Raluca Olaru & Vanessa Henke, 6(5)-7, 6-1, (10-6). It was Janette's 24th WTA doubles title.

    Alize said: "I've had a great time playing doubles with Janette this week; she's a great doubles player and I like her very much. There won't be any celebration today! I'm still a little bit sick so I'll probably just go to bed really early tonight. My flight to Austria [for next week's Gastein Ladies tourney, where Alize is seeded 2nd] is at 8am!"

    Alize is now 1-2 in WTA singles finals: she was defeated by Flavia Pennetta in the Acapulco final last March, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1, and was defeated by Jelena Jankovic two months ago in the Rome final, 6-2, 6-2. Alize's match record in 2008 is now 24-14.
    Andreja, who has won 3 ITF singles titles and 7 ITF doubles titles, was playing in her first WTA singles final. She now has a 17-21 record for this year.

    In the Palermo final on Sunday 21-year-old 5th-seeded # 57 Sara Errani from Bologna, Italy, also won her first WTA singles title, by defeating 23-year-old 7th-seeded # 70 Mariya Koryttseva from Harkov, Ukraine, 6-2, 6-3 (Sara is shown testing the hardware after the match). Sara's prize is $22,900; Mariya's is $12,345.

    Sara said: "I think the difference between us was I was stronger in the long points. It was difficult to stay physically strong the whole week because it's very hot here, but I think I did better in the end." WTA story

    Mariya said: "I didn't play that well in the final; I was trying my best but it just wasn't my day. [Sara] was using smart tactics and I just wasn't able to play my game."

    Sara also won her first WTA doubles title this weekend, on Saturday, with partner Nuria Llagostera Vives, as they defeated Alla Kudryavtseva & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 7-6(1), (10-4). It was Nuria's 5th WTA doubles title.

    Sara now leads Mariya 2-1 in career matches. Sara was playing is her first WTA singles final, and now has a 21-17 match record in 2008. Mariya is now 0-2 in WTA singles finals (she has won 6 ITF singles titles and 3 WTA doubles) and is 20-16 in matches for the year.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Budapest & Palermo s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Budapest Grand Prix,  Budapest, Hungary   tourney time:        = GMT +2 hours        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours Hungary News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Budapest: The 30-player main draw for Budapest has 8 seeds, with 2 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   Római Tenisz Akadémia, Budapest, Hungary Latitude: 47.584338 Longitude: 19.066719 goto link for World Wind Budapest Grand Prix venue address: Királyok útja 105, Budapest, Hungary; Tel. 240-8616

Budapest, 1st Rd, Mon noon-Tue 11:30am losers' prize: $1,340 US; points: 1 #41 s3 Tsvetlana Pironkova BUL d #273 wc Teodora Mircic SRB 6-3, 6-1 Mon *#181 Greta Arn HUN d #50 s4 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-4, 6-4 Tue #51 s5 Lucie Safarova CZE d #156 Kira Nagy HUN 6-2, 6-2 Mon *#328 sr Karolina Sprem CRO d #59 s6 Pauline Parmentier FRA 7-5, 6-2 Tue #61 s7 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #91 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-3, 6-2 Tue Klara before the match on Tuesday, about to swat a backhand while practicing with Iveta Benesova *#73 Petra Kvitova CZE d #66 s8 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-2, 6-4 Tue Sorana ready, and Petra about to serve *#270 q Zuzana Kucova SVK d #71 Timea Bacsinszky SUI 63 64 Tue #104 Martina Muller GER d #259 q Veronika Chvojkova CZE 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 Tue #821 wc Katalin Marosi HUN d #106 Anna Lapushchenkova RUS 6-3, 6-1 Tue #114 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #153 Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR 6-2, 6-1 Tue #115 Tzipora Obziler ISR d #140 Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU 6-3, 6-2 Mon #124 Mathilde Johansson FRA d #235 q Lucie Hradecka CZE 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) Tue Lucie about to serve, and Mathilde at ready #134 Andreja Klepac SLO d #458 q Natasa Zoric SRB 6-4, 6-4 Tue #252 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #541 wc Palma Kiraly HUN 6-0, 6-4 Mon Anna-Lena and Palma at ready 2007 Palma Kiraly Junior Tour player's blog

Budapest, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 11:30am losers' prize: $2,260 US; points: 20 *#134 Andreja Klepac SLO d #15 s1 Agnes Szavay HUN 6-2, 6-3 Wed Agnes at ready, and Andreja about to serve #17 s2 Alize Cornet FRA d #114 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-2, 6-2 Wed Alize about to fire a forehand, and Magdalena ready to belt a backhand *#821 wc Katalin Marosi HUN d #41 s3 Tsvetlana Pironkova BUL 6-2, 7-6(2) Thu Katalin about to connect with a backhand, and Tsvetana following a forehand *#252 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #51 s5 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-1, 6-4 Wed #61 s7 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #124 Mathilde Johansson FRA 6-0, 6-1 Thu Mathilde & Klara finding amusement at the toss to see who serves first #73 Petra Kvitova CZE d #104 Martina Muller GER 6-2, 6-1 Thu *#328 sr Karolina Sprem CRO d #115 Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-2, 6-1 Wed #181 Greta Arn HUN d #270 q Zuzana Kucova SVK 6-2, 6-1 Thu Zuzana serving (or smashing?), and Greta following a forehand

Budapest, QFs, Fri 11:30am losers' prize: $4,270 US; points: 35 #17 s2 Alize Cornet FRA d #252 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-2, 6-3 Alize about to swat a forehand, and Anna-Lena congratulating Alize after match point *#181 Greta Arn HUN d #61 s7 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-1, 6-0 Greta at ready *#134 Andreja Klepac SLO d #73 Petra Kvitova CZE 7-6(2), 6-0 Andreja after match point #328 sr Karolina Sprem CRO d #821 wc Katalin Marosi HUN 6-0, 6-1 Karolina after winning a point

Budapest, SFs, Sat noon losers' prize: $7,730 US; points: 65 #17 s2 Alize Cornet FRA d #181 Greta Arn HUN 6-1, 6-1 Greta following a backhand, and Alize about to drive a forehand #134 Andreja Klepac SLO d #328 sr Karolina Sprem CRO 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 Andreja serving, and Karolina following a backhand

Budapest, Final, Sun 3pm loser's prize: $15,000 US; points: 100 winner's prize: $28,000 US; points: 140 #17 s2 Alize Cornet FRA d #134 Andreja Klepac SLO 7-6(5), 6-3 Alize serving, Andreja driving a backhand, Alize following one, and Andreja congratulating Alize after match point

Budapest, Doubles Final, Sun after singles losers' prize: $4,400 US winners' prize: $8,250 US cdr252 s3 Alize Cornet & Janette Husarova d cdr1008 Vanessa Henke & Iona Raluca Olaru 6(5)-7, 6-1, (10-6) Budapest, Qual Finals, Mon Jul 7 noon losers' prizes: q1 $200 1pt; q2 $350 3pts; q3 $650 4pts; qualifier 8 points *#458 Natasa Zoric SRB d #191 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 6-3, 6-3 #235 Lucie Hradecka CZE d #287 Lenka Wienerova SVK 6-3, 6-4 #259 Veronika Chvojkova CZE d #904 Klaudia Jans POL 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 #270 Zuzana Kucova SVK d #296 Dia Evtimova BUL 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 Budapest, Withdrawals #11 Agnieszka Radwanska POL leg injury #62 Sofia Arvidsson SWE #65 Marta Domachowska POL #84 Edina Gallovits ROU #40 Karin Knapp ITA #123 Julia Schruff GER #125 Anne Kremer LUX #155 Meghann Shaughnessy USA left knee

Internazionali Femminili,  Palermo, Sicily, Italy   tourney time:        = GMT +2 hours        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours Italy News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Palermo: The 32-player 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.   click for broader view   Country Time Club, Palermo, Italy Latitude: 38.189389 Longitude: 13.318852 goto link for World Wind Internazionali Femminili venue address: Country Time Club, Via dell'Olimpo, 5 - Palermo; Tel. +39 091 453782 - Fax +39 091 6841644

Palermo, 1st Round, Mon-Wed 3pm-4pm-3:30pm losers' prize: $1,035 US; points: 1 #23 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #119 Sandra Kloesel GER 6-2, 6-2 Mon #34 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #154 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-0, 6-4 Wed *#103 Rossana de Los Rios PAR d #55 s3 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-4, 6-1 Tue #56 s4 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d #109 B Zahlavova Strycova CZE 7-5, 7-6(2) Mon #57 s5 Sara Errani ITA d #116 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-1, 6-0 Mon *#179 q Margalita Chakhnashvili GEO d #68 s6 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 Tue #70 s7 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #110 Renata Voracova CZE 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Tue #80 s8 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #143 Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-2, 7-5 Wed Yuliana & Tathiana about to swat forehands #83 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #233 sr Mara Santangelo ITA 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 Mon *#89 Galina Voskoboeva RUS d #86 Emilie Loit FRA 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 retired - left achilles injury Tue #88 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #170 q Jarmilia Gajdosova SVK(AUS) 6-0, 6-3 Wed #90 Olivia Sanchez FRA d #96 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 7-6(1), 4-0 retired - right leg injury Tue #122 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #127 Katie O'Brien GBR 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 Tue *#295 q Xinyun Han CHN d #131 Angelique Kerber GER 6-4, 6-2 Tue *#137 LL Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #145 Roberta Vinci ITA 7-5, 6-3 Tue #172 wc Corinna Dentoni ITA d #218 q Alberta Brianti ITA 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 Tue

Palermo, 2nd Round, Wed-Thu 3:30pm-4pm losers' prize: $1,925 US; points: 15 #23 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #122 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-2, 6-3 Wed Flavia about to drive a backhand, and Lourdes congratulating Flavia after match point #34 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #88 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-0, 6-4 Thu #56 s4 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d #89 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 Wed #57 s5 Sara Errani ITA d #83 Julia Vakulenko UKR 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 Wed #70 s7 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #295 q Xinyun Han CHN 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Thu #80 s8 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #90 Olivia Sanchez FRA 7-5, 6-4 Thu Tathiana and Olivia following forehand and backhand *#137 LL Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #103 Rossana de Los Rios PAR 6-1, 6-2 Thu *#179 q Margalita Chakhnashvili GEO d #172 wc Corinna Dentoni ITA 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 Thu Corinna driving a forehand, and Margalita's backhand drive

Palermo, QFs, Fri 4pm losers' prize: $3,580 US; points: 30 #23 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #179 q Margalita Chakhnashvili GEO 6-1, 6-1 #34 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #80 s8 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-0, 3-6, 6-0 *#57 s5 Sara Errani ITA d #56 s4 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 4-1 retired - finger injury #70 s7 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #137 LL Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 7-6(4), 6-3

Palermo, SFs, Sat 4:00pm losers' prize: $6,650 US; points: 50 *#57 s5 Sara Errani ITA d #23 s1 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-5, 6-3 *#70 s7 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #34 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-2, 6-2

Palermo, Final, Sun 6:45pm loser's prize: $12,345 US; points: 80 winner's prize: $22,900 US; points: 115 #57 s5 Sara Errani ITA d #70 s7 Mariya Koryttseva UKR 6-2, 6-3

Palermo, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $3,640 US winners' prize: $6,750 US s3 cdr170 Sara Errani & Nuria Llagostera Vives     d s4 cdr175 Alla Kudryavtseva & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 7-6(1), (10-4) Palermo, Qual Finals, Mon Jul 7 4pm losers' prizes: q1 $175 1pt; q2 $300 2pts; q3 $555 3pts; qualifier 7 points *#218 Alberta Brianti ITA d #137 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 7-5, 7-6(2) *#179 Margalita Chakhnashvili GEO d #144 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 #170 Jarmilia Gajdosova SVK(AUS) d #193 Jorgelina Cravero ARG 7-5, 7-5 #295 Xinyun Han CHN d #299 Eloisa Compostizode Andres ESP 6-4, 6-3 Palermo, Withdrawals #85 Yvonne Meusburger AUT #102 Julia Goerges GER #107 Maria Emilia Salerni ARG #111 Severine Bremond FRA knee injury

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.