WTA Feb 4-10: Paris Indoor & Pattaya Open Gaz de France, Paris, FRA Tier II $600,000 - 28 players indoor: hard (Greenset) Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes draw & results, .html pics: Yahoo! news - WTA Paris: weather radar - forecast # 7 A Chakvetadze, # 8 D Hantuchova # 9 M Bartoli, # 11 E Dementieva Pattaya Women's Open, THA Tier IV $170,000 - 32 players outdoor: hard Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes pics: Yahoo! news - WTA Bangkok Post: Sports Pattaya: weather forecast # 21 A Radwanska, # 57 C Dellacqua # 66 Y-J Chan, # 74 A Kerber

Tourney pages: Paris & Pattaya: 2007 - 2006 Paris: 2005 - 2004 Pattaya: 2005 previous other tourney pages next Paris: #20 Agnes Szavay 5' 7" 139lb RH 2H-BH Paris: #7 Anna Chakvetadze 5' 7" 128lb RH 2H-BH Paris: 7th WTA Singles Title in seven finals

    On Sunday in Paris, in the final of the Open Gaz de France, 20-year-old top-seeded # 7 Anna Chakvetadze from Moscow, Russia, defeated 19-year-old 7th-seeded # 20 Agnes Szavay from Budapest, Hungary, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 (both ladies are shown during the match, and Anna after match point).

    Anna said: "The 3-2 game in the third set was really important, because I was able to break [Agnes] for 4-2. I knew that wasn't the end and she would keep fighting, but I felt I was playing well also and knew I needed to keep concentrating and I could win.
    "I had a good first set as well, but I made so many errors and had so many problems in the second set. The crowds were great though--I think they helped both of us play well today." WTA story

    Agnes said: "The third set was a really great set; I think we were both playing really well. [Anna] just wasn't giving me any unforced errors and she was playing better in the middle of the set, especially when she broke for 4-2. The 3-2 game was the most important game of the match, I think."

    Anna and Agnes had played only once before, on the red clay at Roland Garros in the 2nd round of last year's French Open, when Anna won, 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-4.

    Anna, who will rise to # 6 in the rankings on Monday, is now 7-0 in WTA singles finals; she won at Stanford, Cincinnati, 's-Hertogenbosch, and Hobart last year. Unfortunately, burglars entered Anna's house in Moscow in December, injuring both her and her father and making off with a fortune. Not surprisingly, Anna got off to a slow start in January, losing in the 1st round in Sydney and the 3rd round at the Australian Open. But Anna now appears to be back to her usual good form, and she has a 7-2 match record for the year.

    Agnes is now 2-2 in WTA singles finals; both her titles came last year, at Beijing and Palermo. Agnes, too, got off to a slow start this year, losing in the 1st round at both Gold Coast and the Australian Open. But she looked very good this week, with wins over Olga Govortsova, Tathiana Garbin, Daniela Hantuchova, and Elena Dementieva.

    In the Pattaya final on Sunday, 18-year-old top-seeded # 21 Agnieszka Radwanska from Krakow, Poland, defeated 33-year-old 7th-seeded # 81 Jill Craybas from East Greenwich, Rhode Island, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(4).

    Agnieszka said: "The first two games I lost very quickly, and then I won six in a row - then it was everything for [Jill] in the second set. It is very strange and hard to explain. In the third I was also ahead but she came back and was fighting to the last point. I was nervous and everything was upsetting me. But I was also fighting until the last point. I was very relieved when I finally won it, and that's the most important thing." WTA story

    Jill said: "I just kept playing my game, and I think [Agnieszka] got a little bit nervous towards the end. I'm disappointed I lost but I fought my hardest. I played as well as I could today and I have no regrets because I gave 100 percent and can't ask for more than that."

    Agnieszka and Jill had also played only once before, on a chlorophyll court last year in the 1st round at Eastbourne, when Agnieszka won, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0. Agnieszka is now 2-0 in WTA singles finals; she won her first title last year in Stockholm. Jill is 1-1 in WTA singles finals; she won hers at the Japan Open in Tokyo in 2002.

WTA highlight videos: Paris finals - Paris semifinals
Paris player's blog by Alona & Kateryna Bondarenko

    (Feb 2, 2008) Unfortunately oft-injured 2nd-seeded # 29 Sania Mirza has withdrawn from the Pattaya Women's Open due to a left adductor strain. The main draw has been rearranged, and Sania will be replaced by a "Lucky Loser," the highest-ranked player to lose in the qualifying finals.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Paris Indoor & Pattaya s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Open Gaz de France,  Paris, France       The time in Paris is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) +1 hours (Pacific Time+9, ET+6). News: France - Paris Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Paris: The main draw for Paris 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    Pierre de Coubertin Stadium (at left) Latitude: 48.835275 Longitude: 2.258849 goto link for World Wind France Geoportail plugin for World Wind (maps & aerial photos) 2008: Daniela Hantuchova (left) and Marion Bartoli (right) alerted the media during the "all access hour" on Monday... on Sunday, top attractions Nadia Petrova, Elena Dementieva, Marion, Amelie Mauresmo, Daniela, and Emile Loit posed for photogs

Paris, 1st Rd Mon 4pm, Tue 11am, Wed noon losers' prize: $4,175 US; points: 1 *#43 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #12 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 Tue #18 s6 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #104 q Julie Ditty USA 6-1, 6-2 Tue #20 s7 Agnes Szavay HUN d #47 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-1, 6-1 Tue *#27 Virginie Razzano FRA d #22 s8 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 Wed Virginie's service toss, Alona driving a forehand on the fly, and Virginie after match point *#37 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #24 Victoria Azarenka BLR 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 Mon #28 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #50 Emilie Loit FRA 6-2, 6-4 Mon *#153 q Petra Kvitova CZE d #30 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-2, 6-3 Tue #41 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #52 Meilen Tu USA 6-3, 6-4 Tue #48 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #73 wc Camille Pin FRA 7-5, 6-3 Tue *#128 q Yuliana Fedak UKR d #49 Karin Knapp ITA 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-2 Tue *#65 wc Nathalie Dechy FRA d #51 Shuai Peng CHN 6-4, 7-6(8) Wed Nathalie's service toss, and Shuai and Nathalie driving backhands #58 Alize Cornet FRA d #72 q Klara Zakopalova CZE 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 Wed Alize driving a forehand, and after winning a point

Paris, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu noon WTA Thu story losers' prize: $7,820 US; points: 35 #7 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #65 wc Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-1, 6-3 Thu Anna driving forehands #8 s2 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #28 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Thu Daniela driving a backhand, and after match point     Daniela said: "I lost my concentration a little bit at the beginning of the second set, and [Katarina is] a great player and capitalized on this. Her serve was very good, especially in the second set, and there wasn't much I could do against her when she was serving. She always forces me to play my very best tennis and in the third set I managed to play the important points very well and to keep fighting even when I was in danger." #9 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA d #48 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 7-5, 6-1 Thu Marion firing a cannonball, about to swat a backhand, and after match point #11 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS d #153 q Petra Kvitova CZE 7-6(7), 6-2 Wed Elena serving, and about to swat a forehand #18 s6 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #37 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 3-0 retired--illness Thu #20 s7 Agnes Szavay HUN d #41 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 Wed #27 Virginie Razzano FRA d #58 Alize Cornet FRA 6-4, 7-5 Thu #43 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #128 q Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-0, 6-3 Thu

Paris, QFs Fri 2pm losers' prize: $14,600 US; points: 70 #7 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #18 s6 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 Anna's service toss, Amelie driving a forehand, Anna's backhand drive, and Anna after winning a point     In the 3rd set, neither player held serve until the 8th game, when Anna finally held, then broke Amelie once more to finish the match.     Anna said: "Amelie was receiving well and I didn't feel like some of my first serves went through. So I was under pressure... When we got new balls in the third set, I won that game because balls were much faster, so it was easier for me to serve." AP story     Amelie said: "It was really tight. I was receiving well and [Anna] was in trouble on her serve. I lacked a bit of lucidity at 4-3 [in the 3rd set]." *#20 s7 Agnes Szavay HUN d #8 s2 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 7-6(4), 6-1 Agnes driving forehand and backhand, and after match point     At 1-1 in the 2nd set, Daniela called for the trainer and had her right hand bandaged due to a blister.     Daniela said: "The blister started on Thursday. It was bothering me while I was holding the racquet. But that's not an excuse, [Agnes] played really well." BBC story #9 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA d #27 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-1, 7-6(3) Marion driving a backhand, and Virginie congratulating Marion after match point     Virginie, in pain, called for the trainer to have her back and legs massaged when she trailed 2-4 in the 3rd set. Then she won the next three games.     Marion said: "I had some trouble to stay focused on the match. I made some unusual mistakes in the second set that helped Virginie get back into the match. I lost a bit of my concentration, because I knew she was suffering." #11 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS d #43 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 7-5, 6-2 Elena driving a backhand, and after match point     Elena said: "I saved one set point. I think that was the most important moment of the game. It really gave me so much confidence, winning the first set."

Paris, SFs Sat 2pm WTA story losers' prize: $27,300 US; points: 125 #7 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #9 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 Marion's 2-handed forehand (she uses the same grip on both sides, left hand above the right), Anna driving a backhand, and Marion congratulating Anna after match point     Anna said: "It was kind of weird, because in the first set I wasn't feeling too well; but then things changed quickly...     "I want to recover and try to be fresh for tomorrow. Agnes is a very tough opponent. She's has a very good backhand. It won't be easy but I'll try to do my best."     Marion said: "I'm feeling pretty disappointed. I was really excited to play here. I started off really well and was leading in the second set, but then all of a sudden everything started going wrong. But it was still a great week for me, the first time I got to the semifinals here in Paris." *#20 s7 Agnes Szavay HUN d #11 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 Agnes and Elena driving forehands, and Agnes after match point     Elena broke Agnes's serve to take the lead three times in the 3rd set, but Agnes broke Elena back each time--including when Elena served for the match, leading 5-4.     Agnes said: "[Elena] really likes [it] when somebody is hitting flat against her and she never misses on those balls. So I tried to mix it up a little bit and it worked." AP story     Elena said: "Agnes was playing a smart game. She was mixing up a lot. I think she has a good chance to win this tournament because she's in good shape... I feel like I made too many unforced errors today. I was rushing a lot. I was trying to go for the winner. But I wasn't prepared for it. As a result, I was missing a lot."

Paris, Final Sun after doubles, 3pm+ loser's prize: $51,000 US; points: 190 winner's prize: $95,500 US; points: 275 #7 s1 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #20 s7 Agnes Szavay HUN 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 Anna serving, Agnes driving a forehand, Anna about to swat a high backhand, Agnes lining up a slice, Anna and Agnes driving forehands, Anna's backhand, and after match point

Paris, Doubles Final Sun m1 12:30pm losers' prize: $16,120 US winners' prize: $30,000 US cdr39 s3 Alona Bondarenko & Kateryna Bondarenko d cdr136 Vladimira Uhlirova & Eva Hrdinova 6-1, 6-4 Alona & Kateryna, who won their first doubles title together at this year's Australian Open, now have won two in a row Paris, Qual Finals, Mon Feb 4 11am losers' prizes: q1 $640 1pt; q2 $1,195 3pts; q3 $2,230 10pts; qualifier 15 points #72 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #114 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 6-2, 6-4 #104 Julie Ditty USA d #144 Anna Lapushchenkova RUS 7-5, 6-3 *#153 Petra Kvitova CZE d #115 Severine Bremond FRA 7-5, 6-2 *#128 Yuliana Fedak UKR d #119 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 7-5, 6-3 Paris, Withdrawals #10 Serena Williams USA dental (gum) surgery #23 Francesca Schiavone ITA Fed Cup #26 Vera Zvonareva RUS left ankle #36 Julia Vakulenko UKR right wrist

Pattaya Women's Open,  Pattaya City, Thailand       The time in Pattaya is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) +7 hours (Pacific Time+12, ET+15). Thailand News Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast     Pattaya: The main draw for Pattaya 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.     click for broader view     Dusit Resort (courts at upper left) Latitude: 12.950763 Longitude: 100.8842 goto link for World Wind Pattaya Beach Road Area Map     Pattaya is about 50 kilometers south of Chonburi (Chon Buri), or a 2 hour drive from Bangkok. 2008: Akgul Amanmuradova and Ekaterina Bychkova were among those doing the karaoke thing at the player party on Sunday... also at the party, Ksenia Palkina got a lift from a gate-crasher whose name might be Jumbo... earlier on Sunday, Anastasia Rodionova and others helped some hatchlings find their way to the water at the Chonburi Sea Turtle Conservation Center...

Pattaya, 1st Rd Mon-rainout-Tue noon, Wed 2pm losers' prize: $1,165 US; points: 1 all of Monday's schedule rained out #21 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #110 Vania King USA 7-5, 7-6(5) Wed Agnieszka (following a volley?), and Vania fielding a drop shot #57 s3 Casey Dellacqua AUS d #235 q Akiko Yonemura JPN 6-2, 6-3 Wed Casey about to swat a forehand, and Akiko following a backhand #66 s4 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #455 q Yi-Miao Zhou CHN 6-4, 6-2 Wed #74 s5 Angelique Kerber GER d #91 Meng Yuan CHN 6-3, 7-5 Tue *#102 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #77 s6 Yaroslava Shvedova RUS 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 Tue Yaroslava and Ekaterina fielding drop shots #81 s7 Jill Craybas USA d #88 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-1, 6-1 Tue *#108 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #84 s8 Anastasia Rodionova RUS 6-2, 6-1 Tue Anastasia after slicing a backhand, and Tammy about to belt one #85 s9 Tzipora Obziler ISR d #587 wc Noppawan Lertcheewakarn THA 6-1, 6-2 Wed Tzipi following a backhand slice, and Noppawan fielding a short ball #94 Lilia Osterloh USA d #143 Shuai Zhang CHN 7-5, 6-2 Tue #97 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #151 Barbora Zahalova Strykova CZE 6-3, 6-2 Tue Akgul answering a drop shot with a drop shot #99 Anne Kremer LUX d #278 q Yi-Fan Xu CHN 7-6(4), 6-1 Wed #100 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #111 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-2, 6-3 Tue #146 Andreja Klepac SLO d #215 wc Urszula Radwanska POL 7-6(1), 6-2 Wed #148 Renata Voracova CZE d 133 Melinda Czink HUN 6-3, 6-1 Tue #152 q Vesna Manasieva RUS d #334 wc Nudnida Luangnam THA 6-0, 6-1 Wed #195 LL Sunitha Rao IND d #175 LL Junri Namigata JPN 6-4, 6-1 Wed

Pattaya, 2nd Rd Thu 2pm losers' prize: $2,165 US; points: 15 #21 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #99 Anne Kremer LUX 6-2, 6-2 Anne on her way to net, and Agnieszka volleying a backhand on the run *#146 Andreja Klepac SLO d #57 s3 Casey Dellacqua AUS 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 #66 s4 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #94 Lilia Osterloh USA 6-4, 6-2 *#152 q Vesna Manasieva RUS d #74 s5 Angelique Kerber GER 6-2, 6-1 #81 s7 Jill Craybas USA d #148 Renata Voracova CZE 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 Jill following a backhand, and Renata a forehand *#97 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #85 s9 Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-4, 6-2 *#108 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #100 Olga Poutchkova RUS 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tammy following a forehand, and Olga fielding a drop shot #102 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #195 LL Sunitha Rao IND 6-4, 6-4

Pattaya, QFs Fri 3pm WTA story losers' prize: $4,015 US; points: 30 #21 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #108 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-2, 6-3 Agnieszka after fielding a drop shot     Agnieszka said: "[Tammy] only started to play at 5-0 [in the 1st set]. Maybe she was tired or nervous, but the first five games were very fast and easy, but then she started to play much better. From then it was very hard to play because she moved well and had made a lot of good shots. Maybe in the first set she made some mistakes, but the second set was tough with lots of long games." *#97 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #66 s4 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-1, 7-6(5) Akgul serving, and Yung-Jan running down a forehand #81 s7 Jill Craybas USA d #146 Andreja Klepac SLO 6-4, 6-4 Andreja following a forehand, and Jill volleying one #102 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #152 q Vesna Manasieva RUS 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 Ekaterina after match point

Pattaya, SFs Sat 3pm WTA story losers' prize: $7,450 US; points: 50 #21 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #102 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-1, 6-1 Ekaterina volleying a backhand, and Agnieszka departing after the match     Agnieszka said: "[Ekaterina] served well but didn't move well, probably because she was tired. I'm happy about my game except the first game of the second set. We played with new balls and she hit good shots." AP story #81 s7 Jill Craybas USA d #97 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-4, 6-0 Akgul fielding a backhand, and Jill following a forehand     Jill said: "I was just committed to what I wanted to do rather than think about the result and stuff. I wanted to play well, take [Akgul's] serves early and take her away from the angles. I've done a pretty good job at that."

Pattaya, Final Sun 3pm loser's prize: $13,825 US; points: 80 winner's prize: $25,650 US; points: 115 #21 s1 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #81 s7 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(4) Agnieszka driving a forehand, Jill fielding a drop shot, Agnieszka's backhand, and after match point

Pattaya, Doubles Final Sun after singles losers' prize: $4,050 US winners' prize: $7,530 US cdr21 s1 Yung-Jan Chan & Chia-Jung Chuang d cdr75 s2 Su-Wei Hsieh & Vania King 6-4, 6-3 It was Yung-Jan's (right) 5th WTA doubles title, all won with Chia-Jung; Chia-Jung (left) has also won two with Su-Wei Hsieh Pattaya, Qual Finals, Mon Feb 4 3pm RAIN-ppd-Tue Feb 5 noon losers' prizes: q1 $185 1pt; q2 $340 2pts; q3 $630 3pts; qualifier 7 points #152 Vesna Manasieva RUS d #315 Iroda Tulyaganova UZB 6-2, 7-5 *#455 Yi-Miao Zhou CHN d #175 Junri Namigata JPN 6-3, 6-2 *#235 Akiko Yonemura JPN d #195 Sunitha Rao IND 6-1, 6-1 #278 Yi-Fan Xu CHN d #461 Nungnadda Wannasuk THA 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 Pattaya, Withdrawals #29 s2 Sania Mirza IND left adductor magnus strain #35 Mara Santangelo ITA left foot #48 Dominika Cibulkova SVK Paris main draw #55 Meghann Shaughnessy USA left knee #56 Aravane Rezai FRA scheduling #68 Alicia Molik AUS elbow #71 Kaia Kanepi EST #72 Klara Zakopalova CZE Paris qualifying #79 Roberta Vinci ITA shoulder #87 Tatjana Malek GER Fed Cup #90 Nicole Pratt AUS right knee #105 Aiko Nakamura JPN Fed Cup #163 Yanina Wickmayer BEL flight cancelled due to bad weather # sr Evgenia Linetskaya RUS right ankle

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    (Feb 5, 2008) On Monday in La Quinta, California, in the final of the Charlie M Desert Classic, 18-year-old former # 35 Sesil Karatantcheva from Sofia, Bulgaria (and Sarasota, Florida) defeated 28-year-old # 122 Sandra Kloesel from Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, 6-4, 7-5 (photo shown).

    2005 French Open quarterfinalist Sesil is currently unranked because she has played in only 2 tourneys in the past year--in fact, in the past two years. Sesil was suspended for two years after a prohibited steroid was detected in her system in 2005. She appealed the ban, backed by her father and their lawyers and doctors, contending that the substance detected (nalderone) was due to pregnancy (which ended in a miscarriage). Sesil lost the appeal.

    She has not lost anything since (well, ok, one doubles match). Sesil is 16-0 in 2008, having won her way through qualifying and main draws to garner two ITF titles in Surprise, Arizona, and now at La Quinta. Desert Sun Karatantcheva interview - ITF Karatantcheva record

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Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2009 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.