WTA, ITF & Exhibition Jan 5-11 Brisbane International, Brisbane, AUS INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: hard Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes photos: Y!: sports - news | WTA Brisbane: weather radar - forecast # 5 Ana Ivanovic, # 15 Victoria Azarenka # 17 Marion Bartoli, # 21 D Hantuchova ASB Classic, Auckland, NZL INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: hard Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - free live video photos: Y!: sports - news | WTA - NZH TVNZ - Auckland: rainfall - forecast # 4 Elena Dementieva, # 12 C Wozniacki # 22 A Medina G, # 34 A Wozniak Hopman Cup, Perth, AUS Live Scores standings - results - teams-sched photos: Y!: sports - news Perth: weather radar - forecast World Team Challenge, Hong Kong, CHN scores - draw | Hong Kong: radar - forecast

Gold Coast-Auckland tourney pages: 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Brisbane: #15 Victoria Azarenka 5' 10" 132lb RH 2H-BH Auckland: #4 Elena Dementieva 5' 11" 141lb RH 2H-BH Perth: #19 Dominika Cibulkova 5' 3" 121lb RH 2H-BH

    On Saturday in Brisbane, Australia, in the final of the Brisbane International, 19-year-old 2nd-seeded # 15 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (residence: Scottsdale, Arizona) won her first WTA singles title by handily defeating 24-year-old 3rd-seeded # 17 Marion Bartoli of France (residence: Geneva, Switzerland), 6-3, 6-1 (Victoria is shown after match point).

    Vika and Marion had played each other only once before, in the 2nd round of the 2007 Australian Open, when Vika won, 6-0, 7-5.
    Victoria is now 1-4 in WTA singles finals; she won the mixed doubles title at Roland Garros last year, partnered with Bob Bryan. Vika had a 40-20 singles match record in 2008; she is 5-0 this year.
    Marion is now 3-5 in WTA singles finals; she reached the Wimbledon final in 2007 by defeating Justine Henin in the semis, but she has not won a title since Auckland in 2006. Marion's match record last season was 29-26; she is 4-1 this year.

    Meanwhile, in Auckland, New Zealand, in the final of the ASB Classic, 27-year-old top-seeded # 4 Elena Dementieva (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco) defeated her compatriot, 22-year-old unseeded # 79 Elena Vesnina from Sochi, Russia, 6-4, 6-1 (Elena D shown holding the hardware after the match).

    The two Elenas had played each other only once before, in the 2nd round in 's-Hertogenbosch in 2006, when Elena D won, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
    Elena Dementieva is now 12-13 in WTA singles finals; she won the 2008 Olympic gold medal, and also won the Dubai and Luxembourg titles last year, finishing with a 54-15 match record for the season. Elena is now 5-0 in 2009.
    Elena Vesnina was playing in her first WTA singles final. She has won 2 ITF singles titles, and 3 WTA (plus 6 ITF) doubles titles. Elena had a 19-24 match record in 2008, but did record wins over then # 12 Patty Schnyder and # 18 Agnes Szavay last April. Elena is now 4-1 in 2009, her best start ever.

    And meanwhile, in Hong Kong, China, in the finals of the World Team Challenge exhibition tourney (aka the JB Group Classic), Team Americas defeated Team Russia 4-1 to win the first incarnation of this annual event as a team competition.
    The best of five was tied at 1-1 after Friday's matches. # 51 (and South American # 1) Gisela Dulko of Team Americas upset # 18 Anna Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, to put Team Americas ahead, and Gisela's teammate # 6 Venus Williams of defeated # 7 Vera Zvonareva of Team Russia 6-2, 6-2, to clinch the victory. Team Americas also won the moot doubles match, making the final score 4-1.

    Unfortunately, # 1 Jelena Jankovic, who lost to Venus Williams on Friday, had to withdraw from her consolation match against Jie Zheng due to stomach flu, which is impairing her preparations for the Australian Open.
    Jelena said: "I have been weak and sick for the last couple of days. I have been trying my best to get on the court but I feel slow, I have no reactions and it has been a struggle for me. My main goal now is to get back on court as soon as possible and get ready for the Australian. I will try and stay optimistic and hope for the best." story

    On Friday in Perth, Australia, in the finals of the 2009 Hopman Cup, 19-year-old # 19 Dominika Cibulkova from Bratislava, Slovakia, narrowly defeated 22-year-old # 3 Dinara Safina of Russia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), 6(3)-7, 6-1, 6-4 (Dominika is shown after match point).

    Dominika's teammate Dominik Hrbaty then defeated Dinara's teammate—and brother—Marat Safin, making Slovakia the 2009 Hopman Cup champions with a 2-0 victory over Russia.

SCOREBOARD: WTA Brisbane & Auckland; ITF Perth, Exhibition Hong Kong s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Australian Women's Hardcourts, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia   tourney time:        = GMT +10 hours        = US EDT +15 hours        = US PDT +18 hours Australia News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Brisbane: The main draw for Brisbane has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes.     There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw.     Qualifying (3 rounds) begins on Friday, qualifying finals are on Sunday.   click for broader view   Site of Queensland State Tennis Centre, Softstone St, Tennyson, Australia   directions Latitude: -27.525237 Longitude: 153.007396 goto link for World Wind     The Brisbane International was formerly known as the Australian Women's Hardcourts, and was held at nearby Gold Coast. For 2009 the tourney has been moved to the newly-constructed Queensland State Tennis Centre at Tennyson, a Brisbane suburb. The $AUD 82 million Tennyson facility has 23 courts, including four clay, two natural grass and 17 hardcourts. Centre court, named Rafter Arena after Aussie Patrick Rafter, a 2-time US Open champ, seats 5,500.     Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not observe daylight savings time (other Aussie provinces do; as in Britain, it is called Summer Time rather than daylight savings). Thus the time in Brisbane during the summer months is 1 hour earlier than the time in Sydney and Melbourne. 2009: Aussie 16-year-olds Isabella Holland and Monika Wejnert posed for a pic after being selected as Brisbane main draw wildcards in December... Isabella and Marion Bartoli were looking good at the player party on New Year's Eve... On Friday, Jan 2, Isabella arrived for an exhibition match at the opening of the new Queensland State Tennis Center... 2009: On New Year's Day, Daniela Hantuchova made friends at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary... And on Saturday, Jan 3, top seeded Ana Ivanovic played Meet the Press and posed for some pretty pics on the Kangaroo Point cliffs overlooking Brisbane, while Amelie Mauresmo did the player rep thing at the main draw...

Brisbane, 1st Round, Sun-Mon 10:00am loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 #5 s1 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #50 Petra Kvitova CZE 6-4, 6-2 Mon Ana serving, driving a backhand, and after match point #15 s2 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #62 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-0, 6-2 Sun Victoria about to swat a forehand, and Kateryna's backhand drive #17 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA d #528 wc Monika Wejnert AUS 6-1, 6-2 Sun Marion's 2-handed forehand, and Monika about to drive a backhand *#42 Sara Errani ITA d #21 s4 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6(1)-7, 6-4, 6-0 Mon Daniela and Sara driving backhands #24 s5 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #178 wc Jelena Dokic AUS 7-6(9), 7-6(5) Mon Amelie and Jelena driving forehand and backhand *#32 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #27 s6 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-1, 6-4 Sun *#47 Olga Govortsova BLR d #30 s8 Francesca Schiavone ITA 7-5, 6-2 Mon c2 m3 Francesca following a forehand, and Olga's backhand drive *#52 Samantha Stosur AUS d #31 s9 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-2, 6-3 Mon Ai and Samantha driving forehands *#106 q Melinda Czink HUN d #33 Alona Bondarenko UKR 7-6(3), 6-1 Mon *#99 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK/AUS d #40 Shuai Peng CHN 6-4, 6-2 Sun "Jarka" Gajdosova has been waiting over a year now to be granted Australian citizenship. Tennis Australia lists her as Aussie, while the WTA still lists her as Slovak—Russian-born Anastasia Rodionova is in a similar semi-Australian position. *#148 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #43 Iveta Benesova CZE 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 Mon Iveta lining up a backhand, and Sesil driving one #44 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #48 Monica Niculescu ROU 6(2)-7, 6-4, 6-4 Sun #55 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #56 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-2, 6-3 Mon #63 Lucie Safarova CZE d #582 wc Isabella Holland AUS 6-4, 6-3 Mon *#97 LL Julie Coin FRA d #73 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 7-5, 6(5)-7, 7-6(3) Mon Julie driving a backhand *#84 q Roberta Vinci ITA d #76 q Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 0-6, 6-3, 6-1 Mon

Brisbane, 2nd Round, Tue-Wed 10:30am loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30 #5 s1 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #84 q Roberta Vinci ITA 6(4)-7, 7-5, 6-1 Wed Ana driving a backhand, and after match point #15 s2 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #99 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK/AUS 7-6(4), 7-5 Tue Victoria driving a forehand, Jarmila running one down, Victoria following another, and after winning a point #17 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA d #106 q Melinda Czink HUN 5-7, 6-3 6-1 Tue Melinda and Marion driving backhands #24 s5 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #97 LL Julie Coin FRA 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(11) Wed Julie and Amelie driving backhands *#55 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #32 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 Tue Tathiana after winning a point #42 Sara Errani ITA d #44 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6(3)-7, 7-5, 6-3 Wed Tsvetana's forehand drive, and Sara's backhand #47 Olga Govortsova BLR d #148 q Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 Wed *#63 Lucie Safarova CZE d #52 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-4, 6-4 Tue Lucie driving a backhand, and Samantha about to swat one

Brisbane, QFs, Thu 10:30am loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70 *#24 s5 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #5 s1 Ana Ivanovic SRB 6-3, 6-2 Ana driving a backhand, Amelie running down a forehand, and after match point #15 s2 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #63 Lucie Safarova CZE 7-6, 6-4 #17 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA d #55 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-3, 6-3 Tathiana fielding a low forehand, and Marion's backhand drive #42 Sara Errani ITA d #47 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-3, 6-3

Brisbane, SFs, Fri 11am WTA story loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130 #15 s2 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #42 Sara Errani ITA 6-3, 6-1 Victoria and Sara driving forehand and backhand, and Vika after winning a point #17 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA d #24 s5 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 4-0 retired—left thigh strain Amelie about to swat a backhand, and Marion driving one

Brisbane, Final, Sat 7pm loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 #15 s2 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #17 s3 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 6-1 Victoria driving a forehand, Marion's backhand, and Vika after winning her first WTA title

Brisbane, Doubles Final, Sat after singles loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Vania King d Klaudia Jans & Alicja Rosolska 3-6, 7-5, (10-5) Brisbane, Qual Finals, Sun Jan 4, 10am losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points #76 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #97 Julie Coin FRA 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 #84 Roberta Vinci ITA d #174 Karolina Sprem CRO 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 #106 Melinda Czink HUN d #126 Zi Yan CHN 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 #148 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #145 Evgeniya Rodina RUS 6-1, 7-6(4) Brisbane, Withdrawals #23 Na Li CHN right knee #26 Sybille Bammer AUT illness #29 s7 Maria Kirilenko RUS illness

ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand   tourney time:        = GMT +13 hours        = US EDT +18 hours        = US PDT +21 hours New Zealand News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Auckland: The main draw for Auckland has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes.     There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw.     Qualifying (3 rounds) begins on Saturday; qualifying finals are on Monday.   click for broader view   ASB Tennis Centre, Auckland Latitude: -36.853767 Longitude: 174.773394 goto link for World Wind another map - directions     The ASB Tennis Centre has 7 outdoor Rebound Ace courts (which may be converted to Plexicushion), 2 indoor Astrograss courts, and 3 indoor hard courts, all lit. 2009: On New Year's Day, British # 1 Anne Keothavong played beach tennis and posed for pics at Mission Bay Beach, along with Nicole Vaidisova, Kimiko Date Krumm, and Kiwi # 1 Marina Erakovic... Top seeds Elena Dementieva and Caroline Wozniacki were looking good for a photo which the WTA has dated "Saturday, Dec 31", but which seems more likely to have been taken on January 3...

Auckland, 1st Round, Mon-Tue 11am loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 #4 s1 Elena Dementieva RUS d #74 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 7-5, 6-3 Tue #12 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #173 q Alberta Brianti ITA 6-1, 6-0 Tue #22 s3 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #133 Mara Santangelo ITA 7-5, 6-0 Mon #34 s4 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN d #59 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-3, 6(4)-7, 7-5 Mon #38 s5 Shahar Peer ISR d #83 Petra Cetkovska CZE 7-6(4), 6-2 Mon #41 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #71 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5Mon #45 s7 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #88 q Kristina Barrois GER 6-3, 6-1 Tue #49 s8 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d #69 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-4, 6-0 Tue *#75 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #58 Virginie Razzano FRA 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 Mon #60 Anne Keothavong GBR d #433 wc Mirjana Lucic CRO 6-4, 6-2 Tue #64 Jill Craybas USA d #189 wc Kimiko Date Krumm JPN 6-4, 6-3 Mon *#86 q Ayumi Morita JPN d #65 Marta Domachowska POL 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Tue #66 Marina Erakovic NZL d #68 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 7-5, 6-4 Tue *#78 Edina Gallovits ROU d #72 Klara Zakopalova CZE 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 Mon #77 Aravane Rezai FRA d #144 wc Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Mon #79 Elena Vesnina RUS d #146 q Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-1, 6-0 Tue Elena alerted the media after the match

Auckland, 2nd Round, Wed 11am loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30 #4 s1 Elena Dementieva RUS d #66 Marina Erakovic NZL 6-2, 6-3 #12 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN v #64 Jill Craybas USA 6-4, 7-5 *#78 Edina Gallovits ROU d #22 s3 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-3 *#86 q Ayumi Morita JPN d #34 s4 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 7-5, 6-2 #38 s5 Shahar Peer ISR d #75 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 *#79 Elena Vesnina RUS d #41 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-4, 6-3 *#77 Aravane Rezai FRA d #45 s7 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-2, 6-3 *#60 Anne Keothavong GBR d #49 s8 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 6-2, 6-4

Auckland, QFs, Thu 11am loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70 #4 s1 Elena Dementieva RUS d #38 s5 Shahar Peer ISR 6-3, 6-1 Shahar and Elena driving backhand and forehand *#79 Elena Vesnina RUS d #12 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 Caroline driving a backhand, Elena lining one up, and Elena on Wednesday, demonstrating "swingball" for the fans between matches #60 Anne Keothavong GBR d #86 q Ayumi Morita JPN 6-0 retired—left hamstring strain Anne following a forehand #77 Aravane Rezai FRA d #78 Edina Gallovits ROU 6-3, 6-2 Aravane watching her backhand fly

Auckland, SFs, Fri noon WTA story loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130 #4 s1 Elena Dementieva RUS d #77 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-2, 6-2 Aravane driving a forehand, Elena following a backhand, and after match point *#79 Elena Vesnina RUS d #60 Anne Keothavong GBR 6(3)-7, 6-1, 7-5 Elena serving, after match point, and Anne congratulating Elena

Auckland, Final, Sat 1pm loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 #4 s1 Elena Dementieva RUS d #79 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-4, 6-1 Elena D tossing the ball for her serve, and both Elenas following backhands

Auckland, Doubles Final, Sat after singles loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US Nathalie Dechy & Mara Santangelo d Nuria Llagostera Vives & Aranxta Parra Santonja 4-6, 7-6(3), (12-10) Auckland, Qual Finals, Mon Jan 5 11am losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points *#146 Aiko Nakamura JPN d #85 Mathilde Johansson FRA 6-4, 6-4 #86 Ayumi Morita JPN d #203 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 #88 Kristina Barrois GER d #125 Andreja Klepac SLO 6-4, 6-2 *#173 Alberta Brianti ITA d #102 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 6-3, 6-2 Auckland, Withdrawals #11 Nadia Petrova RUS meningitis #20 Katarina Srebotnik SLO left achilles injury #61 Pauline Parmentier FRA #67 Mariya Koryttseva UKR ankle injury #70 Tamira Paszek AUT left foot tendonitis

ITF Hopman Cup, Perth, Western Australia   tourney time:        = GMT +8 hours        = US EDT +13 hours        = US PDT +16 hours Australia News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Perth: The Hopman Cup is not a WTA-sanctioned event, but an ITF event featuring WTA & ATP pairs from 8 nations competing as teams.     As you might expect, each international "tie" consists of 3 "rubbers," 2 singles and 1 doubles.   click for broader view   Burswood Dome, Perth Latitude: -31.960164 Longitude: 115.896567 goto link for World Wind another map (dome is SE of golf course)     The eight competing teams are divided into two groups, A and B, which play round robin preliminaries. The two group winners play in the final. Beginning in 2007, one of the eight places has been reserved for the nation winning the Asian Hopman Cup, which was held for the first time in Hyderabad, India, in November 2006. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) won the Asian Hopman Cup in 2008 and 2009. 2009 Hopman Cup Teams Group A "Ties" W-L Matches W-L s7 Slovakia #19 Dominika Cibulkova Dominik Hrbaty 3-0 8-1 s6 Germany #58 Sabine Lisicki Nicolas Kiefer 2-1 4-5 s1 USA #837 Meghann Shaughnessy James Blake 1-2 3-6 s4 Australia #53 Casey Dellacqua Lleyton Hewitt 0-3 3-6 Group B s2 Russia #3 Dinara Safina Marat Safin 3-0 6-3 s5 Italy #13 Flavia Pennetta Simone Bolelli 2-1 6-3 s3 France #16 Alize Cornet Gilles Simon 1-1 4-2 s8 Chinese Taipei #80 Su-Wei Hsieh Yen-Hsun Lu 0-3 1-8 Perth, Hopman Cup, Saturday, Jan 3, 10:30am France 3 d Chinese Taipei 0 #16 Alize Cornet FRA d #80 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-4, 6-4 Simon d Lu 6-3, 7-6 (8-6); # Cornet/Simon d Hsieh/Lu 6-4, 7-6(9) Perth, Hopman Cup, Sunday, Jan 4, 10:30am Russia 2 d Italy 1 #3 Dinara Safina RUS d #13 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-5, 6-3 Safin d Bolelli 7-6(5), 6-4; Pennetta/Bolelli d Safina/Safin 5-7, 6-4, (10-2) Flavia reaching for a forehand, and Dinara driving a backhand Perth, Hopman Cup, Monday 10:30am & 6pm Germany 2 d Australia 1 #58 Sabine Lisicki GER d #53 Casey Dellacqua AUS 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 Hewitt d Kiefer 6(6)-7, 6-3, 6-2; Lisicki/Kiefer d Dellacqua/Hewitt 6(2)-7, 6-3, (10-5) Casey and Sabine driving backhand and forehand, and Sabine after winning a point Slovak Republic 3 d USA 0 #19 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #837 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-2, 6-2 Hrbaty d Blake 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(1); Cibulkova/Hrbaty d Shaughnessy/Blake 6-4, 7-6(4) Meghann and Dominika driving forehands, and Dominika after match point Perth, Hopman Cup, Tuesday 10:30am & 6pm Italy 2 d France 1 #16 Alize Cornet FRA d #13 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-5, 6-2 Bolelli d Simon 6-3, 6-3; Pennetta/Bolelli d Cornet/Simon 6-4, 7-6(2) Alize and Flavia driving forehand and backhand Slovak Republic 2 d Australia 1 #19 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #53 Casey Dellacqua AUS 7-5, 6-2 Hewitt d Hrbarty 7-6(4), 6(1)-7, 6-4; Cibulkova/Hrbaty d Dellacqua/Hewitt 6(5)-7, 6-3, (10-4) Casey driving a backhand, and Dominika's running forehand Perth, Hopman Cup, Wednesday 10:30am & 6pm Germany 2 d USA 1 #58 Sabine Lisicki GER d #837 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 Blake d Kiefer 7-6(3), 6(7)-7, 6-4; Lisicki/Kiefer d Shaughnessy/Blake 6-3, 3-6, (10-7) Sabine and Meghann driving forehand and backhand Russia 2 v Chinese Taipei 1 #3 Dinara Safina RUS d #80 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 Safin d Lu 7-6(6), 7-5; Hsieh/Lu d Safina/Safin 4-6, 6-3, (10-8) Dinara driving a forehand, and Su-Wei's backhand Perth, Hopman Cup, Thursday 10:30am & 6pm USA 2 d Australia 1 #53 Casey Dellacqua AUS d #837 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-3, 6-4 Blake d Hewitt 6-2, 6-2; Shaughnessy/Blake d Dellacqua/Hewitt 6-3, 5-7, (10-6) Casey and Meghann driving backhands Slovak Republic 3 d Germany 0 #19 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #58 Sabine Lisicki GER 7-6(3), 6-4 Hrbarty d Kiefer 6-3, retired; Cibulkova/Hrbaty d Lisicki/Kiefer walkover Sabine and Dominika driving forehand and backhand, and Dominika after match point Russia 2 d France 1 #3 Dinara Safina RUS d #16 Alize Cornet FRA 6-3, 6-2 Simon d Safin 7-6, 6-3; Safina/Safin d Cornet/Simon 6-4, 6-3 Alize driving a forehand, and Dinara's backhand drive Italy 3 d Chinese Taipei 0 #13 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #80 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 7-5, 6-3 Simone d Lu walkover; Pennetta/Bolelli d Hsieh/Lu walkover Flavia driving a backhand Perth, Hopman Cup Final, Friday, Jan 9, 6pm: Slovakia 2 d Russia 0 *#19 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #3 Dinara Safina RUS 6(3)-7, 6-1, 6-4 Hrbaty d Safin 6-7, 7-5, 7-6; Safina/Safin v Cibulkova/Hrbaty not played Dominika and Dinara driving forehand and backhand, Dominika after match point, and Dominik Hrbaty & Dominika holding the Hopman Cup

World Team Challenge Exhibition, Hong Kong, China   tourney time:        = GMT +8 hours        = US EDT +13 hours        = US PDT +16 hours Hong Kong News - China News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Hong Kong: The World Team Challenge, formerly the JB Group Classic and before that the Watson's Water Challenge, is not a WTA-sanctioned event. It is the largest exhibition event of the year, but no ranking points are awarded.   click for broader view   Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, China Latitude: 22.283001 Longitude: 114.189920 goto link for World Wind another street map     Formerly an 8-player exhibition mini-tourney, the Hong Kong format has been changed for 2009. Instead of playing as individuals, four regional teams will compete: Europe (led by Jelena Jankovic), Russia (led by Maria Sharapova), the Americas (led by Venus Williams), and Asia-Pacific (led by Sania Mirza). 2009 World Team Challenge Teams: Europe: #1 Jelena Jankovic SRB, #28 Agnes Szavay HUN, #126 Michelle Larcher De Brito POR Russia: #7 Vera Zvonareva RUS, #18 Anna Chakvetadze, #196 Alexandra Panova RUS The Americas: #6 Venus Williams USA, #51 Gisela Dulko ARG, #397 Coco Vandeweghe USA Asia-Pacific: #25 Jie Zheng CHN, #100 Sania Mirza IND (former # 27, rank down due to injury), #400 Ling Zhang CHN 2009: On Sunday, January 4, in Hong Kong, US and Russian teens Coco Vanderweghe and Alexandra Panova met the press prior to playing pre-exhibition exhibition matches on Monday... Also on Monday, most of the players (minus Venus Williams) had arrived for the annual photo-op, including Sania Mirza, Jie Zheng, Vera Zvonareva, Alexandra Panova, Jelena Jankovic, Anna Chakvetadze, Agnes Szavay, Michelle Larcher de Brito, Gisela Dulko, and Coco Vanderweghe... 2009: Players the media deemed worthy of close-up pics on Monday were Jelena Jankovic, Sania Mirza, Anna Chakvetadze, Jie Zheng, and Jelena again, who earned extra pics because, in addition to being photogenic, she is doing the # 1 thing... 2009: Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic cut all the red tape at the opening ceremonies on Wednesday...

Hong Kong, SFs, Wed Jan 7 6:30pm #7 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #25 Jie Zheng ASI 7-6, 6-4 Jie serving, and Vera driving a backhand #18 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #100 Sania Mirza ASI 6-4, 6-4 Anna, who has switched this year from adidas togs and Fischer bat to Fila garb and Wilson wacket, serving, and Sania (who missed much of last season with right wrist injuries) and Anna driving forehands *Jelena Jankovic & Michelle Larcher de Brito EUR d Venus Williams & Coco Vandeweghe AME 6-4, 7-5 Venus running down a forehand, and Jelena crediting 15-year-old Michelle Hong Kong, SFs, Thu 6:30pm *#6 Venus Williams AME d #1 Jelena Jankovic EUR 6-2, 6-2 Jelena driving a forehand, and Venus volleying one *#51 Gisela Dulko ARG d #28 Agnes Szavay HUN 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 Agnes and Gisela driving forehand and backhand Vera Zvonareva & Alexandra Panova RUS d Jie Zheng & Ling Zhang ASI 6-2, 6-4

Hong Kong, "Gold" Finals, Fri 4:30pm Russia 1 v Americas 1 #6 Venus Williams AME d #18 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 7-6, 6-3 Anna's forehand drive, and Venus driving a backhand #7 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #51 Gisela Dulko AME 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 Vera driving a forehand, and Gisela's backhand Hong Kong, "Silver" Consolation Finals, Fri 4:30pm Asia 2 d Europe 0 *#100 Sania Mirza ASI d #28 Agnes Szavay EUR 6-3, 6-4 Jie Zheng & Sania Mirza ASI d Jelena Jankovic & Michelle Larcher de Brito EUR 6-1, 6-1

Hong Kong, "Gold" Finals, Sat 11am Americas 4 d Russia 1 #6 Venus Williams AME d #7 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-2, 6-2 Vera eyeing a backhand, and Venus driving one *#51 Gisela Dulko AME d #18 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Anna and Gisela fielding forehands on the move, and Gisela after match point Venus Williams & Coco Vandeweghe AME d Anna Chakvetadze & Alexandra Panova RUS 6-4, 6-1 Hong Kong, "Silver" Finals, Sat 11am Asia 3 d Europe 0 #25 Jie Zheng CHN d Michelle Larcher de Brito EUR 6-1, 6-1

    (Dec 30, 2008) Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the JB Group Classic exhibition in Hong Kong, but still hopes to be ready to defend her Australian Open title. # 18 Anna Chakvetadze has replaced Maria in the Hong Kong exhib. Maria's torn right shoulder rotator cuff tendon, originally injured last March, was not healing properly by October. So on October 15, Maria had arthroscopic surgery in New York.
    Maria said: "The procedure was successful and very simple. I left the hospital a few hours after the procedure and flew to my home in Florida for 3 days and then I flew back to Phoenix to start working on my shoulder... Dr. Altcheck thought my recovery would be very fast and he was right. I had full range of motion after 14 days, after 6 weeks I was throwing a football and after 8 weeks I was back on the court where I belong...
    "I am trying to do everything possible to be ready for Australia, but I have promised my doctors, coach and family that I will not rush back. Since I only started practicing 16 days ago,  I have only been able to practice so many hours at a time which is why I don't feel like I am ready to compete at a high level right now and this is why I need to pull out of the exhibtion in Hong Kong. But the great news is that we have taken care of the problem that has been bothering me so much over the last couple of years, and now is the time to get into what I call 'match shape'. I know my shoulder will be 100 percent by Australia, I just need to see if I have enough tennis training to be ready for that level." mariasharapova.com

    (Dec 8, 2008) # 2 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the ITF Hopman Cup citing a hamstring injury incurred at the 2008 WTA Championships. Serena has been replaced by former # 11 Meghann Shaughnessy, who missed almost all of last year due to a left knee injury. Serena says she will be ready to play before the Australian Open.

    (Oct 8, 2008 revised Nov 29) Hong Kong: The JB Group Classic (previously the Watson's Water Challenge) has changed its format for 2009. Now called the World Team Challenge, the largest exhibition event of the year will now feature four regional teams: Europe (led by Jelena Jankovic), Russia (led by Maria Sharapova), the Americas (led by Venus Williams), and Asia-Pacific (led by Sania Mirza).
    Each team will consist of 3 players. There will be two singles and one doubles "rubber" in each semifinal "tie," with no reverse singles. The "gold" finals, for winners of the semis, will have reverse singles (and thus consist of 5 matches over 2 days), but the "silver" group consolation finals will not. Semifinals will take place from Wednesday and Thursday, January 7 and 8, 2009, and championship & consolation finals will be on Friday and Saturday, January 9 and 10.

    (Dec 27, 2007 revised) # 142 Jarmila Gajdosova from Bratislava, Slovakia, who lives and trains in Sydney, Australia during the off-season, was granted a wild card at Gold Coast, and is listed on the drawsheet as an Australian. Although the WTA's database (as of this writing) still shows Jarmila as a Slovak, she applied for and has been granted Australian "residency" status, and apparently intends to become an Aussie citizen and play Fed Cup for Australia. Jarmila said: "It's really exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing my name with the Australian flag next to it,." The Australian story

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

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.