WTA Aug 24-29: New Haven Pilot Pen Open, New Haven, CT PREMIER $600,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: hard Live Scores - in popup window draws: WTA - tourney photos: Y!: sports - news     HC | WTA NH Register: Pilot Pen Hartford Courant: Pilot Pen New Haven: radar - forecast #6 Svetlana Kuznetsova #8 Caroline Wozniacki #10 Flavia Pennetta #13 Agnieszka Radwanska #14 Marion Bartoli #15 Dominika Cibulkova #16 Amelie Mauresmo #17 Samantha Stosur #18 Virginie Razzano #20 Patty Schnyder #21 Anabel Medina Garrigues #25 Jie Zheng

Tourney pages: New Haven: 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next New Haven: #34 Elena Vesnina 5'7¾" 132lb, RH 2H-BH New Haven: #8 Caroline Wozniacki 5'10" 128lb RH 2H-BH

On Saturday at Yale University, in the final of the Pilot Pen Open, last year's tourney champion, 19-year-old 2nd-seeded #8 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), won again, defeating 23-year-old unseeded #34 Elena Vesnina from Sochi, Russia, 6-2, 6-4 (Elena is shown during the match; Caroline is shown with the glassware afterward).     Caroline's prize is $98,500; Elena's is $52,500.     Rain delayed the start of play, but the skies cleared before forcing a move indoors. On Friday, rain caused the semifinals to be played indoors at Yale's new Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center.     Caroline served only once ace, but did not deliver any double faults (Elena: 2 aces, 3 DFs). Caroline scored on 4 of 11 break points she held on Elena's serve; Elena reached break point against Caroline only twice, and broke Caroline's serve just once in the match.     Caroline said: "It's really surprised me how fast everything has been going, and that I'm right now 8 or 9 in the world. That's just amazing at age of 19, being one of the youngest players out there. It's what I've been working for so hard. I'm happy everything is going my way." AP story - ConnPost story     Elena said: "I don't do any excuses for today because Caroline, she was too good for me. I was doing a lot of unforced errors. Caroline, she's a very good defensive player."     Caroline now leads Elena 3-1 in career matches, and 2-1 on hardcourts. Both players are having the best year of their careers.     Caroline is now 6-5 in WTA singles finals; she also won the Eastbourne and Ponte Vedra Beach titles this year, and reached the finals at Madrid, Charleston, Memphis & Bastad. She has a 56-17 match record this season. Caroline, seeded 9th at this year's US Open, will play #90 Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan in the 1st round on Tuesday.

    Elena is now 0-2 in WTA singles finals; she reached her first final at Auckland early this year, after defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals. She has won 2 ITF singles titles, and 3 WTA (plus 6 ITF) doubles titles. Elena has a 30-17 match record in 2009. Seeded 31st at this year's US Open, Elena will play #60 Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic in the 1st round on Monday.

WTA SCOREBOARD: New Haven s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? The Pilot Pen Open  New Haven, Connecticut   NWS weather radar tourney time:        = GMT -6 hours        = US EDT        = US PDT+3 Connecticut news Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar   click for broader view   Yale University tennis courts, New Haven, CT Lat.: 41.311203 Lon.: -72.959561 goto link for World Wind     New Haven: The main draw for New Haven has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers and 4 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Sunday - and main draw play begins on Sunday. Yale University interactive campus map 2009: On Sunday, Aug 23 in New Haven, LA champ Flavia Pennetta (apparently describing her aspirations to become a chair umpire after she retires from the WTA Tour) and 2008 Pilot Pen champ Caroline Wozniacki met the press during the All Access Hour... On Tuesday, Magdalena Rybarikova did the autograph thing, undoubtedly utilizing a Pilot pen this time...

New Haven, 1st Rd, Sun 10am & 1pm, Mon-Tue 10am loser's prize: $4,300 US; points: 1 #6 s1 wc Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #25 Jie Zheng CHN 6-1, 6(5)-7, 6-4 Mon Jie driving a backhand, and Svetlana following one     Svetlana led 6-1, 4-2 when Jie got back into the match and won the 2nd set tiebreaker.     Svetlana said: "I just was very frustrated. I had chances. I didn't close it... If I start hitting the ball with [Jie], I would lose. As hard as you [hit] to her, it's lower and better [for her]. So I had to change the rhythm and be creative... I'm happy that I managed to win the third set." HC story #8 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #91 LL Edina Gallovits ROU 6-0, 6-0 Tue Caroline and Edina driving forehands, and Caroline's backhand drive     Caroline scored on 90% of her 1st serve points, and converted every break point she held against Edina. Edina scored only 13 points in the match, and never reached break point against Caroline.     Caroline said: "I played a really good match out there. We had some really long rallies at the beginning of the second set. You never know, if [Edina] had won the first couple of games in the second set, the match could have looked different. So, I’m really pleased...     "For sure, it was a fast match, but I was playing great tennis. I didn’t give one point up, I just kept fighting." NHR story #10 s3 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #55 q Ioana Olaru Raluca ROU 6-1, 6-2 Tue *#48 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #12 s4 wc Nadia Petrova RUS 0-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 Sun Anna driving a forehand, Nadia watching her backhand fly, and Anna after winning a point in the last game of the match     After winning the 2nd set tiebreaker, Anna took a 5-0 lead in the 3rd set. Then Nadia won the next 4 games.     Anna said: "I started out the match very badly. I had no chances early. I made mistake after mistake... [In the 3rd set Nadia] started playing better because she had nothing to lose. The third set was a disaster. I was lucky I won it." AP story - NHR story     Nadia said: "If I had won the second game of the second set, the result would have been like the first set. When [Anna] got that key game, she felt like she was back in the match." #13 s5 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #45 q Roberta Vinci ITA 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(5) Mon #14 s6 Marion Bartoli FRA d #43 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 Tue #16 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #71 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-4, 6-1 Mon Amelie and Ai driving forehand and backhand #17 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS d #28 Alize Cornet FRA 6(8)-7, 6-2, 6-4 Tue Alize and Samantha driving forehands, and Samantha after winning a point #18 Virginie Razzano FRA d #20 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Mon *#29 Sybille Bammer AUT d #21 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 7-5, 6-4 Sun *#47 q Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #27 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-4, 6-4 Mon #32 Iveta Benesova CZE d #84 LL Varvara Lepchenko USA 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 Mon #33 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #915 wc Meghann Shaughnessy USA 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 Sun #34 Elena Vesnina RUS d #42 Gisela Dulko ARG 7-6(2), 6-2 Mon #35 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #38 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 6-3, 6-3 Mon *#53 q Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #36 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Mon

New Haven, 2nd Rd, Tue-Wed 10am losers' prize: $8,000 US; points: 60 #6 s1 wc Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #53 q Yanina Wickmayer BEL 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(2) Wed Yanina serving, and Svetlana driving a forehand     Svetlana said: "[Yanina] played good, she was on her serve. I don’t think I played my best. She had no pressure to play me. For me, it was tough. To win this match, it makes me better prepared for the U.S. Open and to be in shape more. I’m improving. I’m not playing my best yet." NHR story     Yanina said: "I must say, I think [Svetlana] played perfectly in the tiebreak. She didn’t miss one shot. Honestly, I couldn’t do anything better in the tiebreaker. She played so amazingly well." #8 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #35 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-1, 6-4 Wed Caroline driving a forehand, and after match point #10 s3 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #32 Iveta Benesova CZE 7-6(1), 6-4 Wed *#18 Virginie Razzano FRA d #13 s5 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 3-6, 6-4, retired—right hand injury Wed *#47 q Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #14 s6 Marion Bartoli FRA 1-6, 7-6(5), 2-0 retired—left adductor strain Wed Magdalena driving a forehand, and Marion about to swat a backhand #16 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #33 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-1, 6-1 Tue Alona about to connect with a forehand, and Amelie waiting to tap a backhand #34 Elena Vesnina RUS d #17 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Wed Elena serving to Samantha *#48 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #29 Sybille Bammer AUT 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 Tue

New Haven, QFs, Thu 10am losers' prize: $15,100 US; points: 120 *#16 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #6 s1 wc Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 7-6(9), 2-6, 6-3 #8 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #18 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-4, 6-3 Caroline driving a forehand, Virginie driving a backhand, and Virginie congratulating Caroline after match point #10 s3 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #47 q Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-2, 6-2 #34 Elena Vesnina RUS d #48 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-1, 7-5 Anna ready to slice a backhand, and Elena driving a forehand

New Haven, SFs, Fri noon losers' prize: $28,100 US; points: 200 Friday: rain prevented outdoor play #8 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #10 s3 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-4, 6-1 indoor Flavia driving a forehand, Caroline checking to see if her backhand gets caught in the rafters, and after winning a point     Due to rain, the semifinals of the Pilot Pen Open were moved indoors to the new Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center on the Yale campus.     Caroline said: "I’m used to playing indoors. But we were waiting around all day, and it’s always hard to wait. You never know if it’s going to stop raining or not, or if you’re going to go. I was here at 9:30 a.m., so it was a pretty long day. But I’m happy that I won, and that’s the most important thing." NHR story - HC story     Flavia said: "I didn’t serve very well today. It’s a little bit different playing indoor to outdoor. The ball was always really near my head, I didn’t jump at all today. I think [Caroline] played a good match, she was very forward and very aggressive. I had my chances, but I didn’t make it...     "[Playing indoors] was different. But it was the same for everyone today. It was a difficult day for everyone — for us, for the tournament director, the crowd. It’s not easy to handle this type of thing." *#34 Elena Vesnina RUS d #16 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 indoor Amelie driving a backhand, Elena about to lightly tap one, and after winning a point     Elena said: "I talked to my coach after the first set and he told to just focus on getting my serve in. I had trouble with my serve, I was so inconsistent and double faulted. In that first set [Amelie] played me like I was a pussy cat. In the second set I was more aggressive and changed my serve." NHR story     Amelie said: "[Elena] played a really good third set, coming up at the end of each rally with a big winner on the line or in the corner. Probably I was maybe a little less precise on the placements. But I thought I did O.K."

New Haven, Final, Sat 1pm loser's prize: $52,500 US; points: 320 winner's prize: $98,500 US; points: 470 #8 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #34 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-2, 6-4 Elena serving, Caroline driving a backhand, Elena fielding a forehand, and Caroline after match point

New Haven, Doubles Final, Sat eve losers' prize: $16,500 US winners' prize: $31,000 US cdr25 Nuria Llagostera Vives & Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez d cdr93 Iveta Benesova & Lucie Hradecka 6-2, 7-5 Nuria & Maria Jose New Haven, Qual Finals, Sun Aug 23 10am losers' prizes: q1 $660 1pt; q2 $1,230 8pts; q3 $2,300 12pts; qualifier 20 points #45 Roberta Vinci ITA d #125 Camille Pin FRA 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 #47 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #91 Edina Gallovits ROU 6-4, 7-6(4) #53 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #92 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 #55 Ioana Olaru Raluca ROU d #84 Varvara Lepchenko USA 7-5, 6-4 New Haven, Withdrawals #15 s7 Dominika Cibulkova SVK right rib injury #31 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP abcessed tooth

    (Aug 23, 2009) 7th-seeded #15 Dominika Cibulkova has withdrawn from New Haven (and from the US Open) due to a right rib injury, and the main draw has been revised accordingly.

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.