WTA Feb 9-15: Paris Indoor & Pattaya GDF Suez Open, Paris, FRA PREMIER $700,000 32m/32q/16d indoor: hard (Greenset) Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes draw & results, .html - videos pics: Y!: sports - news |     tourney - WTA Paris: weather radar - forecast # 1 S Williams, # 3 J Jankovic # 4 E Dementieva, # 9 A Radwanska Pattaya Women's Open, THA INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: hard Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes pics: Y!: sports - news | WTA Bangkok Post: Sports Pattaya: weather forecast # 5 V Zvonareva, # 13 C Wozniacki # 18 D Cibulkova, # 27 S Bammer

Tourney pages: Paris & Pattaya: 2008 - 2007 - 2006 Paris: 2005 - 2004 Pattaya: 2005 previous other tourney pages next Paris: #23 Amelie Mauresmo 5' 9" 152lb RH 1H-BH Pattaya City: #5 Vera Zvonareva 5' 7¾" 130½lb RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Paris, France, in the final of the GDF Suez Open, the 2001 & 2006 Paris indoor champ, 29-year-old unseeded # 23 Amelie Mauresmo of France (residence: Geneva, Switzerland), won a third time, narrowly defeating 27-year-old 3rd-seeded # 4 Elena Dementieva of Russia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-4 (photo shown).

    Amelie said: "The first set was very tough physically. In the second, I did not panic, I was not stressed at all. I knew I had what it takes to win this match." BBC story

    Elena said: "I missed some opportunities in the first set, but I don't know if it changed anything in the game because Amelie played really well... I'm really glad for her because she's had to go through some difficult times..."

    Amelie now leads Elena 9-6 in career matches.

    Amelie had not defeated Elena since 2005, and Elena was the victor the last two times they played—both times indoors. In 2007, in the 1st round in Stuttgart, Elena defeated Amelie 6-2 7-5. And last year, in the Luxembourg quarterfinals, Elena defeated Amelie again, 6-4, 6-0.

    Amelie is now 25-23 in WTA singles finals; she had not won a title since Antwerp in 2007. Amelie had a 32-19 match record in 2008, and is 10-4 in matches this year.
    Elena is now 13-14 in WTA singles finals; she won the Auckland and Sydney titles last month, 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 now has a 19-2 match record in 2009, her only other loss was to Serena Williams in their semifinal at last month's Australian Open.

    Meanwhile in Pattaya City, Thailand, in the final of the Pattaya Women's Open, 24-year-old top-seeded # 5 Vera Zvonareva from Moscow, Russia, defeated 22-year-old unseeded # 127 (and former # 27 her ranking depleted by right wrist injuries last year) Sania Mirza from Hyderabad, India, 7-5, 6-1 (photo shown).

    Vera said: "[In the 1st set] every game was very tough - it was close from the beginning. [Sania] was able to lift her game up a little bit, and maybe I wasn't exactly playing as aggressively as I normally do. The rhythm changed and it was 5-all; I'm very happy with the way I lifted my own game at that point. After I won the first set I really started to play my game and didn't give her a chance to play how she wanted to play. I'm really happy with the way I finished the match." WTA story

    Sania said: "The opening set could have gone either way, but when you're playing against someone who's so good, if you don't take your chances - the one or two that you get - you will pay a price for it. [Vera] played a great match. I felt like I played okay as well. I was striking the ball well...
    "I don't look at the rankings. For me it's more important how I'm hitting the ball, and right now if I can match someone who is Top 5 in the world then I'm playing pretty decent tennis. To me, that and the fact that I was playing the finals in just my second tournament back [after right wrist injuries] is more important than where my ranking stands. If I'm playing well, the ranking will take care of itself."

    Vera and Sania had played only once before, in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Japan Open in 2005, when Sania won, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

    2008 Olympic bronze medalist Vera is now 8-11 in WTA singles finals; she won the Prague and Guangzhou titles last year. Vera has a 10-1 match record in 2009.
    Sania is now 1-3 in WTA singles finals; she won her title at Hyderabad in 2005. Sania won the mixed doubles title at this year's Australian Open teamed with ATP player Mahesh Bhupathi, who is also her business manager (Sania looks like a safe investment). Sania has a 5-2 match record in 2009.

    Thai tennis aficianado Jiro has a fine photo gallery of images from the Pattaya event, including nice, large player party photos.

    Pattaya player's blog by Kimiko Date Krumm

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"? GDF Suez Open,  Paris, France   tourney time:        = GMT +1 hour        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours Paris News - France News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Paris: The main draw for Paris 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    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) 2009: High seeds Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Elena Dementieva, and French # 1 Alizé Cornet alerted the media during the "all access hour" on Monday (Alizé) and Tuesday...

Paris, 1st Rd Mon 3pm, Tue-Wed noon losers' prize: $4,580 US; points: 1 #1 s1 Serena Williams USA d #35 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-1, 6-4 Wed Serena about to swat a backhand, and Iveta driving one #3 s2 wc Jelena Jankovic SRB d #38 Francesca Schiavone ITA 7-5, 7-6(2) Wed Jelena's backhand drive #4 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS d #98 LL Aravane Rezai FRA 6-4, 6-3 Wed Aravane driving a forehand, and Elena's service toss #9 s4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #195 q Oxana Lyubtsova UKR 6-1, 6-1 Tue #14 s5 Alizé Cornet FRA d #199 q Anastasija Sevastova LAT 6-1, 6-3 Tue Alizé tossing the ball for her serve, and after winning a point #16 s6 Patty Schnyder SUI d #31 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-4, 7-6(3) Wed Patty's service toss, Alona following a running forehand, and Patty's backhand drive *#24 Kaia Kanepi EST d #21 s7 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 Mon #23 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #34 Sara Errani ITA 6-2, 6-0 Wed Amelie about to launch a backhand, and Sara driving one *#29 Na Li CHN d #25 Agnes Szavay HUN 7-6(6), 6-2 Mon Agnes driving a forehand, and Na about to connect with one #28 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #46 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-2, 7-6(3) Tue #33 wc Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #55 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 6-2, 6-2 Tue *#58 wc Nathalie Dechy FRA d #39 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 Tue Sorana and Nathalie driving forehands *#147 q Karolina Sprem CRO d #42 Petra Kvitova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Tue #45 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #56 wc Virginie Razzano FRA 6-4, 6-1 Mon #47 Monica Niculescu ROU d #60 Timea Bacsinszky SUI 6-4, 6-3 Tue *#135 q Emilie Loit FRA d #72 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-1, 6-4 Tue Nicole about to swat a backhand, and Emilie following a forehand drive

Paris, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu noon WTA Thu story losers' prize: $8,590 US; points: 60 #1 s1 Serena Williams USA d #147 q Karolina Sprem CRO 6-1, 6-2 Thu Serena and Karolina following backhands #3 s2 wc Jelena Jankovic SRB d #29 Na Li CHN 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 Thu Na about to swat a forehand, and Jelena's backhand drive     Jelena said: "Some players, regardless of their ranking, give me more difficulties than others. [Na's] game and her style of play don't really suit mine, she doesn't allow me to do what I want to do... In the first set, I was dominating, but then I lost my first serve percentage before regaining confidence." #4 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS d #45 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-4, 6-2 Thu     Elena said: "I think [Anastasia is] very talented, but she needs a bit more experience, especially when playing against top 10 players. She was really close in that first set and we had a good fight. She was very aggressive on the court and she has a very solid game for such a young age." #9 s4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #28 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 6(5)-7, 6-4, 6-2 Wed #14 s5 Alizé Cornet FRA d #33 wc Daniela Hantuchova SVK 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 Thu Alizé tossing the ball for her serve, and about to swat a forehand *#58 wc Nathalie Dechy FRA d #16 s6 Patty Schnyder SUI 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Thu Nathalie following a backhand, and Patty driving one *#135 q Emilie Loit FRA d #24 Kaia Kanepi EST 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 Wed #23 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #47 Monica Niculescu ROU 6-1, 6-2 Thu Amelie driving a forehand     Amelie said: "I was pleased with the match, even though it had a slightly different feel to the one yesterday. It was a longer match as well, despite the fact the scores were almost identical. The rallies were longer and the games were more competitive."

Paris, QFs Fri 2:20pm losers' prize: $15,925 US; points: 120 #1 s1 Serena Williams USA d #135 q Emilie Loit FRA 6-4, 6-1 Emilie about to swat a backhand, Serena driving a forehand, and after match point #3 s2 wc Jelena Jankovic SRB d #14 s5 Alizé Cornet FRA 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 Alizé and Jelena driving forehands, and Jelena after match point #4 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS d #58 wc Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-3, 6-2 Elena and Nathalie driving backhand and forehand *#23 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #9 s4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-2, 6-0 Agnieszka driving a forehand, and Amelie following a slice backhand

Paris, SFs Sat 2:30pm WTA story losers' prize: $30,000 US; points: 200 *#4 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS d #1 s1 Serena Williams USA walkover—right knee tendonitis     Serena said: "I wasn't moving at all in practice, so there was really no chance for me to play today. I think I hurt it towards the end of my quarterfinal match. I guess I didn't have enough time to recover. I want to make the fans happy and it wouldn't have been a good effort from me if I played today...     "I've just been playing a lot of tennis, so maybe this is a sign I'll need to take a day or two off and get ready for the next event, which is in two days [in Dubai]. I'm going to make the effort to play there and do my best, and we'll just see what happens." *#23 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #3 s2 wc Jelena Jankovic SRB 6-2, 0-6, 6-1 Jelena and Amelie driving backhands, and Amelie after match point     Amelie said: "Let's forget about the second set, and just focus on the first and third sets... I'm very happy about today's match. I served well, was aggressive and was focused more or less the entire match. The crowd was great and it was a very good atmosphere. I'll have to remember the way I played today for tomorrow - I need to stay aggressive and always try to be in charge."

Paris, Final Sun after doubles, 3pm+ loser's prize: $56,000 US; points: 320 winner's prize: $107,000 US; points: 470 *#23 s8 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #4 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-4 Amelie driving a forehand, Elena following a backhand, and Amelie after match point

Paris, Doubles Final Sun m1 12:30pm losers' prize: $17,800 US winners' prize: $34,000 US cdr2 s1 Cara Black & Liezel Huber v cdr13 s2 Lisa Raymond & Kveta Peschke 6-4, 3-6, (10-4) Paris, Qual Finals, Mon Feb 9 noon losers' prizes: q1 $700 1pt; q2 $1,320 8pts; q3 $2,460 12pts; qualifier 20 points *#195 Oxana Lyubtsova UKR d #98 Aravane Rezai FRA 7-6(4), 7-6(5) *#135 Emilie Loit FRA d #106 Camille Pin FRA 6-3, 6-3 *#147 Karolina Sprem CRO d #107 Julia Goerges GER 7-6(5), 7-5 *#199 Anastasija Sevastova LAT d #122 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 Paris, Withdrawals #17 Maria Sharapova RUS not yet ready to play, 2008 right shoulder injury #22 Katarina Srebotnik SLO left achilles injury #26 Ai Sugiyama JPN illness #40 Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA left hip injury

Pattaya Women's Open,  Pattaya City, Thailand   tourney time:        = GMT +7 hours        = US EDT +12 hours        = US PDT +15 hours Thailand News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     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. 2009: On Sunday, February 8 in Pattaya, Elena Bovina greeted the annual elephant, and players, including Kimiko Date Krumm, enjoyed taking rides... Earlier on Sunday, Kimiko and Caroline Wozniacki were among several players taking part in tree planting ceremonies to make a small dent in global warming... row 2: On Friday, players, including Sesil Karatantcheva, Mara Santangelo, Kimiko Date Krumm, and Vitalia Diatchenko got their feet wet while expanding their sporting horizons...

Pattaya, 1st Rd Mon-Tue 2pm, Wed 3pm loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 #5 s1 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #128 Andreja Klepac SLO 6-4, 6-3 Tue Andreja volleying a backhand, and Vera smashing a forehand #13 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #59 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-3, 6-0 Tue Caroline and Yung-Jan driving backhand and forehand #27 s4 Sybille Bammer AUT d #123 Urszula Radwanska POL 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 Tue #36 s5 Shuai Peng CHN d #131 Mara Santangelo ITA 3-6, 5-2 retired—     the WTA said stomach illness, the Bangkok Post said knee injury; Mara did not withdraw from doubles Mon     Shuai said: "I was a bit nervous in the first set but became more relaxed in the second. The court here is fast and is difficult for me to play." Bangkok Post story #41 s6 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #63 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-2, 7-6(4) Wed Akgul serving to Tammy, and Tammy's backhand drive #48 s7 Shahar Peer ISR d #352 wc Noppawan Lertcheewakarn THA 6-1, 6-0 Wed Noppawan and Shahar following drive and slice backhands #52 s8 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #162 wc Kimiko Date Krumm JPN 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 Wed Magdalena serving, and Kimiko tossing the ball for her serve #71 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ d #90 Jarmila (Gajdosova) Groth SVK/AUS 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 Mon Jarmila fielding a backhand, and Galina after slicing one #77 Vera Dushevina RUS d #185 Elena Bovina RUS 6-4, 7-5 Mon Elena smashing a forehand, and Vera serving *#100 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #82 Tamira Paszek AUT 6-3 6-4 Tue Tamira and Yaroslava following backhand and forehand *#271 q Yuliya Beygelzimer UKR d #110 Anastasia Rodionova RUS/AUS 6-2, 6-2 Tue *#620 q Ivana Lisjak CRO d #116 q Sesil Karatantcheva KAZ 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Tue #127 Sania Mirza IND d #902 wc Nicha Lertpitaksinchai THA 7-6(4), 7-5 Tue Nicha and Sania about to swat forehands *#150 Neuza Silva POR d #140 Jessica Moore AUS 62 61 Tue #158 Ksenia Pervak RUS d #159 Tomoko Yonemura JPN 6-1, 6-1 Mon Ksenia serving to Tomoko, and Tomoko volleying a forehand #200 q Vitalia Diatchenko RUS v #407 LL Ryoko Fuda JPN 6-3, 0-2 Wed

Pattaya, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu 3pm loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30 #5 s1 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #100 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 6-4, 6-4 Thu Vera watching her forehand fly from her Gamma strings #13 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #158 Ksenia Pervak RUS 6(4)-7, 6-2 3-0 retired—low back injury Thu *#77 Vera Dushevina RUS d #27 s4 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-4, 7-5 Wed Vera's forehand volley #36 s5 Shuai Peng CHN d #71 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ 7-6(4), 6-0 Wed #41 s6 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #150 Neuza Silva POR 6-3, 6-2 Thu Neuza following a slice backhand, and Tammy elevating for a high forehand #48 s7 Shahar Peer ISR d #271 q Yuliya Beygelzimer UKR 6-4, 6-1 Thu #52 s8 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #620 q Ivana Lisjak CRO 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 Thu #127 Sania Mirza IND d #200 q Vitalia Diatchenko RUS 6-4, 6-0 Thu Sania driving a backhand, and Vitalia fielding a forehand

Pattaya, QFs Fri 3pm WTA story loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70 #5 s1 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #36 s5 Shuai Peng CHN 6-2, 6-3 *#52 s8 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #13 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-4, 6-1 Caroline fielding a drop shot, and Magdalena following a forehand     Magdalena said: "This year is very good for me because I worked hard. I'm very happy to be in the semifinal here because I beat a very good player. I played very aggressive and my serve was very good, and also my volleys.     It was very important to serve well because [Caroline] has good returns. I think it was my best play this year."     Caroline said: "I didn't really feel the ball today... [Magdalena] was serving really well and I couldn't really get the returns, and I just felt that anything I was doing wasn’t really going my way. It just didn't work out the way I wanted it to." *#127 Sania Mirza IND d #41 s6 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 7-5, 6-4 Tammy following a backhand, and Sania launching a forehand on the run #48 s7 Shahar Peer ISR d #77 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-4, 4-6, 6-2

Pattaya, SFs Sat 3pm WTA story loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130 #5 s1 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #48 s7 Shahar Peer ISR 6-1, 6-1 Shahar and Vera driving forehand and backhand, and Vera after match point     Vera said: "I think it was a good match for me. I lifted my level of play compared to my previous matches here. I'm very happy the way I performed, especially playing a very clean first set. In the second set I made a few unforced errors, but was able to come up with good shots when I really needed them...     "I don't think I played my best match today, neither did [Shahar] probably. Tennis players in general play maybe only a few 'best matches' every year."     Shahar said: "I didn’t start well and I played too defensively. In the second set I did better and had chances to come back. In matches of this level, you only have a few chances, and I didn't take them. [Vera] did. I have to learn from this match." *#127 Sania Mirza IND d #52 s8 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 Magdalena and Sania driving forehands, and Sania after winning a point     Sania said: "I'm happy I stayed strong and focused in the third set. [Magdalena] played well—she is a different type of player. Obviously, she has powerful serves, and it is very easy to lose your rhythm when playing against her...     "This is my second tournament this year after six months of injury last year. I couldn't really ask for a better start by winning the mixed doubles in the Australian Open and making it to the final here in Pattaya City."     Magdalena said: "I'm a little bit tired. But my opponent played very well today. I had some good forehands and backhands, but I wasn't playing as aggressively as Sania did today. She also served very well. She's playing very well right now."

Pattaya, Final Sun 3pm loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 #5 s1 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #127 Sania Mirza IND 7-5, 6-1 Sania driving a forehand as she tries—unsuccessfully—to bring the 1st set to 6-all, Vera driving a backhand, and after match point

Pattaya, Doubles Final Sun after singles loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US cdr105 s2 Tamarine Tanasugarn & Yaroslava Shvedova d Yulia Beygelzimer & Vitalia Diatchenko 6-3, 6-2 Vitalia & Yulia, and Tammy & Yaroslava Pattaya, Qual Finals, Mon Feb 9 2pm losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points #116 Sesil Karatantcheva KAZ d #407 Ryoko Fuda JPN 6-2, 6-2 #200 Vitalia Diatchenko RUS d #374 Astrid Besser ITA 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(4) #271 Yuliya Beygelzimer UKR d #447 Shiho Hisamatsu JPN 6-2, 6-2 *#620 Ivana Lisjak CRO d #524 Magali De Lattre POR 6-1, 6-0 Pattaya, Withdrawals #10 Nadia Petrova RUS right foot injury, attended draw in Pattaya #15 Victoria Azarenka BLR #18 s3 Dominika Cibulkova SVK illness #75 Jill Craybas USA #78 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE left leg injury #89 Petra Cetkovska CZE left knee injury #92 Kristina Barrois GER

    (Feb 5, 2009) # 3 Jelena Jankovic has entered next week's GDF Suez Open, strengthening the field in Paris after the unfortunate withdrawal of not-yet-fully-recovered Maria Sharapova.

    (Feb 4, 2009 revised Feb 5 & 6) Former # 1 Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from both the Paris indoor tourney (Feb 9) and the following week's tourney in Dubai (Feb 16). Maria is not yet ready to play as she recovers from a torn right shoulder rotator cuff tendon she incurred in the Spring of 2008.
    Maria said: "I'm very disappointed to be unable to compete in the upcoming Open GDF SUEZ and Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, both of which are great events that I was very much hoping to be able to play. My shoulder continues to improve every day and I am working very hard on the practice court...
    "I have been training in Florida the last few weeks and really working hard on getting the strength back in my arm. It's really amazing how you can do all the exercises and rehab in the world but nothing substitutes the time you spent on court running and hitting hundreds of balls. The biggest lesson I have learned throughout this whole process is that it takes so much patience to get back to where you were physically. You are never really going to forget 'how' to hit a tennis ball but what you do forget is how much work and repetition you must put into every single day in order to get back to where you were. And the only way to get back into good shape is by playing tennis. Unfortunately just because the doctor fixes the problem and gives you the green light to practice doesn't mean that you can just go out there playing tournaments. Yesterday I played my first few points with serves in about 6 months which was pretty exciting! Right now I'm aiming for Palm Springs [Indian Wells], or Miami, depending on how things shape up. I cannot wait to get back to playing tournaments!" mariasharapova.com

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.