WTA Sep 21-27: Seoul & Tashkent Hansol Korea Open Seoul, KOR INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: hard Rebound Ace Live Scores - in popup window draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP photos: Y!: sports - news | WTA news: tourney - Korea Seoul forecast Korea News and Links #21 D Hantuchova, #23 A Medina G #24 F Schiavone, #29 S Cirstea Tashkent Open, Tashkent, UZB INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: hard Live Scores - in popup window draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP photos: WTA - weather Uzbekistan News and Links #55 Y Shvedova, #57 S Peer #66 I Olaru, #73 O Govortsova

Seoul: 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 Tashkent: 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Tashkent: #57 Shahar Peer 5'7" 132lb RH 2H-BH Seoul: #150 Kimiko Date Krumm 5'4" 117lb RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Seoul, Korea, in the final of the Hansol Korea Open, 38-year-old unseeded #150 (and former #4, the highest-ranked Japanese player in WTA history) Kimiko Date Krumm from Tokyo, Japan, won her first WTA singles title since her comeback last year (after retiring from pro tennis in 1996) by defeating 2nd-seeded 27-year-old #21 Anabel Medina Garrigues from Valencia, Spain, 6-3, 6-3 (Kimiko is shown with the porcelain after the match). Kimiko's prize is $37,000; Anabel's is $19,000.

    Kimiko won the Tokyo (Japan Open) and San Diego titles in 1996, then retired from professional tennis until 2008. Last year she returned to play after 12 years in retirement, and in her first tourney, the $50,000 ITF Gifu, Japan, event, she went through qualifying and reached the main draw final, where she lost to #86 Tammy Tanasugarn. She won 3 ITF titles in 2008, and one more this year. But, although she has won some WTA qualifying matches, Kimiko was 0-8 in WTA main draw matches after coming out of retirement—until this week.

    Kimiko said: "Of course, very happy. I realized one more time after this game that we don't know about tennis unless we actually play... I think I can play tennis for the next two years." AP story

    Anabel had been in a slump prior to this tournament. Anabel said: "I'm really happy. Honestly, I arrived here with not a lot of confidence. To be in the final is a very good result. Kimiko plays very, very good."

    Kimiko and Anabel had played only once before, just 12 days ago in the 1st round in Guangzhou, when Anabel won, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

    Kimiko, who will turn 39 on Monday, is now 8-6 in WTA singles finals. Kimiko's full match record this season is now 25-13.
    Anabel is now 9-6 in WTA singles finals, she won the Fès title earlier this year. Although Anabel likes hardcourts, most of her titles have come on red clay: she has won three times at Strasbourg and four times at Palermo. Anabel has a 31-23 match record in 2009.

    Meanwhile in in Uzbekistan, in the final of the Tashkent Open, last week's champion in Guangzhou, China, 22-year-old 2nd-seeded #57 (and former #15) Shahar Peer from Maccabim, Israel, defeated a local resident, 25-year-old #122 Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, 6-3, 6-4 (Shahar is shown, in traditional Uzbek attire, with the hardware after the match). Shahar's prize is $37,000; Akgul's is $19,000.

    Shahar said: "I've played 10 matches in row without dropping a set, and that's a nice feeling. I'm happy I'm playing well. I had played Akgul four times before and knew her game fairly well, but I knew today would be difficult, so I tried to play my best and not give her any chances. I'm happy by father was with me these last two weeks, because I won both tournaments!" WTA story

    Akgul said: "The keys to my wins this week, my forehand and serve, just didn't work today. I'm disappointed to have lost after coming so far, but I'm happy to have lost to a good player. I give credit to Shahar for playing great tennis and handling the pressure of the large crowd today."

    Shahar leads Akgul 5-0 in career matches, and all of their encounters have ended in straight sets, most recently last week in Guangzhou, where Shahar defeated Akgul in the 2nd round, 6-3, 6-3.

    Shahar is now 5-1 in WTA singles finals; her 3 titles prior to last week in Guangzhou all came in 2006, in Pattaya City, Prague, and Istanbul. Shahar has a 35-19 match record in 2009.
    Big-serving 6'3" Akgul is now 0-2 in WTA singles finals; she also reached the Tashkent final in 2005. She has won 1 WTA doubles title, 8 ITF singles titles, and 11 ITF doubles titles. Akgul has a 22-23 match record this year.

Seoul player's blog by Daniela Hantuchova

WTA SCOREBOARD: Seoul & Tashkent s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Hansol Korea Open,  Seoul, South Korea   tourney time:        = GMT +9 hours        = US EDT +13 hours        = US PDT +16 hours Korea News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar Seoul: The main draw for Seoul 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   Olympic Park, Seoul, Korea Latitude: 37.515143 Longitude: 127.128205 goto link for World Wind Hansol Korea Open venue address: Olympic Park, 88 Bangee-dong, Seoul 999-200, South Korea; Tel: 82 2 410 1360 2009: Top seed Daniela Hantuchova practiced in Seoul on Sunday, September 20... row 2: At the Seoul players party on Monday, 2008 Seoul champ Maria Kirilenko, Vera Dushevina, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Sorana Cirstea, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Francesca Schiavone, and Daniela were looking good, and Sorana and Maria had a nice chat with Korean Tennis Association President Cho Dong Kil...

Seoul, 1st Rd, Mon-Wed 11am loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 Mon: rain prevented MD play #21 s1 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #69 Ayumi Morita JPN 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 Wed Ayumi and Daniela following backhands #23 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #58 Andrea Petkovic GER 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Tue Anabel following a forehand #24 s3 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #152 q Yurika Sema JPN 6-1, 6-4 Tue *#76 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #29 s4 Sorana Cirstea ROU 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 Tue #31 s5 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #79 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-2, 6-3 Tue #41 s6 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #125 Angela Haynes USA 7-6(5), 6-2 ppd-Tue #46 s7 Vera Dushevina RUS d #62 Urszula Radwanska POL 6-3, 6-1 ppd-Tue #47 s8 Sybille Bammer AUT d #51 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tue Sybille driving a backhand #49 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #85 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-2, 6-2 Tue #53 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #147 q Sophie Ferguson AUS 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 Tue Maria playing Meet the Press after the match *#145 q Kai-Chen Chang TPE d #80 Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR 6-4, 6-3 Tue Kai-Chen driving a forehand #95 Anastasija Sevastova LAT d #117 Mathilde Johansson FRA 6-2, 7-5 ppd-Tue #140 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #183 q Junri Namigata JPN 6-3, 6-3 Tue #143 Chanelle Scheepers RSA d #310 wc So-Jung Kim KOR 6-1, 6-3 Tue #150 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN d #497 wc Ye-Ra Lee KOR 6-3, 6-4 Wed Kimiko driving a forehand #820 sr61 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #641 wc Mi Yoo KOR 6-0, 6-3 Tue

Seoul, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 11am loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30 #21 s1 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #143 Chanelle Scheepers RSA 6-1, 6-1 Thu Daniela following a forehand #23 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #820 sr61 M Shaughnessy USA 6-3, 6-1 Wed *#53 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #24 s3 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-1, 1-2 retired—right hamstring strain Thu Francesca and Maria driving forehand and backhand *#150 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN d #31 s5 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 Thu Kimiko about to swat a backhand, and smiling, possibly after match point *#140 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #41 s6 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 Wed #46 s7 Vera Dushevina RUS d #95 Anastasija Sevastova LAT 7-5, 6-1 Thu Vera lining up a forehand *#49 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #47 s8 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-1 7-5 Wed #76 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #145 q Kai-Chen Chang TPE 6(5)-7, 6-4, 6-3 Wed Anna-Lena driving a forehand

Seoul, QFs, Fri 11am WTA story loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70 *#150 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN d #21 s1 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 7-6(3), 4-6 6-4 Kimiko and Daniela driving forehand and backhand, Kimiko after match point, and alerting the media     38-year-old Kimiko was once ranked #4 in WTA singles, the highest-ranked Japanese player in WTA history. She retired in 1996, then returned to play last year (that's a 12 year break), and quickly won some ITF titles, but had not won a WTA singles main draw match until this tourney. Now she has won three straight.     Daniela said: "Unfortunately, I lost to Kimiko today. It was a very long and up-and-down match. I had chances, but all the credit to Kimiko, she was playing unbelievably. I thought she would get tired, because she hasn't been back for long and because of her age, but she didn't. She was going for her shots, hitting them flat and hard, and it was very tough for me to do anything. She never backed down. I had a few chances at 4-all in the third, but she was fighting so hard for every point. It just didn't work for me. I knew I had a tough match coming, but I didn't think she'd play this well! She had been away from the game for so long and I thought she'd make more mistakes, but she played a perfect match." Seoul player's blog by Daniela Hantuchova #23 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #49 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-3, 6-3 Magdalena showing slice, and Anabel reaching for a forehand *#53 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #46 s7 Vera Dushevina RUS 7-5, 7-6(5) Vera serving, Maria driving a backhand, and answering the nice questions from those friendly reporters     Maria's career record against Vera had been 0-3. Maria said: "In the first set I was a little bit surprised that I came back, because [Vera] played so good in the beginning. I thought I didn't have so much chance. But then I hit some winners and I tried to enjoy the game more and things started to go my way. But it was quite a nervous tie-break." #76 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #140 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-0, 2-6, 7-5 Yung-Jan & Anna-Lena driving forehand-and-backhand

Seoul, SFs, Sat 12:30pm loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130 WTA story *#150 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN d #53 Maria Kirilenko RUS 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 Kimiko driving a forehand, Maria and Kimiko driving backhands, and Kimiko after match point     Kimiko took a 5-0 lead in the 3rd set—then Maria closed the gap to 5-4.     Kimiko said: "It took some time to adjust to her game. Maria doesn't overpower you but she hits a very heavy ball, and it took me some time. At 0-5 third set she forgot the pressure that she was the favorite and just tried to focus on the ball. Suddenly she started winning games and I realized I had to finish the match off!." #23 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #76 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 Anna-Lena and Anabel driving forehand and backhand     Anabel said: "I'm very excited. I haven't been playing well for the last month and a half, so I'm happy to be in a final again."     About her final opponent, Kimiko Date Krumm, Anabel said: "She's 38 and she's in the final. She beat Kleybanova, Hantuchova, Kirilenko... for sure it will be tough. It may rain tomorrow and we may play the final indoors, which would be better for her and worse for me."

Seoul, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 *#150 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN d #23 s2 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-3 Kimiko driving a forehand, Anabel and Kimiko driving backhands, and Kimiko after match point

Seoul, Doubles Final, Sun after doubles loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US Yung-Jan Chan & Abigail Spears d Carly Gullickson & Nicole Kriz 6-3, 6-4 Seoul, Qual Finals, Mon Sep 21 10am losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points #145 Kai-Chen Chang TPE d #191 Xinyun Han CHN 6-2, 6-1 #147 Sophie Ferguson AUS d #217 Shuai Zhang CHN 0-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 #152 Yurika Sema JPN d #202 Rika Fujiwara JPN 6-3, 6-1 #183 Junri Namigata JPN d #339 Yi-Fan Xu CHN 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4) Seoul, Withdrawals #14 Samantha Stosur AUS left abdominal strain #22 Yanina Wickmayer BEL left hamstring injury #43 Sara Errani ITA right arm injury #59 Anna Chakvetadze RUS right foot injury #61 Jarmila Groth AUS right ankle injury #71 Jill Craybas USA left wrist injury #88 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA #156 Tamira Paszek AUT low back injury

Tashkent Open,  Tashkent, Uzbekistan   tourney time:        = GMT +5 hours        = US EDT +9 hours        = US PDT +12 hours Uzbekistan News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar Tashkent: The main draw for Tashkent 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   Tashkent Tennis Centre, Tashekent, UZB Latitude: 41.350639 Longitude: 69.343772 goto link for World Wind Tashkent Open venue address: massiv Yalangoch, Tashekent, UZB 2009: At the Tashkent players party on Tuesday, Olga Savchuk was her usual camera-shy self, while top seed Yaroslava Shvedova (far right) and other players fully appreciated the Uzbek hospitality...

Tashkent, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 10am, Wed 11am loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 #55 s1 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #113 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-1, 6-1 Tue #57 s2 Shahar Peer ISR d #159 Maret Ani EST 6-1, 6-2 Wed Shahar lining up a forehand *#129 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #66 s3 Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU 7-5, 7-5 Tue Ekaterina after match point #73 s4 Olga Govortsova BLR d #221 q Arina Rodionova RUS 6-3, 6-2 Wed #74 s5 Stefanie Voegele SUI d #116 Vitalia Diatchenko RUS 6-3, 7-5 Mon Stefanie and Vitalia about to swat backhands #78 s6 Monica Niculescu ROU d #153 Corinna Dentoni ITA 6-3, 6-0 Tue #83 s7 Patricia Mayr AUT d #174 Ekaterina Dzehalevich BLR 7-5, 6-4 Tue #96 s8 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ d #155 Neuza Silva POR 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Mon Galina following a running backhand *#192 q Alexandra Panova RUS d #112 Sandra Zahlavova CZE 6-2, 6-1 Tue #114 Vesna Manasieva RUS d #681 wc Alexandra Kolesnichenko UZB 6-1, 6-1 Tue #122 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #184 q Ksenia Lykina RUS 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 Tue Akgul driving a backhand #130 Kathrin Woerle GER d #550 wc Sabina Sharipova UZB 7-6(0), 7-5 Tue #131 Evgeniya Rodina RUS d #175 Kristina Kucova SVK 7-6(5), 7-6(1) Tue #137 Ekaterina Ivanova RUS d #158 Lenka Wienerova SVK 7-6(5), 7-5 Tue #142 Darya Kustova BLR d #162 LL Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-2, 6-4 Tue *#888 wc Nigina Abduraimova UZB d #249 q Lesya Tsurenko UKR 6-3, 6-2 Tue Nigina serving to Lesya, and alerting the media (or, more likely, her mom)

Tashkent, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 11am loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30 #55 s1 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #137 Ekaterina Ivanova RUS 7-5, 6-2 Wed Yaroslava driving a backhand #57 s2 Shahar Peer ISR d #130 Kathrin Woerle GER 6-2, 6-4 Thu #73 s4 Olga Govortsova BLR d #114 Vesna Manasieva RUS 6-2, 6-3 Thu #74 s5 Stefanie Voegele SUI d #888 wc Nigina Abduraimova UZB 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 Wed #78 s6 Monica Niculescu ROU d #131 Evgeniya Rodina RUS 6-1, 6-4 Wed *#192 q Alexandra Panova RUS d #83 s7 Patricia Mayr AUT 7-5, 6-1 Thu *#142 Darya Kustova BLR d #96 s8 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(9) Wed #122 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #129 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) Thu

Tashkent, QFs, Fri 11am WTA story loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70 #55 s1 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #78 s6 Monica Niculescu ROU 6(3)-7, 7-5, 6-2 Yaroslava following a smash     Yaroslava said: "Monica is a very difficult competitor. Her unorthodox style makes it difficult, and I'm happy to have gotten through and ended the match positively. Monica and I are great friends - we had breakfast together this morning. I'm sorry to have spoiled her day after she played so well and came close to beating me. But it's sport, and these things happen." #57 s2 Shahar Peer ISR d #192 q Alexandra Panova RUS 6-4, 6-4 #73 s4 Olga Govortsova BLR d #142 Darya Kustova BLR 6-3, 2-6, 6-2     Olga said: "I've known Darya since the age of 6. We've played a lot together and we've represented Belarus in the Olympics together. I know how tough she is and I knew I had to give my all to win the match today." *#122 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #74 s5 Stefanie Voegele SUI 6-1, 6-4

Tashkent, SFs, Sat noon WTA story loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130 *#122 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #55 s1 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 6-4, 7-6(3)     Akgul said: "It was a fast-paced match. I was always under pressure but I'm happy to have survived. It's a big responsibility to play in front of your home crowd, but I was relaxed and played well. I served well and used all my weapons. It was positive tennis and I'm thrilled to reach my second final."     Yaroslava said: "I was a little tired after my marathon match yesterday, but Akgul played brilliantly and did everything right. I give her all the credit. I'll be thrilled if Akgul wins tomorrow. It's a tremendous feeling to win at home and it will do great things for Uzbek tennis." #57 s2 Shahar Peer ISR d #73 s4 Olga Govortsova BLR 7-6(5), 6-2     Shahar had been 0-3 against Olga. Shahar said: "I'm happy I'm playing better tennis after every match. I just want to keep going that way tomorrow. My previous losses to Govortsova didn't bother me, nor did I think of them. I just go out and play my tennis."

Tashkent, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 #57 s2 Shahar Peer ISR d #122 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-3, 6-4 Shahar driving forehand and backhand, and after match point (no match pics of Akgul were found)

Tashkent, Doubles Final, Sat after singles loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US Olga Govortsova & Tatiana Poutchek d Vitalia Diatchenko & Ekaterina Dzehalevich 6-2, 6(1)-7, (10-8) Tashkent, Qual Finals, Mon Sep 21 10am losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points *#192 Alexandra Panova RUS d #162 Yuliana Fedak UKR 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 #184 Ksenia Lykina RUS d #226 Natalia Orlova RUS 6-3, 6-0 #221 Arina Rodionova RUS d #436 Laura Thorpe FRA 0-6, 6-2, 6-1 #249 Lesya Tsurenko UKR d #275 Kristina Mladenovic FRA 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 Tashkent, Withdrawals #25 Elena Vesnina RUS low adductor strain #91 Julia Goerges GER

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