WTA Apr 27-May 3: Stuttgart & Fès Porsche TGP, Stuttgart, GER PREMIER 700 $700,000 32m/32q/16d indoor: red clay | tourney draw Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf: draws & OOP - notes tourney videos: highlights - interviews pics: Y!: sports - news     tourney - WTA Stuttgart: radar - forecast - map # 1 D Safina, # 3 E Dementieva # 4 J Jankovic, # 8 V Azarenka Grand Prix SAR     La Princesse Lalla Meryem Fès, MAR INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: red clay Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP pics: tourney - WTA Fès: weather forecast # 18 A Medina G, # 25 A Kleybanova # 28 A Pavlyuchenkova, # 38 M Kirilenko

Stuttgart: 2008 - 2007 - 2006   Filderstadt: 2005 - 2004 - 2003 Fès: 2008 - 2007   Rabat: 2006 - 2005   Casablanca: 2004 previous other tourney pages next Stuttgart: #9 Svetlana Kuznetsova 2988lb, 310hp 3.4L 7-spd flat 6, 0-60mph 5.2sec Fès: #18 A Medina Garrigues 5'6½" 130lb RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Stuttgart, Germany, in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, 23-year-old 5th-seeded # 9 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), ended a long title drought by defeating her compatriot, 23-year-old top-seeded # 1 Dinara Safina (who, like Svetlana and several other WTA players, also resides in income tax-free Monte Carlo), 6-4, 6-3 (Svetlana is shown with the roadandtrackware after the match).

    In recent years the Porsche TGP champ has had to choose between prize money and a nice Porsche sports car, but this year someone at Porsche finally saw the light: Svetlana's prize is $107,000 and a Porsche Boxster S; Dinara's prize is $56,000.

    Svetlana said: "It has been a while. At the beginning today I was a little bit nervous. It's tough for me to play finals—I haven't won too many of them lately. But I started playing better and better as the match went on and I was able to win. I want to thank everybody for their support. It's a great thing to be here." WTA story - AP story

    Dinara said: "I just wasn't feeling that good on court today. Svetlana put me under pressure right from the start and played really well. She deserved to win."

    Dinara still leads Svetlana 7-5 in career matches, and won all of previous last four meetings, all of which were last year; Sveta now leads Dinara 4-3 on clay.

    2004 US Open champion Svetlana is now 10-17 in WTA singles finals; she reached the finals at Sydney, Dubai, and Indian Wells last year, but this was her first final of 2009. Svetlana's previous title came in 2007 in New Haven when Agnes Szavay retired due to injury; it was her only victory in previous 11 finals. Svetlana is now 17-5 in matches this year.
    2009 Australian Open finalist Dinara is now 9-10 in WTA singles finals; she won titles last year in Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Montreal, LA and Berlin, and reached the French Open final, where she lost to Ana Ivanovic. Dinara now has a 18-6 match record this season.

    In the Fès final on Saturday, 26-year-old top-seeded # 18 Anabel Medina Garrigues from Valencia, Spain, who had received a late-entry wild card, crushed, killed and destroyed 19-year-old 6th-seeded # 51 Ekaterina Makarova from Moscow, Russia, 6-0, 6-1 (Anabel is shown, apparently, after match point).

    Anabel's prize is $37,000; Ekaterina's is $19,000. The victory moved Anabel up to # 16 in the May 4 WTA singles rankings, the highest rank of her career. Anabel and Ekaterina had met only once before, on a hardcourt last year in the 1st round in Portoroz, when Anabel won, 6-1, 6-3.
    Although she lost the singles final, this week in Fès was the best week of Ekaterina's career, and she topped it off by winning her first WTA doubles title. In the doubles final, Ekaterina and her partner Alisa Kleybanova, seeded 2nd, defeated top seeds Maria Kirilenko & Sorana Cirstea, 6-3, 2-6, (10-8).

    Anabel is now 9-5 in WTA singles finals. Although she likes hardcourts as well, eight of Anabel's nine titles have come on red clay, including four in Palermo and three in Strasbourg, where she won last year. Anabel now has a 17-10 match record this season.
    Ekaterina was making her first trip beyond the quarterfinals in any WTA singles draw; she has won 3 ITF singles titles and 9 ITF doubles titles. Ekaterina has a 9-7 singles match record in 2009.

    Fès Player's Blog by Alisa Kleybanova

WTA SCOREBOARD: Stuttgart & Fès s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Porsche Tennis Grand Prix,  Stuttgart, Germany   tourney time:        = GMT +2 hours        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours Germany News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar Stuttgart: The main draw for Stuttgart 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   Schleyer Halle/Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, GER Latitude: 48.793606 Longitude: 9.22843 goto link for World Wind Porsche Grand Prix of Tennis venue address: Schleyer Halle/Porsche Arena, Mercedesstrase 69, 70372 Stuttgart 2009: Players attending the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix opening ceremonies in Stuttgart on Sunday, April 26, included top-seeded Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Marion Bartoli, Patty Schnyder, Carla Suarez Navarro, Na Li, Agnes Szavay and Gisela Dulko... On Monday, new WTA # 1 showed her first-time-numero-uno trophy to the press... row 2: German # 1 Sabine Lisicki and Elena Dementieva also played Meet the Press on Monday... Ladies hoisting brewskis and chowing down at the player party on Tuesday evening included Dominika Cibulkova, Vera Dushevina, and Nadia Petrova (bkgd); also at the party, German qualifier Andrea Petkovic demonstrated that very pretty girls don't need to worry about people making fun of their silly hats...

Stuttgart, 1st Rd, Mon 1pm, Tue 12:15pm, Wed 1pm losers' prize: $4,580 US; points: 1 #1 s1 Dinara Safina RUS d #37 Sara Errani ITA 6-0, 6-1 Tue Sara and Dinara driving backhands #3 s2 Elena Dementieva RUS d #57 wc Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Tue Elena launching a forehand on the run #4 s3 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #17 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-1, 6-1 Wed Dominika serving, Jelena showing slice as she awaits a backhand, and after match point #8 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #24 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 6-1, 6-4 Mon #9 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #151 q Andrea Petkovic GER 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 Wed Andrea and Svetlana driving backhands #10 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS d #16 Jie Zheng CHN 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 Wed #11 s7 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #29 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-3, 7-5 Tue Iveta driving a lefty backhand, and Caroline volleying a righty forehand #12 s8 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #26 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 7-6(2), 6-0 Tue Agnieszka's backhand drive #13 Marion Bartoli FRA d #87 q Karolina Sprem CRO 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 Tue #14 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #22 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-2, 6-0 Wed *#40 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #15 Alize Cornet FRA 6-3, 6-1 Wed *#43 wc Sabine Lisicki GER d #20 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-4, 6-3 Wed Patty serving, Sabine about to slice a backhand, Sabine following a backhand drive, and after match point #8 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #24 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 6-1, 6-4 Mon #9 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #151 q Andrea Petkovic GER 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 Wed #30 Na Li CHN d #33 Shuai Peng CHN 6-2, 6-3 Tue #32 Agnes Szavay HUN d #35 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4) Tue #34 Gisela Dulko ARG d #49 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-3, 6-3 Tue #50 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #117 q Alberta Brianti ITA 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tue

Stuttgart, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 2pm, 1pm losers' prize: $8,590 US; points: 60 #1 s1 Dinara Safina RUS d #40 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 6-2 Thu #3 s2 Elena Dementieva RUS d #32 Agnes Szavay HUN 7-6(4), 6-1 Thu Elena and Agnes driving forehand and backhand, and Elena tossing the ball for her serve #4 s3 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #43 wc Sabine Lisicki GER 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 Thu Jelena driving a forehand, Sabine's backhand, and Jelena after match point *#34 Gisela Dulko ARG d #8 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-4, 6-3 Wed Gisela serving, Vika and Gisela driving forehand and backhand, and Gisela after winning a point #9 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #30 Na Li CHN 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 Thu Na fielding a forehand on the fly, and Svetlana's backhand drive *#14 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #10 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-2, 6-2 Thu *#13 Marion Bartoli FRA d #11 s7 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 7-6(6), 6-4 Thu #12 s8 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #50 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6-3 Thu

Stuttgart, QFs, Fri 2pm WTA story losers' prize: $15,925 US; points: 120 #1 s1 Dinara Safina RUS d #12 s8 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-4, 6-2 Dinara serving, Agnieszka's forehand, and Dinara driving a backhand #3 s2 Elena Dementieva RUS d #13 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Marion and Elena fielding forehands on the run     Elena said: "I am very glad I was able to finish strongly. It was a very emotional match for both of us." *#14 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #4 s3 Jelena Jankovic SRB 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Flavia and Jelena driving forehand and backhand, and Flavia after match point #9 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #34 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-3, 6-2 Gisela serving, Svetlana driving a forehand, and Gisela and Svetlana driving backhands

Stuttgart, SFs, Sat 2pm WTA story losers' prize: $30,000 US; points: 200 #1 s1 Dinara Safina RUS d #14 Flavia Pennetta ITA 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 Dinara serving, Flavia driving a forehand, Dinara's backhand, and Dinara after winning a point     After winning the first set, Flavia lead by a break in the second, but could not hold Dinara at bay.     Dinara said: "[Flavia] was 6-3, 5-4 up and got tight. She gave me a few free points but I also began playing better, so maybe she was feeling more pressure. I told myself to get fighting and do something to win the match." *#9 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #3 s2 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-4, 6-2 Svetlana serving, Elena about to swat a forehand, and Sveta driving a backhand     Svetlana said: "Things went my way today. I enjoyed myself. I played well and enjoyed the match. The atmosphere was great and I was very happy on the court. I think I served well—I put pressure on [Elena] and used my hands a lot in the match."     Elena said: "I think I was too passive today. I didn't attack [Svetlana] and I didn't put a lot of pressure on her, so she was feeling comfortable playing inside the court and making winners from her forehand, even her backhand down the line. She's a very good player. She likes playing on clay. The way I was playing today, though, there wasn't a chance I would win."

Stuttgart, Final, Sun after doubles; 3:45pm+ loser's prize: $56,000 US; points: 320 winner's prize: $107,000 US (AND Porsche Boxster S); points: 470 *#9 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #1 s1 Dinara Safina RUS 6-4, 6-3 Svetlana driving a forehand, Dinara's backhand, and Svetlana after match point

Stuttgart, Doubles Final, Sun 1:30pm; before singles losers' prize: $17,800 US winners' prize: $34,000 US cdr74 Nadia Petrova & Bethanie Mattek-Sands d cdr63 Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta 5-7, 6-3, (10-7) Bethanie and Nadia Stuttgart, Qual Finals, Mon Apr 27 1pm losers' prizes: q1 $700 1pt; q2 $1,320 8pts; q3 $2,460 12pts; qualifier 20 points #50 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #152 Katalin Marosi HUN 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 *#117 Alberta Brianti ITA d #58 Vera Dushevina RUS 7-6(3), 6-3 #87 Karolina Sprem CRO d #219 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-3, 6-4 #151 Andrea Petkovic GER d #159 Julia Schruff GER 6-3, 6-4 Stuttgart, Withdrawals #6 Vera Zvonareva RUS tore ankle ligaments in Charleston #27 Sybille Bammer AUT neck/shoulder injury

Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem,  Fès [Fez], Morocco   tourney time:        = GMT        = US EDT +4 hours        = US PDT +7 hours Morocco news Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Fès: The 32-player main draw for Fès has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers and 3 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Monday.   click for wider view   Royal Tennis Club de Fès, Complex Sportif Latitude: 34.002866 Longitude: -4.969168 goto link for World Wind Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem venue address: Complex Sportif de Fès, Boulevard Arrahma Narjiss, Fez (Fès), Morocco

Fès, 1st Round, Mon-Tue 11am loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 #18 s1 wc Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #107 Camille Pin FRA 6-1, 6-1 Tue Anabel and Camille watching their serves fly #25 s2 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #149 q Corinna Dentoni ITA 6-2, 6-4 Tue #28 s3 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #91 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 6-1, 6-2 Tue *#110 Marta Domachowska POL d #38 s4 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-4, 6-4 Mon Maria and Marta following backhands *#97 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #41 s5 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-3, 6-4 Tue Lourdes serving to Sorana, and Sorana following a backhand #51 s6 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #105 Iona Raluca Olaru ROU 7-6(5), 6-4 Mon #52 s7 Roberta Vinci ITA d #123 Mariana Duque Marino COL 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 Tue #53 s8 Shahar Peer ISR d #95 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 Tue #54 Anne Keothavong GBR d #111 Maret Ani EST 6-2, 7-6(3) Tue Anne serving *#280 LL Eva Fernandez-Brugues ESP d #65 Petra Cetkovska CZE 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 Tue #69 Melinda Czink HUN d #222 q Nathalie Vierin ITA 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 Tue #75 Jarmila Groth SVK/AUS d #359 q Paula Fondevila Castro ESP 6-3, 7-5 Tue *#100 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #82 Urszula Radwanska POL 7-5, 6-2 Tue #85 Lucie Hradecka CZE d #652 wc Nadia Lalami MAR 6-4, 6-3 Tue *#216 q Polona Hercog SLO d #147 LL Vitalia Diatchenko RUS 6-1, 6-2 Tue *#1077 sr73 Akiko Morigami JPN d #522 wc Fatima Zahrae El Allami MAR 2-6, 5-5 retired—heat illness Tue

Fès, 2nd Round, Wed 11am loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30 #18 s1 wc Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #100 Klara Zakopalova CZE 1-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 #25 s2 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #75 Jarmila Groth SVK/AUS 6-4, 6-1 *#69 Melinda Czink HUN d #28 s3 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-3 Melinda following a backhand #51 s6 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #1077 sr73 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-0, 6-1 *#216 q Polona Hercog SLO d #52 s7 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-2, 6-4 Polona serving to Roberta *#85 Lucie Hradecka CZE d #53 s8 Shahar Peer ISR 6-4, 6-1 *#97 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #54 Anne Keothavong GBR 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 #110 Marta Domachowska POL d #280 LL Eva Fernandez-Brugues ESP 6-4, 6-4 Marta about to connect with a forehand

Fès, QFs, Thu 11am loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70 #18 s1 wc Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #97 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 7-6(5), 7-6(5) Anabel watching her backhand fly #25 s2 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #216 q Polona Hercog SLO 6-3, 6-4 #51 s6 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #110 Marta Domachowska POL 6-4, 6-4 Marta about to swat a backhand, and Ekaterina ready to fire a forehand #69 Melinda Czink HUN d #85 Lucie Hradecka CZE 6-4, 6-2 Melinda following a forehand

Fès, SFs, Fri 1pm loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130 #18 s1 wc Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #69 Melinda Czink HUN 6-0, 0-0 retired—gastrointestinal illness Anabel and Melinda following forehand and backhand *#51 s6 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #25 s2 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 6-2, 6-1 Alisa serving, and Ekaterina following a forehand

Fès, Final, Sat 2:30pm loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 #18 s1 wc Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #51 s6 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 6-0, 6-1 Ekatarina and Anabel preparing to fire forehands

Fès, Doubles Final, Sat after singles & rest loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US *cdr120 s2 Ekaterina Makarova & Alisa Kleybanova d cdr54 s1 Maria Kirilenko & Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 2-6, (10-8) Sorana, Maria, Alisa, and Ekaterina Fès, Qual Finals, Mon Apr 27 11am losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points *#359 Paula Fondevila Castro ESP d #147 Vitalia Diatchenko RUS 6-4, 6-2 #149 Corinna Dentoni ITA d #428 Marina Shamayko RUS 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 #216 Polona Hercog SLO d #289 Aurelie Vedy FRA 7-5, 6-2 #222 Nathalie Vierin ITA d #280 Eva Fernandez-Brugues ESP 7-5, 6-1 Fès, Withdrawals #23 Katarina Srebotnik SLO left achilles injury #72 Patricia Mayr AUT achilles tendonitis #83 Yanina Wickmayer BEL left ankle strain #87 Karolina Sprem CRO Stuttgart

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