WTA: June 14-20 Eastbourne & NED AEGON International Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, GBR PREMIER $600,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: grass Free Live Video: 1 - 2 Live Scores - in popup window draws: Q - main - D - OOP - OOP2 pics: DL - Y!: sports - news - UK | WTA Eastbourne: radar - forecast - map #3 C Wozniacki, #6 F Schiavone #7 S Stosur, #8 A Radwanska #9 K Clijsters, #10 F Pennetta UNICEF Open 's-Hertogenbosch, NED INTL $220,000 32m/16q/16d outdoor: grass Free Live Video: 1 - 2 - 3 | tourn. video Live Scores - in popup window draws: Q - main - D - OOP - OOP2 pics: DL - Y!: sports - news | WTA Dutch radar - forecast - map #18 J Henin, #20 D Safina #28 M Kirilenko, #31 Y Shvedova

Eastbourne-'s-Hertogenbosch: 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Eastbourne: #103 Ekaterina Makarova 5' 10" 127lb LH 2H-BH 's-Hertogenbosch: #18 Justine Henin 5' 5¾" 126lb RH 1H-BH

On Saturday in Eastbourne, England, in the final of the AEGON International, 21-year-old qualifier #103 (career high: #35) Ekaterina Makarova from Moscow, Russia, won her first WTA singles title by defeating the 2009 champion at Miami, Memphis, and Brisbane, 20-year-old unseeded #15 (career-high: #6) Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (residence: Scottsdale, Arizona), 7-6(5), 6-4 (Ekaterina is shown holding the hardware after the match).     Ekaterina's prize is $98,500; Victoria's is $52,500.     Ekaterina defeated #10 Flavia Pennetta, #13 Nadia Petrova, #19 Svetlana Kuznetsova, and #7 Samantha Stosur on her way to the final, making this by far the best week of her career. She did not lose a set along the way.     Ekaterina said: "I cannot believe I won the title. I'm thinking I have to play one more match—I don't feel like the tournament is done.     "I started well today with no mistakes, but then I got a little nervous, maybe thinking I could win. But then I just threw that from my mind and played every point and it worked... Victoria is an unbelievable player, but maybe I was a bit lucky today." WTA story - AFP story     Victoria appeared to be suffering from pain due to a leg injury during the match, but did not wish to comment on it. Victoria said: "It's my problem, I'll keep it to myself. I still have to treat it, and I don't want to put it out there. It's not a big thing." AP story     Ekaterina and Victoria had never before met on the field of combat.     Ekaterina is now 1-2 in WTA singles finals; she reached the finals at Fès and Estoril last year. She has won 3 ITF singles titles and 9 ITF doubles titles. Ekaterina has a 13-14 singles match record in 2010.

    Victoria is now 3-6 WTA singles finals. She won all of her titles last year; this year she also reached the final in Duabai, where she lost to Venus Williams. Vika has a 22-12 match record this season.

    Meanwhile, near 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, in the final of the UNICEF Open, this year's Stuttgart champion, 27-year-old top-seeded #18 (and former #1) Justine Henin of Belgium (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), defeated the 2009 champion at Bad Gastein, 22-year-old 7th-seeded #34 Andrea Petkovic from Darmstadt, Germany, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 (Justine is shown holding the childware after the match).

    Justine's prize is $37,000; Andrea's is $19,000.

    After dropping the 1st set; Justine was down a break in the 2nd, and again trailed 0-3 in the 3rd.

    Justine said: "When I was down a break in the second, I don't think many people would have thought I could come back. It's the kind of match you really like to win. Today was harder than my other matches, because I really wanted to win, my mind was already in Wimbledon, and Andrea played a great match. She has a good game for grass—she hits the ball really flat and hard." WTA story

    Andrea said: "I was nervous before this tournament because grass was not my favorite surface, but now I'm looking forward to my first match at Wimbledon. It was a good experience today. I learned I can compete with the best players. And I had my chances today—it was tough with the wind, because from one side we were always breaking and from one side we were always holding—so when I was up 3-0 in the third set I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Justine was too good."

    Justine and Andrea, too, had never before met in a pro singles match.

    7-time Grand Slam tourney champ Justine is now 43-18 in WTA singles finals; in addition to winning the Stuttgart title this year she reached the Australian Open and Brisbane finals. Justine has a 29-7 singles match record for the year.
    Andrea is now 1-1 in WTA singles finals; she has also won 8 ITF singles and 3 ITF doubles titles. Andrea has a 20-15 singles match record this season.

Getting to Know: Heather Watson

WTA SCOREBOARD: Eastbourne & 's-Hertogenbosch s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? International Women's Open,  Eastbourne, England   tourney time:        = GMT +1 hours        = US EDT +5 hours        = US PDT +8 hours England News - UK News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Eastbourne: The main draw for Eastbourne has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Monday.   click for broader view   Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, England Latitude: 50.763621 Longitude: 0.283821 goto link for World Wind International Women's Open venue address: International Lawn Tennis Centre, Devonshire Park, College Rd, Eastbourne, Sussex, BN21 4JJ United Kingdom how to get there 2010: On Saturday, June 12, at Eastbourne, 2008 tourney champ Agnieszka Radwanska did the player rep thing at the main draw ceremony... Kim Clijsters signed autographs early in the week... On Wednesday, British #1 Elena Baltacha alerted the media after defeating Jie Zheng to reach the quarterfinals...

Eastbourne, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 11:30am loser's prize: $4,300 US; points: 1 *#21 Aravane Rezai FRA d #3 s1 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Tue Aravane driving a forehand, Caroline launching one on the run, Aravane driving a backhand, and after match point     Aravane said: "I don't think it's unexpected. I have the game to play well and beat big players, I have a big game, and I can play on grass." tourney story     Caroline said: "I didn't return well enough today. [Aravane] played well. She took the ball early and hit every shot.     "Definitely I would like to have gotten more matches, but I just need to keep my head up and prepare for Wimbledon that way. I need to take the positives and play practice sets with different opponents, working on my serves and returns." *#58 Sorana Cirstea ROU d #6 s2 Francesca Schiavone ITA 7-5, 6-3 Tue Sorana about to connect with a backhand, Francesca following a forehand, Sorana following a running forehand, and after match point #7 s3 Samantha Stosur AUS d #35 Melanie Oudin USA 6-4, 6-4 Mon Samantha and Melanie driving forehand and backhand *#15 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #8 s4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 7-6(2), 6-1 Tue Victoria serving, Agnieszka watching her drop shot fly, and Vika after winning a point #9 s5 Kim Clijsters BEL d #16 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 6-1, 6-1 Tue Kim driving a forehand, Yanina driving a backhand, and Kim about to connect with one *#103 q Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #10 s6 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-6(5), 6-1 Tue *#63 wc Elena Baltacha GBR d #11 s7 Na Li CHN 6(6)-7 retired—left thigh injury Tue #12 s8 Marion Bartoli FRA d #49 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-4, 7-5 Mon Marion and Vera driving backhands #13 Nadia Petrova RUS d #110 q Karolina Sprem CRO 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) Tue *#24 Jie Zheng CHN d #14 Shahar Peer ISR 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 Tue Jie serving, Shahar driving a backhand, and Jie following a forehand #19 wc Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #27 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 Tue Svetlana about to slice a backhand *#23 Maria José Martinez Sanchez ESP d #22 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 Mon #25 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #155 wc Anne Keothavong GBR 6-4, 6-2 Mon Daniela driving a forehand, and Anne following a backhand     Anne said: "Feel good about my game despite today's result. In a better place than I was this time last year, that's for sure!" Anne Keothavong at Twitter #26 Lucie Safarova CZE d #30 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Mon *#54 Agnes Szavay HUN d #39 Olga Govortsova BLR 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(2) Mon *#346 q Heather Watson GBR d #50 q Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-3, 6-2 Tue Heather driving a forehand, Aleksandra about to swat one, and Heather alerting the media after the match     Heather said: "I'm so happy to win today. I was really happy to get through qualifying but I didn't want to stop there. [Aleksandra] a very good player and also came through three qualifying matches so I knew I'd have to work hard...     "I love playing in front of a crowd, its so much fun, especially at home and I just want to get through a few more rounds and the points will also be very helpful...     "I've got a big player next round. She's very experienced and I'll give it my all. I've just been playing so well and it has made me really happy, and it shows me that I can compete with these girls...     "I've had a few of the players come up to me and say well done including Marion Bartoli and also Laura [Robson] text me before I went on and after the match to congratulate me." tourney story

Eastbourne, 2nd Rd, Wed 11:30am WTA story losers' prize: $8,000 US; points: 60 #7 s3 Samantha Stosur AUS d #25 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Daniela watching her serve fly, and Samantha driving a backhand     Samantha said: "Daniela is a good player, and we've had some close matches. The more matches I get on grass, the better I feel. I've played quite well here so far. I hope this year I can do the best I've ever done on grass." #9 s5 Kim Clijsters BEL d #26 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-1, 6-0 Lucie following a forehand, Kim driving one, and after match point     Kim said: "It was a good one. Quick and perfect. Yesterday was my first match in a while on grass, and today was even better. That's a good sign. I'm playing good tennis, and that's the most important thing for me. I've always liked playing on grass." #12 s8 Marion Bartoli FRA d #54 Agnes Szavay HUN 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Marion and Agnes driving backhands *#103 q Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #13 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-2, 6-0 #15 Victoria Azarenka BLR v #346 q Heather Watson GBR 6-1, 6-1 Heather and Vika driving backhands     Victoria said: "[Heather is] a very good player and moves very well. I had never seen her play before but my coach watched her match yesterday. We had tough rallies. It was a difficult match and I'm happy the way I handled it." #19 wc Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #58 Sorana Cirstea ROU 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) Sorana serving, and Svetlana following a backhand *#23 Maria José Martinez Sanchez ESP d #21 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-2, 3-0 retired—wrist injury *#63 wc Elena Baltacha GBR d #24 Jie Zheng CHN 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 Elena volleying a backhand, and Jie reaching for a forehand

Eastbourne, QFs, Thu 11:30am WTA story losers' prize: $15,100 US; points: 120 #7 s3 Samantha Stosur AUS d #63 wc Elena Baltacha GBR 6(5)-7, 6-1, 6-0 Elena and Samantha driving forehands, and Sam after winning a point     Samantha said: "I don't think I played badly in the first set. I thought [Elena] played quite well. I wasn't worried. I just kept pushing for it and then got a break early in the second set, and then everything just seemed to open up from there."     Elena said: "[Samantha] was just too good. She was serving bombs. She kept mixing it up and I couldn't see what she was going to do. She put me in a lot of trouble. She kept taking swings and hitting winners." *#15 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #9 s5 Kim Clijsters BEL 7-6(6), 6-4 Victoria about to swat a forehand, Kim driving one, and Vika's backhand drive     Victoria tweeted: "Tough match today! Really happy I won against such a great player like Kim! Wind never stops blowing here!." Vika at Twitter     Kim said: "I felt I was looking for rhythm and timing, compared to my singles yesterday. [Victoria's] shots are hard and low, and it’s tough to get an angle against her... I was up 4-2 [in the 2nd set and it went quickly from there—a couple of double-faults and good returns from her which pushed me back. I wasnt able to dictate, and felt I was being pushed back a bit." AP story #12 s8 Marion Bartoli FRA d #23 Maria José Martinez Sanchez ESP 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5) Marion and Maria José following forehands *#103 q Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #19 wc Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-4, 7-5

Eastbourne, SFs, Fri 11:30am losers' prize: $28,100 US; points: 200 *#103 q Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #7 s3 Samantha Stosur AUS 7-6(5), 7-5 Samantha and Ekaterina driving forehands, and Ekaterina after match point     Ekaterina started slowly, losing 15 of the first 19 points in the match, and falling behind 0-3, love-40.     Ekaterina said: "Maybe I was a little bit nervous. And I didn't play on the center court here before. I was just fighting every point and to serve good. I really liked my serve today, and my second serve was sometimes much better than my first." Reuters story *#15 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #12 s8 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 7-5 Victoria lining up a forehand, Marion driving her 2-hander, Vika's backhand drive, and after match point     Victoria tweeted: "Another tough match today! Marion playes great on grass! Not so much wind today." Vika at Twitter

Eastbourne, Final, Sat noon loser's prize: $52,500 US; points: 320 winner's prize: $98,500 US; points: 470 *#103 q Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #15 Victoria Azarenka BLR 7-6(5), 6-4 Ekaterina following a backhand, Victoria about to swat a forehand, Ekaterina driving one, and after winning a point

Eastbourne, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $16,500 US winners' prize: $31,000 US *cdr33 s4 Lisa Raymond & Rennae Stubbs d cdr27 s2 Kveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 2-6, (13-11) Lisa (70th WTA doubles title) and Rennae (60th WTA doubles title), their 33rd title as a team Eastbourne, Qual Finals, Mon Jun 14 11:30am losers' prizes: q1 $660 1pt; q2 $1,230 8pts; q3 $2,300 12pts; qualifier 20 points #50 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN d #107 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 6-4 *#110 Karolina Sprem CRO d #88 Jarmila Groth AUS 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 *#103 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #94 Sania Mirza IND 6-4, 6-3 *#346 Heather Watson GBR d #109 Bojana Jovanovski SRB 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 Eastbourne, Withdrawals #5 Elena Dementieva RUS left calf injury at Roland Garros

Ordina Open,  's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands   tourney time:        = GMT +2 hours        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours Netherlands News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     's-Hertogenbosch: The main draw for 's-Hertogenbosch has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. Once there were no qualifying rounds; but in 2006 4 qualifiers were added to the main draw.   click for broader view   Autotron Rosmalen Latitude: 51.70962 Longitude: 5.420122 goto link for World Wind Ordina Open venue address: Autotron Rosmalen, Graafsebaan 133 5248 's Hertogenbosch, Netherlands 2010: Dominika Cibulkova signed autographs in the Dunlop booth at the Autotron Rosmalen... Ana Ivanovic was interviewed amidst the fine scenery...

's-Hertogenbosch, 1st Rd, Sun-Tue 11am loser's prize: $1,825 US; points: 1 #18 s1 wc Justine Henin BEL d #57 Angelique Kerber GER 6-4, 6-2 Mon *#45 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #20 s2 Dinara Safina RUS 6(4)-7, 6-4, 6-4 Sun #28 s3 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #90 Iona Raluca Olaru ROU 6-4, 6-1 Mon #31 s4 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #52 q Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-1, 6-2 Tue #32 s5 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #99 q Julie Coin FRA 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(4) Mon *#51 Sybille Bammer AUT d #33 s6 Sara Errani ITA 6-1, 6-3 Mon #34 s7 Andrea Petkovic GER d #63 Petra Kvitova CZE 6-3, 7-6(6) Sun *#125 wc Arantxa Rus NED d #38 s8 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Mon *#85 q Sandra Zahlavova CZE d #41 Elena Vesnina RUS 7-5, 6-2 Mon #46 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #65 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 Mon #47 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #258 wc Laura Robson GBR 6-3, 6-4 Sun #53 Roberta Vinci ITA d #70 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 6-4, 7-6(3) Mon *#73 Kristina Barrois GER d #66 Melinda Czink HUN 7-5, 6-2 Mon ##68 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d #69 Vania King USA 6-1, 6-2 Mon *#76 q Anastasia Rodionova AUS d #72 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 Mon *#86 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS d #75 Alberta Brianti ITA 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Mon

's-Hertogenbosch, 2nd Rd, Tue-Wed 11am loser's prize: $3,100 US; points: 30 #18 s1 wc Justine Henin BEL d #53 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-3, 6-3 Wed *#68 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d #28 s3 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-3, 3-3 retired—left abdominal injury Tue #31 s4 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #76 q Anastasia Rodionova AUS 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Wed #32 s5 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #86 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6=3, 2-6, 6-1 Wed #34 s7 Andrea Petkovic GER d #46 Ana Ivanovic SRB 6-4, 6(4)-7, 6-1 Tue *#85 q Sandra Zahlavova CZE d #45 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-2 Tue #47 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #125 wc Arantxa Rus NED 6-2, 7-5 Tue *#73 Kristina Barrois GER d #51 Sybille Bammer AUT 3-6,6-2, 6-3 Wed

's-Hertogenbosch, QFs, Thu 11am loser's prize: $5,625 US; points: 70 #18 s1 wc Justine Henin BEL d #73 Kristina Barrois GER 7-5, 6-3 Justine volleying a backhand, and during her post-match press interview *#32 s5 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #31 s4 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 #34 s7 Andrea Petkovic GER v #85 q Sandra Zahlavova CZE 6-2, 7-6(5) *#68 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d #47 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-2, 6-3 Dominika and Kirsten driving forehands

's-Hertogenbosch, SFs, Fri 11am loser's prize: $10,400 US; points: 130 #18 s1 wc Justine Henin BEL d #32 s5 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU 6-2, 6-2 Justine and Alexandra driving forehand and backhand #34 s7 Andrea Petkovic GER d #68 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6(3)-7, 7-6(2), 6-4 Kirsten about to swat a forehand, and Andrea following one

's-Hertogenbosch, Final, Sat 3:20pm+ loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 #18 s1 wc Justine Henin BEL d #34 s7 Andrea Petkovic GER 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Justine about to swat a backhand, Andrea driving one, Justine reaching for a forehand, and after match point

's-Hertogenbosch, Doubles Final, Fri 12:30pm+ loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US cdr69 s3 Anastasia Rodionova & Alla Kudryavtseva d cdr81 s4 Vania King & Yaroslava Shvedova 3-6, 6-3, (10-6) Anastasia's (3rd WTA doubles title) and Alla (2nd), their first title as a team 's-Hertogenbosch, Qual Finals, Sun Jun 13 11am losers' prizes: q1 $440 1pt; q2 $850 6pts; qualifier 10 points #52 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP d #128 Anastasia Pivovarova RUS 7-6(1), 6-4 #76 Anastasia Rodionova AUS d #135 Greta Arn HUN 6-1, 6-3 #85 Sandra Zahlavova CZE d #260 Anne Kremer LUX 6-3, 6-1 *#99 Julie Coin FRA d #92 Tatjana Malek GER 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 's-Hertogenbosch, Withdrawals #44 Shuai Peng CHN illness #59 Virginie Razzano FRA right foot & ankle injury #61 Iveta Benesova CZE left shoulder injury #64 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN right calf strain #67 Regina Kulikova RUS low back injury #78 Stefanie Voegele SUI low back injury at Birmingham #98 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER left foot injury

from Hard Courts by John Feinstein (page 297):     The women have played a Wimbledon warm-up tournament at Eastbourne since the nineteenth century, after all these years still playing at the same site, Devonshire Park.     Eastbourne is two hours southeast of London, an easy train ride or a harrowing drive along narrow country roads. It sits on the English Channel and is the English version of St. Petersburg [Florida], a small resort town where a substantial part of the population is over the age of seventy.     Devonshire Park is a two-hundred-yard walk from the beach, a veritable melting pot of the tennis world. The old is very much in evidence: the north stand, which was built in 1881, is often filled with septuagenarians who have been coming here for as long as anyone can remember. Towering oak trees rise up behind the north stand and sea gulls often swoop by noisily, distracting the players.     Two things make Eastbourne different than other tournaments. First, it is a six-day tournament, ending Saturday...     The second thing that makes Eastbourne unique is the player party. Every tennis tournament in the world has a player party. On the women's tour, WTA public relations and marketing people as well as their counterparts at Kraft and Virginia Slims usually spend the first few days at each tournament trying to round up players to come to the party. For the players, one more party with one more group of sponsors telling them how wonderful they are is boring, a time-waster. They understand they have to do their share to keep these people happy, but they don't enjoy it very much.     Eastbourne is different because of the talent show. The players--even Navratilova--show up because they expect the show to be funny. The person most responsible for making it funny every year is Elsie Burgin, director, writer, and star.     This year's [1990's] show was built around a mock game show...     ...Most of this was very inside humor. If you weren't part of the women's tour in some way, the jokes meant little. [Sophie] Amiach broke the crowd up with her Stefano Capriati imitation: "I deserve the credit," she said. "I produce the child. I teach the child. I coach the child. I am the star." To his credit, Stefano Capriati laughed as hard as anyone...

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

Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2010 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to many postmatch interview & match highlight videos of WTA players at the 2009 WTA Player Videos page.

WTA PhotoRankings: the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.