WTA May 8-16: Madrid Madrid Open Madrid, ESP + ATP PREMIER M €3,500,000 60m/32q/28d outdoor: red clay Free Live Video: 1 - 2 - 3 Live Scores - in popup window draws: Q - main - D - OOP - OOP2 pics: DL - Y!: sports - news | WTA Madrid: weather radar - forecast Spain News #1 Serena Williams #2 Caroline Wozniacki #3 Dinara Safina #4 Venus Williams #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova #6 Elena Dementieva #7 Jelena Jankovic #8 Samantha Stosur #9 Agnieszka Radwanska #10 Victoria Azarenka #13 Maria Sharapova #14 Marion Bartoli #15 Na Li

Tourney pages: Madrid: 2009 - 2007 YEC - 2006 YEC - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Madrid: #4 Venus Williams 6'1" 160lb RH 2H-BH Madrid: #22 Aravane Rezai 5'5" 137lb RH 2H-BH

On Sunday in Spain, in the final of the Madrid Open, last year's champ in Strasbourg and Bali, 22-year-old unseeded #22 Aravane Rezai from St. Etienne, France, won the biggest title of her career by defeating this year's champ in Dubai and Acapulco, 29-year-old 4th-seeded #4 (#3 in this week's rankings, #2 next week, and former #1) Venus Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, 6-2, 7-5 (Venus is shown during the match, Aravane holding the hardware afterward).     Aravane's prize is €310,000 ($383,377 US), Venus's is €196,000 ($242,393 US).     Venus reached break point against Aravane 13 times, but scored on only two of those occasions. Aravane scored on 5 of the 10 break points she held against Venus. Aravane also won 77% of her 1st serve points; Venus won only 60% of her 1st serve points.     In earlier rounds in Madrid Aravane also defeated two other former #1s: #19 Justine Henin in the 1st round, and #7 Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals.     Aravane said: "It's been the best week of my career. I played very well and I'm very proud of myself because it was a very tough tournament and there were a lot of players here—everyone was here—so I just believed in myself." AP story     Venus said: "I probably wasn't at the highest of my energy today. I felt a little slower than normal, but I tried hard and I feel very good about my game. Sometimes you run into a player who's red hot, they hit every shot, they don't miss—and credit to them."     Aravane now leads Venus 2-1 in career matches. On green clay, in the 1st round at Amelia Island in 2007, Venus defeated Aravane in a "Lawrence Welkover," 6-1, 6-2.     But later the same year, on red clay in the 2nd round in Istanbul, Aravane defeated Venus, 6-4, 6-4.

    Aravane is now 3-2 in WTA singles finals; she won in Strasbourg and Bali and reached the final in Auckland last year, and, after her win over Venus in 2007, reached the Istanbul final. Aravane has a 18-11 singles match record in 2010.

    7-time Grand Slam tourney champion Venus is now 43-27 in WTA singles finals; she won the Dubai and Acapulco titles this year, then lost to Kim Clijsters in the Miami final. Venus has a 26-4 singles match record this year; her other two losses were to Na Li at the Australian Open and to Jelena Jankovic last week in Rome.

    WTA Player blogs: Agnieszka Radwanska from Madrid.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Madrid s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Madrid Open,  Madrid, Spain   tourney time:        = GMT +2 hours        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours Spain News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Madrid: The 60-player main draw for Madrid has 16 seeds, with 4 1st-round byes. There are 8 qualifiers and 5 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Saturday.   click for broader view   La Caja Mágica, Madrid, Spain Latitude: 40.368667 Longitude: -3.684347 goto link for World Wind 2010: Popular in Spain (and on Earth in general) Ana Ivanovic made a promotional visit to Madrid in April... Virginia Ruano Pascual talked to the press after doing the player rep thing at the main draw on Friday... Lucie Safarova signed autographs on Monday... Serena Williams alerted the media at the "All Access Hour"...

Madrid, 1st Rnd, Sat 11am, Sun 10am & 11am, Mon 11am & noon losers' prize: €7,825; points: 5 #2 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #62 q Petra Kvitova CZE 6-4, 6-2 Mon Petra and Caroline watching their serves fly, and Caro after match point *#87 q Klara Zakopalova CZE d #3 s3 Dinara Safina RUS 7-6(1), 7-6(3) Mon Dinara ready to swat a forehand, Klara driving a backhand, and after match point     It was Klara's biggest win since she defeated #1 Serena Williams in the 1st round at Marbella last year, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.     Klara said: "I've beaten Monica Seles [in the 2nd round of the 2003 Australian Open, 6(6)-7, 7-5, 6-3] and Serena Williams before, but this is one of my biggest wins. I don't think Dinara was at her best today, though. She didn't play for a while, but a win is a win and I'm very happy!." WTA story     Dinara has now lost three of her last four matches, and is 5-5 for the season. She missed February, March, and most of April while recovering from a low back injury she incurred last year, but said after losses in Stuttgart and Rome that her back was not longer causing trouble.     Dinara said: "The result today was about lack of match practice. I have hardly hit a ball in three months and you can't really expect much when you have had no practice and no matches. I have to look ahead and get some matches." #4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #69 q Stefanie Voegele SUI 6-4, 6-2 Sun Stefanie and Venus driving backhands *#21 Shahar Peer ISR d #5 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 Sat #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #46 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-0, 6-1 Sat #8 s8 Samantha Stosur AUS d #40 Gisela Dulko ARG 7-6(3), 7-5 Mon Gisela about to swat a backhand, and Samantha volleying one #9 s9 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #37 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-2, 6-2 Sun Maria congratulating Agnieszka after match point     Agnieszka said: "It's not great when you have to play your doubles partner, but it happens in tennis. When you're on the court you have to look at them as your opponent. Maria wrote me a cute message afterwards, 'Today was your turn to win and well done', so we're fine! Now we will do our best together in the doubles :)." Madrid player's blog by Agnieszka Radwanska *#51 wc Shuai Peng CHN d #10 s10 Victoria Azarenka BLR 3-0 retired—right adductor strain Mon *#35 Lucie Safarova CZE d #13 s11 Maria Sharapova RUS 6-4, 6-3 Sun Maria and Lucie driving forehand and backhand, and Lucie after match point     It was Maria's first match since March, when she was sidelined by a right elbow bone bruise.     Maria said: "It's a struggle trying to find the rhythm... I thought [Lucie] played really solid, good tennis and did everything she needed to win the match. More solid than me anyway. I certainly had my chances in the match, and a few balls here and there that I maybe would have made if I had the matches under my belt." Reuters story     Lucie defeated #2 Caroline Wozniacki (who was also returning from an injury) in Stuttgart on April 29, and defeated Francesca Schiavone, Shahar Peer, and Flavia Pennetta in Paris in February.     Lucie said: "If you win against these top players, as I have the last couple of months, then you get your confidence and you realise you can be up there." #14 s12 Marion Bartoli FRA d #52 Polona Hercog SLO 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Sat #15 s13 Na Li CHN d #188 q Beatriz Garcia Vidagany ESP 6-0, 6-2 Mon Na about to swat a backhand #16 s14 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #38 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 Mon #17 s15 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #71 q Alizé Cornet FRA 6-2, 6-2 Sun #18 s16 Nadia Petrova RUS d #32 Elena Vesnina RUS 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Mon *#22 Aravane Rezai FRA d #19 Justine Henin BEL 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 Sun Justine and Aravane driving forehands, and Aravane after match point     Justine has been suffering from nose and throat infections for the past week, ever since winning the Stuttgart title.     Justine said: "When I came back from Stuttgart, I wasn't feeling well at all. I just tried to come and see how I felt but to practice and play a match is a different story... [Aravane] was at a very good level, and I was probably below my capacity and it wasn't an easy day. I hope I will get better in a few days and get ready for the French Open now." #20 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #31 Melanie Oudin USA 6-3, 6-4 Sat Vera and Melanie driving forehand and backhand *#57 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #23 Jie Zheng CHN 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Mon Anabel driving a backhand, and Jie following one *#29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #24 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 7-6(2) Sun #25 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #50 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 Sat #27 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #103 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-3, 6-2 Mon #28 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #53 q Iveta Benesova CZE 6-2, 6-2 Sun *#45 Patty Schnyder SUI d #33 Agnes Szavay HUN 5-2 retired—right hamstring strain Mon Patty and Agnes driving backhand and forehand *#55 Sybille Bammer AUT d #34 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Sat *#49 Andrea Petkovic GER d #36 Sara Errani ITA 6(3)-7, 6-1, 7-5 Sat #42 Olga Govortsova BLR d #56 LL Tathiana Garbin ITA 7-5, 6-2 Sun #44 Vera Dushevina RUS d #70 q Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-2, 6-1 Sun *#43 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #54 Melinda Czink HUN 6-1, 0-0 retired—left shoulder injury Sun #81 wc Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP d #352 wc Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-3, 6-2 Mon Virginia "Vivi" Ruano Pascual is shown during a ceremony on Sunday, April 11 in Marbella, Spain. A match in Marbella was to have been the last singles match of Vivi's career; she was later talked into taking a wild card entry at Madrid. She will play doubles until the end of this season. Vivi reached a career high of #28 at singles in 1999, but will be better remembered for her doubles titles, which include 10 Grand Slam doubles titles, 2 partnered with Anabel Medina Garrigues, and 8 with Paola Suarez. Vivi, still in great shape at 36, has won over $6 million in prize money during her career.

Madrid, 2nd Round, Mon-Wed 11am & noon losers' prize: €15,150; points: 80 the four Rome semifinalists received 1st round byes #1 s1 Serena Williams USA d #44 Vera Dushevina RUS 6(2)-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) Mon Serena driving a forehand, Vera and Serena driving backhands, and Serena after match point     The 3 hour, 26 minute match was the longest of Serena's career. Each player held 14 break points against the other during the match, and each converted 5 of the 14. Serena struck 9 aces with 6 double faults; Vera, 4 aces, 4 DFs. Serena won 142 points in the match, Vera won 143.     It was Serena's fifth match since she defeated Justine Henin in the Australian Open final, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. She withdrew from every tourney in Feburary, March and April due to a persistent left knee injury.     Serena said: "I definitely wasn’t playing my best tennis and I was far off from playing well but after three hours I thought I had better win. I really wanted to win today because I really wanted to get some matches under my belt." Reuters story *#25 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #2 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-2, 6-3 Tue Caroline following a forehand, and Alona running one down     Alona defeated then #4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the 3rd round in Berlin in 2008, but had never before defeated a player in the top 3.     Alona said: "I think [Caroline] didn’t have her best day today. I know her game well and always she plays without mistakes but today there were a lot of mistakes." Reuters story     Caroline sprained her right ankle in the semifinals in Charleston on April 17, and has gone 1-3 since then, with losses to Lucie Safarova, Maria José Martinez Sanchez, and Alona. She is playing with her ankle taped.     Caroline said: "I’m never happy to lose a match. I’ll be back on the practice courts tomorrow and work my butt off and hopefully it’ll come back...     "If you’ve twisted your ankle a few times like I have you need to get your confidence back. It’s especially important on clay where you need to slide and the surface is uneven. I really think I am going to be okay for the French Open." #4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #20 Vera Zvonareva RUS 7-5, 6-3 Mon Vera and Venus driving backhands *#43 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 Tue Elena serving, and Alexandra following a backhand #7 s7 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #58 wc Ana Ivanovic SRB 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 Wed Jelena and Ana driving forehands, Jelena launching one on the run, and after match point     Jelena said: "I am not really happy with the way that I played but a win is a win. I had quite a lot of trouble in the first set and I didn't serve well and I wasn't really feeling the shots." Reuters story     Ana, who still leads Jelena 6-3 in career matches,, agreed with Jelena about the quality of play. Ana said: "I don't think either of us played so well today. It's always hard to play someone from your own country, but it was also a bit hard to find a rhythm... [Jelena] had a high percentage of first serves in, and that made a big difference in the second and third sets."     Jelena will play #57 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain in the 3rd round on Thursday. Jelena leads Anabel 5-0 in career matches, and three of their previous meetings were on clay. #8 s8 Samantha Stosur AUS d #26 Maria José Martinez Sanchez ESP 7-6(2), 6-4 Tue Samantha and Maria José driving forehands     Samantha said: "I don't think I could've asked for a much better preparation going into the French. To get at least three matches here is great, so everything from here on is a bonus. If it ends up being a few more this week, then that's great." AP story *#45 Patty Schnyder SUI d #9 s9 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tue Agnieszka's service toss, Patty driving a backhand, and after match point     It was Patty's biggest win (by rank) since a year ago in Madrid, when she defeated then #4 Jelena Jankovic, 7-6(6), 6-3, in the quarterfinals (after beating #10 Nadia Petrova in the 3rd round) before losing to #1 Dinara Safina in the semis.     Patty also defeated US Open champ (and former #1) Kim Clijsters, then ranked #18, in Luxembourg last October, 6-4 3-6 7-6(6), but had not done so well since then. *#57 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #14 s12 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-2, 6-0 Tue #15 s13 Na Li CHN d #28 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 Tue Dominika and Na driving forehands *#49 Andrea Petkovic GER d #16 s14 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-6(3), 6-3 Tue Flavia and Andrea driving forehands #17 s15 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #55 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-2, 6-1 Mon #18 s16 Nadia Petrova RUS d #29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-2, 7-5 Tue #21 Shahar Peer ISR d #27 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 7-6(4), 6-0 Tue Shahar after match point #22 Aravane Rezai FRA d #87 q Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-3, 7-5 Tue Aravane and Klara driving forehand and backhand #35 Lucie Safarova CZE d #42 Olga Govortsova BLR 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 Tue Olga and Lucie driving backhand and forehand *#81 wc Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP d #51 wc Shuai Peng CHN 1-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 Wed

Madrid, 3rd Round, Wed-Thu noon loser's prize: €27,500; points: 140 *#18 s16 Nadia Petrova RUS d #1 s1 Serena Williams USA 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Wed Nadia's service toss, Serena and Nadia driving forehand and backhand, and Nadia after match point     It was Nadia's first win over a current #1 player since 2006, when, in Madrid, she defeated then #1 Amelie Mauresmo in the round robin of the WTA Championships, 6-2, 6-2.     It was also Nadia's 2nd straight win over Serena; their previous meeting was in the 3rd round in Beijing last year, when Nadia defeated then #2 Serena, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5). Serena still leads Nadia 6-3 in career matches. #4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #17 s15 Francesca Schiavone ITA 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 Wed Venus serving, Francesca following a backhand, and Venus driving one #7 s7 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #57 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-2, 6-0 Thu     Incredibly, the wire services posted no photos of this match.     Jelena struck 14 winners with 19 unforced errors; Anabel, only 8 winners, with 25 errors. It was Jelena's 400th career singles match win, against 199 losses.     Jelena said: "I moved better and was hitting the ball much cleaner, so overall I played a much better match than I did yesterday [while defeating Ana Ivanovic in the 3rd round]. I hope to keep getting better." WTA story #8 s8 Samantha Stosur AUS d #45 Patty Schnyder SUI 7-6(3), 6-2 Thu Samantha serving, and Patty and Sam driving backhands     Samantha said: "It was even in the first set with no breaks. The key was to hold serve. I was feeling very comfortable in the second set. Schnyder is a tricky lefty who likes to hit a loopy ball and play the angles. My strategy was not to give her too many chances...     "I've played well since Indian Wells [in March]. That form just translated over to the clay. I'm enjoying my tennis, it's just one of those things. Once you start winning it doesn't matter which surface it's on, it gives you confidence... I'm feeling really good on the court and of course the confidence is growing." AFP story #15 s13 Na Li CHN d #25 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 6-4 Thu Na driving a forehand #21 Shahar Peer ISR d #81 wc Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 7-5, 6-2 Thu Arantxa's service toss, and Shahar's backhand drive #22 Aravane Rezai FRA d #49 Andrea Petkovic GER 6-4, 7-6(8) Thu Andrea's service toss, Aravane driving a forehand, and after winning a point #35 Lucie Safarova CZE d #43 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU 6(4)-7, 6-1, 7-6(6) Wed

Madrid, QFs, Fri 11am losers' prize: €57,500; points: 250 #4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #8 s8 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-3, 6-3 Venus driving a forehand, Samantha ready to slice a backhand, Venus driving one, and after match point     Samantha has yet to win a set from Venus, who now leads Sam 4-0 in career matches.     Venus said: "Sam's been playing well this season. I like to hit hard, and it looked like her game plan was to attack everything. She tried to take time away from me, but I knew I would not be pushed back. We both served and hit as hard as we could. She played well, it was a challenge for me. But I just went on autopilot at 4-3, it felt really good." AFP story *#22 Aravane Rezai FRA d #7 s7 Jelena Jankovic SRB 7-5, 6-4 Jelena's service toss, Aravane driving a backhand, and after match point *#21 Shahar Peer ISR d #15 s13 Na Li CHN 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Shahar driving a forehand, and Na and Shahar driving backhands *#35 Lucie Safarova CZE d #18 s16 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 Lucie and Nadia driving backhands, Lucie's forehand drive, and Lucie after match point     In the last 16 days, Lucie has recorded wins over #2 Caroline Wozniacki, #16 Flavia Pennetta, #9 Agnieszka Radwanska, #13 Maria Sharapova, and #18 Nadia.

Madrid, SFs, Sat noon losers' prize: €135,500; points: 450 #4 s4 Venus Williams USA d #21 Shahar Peer ISR 6-3, 6-0 Venus and Shahar driving forehands, Venus about to swat a backhand, and after match point     The score was tied at 3-3 in the 1st set, then Venus won 9 straight games to finish the match.     Venus said: "[Shahar is] a tenacious player. Very talented. Never say die spirit... I was ready for that. After those [first six] games I was able to find the corners. To play that well against a player like her, I can't complain." WTA story #22 Aravane Rezai FRA d #35 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-1 retired—left thigh injury Lucie ready to drive a backhand, and Aravane following a forehand

Madrid, Final, Sun loser's prize: €310,000; points: 700 winner's prize: €620,000; points: 1000 *#22 Aravane Rezai FRA d #4 s4 Venus Williams USA 6-2, 7-5 Aravane driving a forehand, Venus driving a backhand, Aravane ready to swat one, and after match point

Madrid, Doubles Final, Sat, 2nd night match losers' prize: €98,000 winners' prize: €196,000 cdr6 s1 Venus Williams & Serena Williams d cdr38 s8 Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 7-5 Venus (17th WTA doubles title) and Serena (18th—she won one with Alexandra Stevenson in 2002) Madrid, Qual Finals, Sat May 7 11am losers' prizes: q1 €1,050 1pt; q2 €2,170 20pts; qualifier 30 points #53 Iveta Benesova CZE d #78 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-4, 7-5 *#71 Alizé Cornet FRA d #56 Tathiana Garbin ITA 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 #62 Petra Kvitova CZE d #79 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 7-5, 6-1 #69 Stefanie Voegele SUI d #99 Anastasia Rodionova AUS 6-4, 7-6(3) #70 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d #115 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-3, 6-2 *#103 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #82 Ayumi Morita JPN 6-3, 6-2 *#188 Beatriz Garcia Vidagany ESP d #84 E Makarova RUS 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3 #87 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #95 Mariana Duque Marino COL 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 Madrid, Withdrawals #11 Kim Clijsters BEL left foot muscle tear #12 Yanina Wickmayer BEL right elbow bone spur removal surgery #30 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR left knee injury #39 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP right ankle injury #41 Virginie Razzano FRA right foot injury #47 Sabine Lisicki GER left ankle injury #68 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN right calf strain #74 Anastasija Sevastova LAT Estoril final

    The Madrid Open was a new tourney for the WTA in 2009, and one of the largest on the revised schedule. The tourney is held at a new €157.6 million venue, with 14 indoor and 16 outdoor courts.
    Three of the courts are inside a single building called La Caja Mágica (The Magic Box), with independently-retractable roofs for each of those three courts.
    Court Manolo Santana seats over 12,000 fans, Court Arantxa Sanchez Vicario seats 3194, and Court Stadium 3 seats 2730. design paintings and construction photos
    Madrid is no stranger to WTA tennis. In 2007 and 2006, the WTA Championships were held there, and up until 2003 the WTA Spanish Open was held in Madrid.

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.