WTA May 17-22: Warsaw & Strasbourg Warsaw Open, POL PREMIER $600,000 30m/32q/16d outdoor: red clay Free Live Video: 3 - 1 - 2 Live Scores - in popup window draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP pics: DL - Y!: sports - news | WTA TVP: Tennis Polish, w/ some pics Warsaw: weather radar- forecast Poland News #2 C Wozniacki, #6 E Dementieva #13 Na Li, #15 M Bartoli Internationaux de Strasbourg, FRA INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d outdoor: red clay Free Live Video: 1 Live Scores - in popup window draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP pics: DL - Y!: sports - news | WTA France news Strasbourg: sat-radar - forecast #12 M Sharapova, #34 E Vesnina #47 V Razzano, #50 S Peng

Warsaw & Strasbourg: 2009   Warsaw: 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 Strasbourg: 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Warsaw: #38 Alexandra Dulgheru 5'5½" 134lb RH 2H-BH Strasbourg: #12 Maria Sharapova 6' 2" 130lb RH 2H-BH

On Saturday in Poland, in the final of the Warsaw Open, the defending Warsaw champion, unseeded 20-year-old #38 Alexandra Dulgheru from Bucharest, Romania, won again, by defeating a semifinalist at this year's Australian Open (and at Wimbledon in 2008), 26-year-old 5th-seeded #25 Jie Zheng from Cheng Du, Si Chuan, China, 6-3, 6-4 (Alexandra is shown after match point).     Alexandra's prize is $98,500; Jie's is $52,500.     Alexandra said: "I felt good from the beginning, but Zheng is a very good player and I had to focus on every point. It's a special feeling to win here. Besides the tactics and strategies, the nice feelings I get here also helped me win today.     "I'll have more confidence going into the French Open, but I'm a bit tired now! It's important for me to rest and recover in the next few days and get ready." WTA story     Jie said: "[Alexandra] changed the rhythm to make it difficult for me. I had my chances in the second set, but I didn't take them.     "I feel very good about this tournament. I was in the doubles final last year and the singles final this year. Now I'm just looking forward to my first round match at Roland Garros."     Alexandra and Jie had never before met on the field of combat.     Alexandra is now 2-0 in WTA singles finals; she won her only previous WTA singles final one year ago in Warsaw. She has also won 4 ITF singles titles and 3 ITF doubles titles. Alexandra has a 18-13 match record in 2010.     Jie is now 3-2 in WTA singles finals; this was the first final she had reached since she won in Stockholm in 2006 (where some guy named "Borg" handed her the trophy). She also won in Estoril that year, and in Hobart in 2005. Jie has a 15-9 match record this season.

    Meanwhile in France, in the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg, this year's champion in Memphis (and 3-time Grand Slam tourney champ) 23-year-old top-seeded #12 (and former #1) Maria Sharapova of Russia (with residences in Manhattan Beach, California & Bradenton, Florida) defeated 28-year-old unseeded #77 Kristina Barrois from Urexweiler, Germany, 7-5, 6-1 (Maria is also shown after match point).

    Maria's prize is $37,000; Kristina's is $19,000.

    Kristina broke Maria's serve early in the 1st set, and held the lead until the score reached 5-4. Then Maria broke back, and won 9 of the next 10 games to take the match.

    Maria said: "Kristina changed it up a lot. Her backhand was more old school, with 90% of the shots low, so I really had to bend my knees. I had one sloppy game where I made a few unforced errors and that gave her the chance to go a break up. When she was serving for the set at 4-5 I managed to hang in there, and after that I felt my level went up a little bit. In the end, it was just a combination of doing a few things better than she was...
    "I'm looking forward to Roland Garros. It's obviously the most challenging of the Grand Slams for me, but I've done well there before." WTA story

    Kristina said: "It was a good tournament, no matter what happened today. I had my chances in the first set but couldn't win it, and then [Maria] put so much pressure on me.
    "It's good to have so many matches on clay just before the French. Hopefully I play the same there like I did here."

    Maria and Kristina, too, had never before met in pro singles.

    2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open, and 2008 Australian Open champion Maria is now 22-8 in WTA singles finals. Due to right shoulder rotator cuff tendon tears, she played only one match (a doubles match) between August, 2008, and May, 2009. She has said that her shoulder has completely healed, and she has changed both her racquet and her service motion to avoid further shoulder injuries. However, she incurred a right elbow bone bruise at Indian Wells in March, and that kept her sidelined until last week, when she lost to Lucie Safarova in the 1st round in Madrid. Maria has an 11-3 match record this season.
    Kristina was playing in her first WTA singles final. She has won 13 ITF singles titles and 8 ITF doubles titles. Kristina has a 13-12 singles match record this year.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Warsaw & Strasbourg s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Warsaw Open,  Warsaw, Poland   tourney time:        = GMT +2 hours        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours Poland News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Warsaw: The 32-player main draw for Warsaw has 8 seeds, with 2 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   Legia Sports Club, Warsaw Latitude: 52.220623 Longitude: 21.038389 goto link for World Wind Warsaw Open venue address: Legia Sports Club, Łazienkowska 3, Warsaw, Poland 2010: On Saturday, May 15, in Warsaw, top seed Caroline Wozniacki, Aleksandra Wozniak, and Marion Bartoli were player reps at the main draw ceremony... on Monday, Elena Dementieva and Na Li once again alerted the media at the All Access Hour...

Warsaw, 1st Rnd, Mon-Tue 11am WTA Mon story loser's prize: $4,300 US; points: 1 Monday: schedule not completed due to rain #13 s3 Na Li CHN d #80 Iona Raluca Olaru ROU 7-6(4), 6-0 Tue Iona Raluca and Na driving backhand and forehand *#88 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #15 s4 Marion Bartoli FRA 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 Tue Klara following a backhand, and Marion reaching for a high ball with her backhand-grip forehand #25 s5 Jie Zheng CHN d #41 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 ppd-Tue #26 s6 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #57 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-3, 6-1 Mon Roberta and Alona driving forehands *#38 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #32 s7 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 6-1 Mon Kateryna and Alexandra following backhands     About the rainy weather, Alexandra said: "The conditions were tough—the balls were getting very heavy, and when we hit hard it seemed like they were digging holes into the court.     "Kateryna has been injured, but I thought she played some great points, and so I'm very glad to have this win." *#52 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #37 s8 Melanie Oudin USA 6-0. 6-2 ppd-Tue #39 Sara Errani ITA d #113 q Bojana Jovanovski SRB 6-1, 6-0 Tue #44 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #207 q Irina Begu ROU 6-0, 6-2 Tue *#101 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #45 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-4, 6-1 Tue Tsvetana driving a backhand, and Aleksandra following one #53 Polona Hercog SLO d #63 Angelique Kerber GER 6-2, 6-3 ppd-Tue *#56 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #55 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-3, 6-4 Tue *#202 q Greta Arn HUN d #66 Petra Martic CRO 7-5, 6(5)-7, 6-3 Tue Petra and Greta driving backhands #71 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #610 LL Andreja Klepac SLO 6-3, 6-1 Tue *#332 wc Katarzyna Piter POL d #157 wc Marta Domachowska POL 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5 Mon-rain-Tue Marta driving a forehand, and Katarzyna following one

Warsaw, 2nd Round, Wed 11am losers' prize: $8,000 US; points: 60 #2 s1 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #53 Polona Hercog SLO 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 Caroline tossing the ball for her serve, and ready to swat a backhand *#101 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #6 s2 Elena Dementieva RUS 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 Elena following a forehand, Tsvetana driving a backhand, and after match point     It was Tsvetana's biggest win since she defeated then #3 Ana Ivanovic in the 2nd round in Rome in 2008, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.     Tsvetana said: "I wouldn't call playing the qualifications an advantage. Of course, I'm used to the courts, to the surface, but on the other hand, during the third set today I was exhausted." #13 s3 Na Li CHN d #332 wc Katarzyna Piter POL 6-0, 6-3 Na and Katarzyna following backhand and forehand #25 s5 Jie Zheng CHN d #56 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-1, 6-1 #26 s6 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #71 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 6-2, 6-4 #38 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #44 Timea Bacsinszky SUI 6-2, 6-4 Alexandra's forehand drive #39 Sara Errani ITA d #52 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 7-6(7), 6-3 *#202 q Greta Arn HUN d #88 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-4, 6-4

Warsaw, QFs, Thu 11am losers' prize: $15,100 US; points: 120 *#25 s5 Jie Zheng CHN d #2 s1 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-3 retired—right ankle injury Jie serving, Caroline serving, Jie following a forehand, and the physio taking a look at Caroline's right ankle     Caroline sprained her right ankle in the semifinals in Charleston on April 17, and has gone 2-4 since then, with losses to Lucie Safarova, Maria José Martinez Sanchez, and Alona Bondarenko. She is playing with her ankle taped.     Caroline said: "I sprained my ankle in Charleston and it has been bothering me since then. I felt some pain from the beginning of the match today. I spoke to the physio and she said it would only get worse.     "I'm really sad. I wanted to win this match. I wanted to win the whole tournament. But health is the most important thing, and I didn't want to risk having a worse injury." WTA story     About the upcoming French Open, Caroline said: "I have to talk to the doctor and see what we can do with this injury. My ankle was taped really well today and I still felt some pain, so I don't know. I hope I can play."     Jie knows about ankle injuries; she missed much of the 2007 season due to one, and now, almost three years later, still plays with a brace on her left ankle. Jie said: "I knew [Caroline] had a problem with her ankle yesterday. My coach told me I should forget about it, though, and just concentrate on myself. I feel lucky to make the semifinals here, but I wish we could have finished our match today." #13 s3 Na Li CHN d #39 Sara Errani ITA 6-2, 6-1 Na driving a forehand, and Sara and Na following backhands     Na had defeated Sara in the 1st round in Stuttgart on April 27 by a similar score, 6-1, 6-1. Na said: "I just played [Sara] in Stuttgart, but my coach told me this morning the court here is very different from there. I just had to concentrate on every point and I did that. I played consistently." *#202 q Greta Arn HUN d #26 s6 Alona Bondarenko UKR 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 #38 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #101 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-4, 7-5 Tsvetana volleying a forehand, and Alexandra running one down

Warsaw, SFs, Fri 11am WTA story losers' prize: $28,100 US; points: 200 *#38 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #13 s3 Na Li CHN 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Alexandra driving a forehand, Na and Alexandra driving backhands, and Alexandra after match point     Alexandra said: "I was trying to change [Na's] rhythm a bit and play different shots. I got a little bit tired at the end of the second set, but I just tried to hang in there in the third. I really didn't think I'd win until the last point of the match." #25 s5 Jie Zheng CHN d #202 q Greta Arn HUN 6-4, 7-5 Jie's forehand drive, and Greta and Jie driving backhands     Jie said: "I'm happy about my performance here this week. On clay, every point takes longer than other surfaces. It's more demanding to concentrate mentally and it's harder physically too. My results this week are good for building up to my French Open."

Warsaw, Final, Sat 11:45am loser's prize: $52,500 US; points: 320 winner's prize: $98,500 US; points: 470 *#38 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #25 s5 Jie Zheng CHN 6-3, 6-4 Alexandra and Jie driving forehands, Alexandra driving a backhand, and after match point

Warsaw, Doubles Final, Sat losers' prize: $16,500 US winners' prize: $31,000 US *Virginia Ruano Pascual & Meghann Shaughnessy d cdr17 s1 Cara Black & Zi Yan 6-3, 6-4 Meghann (16th WTA doubles title) and Vivi (43rd), their first title as a team Warsaw, Qual Finals, Mon May 17 11am losers' prizes: q1 $660 1pt; q2 $1,230 8pts; q3 $2,300 12pts; qualifier 20 points *#113 Bojana Jovanovski SRB d #93 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 7-5, 7-6(4) #101 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #216 Lesva Tsurenko UKR 6-1, 7-5 *#202 Greta Arn HUN d #102 Anne Keothavong GBR 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 #207 Irina Begu ROU d #610 Andreja Klepac SLO 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 Warsaw, Withdrawals #49 Sabine Lisicki GER left ankle injury #58 Melinda Czink HUN left shoulder injury #67 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN right calf strain

Internationaux de Strasbourg,  Strasbourg, France   tourney time:        = GMT +2 hours        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours France News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Strasbourg: The 32-player main draw for Strasbourg 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 broader view   Centre Sportif de Hautepierre Latitude: 48.599033 Longitude: 7.691063 goto link for World Wind Internationaux de Strasbourg venue address: Centre Sportif de Hautepierre, Rue Baden Powell, F-67200, Strasbourg, France 2010: On Sunday, May 16, in Strasbourg, Virginie Razzano, Alizé Cornet, Elena Baltacha and Elena Vesnina were player reps for the main draw ceremony... Alizé was shot while listening to piano music at the draw... Viginie paid a visit to the tourney VIP Village...

Strasbourg, 1st Round, Mon-Tue 11am WTA Mon story loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 #12 s1 wc Maria Sharapova RUS d #68 Regina Kulikova RUS 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 Mon Maria tossing the ball for her serve, and about to lightly tap a forehand     It was Maria's second match since March, when she was sidelined by a right elbow bone bruise. Last week in Madrid, in her first match after the injury, Maria lost to Lucie Safarova in the 1st round, 6-4, 6-3.     Maria said: "I played a pretty good opponent today. I was put in a situation where I had to come through when my opponent was playing well.     "Regina has a similar game to mine—big first serve, hits pretty big and attacks—I played well enough to win. It was a high quality match, especially for a first round." *#74 Vania King USA d #34 s2 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-4, 6-1 Mon *#62 s8 Elena Baltacha GBR d #35 q Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-3, 7-5 Tue #47 s3 wc Virginie Razzano FRA d #89 Kai-Chen Chang TPE 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Tue #54 s5 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #83 Sandra Zahlavova CZE 6-1, 6-0 Tue #59 s6 Sybille Bammer AUT d #94 wc Pauline Parmentier FRA 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 Tue #60 s7 Anastasija Sevastova LAT d #99 q Mariana Duque Marino COL 6-1, 6-1 Tue #70 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #91 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 6-1 Tue #73 Alizé Cornet FRA d #84 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-3, 6-3 Mon *#248 wc Kristina Mladenovic FRA d #75 Stephanie Voegele SUI 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(5) Tue #77 Kristina Barrois GER d #205 LL Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(8) Tue #78 Lucie Hradecka CZE d #82 Julie Coin FRA 7-5, 6-2 Tue *#90 Yvonne Meusburger AUT d #79 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-4, 6-3 Tue #81 Julia Goerges GER d #114 q Maria Elena Camerin ITA 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 Tue *#96 Anastasia Rodionova AUS d #85 Ayumi Morita JPN 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 Mon *#264 q Dia Evtimova BUL d #86 Tatjana Malek GER 6-4, 7-5 Tue

Strasbourg, 2nd Round, Wed 10am WTA story loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30 #12 s1 wc Maria Sharapova RUS d #264 q Dia Evtimova BUL 6-3, 6-0 Maria volleying a forehand     Maria said: "I served much better today [than on Monday] and returned better too. I'm happy to get the win today against a player I didn't know, and who had already played four matches here in Strasbourg."     About playing Julia Goerges in the quarterfinals, Maria said: "I'll need to be solid in my next match. She's a player who is improving all the time, but I'll focus on my own game and hope to have five matches here." *#70 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #47 s3 wc Virginie Razzano FRA 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 #54 s5 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #78 Lucie Hradecka CZE 6-4, 3-0 retired—left wrist injury Anabel after winning a point *#81 Julia Goerges GER d #59 s6 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-1, 7-6(6) #60 s7 Anastasija Sevastova LAT d #248 wc Kristina Mladenovic FRA 6-1, 6-2 *#96 Anastasia Rodionova AUS d #62 s8 Elena Baltacha GBR 1-2 retired—low back injury     Elena said: "It's very frustrating. I woke up this morning and straight away I knew there was a problem. I gave it a go but there was no way I could continue. The good news is I've give five or six days to recover and when I've had this problem in the past that has been enough. I'm pretty optimistic about Roland Garros." *#74 Vania King USA d #73 Alizé Cornet FRA 6-3, 6-2 Vania serving #77 Kristina Barrois GER d #90 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 7-5, 6-3

Strasbourg, QFs, Thu 11am loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70 Thursday: rain delayed start of play & stopped play with schedule unfinished #12 s1 wc Maria Sharapova RUS d #81 Julia Goerges GER 7-6(2), 6-1 Thu-rain-Fri #54 s5 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #70 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-2, 7-5 Thu-rain-Fri *#77 Kristina Barrois GER d #60 s7 Anastasija Sevastova LAT 6-1, 7-5 #74 Vania King USA d #96 Anastasia Rodionova AUS 6-4, 7-5

Strasbourg, SFs, Fri 2pm loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130 #12 s1 wc Maria Sharapova RUS d #54 s5 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 *#77 Kristina Barrois GER d #74 Vania King USA 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(6)

Strasbourg, Final, Sat 2pm after doubles loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 #12 s1 wc Maria Sharapova RUS d #77 Kristina Barrois GER 7-5, 6-1 Maria driving a forehand, Kristina volleying a backhand, Maria driving one, and after match point

Strasbourg, Doubles Final, Sat 11:30am loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US *Alizé Cornet & Vania King d cdr77 s2 Alla Kudryavtseva & Anastasia Rodionova 3-6, 6-4, (10-7) Strasbourg, Qual Finals, Mon May 17 11am losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points #35 Sorana Cirstea ROU d #263 Ana Jovanovic SRB 7-6(5), 6-1 #99 Mariana Duque Marino COL d #275 Anne Kremer GBR 6-4, 6-2 #114 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #205 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-3, 6-0 *#264 Dia Evtimova BUL d #174 Naomi Cavaday GBR 6-4, 6-4 Strasbourg, Withdrawals #50 s4 Shuai Peng CHN dizziness #64 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA elbow injury #76 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER left foot injury #108 Karolina Sprem CRO illness

    (Apr 3, 2009) The Warsaw Open venue has been changed from the Warszawianka Sports Club, where the previous J&S Cup was held, to the Legia Sports Club. story - English via Google

    (Mar 16-26, 2009) The WTA Warsaw Open reportedly has found sufficient financing, according to a Polish member of Tennis Forum. Earlier Polish press reports (English via Google) had stated that as of early March the Warsaw Open (May 18-24) had raised only 1/3 of the $1.5 million that they need in sponsor money, and that the rest must be found by the end of March.
    Now the Polish TV channel Polsat has reportedly bought the rights to broadcast the tourney, and is contributing 85% of the necessary sponsorship funds.
    The Warsaw Open, not on the calendar in 2008, was originally scheduled as a $220,000 International tourney this year, but was promoted to a $600,000 Premier tourney after the demise of the Berlin German Open, also due to lack of sponsor funds.

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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.

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