WTA Apr 4-10: Charleston & Marbella Family Circle Cup, Charleston, SC PREMIER 700 $721,000 56m/32q/16d outdoor: green clay Har-Tru Free Live Video (popup) Live Scores - in popup window draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP pics: DL - Y!: sports - news | WTA - P&C RadioTennis | Post & Courier: FCC Charleston: radar - forecast #1 C Wozniacki, #5 S Stosur #7 J Jankovic, #10 M Bartoli Andalucia Tennis Experience Marbella, ESP | outdoor: red clay INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d Free Live Video (popup) Live Scores - in popup window draws: WTA Q - main - D - OOP pics: DL - Y!: sports - news | WTA audio clips - Marbella: radar - forecast #8 V Azarenka, #15 S Kuznetsova #24 A Rezai, #28 A Dulgheru

Charleston: 2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004   Marbella: 2010 - 2009 previous other tourney pages next Marbella: #8 Victoria Azarenka 5'10" 132lb RH 2H-BH Charleston: #1 Caroline Wozniacki 5' 10" 128lb RH 2H-BH

On Sunday at Daniel Island, Charleston, South Carolina, in the final of the 2011 Family Circle Cup, last month's champion at Indian Wells (and this year's champ at Dubai), 20-year-old top seeded #1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), defeated the 2010 finalist at Tashkent and Istanbul, 24-year-old unseeded #56 (career high: #22) Elena Vesnina from Sochi, Russia, 6-2, 6-3 (Caroline is shown holding the glassware after the match).     Caroline's prize is $111,000; Elena's is $57,350.     Caroline hit 26 winners, including 6 aces, with only 10 unforced errors, including no double faults; Elena struck 33 winners (1 ace), but with 29 errors (1 DF).     Caroline scored on 3 of the 10 break points she reached against Elena, while Elena could not convert any of her 4 break points against Caroline.     Caro totaled 74 points in the match; Elena, 57.     Elena said: "Sometimes you feel like [Caroline is] everywhere on the court... She's using pace. She's using the whole court and she's playing smart tennis." AP story - WTA story     Asked about her chances at this year's French Open, Caroline said: "I feel confident and I know I can win a Slam... It's all about getting everything together. The draw has to fit, I have to play well for two weeks, things like that all have to work together."     2009 US Open finalist Caroline is now 15-9 in WTA singles finals; she won in February at Dubai, in March at Indian Wells, and last year at Beijing, Tokyo, New Haven, Montreal, Copenhagen, and Ponte Vedra Beach. Caroline has a 26-4 singles match record this season.

    Elena is now 0-5 in WTA singles finals; this is an uncomfortable situation, but Francesca Schiavone lost her first 8 finals before winning at Bad Gastein in 2007, at Moscow two years later, and at Barcelona and Roland Garros last year. Elena reached her finals last year at Istanbul and Tashkent, and in 2009 at Auckland and New Haven. Elena has won 4 WTA doubles titles (including the big Indian Wells title last month, partnered with Sania Mirza), 2 ITF singles titles, and 6 ITF doubles titles. Elena has a 11-9 singles match record in 2011.

    Caroline and Jelena played the first semifinal on Saturday; Elena and Shuai the later SF, and after the singles Elena (partnered with Sania Mirza) and Shuai (partnered with Jie Zheng) were both scheduled to play in a doubles semifinal.
    It would not be unusual for a player with a singles final coming up to withdraw from the doubles in such a situation, but at about 6:15pm on Saturday, Elena tweeted: "Hi guys! I am so happy to have won my match against Shuai Peng, my serve helped a lot! Now getting all taped before doubles :))" Elena Vesnina at Twitter
    Elena and Sania defeated Shuai and Jie 6-2, 7-5, and after the singles final on Sunday, Elena and Sania defeated Meghann Shaughnessy and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the doubles final, 6-4, 6-4.

    After the doubles final, Elena said: "I'm not going to touch the racquet for seven days. I'm going to take a week off at least. I'll get treatment and massage and relax, to get the tennis off my mind." WTA story

    Sania tweeted: "Weee woonnnnnn the tournament:) Lots of tennis, lots of recovery, lots of massages and lots of taping... had a great week here thank u all for the wishes, support and love!" Sania Mirza at Twitter

    In Marbella, Spain on Sunday, in the final of the Andalucia Tennis Experience, last week's champion in Miami (and the 2010 champion in Moscow), 21-year-old top seeded #8 (#6 this week, but the previous week's ranks are listed on these pages because they were used for the tourney draw; career-high: #6) Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (residence: Scottsdale, Arizona), defeated qualifier #137 (career high: #137) Irina-Camelia Begu from Bucharest, Romania, 6-3, 6-2 (Victoria is shown with the hardware after the match).

    Vika's prize is $37,000; Irina-Camelia's is $19,000.

    The win will put Victoria at #5 in Monday's WTA rankings, the highest rank of her career, and move Irina-Camelia into the top 100 for the first time. Irina-Camelia reached the final by winning the biggest victory of her career on Saturday, defeating the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open champion, 25-year-old 2nd seeded #15 (career-high: #2) Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4.

    Victoria and Irina-Camelia had never before met on the field of combat. Victoria said: "[Irina-Camelia] has a very good game, especially for clay. She has a big serve too. If she keeps going like this she can bring some big results...
    "It was unusual to go from Miami on hardcourts to here on clay and do so well. I'm more than pleased with the experience. It was important just to keep my mind fresh and do the same things I did in Miami. I used to practice here when I was 14, so coming here brings me back—I love it here. WTA story

    Irina-Camelia said: "Victoria is playing great tennis. Coming from the qualifying and playing three hours yesterday was a bit tough, but I'm happy with my week. My goal this year was to be top 100, so now I'm hoping for top 50."

    Victoria is now 7-6 in WTA singles finals. She won her first three titles in 2009; in 2010 she defeated Maria Sharapova in the Stanford final, and Maria Kirilenko in the Moscow final, and a week ago she defeated Maria Sharapova to win the Miami title for a second time. Vika has a 20-5 singles match record in 2011, and has won her last 11 matches in a row.

    Irina-Camelia was playing in her first WTA singles final—in fact, prior to this tourney, she had never won a main draw match on the WTA Tour. She has won 7 ITF singles titles and 14 ITF doubles titles. Irina-Camelia has a 18-3 singles match record in 2011, and is 16-2 this year on red clay.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Charleston & Marbella s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? The Family Circle Cup  Charleston, South Carolina   NWS weather radar tourney time:        = GMT -4 hours        = US EDT        = US PDT +3 hours Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar   click for broader view   Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island Latitude: 32.862241 Long.: -79.902041 goto link for World Wind     Charleston: The 56 player main draw for Charleston has 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes. There are 8 qualifiers and 5 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying (2 rounds) is on Saturday & Sunday. Main draw play begins on Monday at 10am.     The Family Circle Cup, one of the longest-running WTA-only events in the US, was held at Hilton Head until the Family Circle Tennis Center was opened in the spring of 2001. A 32-acre facility with a 10,200 seat stadium, the Family Circle Tennis Center has 13 green clay (Har-Tru) and 4 hard courts, all lighted for night play. A 10,000 square foot clubhouse also serves as the corporate headquarters for the Family Circle Cup. The FCTC was built with public help at a cost of $15 million. 2011: Darned good looking healthy young ladies at the players party on Sunday night at the NV Dance Lounge at Henry's House in Charleston included Maria Kirilenko & Elena Vesnina, Jie Zheng, 2009 FCC champion Sabine Lisicki, Caroline Wozniacki, Olga Govortsova & 2007 tourney champ Jelena Jankovic, row 2: 2010 Charleston champ Samantha Stosur, Vera Dushevina, Maria Kirilenko (again) & Julia Goerges, Eva Birnerova, Stephanie Foretz Gacon & Edina Gallovits-Hall, Chanelle Scheepers, Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears, and Zi Yan & Shuai Zhang...

Charleston, 1st Round, Mon-Tue 10am loser's prize: $2,025 US; points: 1 Tuesday: rain delayed start of play until noon #27 s9 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #82 Varvara Lepchenko USA 6-4, 6-0 Tue Maria about to swat a forehand #30 s10 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #68 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-1, 7-6(3) Tue Daniela's backhand drive #32 s11 Shuai Peng CHN d #192 q Sloane Stephens USA 6-2, 6-1 Mon #35 s12 Julia Goerges GER d #87 Olga Govortsova BLR 7-5, 6-4 Mon *#81 Chanelle Scheepers RSA d #41 s13 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-4, 6-4 Mon Chanelle and Patty driving forehand and backhand #43 s14 Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA d #263 q Alexandra Stevenson USA 6-2, 6-1 Mon #50 s15 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #93 Andrea Hlavackova CZE 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(6) Tue *#109 Vania King USA d #53 s16 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-4, 7-6(7) Mon Vania after match point #56 Elena Vesnina RUS d #58 Rebecca Marino CAN 6(4)-7, 6-2, 6-3 Mon On Saturday in Charleston, Elena had some fun with Umka, "the most active dog in the world..." Elena at Twitter At the player party on Sunday, Maria Kirilenko posed with Elena for another "twitter pic" to upload #57 Ayumi Morita JPN d #96 Mirjana Lucic CRO 6-2, 6-4 Mon Ayumi driving a backhand #59 Jie Zheng CHN d #379 q Monica Puig PUR 3-6, 7-6(10), 7-5 Mon *#125 q Anna Tatishvili GEO d #64 Jelena Dokic AUS 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 Tue *#74 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #65 Alize Cornet FRA 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 Mon *#131 q Irina Falconi USA d #67 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 7-6(9), 7-5 Mon #72 Anastasia Rodionova AUS d #83 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 Mon *#89 Tamira Paszek AUT d #75 Melanie Oudin USA 6-1, 7-5 Tue Melanie serving, and Tamira after match point #76 Evgenia Rodina RUS d #106 Petra Martic CRO 6-4, 6-1 Mon *#108 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner AUT d #77 Shuai Zhang CHN 6-1, 6-4 Tue *#217 wc Sabine Lisicki GER d #92 Renata Voracova CZE 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Tue 2009 Charleston champ Sabine after the match #98 wc Christina McHale USA d #123 q Heather Watson GBR 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3) Mon #99 q Sania Mirza IND d #119 Alison Riske USA 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 Mon #105 Edina Gallovits-Hall ROU d #127 wc Jamie Hampton USA 7-6(1), 7-5 Tue #112 Jill Craybas USA d #325 wc Shelby Rogers USA 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 Mon #136 q Eva Birnerova CZE d #469 sr Melinda Czink HUN 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 Mon

Charleston, 2nd Round, Tue-Wed 10am loser's prize: $4,000 US; points: 40 #1 s1 wc Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #131 q Irina Falconi USA 6-1, 6-1 Wed Caro after match point #5 s2 Samantha Stosur AUS d #108 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner AUT 6-1, 6-2 Wed Samantha's forehand drive #7 s3 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #89 Tamira Paszek AUT 6-2, 6-3 Wed Jelena driving a forehand *#217 wc Sabine Lisicki GER d #10 s4 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-2, 6-3 Wed #11 s5 Shahar Peer ISR d #74 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-1, 6-3 Tue #20 s6 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #59 Jie Zheng CHN 6-4, 6-0 Tue #22 s7 Nadia Petrova RUS d #105 Edina Gallovits-Hall ROU 6-1, 6-1 Wed Nadia driving a backhand *#98 wc Christina McHale USA d #26 s8 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 6-1, 6-0 Tue *#125 q Anna Tatishvili GEO d #27 s9 Maria Kirilenko RUS 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 Wed #30 s10 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #76 Evgenia Rodina RUS 6-0, 6-1 Wed Daniela about to swat a forehand #32 s11 Shuai Peng CHN d #57 Ayumi Morita JPN 6-2, 6-1 Tue #35 s12 Julia Goerges GER d #136 q Eva Birnerova CZE 1-6, 7-5, 2-0 retired—right ankle injury Tue *#56 Elena Vesnina RUS d #43 s14 Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA 6-4, 7-6(6) Wed #50 s15 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #72 Anastasia Rodionova AUS 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 Wed #81 Chanelle Scheepers RSA d #112 Jill Craybas USA 6-3, 6-2 Tue #99 q Sania Mirza IND d #109 Vania King USA 6(6)-7, 6-4, 6-2 Tue

Charleston, 3rd Round, Thu 11am ESPN2-TV & Eurosport WTA story loser's prize: $7,850 US; points: 60 #1 s1 wc Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #50 s15 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 7-6(6), 7-6(9) Caroline and Barbora driving forehand and backhand, and Caro ready to swat another forehand     Caroline said: "I had a good start to the first set. I had chances in every game to finish off the set easily, but I missed a few shots and she was suddenly back in the game.     "[Barbora is] a fighter. She is a tricky opponent because you never know what to expect. She serves and volleys, then she plays high, then she just goes for it. It was difficult today. I'm happy to have pulled it through."     Barbora said: "These matches are difficult because she's #1. I had set point in the first and the second set, and if you don't win these points, it's tough to win these matches. I played pretty good and I didn't make it, so it hurts a lot." *#56 Elena Vesnina RUS d #5 s2 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-4, 6-1 Elena about to serve, Samantha driving a backhand, Elena volleying a forehand, and after match point     It is Elena's first ever win over a top 5 player. Her previous best win was over then #7 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 2nd round in Dubai in 2009.     Despite windy conditions, Elena fired 5 aces with only 1 double fault while placing 70% of her 1st serves in the box; Samantha hit 4 aces, with 4 DFs, while making 61% of her 1st serves good.     Elena scored on 4 of the 10 break points she reached against Samantha, Sam converted only 1 of 5 break points against Elena. Elena totaled 69 points in the match; Samantha, 55.     Elena tweeted: "It's always tough to play against Sam. She is a great player and very nice girl! It was a bit windy today on stadium court, so we both were struggling a bit on our serve." Elena Vesnina at Twitter     Samantha said: "A lot of things went wrong for me, unfortunately. Elena played quite well. She served well and hit the ball well, and I wasn't able to really do anything to negate her hitting the ball low and flat and kind of rushing me during the points. I started well, then lost serve and the wheels kind of fell off." #7 s3 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #81 Chanelle Scheepers RSA 6-2, 6-2 Jelena serving, Chanelle following a running backhand, and Jelena driving a forehand *#35 s12 Julia Goerges GER d #11 s5 Shahar Peer ISR 6-2, 6-3 Julia driving a forehand, Shahar's backhand, and Julia ready to drive one #20 s6 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #125 q Anna Tatishvili GEO 6-4, 7-5 Anna driving a forehand, and Yanina ready to fire one *#32 s11 Shuai Peng CHN d #22 s7 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 Shuai's 2-handed forehand (with backhand grip, like Bartoli), and Nadia about to launch a backhand *#98 wc Christina McHale USA d #30 s10 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 7-6(3), 6-1 Daniela and Christina driving backhands #99 q Sania Mirza IND d #217 wc Sabine Lisicki GER 6-4, 6-4 Sabine and Sania driving forehand and backhand

Charleston, QFs, Fri 1pm ESPN2-TV & Eurosport WTA story - AP story loser's prize: $15,200 US; points: 120 #1 s1 wc Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #20 s6 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 Yanina and Caroline following forehand and backhand     Caroline did well on 1st serve, firing 7 aces with no double faults and placing 76% in the box while winning 67% of those points. Yanina hit 4 aces, with 4 DFs, while making 72% of her 1st serves good and winning 59% of those points. Caroline converted 5 of the 14 break points she reached against Yanina; Yanina scored on 4 of the 10 break points she reached against Caro. Caroline scored 105 points in the match; Yanina, 95.     Caroline said: "Yanina played very well today. She was cracking winners from left and right. I knew I had to change something. If you're down, you need to. I decided to go for my shots and stay aggressive, and if I lost that way, okay, it's just too good from her today. I knew I would get one chance and that I had to take that one. I did and it turned out in my favor, so I'm very happy." #7 s3 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #98 wc Christina McHale USA 6-2, 6-0 Jelena and Christina driving forehand and backhand, and Jelena looking to slice a backhand     Jelena scored on 5 of the 11 break points she reached against Christina and totaled 66 points in the match. Although Christina reached break point against Jelena 5 times, she was unable to cnvert any of those opportunities; Christina totaled 44 points in the match.     Jelena said: "The score looked pretty easy today, but the match was a lot tougher. [Christina] played really well. She has a great serve and a pretty big forehand. Maybe I was better on the important points, especially at the start of the match. I took two long games and from then on I had the momentum. But she plays very well and she's going to be a very good player in the future."     Jelena will play #1 Caroline Wozniacki in the Charleston semifinals on Saturday. Jelena leads Caroline 4-1 in career matches. However, Caroline's win came the last time that they played, in March of this year on a Deco-Turf hardcourt in the semifinals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when Caro defeated Jelena 7-5, 6-3. The most recent of Jelena's four wins over Caroline came last year on a Plexipave hardcourt in the final at Indian Wells, when Jelena defeated Caro 6-2, 6-4. They have never before met on clay of any color.     Jelena said: "We've never played each other on clay. Obviously we know each other's games very well, but I want to play my tennis. I want to continue to do the things I do best, and not really let [Caroline] do what she likes to do best." #32 s11 Shuai Peng CHN d #99 q Sania Mirza IND 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 Shuai driving a forehand, Sania about to swat one, and Shuai ready to hit balls to the crowd after match point #56 Elena Vesnina RUS d #35 s12 Julia Goerges GER 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 Julia driving a backhand, and Elena launching a forehand on the run

Charleston, SFs, Sat 1pm ESPN2-TV & Eurosport loser's prize: $29,205 US; points: 200 #1 s1 wc Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #7 s3 Jelena Jankovic SRB 6-4, 6-4 Caroline and Jelena driving backhand and forehand, Caroline running down a forehand, and after match point     Both players stuggled to hold serve in the 1st set, with Caroline scoring on 4 of the 7 break points she reached against Jelena, and Jelena converting 3 of 4 break points against Caroline. In the 2nd set Caroline reached break point against Jelena only once, and scored on that opportunity, while Jelena failed to score on two break points against Caroline. Caro totaled 71 points in the match; JJ, 58.     Jelena said: "I had a lot of chances in the first set. I was up a break a few times and I never held serve. That was kind of the key. At the same time, I missed some balls that were kind of crucial, on some important points. But that's tennis. I fought hard and played the best I could. [Caroline] was more solid." WTA story     Caroline said: "I had to be aggressive and hit it deep because [Jelena] is such a good fighter... I think we were pretty even." AP story *#56 Elena Vesnina RUS d #32 s11 Shuai Peng CHN 7-6(4), 6-3 Elena and Shuai driving forehand and backhand, Elena driving a backhand, and after match point     Elena fired one ace, with two double faults; Shuai delivered 3 aces, with no DFs. Elena scored on 4 of the 8 break points she held against Shuai; Shuai converted 3 of 12 break points against Elena. Elena totaled 81 points in the match; Shuai, 74.     Elena said: "Four weeks ago I thought I wouldn't be able to play here. I had a serious wrist injury. Then I did treatment—Vera Zvonareva helped me a lot with that, she had this trouble before. It started to feel much better. Then Sania Mirza and I won Indian Wells, and I said I just need to enjoy my time on court, because when you have an injury and don't play it's like your life is on pause."     Elena will play Caroline Wozniacki in the Charleston final on Sunday. Caroline leads Elena 4-1 in career matches, and has won their last three meetings, including their only two encounters on clay (both times on green clay). Their most recent meeting was last year in the semifinals at Ponte Vedra Beach, on Har-Tru green clay, when Caro edged out Elena 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4. A year earlier at Ponte Vedra, on the same court, in the same round, Caro won by a similar score, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4).     Elena said: "Caroline is #1 in the world and she's playing really well. She's a great player and a sweet girl. I've played her a few times and two of those matches were really close, and I won one time, so I know her game pretty well. It depends how I feel and how she plays. I'll think about my gameplan tonight."

Charleston, Final, Sun 1pm ESPN2-TV & Eurosport loser's prize: $57,350 US; points: 320 winner's prize: $111,000 US; points: 470 #1 s1 wc Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #56 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-2, 6-3 Caroline and Elena driving forehand and backhand, Caro delivering another forehand, and after match point

Charleston, Doubles Final, Sun after singles & rest losers' prize: $19,000 US winners' prize: $35,500 US *Sania Mirza & Elena Vesnina d cdr27 s2 Meghann Shaughnessy & Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 6-4 Sania (11th WTA doubles title) and Elena (5th WTA doubles title) Charleston, Qual Finals, Sun Apr 3 10am losers' prizes: q1 $535 1pt; q2 $1,035 8pts; qualifier 12 points *#263 Alexandra Stevenson USA d #90 Coco Vandeweghe USA 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 #99 Sania Mirza IND d #144 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-4, 6-3 #123 Heather Watson GBR d #212 Lenka Wienerova SVK 6-1, 7-6(2) #125 Anna Tatishvili GEO d #194 Tetiana Luzhanska UKR 6-2, 6-2 #131 Irina Falconi USA d #147 Stephanie Foretz Gacon FRA 7-6(5), 7-5 #136 Eva Birnerova CZE d #226 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-3, 6-2 *#379 Monica Puig PUR d #142 Tatjana Malek GER 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 #192 Sloane Stephens USA d #506 Gabriela Dabrowski CAN 6-3, 6-1 Charleston, Withdrawals: #12 Serena Williams USA foot injury & pulmonary embolism #13 wc Maria Sharapova RUS #69 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB right elbow injury #974 sr Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR back injury

Andalucia Tennis Experience,  Marbella, Spain   tourney time:        = GMT +2 hours        = US EDT +6 hours        = US PDT +9 hours Spain News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     Marbella: The 32-player main draw for Marbella 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   Club de Tenis Puente Romano, Marbella, ESP Latitude: 36.50222 Longitude: -4.925909 goto link for World Wind 2011: On Sunday, April 3 in Marbella, tough guys Anabel Medina Garrigues and Svetlana "Queen of Moscow" Kuznetsova prowled the streets of Marbella, lifting merchants wares... row 2: Young ladies looking good at the players party on Wednesday included Tsvetana Pironkova & Anastasia Pivovarova (photo uploaded by Anastasia), and Polona Hercog & Dinara Safina (photo uploaded by Dinara)... Always happy to hand out food, Tournament Director (and 1994 Wimbledon champ) Conchita Martinez delivered birthday cakes to Sorana Cirstea (21 on Thursday) and Alberta Brianti (31 on Tuesday, accompanied by Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, Conchita, and Arantxa Parra-Santonja)...

Marbella, 1st Round, Mon-Wed 11am Tue WTA story loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1 #8 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #62 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-2, 6-3 Wed Vika driving a forehand #15 s2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #166 q Mona Barthel GER 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 Tue Svetlana ready to swat a backhand     Svetlana said: "For me it takes maybe two weeks to prepare for clay properly, and there just wasn't time. I was expecting to hit more winners and it wasn't happening because this is clay. But I knew that if I kept fighting things might go my way, and I'm happy that I was able to do it." *#268 wc Estrella Cabeza Candela ESP d #24 s3 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-3, 6-0 Tue Estrella serving, Aravane about to connect with a backhand, and Estrella following a forehand     Estrella said: "Although [I knew Aravane] was one of the seeds and that she hits the ball well, I knew that she hadn't been in great form. I tried to take advantage of that." #28 s4 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #120 Anastasia Pivovarova RUS 7-6(3), 6(5)-7, 7-5 Mon Alexandra and Anastasia driving forehand and backhand #34 s5 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #260 q M-T Torro-Flor ESP 6-2, 6-2 Tue Tsvetana driving a backhand #36 s6 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #94 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 Mon Anastasia driving a forehand, and Klara about to swat a backhand *#100 Sandra Zahlavova CZE d #37 s7 Roberta Vinci ITA 7-5, 6-3 Mon Sandra serving to Roberta #40 s8 Sara Errani ITA d #97 Sorana Cirstea ROU 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 Mon #44 Agnes Szavay HUN d #78 Johanna Larsson SWE 6-1, 6-1 Tue *#73 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #46 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-0, 6-2 Wed Anabel following a backhand, and Iveta reaching for a forehand #49 Lourdes Domínguez Lino ESP d #60 Angelique Kerber GER 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Tue Lourdes driving a forehand, and Angelique reaching for one *#84 Laura Pous-Tio ESP d #61 Polona Hercog SLO 6-1, 6-2 Mon *#282 q Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP d #63 Monica Niculescu ROU 7-5, 6-4 Tue #80 Kristina Barrois GER d #114 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-3, 7-5 Tue #91 wc Dinara Safina RUS d #104 Arantxa Rus NED 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 Tue Arantxa about to swat a forehand, and Dinara's backhand drive     Dinara had been 0-3 in three set matches this year. Dinara said: "It's good to finally win one. Everything she hit was landing in, on the line. But I hung in there and the moment she thought that she could win she got tight and started to miss shots. So I think at the crucial moment my experience played a big part and helped me to win." *#137 q Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d #95 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-4, 6-1 Tue

Marbella, 2nd Round, Wed-Thu 11am Thu WTA story loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30 #8 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #84 Laura Pous-Tio ESP 6-3, 6-2 Thu Victoria and Laura driving forehands, and Vika's backhand drive     Victoria said: "I was a little inconsistent and made some silly mistakes, but overall it was good. I'm getting into my rhythm and getting into the tournament." #15 s2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #44 Agnes Szavay HUN 6(2)-7, 6-1, 6-2 Wed Agnes and Svetlana driving forehand and backhand #28 s4 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #73 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 Thu Alexandra following a forehand, and Anabel's backhand drive     Alexandra said: "Today on court I was feeling pretty good in my game, but at some points I was getting tired. With [Anabel's] difficult game, playing with a lot of topspin and coming into the court, it was difficult to build a point. I was running a lot at times. But then I tried to take the pace more quickly to be able to open the court and do more things with the ball. I just tried to stay focused and not think about the fact that I lost the first set. It was a good match in the end." *#91 wc Dinara Safina RUS d #34 s5 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6-4 Wed #36 s6 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #49 Lourdes Domínguez Lino ESP 7-6(3), 1-6, 7-6(0) Wed Lourdes about to swat a backhand, and Klara driving one #40 s8 Sara Errani ITA d #80 Kristina Barrois GER 6-1, 6-2 Wed Sara driving a backhand *#282 q Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP d #100 Sandra Zahlavova CZE 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 Thu #137 q Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d #268 wc E Cabeza Candela ESP 7-5, 6-0 Thu

Marbella, QFs, Fri noon WTA story loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70 #8 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #91 wc Dinara Safina RUS 5-1 retired—low back injury Victoria driving a forehand     Victoria said: "I feel terrible to win that way, especially against Dinara. She's been struggling with injuries for quite a while. I can't help but feel really bad for her. I just wish her the quickest recovery possible and hope she can play as soon as possible. It's a shame because she just started to play so much better and I was really happy for her, but it's part of the game."     Dinara said: "It was a sad end to the week. I was playing well. I had another problem with my back. I started to feel a pain similar to the one I used to have. I was very afraid, so I am going to have an MRI and see what that shows. I hope it's nothing serious and that it's just my fear, but I want to double check. It's not as strong a pain as before, but I have a similar sensation."     Later, Dinara tweeted: "Right now I feel a better... Did MRI and CT was not too bad...will have a try tomorrow in doubs wanna see how it will go..." Dinara Safina at Twitter #15 s2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #282 q Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP 6-1, 6-2 Svetlana's forehand drive *#40 s8 Sara Errani ITA d #28 s4 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU 6-2, 6-2 Sara serving, and Alexandra driving a backhand     Sara said: "I played very well. I was glad to finish quickly, since it was a hot day. I had lost to [Alexandra] three previous times, so I had to stay focused, as I knew that at any moment she could come back." *#137 q Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d #36 s6 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-3, 6-3 Irin-Camelia about to swat a forehand in her 1st career win over a top 50 player, and Klara running one down

Marbella, SFs, Sat noon WTA story loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130 #8 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #40 s8 Sara Errani ITA 6-2, 6-1     Victoria said: "There were a lot of close games—I just managed to play better at the important moments.     "[In the final] tomorrow I won't be thinking about the ranking of my opponent or anything like that. I take it as another match, and we'll see." *#137 q Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d #15 s2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4     The match lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes. Irina-Camelia said: "I'm very happy—I feel very good but very tired. I have just been playing round by round and I went out to enjoy today's match."     Svetlana said: "I'm very sad that I lost this match. I had my chances to win but I didn't take them. It was very close throughout, but [Irina-Camelia] played a very good game."     About the final, Irina-Camelia said: "It will be very difficult, Azarenka is playing incredible. But I have nothing to lose and it's a great opportunity. I will try to enjoy it and hope I play well. There are a lot of Romanians here coming to support me, which is nice."

Marbella, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200 winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280 #8 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #137 q Irina-Camelia Begu ROU 6-3, 6-2 Irina-Camelia driving a forehand, Vika stalking the elusive backhand, and driving one

Marbella, Doubles Final, Sun noon loser's prize: $5,750 US winner's prize: $11,000 US *cdr97 s3 Nuria Llagostera Vives & Arantxa Parra Santonja d cdr68 s1 Roberta Vinci & Sara Errani 3-6, 6-4, (10-5) Nuria (14th WTA doubles title) and Arantxa (4th WTA doubles title) during the final Marbella, Qual Finals, Mon Apr 4 11am losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points *#166 Mona Barthel GER d #117 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-1, 6-3 *#282 Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP d #132 Nina Bratchikova RUS 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 *#137 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d #159 Mariya Koryttseva UKR 6-3, 6-2 #260 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor ESP d #339 Eva Fernandez-Brugues ESP 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 Marbella, Withdrawals #17 Flavia Pennetta ITA right shoulder injury #19 Ana Ivanovic SRB fatigue #47 Gisela Dulko ARG right shoulder injury #70 Mathilde Johansson FRA injury #79 Carla Suárez Navarro ESP right elbow injury #86 Romina Oprandi ITA right knee injury #88 Ksenia Pervak RUS right ankle injury

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

Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2011 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to many postmatch interview & match highlight videos of WTA players at the 2010 WTA Player Videos page.

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