WTA Apr 30-May 5: Estoril & Budapest

Estoril Open, Estoril, POR +ATP
INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d
outdoor: red clay Free Live Video (popup)
Live Scores - in popup window
draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP
results - order of play - draw
pics: Y!: DL - sports - news | WTA
Estoril: weather radar - forecast
n18 R Vinci, n20 M Kirilenko
n26 A Medina Garrigues, n30 P Cetkovska

Budapest Grand Prix
Budapest, HUN | outdoor: red clay
INTL $220,000 32m/32q/16d
Free Live Video (popup)
Live Scores - in popup window
draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP
tourney draws: S - Q - D
pics: DL - Y!: sports - news | WTA
Budapest: radar - forecast - map
n28 S Errani, n38 K Pervak
n42 T Pironkova, n45 K Zakopalova

tourney archive:

previous tourney page

next tourney page

Budapest:

#28 Sara Errani #76 Elena Vesnina
5'4&fra124;" 132lb RH 2H-BH 5'7¾" 132lb RH 2H-BH

Estoril:

#33 Kaia Kanepi
5'11" 163lb RH 2H-BH

On Saturday in Hungary, in the final of the Budapest Grand Prix, last month's champion at Barcelona, 24 year old top seeded #28 (career high: #27) Sara Errani from Bologna, Italy, defeated last year's Charleston finalist, 25 year old unseeded #76 (career high: #22) Elena Vesnina from Sochi, Russia, 7-5, 6-4 (both ladies are shown with the transparent trophies after the match; there were no news photos from Budapest, but Elena kindly posted this one via Twitter).

Sara's prize is $37,000; Elena's prize is $19,100.

Sara is undefeated on red clay courts this season, 15-0.

Sara said: "Elena was playing very strong today—my congratulations to her for that. I had to run a lot and fight hard to keep up with her today." WTA story

Elena said: "I was playing very well at the beginning, but Sara is the kind of player who destroys your game and makes you feel uncomfortable on the court.

"I tried to play aggressively throughout the match but the slow court suited Sara's game better than mine, and all credit to her for winning."

It was Sara and Elena's first meeting.

Sara is now 5-3 in WTA singles finals; she also won this year at Barcelona nad Acapulco, and at Palermo and Portoroz in 2007. Sara's 2012 singles match record is 27-8.

Elena is now 0-6 in WTA singles finals (this is an uncomfortable situation, but not unique: 2010 French Open champ Francesca Schiavone lost her first 8 finals). Elena reached her other finals last year at Charleston, in 2010 at Istanbul and Tashkent, and in 2009 at Auckland and New Haven. Elena has won 6 WTA doubles titles, 2 ITF singles titles, and 6 ITF doubles titles. Elena, who got off to a slow start this year, has a 8-9 singles match record for the season.

Meanwhile in Portugal, in the final of the Estoril Open, the 2010 champ at Palermo, 26 year old 6th seeded #33 (career high: #16) Kaia Kanepi from Haapsalu, Estonia, defeated a quarterfinalist at Melbourne in 2009 and at Roland Garros in 2008, 23 year old #58 (career-high: #22) Carla Suarez Navarro from Barcelona, Spain, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 (photo shown).

Kaia's prize is $37,000; Carla's prize is $19,000.

Carla was unable to convert two match points during the 2nd set tiebreaker. Kaia said: "I've won a few matches from match points down but I've never won a final like this. I'll remember this final in a good way for a long time." WTA story

Carla said: "I was a point away, but Kaia played really well and credit to her for the way she recovered. It was a good week for me and I'm motivated to keep working and getting better. I like clay a lot. I'm looking forward to Madrid."

Kaia now leads Carla 2-1 in career matches.. Their previous meeting was last year on a hardcourt in the first weekend of Fed Cup play, when Kaia defeated Carla 6-3, 6-2.

Kaia is now 3-3 in WTA singles finals; she also won this year at Brisbane, and at Palermo in 2010. Kaia's singles match record this season 13-4.

Carla is now 0-3 in WTA singles finals; she reached her other finals at Marbella in 2009 and 2010. She has won 6 ITF singles titles and 4 ITF doubles titles. Carla has a 10-10 singles match record in 2012.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Budapest & Estoril

s=seed, n=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser
ranks are for the previous week
How do players get into the "draw"?

Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal

tourney time:

= GMT +1 hour
= US EDT +5 hours
= US PDT +8 hours

Portugal News - Portugal Weather Radar

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Estoril: The 32-player main draw for Estoril 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 Estadio Nacional Estoril map - venue map
Latitude: 38.707683 Longitude: -9.253299 goto link for World Wind

2012: On Saturday, April 28, in Estoril, Nadia Petrova diligently avoided any unforced errors while helping with the tourney main draw...
A group of players including 2008 Estoril champ Maria Kirilenko created a photo opportunity from some pre-tourney bicycling...

Estoril, 1st Round, Mon-Tue 11am Mon WTA story - Tue WTA story
loser's prize: $1,725 US; points: 1
n18 s1 Roberta Vinci ITA d n107 wc Nina Bratchikova RUS 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 Mon

Roberta driving a forehand

Roberta said: "I lost against [Nina] in Monterrey this year and she played very well today again, especially in the second set. I was playing good tennis at the start but in the end I had to play much more aggressive to come back, and I'm very happy to win such a tough match. It was tough conditions today, too."

n20 s2 Maria Kirilenko RUS d n63 Elena Baltacha GBR 7-6(6), 6-1 Tue

Maria after winning a point

n26 s3 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d n134 q Kristina Barrois GER 6-4, 6-1 Tue

2011 Estoril champ Anabel said: "I couldn't warm up properly because it was raining before, so the beginning was a bit strange, but I started to feel better once we got going.
"When you win a tournament you always want to come back and defend it the next year, but every match here is going to be difficult and I have to go step by step. Tomorrow I have another match. We'll see."

n30 s4 Petra Cetkovska CZE d n79 Alexandra Panova RUS 6-2, 6-1 Tue

Petra driving a forehand

n32 s5 Jie Zheng CHN d n39 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 6-3, 6-1 Tue

Jie's service toss

n33 s6 Kaia Kanepi EST d n78 LL Sloane Stephens USA 6-1, 6-0 Tue
n34 s7 Nadia Petrova RUS d n528 wc Barbara Luz POR 6-0, 6-1 Mon

Nadia said: "It was a good start. I hadn't played a match on red clay until this event. This was a perfect warm-up match for me. Tomorrow I'm playing doubles and practicing, and getting ready for my second round match...
"I'm just trying to keep improving and winning matches. I'm happy I'm still around, that I'm 30 in a month and am still willing to give it my best and work hard. Anything can happen. I believe strongly that as long as I stay healthy, there's a good chance for me to get back to the Top 10."

n37 s9 Polona Hercog SLO d n50 Tamira Paszek AUT 6-0, 6-3 Tue
n49 Jarmila Gajdosova AUS v n390 q Maria-Theresa Torro-Flor ESP Tue c3 m2
*n66 Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP d n40 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-4, 6-4 Mon
n48 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ d n89 Anastasia Yakimova BLR 6-1, 6-4 Tue
n52 Vania King USA d n69 Johanna Larsson SWE 6(6)-7, 6-3, 6-0 Mon

Vania driving a backhand

n58 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n72 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-4, 6-4 Mon
*n138 q Karin Knapp ITA d n65 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 7-5, 6-2 Tue
*n113 q Heather Watson GBR d n71 Lucie Hradecka CZE 6-4, 6-4 Tue
*n231 wc Maria Joao Koehler POR d n81 Ayumi Morita JPN 6-1, 7-5 Tue

Ayumi's two-handed righty forehand, and Maria's two-handed lefty backhand

Ayumi took a medical time out for a low back injury, and appeared to be in considerable discomfort although she did complete the match

Estoril, 2nd Round, Wed 11am
loser's prize: $2,950 US; points: 30
Wednesday: play completed after rain delayed start
n18 s1 Roberta Vinci ITA d n231 wc Maria Joao Koehler POR 6-2, 6-0

Roberta's service toss, and Maria about to swat a backhand

*n138 q Karin Knapp ITA d n20 s2 Maria Kirilenko RUS 1-6, 6-1, 7-5

Karin's service toss, and Maria driving a backhand

*n66 Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP d n26 s3 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

Silvia said: "It was our first time playing and it was really toug. [Anabel] plays really well on clay and was playing a lot of spin to my backhand. She was doing it really well in the first set. But at the end I was able to get to my forehand more. She wished me good luck for the tournament afterwards."

n30 s4 Petra Cetkovska CZE d n113 q Heather Watson GBR 6-3, 6-1
*n48 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ d n32 s5 Jie Zheng CHN 6-4, 6-1

Galina said: "Zheng Jie is a great player and I was expecting a tough match. It was really windy, rainy and cold in the first set, and I was expecting they would stop the match but they didn't, so it was tough conditions. But I've had some very good preparation recently and was very focused today."

n33 s6 Kaia Kanepi EST d n52 Vania King USA 6-3, 6-4

Kaia said: "The conditions were very tough and we had a lot of long rallies, and I'm happy I could win today. I'm feeling very well and healthy right now. It's my third clay court tournament and I feel like I'm improving every match."

n34 s7 Nadia Petrova RUS d n49 Jarmila Gajdosova AUS 7-6(2) retired—left ankle injury
*n58 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n37 s9 Polona Hercog SLO 6-4, 3-0 retired—right foot injury

Estoril, QFs, Thu 11am WTA story
loser's prize: $5,340 US; points: 70
n18 s1 Roberta Vinci ITA d n34 s7 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

Roberta said: "[Nadia] beat me the last two times we played, but it was on hardcourt, and on clay it's different. I play better on clay. Today I was able to play a good game with good structure in the points, and that was probably the key."

n33 s6 Kaia Kanepi EST d n30 s4 Petra Cetkovska CZE 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
*n138 q Karin Knapp ITA d n48 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4

Karin has been held back by heart trouble and injury for the past couple of years. Karin said: "I had a heart problem and then knee surgery, so a lot of problems. I'm working really differently than I was before, so doing well again is confirmation that what I've been doing is working. I came here just to play qualies and now I'm in the semis. It's really exciting."

n58 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n66 Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP 6-3, 6-3

Carla said: "Yesterday I played only 40 minutes while Sílvia played more than two hours, so maybe it was tougher for her to play today. But I'm happy to be in the semifinals. We are friends so it was not easy to play."

Estoril, SFs, Fri 10:30am WTA story
loser's prize: $10,200 US; points: 130
n33 s6 Kaia Kanepi EST d n18 s1 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-2, 7-5

Roberta about to swat a backhand, and Kaia driving one

Kaia said: "In the second set I knew I just had to keep playing my game—I didn't think about the score, I just tried to play the game. I didn't go into the match thinking I had never beaten [Roberta], I just tried to go in and play well and try to win. Every day's a new day, and every match is a new match."

n58 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n138 q Karin Knapp ITA 6-4, 6-0

Karin and Carla driving backhands

Carla said: "In the second set I think [Karin] was a little bit tired, and I started playing really well."

About the final, Carla said: "I lost the two finals I played before, but this is another place and another player, and I'll really try to enjoy this final."

Estoril, Final, Sat 12:30pm
loser's prize: $19,000 US; points: 200
winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280
n33 s6 Kaia Kanepi EST d n58 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4

Carla and Kaia driving forehand and backhand

Estoril, Doubles Final, Sat 1:30pm
loser's prize: $5,750 US
winner's prize: $11,000 US
Chia-Jung Chuang & Shuai Zhang d cdr35 s3 Galina Voskoboeva & Yaroslava Shvedova 4-6, 6-1, (11-9)

Estoril, Qual Finals, Mon Apr 30 11am
losers' prizes: q1 $265 1pt; q2 $460 6pts; q3 $860 10pts; qualifier 16 points
*n113 Heather Watson GBR d n78 Sloane Stephens USA 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
*n134 Kristina Barrois GER d n127 Lara Arrubarrena-Vecino ESP 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
*n138 Karin Knapp ITA d n136 Mariana Duque Marino COL 6-3, 7-6(3)
*n390 Maria-Theresa Torro-Flor ESP d n146 Estrella Cabeza-Candela ESP 6-3, 6-3

Estoril, Withdrawals
n35 s8 Mona Barthel GER left foot injury
n61 Romina Oprandi SUI

Budapest Grand Prix, Budapest, Hungary

tourney time:

= GMT +2 hours
= US EDT +6 hours
= US PDT +9 hours

Hungary News

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Budapest: The 32-player main draw for Budapest has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (2 rounds) starts on Saturday, qualifying finals are on Sunday.

click for broader view Római Tenisz Akadémia, Budapest, Hungary
Latitude: 47.584338 Longitude: 19.066719 goto link for World Wind

Budapest Grand Prix venue address: Királyok útja 105, Budapest, Hungary; Tel. 240-8616

2012: Players looking good while cruising on the Danube at the boat-based Budapest players party on Wednesday included
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova & Eva Birnerova, Misa Krajicek, Elena Vesnina, Mandy Minella, and Rika Fujiwara & Chan Hao-Ching...

Budapest, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 11:00am Mon WTA story
loser's prize: $1,825 US; points: 1
n28 s1 Sara Errani ITA d n91 Mandy Minella LUX 6-1, 6-1 Tue
n38 s2 Ksenia Pervak KAZ d n74 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(6) Tue
*n83 Anna Tatishvili GEO d n42 s3 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 Mon
n45 s4 Klara Zakopalova CZE d n77 Anne Keothavong GBR 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 Mon

Anne and Klara trying to restrain their excitement during the coin toss

Klara said: "I'm very happy that I'm through, as it was a very tough match. The conditions were really tough as it was so hot. I lost early in Fès, so I'm happy to get some more matches on the clay here and I'm looking forward to the next round."

n46 s5 Marina Erakovic NZL d n59 Pauline Parmentier FRA 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(2) Mon
n51 s6 Petra Martic CRO d n946 wc Csilla Borsanyi HUN 6-0, 7-5 Mon
*n57 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN d n54 s7 Shahar Peer ISR 6-4, 6-3 Mon

Aleksandra ready to swat a backhand

Aleksandra said: "It was a really good win for me today. It's a big change from the hard to the red clay so there are still some things I need to work on. I just need to keep being patient and try to play well on the important points."

*n97 Alberta Brianti ITA d n56 s8 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 Tue
n60 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d n311 q J Tinjic BIH 1-6, 6-3 retired—difficulty breathing Tue
*n68 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE d n64 Timea Babos HUN 6(4)-7, 6-4, 6-1 Tue
*n116 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d n67 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) Tue
*n76 Elena Vesnina RUS d n73 Varvara Lepchenko USA 5-0 retired—right ankle injury Mon
*n109 Lesia Tsurenko UKR d n75 Greta Arn HUN 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 Mon
n80 Alexandra Cadantu ROU d n90 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-2, 6-1 Tue
n119 q Melinda Czink HUN d *n361 q Mervana Jugic-Salkic BIH 6(3)-7, 6-0, 6-3 Tue
n982 wc Vanda Lukacs HUN d nNR wc Henrietta Habler HUN 6-2, 6-1 Mon

Budapest, 2nd Rd, Wed 11am WTA story
loser's prize: $3,100 US; points: 30
n28 s1 Sara Errani ITA d n119 q Melinda Czink HUN 6-4, 1-6, 6-1

Sara said: "[Melinda] started to play better in the second set and I got nervous. I had two games from 40-15 that I lost. In the third set, I tried to be calmer, to hit the ball deeper and push her outside the court, and that worked better."

*n76 Elena Vesnina RUS d n38 s2 Ksenia Pervak KAZ 6-2, 6-3

Elena said: "The score wasn't indicative of how tough a player Ksenia is. She has improved a lot since last year and was forcing me to play my best tennis today. I was pleased with my serve today. I had a good percentage and made some big first serves at big moments."

*n60 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d n45 s4 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-3, 6-3
n46 s5 Marina Erakovic NZL d n116 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-0 retired—right elbow injury
n51 s6 Petra Martic CRO d n68 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-4, 6-1

Petra said: "[Su-Wei is] a very tough opponent. We played two months ago and it was not a very good memory for me. It was really important to me to try to do better than the last time. I mixed up my serve very well today and I tried to be aggressive, which worked really well for me."

n57 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN d n80 Alexandra Cadantu ROU 6(2)-7, 6-0, 6-0
n83 Anna Tatishvili GEO d n982 wc Vanda Lukacs HUN 6-1, 6-2
n97 Alberta Brianti ITA d n109 Lesia Tsurenko UKR 5-7, 7-5, 6-4

Budapest, QFs, Thu 11am WTA story
loser's prize: $5,625 US; points: 70
n28 Sara Errani ITA d n97 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-4, 6-0

Sara about to lightly tap a forehand

Sara said: "It's difficult to play against someone you know well. There was more tension than in a usual match and I think that showed in the first set, which was not too good. I got better in the second set and in the end I was playing well."

n46 s5 Marina Erakovic NZL d n60 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

Marina said: "The match was tricky. We both started pretty nervously and had to adapt to the circumstances in the first set when it was a bit rainy. After I lost my rhythm a little bit in the second set, I started to play more steady in the third, and managed to adapt to her style and play more positively."

*n76 Elena Vesnina RUS d n51 s6 Petra Martic CRO 6-3, 6-2

Elena said: "I'm really happy to be in my first semifinal this year... Petra is a young, talented player and I knew I had to move her around. The score doesn't represent the match because it was actually really close, and it could easily have been 6-3, 6-2 to Petra."

*n83 Anna Tatishvili GEO d n57 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4

Budapest, SFs, Fri 11am WTA story
loser's prize: $10,400 US; points: 130
n28 Sara Errani ITA d n83 Anna Tatishvili GEO 6-2, 6-1

Sara said: "It was not easy as the score suggests. She played a good match, she played strong but maybe she was a bit tired after the long match she had yesterday. Because of that, I tried to make the games longer by moving her on the baseline."

*n76 Elena Vesnina RUS d n46 s5 Marina Erakovic NZL 6-2, 6-4

Elena said: "In our previous encounters, Marina played more aggressive. Today she was trying to exploit my mistakes and move me around and play the spin. I didn't expect that but luckily I still found the key to win...
"In the second set, we both played more rallies and longer games. There were some weird bounces, maybe by the breeze coming from the river, and I lost some concentration. But, then, I recovered and managed to win the match"

About the final, Elena said: "Sara is in a great form and the clay surface is her specialty. I'm really looking forward to that match. It's going to be a real challenge for me."

Budapest, Final, Sat 2pm
loser's prize: $19,100 US; points: 200
winner's prize: $37,000 US; points: 280
n28 Sara Errani ITA d n76 Elena Vesnina RUS 7-5, 6-4

Budapest, Doubles Final, Sat
loser's prize: $5,750 US
winner's prize: $11,000 US
Janette Husarova & Magdalena Rybarikova d Michaella Krajicek & Eva Birnerova 6-4, 6-2

Budapest, Qual Finals, Sun Apr 29 11am
losers' prizes: q1 $440 1pt; q2 $850 6pts; qualifier 10 points
*n361 Mervana Jugic-Salkic BIH d n112 Eva Birnerova CZE 7-6(3), 6-2
n116 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d n425 Katalin Marosi HUN 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(4)
n119 Melinda Czink HUN d n244 Romana Tabak SVK 6-2, 6-2
*n311 Jasmina Tinjic BIH d n192 Rika Fujiwara JPN 6-3, 6-3

Budapest, Withdrawals
n22 Lucie Safarova CZE left elbow injury
n47 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP right thigh injury
n55 Simona Halep ROU
n567 sr Timea Bacsinszky SUI abdominal strain

See also: QuickShop: Sporting Goods - Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2012 WTA Schedule with links & photos

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

Find tennis shoes made by: adidas -- Nike -- Fila -- Reebok
Find tennis racquets made by: Yonex -- Wilson -- Head -- Prince -- Babolat
Find tennis balls made by: Wilson -- Dunlop -- Penn -- Tretorn -- Slazenger

This page's URL is: http://tennis.quickfound.net/wta_results_2012/budapest_estoril_results_2012.html

2012 Estoril & Budapest WTA Singles Results

tennis.quickfound.net

WTA Apr 30-May 5: Estoril & Budapest