WTA May 13-19: Rome

Internazionali d' Italia Alice Cup
Rome, ITA PREMIER 5 $2,369,000
56m/32q/28d outdoor: red clay
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n1 Serena Williams USA
n2 Maria Sharapova RUS
n3 Victoria Azarenka BLR
n4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL
n5 Na Li CHN
n7 Sara Errani ITA
n8 Petra Kvitova CZE
n9 Samantha Stosur AUS
n10 Caroline Wozniacki DEN
n11 Nadia Petrova RUS
n12 Maria Kirilenko RUS

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Rome:

#3 Victoria Azarenka
5'10" 132lb RH 2H-BH

Rome:

#1 Serena Williams
5'9" 150lb RH 2H-BH

On Sunday at Rome, in the final of the Internazionali d' Italia Alice Cup (aka the Italian Open), the 2002 Rome champion (and 2013 champ at Madrid, Charleston, Miami, and Brisbane), 31 year old top seeded #1 Serena Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, defeated the 2013 Australian Open and Doha champion, 23 year old 3rd seeded #3 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), 6-1, 6-3 (Vika is shown during the match; Serena is shown holding the hardware afterward).

Serena's prize is $426,000; Victoria's prize is $213,000.

The win extended Serena's longest career winning streak to 24 consecutive match victories. It was also her 33rd win in her last 34 matches on clay courts.

Serena struck 41 winners (including 8 aces), with 19 unforced errors (including 3 double faults), while scoring one 6 of the 16 break points she reached against Victoria and totaling 74 points. Vika hit 12 winners (no aces) with 20 errors (2 DFs) while converting 2 of her 6 break points against Serena and totaling 52 points.

Serena said: "The first three games took about 20 minutes. It wasn't easy, nothing is ever easy. I think the difference today was I took the opportunities when I had them and came up with some really good shots. And this was the best I've moved all week. I feel fit, and hopefully it'll stay like this.

"Last year I was feeling excellent on clay but didn't do that great at Roland Garros - this year I'm cautious and I want to work hard and stay focused and win every point I play, and not slack at all." WTA story

Victoria said: "We had a lot of tight games and the match was closer than the score, but Serena played a very good match and was better in the important moments. She was just better than me today. She's playing incredible tennis, maybe she's at her best level for the last year and a half or so."

Serena now leads Victoria 12-2 in career matches, and also won their only prior meeting on clay, the 2012 Madrid final, 6-1, 6-3. Their previous encounter was earlier this year on a Plexipave hardcourt in the final at Doha, when Vika defeated Serena 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-3.

15-time Grand Slam tourney champion Serena is now 51-16 in WTA singles finals, and has a 36-2 singles match record in 2013, losing only to Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka.

2-time Australian Open champion Victoria is now 16-12 in previous WTA singles finals, and has a 22-2 singles match record this season, losing only to Serena and to Ekaterina Makarova last week at Madrid.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Rome

s=seed, n=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser
ranks are for the previous week
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Italian Open, Rome, Italy

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Rome: The 56-player main draw for Rome has 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes. There are 8 qualifiers and 5 wild cards in the main draw.
Qualifying finals are on Sunday.

click for broader view Tennis stadia at Foro Italico, Viale delle Olimpiadi
Latitude: 41.929318 Longitude: 12.457477 goto link for World Wind

2013: On Saturday, May 11, in Rome, Sabine Lisicki and Sorana Cirstea did the Colosseum thing, inside and out...

Rome, 1st Rnd, Mon-Tue 11am
loser's prize: $6,415 US; points: 1
n9 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS d n38 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-2, 6-3 Mon
*n44 Bojana Jovanovski SRB d n10 s10 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) Tue

Bojana and Caro driving backhands, and Bojana after match point

*n23 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n11 s11 Nadia Petrova RUS 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(1) Tue
n12 s12 Maria Kirilenko RUS d n63 q Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-3 Tue

Maria driving a forehand

n13 s13 Roberta Vinci ITA d n33 Elena Vesnina RUS 6(2)-7, 7-5, 6-4 Tue
n15 s14 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d n45 Kristina Mladenovic FRA 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 Tue
*n31 Urszula Radwanska POL d n16 s15 Ana Ivanovic SRB 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 Tue

Urszula about to launch a forehand, and Ana following one

n17 s16 Sloane Stephens USA d n103 wc Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-3, 6-3 Tue

Sloane driving a backhand

Sloane said: "I felt like I played well. It's definitely tough playing against Flavia in Rome. I played her here last year so I knew it would be tough. But I've been practicing hard and I love clay so I felt good out there. I'm happy to get back on the clay." WTA story

n18 Jelena Jankovic SRB d n52 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6-0 Mon

Jelena driving a forehand

*n46 Romina Oprandi SUI d n19 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-2, 6-0 Tue
*n41 Laura Robson GBR d n21 Venus Williams USA 6-3, 6-2 Mon

Venus about to swat a forehand, and Laura driving one

High winds affected play. Laura said: "I always have trouble with the wind so it was kind of tough in the first set, but then it sort of settled down. The hardest part for me was on my service games, having to wait so long between the first and second serves because of the wind. But I just got used it, and I got centered. It's hard to play high quality tennis in the wind, but I'm still happy to have won today." WTA story

Laura's next opponent, Serena Williams, was watching as Laura defeated Venus. Serena said: "[Laura] has a great game and is really young and free. She plays so smooth and is also a lefty, which just adds another notch to her level. She's a great girl and it's good to see her playing so well these days. I've never played her before and I'm looking forward to it. It's a tough second round."

Laura said: "I've always wanted to play [Serena]. It'll be a good test. She's playing probably her best tennis. It's going to be insanely tough, but I'm just going to go out there and do my best."

*n37 Yanina Wickmayer BEL v n22 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-4, 6-0 Tue
*n98 q Melanie Oudin USA d n24 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 2-6, 7-5, 4-2 retired—left achilles injury Mon

Melanie's backhand drive

*n42 Ayumi Morita JPN d n26 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-1, 6-3 Mon
n27 Varvara Lepchenko USA d n73 q Lesia Tsureko UKR 6-4, 6-2 Tue
n28 Julia Goerges GER d n74 q Andrea Hlavackova CZE 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tue

Julia said: "I started pretty well, but then somehow I fell asleep and had no energy anymore. [Andrea] started to play better and better and came up with some great shots, but I said to myself, 'You brought yourself into this miserable position, just try to get yourself out it - the match is not over until we shake hands.' I started playing pretty solid again..."

*n143 wc Natassja Burnett ITA d n32 Alize Cornet FRA 6-2, 6-2 Mon
*n58 Kiki Bertens NED d n34 Francesca Schiavone ITA 7-6(5), 6-1 Mon
n35 Shuai Peng CHN d n49 Monica Niculescu ROU 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Mon
n39 Sabine Lisicki GER d n84 q Mallory Burdette USA 6-1, 6-2 Mon
*n64 Simona Halep ROU d n40 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-1, 6-1 Mon
*n50 Jie Zheng CHN d n48 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 7-6(0), 6-3 Tue

Jie driving a forehand

n55 Christina McHale USA d n113 wc Karin Knapp ITA 7-5, 6-2 Tue

Christina serving

n85 q Garbine Muguruza ESP d n96 q Mathilde Johansson FRA 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 Mon

Rome, 2nd Round, Tue-Wed
losers' prize: $12,480 US; points: 70
n1 s1 Serena Williams USA d n41 Laura Robson GBR 6-2, 6-2 Tue

Serena about to swat a forehand, and Laura following one

Serena said: "It went well. It was a good match. [Laura] played really well and really smart. She's just a great player and I think she has such a big future, and I really like her as a person, too." WTA story

Laura said: "[Serena] played really well today. She didn't give me many opportunities. I thought it could have been a little bit closer. I had some break points I didn't take advantage of. But it was a learning experience and hopefully I'll play against her again soon."

n2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n85 q Garbine Muguruza ESP 6-2, 6-2 Wed

Garbine serving, Maria driving a forehand, and after match point

Maria said: "[Garbine] is a rising player from Spain and is playing well, and the conditions were windy out there, but I was able to adjust and win this match. I knew going into the match I needed to be sharp and as quick as possible, and I did a few specific things well out there, and that's about it." WTA story

n3 s3 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n28 Julia Goerges GER 6-2, 6-0 Wed

Vika driving a backhand

*n64 Simona Halep ROU d n4 s4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6(1)-7, 6-1, 6-2 Tue

Simona said: "It was an incredible match for me. The first set was difficult. I just wanted to hit the ball very strong, but it wasn't working too well. From the second set I was playing much more tactically and it worked better. [Agnieszka is] a top player and plays very well, so I'm very happy to win."

n5 s5 Na Li CHN d n50 Jie Zheng CHN 6-3, 6-1 Wed

Na serving, and Jie launching a backhand

Na said: "It's always tough to play someone from the same country. We were in the national team together, and we trained and practiced for a long time together. It's like being twins on the tour, and it's tough to fight against each other on the court. But I was really happy I could beat [Jie] today."

n7 s7 Sara Errani ITA d n55 Christina McHale USA 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 Wed

Christina and Sara driving forehand and backhand

Sara said: "It was a very tough match. It was difficult because [Christina] started playing even better at the important moments. But I'm happy I could stay there in the third and win the match. It's very special to be here. The crowds are so good and there are a lot of people supporting me. Sometimes it's not easy because there's also a lot of pressure, but it's okay. It's very special to play here anyway."

n8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE d n39 Sabine Lisicki GER 6-4, 0-6, 7-5 Tue

Petra driving a forehand

Petra said: "In the beginning of the second set I hit a really easy ball into the net in the first game, and I think I was thinking about it too much. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Sabine was serving very well in the second set and not making any mistakes, so it was really tough for me, but in the third I was really fighting hard and believing in myself. Fortunately I broke back and got back into it and won."

n9 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS d n35 Shuai Peng CHN 7-6(5), 6-0 Wed

Samantha fielding a forehand

n12 s12 Maria Kirilenko RUS d n27 Varvara Lepchenko USA 6-3, 6-1 Wed
n13 s13 Roberta Vinci ITA d n143 wc Natassja Burnett ITA 6-1, 6-4 Wed
n15 s14 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d n98 q Melanie Oudin USA 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 Wed

Domi's forehand drive

n17 s16 Sloane Stephens USA d n58 Kiki Bertens NED 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Wed

Sloane driving a backhand

n18 Jelena Jankovic SRB d n44 Bojana Jovanovski SRB 6-2, 6-0 Wed

Jelena driving a forehand

n23 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n46 Romina Oprandi SUI 6-4, 6-2 Wed
*n42 Ayumi Morita JPN d n31 Urszula Radwanska POL 6-3, 6-1 Wed

Ayumi ready to lightly tap her 2-handed forehand, Babe Ruth style

*n47 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ITA d n37 Y Wickmayer BEL 6-4, 6-4 Wed

Rome, 3rd Round, Thu 11am
losers' prize: $24,300 US; points: 125
n1 s1 Serena Williams USA d n15 s14 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-0, 6-1

Domi and Serena driving backhands

It was Serena's 21st consecutive match victory, tying her career-longest streaks in 2002 and 2003. Serena said: "Nothing is ever perfect. I learned that last year when I felt perfect (Serena lost to Virginie Razzano in the 1st round at Roland Garros). I am still in the danger zone. I can't remember the other winning streaks, but I hope I can get to 22 and the rest of the matches that I have here. Plus seven, and Wimbledon too, so it would be dangerous to lose now." WTA story

n2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n17 s16 Sloane Stephens USA 6-2, 6-1

Sloane and Maria about to swat forehands

n3 s3 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n42 Ayumi Morita JPN 6-1, 2-0 retired
*n18 Jelena Jankovic SRB d n5 s5 Na Li CHN 7-6(2), 7-5

Jelena and Na driving forehand and backhand

Na said: "I felt like I wasn't playing so badly today, it was just a really long, tough match between me and JJ. I was trying a lot of things out there on the court today. Sometimes it was working, sometimes it wasn't. But I'm still happy I was trying those things. I still have some work to do. We showed a pretty good match out there. Congratulations to her for the win today."

n7 s7 Sara Errani ITA d n12 s12 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-3, 2-0 retired

Maria and Sara driving backhands

n9 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS d n8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
*n64 Simona Halep ROU d n13 s13 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-4, 6-2

Roberta and Simona driving forehands

n23 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n47 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ITA 6-2, 6-3

Rome, QFs, Fri noon
losers' prize: $49,040 US; points: 225
n1 s1 Serena Williams USA d n23 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 6-2, 6-0

Serena driving a forehand

Serena said: "I definitely felt like I needed to start strong. It was the same as before, I'm really just focused on me, more or less. I'm in the semifinals now and my goal is to do two better here." WTA story

It was Serena's 22st consecutive match victory, a career record. She had won 21 straight matches twice before, in 2002 and 2003.

Serena said: "I guess this is the best period in my career, but I don't really think about it. For me it's just about winning matches and winning tournaments and being consistent"

*n7 s7 Sara Errani ITA d n2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS walkover—illness
n3 s3 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n9 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-4, 1-6, 6-3

Samantha and Victoria driving forehand and backhand

Victoria struck 14 winners (including no aces) with 36 unforced errors (including 8 double faults) while scoring on 6 of the 10 break points she reached against Samantha and totaling 83 points in the match. Sam hit 34 winners (1 ace) with 38 errors (5 DFs) while converting 6 of her 11 break points against Vika and totaling 88 points.

*n64 Simona Halep ROU d n18 Jelena Jankovic SRB 4-6, 6-0, 7-5

Simona about to swat a forehand, and and Jelena driving a backhand

Simona said: "I changed my strategy after the first set. I knew I just had nothing to lose. [Jelena] had a lot of chances to win the match at the end, but I just believed in myself and tried to enjoy it."

Rome, SFs, Sat noon
loser's prize: $106,435 US; points: 395
n1 s1 Serena Williams USA d n64 Simona Halep ROU 6-3, 6-0

Serena serving, Simona and Serena driving backhands, and Serena after match point

The win extended Serena's longest career winning streak to 23rd consecutive match victories. It was also her 32nd win in her last 33 matches on clay courts.

Serena said: "I don't know if I feel better on clay this year or last year. I felt great last year and I feel great this year too. I love playing on clay and have done very well on it, even at Roland Garros." WTA story

Serena's final opponent, Victoria Azarenka, trails Serena 2-11 in career matches, but won their last meeting, this year's final at Doha. Serena said: "She played well in Doha. I had opportunities I wasn't able to use and Vika played well in the important points. It was a tough tournament, though, and I was happy to be in the final."

n3 s3 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n7 s7 Sara Errani ITA 6-0, 7-5

Victoria driving a forehand, Sara fielding one, Vika's backhand drive, and after match point

Victoria said: "I know the score looks easy in the first set, but it was not easy to play. And in the second set I was happy with the way I played but I didn't take all my chances. I lost focus and Sara is a great fighter and started to play hard and go for her shots, so I had to change my game a little bit. I think I could have done more in the second set but she's a great player and I'm happy to win.
"Over the last couple of years clay is the most challenging surface for me, but I'm feeling more and more comfortable on it and this week is proof. I'm finding my game on this surface right now."

About the final, Vika said: "I'm excited about tomorrow. It will be great to play someone at that level."

Rome, Final, Sun 1:30pm+
loser's prize: $213,000 US; points: 620
winner's prize: $426,000 US; points: 900
n1 s1 Serena Williams USA d n3 s3 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-1, 6-3

Serena driving a forehand, Vika fielding one, Serena driving a backhand, and after match point

Rome, Doubles Final, Sun
losers' prize: $61,600 US
winners' prize: $122,000 US
*Su-Wei Hsieh & Shuai Peng d s1 Roberta Vinci & Sara Errani 4-6, 6-3, (10-8)

Rome, Qual Finals, Sun May 12 10am
losers' prizes: q1 $1,840 1pt; q2 $3,560 20pts; qualifier 30 points
*n74 Andrea Hlavackova CZE d n47 L Dominguez Lino ITA 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
*n84 Mallory Burdette USA d n62 Madison Keys USA 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
n63 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d n89 Yulia Putintseva KAZ 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5
n64 Simona Halep ROU d n71 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 6-2
*n85 Garbine Muguruza ESP d n65 Silvia Soler Espinosa ESP 6-2, 6-3
*n96 Mathilde Johansson FRA d n67 Lauren Davis USA 6-3, 6-2
*n98 Melanie Oudin USA d n69 Jamie Hampton USA 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
n73 Lesia Tsureko UKR v n86 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor ESP 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2

Rome, Withdrawals
n6 s6 Angelique Kerber GER abdominal injury
n14 Marion Bartoli FRA right ankle injury
n29 Mona Barthel GER illness
n30 Tamira Paszek AUT upper respiratory infection
n36 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ right arm injury
n43 Heather Watson GBR illness (mono)

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2013 Rome WTA Singles Results

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WTA May 13-19: Rome