WTA Feb 17-23: Dubai & Rio de Janeiro

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Dubai Tennis Chp. UAE PREMIER 700
$2,000,000 28m/32q/16d outdoor: hard
Live Scores
draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP
pics: T.com - ESPN - Y!: news | WTA
UAE News - tourney video
n1 S Williams, n4 A Radwanska
n6 P Kvitova, n7 S Errani

Rio Open, Rio de Janeiro, BRA +ATP
INTL $250,000
32m/24q/16d outdoor: red clay
Live Scores
draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP
pics: T.com - ESPN - Y!: news | WTA
Brazil News
n34 K Zakopalova, n43 F Schiavone
n59 P Ormaechea, n60 A Cadantu

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Rio de Janeiro:

#64 Kurumi Nara
5' 2" ?lb RH 2H-BH

Dubai:

#48 Venus Williams
6' 1" 160lb RH 2H-BH

On Saturday in the United Arab Emirates, in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the 2010 & 2009 tourney champ (and 5-time Wimbledon champion), 33 year old wild card #48 (and former #1) Venus Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, won again, defeating the 2013 champ at Strasbourg, 24 year old #25 (career high: #11) Alizé Cornet from Nice, France, 6-3, 6-0 (Venus is shown holding the hardware after the match).

Venus's prize is $471,841, Alize's prize is $251,648.

Alize had defeated Venus's sister, #1 Serena Williams, in the semifinals on Friday.

Venus said: "First of all, I think Alize is playing great. I think if she continues to play like that, she's going to play deep in a lot of tournaments and improve. It's great to see that, because she's a great addition to the game. She brings so much passion on the court, so it's great to see her playing well. I mean, I was fully expecting to play Serena, so for her to get that win was awesome. But I have had a good week. Everything is falling together pretty much, is all I can say." WTA story

Venus has won 15 consecutive match victories on the courts at Dubai (she did not play there in 2011, '12 & '13).

Alize said: "[Venus] was playing more aggressively. She was pushing me out of the court very far from the baseline. I didn't play as deep as yesterday and didn't serve as well. But Venus played well the whole week and deserves this title... It's always tough to finish like this, and I believed in my chances today, but I think there's a lot to be happy about, and I'm very motivated for the rest of the season."

Venus now leads Alize 4-0 in career matches. Their previous meeting was last year on a Plexicushion hardcourt in the 2nd round of the Australian Open, when Venus defeated Alize 6-3, 6-3.

Venus is now 45-28 in WTA singles finals, and has a 9-3 singles match record in 2014.

Alize is now 3-4 in WTA singles finals, and has a 10-6 singles match record this year.

On Sunday at Rio de Janeiro, in the final of the Rio Open, 22 year old 5th seeded #64 (career high: #62) Kurumi Nara from Hyogo, Japan, won her first WTA title by defeating the 2014 finalist at Hobart (and 2005 champ at Portoroz & 's-Hertogenbosch), 31 year old top seeded #34 (career high: #21) Klara (Koukalova) Zakopalova from Prague, Czech Republic, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 (Kurumi is shown holding the netware after the match).

Kurumi's prize is $43,000, Klara's prize is $21,400. Klara was slowed by coughing and had difficulty breathing during the match.

However, Kurumi said: "[Klara] played very well and it was a very tough match for me. In the second set I was probably thinking too much about winning the title, so after I lost the set I had a good break and tried to come back and play well again in the third set. I'm just so happy I could win in the end today." WTA story

Klara and Kurumi had never before met on the field of combat.

Kurumi was playing in her first WTA singles final. She has won 5 ITF singles titles and 3 ITF doubles titles. Kurumi now has a 9-4 singles match record in 2014.

Klara is now 2-12 in WTA singles finals, and has a 13-7 singles match record this season.

WTA SCOREBOARD: Dubai & Rio de Janeiro

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

Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

tourney time:

= GMT +4 hours
= US EDT +9 hours
= US PDT +12 hours

United Arab Emirates News

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Dubai: The main draw for Dubai has 8 seeds.

There are 4 qualifiers in the main draw..

click for broader view Dubai Tennis Stadium at top center
Latitude: 25.24243 Longitude: 55.342475

2013: On Sunday in Dubai, 2011 tourney champ Caroline Wozniacki visited the Wild Wadi Waterpark...
on Monday, Ana Ivanovic did the autograph thing... at the player party on Tuesday night Hsieh Su-Wei held the falcon...

Dubai, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 12:30pm
loser's prize: $11,888 US; points: 1
n8 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB d n120 q Maryna Zanevska UKR 6-4, 6-3 Tue
*n12 Ana Ivanovic SRB d n9 s6 Angelique Kerber GER 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) Tue

Ana driving a backhand

*n25 Alize Cornet FRA d n10 s7 Simona Halep ROU 6-1, 1-1 retired—achilles injury Tue

2014 Doha champ Simona said: "I stopped because I wanted to stay safe with my ankle and to recover fast, because in two weeks I have another tournament... It isn't easy to continue the match when you don't feel 100%. You cannot run, you cannot stop at the balls." WTA story

n11 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN v n15 Sabine Lisicki GER 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 Tue

Caro after winning a point

Caroline said: "I knew [Sabine] was going to come out hot and just go for her shots, and I felt like I was just a step behind. I couldn't really do what I wanted from my backhand side, and I was playing a little too short.
"In the second set I started serving really well, I was really pleased with my serves, and I got a lot of her returns back deep, and all of a sudden the game was different. I started attacking more from my backhand side onto her backhand and started to make her run a little bit."

*n26 Sorana Cirstea ROU d n14 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-4, 6-3 Mon
*n55 q Annika Beck GER d n16 Samantha Stosur AUS 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 Tue
n17 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n100 wc Nadia Petrova RUS 6-3, 6-2 Mon
*n28 Lucie Safarova CZE d n18 Sloane Stephens USA 6-3, 7-5 Mon

Lucie's backhand drive

Sloane said: "It was a tough match. [Lucie is] a great player and she played really well. I didn't really get a good rhythm today, and she was playing some really good tennis at the end of the match."

n20 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d n53 q Karolina Pliskova CZE 6-1, 7-5 Tue
n23 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d n180 sr24 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 6-4, 6(3)-7, 6-4 Mon
*n22 q Flavia Pennetta ITA d n27 Kaia Kanepi EST 7-5, 6-4 Tue
*n48 wc Venus Williams USA d n33 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-3, 6-2 Mon

Venus driving a backhand

Elena had defeated Venus in their two previous encounters.

Venus said: "At Wimbledon [Elena] played so well and it wasn't my day, and Cincy as well. I had some chances there but she was clearly more on her game. These days I'm a little more on mine, so I was glad to get a win." WTA story

Dubai, 2nd Rd, Wed 2pm
losers' prize: $18,712 US; points: 55
n1 s1 wc Serena Williams USA d n23 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 7-6(8), 6-0 Tue

Serena driving a forehand

Serena said: "Today was really difficult for me. I felt so rusty out there and a little frustrated. I've been practicing, but I was like, 'Gosh, this isn't what I practiced.' But I was just really excited to get through that. I was really telling myself to stay positive, because I was making a lot of unforced errors that I don't normally make, and my serve wasn't popping the way it usually does. I'm happy for the win, but I'm going to have to play better if I want to do better here." WTA story

*n22 q Flavia Pennetta ITA d n4 s2 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-4, 6-1 Wed

Flavia fielding a backhand

Flavia was 1-4 in previous matches against Aga. Flavia said: "I'm of course really happy. It was the first time I've beaten [Agnieszka] in six years. I thought I would never beat her again. But today I played really well. My idea of what I had to do was clear, and I tried to go for the points all the time. I made a few mistakes in the beginning. I was down 4-1, but every game was a big fight. But I kept going and stayed aggressive and it worked in the end...

"Sometimes when you play with a player like Agnieszka it's not easy because the ball is always coming back. You have the feeling like you cannot win any points, because it's like a wall, completely. So you start to get a little bit frustrated and you start to make so many mistakes without making any sense. But you have to try to be aggressive all the time. Play every point the same way and don't go away." WTA story

Agnieszka said: "I think I started well, but the conditions were worse for me than Doha, for example. The ball was really flying. I didn't really feel the ball today at all. And I think [Flavia] was using the wind much, much better than I was during the match. I just couldn't really control the ball that well here this year."

*n17 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n6 s3 Petra Kvitova CZE 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) Wed
*n26 Sorana Cirstea ROU d n7 s4 Sara Errani ITA 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 Wed

Sori driving a backhand

n8 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB d n28 Lucie Safarova CZE 7-5, 6-4 Wed
n11 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d n55 q Annika Beck GER 6-4, 6-4 Wed

Caro following a backhand

*n48 wc Venus Williams USA d n12 Ana Ivanovic SRB 6-2, 6-1 Wed

Ana and Venus driving forehand and backhand

Venus said: "I felt like I was in control most of the points, most of the time either attacking or putting [Ana] in a position she wasn't as comfortable in. Both of us are players who really want to be in control of the points, so it felt good to be in control today." WTA story

Ana said: "[Venus] started firing from the first moment on. I definitely think she was a lot more aggressive than when we played in Auckland. She was stepping into the court way more, and coming into the net more. She served well in Auckland, but today she was putting even more pressure on me. The ball was just coming very fast. It was very hard for me to adjust and find my timing."

*n25 Alize Cornet FRA d n20 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-3, 6-4 Wed

Dubai, QFs, Thu 2pm
losers' prize: $34,891 US; points: 100
n1 s1 wc Serena Williams USA d n8 s5 Jelena Jankovic SRB 6-2, 6-2

Serena following a forehand, and Jelena driving a backhand

Serena said: "It definitely felt a lot more comfortable than my first match. There were some shots I missed today that I would never have missed a month ago, so I'm still getting a little rust off, but it feels good overall. And I'm still trying to make sure I keep going in the right direction." WTA story

Jelena said: "It was kind of slow and heavy, and the ball didn't really go off my racquet. I was hitting the balls short. [Serena] took control of the match. She was pretty much in control the whole time. I didn't feel too good out there, and I wasn't really striking the ball the way I usually strike the ball. But she was the better player tonight. Way better. All the credit to her."

n11 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d n26 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-1, 6-2

Sori and Caro following backhand and forehand

*n25 Alize Cornet FRA d n17 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 7-5, 6-3

Alize's backhand drive

Alize said: "It was a tough match tonight because Carla has a very special game with a lot of topspin. Sometimes it's tough to control the ball against her, and that's why I think she does so well. But I think she was a little bit tired from her match against Kvitova yesterday, so I took my chance and made her run, and I was a little more consistent on the important points. I'm very happy I did it."

*n48 wc Venus Williams USA d n22 q Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-3, 7-5

Flavia and Venus driving backhands

Venus said: "[Flavia] keeps fighting. She stays relevant. That's what she does really well. She stays in the point... I felt good. It was an adjustment playing someone like her. Her game is different than Ivanovic. I had to be more patient; the points are going to be longer. We have to be a little bit more measured. I think in the beginning of the match I wasn't really in that mode, but as the match went on, then I started to kind of self-correct myself a little bit." WTA story

Dubai, SFs, Fri 5pm & 7pm
loser's prize: $135,064 US; points: 185
*n25 Alize Cornet FRA d n1 s1 wc Serena Williams USA 6-4, 6-4

Serena and Alize serving, and Alize after match point

Alize failed to convert 4 match points on Serena's serve at 6-4, 5-3. But Alize served out the following game to love.

Alize said: "It was tough to close it out because I had four match points the game before, and on the four match points she played unbelievable, so I was like, 'Okay, maybe she's going to put a little bit more on the important points now.' But I just tried to relax and breathe and pass my first serve at 5-4. I stayed focused and when the last ball went out I was like, 'That's it? I did it?' Then I was full of emotion. It's definitely the biggest win of my career." WTA story

Serena said: "[Alize] played really well. I didn't play well. I tried, though. I just kept hitting errors. I don't think I've made that many errors in a match in at least three, maybe four years."

About playing Serena's sister Venus Williams in final, Alize said: "Before this match I was telling my coach that Venus has been impressing me the whole week. She's back to her top level. I think she feels a little bit at home here in Dubai because she won here twice. I lost against her here in 2009, so it would be a little bit of revenge for me."

*n48 wc Venus Williams USA d n11 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-3, 6-2

Caro and Venus driving forehand and backhand, and Venus after match point

Venus said: "Caroline is an intense competitor. She has been since the very first match I played her in 2007, seven years ago. She's reached the pinnacle of the game and so she knows what she's doing. So it feels really good for me to be able to get that win today." WTA story

Caroline said: "[Venus] played a good match. I started off very slow, and once I got going it was too late."

Dubai, Final, Sat 7pm
loser's prize: $251,648 US; points: 305
winner's prize: $471,841 US; points: 470
*n48 wc Venus Williams USA d n25 Alize Cornet FRA 6-3, 6-0

Alize and Venus driving backhands, and Venus after match point

Dubai, Doubles Final, Sat 5pm
losers' prize: $37,801 US
winners' prize: $71,820 US
Anastasia Rodionova & Alla Kudryavtseva d Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears 6-2, 5-7 (10-8)

Dubai, Qual Finals, Mon Feb 17 12:30pm
losers' prizes: q1 $1,607 1pt; q2 $2,835 13pts; q3 $5,387 18pts; qualifier 25 points
*n55 Annika Beck GER d n19 Eugenie Bouchard CAN 6-1, 6-4
n22 Flavia Pennetta ITA d n38 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 6-1, 6-3
n53 Karolina Pliskova CZE d n84 Camila Giorgi ITA 7-5, 6-2
*n120 Maryna Zanevska UKR d n63 Mona Barthel GER 7-6(8), 6-4

Dubai, Withdrawals
n29 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS

Rio Open, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

tourney time:

= GMT -3 hours
= US EDT +2 hours
= US PDT +5 hours

Brazil News

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Rio de Janeiro: The main draw for Rio has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 6 qualifiers in the main draw. Qualifying (2 rounds) starts on Saturday, qualifying finals are on Sunday.

click for broader view Jockey Club Brasileiro
Latitude: -22.974243 Longitude: -43.219399

Rio de Janeiro, 1st Rd Mon-Tue 10am
loser's prize: $2,100 US; points: 1
Monday: play completed after rain delay
n34 s1 Klara Zakopalova CZE d n101 Mariana Duque Marino COL 6-4, 6-4 Tue
*n70 Lourdes Domínguez Lino ESP d n43 s2 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-4, 6-4 Tue
n59 s3 Paula Ormaechea ARG d n185 q Nicole Gibbs USA 6-2, 6-1 Mon
*n92 Teliana Pereira BRA d n60 s4 Alexandra Cadantu ROU 6-3, 6-4 Tue
n64 s5 Kurumi Nara JPN d n99 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-3, 6-2 Wed
*n160 q Natassja Burnett ITA d n65 s6 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor ESP 7-5, 6-4 Mon
*n89 Diane Pfizenmaier GER d n68 s7 B Zahlavova Strycova CZE 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 Tue
*n144 q Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d n69 s8 Vania King USA 6-4, 6-0 Tue
n77 Silvia Soler Espinosa ESP d n268 wc Laura Pigossi BRA 6-0, 6-1 Mon
n78 Chanelle Scheepers RSA d n83 Timea Babos HUN 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Tue
*n81 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner AUT d n79 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 6-4, 6-3 Tue
*n114 q Alison van Uytvanck BEL d n85 Johanna Larsson SWE 6-4, 6-3 Mon
*n113 Anna-Lena Friedsam GER d n103 Nadiya Kychenok UKR 6-2, 6-3 Wed
n109 Katarzyna Piter POL d n290 wc Beatriz Haddad Maia BRA 6-3, 6-3 Mon
n123 Kiki Bertens NED d n159 q Danka Kovinic MNE 7-5, 6-0 Mon
n181 q Veronica Cepede Royg PAR d n313 wc P Cristina Goncalves BRA 7-5, 7-6(8) Tue

Rio de Janeiro, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu 10am
loser's prize: $3,400 US; points: 30
Wednesday: completed after rain delay
n34 s1 Klara Zakopalova CZE d n77 Silvia Soler Espinosa ESP 6-4, 6-1 Wed
n59 s3 Paula Ormaechea ARG d n123 Kiki Bertens NED 7-5, 7-5 Wed
n64 s5 Kurumi Nara JPN d n113 Anna-Lena Friedsam GER 6-0, 7-6(3) Thu
n70 Lourdes Domínguez Lino ESP d n78 C Scheepers RSA 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-1 Thu
*n92 Teliana Pereira BRA d n81 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner AUT Thu
*n109 Katarzyna Piter POL d n89 Diane Pfizenmaier GER 5-7 ,6-3, 6-1 Wed
*n160 q Natassja Burnett ITA d n114 q Alison van Uytvanck BEL 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 Wed
n144 q Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d n181 q Veronica Cepede Royg PAR 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 Thu

Rio de Janeiro, QFs, Fri 10am
loser's prize: $6,175 US; points: 60
n34 s1 Klara Zakopalova CZE d n109 Katarzyna Piter POL 6-4, 6-0
*n160 q Natassja Burnett ITA d n59 s3 Paula Ormaechea ARG 5-7, 6-2, 7-5
n64 s5 Kurumi Nara JPN d n70 Lourdes Domínguez Lino ESP 7-6(5), 2-0 retired
n92 Teliana Pereira BRA d n144 q Irina-Camelia Begu ROU 6-4, 6-4

Rio de Janeiro, SFs, Sat noon
loser's prize: $11,500 US; points: 110
n34 s1 Klara Zakopalova CZE d n92 Teliana Pereira BRA 6-2, 6-1
n64 s5 Kurumi Nara JPN d n160 q Natassja Burnett ITA 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

Rio de Janeiro, Final Sun 2pm
loser's prize: $21,400 US; points: 180
winner's prize: $43,000 US; points: 280
*n64 s5 Kurumi Nara JPN d n34 s1 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-1, 4-6, 6-1

Klara and Kurumi driving forehands

Rio de Janeiro, Doubles Final Sat 330pm
loser's prize: $6,400 US
winner's prize: $12,300 US
Irina-Camelia Begu & Maria Irigoyen d Johanna Larsson & Chanelle Scheepers 6-2, 6-0

Rio de Janeiro, Qual Finals Sun Feb 16 10am
losers' prizes: q1 $600 1pts; q2 $1,020 12pts; qualifier 18 points
*n160 Natassja Burnett ITA d n90 Julia Glushko ISR 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
n114 Alison van Uytvanck BEL d n179 Melanie Klaffner AUT 6-1, 6-4
*n185 Nicole Gibbs USA d n122 An-Sophie Mestach BEL 7-6(6), 7-5
*n159 Danka Kovinic MNE d n131 Alexandra Panova RUS 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
n144 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d n301 Gabriela Ce BRA 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
n181 Veronica Cepede Royg PAR d n173 Maria Irigoyen ARG 6-2, 6-2

Rio de Janeiro, Withdrawals
n87 Virginie Razzano FRA

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2014 Dubai Tennis Chp & Rio de Janeiro Rio Open Women's Singles Tennis Results (Sports - WTA Tennis)

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WTA Feb 17-23: Dubai & Rio de Janeiro