WTA Apr 27-May 2: Prague & Marrakech

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J&T Banka Prague Open
Prague, CZE INTL $250,000
32m/32q/16d outdoor: red clay
Live Scores - Prague weather radar
draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP
pics: WTA
Czech news
n12 Ka. Pliskova, n13 L Safarova
n23 B Strycova, n24 S Kuznetsova

GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
Marrakech, MAR INTL $250,000
32m/32q/16d outdoor: red clay
Live Scores
draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP
pics: WTA
Morocco news
n20 G Muguruza, n22 T Bacsinszky
n26 F Pennetta, n27 E Svitolina

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Marrakech:

#27 Elina Svitolina
5' 9" 137lb RH 2H-BH

Prague:

#12 Karolina Pliskova
6'1" 159lb RH 2H-BH

On Saturday at Prague, Czech Republic, in the final of the J&T Banka Prague Open, the 2014 champion at Linz and Seoul, 23 year old top seeded #12 (career high: #12) Karolina Pliskova from Louny, Czech Republic, defeated her compatriot, the 2009 Strasbourg finalist, 29 year old qualifier #73 (career high: #48) Lucie Hradecka from Prague, Czech Republic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 (Karolina is shown holding the hardware after the match).

Karolina's prize is $43,000; Lucie's prize is $21,400. It was Karolina's 28th match victory this season, tops in the WTA.

Karolina said: "[Lucie] was playing really well in the first set. In the second set I was serving at 5-3 and I didn't make it, so I'm happy I could win the second set in the end anyway. In the third set she was playing really fast and serving really well, so it was tough, and I was having some emotions. But I'm just happy that I stayed calm in the end and I was able to make it today." WTA story

Karolina is now 4-5 in WTA singles finals; Lucie is 0-7. Karolina now leads Lucie 2-1 in career matches. Their most recent meeting was in 2013 on a Deco-Turf hardcourt in the 1st round at Miami, when Karolina defeated Lucie 6-2, 6-1.

At Marrakech, Morocco, on Saturday, in the final of the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, the 2014 (and 2013) Baku champion, 20 year old 4th seeded #27 (career high #26) Elina Svitolina from Kharkiv, Ukraine, defeated the 2012 champ at Monterrey, 21 year old #88 (career high: #59) Timea Babos from Sopron, Hungary, 7-5, 7-6(3) (Elina is also shown holding the hardware after the match).

Elina's prize is $43,000; Timea's prize is $21,400. Elina is now 3-0 in WTA singles finals; Timea is 1-1. Elina and Timea had met only once before, in 2013 on a hardcourt in the final of an ITF tourney at Donetsk, Ukraine, when Elina defeated Timea 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(9).

WTA SCOREBOARD: Prague & Marrakech

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

J&T Banka Prague Open , Prague, Czech Republic

tourney time:

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

Czech news

Prague The 32-player main draw for Prague 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.

TK Sparta Praha Latitude: 50°6'33.55"N Longitude: 14°24'28.98"E

2015: Lucie Safarova was looking confident after practicing in Prague on Monday...

Prague, 1st Round, Mon 10am, Tue 11am
loser's prize: $1,925 US; points: 1
Tuesday: rain delays; schedule not completed
n12 s1 Karolina Pliskova CZE d n78 Annika Beck GER 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 Tue

Karolina serving

Rain delayed play on Tuesday at Prague, and two matches were postponed to Wednesday Karolina said: "It was my first match on clay so it took me while to get used to it. The first set was bad, I was freezing, could not move, conditions were perfect for my opponent. She was defending and running very well."
"It's tough to play in such a cold and rain, but I don't complain, it was the same for both of us. Court was in perfect condition, just the rain was too strong." WTA story

*n60 Tereza Smitkova CZE d n13 s2 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 ppd-Wed
n23 s3 Barbora Strycova CZE d n43 Madison Brengle USA 7-6(5), 6-3 Tue

Barbora fielding a forehand

*n100 Shuai Zhang CHN d n24 s4 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-4, 6-3 Mon

Shuai driving a forehand

n28 s5 Alize Cornet FRA d n585 wc Kristina Schmiedlova SVK 6-3, 6-3 Mon

Alize about to swat a backhand

Alize said: "It was my first WTA match on clay for one year. It was a bit tough in the beginning to work out how to play, but I think I played pretty solid and it was enough today against Kristina, who is a talented player with a great future." WTA story

*n76 Katerina Siniakova CZE d n33 s6 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU 6-3, 6-3 Mon

Katerina pursuing a forehand

*n98 q Ana Konjuh CRO d n34 s7 Belinda Bencic SUI 7-5, 6(6)-7, 7-6(3) Tue

Ana's forehand drive

*n95 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d n35 s8 Camila Giorgi ITA 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 Mon
*n93 wc Denisa Allertova CZE d n36 Coco Vandeweghe USA 6-4, 6-1 Mon

Denisa after winning a point

*n73 q Lucie Hradecka CZE d n37 A Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-1, 7-5 ppd-Wed
*n67 Polona Hercog SLO d n40 Heather Watson GBR 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(5) Mon
n52 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d n144 q Olga Govortsova BLR 7-5, 6-1 Tue
*n108 q Danka Kovinic MNE d n62 Monica Niculescu ROU 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 Tue
*n85 wc Klara Koukalova CZE d n64 Julia Goerges GER 7-6(3), 6-2 Tue

Klara autographing after the match

*n77 Aleksandra Krunic SRB d n65 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni CRO 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-0 Mon
n72 Elena Vesnina RUS d n118 Jana Cepelova SVK 6-2, 6-1 Mon

Prague, 2nd Round, Wed 11am
loser's prize: $3,310 US; points: 30
n12 s1 Karolina Pliskova CZE d n52 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(1) Wed

Karolina after match point

n23 s3 Barbora Strycova CZE d n72 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-3, 6-3 Wed

Barbora about to swat a forehand

*n93 wc Denisa Allertova CZE d n28 s5 Alize Cornet FRA 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 Wed

Denisa's forehand drive

*n73 q Lucie Hradecka CZE d n60 Tereza Smitkova CZE 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(11) Wed

Lucie after winning a point

*n76 Katerina Siniakova CZE d n67 Polona Hercog SLO 6-1, 6-4 Wed
*n95 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d n77 Aleksandra Krunic SRB 7-5, 6(3)-7, 7-5 Wed
n85 wc Klara Koukalova CZE d n98 q Ana Konjuh CRO 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 Wed

Klara about to lightly tap a forehand

*n108 q Danka Kovinic MNE d n100 Shuai Zhang CHN 6-1, 6-4 Wed

Prague, QFs, Thu 11am
loser's prize: $5,900 US; points: 60
n12 s1 Karolina Pliskova CZE d n93 wc Denisa Allertova CZE 6-2, 5-7, 6-1

Karolina's forehand drive

It was Karolina's third straight 3-set match at Prague. Karolina said: "I do not know what is going on with me, that I can not win in two sets here! I just lost a concentration in the second set, made some very easy and stupid mistakes. At least I won the first set, it´s a step forward for me. But than she stepped up her game, her serve was better and she was making less mistakes. In the first set she was quite nervous, made many errors, and this made it easier for me." WTA story

*n76 Katerina Siniakova CZE d n23 s3 Barbora Strycova CZE 6-4, 6-2

Katerina after winning a point

n73 q Lucie Hradecka CZE d n85 wc Klara Koukalova CZE 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

Lucie's 2-handed forehand (with backhand grip, Bartoli-style)

n95 Yanina Wickmayer BEL v n108 q Danka Kovinic MNE 2-6, 6-3, 6-3

Prague, SFs, Fri 11am
loser's prize: $11,300 US; points: 110
n12 s1 Karolina Pliskova CZE d n95 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 6-4, 7-5

Karolina about to swat a backhand

It was Karolina's 27th match victory this season, tops in the WTA. Karolina said: "Finally I won in two sets, but I wouldn't say it was easier. The ends of the sets were exhausting today. I'm still not happy with the way I'm playing here, but on the other hand I'm never happy. At least I didn't have a big gap in concentration like in my last matches, and I'm happy that I can save some energy for the final." WTA story

n73 q Lucie Hradecka CZE d n76 Katerina Siniakova CZE 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

Lucie after winning a point

Prague, Final, Sat 11am
loser's prize: $21,400 US; points: 180
winner's prize: $43,000 US; points: 280
n12 s1 Karolina Pliskova CZE d n73 q Lucie Hradecka CZE 4-6, 7-5, 6-3

Prague, Doubles Final, Fri
loser's prize: $6,400 US
winner's prize: $12,300 US
Belinda Bencic & Katerina Siniakova d Kateryna Bondarenko & Eva Hrdinova 6-2, 6-2

Prague, Qual Finals, Mon Apr 27
losers' prizes: q1 $530 1pt; q2 $730 10pts; q3 $1,005 14pts; qualifier 18 points
n73 Lucie Hradecka CZE d n109 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 6-4, 6-4
n98 Ana Konjuh CRO d n107 Yulia Putintseva KAZ 6-1, 6-2
n108 Danka Kovinic MNE d n965 Marketa Vondrousova CZE 7-5, 7-6(7)
n144 Olga Govortsova BLR d n171 Jelena Ostapenko LAT 7-5, 4-6, 6-1

Prague, Withdrawals
n10 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP
n53 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK right achilles injury

Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Marrakech, Morocco

tourney time:

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

Morocco news

Marrakech: The 32-player main draw for Marrakech 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.

Royal Club de Tennis Marrakech Latitude: 31.628514 Longitude: -8.009859

2011: After befriending a burro in Fès on Monday, Yaroslava Shvedova tweeted: "This little local Fes creature is so cute! :)" SlavaSays at Twitter...
Young ladies looking good at the Fès players party Tuesday night included Sloane Stephens and Arina Rodionova, in photos by Anastasia Pivovarova...

Marrakech, 1st Round, Mon 11am, Tue 1030am
loser's prize: $1,925 US; points: 1
n20 s1 wc Garbine Muguruza ESP d n251 wc Daria Kasatkina RUS 6-4, 6-1 Tue
n22 s2 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d n92 Evgeniya Rodina RUS 6-3, 7-5 Tue
n26 s3 Flavia Pennetta ITA d n63 Bojana Jovanovski SRB 6-2, 6-3 Tue
n27 s4 Elina Svitolina UKR d n177 Donna Vekic CRO 6-2, 6-2 Tue
*n88 Timea Babos HUN d n39 s5 Mona Barthel GER 6-4, 6-0 Tue
n41 s6 Roberta Vinci ITA d n116 LL Urszula Radwanska POL 6-2, 6-3 Tue
n46 s7 Anna K Schmiedlova SVK d n68 S Soler-Espinosa ESP 6-4, 6-4 Mon
n47 s8 Monica Puig PUR d n86 q Alison van Uytvanck BEL 6-0, 7-6(3) Tue
*n66 Christina McHale USA d n50 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 6-2 Tue
*n81 q Teliana Periera BRA d n51 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-3, 6-2 Tue
*n90 Lara Arruabarrena ESP d n54 Kurumi Nara JPN 7-6(3), 6-4 Mon
n55 Karin Knapp ITA d n139 Cagla Buyukakcay TUR 6-3, 7-6(5) Tue
n59 Kristina Mladenovic FRA d n82 Marina Erakovic NZL 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Tue
*n89 Tatjana Maria GER d n74 Carina Witthoeft GER 6-3, 6-2 Tue
*n151 q Laura Siegemund GER d n91 Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-2, 6-3 Tue
n228 q María Irigoyen ARG d n1096 wc Rita Atik MAR 6-0, 6-0 Tue

Marrakech, 2nd Round, Wed 11am
loser's prize: $3,310 US; points: 30
*n59 Kristina Mladenovic FRA d n20 s1 wc Garbine Muguruza ESP 7-6(4), 7-6(5)
n22 s2 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d n89 Tatjana Maria GER 7-6(3), 6-3
n26 s3 Flavia Pennetta ITA d n151 q Laura Siegemund GER 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
n27 s4 Elina Svitolina UKR d n66 Christina McHale USA 7-5, 6-3
*n55 Karin Knapp ITA d n41 s6 Roberta Vinci ITA 6(3)-7, 6-2, 6-2
n46 s7 Anna K Schmiedlova SVK d n228 q María Irigoyen ARG 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
*n90 Lara Arruabarrena ESP d n47 s8 Monica Puig PUR 7-5, 6-2
*n88 Timea Babos HUN d n81 q Teliana Periera BRA 6-0, 6(5)-7, 6-4

Marrakech, QFs, Thu 11am
loser's prize: $5,900 US; points: 60
*n46 s7 Anna K Schmiedlova SVK d n22 s2 Timea Bacsinszky SUI 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
*n88 Timea Babos HUN d n26 s3 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
n27 s4 Elina Svitolina UKR d n55 Karin Knapp ITA 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
n59 Kristina Mladenovic FRA d n90 Lara Arruabarrena ESP 6-4, 6-1

Marrakech, SFs, Fri noon
loser's prize: $11,300 US; points: 110
n27 s4 Elina Svitolina UKR d n46 s7 Anna K Schmiedlova SVK 6-0, 6-3
*n88 Timea Babos HUN d n59 Kristina Mladenovic FRA 6-4, 6-4

Marrakech, Final, Sat 2pm
loser's prize: $21,400 US; points: 180
winner's prize: $43,000 US; points: 280
n27 s4 Elina Svitolina UKR d n88 Timea Babos HUN 7-5, 7-6(3)

Marrakech, Doubles Final, Fri
loser's prize: $6,400 US
winner's prize: $12,300 US
s1 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic d Laura Siegemund & Maryna Zanevska 6-1, 7-6(5)

Marrakech, Qual Finals, Mon Apr 27 11am
losers' prizes: q1 $530 1pt; q2 $730 10pts; q3 $1,005 14pts; qualifier 18 points
n81 Teliana Periera BRA d n116 Urszula Radwanska POL 6-3, 6-2
n86 Alison van Uytvanck BEL d n196 Olivia Rogowska AUS 6-4, 6-4
n151 Laura Siegemund GER d n201 Alexa Glatch USA 6-1, 0-0 retired
*n228 María Irigoyen ARG d n188 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-2, 6-4

Marrakech, Withdrawals
n21 Shuai Peng CHN low back injury
n32 Zarina Diyas KAZ left foot injury
n48 Johanna Larsson SWE right elbow injury
n69 Kirsten Flipkens BEL right thigh injury
n70 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU
n71 Francesca Schiavone ITA illness
n87 Kiki Bertens NED illness
n97 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor ESP right chest & shoulder injury

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2015 J&T Banka Prague Open and Marrakech SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem Women's Tennis Results (Sports - WTA Tennis)

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WTA Apr 27-May 2: Prague & Marrakech