WTA Jul 31-Aug 6 Acura Classic, San Diego, CA Tier I $1,340,000 - 56 players - outdoor: hard La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, CA Live Scores - results draw, .pdf - draw.html match recaps - photos: 2006 - archives Yahoo! Acura Classic news photos WTA Photo Gallery TV schedule - tourney history San Diego-Carlsbad: weather radar - forecast QuickNews: San Diego News, Search, & Links # 2 Kim Clijsters, # 4 Maria Sharapova # 5 Nadia Petrova, # 6 Elena Dementieva # 8 Patty Schnyder, # 9 Mary Pierce # 12 Nicole Vaidisova, # 13 Martina Hingis San Diego Player's Blog     by Samantha Stosur

Tourney pages: San Diego: 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Carlsbad: #2 Kim Clijsters 5' 8½", 150 lbs, RH 2H-BH Carlsbad: #4 Maria Sharapova 6' 1½+", 130 lbs, RH 2H-BH

    On Sunday in the final of the Acura Classic, 19-year-old 2nd-seeded # 4 Maria Sharapova of Russia (residence: Bradenton, Florida, home of the Bollettieri Academy), narrowly defeated 23-year-old top-seeded # 2 Kim Clijsters from Bree, Belgium, 7-5, 7-5 (Kim is shown during the final, Maria with the glassware afterward).
    Several breaks of serve were exchanged in the 1st set, while only one break occured in the 2nd. But both sets were tied at 5-5 on Maria's serve, and both times she held and then broke Kim's serve to win the set and then the match.

    Maria said: "I knew I had to be physically and mentally ready or I was going down. There's not a lot of things not to like about my game. I played a pretty solid five players and came out with two-set wins in each one. It gives me confidence; I feel I'm match tough again." WTA story
    Kim said: "It was tough out there. I fought. I tried to go for everything when I was down but it was not good enough. After some points, it was hard to refocus for the next shot. I didn't feel fresh."

    It was Maria's first victory over Kim, who had led her 4-0 in career matches, and defeated Maria 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3 the last time they met, in the semis of last year's US Open (where Kim won the title).

    2004 Wimbledon champ Maria is now 12-3 in WTA singles finals. This was the 4th final Maria has reached this year; she also won the title at the Tier I Indian Wells tourney in March. Sharapova record - Sharapova wallpaper
    2005 US Open champ Kim is now 32-15 in WTA singles finals; this year she won the titles in Warsaw (last May) and at Stanford (last week), and also reached the final in Antwerp. Clijsters record - Clijsters wallpaper

San Diego: The main draw for the Acura Classic has 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers and 4 wild cards in the main draw. Early round play begins at 10am local time; qualifying finals are on Sunday).     San Diego (daylight savings) time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) minus 7 hours. That is Pacific Daylight Time in the US, =EDT minus 3 hours.     Early round play at San Diego begins at 10am local. There is live scoring, including qualifying.     2006 is the 23rd year of this tourney, originally the Virginia Slims of San Diego.     La Costa Tennis Club has 17 hard and clay courts, with seven courts lit for evening play. The club hosts the West Coast Tennis Academy.     Center Court stadium has seating for 1,000 people.     La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, CA - click for sat pic & street map   Carlsbad current conditions:

WTA SCOREBOARD: San Diego s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? On Monday at La Costa Resort, Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, and Nadia Petrova entertained reporters by being darned good-looking, and possibly by answering a few questions. 2005 San Diego Champ Mary Pierce, back from a foot injury to play in her 1st tourney since Feburary, spoke into the microphone at the press all-access hour, as did Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, and Maria Sharapova. And on Tuesday night, 1994 Wimbledon Champ and San Diego resident Conchita Martinez, who retired from WTA play this year, was presented with a new Honda scooter to ride when she doesn't feel like dragging her Honda Shadow 750 or Harley-Davidson Heritage Springer 1300 around town.

San Diego, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 10am Mon WTA story losers' prize: $3,455 US; points: 1 *#337 Paola Suarez ARG d #15 s9 Dinara Safina RUS 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Mon Dinara and Paola firing forehands *#50 Elena Vesnina RUS d #16 s10 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 Tue #17 s11 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #51 Kveta Peschke CZE 6-1, 4-0 retired-- right thigh strain Tue Daniela serving, and Kveta's backhand #18 s12 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #73 wc Lisa Raymond USA 7-5, 6-3 Mon *#37 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #19 s13 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-1, 7-5 Tue Ai's forehand, and Vera's backhand #20 s14 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #75 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-2, 6-1 Mon Ana, probably after match point on Monday (the WTA rarely says exactly when the photos they post were taken) #21 s15 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #28 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 6-0 Tue *#27 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #22 s16 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1, 6-4 Mon Jelena and Maria driving backhands *#33 Gisela Dulko ARG d #26 Shahar Peer ISR 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 Tue *#43 Samantha Stosur AUS d #29 Nathalie Dechy FRA 7-5, 6-4 Mon *#82 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #30 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-4, 6-3 Mon #31 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #59 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-4, 6-3 Tue *#48 q Amy Frazier USA d #32 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-3, 7-6(7) Tue Amy and Tatiana firing forehands *#46 Sybille Bammer AUT d #38 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1 Mon #39 Shuai Peng CHN d #41 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-1, 6-4 Mon #42 Sania Mirza IND d #70 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-3, 6-1 Tue #61 Emma Laine FIN d #78 q Vania King USA 6-4, 6-2 Mon Lefty Emma about to slice a backhand, and Vania's backhand drive *#90 q Meilen Tu USA d #56 Laura Granville USA 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 Mon Meilen's flying forehand #65 Jamea Jackson USA d #132 wc Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 Mon *#88 wc Ashley Harkleroad USA d #67 Jill Craybas USA 6-3, 6-3 Tue #71 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #105 LL Ivana Lisjak CRO 6-2, 7-6(2) Tue *#98 q Vasilisa Bardina RUS d #95 LL Meng Yuan CHN 6-2, 6-4 Mon *#102 q Olga Savchuk UKR d #96 q Hana Sromova CZE 2-2 retired-- right hand contusion Mon #106 q Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #NR wc Coco Vandeweghe USA 6-4, 6-2 Mon Kateryna's forehand drive, and Coco--looks like she just chopped a forehand drop shot

San Diego, 2nd Rd, Tue-Wed 10am Tue WTA story - Wed WTA story losers' prize: $6,775 US; points: 25 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #43 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-1, 6-2 Wed Kim and Samantha launching backhands     Kim Clijsters has been swinging a new stick since June. At the French Open she was still using her old Babolat Pure Drive Team Standard (27" long with a 100 square inch head); at Eastbourne Kim began chopping with the "new" Pure Drive Standard. The new racquet has weight and balance stats almost identical to the older Pure Drive Team, but has something that Babolat calls "Cortex" just above the handle, which purportedly "reduces harmful racquet vibrations without filtering out the feedback required for feel." This upgrade is very similar to what Wilson claims for their nCode nTour Two bats.     About her 3rd round opponent, Jelena Jankovic, Kim said: "[Jelena] moves really well. I've played matches against her where she defends a lot and others where she goes for a lot. My serves weren't great the last time I played her [Stanford] but I've been working on them a lot recently.     "I’ve always enjoyed coming here and I play well here, just have never won [this tournament]. But yeah, I'd love to win this." #4 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #98 q Vasilisa Bardina RUS 6-4, 6-1 Tue Maria following a little slice serve, and Vasilisa and Maria launching backhands     Maria said: "I felt pretty good. At the beginning, I felt tested. We had pretty long rallies. I don't think I served very well and in the longer points, I was forced to err. But after that, I made [Vasilisa] play a little bit more and she wasn't serving as well and I was able to put pressure on her.     "Even when she broke me, I felt like I was moving well on court. It was just a matter of getting out there on the court and getting some match play in." *#31 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #5 s3 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 Wed #6 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS d #88 wc Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-2, 6-2 Wed Elena's toss and serve, and Ashley fielding a forehand #8 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI d #33 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-4, 6-1 Wed #9 s6 Mary Pierce FRA d #46 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-1, 6(7)-7, 7-6(4) Wed Mary following a cannonball serve, and Sybille's backhand     Mary said: "It was fun, a lot of fun. I don’t know if I've ever been that happy and excited, being out on the court at a tournament competing again. I had three match points in the second set. It's difficult to lose a match when you had match points. When I got to the third set I just put that behind me." #12 s7 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #82 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-1, 6-0 Tue #13 s8 Martina Hingis SUI d #90 q Meilen Tu USA 6-2, 6-3 Tue Martina's forehand drive, and Meilen's backhand     Martina said: "Coming off a long lay-off, it's never easy. The first game was pretty tense, coming back I held serve every single time. I felt like I was putting [Meilen] under pressure. It was a good win. Every [win] is a good one." #17 s11 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #102 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-2, 6-4 Wed #18 s12 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #65 Jamea Jackson USA 6-2, 7-6(1) Wed #20 s14 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #48 q Amy Frazier USA 6-3, 6-2 Wed Ana following a cannonball serve, Amy (with lotsa sunscreen) following her forehand, and Ana's backhand *#42 Sania Mirza IND d #21 s15 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-3, 7-6(4) Wed #27 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #71 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-1, 7-6(4) Wed #37 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #39 Shuai Peng CHN 3-6, 7-6(5) retired--     Reuters says right knee injury; WTA says heat illness; Wed Vera's forehand, Shuai awaiting a backhand, and Vera helping Shuai with a bag of ice while the trainer looks at Shuai's knee *#61 Emma Laine FIN d #50 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-7(1), 7-6(5), 6-4 Wed *#337 Paola Suarez ARG d #106 q Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 Wed

San Diego, 3rd Rd, Thu 10am WTA story losers' prize: $13,285 US; points: 42 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #27 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Kim serving and firing a forehand, and Jelena's backhand     Kim said: "I was just trying to hang in there. My legs felt dead today. I felt like it was so hard to keep pushing myself, but I tried." #4 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #37 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-4, 6-4 Maria watching her serve fly, Vera following a forehand, and Maria likewise     Maria led 4-0 in the 2nd set, then Vera won four of the next five games. Maria said: "I don’t think I did too much wrong. I knew [Vera] was playing good tennis again. Every time I play her I usually expect good tennis because I know how good she can be. From the beginning of the match I felt I hung in there and was really patient. I played really solid and made her hit lots of balls." #6 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS d #42 Sania Mirza IND 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Sania about to swat a forehand, Elena following one, and after winning a point #8 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI d #337 Paola Suarez ARG 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 #9 s6 Mary Pierce FRA d #61 Emma Laine FIN 6-2, 6-1 Mary serving #12 s7 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #17 s11 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 6-2 #13 s8 Martina Hingis SUI d #18 s12 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 Martina ready to swat a serve, and Flavia and Martina launching backhands     About playing Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals on Friday, Martina said: "You have to commit to a long match and grind it out. You have to go in knowing in your head you have to rally with [Kim]. You cannot overpower her. You have to be able to run down a lot of shots and take every opportunity you can get." *#31 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #20 s14 Ana Ivanovic SCG 4-6, 6-4, 6-1

San Diego, QFs, Fri 10am WTA story losers' prize: $26,050 US; points: 75 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #13 s8 Martina Hingis SUI 7-5, 6-2 Kim serving, Martina fielding a forehand, Kim following a flying forehand, and Martina and Kim launching backhands     The match was fairly even for a set and a half--but in the last three games of the 2nd set Martina won only four points.     Kim said: "When you play Martina, you have to win the points against her; she won't hit you off the court. It's up to me to be aggressive, to go for the winners. It's why you take the risk and make a few more errors."     Martina said: "[Kim] doesn't really give you a free point. She doesn't really have a weakness...     "I'm lacking stamina. It's the focus, I wish I could play her every day so I could get used to her intensity... I'm pushing the top players, but you have to play matches like today a lot. I'm not happy with just reaching the quarter-finals." Reuters story #4 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #9 s6 Mary Pierce FRA 6-2, 6-3 Maria running to her backhand side, about to hit a left-handed forehand, which she sometimes does on balls tough to reach-- notice that Maria's grip is choked up, so that it is essentially a RH, 2H-BH with the right hand removed, Mary and Maria launching conventional 2-handed backhands, and Maria after match point     Maria said: "I thought I played solid. First set I got up a break and felt I was returning really well. But [Mary is] always dangerous. She's a pretty big hitter."     2005 Acura champ Mary was playing in her first tourney since Feburary, due to a foot injury. Mary said: "It was encouraging; it didn't feel too bad. I'm confident that within a couple of weeks I'll be feeling pretty good about myself and my game. It would have been nice, of course, to defend my title and win here, but I did my best." *#8 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI d #6 s4 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-4, 6-3 Patty chasing a forehand, Elena's backhand, and Patty firing another forehand #12 s7 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #31 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Nicole serving up an American Twist, Anna serving a cannonball, and Nicole launching a backhand,     After winning the 1st set, Anna broke Nicole's serve in first game of the 2nd set, and then held serve for a 2-0 lead. Nicole said: "I don't think it could have gotten much worse than that. But I think it would have been even tougher and a little bit of a different story if I was down 3-0 and two breaks."

San Diego, SFs, Sat 1pm & 7pm losers' prize: $51,000 US; points: 135 #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL d #12 s7 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-2, 7-6(0) Nicole serving, Kim's forehand drive, Nicole following a backhand, Kim driving one, and Kim about to deliver cheeseballs to the crowd after the match     About Nicole's performance in the 2nd set, Kim said: "I think she started playing better; I don't think I changed a lot. She started making a lot of her shots. I had to step it up a bit and be aggressive. I was lucky she made a few mistakes in the first set."     Nicole said: "I don't think I played a smart match, especially in the first set. I changed things up in the second set, but lost a little bit in the end. I definitely had a lot of chances in the second set, and I'm disappointed I didn't use them." #4 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #8 s5 Patty Schnyder SUI 7-5, 6-4 Maria sending a twist serve Pattyward, Patty flying after a forehand, Maria after breaking Patty's serve in the 11th game of the 1st set to take a 6-5 lead, Maria driving a backhand, and Maria as Patty's shot went long on match point     Both players held serve in the 1st set until the 11th game, when Maria broke Patty to take a 6-5 lead, and then served out the set. In the 2nd set, Maria took a 2-break lead before Patty broke back. Patty held to reach 4-5, but Maria was able to hold serve in the final game of the match.     Maria said: "I served smart. [Patty] was guessing. That was probably the greatest thing about my serving. I was consistently smart. I mixed up it up good and mixed up the pace good." WTA story     Patty said: "I didn't do too well at the beginning; [Maria] won her serve too easily. She has a huge serve. On each and every point she's like 100 percent concentrated and focused. She really never gives you room to breathe. Just a really complete player."

San Diego, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $100,000 US; points: 210 winner's prize: $196,900 US; points: 300 #4 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #2 s1 Kim Clijsters BEL 7-5, 7-5 Maria sending a twist serve Kimward, Kim's backhand drive, Maria after winning a game in the 1st set (set point?), Maria driving a backhand, and Maria after match point

San Diego, Doubles Final, Sun after singles losers' prize: $30,000 US winners' prize: $59,000 US cdr13 s2 Cara Black & Rennae Stubbs d cdr23 s4 Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Meghann Shaughnessy 6-2, 6-2 Cara & Rennae San Diego, Qual Finals, Sun Jul 30 10am losers' prize: $1,765 US #48 Amy Frazier USA d #127 Bethanie Mattek USA 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(3) #78 Vania King USA d #105 Ivana Lisjak CRO 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3) #82 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #154 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-4, 6-2 #90 Meilen Tu USA d #NR Andreea Vanc ROM 6-0, 6-2 *#106 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #95 Meng Yuan CHN 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 #96 Hana Sromova CZE d #109 Lilia Osterloh USA 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 #98 Vasilisa Bardina RUS d #135 Lioudmila Skavronskaia RUS 6-2, 6-1 #102 Olga Savchuk UKR d #195 Jessica Kirkland USA 6-2, 6-4 San Diego, Withdrawals #3 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL right knee #7 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS #10 Lindsay Davenport USA low back #14 Francesca Schiavone ITA #24 Venus Williams USA left wrist #25 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP #54 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR #64 Anna Smashnova ISR r shoulder #108 wc Serena Williams USA left knee #NR Chanda Rubin USA #NR Elena Bovina RUS right shoulder "Where's the handle on this mug?..."

    (Aug 1, 2006) Former WTA # 6 Chanda Rubin, who has been sidelined from WTA play for most of the past 2 years due to left knee (and ankle) injuries and surgery, has withdrawn from the Acura Classic--due to the persistence those same injuries. Hopefully Chanda will soon be able to return to regular WTA play.

    (July 29, 2006) Among the numerous withdrawals from the Acura Classic (which still has a very good field, including 2005 champ Mary Pierce, and Nadia Petrova, both returning from injuries) are former WTA # 1s Lindsay Davenport (low back), Venus Williams (wrist pain), and Serena Williams (left knee).
    Serena had accepted a wild card entry into the tourney. Serena said: "I am just coming back from injury and my doctor has advised me against playing too much too quickly. This is frustrating as I am eager to improve my ranking and play more tennis but it is something I must do." Reuters story

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