2009 ASB Classic
Encyclopedia
The 2009 ASB Classic is a tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the 24th edition of the ASB Classic
ASB Classic
The ASB Classic is a tennis tournament held in Auckland, New Zealand. Held since 1986, this WTA Tour event is an International series tournament and is played on outdoor hardcourts during the first week of the year....

, and was part of the WTA International tournaments
WTA International tournaments
The International Tournaments is the new category for tennis tournaments of Women's Tennis Association from the 2009 WTA Tour. Tournaments are replacing Tier III and Tier IV events...

 of the 2009 WTA Tour
2009 WTA Tour
The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events....

. It took place at the ASB Tennis Centre
ASB Tennis Centre
The ASB Tennis Centre is a tennis facility located in the Parnell district of Auckland, New Zealand. The centre was founded in 1920 by Tennis Auckland. It hosts the Heineken Open for men and the ASB Classic for women on consecutive weeks in January each year before the Australian Open...

 in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand, from January 5 through January 10, 2009.

The singles draw is led by WTA No. 4, Luxembourg
2008 Fortis Championships Luxembourg
The 2008 Fortis Championships Luxembourg was a tennis tournament on indoor hard courts. It was the 13th edition of the Fortis Championships Luxembourg, and was part of the Tier III Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place in Luxembourg, Luxembourg, from October 20 through October 26,...

, Dubai
2008 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Dubai Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...

 winner, Olympics gold medalist Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...

, Tokyo
2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships
The 2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 36th edition of the event known that year as the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier III Series of the...

, New Haven
2008 Pilot Pen Tennis
The 2008 Pilot Pen Tennis was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the Pilot Pen Tennis, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...

, Stockholm
2008 Nordea Nordic Light Open
The 2008 Nordea Nordic Light Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 7th edition of the Nordea Nordic Light Open, and was part of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, from July 28 through August 3, 2008.-Singles: Caroline...

 titlist Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...

 and Strasbourg
2008 Internationaux de Strasbourg
The 2008 Internationaux de Strasbourg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Internationaux de Strasbourg, and was part of the Tier III Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Centre Sportif de Hautepierre in Strasbourg, France, from May 19...

 champion, Fes
2008 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
The 2008 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 8th edition of the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, and was part of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...

, Portorož
2008 Banka Koper Slovenia Open
The 2008 Banka Koper Slovenia Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 4th edition of the Banka Koper Slovenia Open, and was part of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place in Portorož, Slovenia, from July 21 through July 27, 2008.-Singles: Sara Errani def...

 runner-up Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...

. Also competing are Stanford
2008 Bank of the West Classic
The 2008 Bank of the West Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 37th edition of the Bank of the West Classic, and was part of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California, United States, from July 14...

 champion Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak is a Canadian professional tennis player. She turned professional in November 2005. Wozniak achieved a career-best ranking of no. 21 on June 22, 2009, making her the fourth-highest ranked Canadian singles player of all time. She has won one WTA and eight ITF tournaments...

, Prague
2008 ECM Prague Open
The 2008 ECM Prague Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 13th edition of the ECM Prague Open, and was part of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour and of the 2008 ATP Challenger Tretorn Serie+. It took place at the I. Czech Lawn Tennis Club in Prague, Czech...

 quarter-finalist Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....

, Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...

, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...

 and Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...

.

Changes

At the 2008 tournament, the courts were changed to a blue Plexicushion
Plexicushion
Plexicushion is a tennis surface system made by Plexipave, a company based in Massachusetts, USA.- Description :According to the Plexipave website there are four different types of Plexicushion...

 surface, replacing the green Rebound Ace
Rebound Ace
Rebound Ace is a cushioned tennis hardcourt composed of polyurethane rubber, fiberglass, and other materials on top of an asphalt or reinforced concrete base...

. This was consistent with the surface change that was also implemented at the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

.

For the 2009 WTA Tour
2009 WTA Tour
The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events....

 the ASB Classic was chosen as part of the new 55 tournament calendar. A new tournament director, Brenda Perry, was brought in, and there was also an increase in prize money from $145,000 to $225,000. The event underwent a change in sponsorship, with Zealandia
Zealandia
SS Zealandia, nicknamed Z was a historically significant Australian cargo and passenger ship. It served as a troopship in both World War I and World War II. Zealandia transported the ill-fated Australian 8th Division. Its crew were the last Allied personnel to see HMAS Sydney, which was lost with...

, a New Zealand horticulture firm, becoming a supporting partner.

Seeds

Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...

, who was set to be the number two seed, was forced to pull out when it was announced that she had contracted viral meningitis
Viral meningitis
Viral meningitis refers to meningitis caused by a viral infection. It is sometimes referred to as "aseptic meningitis" in contrast to meningitis caused by bacteria.An example is lymphocytic choriomeningitis....

 in mid-December.
Athlete Nationality Ranking Seeding
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...

  Russia 5 1
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...

  Denmark 12 2
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...

  Spain 22 3
Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak is a Canadian professional tennis player. She turned professional in November 2005. Wozniak achieved a career-best ranking of no. 21 on June 22, 2009, making her the fourth-highest ranked Canadian singles player of all time. She has won one WTA and eight ITF tournaments...

  Canada 34 4
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....

  Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

38 5
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...

  Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

41 6
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...

  Russia 45 7
Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...

  Spain 49 8

Other notable entrants

The return of Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic is a New Zealand professional tennis player of Croatian background. Her career high in Women's Tennis Association doubles ranking is World No. 43, achieved on 27 October 2008, and in singles it is No. 49, achieved on 7 July 2008. As of 21 November 2011, she is World No...

 (a New Zealander) to this event provoked a strong interest from media in the country. In the 2008 event
2008 ASB Classic
The 2008 ASB Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 23rd edition of the ASB Classic, and was part of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, from December 31, 2007 through January 5, 2008.-Singles:...

, Erakovic had reached the semifinals, defeating the top seed Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...

 in the process. Erakovic went on to have the most successful season of her career, despite some poorer results and injuries in the latter half of the year. Commenting on the 2009 tournament, Erakovic said, "Even though the ASB Classic is important and I want to do well in my home town, my sight is set on the Australian Open and to be 100 percent for that." Erakovic had had to rely on a wildcard
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

 to gain entry to the previous year's event, but in 2009 was a direct entrant. Another entry which drew attention from the media was that of Mirjana Lučić
Mirjana Lucic
Mirjana Lučić is a Croatian professional tennis player. She enjoyed a promising career on the WTA Tour in the late 1990s, during which she set several "youngest-ever" records, won one Grand Slam women's doubles title at the Australian Open in 1998 when she was only 15 years old, partnering Martina...

, who had reached the Wimbledon semifinals
1999 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Jana Novotná was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Lindsay Davenport. Davenport ended up defeating Steffi Graf, 6–4, 7–5, in the final to win without losing a set in the entire tournament....

 ranked 134 in 1999, but had been largely absent from the Tour in the preceding years for personal reasons. Lučić received a wildcard for the main draw.

Qualifying

The qualifying tournament was played from January 3–4. Four players received wildcards:
  1.   Di Hollands
  2.   Aucklander Kairangi
  3.   Michaëlla Krajicek
    Michaëlla Krajicek
    Michaëlla Krajicek is a Dutch professional tennis player. Her highest WTA ranking was number 30 on 11 February 2008. She currently is the second best ranked player from the Netherlands behind Arantxa Rus.-Personal life:...

  4.   Petra Martić
    Petra Martic
    Petra Martić is a professional tennis player from Croatia. Her career high ranking is #47, achieved on September 26th 2011.-Early Career: 2006–2009:...



The four players to successfully qualify were Ayumi Morita
Ayumi Morita
is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...

 and Aiko Nakamura
Aiko Nakamura
, is a female Japanese tennis player. She was once the second highest WTA-ranked Japanese singles tennis player, at 107 , after Ai Sugiyama....

 (both Japan), German player Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois is a professional German tennis player who has won two German Tennis Championships and reached the second round of all four Grand Slam events, as well as the final of two WTA tournaments. She lives in Urexweiler, Marpingen. Her career high rank is World No...

, and Italian Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti is a professional female tennis player from Italy.On June 13, 2011, Brianti achieved her career-high singles ranking of 55...

.

Review

Day by day summaries of the women's singles and doubles events. The singles draw is composed of 32 players, with 8 of these players seeded, while the doubles draw features 16 players, 4 of which are seeded.

Day One

The singles and doubles events both started on 5 January. In the women's singles, the seeded players who featured on the first day all advanced to the second round. Third seed and WTA #22 Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...

 beat Italian Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo is a former professional female tennis player from Italy. She retired from the sport on 28 January 2011.-Tennis career:...

 7–5, 6–0. Fourth seed Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak is a Canadian professional tennis player. She turned professional in November 2005. Wozniak achieved a career-best ranking of no. 21 on June 22, 2009, making her the fourth-highest ranked Canadian singles player of all time. She has won one WTA and eight ITF tournaments...

 overcame her opponent Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková is a Slovak professional tennis player. On June 22, 2009, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of 40th.-Biography:...

 from Slovakia in three sets, winning 6–3, 6–7(4), 7–5. Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....

, the fifth seed from Israel, sealed her passage into the next round with a straight sets triumph against Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic and is of ethnic Macedonian origin. She reached her career high singles ranking No.30 on 24 October 2011.-Career:...

 of the Czech Republic. The final seed to go through, Czech Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...

 took three sets before triumphing 7–6(3), 4–6, 7–5 against Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...

 of Russia. In other matches, another Czech Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová beat France's Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...

 1–6, 6–2, 6–3 to line up a second round match with Pe'er; Romanian Edina Gallovits
Edina Gallovits
Klaudia Edina Gallovits-Hall is a Romanian female tennis player of Hungarian descent on her father's side. She is currently ranked 75th in the world and her career highest ranking of No. 54 was achieved on April 28, 2008...

 also found out her opponent would be Medina Garrigues after beating yet another Czech, Klára Zakopalová 3–6, 6–2, 7–5. American Jill Craybas
Jill Craybas
- Early years :Craybas was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she played for coach Andy Brandi's Florida Gators women's tennis team in National Collegiate Athletics Association competition from 1993 to...

 and French Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï is an Iranian-French tennis player born in Saint-Étienne, France to Iranian parents. She is the current French No. 5 in women's tennis. Rezaï took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ball girl...

 recorded victories against Kimiko Date Krumm and Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou is a Greek tennis player born in Chania, on the island of Crete.As of 2011, she has won five WTA singles titles and three doubles titles. In 2003, she reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final. Her highest singles ranking has been 14th...

 respectively.

Several matches were played in the doubles event on the first day. The most notable result saw top seeds Jill Craybas (playing her second match of the day following her singles victory) and New Zealander Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic is a New Zealand professional tennis player of Croatian background. Her career high in Women's Tennis Association doubles ranking is World No. 43, achieved on 27 October 2008, and in singles it is No. 49, achieved on 7 July 2008. As of 21 November 2011, she is World No...

 knocked out by the Spanish pairing of Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives is a Spanish female tennis player. On June 6, 2005, Llagostera Vives reached her career-high singles ranking, World No. 35.During her career she has won 2 singles titles and 11 in doubles...

 and Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja is a professional female tennis player from Spain. She turned pro in 2000.On 12 July 2010, Parra Santonja reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...

 6–4, 6–2. They were the only seeds to fall, with fourth seeds Chan Yung-jan
Chan Yung-jan
Chan Yung-jan , Taiwan) is a professional female tennis player from Republic of China . She has won 13 ITF singles titles; and 7 WTA and 11 ITF doubles titles. Her career highlights include semifinals in the Japan Open in 2006 and finals in the PTT Bangkok Open in 2007 Chan Yung-jan , Taiwan) is a...

 (from Chinese Taipei) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...

 of Russia advancing comfortably with a 6–2, 6–2 win over İpek Şenoğlu
Ipek Senoglu
İpek Şenoğlu , nicknamed İpeko, is a Turkish tennis player. Şenoğlu first made history in June 2004 when she was accepted into the women's doubles qualifying for Wimbledon. Though İpek did not advance into the main draw of Wimbledon, she became the first Turk ever to play in a qualifying tournament...

 of Turkey and German Jasmin Wöhr
Jasmin Wöhr
Jasmin Wöhr is a German professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999.Wöhr was part of the Germany Fed Cup team in 2006. In the same year, she played solely in doubles competition, but has since returned to singles as well...

. Chan and Pavlyuchenkova's win set up a second round match with Russians Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...

 and Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...

 who beat Natalie Grandin
Natalie Grandin
Natalie Grandin is a professional tennis player from South Africa. Grandin has yet to compete outside of the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam singles event. She is known for her variety of play, and volleying ability....

 from South Africa and Latvia's Līga Dekmeijere
Liga Dekmeijere
Līga Dekmeijere is a professional tennis player from Latvia who has won nineteen International Tennis Federation doubles titles and one Women's Tennis Association doubles title. Dekmeijere has been as high as World Number 54 in the overall women's doubles rankings, a ranking that she achieved on...

 6–1, 6–3.
  • Seeded players out (singles): None
  • Seeded players out (doubles): Jill Craybas/Marina Erakovic

Day Two

Day 2 saw the completion of the first round of matches in both the singles and doubles competitions. The remaining seeds who were not in action on the first day all won their matches and qualified for round two. During the day session, top seed and ATP no. 4 Russian Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...

 had a far from straight forward match against Chan Yung-jan
Chan Yung-jan
Chan Yung-jan , Taiwan) is a professional female tennis player from Republic of China . She has won 13 ITF singles titles; and 7 WTA and 11 ITF doubles titles. Her career highlights include semifinals in the Japan Open in 2006 and finals in the PTT Bangkok Open in 2007 Chan Yung-jan , Taiwan) is a...

 from Chinese, eventually coming through 7–5, 6–3. The young player from Taipei was hard-hitting but did not have enough to beat Dementieva. Second seed Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...

 of Denmark, ranked at a career high of #12, crushed her opponent, Italian qualifier Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti is a professional female tennis player from Italy.On June 13, 2011, Brianti achieved her career-high singles ranking of 55...

 6–1, 6–0 in 56 minutes to achieve a meeting with Jill Craybas. No.8 seed Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...

 from Spain beat Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...

 6–4, 6–0. She found out her opponent for round two later in the day, with Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Viensouk Keothavong is a British professional tennis player. She is a former long-standing British number 1, however she is the current British number 2, behind Elena Baltacha and is ranked 71st in the world...

 from Great Britain winning 6–4, 6–2 against Croatian wildcard Mirjana Lučić
Mirjana Lucic
Mirjana Lučić is a Croatian professional tennis player. She enjoyed a promising career on the WTA Tour in the late 1990s, during which she set several "youngest-ever" records, won one Grand Slam women's doubles title at the Australian Open in 1998 when she was only 15 years old, partnering Martina...

. In other day matches, Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...

 routed qualifier Aiko Nakamura
Aiko Nakamura
, is a female Japanese tennis player. She was once the second highest WTA-ranked Japanese singles tennis player, at 107 , after Ai Sugiyama....

, 6–1, 6–0 and qualifier Ayumi Morita
Ayumi Morita
is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...

 beat Marta Domachowska
Marta Domachowska
Marta Domachowska is a Polish professional tennis player. She began playing at age 7. She reached the semi finals of Australian Open Junior Championships in 2003. Her racquet brand is Wilson. She speaks four languages: Polish, English, Spanish and Russian. Other than tennis, she enjoys sports such...

, 6–4 4–6 6–4. The unseeded Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic is a New Zealand professional tennis player of Croatian background. Her career high in Women's Tennis Association doubles ranking is World No. 43, achieved on 27 October 2008, and in singles it is No. 49, achieved on 7 July 2008. As of 21 November 2011, she is World No...

 of New Zealand sealed her place in the second round by beating Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives is a Spanish female tennis player. On June 6, 2005, Llagostera Vives reached her career-high singles ranking, World No. 35.During her career she has won 2 singles titles and 11 in doubles...

 from Spain 7–5, 6–4.
Seventh seed Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...

 ensured that all eight of the seeds had made it to the second round by winning her match in the night session against German Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois is a professional German tennis player who has won two German Tennis Championships and reached the second round of all four Grand Slam events, as well as the final of two WTA tournaments. She lives in Urexweiler, Marpingen. Her career high rank is World No...

 6–3, 6–1.

In doubles, second seeds Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....

 and Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...

 progressed to the quarter-finals by defeating Argentinian Betina Jozami
Betina Jozami
Betina Jozami is a professional tennis player from Argentina. She has not won a Women's Tennis Association tennis title, but has won five singles titles and eleven doubles titles on the International Tennis Federation . Born to Beto and Andrea Jozami, the Argentine has two siblings...

 and Indian Shikha Uberoi
Shikha Uberoi
Shikha Uberoi is a professional tennis player from India, though an American citizen .  She has been ranked as high as 122nd in the world in singles ....

 6–2, 6–2 but no. 3 seeds Czech Vladimíra Uhlířová
Vladimíra Uhlírová
Vladimíra Uhlířová is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Uhlířová reached her highest doubles ranking of World number 18 on October 1, 2007. Uhlířová has won 17 ITF doubles titles and 5 WTA doubles titles, but no singles titles of either type.-Doubles: 17 :-External links:...

 and Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich is a professional Belarusian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 134th, which she reached on October 6, 2008. Her career high in doubles is 64th, which she reached on September 29, 2008. She has won four ITF and Satellite titles during her career...

 of Belarus were beaten 6–4, 6–4 by Italian Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo is a former professional female tennis player from Italy. She retired from the sport on 28 January 2011.-Tennis career:...

 and French player Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...

, a three-times Grand Slam doubles titlist. In other matches, Sarah Borwell
Sarah Borwell
Sarah Leah Borwell is an English professional tennis player who specialises primarily in doubles. She is currently the British number 1 in doubles, ranked 67 in the world...

 from Great Britain and her partner Martina Müller qualified for the quarter-finals, overcoming the disappointment of a 6–0 first set to take the next two 7–5, 10-7 on champions tiebreak against Aiko Nakamura
Aiko Nakamura
, is a female Japanese tennis player. She was once the second highest WTA-ranked Japanese singles tennis player, at 107 , after Ai Sugiyama....

 (Japan) and Marta Domachowska
Marta Domachowska
Marta Domachowska is a Polish professional tennis player. She began playing at age 7. She reached the semi finals of Australian Open Junior Championships in 2003. Her racquet brand is Wilson. She speaks four languages: Polish, English, Spanish and Russian. Other than tennis, she enjoys sports such...

 (Poland). Edina Gallovits
Edina Gallovits
Klaudia Edina Gallovits-Hall is a Romanian female tennis player of Hungarian descent on her father's side. She is currently ranked 75th in the world and her career highest ranking of No. 54 was achieved on April 28, 2008...

 and Eva Hrdinová
Eva Hrdinová
Eva Hrdinová is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Hrdinova is now the tallest player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour standing at 1.91m. This beats the previous record of Akgul Amanmuradova, who stands just one centimetre shorter.Hrdinová's highest singles ranking yet has been...

 defeated Australian wildcards Shona Lee and Kairangi Vano 6–3, 6–4. Finally, in an all American tie, Raquel Kops-Jones
Raquel Kops-Jones
Raquel Kops-Jones is a professional tennis player from the United States of America. She made her debut in professional competition in 2000, aged 17, at an ITF tournament in Boca Raton....

 and Abigail Spears
Abigail Spears
Abigail Michal Spears is an American professional tennis player.Spears turned professional in 2000. Spears has reached the third round at the 2005 Australian Open, and the first round at the 2005 French Open, 2005 Wimbledon tournament and the 2005 U.S. Open...

 lost to Julie Ditty
Julie Ditty
Julie Ditty is an American professional tennis player. Ditty did not have her true WTA breakthrough until 2007, when she reached the semifinals of the Bell Challenge, a result that took her into the top 100 for the first time in her career on November 5, 2007, at No. 91...

 and Carly Gullickson
Carly Gullickson
Carly Gullickson is an American professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is No. 123, which she reached on July 20, 2009. Her career high doubles ranking is No. 52, set at April 3, 2006. She is the daughter of former major league baseball player Bill Gullickson, and the...

 6–1, 6–3 to complete the quarter-final lineup.
  • Seeded players out (singles): None
  • Seeded players out (doubles): Vladimíra Uhlířová/Ekaterina Dzehalevich

Day Three

After the first round passing without losing any seeds, five were knocked out on day three, all in straight sets, leaving just three seeds qualifying for the quarter-finals. 3rd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...

 lost to Edina Gallovits
Edina Gallovits
Klaudia Edina Gallovits-Hall is a Romanian female tennis player of Hungarian descent on her father's side. She is currently ranked 75th in the world and her career highest ranking of No. 54 was achieved on April 28, 2008...

 6–3, 6–3. No. 6 seed Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...

 was beaten 6–4, 6–3 by Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...

. Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak is a Canadian professional tennis player. She turned professional in November 2005. Wozniak achieved a career-best ranking of no. 21 on June 22, 2009, making her the fourth-highest ranked Canadian singles player of all time. She has won one WTA and eight ITF tournaments...

, the 4th seed, was knocked out by Ayumi Morita
Ayumi Morita
is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...

 7–5, 6–2, no. 7 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...

 failed to progress as she lost 6–2, 6–3 to Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï is an Iranian-French tennis player born in Saint-Étienne, France to Iranian parents. She is the current French No. 5 in women's tennis. Rezaï took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ball girl...

 while Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...

 succumbed to Briton Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Viensouk Keothavong is a British professional tennis player. She is a former long-standing British number 1, however she is the current British number 2, behind Elena Baltacha and is ranked 71st in the world...

 who continued her good start to life in the top 60 with a 6–2, 6–4 win. As for the seeds that progressed, top seed Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...

 beat New Zealand's Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic is a New Zealand professional tennis player of Croatian background. Her career high in Women's Tennis Association doubles ranking is World No. 43, achieved on 27 October 2008, and in singles it is No. 49, achieved on 7 July 2008. As of 21 November 2011, she is World No...

 6–2, 6–3; No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...

 narrowly saw off veteran Jill Craybas
Jill Craybas
- Early years :Craybas was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she played for coach Andy Brandi's Florida Gators women's tennis team in National Collegiate Athletics Association competition from 1993 to...

 6–4, 7–5. 5th seed Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....

 had to try hard to concentrate on her tennis because an Auckland-based protest group staged protests at her decision not to pull out of the tournament with a war taking place in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

. Nevertheless she became the third seed to progress, beating Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in a topsy-turvy match 6–3, 4–6, 6–2.

  • Seeded players out (singles): Anabel Medina Garrigues, Aleksandra Wozniak, Nicole Vaidišová, Anastasia Palyuchenkova, Carla Suárez Navarro
  • Seeded players out (doubles): Shahar Pe'er/Caroline Wozniacki

Day Four

  • Seeded players out (singles): Caroline Wozniacki, Shahar Pe'er
  • Seeded players out (doubles): Chan Yung-jan/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Day Five

Day five saw both semi-finals take place im the singles draw. The only seeded player left in the draw, top seeded Russian Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...

 and the world no. 4 as of the start of the tournament was involved in the first match. She faced French player and last year's beaten finalist Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï is an Iranian-French tennis player born in Saint-Étienne, France to Iranian parents. She is the current French No. 5 in women's tennis. Rezaï took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ball girl...

. Dementieva won the match 6–2, 6–2 in less than an hour.

Later in the day, unseeded Russian Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...

 took on British number 1 and world no. 60 Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Viensouk Keothavong is a British professional tennis player. She is a former long-standing British number 1, however she is the current British number 2, behind Elena Baltacha and is ranked 71st in the world...

, playing in only her second WTA Tour semi-final and whose ranking should improve after her progress during the tournament. Keothavong matched Vesnina for much of the first set, falling behind 5–3 with a single break of serve. But she did not give up and she broke back and then held her service game to level the first set. The set eventually went to a tiebreak, which the British player took 7-3. The second set was a completely different story, Vesnina dropping just one game to win it 6–1. This set up a final-set decider which went with serve until the seventh game when Keothavong felt she had been given a wrong linecall and ended up being broken. She fought back to 5–5 but was broken again in the eleventh. Keothavong managed to save two match points but then, after saving two break points of her own, Vesnina hit an ace to seal victory and complete a match lasting almost two hours.

The second semi-final of the doubles competition was a match between American pair Julie Ditty
Julie Ditty
Julie Ditty is an American professional tennis player. Ditty did not have her true WTA breakthrough until 2007, when she reached the semifinals of the Bell Challenge, a result that took her into the top 100 for the first time in her career on November 5, 2007, at No. 91...

 and Carly Gullickson
Carly Gullickson
Carly Gullickson is an American professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is No. 123, which she reached on July 20, 2009. Her career high doubles ranking is No. 52, set at April 3, 2006. She is the daughter of former major league baseball player Bill Gullickson, and the...

, and France's Natalie Dechy partnering Italian Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo is a former professional female tennis player from Italy. She retired from the sport on 28 January 2011.-Tennis career:...

. Santangelo and Dechy, bidding for their second title as a partnership following Rome Masters victory in 2007 advanced to the final 6–2, 6–4. Their final opponents will be Spaniards Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives is a Spanish female tennis player. On June 6, 2005, Llagostera Vives reached her career-high singles ranking, World No. 35.During her career she has won 2 singles titles and 11 in doubles...

 and Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja is a professional female tennis player from Spain. She turned pro in 2000.On 12 July 2010, Parra Santonja reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...

.
  • Seeded players out (singles): None
  • Seeded players out (doubles): None

Singles

  Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...

def.   Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...

, 6-4, 6-1
  • It was Dementieva's first title of the year and 12th of her career.

Doubles

  Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...

/   Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo is a former professional female tennis player from Italy. She retired from the sport on 28 January 2011.-Tennis career:...

def.   Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives is a Spanish female tennis player. On June 6, 2005, Llagostera Vives reached her career-high singles ranking, World No. 35.During her career she has won 2 singles titles and 11 in doubles...

 /   Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja is a professional female tennis player from Spain. She turned pro in 2000.On 12 July 2010, Parra Santonja reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...

, 4–6, 7–63, 12–10

External links






The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK