Maria Sharapowa
Maria Sharapowa of Russia prepares to serve against Elena Vesnina
5/10/2010
Maria Scharapowa
Schiavone overpowers Date Krumm at Pan Pacific
29/09/2010
French Open champion Francesca Schiavone defeated Kimiko Date Krumm 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday to reach the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals.
Maria ScharapowaTop-seeded Caroline Wozniacki cruised overpowered Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-1, 6-2.
Date Krumm beat defending champion Maria Scharapowa in the first round and celebrated her 40th birthday on Tuesday with a win over Daniela Hantuchova, but was no match for the fifth-seeded Italian.
Schiavone outhit Date Krumm and broke serve three times in the first set to lead 5-1.
Date Krumm fought back in the second to take a 3-2 lead, but was broken in the seventh game and couldn’t recover.
“I said to her at the end it was an honor to play her,” Schiavone said. “I’ve followed her career and she’s not just a great tennis player, she’s a great person. To come back and show the people anything is possible is really inspiring. And today we were playing on the senior tour - we were 70 together!”
American qualifier Coco Vandeweghe defeated Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-0 and will meet eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who advanced when Marion Bartoli of France retired ill after losing the first set 6-2.
Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, the Wimbledon and U.S. Open quarterfinalist, beat third-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-4. Kanepi will play Schiavone.
Date Krumm, the Tokyo champion in 1995, turned professional in 1989. She retired in 1996, and returned to the tour in 2008. Earlier this year, she became the oldest woman to beat a top 10 player when she defeated Dinara Safina at the French Open.
Date Krumm played last week in Seoul, and said her busy schedule was a factor in Wednesday’s defeat.
“This morning, I felt a little bit tired,” she said. “She used a lot of spin and made me run very wide so I ended up tired.”
Wozniacki defeated Pavlyuchenkova for the fifth straight time - and third time this year - and will meet No. 6 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the quarterfinals. Radwanska beat Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-3.
“I feel like I am playing good tennis,” Wozniacki said. “Today was a tough match even though the score was 6-1, 6-2. I really had to be focused. Anastasia is a good player.”
In other matches, second-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia beat Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-4, 6-0 to set up a quarterfinal against seventh-seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva, who beat Flavia Pennetta, 6-4, 6-2.
maria scharapowa
maria scharapowa vs Kimiko Date Krumm
maria scharapowa of Russia reacts while playing against Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan during their women's singles first round match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 27, 2010. Date Krumm won the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
(Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
maria scharapowa of Russia (L) shakes hands with Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan after their women's singles first round match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 27, 2010. Date Krumm won the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
maria scharapowa of Russia reaches for a return against Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan during their women's singles first round match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 27, 2010. Date Krumm won the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
maria scharapowa
(Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
maria scharapowa of Russia (L) shakes hands with Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan after their women's singles first round match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 27, 2010. Date Krumm won the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
maria scharapowa of Russia reaches for a return against Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan during their women's singles first round match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 27, 2010. Date Krumm won the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
maria scharapowa
maria scharapowa
maria scharapowa center court after losing against Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan in the women maria scharapowa of Russia leaves center court after losing against Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan in the women's singles first round at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 27, 2010. Date Krumm won the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
maria scharapowa
maria scharapowa vs Kimiko Date Krumm
maria scharapowa of Russia hits a return against Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan during their women's singles first round match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 27, 2010. Date Krumm won the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)maria scharapowa
maria scharapowa vs Kimiko Date Krumm
maria scharapowa of Russia serves against Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan during their women's singles first round match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 27, 2010. Date Krumm won the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)Getty Images
2010-09-27maria scharapowa
U.S. Open women's preview: Can Clijsters defend her title
The U.S. Open draws were announced on Thursday. Here are our first impressions of the women's bracket.
Caroline Wozniacki will quickly get to prove whether she's a deserving top seed or whether she's Dinara Safina 2.0. The 20-year-old had the misfortune of seeing maria scharapowa name drawn to the top half of her quarter, setting up a possible fourth-round matchup. On the bottom, Li Na and 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova are scheduled for a fourth-rounder of their own.
The bottom half of the left side is wide open for Jelena Jankovic For what is anyone's guess. No. 15-seed Yanina Wickmayer has been mired in a slump this summer, but a return to the semis at Flushing Meadows isn't out of the question. Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva is perched at the bottom of the quarter and a potential crying jag in the form of young American Coco Vandeweghe sits in round two.
Melanie Oudin couldn't have asked for a better draw. The struggling teen gets a qualifier in round one and then another winnable match against either a qualifier or No. 117 Sophie Ferguson in the second. This is the most wide open of the quarters, which has to come as a relief to Venus Williams , who's only advanced past the quarters once since 2002.
Could Kim Clijsters get knocked off before the quarters? Sure. Is it likely? Not with this draw. Sam Stosur and Elena Dementieva round out the top half of the quarter. Coincidentally, both falling stars of women's tennis -- Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina -- are in the quarter.
Best first-round match: Daniela Hantuchova (24) vs. Dinara Safina
Most likely to be upset: Francesca Schiavone
Best potential quarterfinal: Kim Clijsters (2) vs. Sam Stosur
Semifinal predictions: maria scharapowa vs. Agnieszka Radwanska; Victoria Azarenka vs. Kim Clijsters
Finals prediction: Clijsters over maria scharapowa
maria scharapowa
Game Point: Happy 40th birthday to the WTA
The WTA turns 40 Thursday (but doesn't look a day over 29). Read about the nine women who signed $1 contracts with the fledgling tour in 1970 and helped turn women's tennis into the most lucrative professional sport for women. Without Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Kerry Melville, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Judy Dalton, Valerie Ziegenfuss and Julie Heldman, Serena Williams isn't getting equal pay to Rafael
Nadal at Wimbledon and maria scharapowa isn't putting $25 million in the bank each year.
15 -- Speaking of 40th birthdays, Kimiko Date Krumm hits the big 4-0 next Tuesday but got the celebration started early with a win over No. 2- seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Seoul. The
victory advanced Date Krumm to the quarterfinals of the Korean Open.
30 -- Serena Williams will not play in the Pan Pacific Open. I, for one, am shocked
40 -- Upon his arrival in Bangkok for next week's Thailand Open, Rafael Nadal was given the royal treatment.
Game -- This video of a 12-year-old Rafael Nadal has been making the rounds for the past few days
maria scharapowa
Date Krumm beats maria scharapowa at Pan Pacific Open
maria scharapowa
Date Krumm, who is one day shy of her 40th birthday, broke the 23-year-old Russian to go up 5-3 in the third set and won the final game when maria scharapowa backhand went wide.
“To play against a former World No. 1 and defending champion, I knew I had to play to the best of my ability,” said Date Krumm, who returned to competitive tennis in 2008 after a 12-year layoff.
In second-round matches, third-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-1 and sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland coasted to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.
maria scharapowa the tournament’s 12th seeded player, had 11 double-faults in the match that lasted 2 hours, 9 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.
maria scharapowa broke to go up 3-2 in the final set and was leading 40-love in the sixth game when she double-faulted twice before being broken.
“Momentum is so big in tennis,” maria scharapowa said. “If you give your opponent a chance they can get confident and take the momentum away.”
It was the players’ first meeting. maria scharapowa said she was impressed with Date Krumm’s ability and fitness after such a long layoff.
“It’s incredible,” maria scharapowa said. “It just shows you how she has stayed in such great shape while away from the game. She is incredibly fit.”
Date Krumm had just returned from Seoul where she lost in the quarterfinals of the Korea Open on Friday. She said the quick turnaround was not easy.
“I just came back from Korea yesterday and was really tired,” she said. “My body felt a little better today but this surface was a lot faster that the one in Korea.”
Maria Scharapowa
Date Krumm beats Maria Scharapowa at Pan Pacific
Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm rallied to beat defending champion Maria Scharapowa 7-5, 3-6, 6-
3 on Monday in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open.
Date Krumm, who is one day short of her 40th birthday, broke the 23-year-old Russian to go up 5-3 in the third set and won the final game when Maria Scharapowa backhand went wide.
“To play against a former World No. 1 and defending champion, I knew I had to play to the best of my ability,” said Date Krumm, who returned to competitive tennis in 2008 after a 12-year layoff.
Sharapova, who is the tournament’s 12th seeded player, had 11 double faults in the match that lasted 2 hours and 9 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.
Maria Scharapowa broke Date to go up 3-2 in the final set and was leading 40-love in the sixth game when she double faulted twice before being broken by Date Krumm.
“Momentum is so big in tennis,” Maria Scharapowa said. “If you give your opponent a chance they can get confident and take the momentum away.”
It was the first meeting between the two players. Maria Scharapowa said she was impressed with Date Krumm’s ability and fitness after such a long layoff.
“It’s incredible,” Maria Scharapowa said. “It just shows you how she has stayed in such great shape while away from the game. She is incredibly fit.”
Date Krumm had just returned from Seoul where she lost in the quarterfinals of the Korea Open on Friday. She said the quick turnaround was not easy.
“I just came back from Korea yesterday and was really tired,” she said. “My body felt a little better today but this surface was a lot faster that the one in Korea.”
Elsewhere, Maria Scharapowa of Kazakstan defeated Japan’s Kurumi Nara 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
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