Hello again everyone,
I had my first match today, but it wasn't until 5pm, so I had some time during the day. It was an easy morning for me, I went for a walk again to the center of the city.
Yesterday I went to the Russian church and the statue, then this morning I went to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was a bit of a longer walk. I saw some street artists too - the painters who show you their work - and some of their work is really beautiful. I didn't buy anything, but I think I might go back and do that sometime this week...
Then I went to the gym, where I saw our umpire, Kader Nouni! He was working very hard. It's good that our umpires are working hard and getting fit too!
Then I had some lunch, came to the site, had a warm-up on the center court, and then just tried to prepare for the match, my first of the tournament.
The match was a difficult one for me. Sam obviously played really well today - she was serving well and using her opportunities. I'm not happy about the second set.
I was up 3-0 and had some good chances to win the set, but I didn't use them. I was a bit upset about my serve, I had a couple of double faults in the key moments, and usually I'm not doing that. The ball is flying here a little bit - you can feel it a lot during the match - so I was trying to put more spin on the serve, and I lost my rhythm a bit.
Sam was really aggressive and played a really good match. She's in really good form right now.
I was going to have dinner in the city tonight, but I'm feeling a little bit tired now, so I'll probably just have dinner on site. We have good food on site, so I'll just have a quiet dinner here.
Talk to you all again tomorrow,
Elena
How do you pick yourself up after tough moments - what things make you happy? Martina
Good question!
Most of the time I just need to talk on the phone with family. If it was a tough match and one of them saw it, they can cheer me up - sometimes I'll think I was playing really badly and I was doing the wrong things, and my dad or my coach will tell me I didn't play that badly, that I just have to work on it, and that sometimes it was just unlucky or the other player was just better than me in that moment.
So they'll tell me not to be mad at myself, and that there's a tournament every week, and another chance coming soon to play better, and I can learn more from the losses than the wins.
How does Sofia compare with Sochi? Nick
It's very similar weather here. In Sochi right now it's +23 C, in Sofia it's +20 C.
It's a very sunny city here too. In Sochi there's more trees and nature and we have the Black Sea, but there are still a lot of similar things.
It's very European here and they have very nice, friendly people. I'm really enjoying it.
Q: Did you feel any problems with your serve or Ana was just returning too good?
A: Certainly there were times, when I needed to serve a little bit better, but Ana returned very well today. It is probably as little bit of both.
Q: Do you think that Ivanovic is the favorite for winning the tournament now?
A: Maybe, Simona Halep won her first two matches pretty comfortably. I think anyone who has not lost is probably in the drivers seat, but that is the beauty of the round robin – you can lose and still be in the event. You don't want to lose, but you will always have that next chance.
Q: It looked like in the third set you had less energy left than Ana did. Is that correct?
A: No, I felt fine. At the start of the third set, she definitely got the momentum back by breaking serve and then I broke, but did't manage to level the score which kind of turned things again... It was rather the shifts of momentum than me feeling tired.
Q: Do you think Simona can beat Ana Ivanovic?
A: Yeah, definitely, but I think Ana can win too. So it is one of those matches, I don't think there is necessary a guarantee that either player is going to win.
Q: Do you have a game plan for the match against Pironkova?
A: No, I need to get some rest tonight, think about today's match and try to learn whatever I can and then I will think about the next match with Tsvetana Pironkova.
IVANOVIC_STOSUR 62 57 62
Ana Ivanovic extended her unbeaten run to 8 matches in the 2013 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions with her second victory in 2 days in Sofia. The two-time champion of the tournament defeated with 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 Samantha Stosur and is favorite from the “Sredets” group to qualify for the semifinals. Yesterday the Romanian Simona Halep from the "Serdika" group secured her spot in the final four.
Ivanovic crushed Stosur on hard court for the first time in their fifth clash on this surface.
The Serbian saved three breakpoints in the first game of the opening set. She was very aggressive and grabbed the first set in just 30 minutes. In the stands of the Arena Armeec hall were present the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport Yordan Yovchev and Bulgarian football legend Yordan Letchkov.
The tv cameras caught fans with Serbian and Australian national flags in the public.
In the second set Stosur broke Ana's serve to get a 5-3 lead, but the Serbian leveled at 5-5.
Then Samantha broke again, saved two breakpoints in her next service game and closed the set with 7-5 in 45 minutes.
The third set was no one-way street also. Ivanovic got the early break at 2-0 and leaded 40-0 on her serve, but somehow allowed Stosur to make a re break.
Even so, Ana showed no mercy for the rest of the set and rocketed her way to the 6-2 victory. Ivanovic already has 8 wins in 8 matches in the Tournament of Champions.
She also survived the first 3-set match in this year's edition of the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament
Q: First match for you in the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions. What are your thoughts on the court, the audience, how do you feel in Sofia?
SS: Arena Armeec is a really nice stadium to play in, it's a good size. The crowd that are here, I think they enjoy the tennis, it would be nice for a few more to come but hopefully we're playing good tennis for them to want to come back. It is certainly nice place to play in.
Q: Over the last two weeks you played really well, so do you have any regrets that the season is almost over?
SS: Of course, you wish that your form could last a little bit longer, but I'm certainly happy to take a break after this weekend, go home and take a rest before next year. Hopefully, next year I can find some good form a little bit earlier and maybe then I'll have some more weeks to keep playing.
Q: Did you ever think that you could lose the match, after Vesnina got the 3-0 lead in the second set?
SS I mean, when you trail 3-0 you consider the possibility of losing the set, but I managed to stay positive and I knew that if I didn't really "pick up" my game again then it could certainly get very difficult.
Q: Do you feel tired at the end of the season?
SS: Certainly I have enough left to keep going here if I make it to the final. I definitely like to do that, but yeah, sure, everyone's tired and ready to take a break. Well, I'm here, still in the event to give a 100% in every single match.
Q: What are your thoughts on Ana Ivanovic and her victory over Tsvetana Pironkova yesterday?
SS: I thought she played very well, it looked like she's hitting a lot of winners, forcing the play, being aggressive and that's what she loves to do. When I play her tomorrow I certainly need to be aware of that, we played just two weeks ago in Moscow, so I can look back on that match as well and hopefully I can play similar to tonight.
STOSUR_VESNINA 63 63
Samantha Stosur started in style with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Elena Vesnina in her first match of the 2013 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions 2013 in Sofia. In the clash from the "Sredets" group, the Australian needed just 75 minutes to level at 2-2 her overall head-to-head statisticts with the Russian.
With this success Sam Stosur is tied with the Serbian Ana Ivanovic at the top of the "Sredets" group.
The coin toss before the match was thrown of Boris Tomov, wheelchair tennis champion of Bulgaria.
"I'm very happy with my first win here in Sofia", Stosur reckoned. "In the beginning of the second set Elena began to play with more confidence and I'm satisfied because I didn't let her back into the match."
Stosur and Vesnina played for 10 minutes just the first two games of the first set, but then the Australian found her first serve, broke Vesnina's serve to make it 5-3 and closed the set with 6-3 in 38 minutes.
In the second set Vesnina responded well and made a break for 2-0.
Then the Russian got a 3:0 lead. Stosur handled the situation and rocketed her way back into the set and the match by winning the next six games.
Q: Where do you have to improve your game to reach more wins even in the Grand slam matches?
SH: I have to be more prepared for the Grand slam matches because there is a lot of pressure. I have to try to be more relaxed like I do on the smaller tournaments.
Q: What do you expect from the next match against the French Alize Cornet?
SH: It will be a tough match because her forehand is very agressive and I have to be agressive on court too. I have to be relaxed, to try my best and hope to win.
Q: The fans consider you with the biggest favorite to win in Sofia.
SH: I don't think that, all of the players are very strong. They are top players and every match will be tough. I have only to enjoy and to try my best.
Q: In this year you won on every surface. Which is your favourite?
SH: Yeah, I won on all of the possible surfaces, but I prefer the clay. In this surface I feel more comfortable. On hard court the game is faster but I prefer the clay.
Q: Are you tired after the long season?
SH: I'm a little bit tired but I want to enjoy this tournament and to play my best. I have to be ready every day because this week will be very special for me. It's my first time on this kind of tournament, so I want to play really well.
Q: What are your thoughts on the match against Halep?
A: I'm disappointed to start the tournament with a defeat. Actually, I'm playing for the first time in a group stage competition, because in the past this tournament was with single elimination. I still have at least two more games to go through in the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions.
Q: Are you surprised from Kirilenko's retirement?
A: I didn't expect her retirement, because before the beginning of the matches, she was feeling great.
Q: Why did you make so many double faults?
A: It's already normal for me to make this kind of errors. I was so nervious. Maybe I made too many double faults, because I was focused to do better on my serve.
Q: You've won just one set in four matches with Simona, why is that?
A: I ask myself the same question. In Tokyo I don't know what happened because I had the lead but I lost the match. At the moment she plays so well and maybe this is the reason for my loss today. I'm not able to close my matches and she can make it. Ok, tennis and life continues and every day and match is new challenge.
CORNET_KIRILENKO 50 RET.
Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of champions 2013 has started, the Russian tennis star Maria Kirilenko began her match on the court but unfortunately she retired for injury.
For second consecutive year Kirilenko quited the tournament. This time she retires for injury but last year the reason was illness that she suffered.
Kirilenko didn't finish the first set on the match against the French Alize Corgnet. The French started with 5-0 lead in the set.
After that Maria called medical time out and after the advise of terapeut she decided to give up the competition.
I want to tell you that I will not continue playing at the Tournament of Champions 2013, said Kirilenko. I haven't problems before the match against Cornet but I twisted my knee and the pain was terrible, explains the decision Kirilenko.
In the next games in the Serdika group the Ucranian Elina Svitolina will join the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of champions 2013.
Q: Did you expect such a quick victory in your first match in Sofia?
A: I think that I played well and I'm happy with my performance. It's wonderfull to start the tournament with a win but hey, don't forget that I have other two tough matches in my group.
I hope to win the remaining matches and advance to the semifinals.
Q: Do you find differences between the Tournament in Bali, Indonesia where you won the trophy two times and here in Sofia?
A:Yes, in Indonesia it's hotter, but today in Sofia it was also very hot. Here the organisation is perfect but in Bali they have the beach and... well, the beach...
Q: Your birthday is next week. Can you make yourself a present with the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champion's trophy?
A: I certainly hope so. It will be very nice to win this tournament.
IVANOVIC_PIRONKOVA 60 62
The Bulgarian tennis star Tsvetana Pironkova couldn't repeat the last year’s succesfull start in Sofia on the first matchday of the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions 2013.
She lost 0-6, 2-6 in the first match of the Sredets Group against the Serbian Ana Ivanovic.
To support Pironkova on the stands in Arena Armeets were present the Bulgarian Minister of Youth and Sport Mariana Georgieva, the WTA CEO Ms.
Stacey Allaster and the Bulgarian sports legends Hristo Stoichkov, Krassimir Balakov, Lubo Ganev and Valentin Yordanov.
Pironkova had a difficult match against the two time winner of the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions. Ivanovic played very agressive in the first set and won 6-0.
In the second set Pironkova made a break but Ivanovic stayed focused and closed the match in 56 minutes.
LA BELLA DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA NOS SALUDA.
Bella y elegante, la tenista eslovaca es una de las más glamurosas del circuito femenino.
Hoy la destaco por su belleza fuera de las pistas..
VAMOS DOMINIKA!
ERES GRANDE!
TOURNAMENT INFO
Tier: Tour Championships
Prize Money: $750,000
Surface: Hard
Director: Stefan Tzvetkov
The Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions is the Season-Ending Championships of the WTA's International Series that features top WTA players and next-generation champions.
Six players who have captured at least one International event during the year and who are not participating in singles at the season-ending WTA Championships qualify, plus two wildcards.
Debuting in 2009 in Bali, the event moved to Sofia's Armeets Arena for the 2012-2014 editions. Winners have been Aravane Rezai in 2009, Ana Ivanovic in 2010 and 2011 and Nadia Petrova in 2012.
Tennis is increasingly popular in Sofia, which is Bulgaria's capital and largest city. Many of the country's major universities, cultural institutions and businesses are concentrated in Sofia.
Tournament Info
Prize Money: $125,000
Surface: Hard
Director: Mrs. Bao Qin
The addition of Shenzhen as a WTA tournament in 2013 brought the number of WTA International and Premier stops in China to three.
And in yet another example of tennis' increased popularity in China, three new WTA 125K Series hardcourt events are also being implemented in 2013. The first of those is in Suzhou in the summer, the next is in Ningbo during the WTA's Asian swing and the last is the 2013 Nanjing Ladies Open in Nanjing as the WTA season winds down.
With total prize money of $125,000 and 160 ranking points awarded to the champion, WTA 125K Series events are a level above top-tier ITF Women's Circuit tournaments.
Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu province in eastern China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the country's capital on several occasions.
Home to many professional sports teams, Nanjing hosted the 10th National Games of the People's Republic of China in 2005 and will host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.
SERENA, ERRANI Y VINCI, LAS MEJORES DE 2013 EN INDIVIDUALES Y DOBLES..
Han sido las mejores en individuales y dobles en 2013.
Será la imagen para el recuerdo en 2013..
OS LO ACTUALIZARÉ
SERENA CON STACEY ALLASTER
WILLIAMS_LI NA 26 63 60
WILLIAMS ES MAESTRA DE LAS MAESTRAS 2013..
La tenista estadounidense Serena Williams coronó una temporada de 2013 para el recuerdo con la conquista de su cuarto título WTA Championships al imponerse en la final de hoy ante la china Li Na a tres mangas.
SERENA CON PATRICK MOURSTOGLOU EN ESTAMBUL 2013..
La campeona defensora de 32 años obtuvo su undécimo título del 2013, año en que también fue campeona de los abiertos de Francia y Estados Unidos.
La china Li, cuyo paso a la final le ayudó a escalar al tercer lugar en el escalafón mundial y convertirse en la tenista asiática que ha llegado más alto en el ranking, quebró el servicio de Williams dos veces en el primer set.
Sin embargo, la número uno del mundo cambió la marcha en la 2 manga y se impuso por 6-3.
Williams mostró pocas señales de la fatiga de la que se quejó un día antes, tras jugar más de 80 partidos esta temporada, al aplastar a Li en la 3 manga con su enorme poder y cobertura de la pista.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Tier: Tour Championships
Prize Money: $750,000
Surface: Hard
Director: Stefan Tzvetkov
The Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions is the Season-Ending Championships of the WTA's International Series that features top WTA players and next-generation champions.
Six players who have captured at least one International event during the year and who are not participating in singles at the season-ending WTA Championships qualify, plus two wildcards.
Debuting in 2009 in Bali, the event moved to Sofia's Armeets Arena for the 2012-2014 editions.
Winners have been Aravane Rezai in 2009, Ana Ivanovic in 2010 and 2011 and Nadia Petrova in 2012.
Tennis is increasingly popular in Sofia, which is Bulgaria's capital and largest city.
Many of the country's major universities, cultural institutions and businesses are concentrated in Sofia.
WILLIAMS_LI NA
Serena parte como favorita en la final que se celebra en el dia de hoy en Estambul.
LI NA VENCIÓ A KVITOVA EN SEMIFINALES Y SE MIDE A WILLIAMS EN LA FINAL EN ESTAMBUL
La china LI, entranada por Carlos Rodriguez, es la finalista del torneo de maestras 2013.
Es sin duda una líder en pleno ascenso y en el ranking la que se midirá ante huracán williams en el dia de mañana, un torbellino difícil de digerir por la china y por su gran entrenador.
KVITOVA_KERBER 67 62 63
Kvitova se ha colado a las semis del torneo de maestras tras vencer hoy a la germana kerber, eso si no exenta de algunos problemas.
LI NA_AZARENKA 62 61
Poco más de una hora y cuarto tardó Li Na en despacharse a Azarenka en un partido protagonizado por el juego demoledor de la china, en parte aprovechado por la merma física de la bielorrusa que mostró sus gestos d edolor y aguantó hasta el último minuto de partido en la pista
estadísticas del servicio de ambas tenistas..
li na en semis de estambul 2013
JANCOVIC_AZARENKA 64 63
Partidazo de la serbia Jancovic que ha sorprendido a Azarenka al arrollarla a dos mangas, y dejar en el aire la clasificacion en Estambul.
WILLIAMS_RADWANSKA 62 64
Serena suma y sigue en un partido que se fue a cerca de hora y cuarto y con el servicio como arma demoledora.
los números..
radwanska ya dice adiós a las semifinales de Estambul 2013...
