miércoles, 30 de abril de 2014
SERENA WILLIAMS IN BIKINI. MIAMI BEACH, APRIL 2014
EUGENIE BOUCHARD IN QF IN PORTUGAL OPEN 2014
Despite a few slips and slides along the way, Bouchard made an impressive start to her European clay court campaign, overcoming an in-from Alisa Kleybanova on Tuesday. Her reward for this was a meeting with another of the WTA's bigger hitters, Yaroslava Shvedova, who, following an up and down 2013, has shown signs of a return to form of late.
Shvedova, a two-time French Open quarterfinalist, made a bright start and looked to be on her way to the opening set when she broke for a 4-2 lead. This setback, though, seemed to awaken Bouchard from her early slumber, as she promptly rattled off the next four games to pinch the set.
With the momentum now firmly behind her, the Canadian struck twice more at the start of the second to eased into the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-2.
PORTUGAL PARTY OPEN 2014. GLAMOUR IN OEIRAS.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD IN PORTUGAL PARTY OPEN 2014.
martes, 29 de abril de 2014
Eugenie Bouchard win over Alisa Kleybanova at the Portugal Open 2014
Bouchard has been one of the breakthrough acts of the 2014 season, soaring up the rankings thanks to a series of mature performances that have belied her tender years.
The most recent of these came on the green clay of Charleston earlier this month, where she defeated Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic en route to the semifinals. On Tuesday, in her first match on European soil since last summer, the Canadian took on another of the year's feel-good stories, Alisa Kleybanova.
Kleybanova warmed up for Oeiras with an impressive quarterfinal run in Stuttgart, and she carried this form into the early stages with Bouchard. However, as the match wore on Bouchard's freshness started to tell. The Canadian began to take control midway through the opening set, claiming the decisive break in the fifth game.
Things went from bad to worse for Kleybanova at the start of the second, Bouchard staging a miraculous mid-rally recovery to capture an early break. From here, the No.2 seed never looked back, breaking serve three more times to cruise into the second round.
Elena Vesnina and Milos Raonic visited a multi-million dollar racing boat at the Portugal Open 2014
OEIRAS, Portugal, April 2014.
WTA star Elena Vesnina and ATP World Tour star Milos Raonic had a very special day out at the Portugal Open in Oeiras on Monday, heading over to the beautiful waterside for a tour of Team Alvimedica's multi-million dollar boat, which will be racing around the world later this year.
Vesnina and Raonic were shown around the boat by crew members and invited to climb the mast as well.
And to prove that Team Alvimedica makes your heart beat faster, they wore heart monitors when they climbed that mast - here's the raw data from both of their heart monitors in beats per minute:
Vesnina
on deck 82hb
first mast spreaders 108hb
second mast spreaders - 117hb
third mast spreaders - 133hb
top of the mast - 150 hb
lunes, 28 de abril de 2014
NEWS MUTUA MADRID OPEN 2014: The best female players once more for its 2014 edition.
The Mutua Madrid Open will enjoy all of the world’s best female players once more for its 2014 edition.
Serena Williams, Li Na, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Agnieszka Radwanska, among many others will be fighting it out for the coveted trophy from the 2nd of May.
The Mutua Madrid Open will be witness true class once again this year in the women’s competition, as the best players in the world will be back in the Caja Mágica for the sixth edition of the tournament.
All the top players in the WTA ranking have confirmed their participation in the Mutua Madrid Open, meaning it will once again enjoy the presence of the best female players on tour. Among them is the world number 1 and the champion of the last two editions of the tournament, Serena Williams, who returns to the Caja Mágica in search of a historic triple. The remaining competitors in the women’s competition, headed by Li Na, two-time winner Victoria Azarenka and last year’s finalist Maria Sharapova, will be trying to end Serena’s reign in Madrid.
Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2011 champion Petra Kvitova, the Danish Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the first tournament’s final in 2009, Serbian player Ana Ivanovic, and the Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova, who has had an incredible season so far, reaching the final of the Australian Open, will also be present in Madrid. In the doubles competition, one of the biggest attractions will be Swiss player Martina Hingis with Sabine Lisicki after they were handed a wild card from the organisers.
After several years of retirement, the ex-world number one in singles and doubles has returned to doubles competition in style and recently lifted the Premier Mandatory trophy in Miami with Lisicki.
These teams will not have an easy ride though, as the best doubles partnerships in the world will also be in Madrid bidding to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winners, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova.
domingo, 27 de abril de 2014
Congratulations Maria Sharapova for winning your third Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2014.
Maria did it again!
Congratulations Maria Sharapova for winning your third Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
In a great final Maria vs Ivanovic
PORTUGAL OPEN Oeiras, Apr 28 - May 03, 2014. Tournament info
TOURNAMENT INFO
Tier: International
Prize Money: $250,000
Surface: Clay
Director: Joao Lagos
Starting as a men's-only tournament in 1990, the Portugal Open also became a WTA stop in 1999. It is now one of three joint European spring clay court tournaments on the calendar, along with Rome and the French Open. Among those who have graced the red clay at Estádio Nacional are Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka, Justine Henin, Petra Kvitova, Iva Majoli, Li Na and Francesca Schiavone. The only player with multiple titles in Oeiras is Spain's Magui Serna, who was victorious in 2002 and 2003. In 2006, the event showcased the first all-Chinese final in WTA history, between Li and Zheng Jie. Though considered by some to be a suburb of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, Oeiras has assumed its own identity as a municipality known for its high standard of living, new technologies and service industries.
MARIA SHARAPOVA CONQUERS STUTTGART 2014. Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Sharapova came into the match as a strong favorite, not only being the two-time defending champion in Stuttgart but also leading Ivanovic in their head-to-head series, 7-2 - including winning their last six straight. But hungry to turn the tables, Ivanovic would come out on absolute fire from the get-go.
The Turning Point Her massive forehand flowing and her backhand rock solid, Ivanovic came storming out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and, after eventually closing that set out, 6-3, she jumped out to a 3-1 second set lead.
Ivanovic even had a point for 4-1 in the second set - but an untimely double fault erased that point for 4-1, and from there it was all Sharapova, as the No.6-seeded Russian reeled off 11 of the last 13 games of the match to put the No.9-seeded Serb away after two hours and three minutes, 36 64 61.
Sharapova finished the match off on one last massive return winner - her 34th winner of the match.
Statistics
Though Ivanovic was clearly better during the first half of the match and Sharapova beefed her numbers up during the second half of the match, overall both players put on an impressive display during the final, with Sharapova putting together a +10 differential of winners to unforced errors (34 to 24) and Ivanovic coming in just behind her with a +9 differential of winners to unforced (32 to 23).
In the most critical moments of the match Sharapova performed much better on the most critical points. She won seven of nine break point opportunities - meanwhile, Ivanovic won five of 10 such chances. And on winning a WTA tournament three times for the first time? "It's really special, and it's extra special for me because the tournament is here," Sharapova, a Porsche Brand Ambassador, added. "I feel like I'm a small part of the Porsche family. It's been an incredible few years at this tournament." After getting a lengthy standing ovation upon receiving her runner-up trophy, Ivanovic was moved. "I'm speechless," the former World No.1 told the crowd, "thank you so much." "From the first moment it was always a close match," she added. "It was always a few close balls to decide each game, and it went on the whole match. In the second set she definitely went for those big shots, though, and she made some amazing points. She's just a great player, and that's what happens when you play against great players in big matches like this. You need to use your opportunities. "But there's always next time."
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| BALLETT IN STUTTGART 2014 |
sábado, 26 de abril de 2014
PORTUGAL OPEN Oeiras, Apr 28 - May 03, 2014. Tournament info
TOURNAMENT INFO
Tier: International
Prize Money: $250,000
Surface: Clay
Director: Joao Lagos
Starting as a men's-only tournament in 1990, the Portugal Open also became a WTA stop in 1999. It is now one of three joint European spring clay court tournaments on the calendar, along with Rome and the French Open. Among those who have graced the red clay at Estádio Nacional are Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka, Justine Henin, Petra Kvitova, Iva Majoli, Li Na and Francesca Schiavone. The only player with multiple titles in Oeiras is Spain's Magui Serna, who was victorious in 2002 and 2003. In 2006, the event showcased the first all-Chinese final in WTA history, between Li and Zheng Jie. Though considered by some to be a suburb of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, Oeiras has assumed its own identity as a municipality known for its high standard of living, new technologies and service industries.
Ana Ivanovic to face Sharapova Stuttgart final Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2014
NEWS: Ana Ivanovic defeated Jelena Jankovic 6:3, 7:5 to set a dream final against defending champion Maria Sharapova. ....
tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day!
ANA IVANOVIC VS JANCOVIC PREVIEW
Fans were denied possibly the most entertaining match up in the first round as Jankovic and Ivanovic were drawn as opponents – that was until Caroline Wozniacki and Dominika Cibulkova had to withdraw late with injuries.
But now the twelfth meeting between the pair heralds an interesting scenario. Jankovic has been playing with much more confidence and even satisfaction about being on court since her slump of a couple of years back.
There are still obvious lapses where distractions can set her on a path to a surprise defeat along the way, but with a lot more focus on adding to her game, has come a little more variety in her shot making.
But contrast the new found confidence in Ivanovic who really seems to be blossoming under a coaching set up that understands her mentality and of how she wants to play.
There is a definite level of maturity in both players – Jankovic wants to take the pressure off herself and enjoy her tennis a lot more (although you might not think that with some of her interchanges with her brother and coach Marko).
And Ivanovic’s message this tournament has stayed very much on point: “I think it’s really improved my consistency. I’m showing that week in week out and this week to win today’s match really means a lot to me, and also yesterday to come back from a set down when Goerges was playing so well and then today again to win in the third set.”
Maria Sharapova progresses to final Stuttgart Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2014
It has not been the easiest of starts to the season for Sharapova, with early exits at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells putting her place in the Top 10 under threat. However, over the past few years, the Russian has often saved her best tennis for the clay and after a slow start in Stuttgart her game looked back to its best during her quarterfinal win over Agnieszka Radwanska. An intriguing subplot to her semifinal against Errani concerned the rankings, with the winner assured of a place in the Top 10 on Monday.
In four previous meetings with Sharapova, Errani had never taken a set and the early signs in their latest encounter were ominous. After holding serve to love in the opening game, Sharapova unleashed an inside-out forehand winner to capture the early break and it was not long before she was wrapping up the set with another imperious service game. There was a brief glimmer of hope for Errani when she broke at the start of the second, but it was soon snuffed out. Sharapova reestablished her dominance thanks to two more breaks of her own, and, with the on-court clock still one minute shy of the hour mark, yet another inch-perfect backhand put the finishing touches to a 61 62 victory.
That backhand was the 30th winner to come from the Russian's racquet and this statistic - allied to just nine unforced errors - goes a long way to explaining the one-sided scoreline. Errani also struggled on serve throughout; she was broken five times and failed to win a point on her second serve until she was 4-2 down in the second set.
viernes, 25 de abril de 2014
IVANOVIC IN SEMIS. Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2014
It was a marquee match-up - Ivanovic the 2008 French Open champion and a former World No.1, Kuznetsova the 2009 French Open champion and a former No.2 - and both had played impressively all week en route to the quarterfinals. But Ivanovic dominated the head-to-head coming in, not only leading the overall head-to-head, 8-3, but leading their head-to-head at WTA tournaments by an even bigger margin, 8-1 (two of Kuznetsova's wins came in Fed Cup play).
By history and by ranking, Ivanovic was the favorite.
The first two sets couldn't have been more different. With two of the best forehands on tour going to battle, it was Ivanovic who played far cleaner early on, winning six of seven games from 2-0 down to take the first set, 6-3. Kuznetsova rebounded very well, though, cruising through the second, 6-2. It was in the third set where the mental battle really began. For eight games in a row neither player could break - they both had break points, but neither could seal the deal - it was in the ninth game of the third when Ivanovic finally pounced, breaking for 5-4, a chance to serve out the match - she did.
While there were definitely streaks of better play from both players, overall Ivanovic was more aggressive and more consistent. She finished the match with a -6 differential of winners to unforced errors (33 to 39) while Kuznetsova finished the match with a more dubious -14 differential (17 to 31).
MARIA SHARAPOVA IN SEMIS OF Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2014
“That was a big win for me,” admitted Sharapova after picking up her 11th straight win in Stuttgart where she is bidding for a hat-trick of titles having won the 2012 and 2013 tournaments.
Sharapova claimed her ninth win in 11 matches against world number three Radwanska of Poland, but the statuesque Russian did not have things her own way, despite needing only one hour, 39 minutes to claim victory.
After a total of seven breaks at the start of the match, as the momentum swung back and forth, Sharapova finally won her first service game to take control of the first set. “That was one of the key moments,” she said after eventually needing eight match points to claim the win. She will now face either Spain’s Carla Suarex Navarro or Italy’s Sara Errani in Saturday’s semi-final.
Having won all four Grand Slams, Sharapova is bidding to claim a personal landmark this week in Stuttgart by winning a tournament three times in succession. Victory provided a bonus for the Russian as failure to beat Radwanska would have seen Sharapova fall out of the top ten for the first time in three years.
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