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Post by Admin on Sept 14, 2015 1:54:54 GMT
Pennetta’s path to the final included two huge hurdles which she cleared with confidence, taking down Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals and Romanian second seed Simona Halep in the semi-finals. It is only the seventh time a female player from outside the top 25 has won a major title and Pennetta’s success in her 49th grand slam is the longest a woman has ever had to wait to achieve the feat. It was a suitably unpredictable finish to a baffling tournament that had just witnessed a final contested between two players with a combined ranking of 69, age of 65, and who had never before made a grand slam final between them. In Brindisi, one big screen was set up in the main piazza, and another two at the local tennis club where Pennetta learned to play. “I don’t feel to have this power anymore sometimes”. After winning the tiebreak and sensing the title was within her grasp, Pennetta broke Vinci at the first opportunity en route to 4-0 lead before clinching the match with a final service break. She kissed her boyfriend, men’s pro, Fabio Fognini, who was in the player box in the stands. After embracing childhood friend and Fed Cup team mate Vinci at the net a smiling Pennetta stood at center court during the trophy presentation and told a capacity crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium that included Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi that she would retire. Pennetta beat Vinci in straight sets. “It’s so magical, you have one of your best friends with you in this moment”. “Before the match, we say, ‘Doesn’t matter.’ We’re going to win“. That announcement served as a perfectly out-of-nowhere conclusion to a surprise-filled tournament, the biggest shock being Vinci’s win against Williams in the semifinals Friday. She didn’t think to be here. Vinci meanwhile, was setting foot in a Grand Slam semi-fial for the first time.
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Post by Admin on Oct 18, 2015 21:48:10 GMT
Agnieszka Radwanska ended the breakthrough run of WTA Rising Star Danka Kovinic to win the 16th WTA title of her career at the Tianjin Open and book her ticket to Singapore. Radwanska didn't drop a set all week and that pattern continued in the final, as the No.2-seeded Pole broke five times - and was never broken herself - to race past Kovinic in just 58 minutes, 6-1, 6-2. "I saw her here and she played really great tennis this week, so I didn't really expect to have an easy match or anything," Radwanska said of Kovinic. "But I was really solid from the beginning. I think I was just using the conditions a little bit better today, and maybe that's why the score was like that." "She's Top 10, she's played a Grand Slam final, she's a huge player - I've watched a lot of her matches on TV but it's completely different when you step on the court and play against her," Kovinic said.
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Post by Admin on Oct 25, 2015 1:07:42 GMT
The draw for the 2015 WTA Finals is out and after Serena Williams chose to shut down the remainder of her season at the beginning of the month, the eight-player field will be lead by No. 1 Simona Halep. In the Red Group, Halep is joined by Maria Sharapova and U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta. No. 2 Garbine Muguruza headlines the White Group. Below is the line up for the draw, which will feature a round-robin format for each group. The top two players from the Red and White groups will qualify for the semifinals. Red Group Simona Halep Maria Sharapova Agnieszka Radwanska Flavia Pennetta White Group Garbine Muguruza Petra Kvitova Angelique Kerber Lucie Safarova
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Post by Admin on Oct 27, 2015 1:09:31 GMT
Williams won three of the four majors in 2015; Flavia Pennetta won the fourth, the US Open. Yet Pennetta didn't earn a berth in Singapore until Wednesday in Moscow in this final week of qualification. The field does contain two tested Grand Slam event winners, though: third-seeded Maria Sharapova and No. 4 Petra Kvitova. The WTA final might be days distant, but something we can call "the Williams effect" kicked in weeks ago -- the moment the website of the China Open announced that she was pulling out of the upcoming Asian tournaments and stowing her rackets for the year. It's impossible to gauge exactly what impact that announcement had on the ensuing events in tennis. The variable are simply too numerous. But here's something to consider. With Williams out of the picture, Garbine Muguruza stepped in to complete an impressive resurgence with a win in the China Open. Muguruza seemed to lose her bearings after her breakthrough run to the Wimbledon final -- where the 22-year-old was beaten by Williams, coincidentally -- but here she is, seeded No. 2 in the WTA finals and touted as the probable leader of a transitional generation. That fits a narrative the WTA likes. When Serena calls it a career, a new generation will take over. But is that a realistic evaluation of the situation on the ground?
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Post by Admin on Oct 30, 2015 2:08:14 GMT
At last year's WTA Finals, Simona Halep handed Serena Williams the joint worst loss of her career and reached the title match to confirm her status as one of the rising stars in women's tennis. This week in the Singapore showpiece, things have not gone to plan for the Romanian. With world No. 1 Williams absent as she chooses to recover from a draining campaign, No. 2 Halep entered the end-of-season event as the top-ranked player. And the 24-year-old began the tournament well, defeating U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta in straight sets. Unfortunately for Halep, it went downhill from there. She lost in straight sets to Maria Sharapova on Tuesday and then Thursday was ousted in the group stage after falling to Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.
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