Sports Line Archive
January - June 2007

Wozniak loses final, reaches new career-high ranking

(May 21) ITMS Sports client Aleksandra Wozniak reached the final of the USD 145,000 Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Fes, Morocco yesterday, losing 6-1, 6-3 to Milagros Sequera of Venezuela.

The 19-year-old from Blainville, Que., was attempting to become the first Canadian winner on the WTA Tour since Helen Kelesi in Taranto, Italy, in 1988.

Despite the loss to 68th ranked Sequera, (26) Wozniak has moved up from No. 114 to a career best of No. 83 in this week's rankings.

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Perebiynis wins Saint Gaudens Challenger

(May 21) ITMS Sports client Tatiana Perebiynis (WTA 205) has won the USD 50,000 ITF Challenger in Saint Gaudens, France. The 24-year old from Kharkov, Ukraine defeated Czech opponent Petra Cetkovska (CZE) 5-7, 7-5 and 7-5 in Sunday’s final.

The win marks the second time Perbiynis has been able to capture the Saint Gaudens tournament in the last four years.

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Gajdosova comes through in Fes

(May 15) ITMS Sports client Jarmila Gajdosova (WTA 85) has reached the second round at the USD 145,000 Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Fes, Morocco. The 20-year old, seeded eight, defeated Hungarian Melinda Czink (24) 6-3, 4-6 and 6-1 in her opening match yesterday.

Second-round action will see her square off against French prospect Alize Cornet (WTA 125) tomorrow. It will be the first encounter between Gajdosova and the young Nicoise (17).

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Gajdosova reaches Prag Quarters

(May 9) ITMS Sports client Jarmila Gajdosova (WTA 95) has reached the quarter-finals at the USD 140,000 ECM Prague Open. The 20-year old from Bratislava, Slovakia, defeated German opponent Sandra Kloesel (27) 6-0 and 6-4 in second round action Wednesday.

Next up for Gajdosova is an encounter with top-seed French product Marion Bartoli (WTA 24), who dismissed Viktoriya Kutuzova (18) of the Ukraine in straight sets.

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Perebiynis claims second Warsaw title in three years

(May 8) Tatiana Perebiynis and Vera Dushevina put the finishing touches on an impressive title run at the J&S Cup Sunday by beating Elena Likhovtseva and Elena Vesnina in a match tie-break championship final.

As an unseeded and largely unheralded team, Perebiynis and Dushevina proved impressive; they opened with a 6-2, 6-4 first round win over Anna Chakvetadze and Agnieszka Radwanska, then beat Tathiana Garbin and Michaella Krajicek next, 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-8.

It was in the semifinals that the Russian-Ukrainian duo burst into prominence; a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of No.1-seeded Mara Santangelo and Katarina Srebotnik set the stage for another potential upset in the final, which ended up happening, as they took down the No.2-seeded Russian pair of Likhovtseva and Vesnina, 7-5, 3-6, 10-2.

The victory brings Dushevina her first Tour trophy of any kind, while Perebiynis claims her fifth Tour trophy, all of which are in doubles. She had won before at 2002 Tashkent (with Tatiana Poutchek), 2003 Sopot (with Silvija Talaja), 2005 Acapulco (with Alina Jidkova) and 2005 Warsaw (with Barbora Strycova).

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Gajdosova cruises in Prag

(May 7) Successful start for Jarmila Gajdosova (20) at the USD 140,000 ECM Prague Open. The ITMS Sports client cruised past eight seed Anastasia Rodionova (WTA 64), dismissing the 25-year old Russian 6-1 and 6-0 in opening round action Tuesday.

Next up for Gajdosova is a match-up with German veteran Sandra Klösel (27), who defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn (WTA 71) in straight sets.

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Germany completes victory over Croatia in Fed Cup

(April 23) Germany defeated Croatia thanks to Tatiana Malek’s 6-2, 6-3 victory over Ivana Lisjak in Sunday's second singles rubber in Fuerth, Germany. The hosts went on to also win the doubles, completing a 4-1 victory and advancing to the World Group Play-offs on 14-15 July, the draw for which takes place on 25 April.

Malek was a late replacement for Sandra Kloesel, substituted by German captain Barbara Rittner after Anna-Lena Groenefeld had put Germany ahead for the first time in this Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group II tie by winning her second singles match of the weekend. She defeated the Croatian No. 1 Jelena Kostanic Tosic 6-4, 6-3 in just over one hour.

Malek, the German No. 3, defeated Lisjak in one hour, two minutes to score the third and decisive point for her team.

After her victory, Malek ran to Rittner and hugged her before the entire German team joined them on court to celebrate the win in front of the 1,500 home crowd. Rittner said, “It’s tough to find words. I am more than happy. We proved that we have a real team now. After being down 0-1 after the first rubber we turned the tie. I am proud of my girls.”

Malek, playing just her second Fed Cup tie and the first one in front of a home crowd, gave a solid performance, playing aggressively from the baseline. After 24 minutes she won the first set 6-2, breaking her opponent in the first, third and fifth games. In the second set both players lost their serves many times. At 5-3 Malek had three match points in a row and another later in the game, but she couldn’t close out the match. She eventually decided the tie on her fifth match point.

“Maybe it didn’t look like it but I was very nervous at the beginning. I am more than happy that the match turned this way. We have a fantastic team and it was fun for me to be out there,” Malek said.

Lisjak, who was close to tears after her defeat yesterday against Groenefeld, said, “I don’t cry anymore. This is so sad. I don’t think that I will play in Fed Cup for some time. It is not that somebody told me so but I don’t want to play anymore if I play like this. What I gave here is only ten percent of my game.” Lisjak is now 0-5 in Fed Cup appearances.

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