Top 8 Women 2008

Sony Ericsson WTA Championships at the Pearl conference centre on November 2, 2008 in Doha. The Championships set to take place from November 4 to 9 is the season finale of the Sony Ericsson WTA tour.




(L-R) Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, Dinara Safina of Russia, Serena Williams of the United States, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, Elena Dementieva of Russia, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, Venus Williams of the United States and Vera Zvonareva of Russia line up for a photo during the draw for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tennis Championships at the Pearl conference centre on November 2, 2008 in Doha. The Championships willl take place in Doha from November 4 to 9. AFP PHOTO/IBRAHIM AL-OMARI (Photo credit should read IBRAHIM AL-OMARI/AFP/Getty Images)


WTA Championships Tournament Facts and Figures

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Key facts and figures about the women’s season-ending WTA Championships beginning in Doha on Tuesday:

2007 champion: Justine Henin (Belgium)

Most titles: Eight - Martina Navratilova (U.S.)

Youngest winner: Monica Seles (Yugoslavia) - 1990, 16 years old

Oldest winner: Navratilova - 1986, 30 years old

Total prize money for 2008: $4,550,000

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2008 lineup (prefix number denotes world ranking):

1-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia): Winner of four titles in 2008, she secured the year-end world number one ranking on Oct. 25 to become the first player to do so without having won a grand slam crown.

2-Dinara Safina (Russia): Enjoyed her best ever season, reaching the French Open final and picking up a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.

3-Serena Williams (U.S.): Picked up her eighth grand slam title at the U.S. Open in September. She is the only former winner in the Doha field since 2004 victor and world number six Maria Sharapova is absent through a shoulder injury.

4-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia): Became the first woman representing Serbia to win a grand slam when she triumphed at the French Open in June. Also the first player representing Serbia to top the world rankings.

5-Elena Dementieva (Russia): Fulfilled one of her childhood dreams when she captured gold at the Olympics.

7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia): Endured a consistent if frustrating season as she failed to win a title despite contesting five finals. The highlight of her season was to help Russia win the Fed Cup.

8-Venus Williams (U.S.): Won her fifth Wimbledon singles title in July. Is making her first appearance at the season-ender since 2002.

9-Vera Zvonareva (Russia): A winner of two singles titles this season, she also completed an all-Russian podium at the Olympics by bagging the bronze medal.

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* Five players held the number one ranking this year, starting with Henin (20 weeks), who retired on May 14 and asked for her name to be removed from the rankings, Ivanovic (12 weeks), Sharapova (three weeks), Serena Williams (four weeks) and Jankovic.

can i have a date any of them?

Venus upsets Safina at WTA Championships

DOHA, QATAR (TICKER) —Venus Williams took a major step toward winning the WTA Championship for the first time in her career.

The world No. 8, Williams won her opening match at the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, managing a 7-5, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Dinara Safina in Tuesday’s Maroon Group round-robin play.

Williams is hoping to become the first American to win this $4.55 million championship event that features the world’s top eight players since her sister, Serena, accomplished the feat in 2001.

Williams managed to keep her Russian opponent off-balance with her strong serve and capitalized on Safina’s mistakes, which included eight double faults.

Safina had trouble with her serve throughout the match, failing to get her first serve in less than half the time. Safina’s inability to keep her serve in play allowed Williams to convert five breaks.

Williams, who has not participated in this event since 2001, was also able to get herself out of trouble as she saved 6-of-8 break points.

A five-time Wimbledon champion - including the last two years, Williams had four aces.

In the other group, Jelena Jankovic posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic on Tuesday in White Group play.

The 23-year-old Jankovic regained the top spot in the rankings last month following a title at Stuttgart. But Jankovic, the runner-up at this year’s U.S. Open, will be hard-pressed to remain No. 1 at this event.

Coming off an opening-round loss last week at Zurich, Jankovic played efficiently against Ivanovic, who lost for just the second time in eight meetings between the players.

Jankovic did not commit a double-fault and converted a break in each set during the 89-minute match.

Ivanovic, the world No. 4, had not lost to Jankovic since the 2006 season, a string of five matches.

The other round-robin winner in Tuesday’s White Group play was Vera Zvonareva, who cruised past fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2, 6-3.

Zvonareva needed just under 80 minutes to dispatch the mistake-prone Kuznetsova.

The world’s sixth-ranked player, Zvonareva overcame six double-faults by converting four breaks, including three in the opening set.

Kuznetsova, the world No. 7, yelled at herself throughout the White Group match.

Serena Williams, the U.S. Open champion, and Russian Elena Dementieva are in the Maroon Group and were the only two participants not to play Tuesday.

The past two World Championships were held in Madrid, where recently retired Justine Henin was victorious both times.

for the first time, sharapova is not in the line up.

for the first time, sharapova is not in the line up.

for the first time indeed

Venus Williams beats Serena at WTA Championships

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer 17 minutes ago

DOHA, Qatar (AP)—Venus Williams defeated her sister 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 Thursday to reach the semifinals of the WTA Tour’s season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, a match Serena Williams called her worst of the year.

Serena started to unravel early in the second set.

“I just couldn’t keep a ball in play,” she said. “Everything was off.”

Venus Williams won on her fifth match point, and is 3-0 in round-robin play of a tournament that features the top eight players. Serena Williams dropped to 1-1, but can still advance to the semifinals if she defeats Elena Dementieva on Friday.

Dementieva defeated Dinara Safina, 6-2, 6-4, in Thursday’s last match, eliminating Safina from the championships.

The Williams’ sisters are 9-9 in career matchups. Serena defeated Venus in the U.S. Open quarterfinals en route to the title this year, and Venus won their title match at Wimbledon.

Venus Williams reaches final at WTA Championships




DOHA, QATAR (TICKER) —Venus Williams is on the verge of adding to her laundry list of accomplishments.

The eighth-ranked American advanced to the final of the WTA Championships on Saturday with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic.

Williams has won 38 titles during her illustrious career, but the 28-year-old has never captured this prestigious year-end event.

Awaiting the seven-time Grand Slam champion in Sunday’s final is tournament surprise Vera Zvonareva, who capped a remarkable week with a 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3 victory over fellow Russian Elena Dementieva.

Williams improved to 4-0 for the tournament and is on an eight-match winning streak, having won her most recent event in Zurich prior to coming here.

hmmmm...Go Federer!