| Current Tournament |
Flushing Meadows, New York
August 27-Sep 9
Grand Slam
Singles:
2R: Bammer[19] def Dementieva[14] 6-1 6-2
2R: Dementieva[14] def Cetkovska 6-3 6-2
1R: Dementieva[14] def Cohen-Aloro 6-4 6-3
Doubles:
2R: Dementieva/Pennetta vs Raymond/Stosur[2]
1R: Dementieva/Pennetta def Laine/Wozniacki 6-4 6-1
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| Next Tournament/s |
US Open Aug 27-Sep 9
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| WTA Rankings |
1. Henin, Justine [1]
2. Sharapova, Maria [2]
3. Jankovic, Jelena [3]
4. Kuznetsova, Svetlana [5]
5. Ivanovic, Ana [4]
6. Chakvetadze, Anna [6]
7. Mauresmo, Amelie [7]
8. Petrova, Nadia [9]
9. Williams, Serena [8]
10. Bartoli, Marion[11]
11. Hantuchova, Daniela[10]
12. Schnyder, Patty [12]
13. Dementieva, Elena [15]
14. Williams, Venus[13]
15. Vaidisova, Nicole [14]
16. Safina, Dinara [16]
17. Hingis, Martina [17]
18. Golovin, Tatiana [18]
19. Peer, Shahar[19]
20. Bammer, Sybille [20]
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| Sony Ericsson Race |
1. Henin 3675
2. Jankovic 3475
3. Ivanovic 2707
4. Kuznetsova 2546
5. Sharapova 2340
6. Williams, S. 2141
7. Chakvetadze 2106
8. Williams, V. 1740
9. Petrova 1698
10. Hantuchova 1684
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16. Dementieva 1357
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| Past Tournament |
New Haven, Connecticut
August 20-26
Tier 2
Singles:
QF: Kuznetsova[1] def Dementieva[6] 4-6 6-3 3-0 ret. (nausea)
QF: Dementieva[6] def Bartoli[3] 6-4 6-2
2R: Dementieva[6] def Harkleroad 6-1 7-6(6)
1R: Dementieva[6] def Santangelo 6-2 3-6 6-0
Doubles:
Not entered
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| Monday, July 31, 2006 |
| Lena in San Diego |
Elena Dementieva will kick off her US Open Series campaign this week at the Tier I tournament in San Diego, California. The Acura Classic is the second of five stops of the US Open Series which started last week at Stanford. Kim Clijsters, who is the top seed at the Acura Classic, leads the USO Series standings after defending her title at Stanford last weekend. Maria Sharapova, Nadia Petrova and Elena Dementieva joins Kim Clijsters as the top seeds of this week's tournaments. Other high seeds receiving a frist round bye are Patty Schnyder, defending champion Mary Pierce, Nicole Vaidisova, and former champion Martina Hingis.
Elena Dementieva is defending exactly a single point in this tournament as she was trounced by Peng Shuai in her opening round last year. I'm sure that she would like to better here because there's a great chance for her to improve her rankings if she goes deep in this year's draw, or who knows? She might even surprise us all and take this title. After all, she isn't the fourth seed of this tournament for nothing. At the very least, she should make the semis this year.
The top half of the draw is populated by players like Kim Clijsters, Nadia Petrova, Martina Hingis and Nicole Vaidisova. Kim Clijsters is red-hot from claiming her second-straight Stanford title but I doubt that she's oozing with so much confidence as she had really difficult matches against Jankovic and Zvonareva last week. We haven't heard a lot about Nadia Petrova in a couple of months so its hard to gage as to what level she's in right now. Martina Hingis almost always never loses to players ranked below her so I expect her to be in the quarterfinals at least. Players who could possibly score upsets along the way are Jelena Jankovic(faces Maria Kirilenko in 1r), Ana Ivanovic(possible 3r vs Petrova), Tatiana Golovin(2r vs Ivanovic, then 3r vs Petrova) and Daniela Hantuchova(possible 3r vs Vaidisova). I would have to say that Hantuchova is probably the most dangerous floater in the top half of the draw, but it actually depends which Hantuchova shows up this week (I hope not that one that showed up in Stanford last week).
The bottom half is also crowded with really good players. Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, and defending Acura Classic champion Mary Pierce are all looking to go deep in the draw. Maria Sharapova has a pretty draw and should have little problems advancing to the semis. Patty Schnyder, on the contrary, probably has the toughest draw out of all the seeds having to face Gisela Dulko or Shahar Peer in her first match, and then Dinara Safina in the 3rd round. We don't know if Mary Pierce's injury is really over or if it will hamper her campaign in this tournament as she has not played a single match since February. She might have problems keeping up with Anna Lena Groenefeld though if they face each other in the 3rd round. There's not a lot of dangerous unseeded players in this part of the draw aside from Vera Zvonareva. Zvonareva has been playing good tennis the past weeks and she's been having a good hardcourt season thus far. She captured the Cincinatti title two weeks ago and made a run to the quarters in Stanford (l. to Kim Clijsters in 3s) last week.
Elena Dementieva's draw is so-so. Not as bad as the previous tournaments, but not the easiest either. Oh, I forgot... When did Elena had an easy draw ever?! Anyway, She could face either Ashley Harkleroad or Jill Crabas (more probably) in her opening round. I don't think Harkleroad will bother Elena, Jill Craybas on the other hand has a small chance as she's playing good lately. The third round will most likely be against Katarina Srebotnik (again, not that much of a threat) or Sania Mirza (if she pulls herself together). If Elena is successful in her first two matches, she will probably face Patty Schnyder in the QF. This is gonna be an interesting match if ever. They always have close matches. Patty's lefty serve troubles Elena and Elena's cross-court forehand troubles Patty. Elena must also be looking to avenge her lost to Schnyder earlier this year. If she makes it to the semis, Elena would have to battle her demons and have more confidence when she faces Maria Sharapova.
Anyway, Elena has a nice draw and the hardcourts suits her game well. Let's hope that Elena will have a good run this week and if possible, win her second Tier I title here in San Diego.
Davai Elena!
Doubles News
Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta missed out an opening round bye as they were the fifth seeds in the draw this year behind Raymond/Stosur, Black/Stubbs, Hantuchova/Sugiyama and Groenefeld/Shaughnessy.
Elena and Flavia will have a tricky test in the first round as they face Jelena Jankovic and Bethanie Mattek. Both are not known as good doubles players so I expect them to move to the second round where they'd probably face Kveta Peschke and Mara Santangelo. In the quarters, they'll face the top seeds Raymond and Stosur. They certainly has the ability to beat them, they just have to believe.
Davai Elena! Vamos Flavia! Let's go deep in doubles! |
posted by mjgrace22 @ 10:30 AM   |
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| Monday, July 17, 2006 |
| Elena brings Russia back to where they belong |
Elena Dementieva won both her singles rubber to retain the World Group status of Russia in the FedCup. Click here to see how it all went for Team Russia.
Well done Elena! Looking forward to see you do well in the US hardcourts.
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 9:36 AM |
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| Thursday, July 13, 2006 |
| Elena to defend Tokyo title in 2007 |
According to this news report, Elena Dementieva will come back to the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan next year to defend her title. The Toray Pan Pacific Open is Elena's first Tier I tournament win.
"I will continue to work on my tennis in order to be able to perform my
best in Tokyo next year." - Elena Dementieva
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| posted by mjgrace22 @ 8:25 AM |
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| Wednesday, July 12, 2006 |
| FedCup Playoffs Preview |
This weekend, we will be seeing a less than powerhouse team of Russia battle it out with Croatia for a place in the FedCup World Group I. Russia will be headed by Elena Dementieva while Karolina Sprem leads Croatia.
Dementieva will be joined by youngsters Anna Chakvetadze, Elena Vesnina and Vera Dushevina in trying to keep their World Group status this weekend. Dushevina was part of last year's FedCup team which defeated France in the finals but did not play any of the rubbers. Chakvetadze and Vesnina on the other hand are both FedCup rookies.
Team Croatia will be led by Karolina Sprem together with Ivana Lisjak, Sanja Ancic and Matea Mezak. Sanja Ancic is the little sister of ATP's Mario Ancic. Sprem, currently ranked No. 49, is the only player of the team inside the Top 100.
It is right to expect that Elena Dementieva is the Singles No. 1 player of Team Russia given the composition of the team. I can't help though but be baffled by Shamil Tarpischev's decision of not putting Safina, Kuznetsova or even Kirilenko on the team. This is by far oone of the weakest FedCup teams fielded by Russia in recent years. But even though this is the case, this team is more than enough to beat Team Croatia.
Dementieva has never faced anyone from Team Croatia before. This will be the first time she plays against Karolina Sprem. Sprem is notably known for her defeat of Venus Williams in Wimbledon a couple of years ago and she is a very dangerous player especially when she's on. Sprem has been having a career slump in the past year or so and she hasn't been in the form that brought her to her career-high No. 17 in 2004.
With only Sprem as a possible danger, I don't see any reason why Russia would lose this tie. I think Russia will go away with this one at 5-0, or 4-1 at most.
Davai Elena! Davai Russia! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 12:21 PM |
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| Monday, July 10, 2006 |
| Ranking Update 7-10-06 |
Elena Dementieva has moved to No. 6 in the WTA World Rankings as of today, July 10. This movement in the ranking is due to Elena Dementieva's nice run to her first ever quarterfinal at Wimbledon. She has moved 2 places up in the ranking system.
Also, with her successful run in Wimbledon, Elena became the first Russian woman to cross the $7,000,000 mark in prize money.
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 12:55 PM |
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| Wednesday, July 05, 2006 |
| E. Dementieva Interview - Wimbledon Day 8 |
E. Dementieva Interview - Day 8 Tuesday, 4 July, 2006
Q. Can you give us your thoughts on that match, if you could have done any better perhaps, whether you were outplayed?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, I really think she was playing great today, especially in the first set, she put a lot of pressure on me.
I don't think I was playing bad. I think it was a good match, but she was playing, uhm, very solid, very deep, you know, very she was very focused today from the first point. Uhm, it was really hard to fight today against her.
Q. Her serve today, how difficult was it to deal with that?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I think, you know, today she was serving very well, comparing to match yesterday against Flavia. She put a lot of first serve in. And, uhm, she took advantage of this.
And, uhm, yeah, it was very, very difficult even, you know, with my return. I like to return, but it was very hard to put it back.
Q. She seems to have developed a really good slice serve from the deuce court now. She doesn't have to hit it so hard, drags you off the court.
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, yeah, it looks like she's still working on her serve. I really think she has a great one, I think. She improved a lot. She has some slice serve. She can mix a lot. That what makes it for me very difficult to return.
Q. Do you think maybe today you played against the next Wimbledon champion?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I mean, it's hard to say, but today she was playing very solid. And, uhm, she really improve her game, uhm, comparing yesterday match. And if she gonna continue to play like that, yeah, I think she has a chance to win this title again.
Q. Like Maria, you're quite tall.
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Not as tall as her.
Q. She's had some difficulty growing into her body in the last couple of years, where she's growing so fast. Did you experience that at all when you were a teenager?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, never had this experience but I think that it's really amazing, you know. She's very tall, she has such a big legs and arms. It seems to me like she's very good with her body, you know. She really moving better now. I don't think that she has any problem with, you know, growing up any more.
Q. Can we just ask you about the streaker. Have you ever had a streaker come on court before?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Sorry?
Q. The streaker, the man.
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Oh, oh, first time happen in my match, so... I mean, if the crowd likes it, that's okay with me.
Q. What was running through your mind at that time?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I was afraid a little bit because, you know, in the beginning, I didn't understand what happened. I just saw like someone's trying to come to the court, and then I just realized that it was who it was.
But the first feeling was like something happening here, you know, a little scary.
Q. You laughed a little bit.
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, you didn't?
Q. You went from being scared to laughing, obviously. Did it put you off at all?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, no, not really.
Q. How is your game developing on grass?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, for me, it was my first quarterfinals here. And, uhm, I think finally I really found my game playing on grass. I really like it here.
So it was my first experience to play in a quarterfinals, and I just hope this experience will help me in the future.
Q. I work for BBC radio. A lot of people have contacted us talking about the noises Maria Sharapova makes. Do you find it off putting?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, personally I think it's a little bit too much, but that's the way she's playing for a long time. And if the tour has allowed her to do such noise, it's
Q. Do you think the umpire should step in at some point?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I think so, yeah. My personal opinion, yeah, I think the umpire should calm down her a little bit. But, I mean, that's the way she's playing.
Q. You never have a private word with her?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, uhm, I think the best way is to beat her, not to tell her what to do. I mean, when I'm on the court, I'm trying to be focused. I mean, it doesn't bother me, but I think it's too much.
Q. It comes under the distraction rule in the rulebook. How can the referee think it's a distraction unless the other player says, I'm being distracted by it?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I don't know how to measure this. I don't know how to say how loud it was. I mean, we cannot control how loud she will scream the next day and the next day. I mean, it's very hard to say.
Q. The point is that doesn't one player have to go to the umpire and say, I don't know how you measure it, but it is distracting for me?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I mean, next time I beat her, I will say something. But when you losing like 6 1, 4 1, I mean, it just looks... It doesn't look good if you gonna go to the umpire and talking about how loud she screaming on the court.
Q. Is it more pressure playing another Russian?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, I really don't think so, you know. We have a lot of Russian on the tour and we face each other every single tournament. So it's really about just going to the next round and, you know, playing on Centre Court, which is a great experience for me.
But, yeah, didn't think much about she's Russian.
Q. Is there any other player who's as loud as she is to play against?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, don't think so, no. I remember Venus last year in the semifinals, she was screaming the same way, yeah (laughing).
Q. What do you think her greatest asset as a player for you to go against, what is it that makes her special, do you think?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, I think it's very special about her that she's a fighter, you know. It just amazing how focus she can be, how, you know, she can fight from the first point till the end. And it's really amazing.
I was watching her match yesterday, you know. She was it was very tough match for her to win. Today it looks like the trouble makes her even stronger, and she was playing better today.
I think she is still improving her game. She's really working on herself.
Q. Is part of your amazement about that that she has all these other things going on outside of her tennis life? I think someone estimated she made $23 million alone last year not in prize money but in endorsement deals. To be able to come on the court, put that stuff to the side and concentrate, does that amaze you?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I don't know how much she does offcourt. I mean, I'm not following her. But I think it's quite difficult, what she's doing.
But as far as she's balancing what she's doing, she can commit all the things, you know, it looks like it works for her for the moment.
Q. Are you and the other Russian players friendly offcourt? Will you go upstairs and have a glass of Pimm's together and talk it over? Vodka?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: (Laughing). Yeah, I think that, you know, most of the Russian players are very friendly.
Q. How about Sharapova?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I don't really I don't really have much connection with her. |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 9:39 AM |
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| Dementieva's double loss |
 Elena Dementieva was not so lucky and was not on her best form today as she lost both her matches today. She bowed down to Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-4 in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.
Today's match is a testament of how badly Elena needs confidence in her serve. Everyone says that she serves well during practice but she can't bring it in the match. Oh, Elena... if only you would trust your serve and kill your mental demons...
The first set was pretty much a give away. It was so obvious that Elena didn't have any confidence. She was making errors everywhere and can't make any winners. Plus, Maria Sharapova was serving really well and she's whacking Elena's second serve. Well, that's pretty much the story of the match. Elena tried to come back in the second set but it was little too late for her as Sharapova closed out the match at 6-4.
Anyway, you just gotta love Elena. Her press conferences are really never boring and her honesty is awesome. Looking forward to the hardcourt season now. I hope Elena takes her level up and I hope she learned a lot with this quarterfinal run at Wimbledon.
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 9:30 AM |
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| Tuesday, July 04, 2006 |
| All-Russian QF: Dementieva vs Sharapova |
Elena Dementieva is contesting her first quarterfinal match at Wimbledon is facing 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova. This marks an all-Russian quarterfinal and ensures that ther will be at least one Russian woman in the semis. The last time the two met was at the finals of Indian Wells earlier this year where we saw Sharapova triumph 6-1 6-2.
Their head-to-head stands at 4-1 in favor of Sharapova but this match will be very different from the others as this will be the first time that they're facing each other in a Grand Slam match. Dementieva actually has never lost a quarterfinal match in a Grand Slam (4-0) while Sharapova lost twice (5-2) in the French Open qf.
This will be a very big test for both players. I think that the match strongly depends on which Dementieva shows up. I hope that yesterday's (second set) Dementieva shows up so she could have clearer shot to the semis.
Sharapova was really tested by Flavia Pennetta in the fourth round and Pennetta showed that Sharapova can be beaten on grass. If there's one thing that Pennetta has done good yesterday, it was to move Sharapova side to side and use variety in her shots. Dementieva has to do this tonight and be more aggressive. That's what Flavia did, but she came up short on the important points.
Anyway, Dementieva should serve really well tonight. Sharapova has a good return and she'll whack Elena's second serve if it's not good enough. Elena should keep her first serves in and continue making more winners than errors.
It has been a tough road for Elena and I'm so glad she made it to the quarters. But the road gets tougher today. This match will be very difficult and very challenging for Elena. It will be difficult to beat Sharapova but it's not impossible. I'm hoping for an upset here. Elena can do it, I believe.
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 8:27 AM |
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| Dementieva sends last American home |
 Elena Dementieva cruised to her first ever quarterfinal at Wimbledon when she downed the last American in the draw, Shenay Perry 6-2 6-0. It only took Dementieva 53 minutes to wrap up the match and prepare for the quarterfinals.
Early in the match, Dementieva broke Perry's serve but a string of double faults allowed Perry to break back at 2-2. Unfortunately for Perry, that would be the last time for her to score a game as Dementieva took 10 straight games to end the match with a +4 winners-to-errors differential. The second set saw good serving from Dementieva where she didn't serve a single double fault. Her service percentage is good and wrapping up the match quickly is a good sign for tonight's quarterfinal match.
Taking Shenay Perry down was a job well done by Elena. But a much bigger job named Maria Sharapova lies ahead of her path. Sharapova struggled in her fourth round match against Italian Flavia Pennetta but eventually won her match in 3-sets. So we will be seeing an all-Russian quarterfinal tonight as Dementieva and Sharapova fight for a place in the semifinals.
Davai Elena!
Doubles
After their respective 4th round singles matches, Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta wushed to Court 13 to play their 2nd round doubles match against youngsters Michaella Krajicek and Sania Mirza.
Dementieva and Pennetta proved to be too strong for Krajicek/Mirza as they progressed to the third round 6-4 6-2 in just an hour. They will next face the 9th seeds Francesca Schiavone and Kveta Peschke.
Davai Elena! Vamos Flavia!
FedCup: According to Elena, she will be playing the FedCup tie at Croatia next week. Other details are not confirmed yet. |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 7:52 AM |
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| Monday, July 03, 2006 |
| Dementieva meets Perry in 4R action |
Elena Dementieva will try to score her career-best performance at Wimbledon this year after failing to progress past the fourth round in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Shenay Perry is on her way to her first quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
This could be Elena's best chance at reaching the quarterfinals as she was stopped bu former Grand Slam champions in her previous fourth round defeats: Justine Henin-Hardenne, Serena Williams and Anastasia Myskina. She was a point short last year of making the quarterfinals as she held match points in the second set against Myskina. I'm sure that the memories of this match was very painful for Elena so I hope that this motivates her rather than haunt her in her match against Shenay Perry tonight.
Shenay Perry is currently ranked 62 but her ranking doesn't say much about how well she's been doing lately. Despite the disparity of their rankings, Shenay Perry is a very dangerous player and her serve could bother Elena. Elena's return game should be on today if she wants to make sure of a quarterfinal slot.
The key to this match is Elena's return game. This could be an easy match if Elena could serve very well throughout the whole match. But if not, Elena should press Perry and be more aggressive. I noticed that Elena is very hesitant upon coming to the net in her previous matched and I think that she has to come to the net more often to shorten the points. Dementieva should do her best to finish this match as quick as she can so she can have more rest if she is to play the quarterfinals her at Wimbledon where she can face Maria Sharapova.
Davai Elena!
Doubles
After their respective fourth round matches, Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta will take on the new team of Michaella Krajicek and Sania Mirza in the 2nd round of doubles action tonight. Dementieva and Pennetta should win this one quite easily and with less drama as they are clearly the more experienced and more talented team. Krajicek is a good volleyer but the same cannot be said for Sania Mirza. So given their talent and experience, Elena and Flavia should win this in straight sets.
Flavia will face Maria Sharapova in the fourth round today and I really hope that she gives challenge to Sharapova and beat her if she can. It's time that Flavia makes a breakthrough in a Grand Slam. If she does it and Elena also wins in her match today, they will meet for the first in their career in what could be a quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
Davai Elena! Vamos Flavia! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 7:05 AM |
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| Dementieva deals with Likhovtseva |
 Elena Dementieva handed Elena Likhovtseva what could be her last loss at Wimbledon. After saving set points in the 1st set, Dementieva took the match 7-5 6-3.
Dementieva struggled with her serve a lot during the first set which allowed Likhovtseva to have and early 3-0 lead. But knowing Dementieva, you're never sure when she's gonna come back. Indeed, Dementieva brought out her stunning returns and her ripping forehand which ended the match for Likhovtseva. Likhovtseva even had to call the trainer twice during the match due to a bad landing in one of the points before the first set was over.
This match was a good one for Dementieva having spent less time on court compared to her previous matches. Having a rest day yesterday should surely help her prepare on her fourth round match against Shenay Perry.
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 6:49 AM |
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| Saturday, July 01, 2006 |
| Dementieva bummed Bammer in doubles |
Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta efeated the tandem of Sybille Bamme and Julia Schruff 6-3 6-3 at the Doubles 1st round. I'm really glad that it only took them 65 minutes to finish the match. They need a lot of energy for their respective singles matches today.
Davai Elena! Vamos Flavia! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 7:25 AM |
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| About Me |
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Name: mjgrace22
Home: Philippines
About Me: Obviously, I'm a big fan of tennis. My favorite female tennis player is Elena Dementieva. I'm just a simple person with simple dreams.
See my complete profile
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