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#1 ·
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#626 ·
#11 ·
#12 ·
;)


A FM on the Vika forum kindly translated their post-RG doubles final press conference for us :)

Commentator:
Today doubles’ final took place during the gentlemen’s matches, that’s why not so many managed to watch it. So, a Belarussian-Russian duet Viktoria Azarenka and Elena Vesnina versus a Spanish pair Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, who is 35 years ols, actually she will be 36 soon and she announced that it is her last tournament, she’s not coming here any more. She has 8 Grand Slams won in doubles and the girls came here to defend the title. Naturally, Viktoria and Lena don’t have the same level of team-work, though they have already tried playing together and they reached the final in Amelia Island, so that is their 19th match together. Moreover, Vika started worrying from the very beginning, throwing her racket, but Lena tried to support her and they finished the match in good mood – they were smiling and having fun. Besides, the girls’ mothers were present at the match and of course they wanted to look good girls

Q: First of all, congratulation to you, girls, because the final of such a tournament is a great event. First of all, who offered playing doubles, who was the initiator?
Lena : I was. Vera Zvonareva was injured in Charleston, and I had no permanent partner, so I offered Vika to play in pair in Rome. So originally we were going to play in Rome only. But when we got to know that Vera wouldn’t be able to play in Rolan Garros, we decided to go on.
Vika: It was me who offered Lena to play together in Madrid, and then in Rolan Garros (laughing).
Q: Vika, you have already won some tournaments, are disappointed by such a final?
Vika: Of course not, this final is an achievement, that’s my second final in doubles and I hope when it’s the third time we will be able to win. That was a great achievement.
Q: Are you and Vika best friends?
Lena: Well yes, we have been communicating for a long time, and have been getting on really good together lately and we have much in common.
Q: Don’t you fear to quarrel during the match and lose you friendship?
Vika: I don’t think you should pay attention to such things, we both played singles and everything was fine.
Lena: I totally agree with Vika, when you play doubles you must support each other, and quarreling is no good. For example, I am get up on the wrong side of the bed since the morning (smiles) and today we both have the same problem (laughing).
Q: By the way, today in the end of the match you seemed to begin playing, at the same time Soderling was playing and the score was 1:4, and after that he won the set and it looked like you could also win, why couldn’t you?
Vika: Well, maybe, but our today’s play wouldn’t let us hope for anything…
Lena: If at 3:0 we could have at least do 3:1, we thought that Anabel could falter at the key moment, but we didn’t manage to brace ourselves properly and finish the games where we had chances.
Q: Congratulations. Are you going to play together at Wimbledon??
V/L: We shall see.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Year-end title critical for Safina, and her reputation

Friday, October 23, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

With the season-ending championships coming up, let's look at what the stakes are for each of the eight qualifiers who have convened in Doha, Qatar, to hold a tug-of-war for the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships title -- theoretically, the most important title after the four majors. We'll take the eight qualifiers in the descending order of their ranking:

Dinara Safina
Anything can happen in tennis, and Safina certainly has both the game and time to win one or more Grand Slam events in her career. Still, this tournament has "must win" written all over it. She's like a bus that has labored up a very long, very steep hill only to start rolling backward, the brakes no longer holding, with the top in view.

If Safina can take this title, it will provide a very welcome balm for an ego that was kicked around a lot this year during the WTA rankings controversy. It wouldn't exactly hurt her confidence for 2010, especially if she counts coup on either or both of the women named Williams.

Serena Williams
A win in Doha cements her claim to the No. 1 ranking and further underscores the suspicion that it was truly hers all along. That would ordinarily be enough incentive for any player, but let's remember, this is Serena. She's won only two titles this year, but they represented 50 percent of the majors. If her competitive spirit decides to sleep in at Doha, anything can happen; if she gets a bee in her bonnet over Safina or the upstart Wozniacki, watch out!

Svetlana Kuznetsova
She's a little like the person who turns up at every party -- the only person whom nobody in the room knows, leaving them asking, "What's she doing here?" Her most accurate answer to that might be, "I had nothing better to do." Kuznetsova has never exactly burned with ambition; she's no score-settler or point-prover (which is exactly what many people like about her). She just happens to be very good at what she does, and she could be especially dangerous because of her moody nature. Let sleeping dogs lie, girls. This one does have a bite.

Caroline Wozniacki
She's plugged along very nicely after that enchanted run to the U.S. Open final (where she lost to Kim Clijsters, who didn't qualify for this event, mainly because of her lack of playing opportunity). This will be a big test for her. It's an opportunity because while nobody confuses the event with a do-or-die major, it's still a good one to put on the growing resume of a young talent and a definite step toward legitimacy as a top player.

Elena Dementieva
She's capable of anything, including nothing, and ranks as the best active woman player not to have won a major. I don't think the SEC trophy would compete for space on her trophy shelf with her Olympic Games gold medal (for singles), but Dementieva has a way of catching fire and inserting herself back into the mix at the top. This would be the right time to do it, and a win at the SEC would position her nicely for 2010.

Victoria Azarenka
When she bagged the singles title in the big dual event in Miami, everyone moved to the edge of his or her seat to see whether she was the new Maria Sharapova. But the pressure of her newfound status seemed to unnerve Azarenka, and she never did get a handle on the temper that has been such a mixed blessing for her. She's got one more shot this year to show that Miami was more a foretelling than a fluke, and she'd take a giant step, reputation-wise, if she found a way to sneak up on the favorites and snatch the title.


Venus Williams
Like Serena, Venus has two titles. Only hers aren't majors, and her play has been generally uninspired. She may have too many miles on the odometer to run one more great race. It's hard to see her motivation and confidence rise to the level necessary to beat some of the women who have far more at stake.

Jelena Jankovic
Can anyone stop her? Well, maybe nobody has to. After all, she backed into the tournament when her main rival for the last spot, Vera Zvonareva, was crushed -- by a qualifier, no less -- in Moscow. And this being wild and crazy Jankovic, you get the feeling that she might just go and win the entire thing.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4589595&name=bodo_peter


MEMPHIS CONFERENCE CALL

Q. The young players like Azarenka, Wozniacki, Radwanska, who has impressed you the most?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Did you say besides them?

Q. No, including them.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, how much younger are they?

Q. Three or four years younger than you.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Why do you have to make me feel so old on a Thursday morning (laughter)?
You know, goodness, what can I say? I mean, I thought Azarenka is probably one of the best out of the pack . I think she has a really great fighting spirit. You know, she has a great all-around game. I felt like from the time I played her in L.A., to the time I played her in Beijing, you could see she lost the match against me, and there's that game plan going into the next match. She definitely improved how she played. I thought as a player, that's always pretty impressive because you always try to learn from your losses.
But, yeah, I think she's probably up there.
http://www.mariasharapova.com/defaultflash.sps
 
#15 ·
Q. Three or four years younger than you.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Why do you have to make me feel so old on a Thursday morning (laughter)?
You know, goodness, what can I say? I mean, I thought Azarenka is probably one of the best out of the pack . I think she has a really great fighting spirit. You know, she has a great all-around game. I felt like from the time I played her in L.A., to the time I played her in Beijing, you could see she lost the match against me, and there's that game plan going into the next match. She definitely improved how she played. I thought as a player, that's always pretty impressive because you always try to learn from your losses.
But, yeah, I think she's probably up there.
Thanks for posting this. I'd seen part of the quote and was wondering where it came from
 
#17 ·
Thanks for the article ;)
 
#18 ·
Tennis-Gloomy Jankovic says she is a shadow of herself
Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:44pm GMT

By Martyn Herman

DOHA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Jelena Jankovic admitted her game needed a drastic overhaul after an error-strewn 6-2 6-3 defeat by Victoria Azarenka in the opening match of the WTA Championships on Tuesday.

The gritty Serb, who began the year ranked number one in the world but only crept back into the top eight last week in Moscow, struggled to keep her groundstrokes inside the lines as she handed 20-year-old Azarenka a surprisingly easy victory.

"I basically gave her everything. I beat myself. That was really unfortunately the case. My game was completely off," said the 24-year-old after launching 33 unforced errors at the Khalifa Tennis Centre.

"I would hit one or two balls and then the third one would go everywhere except in the court. I was a shadow of myself."

Jankovic will have to improve drastically in her remaining White Group matches, starting with world number one Dinara Safina on Wednesday, if she is to match her performance last year here when she reached the semi-finals.

QUICK FIX

However, she hinted that there might not be a quick fix for the problems that have afflicted her game for most of the year, admitting that pretty much everything needed fixing.

"I just have to try to clean my game," she said. "I need to get back to playing good points, hitting the ball, being aggressive, really cutting down all the errors, serve much better, return much better.

"I kept pushing myself to play better and I wanted to play better, but I just couldn't get into the match. I just hope that tomorrow I can play better.

"I will have to do a lot of work in the off-season to get back to my level and get to the top. That's all I know. There is really a lot of work to be done.

"I know that I have to make some changes and I have to improve my game because what you have seen today, really I gave the match away."

Azarenka, making her debut at the WTA's glittering showpiece after rising to sixth in the rankings this year, was more than happy to profit from Jankovic's woes, firing back at the Serb's opinion that she had been gifted a victory.

"I'm glad she gave me the match and she was not in the mood. It worked out pretty well for me," she told reporters.

The Belarussian will face fellow debutant and close friend Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday when another victory could all but seal her place in the semi-finals.

"I expect a good match from her," she said "She's a great fighter, a good girl, and I'm sure we're going to have fun." (Editing by Sonia Oxley; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLR58973220091027?feedType=RSS&feedName=tennisNews&pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=11564&sp=true

Classy JJ, really :rolleyes: I like her but seriously...she was obviously not playing awesome but still...Love Vika's response to it :lol:
Antonio twittered about it.
 
#19 ·
JJ :rolleyes: Please stop trying to get attention with these lame remarks. Draw our attention with some strokes of you going IN for once, instead of whining to the umpire that there's a machine somewhere that makes *annoying* noises :rolleyes::rolleyes: Seriously Jelena, deal with it. :eek: Vika didn't complain about *a machine* for one second :yeah:
 
#20 ·
JJ:rolleyes:
 
#21 ·
Here's an article confirming it was just cramp what Vika suffered

Wozniacki through after Azarenka cramp

Victoria Azarenka was forced to retire injured from her clash with second alternate Agnieszka Radwanska whilst trailing 4-6 7-5 4-1 at the WTA Championships in Doha.

Azarenka became the second player to reaquire treatment for cramp in as many days, after Caroline Wozniacki, and her withdrawal handed the Dane a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.
With both Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic having two wins and one loss to their name in the white group, it comes down to their head-to-head record to decide who goes through as winner, meaning Jankovic finishes top and will face maroon group runner-up Venus Williams, while Wozniacki will face Serena Williams in the semi-finals.
Azarenka appeared to be cruising to the straight sets win that would have seen her top the white group when she took a 6-4 5-2 lead over Radwanska, who was took up her place in the tournament after the withdrawal of Vera Zvonareva, herself a replacement for Dinara Safina.
But a bad case of nerves hit the Belarussian and Radwanska hit back with five games on the bounce to take the second set and level the match before cramp hit Azarenka.
The 20-year-old, making her debut at the tournament, battled on gamely for the next five games but was eventually forced to retire after two hour and 32 minutes and two injury timeouts, hobbling to the net in tears to concede the match.
The early signs from Azarenka were good as she broke in the opening game with a couple of huge forehand winners down the line.
And, although Radwanska broke back in the second game when Azarenka sent a smash wide across court, the opening game set the tone for much of the first set as the Belarussian broke again in the fifth and seventh games to race out to a 5-2 lead.
Azarenka did suffer a minor blip in concentration towards the end of the second set as she allowed Radwanska get one of the breaks back, with a forehand winner down the line, it was only a temporary lapse as the Belarussian served it out at the second attempt with a forehand winner close to the net.
Azarenka then ran away with the early stages of the second set, breaking in the first and third games as Radwanska struggled to cope with the power of her opponent.
But the Pole, who will undergo surgery to her hand in Krakow on Monday, refused to give up and was rewarded for her patience when she broke back in the sixth game when Azarenka sent a backhand down the line wide and long.
Azarenka looked like she had recovered her composure once again by immediately breaking back and setting up a chance to serve out the match, but the Belarussian undid all her good work with consecutive double faults to hand all the momentum back to Radwanska.
This time the Pole was not going to let the opportunity slip and raced through the next five games to seal the second set and level the match, much to Azarenka's consternation.
The match was just one game into the third set when Azarenka was forced to take a medical timeout to have her left thigh heavily strapped, although appeared that the Belarussian would be able to cope with the injury and finish the match as she held to level up at one game apiece.
But just two games later Azarenka was left break points down and in tears after trying to race up the court to a drop shot.
The Belarussian did save the first break point, somehow managing to get up the court to lash a drop shot down the line for a forehand winner, but again she was left sobbing and kneeling on the ground next to the side hoardings before going on to double fault and hand her opponent the break.
One more medical timeout (this time for cramp) and one and a half games later and Azarenka decided she could not continue, conceding the match just after Radwanska had sent another drop shot over the net, albeit with a spot of help from the net itself.
 
#23 ·
It does make it a little more gutting though to know she'd have been absolutely fine to play the SF's if she'd closed it out because it wasn't a real injury and just cramp :sobbing:
 
#24 ·
At least it was nothing serious :shrug:
 
#26 ·
Just stumbled across that on twitter

MiguelSeabra: I'll ask António @vangrichen to comment about it later on through his twitter account; he's ok and quite busy at the moment, it seems...

MiguelSeabra: exclusive: my mate António Van Grichen @vangrichen no longer the coach of world nº7 Victoria Azarenka after 4 years that took her to the top
24 minutes ago from TweetDeck
http://twitter.com/MiguelSeabra

:confused:
 
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