Danish tennis

I think we may need a thread to discuss Danish tennis in general (non-juniors). Maria Jespersen is starting a pro career at the moment, and some others like Anna Signe Rasmussen and Malene Stripp, who are in their last junior seasons, have already tried their luck on the pro circuit a few times in 2012. And I guess there will others the next few years. Creating a new thread for each player might be a bit excessive.

This thread can also be used for Danish Fed Cup discussions now that Caro isn't playing on the team.

http://i.imgur.com/sQhDY.jpg

Maria Jespersen, 20 years of age, is the most recent Danish pro player. She's been playing as a qualifier i Greece this week, and performed pretty well in some tough matches.


$10,000 Heraklion, Greece

QR1 Maria JESPERSEN (DEN) d. Alessia CAMPLONE (ITA) 7-6(5) 6-1
QR2 Maria JESPERSEN (DEN) d. [13] Giulia BRUZZONE (ITA) 6-3 3-6 6-1
QR3 Maria JESPERSEN (DEN) d. Sabrina BAMBURAC (GBR) 3-6 7-5 7-6(8)

1R [2] Jasmin STEINHERR (GER) d. Maria JESPERSEN (DEN) 4-6 6-3 6-3


Pretty good effort against the 2nd seeded player! Here's Maria's own report from the match (brutally excerpted and translated from an article here (http://www.tennissporten.dk/pages/posts/taet-pa-4542.php)):
We both held serve during the first set until I broke her love at 5-4! I'd been serving really well in the 1st set. I also began the 2nd set really well but I lost the concentration and didn't really believe I could win. I lost the set 6-3.

Then I began to play again like I had done in the 1st set. I was immedialtely up 3-1 with three breakpoints to 4-1! I was serving with new balls at 3-2 when I started to think too much about it. The pressure was growing and it was really important to hold serve. I had won my previous service game to love with four perfect first serves. But she was returning really well so I was broken to 3-3.
The last three games were really close but she eventually won the set 6-3.

We talked after the match, and she told me about her own struggles earlier in her career when she had gone through qualification only to lose against one of the top seeds in the first round of MD. She also told me, that the most experienced won today, but she complimented my game - my time will come. I'm already looking forward to my next tournament.

BTW: I got a new nickname at this tournament. Players and coaches call me Karlovic! They're all very impressed with my serves and the countless aces I've been serving here in Greece.

GL to Maria on the pro circuit!

Q-Draw: only 2 danes in...

(1/wc)Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) v Ekaterina Yashina (RUS)
Richel Hogenkamp (NED) v Kristina Kucova (SVK)
Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) v (wc)Simone Alipieva (DEN)
Zuzana Luknarova (SVK) v (8)Sarah Gronert (GER)


(3)Kiki Bertens (NED) v Johanna Konta (AUS)
Lenka Jurikova (SVK) v (wc)Frederikke Svarre (DEN)
Daria Gavrilova (RUS) v Irina Buryachok (UKR)
Lina Stanciute (LTU) v (6)Reka-Luca Jani (HUN)

Alipieva spiller 6. kamp på Centre Court i morgen, lørdag, hvor også danske Frederikke Svarre skal i aktion. Hun spiller tidligere på dagen mod slovakiske Jurikova.

Du kan finde hele programmet for lørdag, samt lodtrækningen til kvalifikationen på hjemmesiden i løbet af aftenen.

It may be a good tourny but the website sucks! :o

It may be a good tourny but the website sucks! :o

Very true, so poor. Good that we have the WTA website :)

Main Draw is done today at 16:15.


TV2 News will have news about atleast Caro's Draw as last year...

Det går ikke for godt for Svarre... :o 0-11...

Hvad godt kan det være at give en ung en chance når hun ikke er nær at vinde just one game... ?

5-0 30-30... can she hold.....

Nej 06 06. finito...

37m 40s. Det er s'gu hurtigt selv for en 60 60'er. Håber ikke hun tager det for hårdt. Arrangørerne, eller er det WTA, skulle have dummebøder for det her.

Hvis Alipieva kan tage 3 partier, vil det være en dundrende succes for hende. Ikke at jeg tror det sker efter 2 kampe allerede i dag.

6-0 6-0 is not really surprising. I don't think she will take it too hard. Pro players like Barbat and Ejdesgaard have also been double-bageled in Copenhagen. And Svarre is not even an elite junior. But why she got a Wild card? I don't know.

http://i.imgur.com/FzfBO.png

Jeg tror da Simone tager flere end 3... ;)


Måske ikke lige så god som Caro på den alder men da en noget størrere talent end Svarre, er hun datter af den kendte fægter P. Svarre?

Ja, Frederikke er datter af Pernille Svarre, som også var verdensmester i moderne femkamp.

Jeg tror da Simone tager flere end 3... ;)

Jeg tror ikke engang at du tror på det...:lol: Men tager hun 3, er det meget mere end godkendt.


Måske ikke lige så god som Caro på den alder men da en noget størrere talent end Svarre, er hun datter af den kendte fægter P. Svarre?

Større talent måske, men modstanden er så også lige en anelse hårdere...



Og tænkte nok der var en relation. Svarre er ikke ligefrem et almindeligt navn som Jensen.

@backhandsmash: cheer up :) No need to be worried. Kvitova schooled Caro at 2010 Wimbledon 6-2 6-0. Caro didn't win much more points than Frederikke Svarre today (percentage wise). But Caro was ranked #4 and Kvitova #62! It seemed like a disaster for Caro, but she had her best year ever after that event!

Noone expects Alipieva to creat miracles. I'm sure it'll be great for her no matter what the outcome. Only I hope Simone isn't too tired having already played two matches today (she also won her doubls SF at the junior's today).

Nu godt 10 minuts og News har nyt on E-Boks Drawen.

@backhandsmash: cheer up :) No need to be worried. Kvitova schooled Caro at 2010 Wimbledon 6-2 6-0. Caro didn't win much more points than Frederikke Svarre today (percentage wise). But Caro was ranked #4 and Kvitova #62! It seemed like a disaster for Caro, but she had her best year ever after that event!

Noone expects Alipieva to creat miracles. I'm sure it'll be great for her no matter what the outcome. Only I hope Simone isn't too tired having already played two matches today (she also won her doubls SF at the junior's today).

I am in a pretty cheery mood today actually. But as you (or was it Jorn?) mentioned: She's being "thrown to the wolves" or something like that.
But maybe the whole idea of this WC circus, was to give the youngsters an idea of the level played on the WTA tour? I don't think so, though. ;)

Match suspended. Another failure because downfall, or what?

Light fault maybe :o

This was the one with the firealarm last year, right?


Light fault maybe :o Is it on TV2 right now? Or when do they start?

Drawen:

(1)Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) v Urszula Radwanska (POL)
Q v Pauline Parmentier (FRA)
Alize Cornet (FRA) v (wc)Malou Ejdesgaard (DEN)
Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (AUT) v (8)Sofia Arvidsson (SWE)

(4)Monica Niculescu (ROU) v Valeria Savinykh (RUS)
Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) v Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
Q v Petra Martic (CRO)
Q v (7)Ksenia Pervak (KAZ)

(5)Kaia Kanepi (EST) v Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)
Timea Babos (HUN) v Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN)
(5)Yulia Putintseva (RUS) v (wc)Karen Barbat (DEN)
Laura Robson (GBR) v (3)Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

(6)Mona Barthel (GER) v Johanna Larsson (SWE)
Kristina Barrois (GER) v Alberta Brianti (ITA)
Q v Anne Keothavong (GBR)
Stephanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) v (2)Angelique Kerber (GER)

TV2 Sport starter tirsdag kl. 11:30 , mandag fodbold :o

Caroline playing doubles with Malou?

Yes, Caro and Malou plays monday at 16:15 every match untill saturday at 16:15 with Caro.

Simone saved 4+ sps...

Man, are there really no streams available for this? I have only ever watched 1 livestream of her before, which was that doubles match against 2 russians.

Anna 61 20... måske er hun i bedre form end jeg troede...

Its all about TV2, they want the matches at 16:15 when ppl still are at work :o

3 games er måske for højt sat.... nu. :sad:

She has already won more than twice the points of Svarre, against a much harder opponent.

3 games er måske for højt sat.... nu. :sad:

2 now! :bounce:

Godkendt resultat fra Alipieva. Jeg havde faktisk forventet 60 60 i den her.

It was OK! Match lasted 62 minutes. Simone won 35 of 97 points which isn't too bad (36 %).

http://i.imgur.com/qhHaN.png

Well done, Simone!

Acceptable result by Simone. Still a total irrelevant match for her and Chakvetadze was only playing 50%. She hardly wanted to sit down during change-over. The WTA players must be shaking their heads over how the Danes are wasting their precious WC's :)

Fed Cup draws for Europe/Africa Group II were made today.

Denmark's pool:
Denmark, Finland, Montenegro, South Africa

The other pool:
Georgia, Latvia, Norway, Turkey

Round robin format. Denmark plays against South Africa tomorrow (wednesday).

- Promotion: Winner of each pool will play-off against runner-up in the other pool to determine which two teams will advance to Europe/Africa Zone Group I in 2013.

- Relegation: Nations in third place in each pool will play-off against nations in fourth place in other pool to determine which two nations will be relegated to Europe/Africa Zone Group III in 2013.


Team nominations (WTA rank, career high rank, ITF junior rank, year of birth for juniors)

- Denmark: Karen Barbat (652, CH 474), Malou Ejdesgaard (832, CH 717), Mai Grage (NR, CH 891), Cecilie Melsted (ITF 287, b. 1995), Julie Noe (ITF 346, b. 1996), Martine Ditlev (ITF 406, b. 1996), Michael Mortensen (captain)

- Finland: Piia Suomalainen (405, CH 356), Emma Laine (554, CH 50), Ella Leivo (NR, b. 1994), Johanna Hyoty (NR, CH 1182), Katrina Saarinen (captain)

- Montenegro: Danka Kovinic (358, CH 352, b. 1994), Vladica Babic (ITF 322, b. 1995), Milica Sljukic (ITF 1638, b. 1996), Danica Krstajic (playing captain) (NR, CH 223)

- South Africa: Nathalie Grandin (780, CH 144), Madrie Le Roux (NR, CH 1182, b. 1995), Lynn Kiro (ITF 161, b. 1995), Ilze Hattingh (ITF 120, b. 1996), John Laffnie De Jager (captain)

Play is delayed because of dust storm!

1st single: Karen Barbat
2nd single: Mai Grage
Double: Malou Ejdesgaard/Mai Grage

Results will be updated here:
http://www.tennis.dk/Nyheder/2012/April/forstekamp12.aspx

South Africa def. Denmark 3-0

Ilze Hattingh def. Mai Grage 7-6(1) 5-7 6-0
Nathalie Grandin def. Karen Barbat 7-6(6) 6-4
Nathalie Grandin/Madrie Le Roux def. Malou Ejdesgaard/Mai Grage 7-5 6-3

Pretty close matches. Barbat had three set points in the 1st set! Pictures here:
http://www.tennis.dk/Nyheder/2012/April/forstekamp12.aspx

Tomorrow's opponent is Montenegro; they beat Finland today. GL!

Denmark vs Montenegro 1-1

Mai Grage def. Babic 6-3 6-2
Kovinic def. Karen Barbat 6-1 6-3

Grage/Ejdesgaard playing doubles. Kom så! The Danish girls could use some luck today after losing three close 1st sets yesterday! GL in the doubles!

Tennissporten ‏@Tennissporten
Danmark - Montenegro 1-2. Eidesgaard/Grage led et nederlag til Kovinic/Krstajic med 4/6 4/6. #Finlandskalbesejresimorgen!!!




Det er altså ikke godt nok, det der.

Nej, det kører ikke for godt for det danske Fed Cup hold. De har spillet rigtig mange tætte sæt, men ender alligevel med at tabe kampene til sidst. Det er allerede afgjort, at danskerne skal spille nedrykningskamp - også selv om Finland evt. besejres i morgen. Øv!

Spillerne ser ellers ud til at have det sjovt:

http://www.tennis.dk/Nyheder/2012/April/monten12.aspx

http://www.dr.dk/Sporten/Oevrig_sport/Tennis/2012/04/21/163241.htm :



Fed Cup-hold uden Wozniacki rykker ned


Det danske Fed Cup-hold i tennis rykkede lørdag ned i Europa/Afrika Group III, da holdet tabte 0-3 til Letland i Egypten.

Danmark var uden stjernen Caroline Wozniacki, som ikke spiller Fed Cup i øjeblikket.

Da Mai Grage samtidig blev skadet, måtte Cecilie Melsted i aktion i anden damesingle, og hun tabte sin kamp i to sæt.

Lidt bedre gik det for Karen Barbat, som først måtte give fortabt efter tre sæt i sin kamp.

Malou Ejdesgaard og Cecilie Melsted tabte doublekampen i to sæt.

Danmark spillede fire kampe ved turneringen i Egypten, men alle blev tabt.





Nu er det da helt sikkert at Woz ikke spiller Fed Cup før 2015 eller deromkring. :(

Jeg er ikke overraset over nedrykningen, men skuffet over måden, de tabte på. Mai Grage leverede flotte resultater og vandt 2 af sine 3 singlekampe. Resten skuffede. De danske spillere spillede en del tætte sæt, som de alligevel ikke formåede at vinde, og de var flere gange ude i 3 sæt uden at kunne vinde det afgørende sæt. Niveauet og skarpheden skal højnes markant.

Nu er damerne for første gang nogensinde nede i den absolut nederste division, hvor de skal prøve kræfter med tennisnationer som Malta og Namibia! Og jeg er bange for, at det kommer til at tage nogle år, før de er tilbage i EA group I, hvor de spillede sidste år.

A few photos (from tennis.dk):

http://i.imgur.com/Yu1eZ.jpg
Vladica Babic (MNE) and Mai Grage (DEN)

http://i.imgur.com/P0qXk.jpg
Karen Barbat

http://i.imgur.com/yyUSo.jpg
Julie Noe (DEN)

http://i.imgur.com/zp5TB.jpg
Cecilie Melsted (DEN)

http://i.imgur.com/5VZIf.jpg
Malou Ejdesgaard (DEN)

http://i.imgur.com/UaLzY.jpg
Martine Ditlev

http://i.imgur.com/BqvgU.jpg
The Danish Team. Front row from left: Melsted, Noe, Ditlev, Barbat, Grage. Back row from left: Jeppe (masseur), Mortensen (captain), Rosengren (elite coach), Ejdesgaard

$10,000 Bastad, Sweden

QR1 (selected results)

(1) Csilla Argyelan (HUN) d. Malene Stripp (DEN) 6-2 6-2
Susanne Celik (SWE) d. Maria Jespersen (DEN) 6-4 4-6 6-2
Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) d. (7) Anna Velica (SWE) 6-2 6-1

It's good to see some more Danish players having an attempt at pro tournaments. We need more of that! The results were perhaps not the best today but Anna Signe's win was pretty good though. Anna's opponent in the qualifying final is Emma Ek (SWE) - a junior from 1996. Q-draw (http://www2.tennis.se/tavling/international/2011/2012/pro/mw10_bastad1/draw5.html)

$10,000 Bastad, Sweden

QR2
Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) d. Emma Ek (SWE) 6-0 6-4

Congrats with the MD!

Fed Cup Team in Egypt:

http://i.imgur.com/Nu6mJ.jpg

From left: Ditlev, Grage, Melsted, Barbat, Ejdesgaard, Noe. Cecilie is obviously the tallest ;)
This photo is made public at Malou's facebook where a slightly higher res is available.

$10,000 Izmir, Turkey

1R
Maria Jespersen (DEN) def. Yagmur Akdemir (TUR) 6-2 6-1

Maria's first ever MD win, if I'm not mistaken :)

$10,000 Izmir, Turkey

2R
(Q) Maria Jespersen (DEN) def. (Q) Ainhoa Atucha Gomez (ESP) 7-6(5) 7-5

Well done! Maria lost the doubles QF with a Swedish partner.

$10,000 Izmir, Turkey

QF
(Q) Maria Jespersen (DEN) d. (3) Nadia Abdala (MEX) 6-2 6-3

Amazing week for Maria "Karlovic"!

$10,000 Izmir, Turkey

SF
Basak Eraydin (TUR) d. (Q)Maria Jespersen (DEN) 7-5 5-7 6-2

Træerne vokser ikke ind i himlen. Flot turnering alligevel! Kom igen :yeah:

$10,000 Sarajevo, BIH

QR1 Maria Jespersen (DEN) vs. bye
QR2 Maria Jespersen (DEN) def. Jelena Lazarevic (SRB) 7-6(4) 7-5
QR3 Maria Jespersen (DEN) def. (4) Giulia Bruzzone (ITA) 6-4 6-3

Well done! I guess she won't play MD until Wednesday. Maria has a blog entry (or report) here:

http://www.tennissporten.dk/pages/posts/nyt-fra-maria-4633.php

Maria lost :sad:

$10,000 Sarajevo, BIH

1R
Ivana Klepic (CRO) def. (Q) Maria Jespersen (DEN) 6-4 6-3

$10,000 Stockholm

QR1
Maria Jespersen (DEN) d. Deimante Bulatovaite (LTU) 6-2 6-0
Madeleine Saari-Bystrom (SWE) d. Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) 2-6 6-3 6-4
Erika Hendsel (EST) d. Cecilie Melsted (DEN) 6-3 6-2
Emilia Granstrom (SWE) d. Malene STRIPP (DEN) 6-2 6-4

QR2 (qualifying final)
(1)Theresa Kleinsteuber (GER) d. Maria Jespersen (DEN) 7-5 3-6 6-3

Good performance by Maria - and some very good serving (14 aces against Kleinsteuber)! Two LL got into MD, unfortunately Maria wasn't among them.

Big fan of Danish tennis! :bigwave: Here for support!! :cheer:

10k Helsingborg, Sweden

QR1
Martine Ditlev (DEN) d. (1)Valeria Osadchenko (SWE) 36 63 76(5)
Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. Erika Hendsel (EST) 63 60
Mai Grage (DEN) d. (5)Anette Munozova (SWE) 61 62
Maria Jespersen (DEN) d. Lisa Andersson (SWE) 64 61
Eva Paalma (EST) d. Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) 36 64 62

:)

Great! GL in QF!

10k Helsingborg, Sweden

Qualifying final
Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. Martine Ditlev (DEN) 6-3 6-1
Maria Jespersen (DEN) d. Mai Grage (DEN) 7-6(6) 1-6 7-6(3)

I'm quite surprised Mai didn't make the MD. Well done by Maria. GL in MD to Maria and Karina.

Mai :hug: Maria :yeah: Martine :hug: Karina :D

10k Helsingborg, Sweden

1R
(6)Karen Barbat (DEN) d. Eva Wacanno (NED) 61 46 62
(Q)Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. Sabrina Bamburac (GBR) 63 61
(Q)Rebecca Peterson (SWE) d. (Q)Maria Jespersen (DEN) 64 60

Barbat/Ditlev lost 1R doubles.

good win for Karina!

What's up with Karen her form is really alot lower than the results I remembered her posting before? :/

Karen and Karina won now :)

:boxing:

What's up with Karen her form is really alot lower than the results I remembered her posting before? :/
She's not very cosistant to put it mildly. A week ago in Linköping, she lost the fist set to Eva Paalma, then won the 2nd set 6-0, was behind 0-5 in the 3rd before she could win the match in a tie break. It's as if she can't stay focused for a whole match, and certainly not for a streak of matches. I'm not sure how her coaching situation is now after her dad got a two year suspension from ITF but that could be one of the reasons for her inconsistency.

10k Helsingborg, Sweden

2R
(6)Karen Barbat (DEN) d. Malin Ulvefeldt (SWE) 1-6 6-4 7-5
(Q)Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. (3)Vanda Lukacs (HUN) 6-1 7-6(3)

Good win for Karina! Well done by Karen in another bumpy performance. Karen and Karina will face each other in the QF!

Congrats girls! :cheer: GL to the winner! :D

Karen fører 6-2, 1-1...

Nu 6-2, 1-3...

Karen d. Karina-I. 6-2, 6-4. :)

Thanks for posting, Jorn. I'm on a machine without Flash today so I couldn't follow livescore.

No upset today. Congrats Karen. Good tournament for Karina! How are the ranking rules once again? They still needs to earn points at three tournaments to get a WTA ranking, right?

Only two Danish players have a WTA singles ranking (Woz and Barbat) :o
Come on Malou, Maria, Karina, Martine and others!

so all malou, stripp and ditlev listed with priority 2 on a 10k in madrid in 2 weeks. i hope they come as i will be there watching :)

10k Helsingborg, Sweden

SF
Ellen Allgurin (SWE) d. Karen Barbat 64 62

Danish Indoor Championships is coming up (March 2-9), and most of the Danish elite and some of the best juniors will play (Barbat, Grage, Stripp, Jespersen, Francati, Rønholt etc.). Malou is not on the acceptance list (http://www.tennis.dk/Sektioner/Turnering/Individuelle%20turneringer/~/media/Files/Turnering/DM%20Inde%20og%20Ude/Inde%202013/deltagerlister%20DMinde13.ashx), so she'll probably play a 10K instead. Martine Ditlev is also missing.

I hope you get to see Malou and possibly some others in Madrid, Sombrerero loco.

I wrote a lengthy post about the state of Danish women's tennis elsewhere on this board. One of the things I particularly missed was Danish pro tournaments. Apart from the Copenhagen WTA 2010-12 there hasn't been any pro tournaments in Denmark since 2008 - not even $10,000! But luckily some effort has been put into this: There will be three 10K's for men already this year, and probably some women's 10K tournaments in 2014. The 3 men's tournaments of 2013 will have 12 MD WC and 18 Q WC for Danish players. Hopefully this will make the transition to the pro circuit just a little bit easier for the Danish players. It's really difficult and expensive to make the breakthrough at the moment. The young talents can't get any MD entries when they start out as pros because they don't have a ranking (ATP or WTA). And they don't get any wild cards either, because there are no Danish tournaments (and why should foreign organizers give wc's to Danish players when they won't get anything in return?). It's still not a big improvement but it's a step in the right direction. Full article from the Tennis Federation (Danish):

http://www.tennis.dk/Nyheder/2013/Marts/futures13nyh.aspx

finally they wont play madrid, sadly =( they will play in the uk next 2 weeks, at least malou for sure, both 15k tournaments on indoor hard

Would love if some events went to Denmark!

Danish Championship 2013, indoor

SF
(1) Karen Barbat d. (4) Anna Signe Rasmussen 63 60
(2) Mai Grage d. (3) Maria Jespersen 61 75

Doubles final
(1) Ejdesgaard/Grage d. (2) Høyer/Jespersen 61 64

Karen vs Mai :hearts:

Malou/Mai :yeah: Congrats girls! :cheer:

Seems like a very close final with lots of breaks. It's 5-5 1st set. Mai was up 3-1 but Karen won four games in a row to go to 3-5.

Liveticker (http://www.tennis.dk/Nyheder/2013/Marts/dmindes13singfin.aspx) (sort of).

Danish Championship 2013, indoor

Final
(1) Karen Barbat d. (2) Mai Grage 75 63

Congrats!

Karen :yeah: Congrats! :D

Mai :hug:

10,000$ Antalya-Belconti I, Turkey

QR1
Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) d. Stefana Andrei (ROU) 61 60

QR2
Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) d. Nicole Fossa Huergo (ITA) 60 63

QRF
Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) d. (4)Maya Gaverova (RUS) 64 61

Well done. Karen Barbat is also in MD. Karen and Anna are a doubles team this week. GL to both!

Latest news: Barbat hit her knee against something sharp and got an open wound. She's had some stitches but luckily no surgery was needed. She should be able to train again shortly. Malou also got a minor knee injury in a qualifying final at the start of the week. She had to withdraw leading 62 52! But she should also be back soon. But it's not the best preeparation for the upcoming Fed Cup. Really bad luck.

This week 6 Danish women and girls are in the qualifying draw at a 10K in Turkey (http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/tournaments/women's-tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100028704): Julie Noe, Emilie Elsvad, Karina Jacobsgaard, Sofia Helgstrand, Mai Grage, Martine Ditlev. It's not often we see 6 Danes i a q-draw at a pro tournament. Malou was also on the entry list but had to withdraw because of the injury.

GL girls in Turkey! :cheer:

$10,000 Antalya, Turkey

QR1 (Danish results)
Alisa Tymofeyeva (UKR) w/o Julie Noe (DEN)
Emilie Elsvad (DEN) d. Pynar Negritz (TUR) 60 60
Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. Natalia Zorgovska (SVK) 61 62
(wc)Sofia Helgstrand (DEN) d. Anastasia Goncharova (RUS) 64 64
Mai Grage (DEN) d. Rika Yamamoto (JPN) 60 60
Martine Ditlev (DEN) d. Iuliia Ponomareva (RUS) 60 61

Pretty solid by the girls! Julie hasn't played for a long time and is probably still injured. I don't know why she signed in? I hope she's fit soon. Well done by the other girls (surprisingly well done!). Martine and Mai will face each other in QR2!

Nice job girls! :yeah:

Hate that Mai and Martine have to face each other! GL to all! :cheer:

Julie :hug:

$10,000 Antalya, Turkey

QR2 (Danish results)
(2)Barbara Luz (POR) d. Emilie Elsvad (DEN) 75 26 75
Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. India Maggen (BEL) 63 62
Mai Grage (DEN) d. Martine Ditlev (DEN) 60 64

Close match by Emilie Elsvad. Kom igen! Sofia Helgstrand was initially listed as the winner in QR1 but apparently she lost the match. ITF now has her as loser 46 46.

Come on Mai & Karina!

Mai and Karina :bounce: :yeah: GL in FQR! :cheer:

Emilie and Martine :hug:

The Danish Tennis Federation has nominated these players for the Fed Cup in May: Karen Barbat, Mai Grage, Maria Jespersen, Karina Jacobsgaard, and Malou Ejdesgaard.

While these players probably are the most likely to win any matches this team selection seems a bit unambitious. I don't know why they didn't select one or two of the younger up-and-coming girls. There's also a Fed Cup next year etc., and the younger girls could use the experience. Karen and Mai are from 1992, Maria and Malou from 1991, and Karina from 1980. Emilie Francati (1997) defeated Maria Jespersen in a big match a couple of days ago and would have been a much better choice - or at least a better choice in the long run regarding the future of Danish tennis.

Anyway, good luck to the girls. There are four pools with three nations in each pool (draws are not made yet). In order to get promoted to a higher group, Denmark needs to win their pool AND win a promotion final against one of the other three pool winners. Difficult task with only one ranked player on the team.

$10,000 Antalya, Turkey

FQR

(2)Barbara Luz (POR) d. Karina Jacobsgaard (DEN) 6-2 6-4
Nina-Isabella Scholten (GER) d. Mai Grage (DEN) 3-6 6-3 6-3

I'm surprised Karina didn't do better sicne Emilie Elsvad was able to take Barbara Luz to three sets. Today's good news is that Mai Grage got a LL spot. Come on!

Martine plays doubles here in Turkey with Sweden's Donika Bashoda. Martine is the only Dane in the doubles draw (I miss Malou, who would probably have played with Mai as prep for Fed Cup)!

Karina and Mai :hug:

GL with the LL, Mai! :cheer: Mai vs Taisiya Zakarlyuk (UKR).

GL in dubs Martine!! :cheer:

$10,000 Antalya, Turkey

Dubs R1
Martine Ditlev (DEN)/Bashota (SWE) d. (wc) Pribylova (RUS)/Pribylova (RUS) 6-4 6-2

Well done. Unfortunately I don't think Mai Grage is in the MD after all (she certainly was listed as LL yesterday). What a mess.

Martine and Bashota :cheer: Nice win! :yeah:

Mai :hug:

Seems like Karen Barbat, Malou Ejdesgaard, and Anna Signe Rasmussen are playing $10,000 Sibenik, Croatia (http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/tournaments/women's-tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100028764) next week. GL!

$10,000 Antalya, Turkey

Dubs QF
Martine Ditlev (DEN)/Donika Bashota (SWE) d. Matea Mezak (CRO) / Silvia Njiric (CRO) 46 63 10-7

Excellent win :)

GL in the semis! :cheer:

$10,000 Antalya, Turkey

Doubles SF
(1)Irina Maria Bara (ROU)/Diana Buzean (ROU) d. Martine Ditlev (DEN)/Donika Bashota (SWE) 6-1 6-4

No surprise. Good tournament by Martine/Donika though.

Still a good tourney for them!! :yeah:

$10,000 Sibenik, Croatia

Singles Qualifying
QR1 - Anna Signe Rasmussen vs Stefkova

GL Anna! :cheer:

Malou tweeted she is on her way to Sibenik, but she isn't in the QD. Wonder if she got a MDWC or she is just playing doubles...:shrug:

Malou Ejdesgaard ‏@LouEjdesgaard 1hour ago
Unfortunately I wount be ready for singles this week, but I'm hoping for doubs! #letsplaysomedoublesthen

Too bad. GL in doubles! I don't know who Malou will play doubles with. Karen Barbat and Anna Signe Rasmussen are teammates from the club Birkerød, which makes them an obvious team if they wants to play dubs (and if they can get in).

It also seems like Martine Ditlev is playing yet another week in Antalya (Q sign-in deadline tonight).

Malou :hug: GL in dubs!!

$10,000 Antalya, TUR

QR1
Susanne Celik (SWE) d. Martine Ditlev (DEN) 75 64


$10,000 Sibenik, CRO

QR1
Barbora Stefkova (CZE) d. Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) 67(7) 75 62

Not a very good weekend for the Danes. Good effort though.

:hug:

Malou & Karen Barbat gave a walkover in doubles. They've both been injured coming into this tournamnet but I suspect Karen is the reason they withdrew since Karen also pulled out of singles. It's not looking god for Fed Cup :sad:

I hope they're fit soon.

:sad: :sad: :sad:

It seems like Malou Ejdesgaard, Martine Ditlev, and Anna Signe Rasmussen will play a 10K in Italy (http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/tournaments/women's-tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100028894) next week (QD this weekend).

$10,000 San Severo, ITA

QR1
Marianna Natali (ITA) 6-1 6-4 Martine Ditlev (DEN)

Malou Ejdesgaard had a QR1 bye and will probably play tomorrow. Anna Signe Rasmussen is also in Italy and could have a MD entry because of the rather weak draw?

Here is a lovely photo of 4 Danish players in Turkey a couple of weeks ago (without the injured Malou, who was supposed to be there too):

http://i.imgur.com/UWCb8Vi.jpg
From left: Martine Ditlev, Emilie Elsvad, Julie Noe, Mai Grage.

$10,000 San Severo, ITA

R1
Beatrice Torelli (ITA) d. Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) 6-7(5) 6-1 6-2

A bit disappointing by Anna to win only 3 games after having won the 1st set (against a 15 year old!). Keep working. Kom igen!
Malou will play her 1st round match tomorrow.

Anna :hug:

Brief news:

Another Danish GP tournament was played last weekend. A few weeks before, junior Emilie Francati impressively won a GP tournament defeating Fed Cup player Maria Jespersen in the SF, and pro player Anna Signe Rasmussen in the final. This time Maria Jespersen won convincingly defeating Emilie Francati in the final 64 61. Which is good and sort of justifies Maria's inclusion on the Fed Cup team. But it's also very solid by Emilie to reach two Danish 18+ finals in a row. She seems like the main Danish junior to keep an eye on at the moment.

10K Bastad, Sweden, is coming up this weekend. Unfortunately Barbat, Grage, Ejdesgaard, Jespersen and Jacobsgaard are busy with the Fed Cup, but there's still a lot of Danish women on the list.

Fed Cup play begins Wednesday 8th of May. Draws are not made yet. I'm afraid my expectations are not very high, but I'm still curious about a lot of things: who'll play the singles and how will they do; who are the preferred doubles players; is Barbat's knee OK - and Malous? GL :)

GL to the girls in Bastad and those playing Fed Cup! :cheer:

6 women/girls are in the Q-draw at 10K Båstad, Sweden (http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/tournaments/women%27s-tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100028897):

Anna Signe Rasmussen, Julie Noe, Frederikke Svarre, Cecilie Melsted, Karina Jacobsgaard, Malene Stripp. No Danes in MD. I wouldn't get my hopes up too high for the qualies. The best Danish women are in Moldova with the Fed Cup Team. Noe, Melsted, and Stripp have not played for ages, but I'm glad they're finally back. GL everyone!

GL girls in Sweden!! :cheer:

We finally got a press release from the Danish Tennis Association about Fed Cup:

Barbat is injured, Martine Ditlev has replaced her. Karin Jacobsgaard was initially selected but can't go to Moldova because of her civil job. She' playing qualies at 10K Båstad, Sweden, instead. The Tennis Association also explains that Emilie Francati is having her final exams at the moment, which is a higher priority for her. Otherwise she would be with the Fed Cup Team. Good to know! Silly me, thinking they neglected her ;) Good luck in Moldova. Play well and enjoy it :)

Fed Cup girls in Moldova. Photo from Malou' twitter. From left: Mai, Maria, Martine (with Malou it's the 4 M's!):

http://i.imgur.com/48nnJhx.jpg

10K Båstad, Sweden

QR1
Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) d. Mathilda Malm (SWE) 6-0 6-1
(WC) Julie Noe (DEN) d. Rebecca Mhina (SWE) 6-0 6-3
Paulina Wulcan (SWE) d. Frederikke Svarre (DEN) 5-7 6-4 6-3
(WC) Karina Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. Alice Wenner (SWE) 6-0 6-0
Klara Alenas (SWE) d. Cecilie Melsted (DEN) 6-3 6-4
Sandra Ortevall (SWE) d. Malene Stripp (DEN) 6-3 7-5


Frederikke Svarre was up 7-5, 4-1, 30-0! Too bad.

A big Danish clash is coming up in the qualifying finals today: Anna Signe Rasmussen vs. Julie Noe! Julie hasn't played at all since a retirement in February, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of form she's in. I've missed her; so I hope she's recovered completely. Both girls were quite impressive i QR1 but I suppose Anna must have an advantage, having played at some pro tournaments lately. Too bad they have drawn each other today but at least one of them gets into MD :)

Cecilie Melsted hasn't played since February either (I've missed her too!). She doesn't seem to be back at her best form yet. Impressive score by Karina. She and Julie deserved their q-wild cards. GL today.

10K Båstad, Sweden

FQR

(WC) Julie Noe (DEN) d. Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) 2-6 6-3 6-3
(WC) Karina Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. Klara Alenas (SWE) 6-3 6-3

Good to see Julie Noe back in form (still a junior - and next year too)! Anna :hug:

Fed Cup draws

Pool A: Egypt (1), Armenia, Malta

Pool B: Morocco (2), Denmark, Namibia

Pool C: Ireland (3), Moldova, Kenya

Pool D: Norway (4), Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Madagascar

Seeded nations in parenthesis. There's no relegation since this is the bottom level at Fed Cup. In order to promote, Denmark needs to win their pool and win a play-off match against the winner of pool C or D (probably Ireland, Norway or Liechtenstein). Liechtenstein has the highest ranked player among these nations (Stephanie Vogt). No ranked players on Denmark's team. Come on girls! :)

http://www.fedcup.com/en/news/146634.aspx

They should beat Namibia. Morocco will be tough, but possible. If they can get a singles win, then the doubles win is possible!

GL girls!! :cheer:

10K Båstad, Sweden

1R
(Q) Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. (wc) Caroline Kallberg (SWE) 61 61
Cornelia Lister (SWE) d. (Q) Julie Noe (DEN) 6-1 6-2

2R
(Q) Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. (8)Maria Mokh (RUS) 62 62

Solid by Karina :yeah:

Fed Cup World Group III

Denmark d. Namibia 3-0

Singles 1: Mai Grage d. ?? 60 60
Singles 2: Maria Jespersen d. ?? 64 62
Doubles: ???

Sorry for missing results and players. Waiting for official results here (http://www.fedcup.com/en/draws-results/group-iii/europe-africa/2013.aspx).

M. EJDESGAARD/M. GRAGE d. R. HONIBALL/L. THERON 60 60

Nice job girls!! :cheer:

AND go Karina!! :cheer:

10K Båstad, Sweden

QF
(Q) Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) d. Jacqueline Cabaj Awad (SWE) 61 16 64

Well done :yeah: Karina, once ranked 432, is back into the rankings! She hasn't really played a lot of tennis the last couple of years, so this is some kind of indian summer, I guess.

She won three 10K's in 2001, 2003 & 2005. Won her first Danish 18+ doubles title in 1997! And she's performing better at the moment than the other Danes playing on the pro tour (Barbat, Ditlev, Ejdesgaard, Rasmussen etc.). Up against Belgian Bonavetura (ranked 398) in the SF. I'm afraid Karina's journey ends here. Good week in any case. GL!

Well done Karina! :bounce: GL against Bonaveture! :cheer:

The Swedish Tennis Federation had a brief newsstory about Karina Jacobsgaard yesterday. Karina has played a lot of matches this week (she played qualies too) and was a very tired before yesterday's QF. She wasn't even sure she would be able to play the match! She somehow managed anyway.

Karina is an alternate for another 10K in Båstad next week, so she'll probably have to play qualies again tomorrow (assuming she loses today) unless she gets a MD WC or chooses not to sign in for the event! Lots of other Danes on the acceptance list, btw.

I'm also exicted about the Fed Cup match today :cheer:

The girls won 3-0! :cheer: Tomorrow vs Liechtenstein for a spot in Zonal Group II! :D GL! :cheer:

SF - 10K Båstad, Sweden

(1)Ysaline Bonaventure (BEL) d. (Q)Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard (DEN) 6-1 6-4 :hug: Great week, though! :D

Karina has 5. may wd from Båstad II , but Barbat in MD if she can play!


Go Fed Cup girls tomorrow! :cheer:

Two of denmark's matches yesterday can be seen here in full length:

http://www.noi.md/md/fedcup/id/67

Mai Grage vs. F. El Allami (Morocco) begins at 9h 07m.
Malou/Martine vs. Lalami/Qostal begins at 10h 57m.

(I'm not sure if those timings are completely correct on all systems, but that's what my browser says).

Mai vs Voegt now on Live Streaming, but what about the first singles match?

30-30 Sådan Mai siger de :)

Kom så Mai!

Mai vs Voegt now on Live Streaming, but what about the first singles match?

Maria lost. :hug: Not sure of the score.


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Come on Mai!! FIGHT! :cheer:


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Ok, thanks, goOudinUSA.

Malou's twitter. ;)


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LIE breaks 2-3*

Come on Mai!! You've got this!!!


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They sings the other girls "Vi er røde vi er hvide, vi står sammen side om side" :)

Mai wins 1. set 6-3.

:eek: WD Mai!

En Siger "Far og mor er i med derhjemme?" ;)


De ved det er Streamet :)

Mai won 6-3, 6-1.

1-1 before the dubs so... Kom Så Danmark! :)

Fed Cup promotion play-off

Liechtenstein d. Denmark 2-1

Kathinka von Deichmann d. Maria Jespersen 64 62
Stephanie Vogt lost to Mai Grage 36 16
Deichmann/Vogt d. Ejdesgaard/Grage 63 62

Congratulations to Liechtenstein.
Denmark :hug:

So close. :sad:

Good effort from the girls.

We can't know for sure, because Denmark and Liechtenstein didn't play against teams in the Moldova or Egypt pool, but I really think Denmark and Liechtenstein were the best nations. Solid play, good results. And a huge upset by Mai Grage against Steffi Vogt!

I know! Congrats to Mai! If they faced either Moldova or Egypt, Denmark would be in WGII. :hug:

Maybe next year! :awww: :)

10K Båstad II, Sweden

QR1

Cecilie Lundgaard Melsted (DEN) d. Victoria Pahlett (SWE) 63 36 62
Maja Ornberg (SWE) d. Malene Stripp (DEN) 57 62 62
Donika Bashota (SWE) d. Anna Signe Rasmussen (DEN) 75 36 64

Good win for Cecilie Melsted, who hasn't played much in 2013. Tough day for Malene. Played a GP final in Copenhagen - probably one of her biggest finals ever - and lost. Then played qualies in Sweden a few hours later, and lost in three. :hug:

Karen Barbat in MD. Let's hope she's fit! Skipped the Fed Cup because of her injured knee...