[Ballbasher]

Pierce0415 posted it on GM

[andrewbroad]

=============
TASHKENT OPEN (Tashkent, Uzbekistan; outdoor hard; WTA Tier IV)
=============

Iroda's comeback just keeps getting better and better. In her first WTA tournament of 2006, Kolkata, she reached the semis and lost to Olga Poutchkova. In this her second WTA tournament of the year, she beat Poutchkova in the semis, but fell short of regaining the WTA title she won in June 2000.

This was Iroda's first WTA singles-final since Hyderabad in February 2003, where she lost to Tamarine Tanasugarn - a defeat she avenged in the second round here.

Iroda hasn't won a WTA singles-title since she won Vienna and Knokke-Heist (her second and third titles) back to back in July 2001. But the way her comeback is going, who's to say she won't soon be dominating the WTA Tour like that again!

With this run, Iroda goes up from 221 to 158 in the rankings - just below Tatiana Perebiynis and Tamira Paszek, and above Alicia Molik, Yan,Zi and Mashona Washington.

------
Photos
------

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/?Event=tashkent
http://www.uztennis.uz/
http://sport.uzreport.com/tennis.cgi?lan=e&id=19773 (expired?)
http://sport.uzreport.com/tennis.cgi?lan=e&id=19919
http://sport.uzreport.com/tennis.cgi?lan=e&id=19924
http://www.iroda-tulyaganova.com/ (click GUEST)

What an amazing array of outfits! Apparently, there is a shop called "Tulyaganova Fashion" in the centre of Tashkent!

-----------
First round (Monday 2nd October)
-----------

+ Iroda Tulyaganova [WC] d. ANASTASIYA YAKIMOVA [5], 6-3 7-6 (7/5)

I'm impressed with this result because I saw Yakimova play at the French Open 2006 against eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne. IIRC, Yakimova served for the second set and had set-points against Henin.

It's a great sign of where Iroda's comeback is at that she can pull off upsets like this. I even expected it in a way - my belief in Iroda has really grown since her run to the semi-finals of Kolkata; finally we have something resembling the pre-July 2003 Iroda back again!

www.wtatour.com:
>>>
Tulyaganova, a former Top 20 player, took control early and quickly claimed the first set. She couldn't maintain the same level of intensity, though, and Yakimova, a good mover with good anticipation, started wearing her down. Tulyaganova survived a break-point in the sixth game of the second set and held on to force the tie-break. A forehand error and a muffed overhead put her 5-3 behind but she rallied and won the next three points, getting to match-point with a half-volley which Yakimova thought was long. It might have upset Yakimova's composure because she double faulted to end the match.

Tulyaganova was happy about her win and said she hoped to do better in the coming matches. She next plays Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn, who eliminated last year's runner-up Akgul Amanmuradova, 64 75.
<<<

James Storms at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IrodaT/:
>>>
I heard from a friend of mine who wrote:

"I spoke to Anvar in Tashkent, he watched the 1.round match of Iroda. He says she is not in good shape, and she got very tired in the last games.

"It was maybe ok that she lost 1.round in the doubles."
<<<

------------
Second round (Wednesday 4th October)
------------

+ Iroda Tulyaganova [WC] d. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-4 6-1

Tanasugarn has been a difficult opponent over the years, but her 2006 results have been lacklustre.

www.wtatour.com: "Tulyaganova, dressed in a shimmering blue outfit, defeated Tour veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn, 64 61, in a scrappy match. The first set, which featured seven breaks of serve, lasted 40 minutes. But the match became less competitive after Tanasugarn took a medical timeout after the third game of the second set. She returned with a strapped left ankle but it didn't help much as she didn't win another game."

www.uztennis.uz:
>>>
Tulyaganova, dressed flamboyantly as ever, in a shimmering turquouise blue outfit, defeated tour veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4, 6-1 in a scrappy match. The first set, in which there were seven breaks of serve, lasted 40 minutes.

The match ended as a contest after Tanasugarn, having mobility problems, took a medical timeout after the third game of the second set. She came back on court with a strapped left ankle but it didn't help much, she didn't win another game.

Tulyaganova, who was eliminated in the second round the two previous years here (both times by Italy's Antonella Serra Zanetti) was happy to make it to the third round this time but felt she could be serving better.

Asked to compare this form with that during her semi-final showing in Kolkata two weeks ago, Tulyaganova said "Just about the same."
<<<

salima: "She got very tired in at end of the match"

--------------
Quarter-finals (Friday 6th October)
--------------

+ Iroda Tulyaganova [WC] d. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-1 6-2

Kateryna won the Wimbledon Girls' Singles title in 2004, just as Iroda did in 1999. But she hasn't made any real impact on the WTA Tour, and seems to be a far cry from her older sister Alyona (who won Luxembourg the week before) in both tennis-ability and beauty.

The match lasted 1h10m. Iroda wore a shimmering mauve outfit.


Iroda quotes
------------

"It was easier than I expected. She was making too many mistakes, couldn't put the ball in court. But I'm glad that I was able to keep my concentration."

[Re. her form compared to Kolkata]
"It's the same, but here I have the crowd with me."

-----------
Semi-finals (Saturday 7th October)
-----------

+ Iroda Tulyaganova [WC] d. OLGA POUTCHKOVA [6], 6-4 6-0

A very pleasant surprise after Iroda's loss to the same opponent in the semis of Kolkata!

Poutchkova was playing for the fourth week in a row, after her runs at Bali (qf), Kolkata (r/u) and Guangzhou (qf). The match was competitive until Iroda led 6-4 1-0*, then Poutchkova self-destructed.


www.uztennis.uz:
>>>
Tulyaganova had to work hard for her win over Poutchkova today. Dressed as flamboyantly as ever, in a gold and black outfit today, she was broken while serving for the first set in the ninth game [5-3], double-faulting at break-point.

She, however, broke Poutchkova in the next game [4-5], wrapping the set in 39 minutes on her second set-point, Poutchkova having the saved the first by splendidly racing up to retrieve a dropshot and hit a backhand winner.

The first game of the second game was perhaps the turning point. Tulyaganova held after six long deuces, saving three break-points along the way.

Something snapped in Poutchkova after that. She got a code violation for unsporting conduct when she banged the ball in frustration at a linesperson. Then she tried hitting every ball for a winner and self-destructed.
<<<

Associated Press: "The Uzbek saved two break-points in the first game of the second set before Poutchkova double-faulted twice on her serve in the next game and appeared to give up."

Anvar:
>>>
I watched this match and I should say Iroda was lucky and Olga was TOO nervous. Olga played good in the first set, but lost contol in the second as she was not agree with referee decisions.

Iroda was lucky and calm. That's plus for her. But her play should be improved, in particular, first serves. She also made a lot short balls and I cannot support her decision.

She surely must consider her tactics before the match with Sun.
<<<

Iroda quotes
------------

WTA Quotes of the Week: "On court, she believes that she can do anything. She has great self-belief. But I wanted to show her that I have self-belief too - twice that self-belief.

"One must lose with dignity.

"If she [Sun] has reached the final, she must be playing well. For sure, it will not be an easy match tomorrow."


Poutchkova quotes
-----------------

"I just angry with myself. I lost control... I've had a long tour and I'm tired."

-----
Final (Sunday 8th October)
-----

- Iroda Tulyaganova [WC] lt. Sun,Tiantian, 2-6 4-6

The match lasted just 1h06m, with Iroda's serve being broken six times (four times in the first set, twice in the second).

A disappointing result compared with the earlier rounds, but it doesn't do much to detract from an excellent week and comeback from Iroda. Winning the title would have been the cherry on the cake, but if Iroda can go on like this and stay injury-free, there are a lot more cherries she can put on that cake, so I'm looking forward to having them.

Sun is the reigning Olympic doubles-champion (with Li,Ting), but had never previously been beyond the quarter-finals of a WTA singles-event. She had beaten Serena Williams at Beijing 2005 and Vera Zvonarëva at Beijing 2006, but that was with the partisan support of her home-crowd, and on a day of tears and tantrums for Vera.

Iroda and Vera are both members of my Eternal Fanship, and I was planning to promote Vera ahead of Iroda at the end of 2006. But Iroda's sudden and dramatic return to form makes me less inclined to do so. It will be fascinating to see how their 2007 results compare, and I'm sure that Nicole Vaidišová will be angling for promotion too...


The final was played on Court 2 with a scheduled start-time of 14:00 (GMT + 5 hours). With a member of my Eternal Fanship in a WTA singles-final, I was disappointed that there were no live scores; the livest source was the following thread:
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=267695&page=2

Sun won the first set 6-2 (observed 14:50).
Sun led *5-2 in the second (observed 15:04).
Sun won 6-2 6-4 (observed 15:16).


www.wtatour.com:
>>>
Sun, who went to three sets in her first match of the tournament but cruised through three more rounds in straight sets to reach the final, was again in solid form under sunny Sunday skies, keeping the ball deep, returning well and rarely giving away any free points in the rallies. Aside from a slight hiccup while serving for the match, allowing 5-2 to become 5-4 before closing it out, Sun's cool was evident throughout.

For Tulyaganova, the championship defeat marks an end to what was shaping up to be a profound return to the winner's circle. Having gone as high as No.16 in the world on the rankings just a few years ago, her momentum was derailed by an elbow injury that required surgery, and financial struggles while working her way back onto the circuit.

But despite not winning her home title, the 24-year-old Uzbek was cracking forehands and big serves throughout the week like she had never left the game's upper echelon, taking out seeds Anastasiya Yakimova and Olga Poutchkova, and she even showed flashes of her former brilliance against Sun, though not at critical junctures of the match.

The former Top 20 player was playing just her second Tour event of the year, having reached the Tier III Kolkata semifinals two weeks ago as a 342nd-ranked qualifier, falling to Poutchkova. She came into Tashkent as a wild card ranked No.221.
<<<

www.uztennis.uz:
>>>
The one-hour, six-minute final was a disappointment for the large crowd which had come to cheer their favourite player, Tulyaganova. But it simply wasn't her day and she admitted as much later. Nothing went right for her against a player who rarely put a foot wrong the whole match.

There was nothing spectacular about Sun's play. But she was solid and she was consistent in everything she did: serving, returning serves and hitting groundstrokes. There were very few unforced errors from her racket, and the only blip in her game was when she was broken while serving for the match the first time, at 5-2 in the second set.

She served one double fault and made two other unforced errors. But, having got the cushion of two breaks in the set, she had a second chance and made no mistake that time, sealing the win on her second match-point when Tulyaganova mishit a forehand.

The key to Sun's success was her mental strength. Like in her semi-final against Victoria Azarenka, she seemed calm and assured on court. She did show any sign of nerves despite being in her first singles final and against a player who had the noisy backing of a partisan crowd in a packed stadium.

On the other hand, Tulyaganova appeared affected by the occasion. She appeared more nervous than her opponent, and dropped serve in the opening game of the match, something which Sun said was a key factor in her win.

Tulyaganova also never really found her rhythm, especially on her forehand, several of which she hit into the net when she had an open court in front of her.

In earlier rounds too Tulyaganova had made poor starts but unlike her earlier opponents, Sun was playing practically error-free tennis. She did not ease up, and soon Tulyganova was broken again and found herself 4-0 down.

Finally, Tulyaganova found some sort of groove and held her next two service games, but Sun wasn't slowing any. She she took the first set on her first set-point, when Tulyaganova failed to finish a point at the net and Sun, lobbing smartly, set up a winner for the next shot.

Tulyaganova started the second set well, but with Sun not relaxing one bit, it was always going to be uphill for her. A double-fault and a backhand error saw her give Sun a break-point in the fifth game and the Chinese cashed in straightaway with a powerful, inside-out forehand return of serve.

After holding for 4-2, Sun broke Tulyaganova again, after two deuces, the first game in the match which went to deuce. It was as good as over then though Tulyaganova did delay the inevitable by breaking Sun the first time she served for the match.
<<<

Iroda quotes
------------

"She played well, she served well. I tried my best, but it was not my day today.

"It is not a loss for me, it's a win, because I've come back from all of my injuries, and reached the final at the Tashkent Open."


Sun quotes
----------

"It feels good!

"It was easier than I expected it to be. In fact, it wasn't as easy as it seems. Iroda is a very good player, and she was playing at home.

"It was not that easy as one may guess from the scoring. Tulyaganova is back in tennis after injury, and it was not that easy to beat her."

--------------------
Doubles: First round (Tuesday 3rd October)
--------------------

- Iroda Tulyaganova/Akgul Amanmuradova lt. VICTORIA AZARENKA/TATIANA POUTCHEK [4], 6-4 4-6 1-6

Amanmuradova was hampered by an ankle-injury that made her slower than usual, as noted for her singles-match the day before.


===================
ITF WOMEN'S CIRCUIT (Beijing, China; hard; ITF $50k)
=================== http://www.itftennis.com/womens/

The following information pertains to the week commencing 23rd October:

Iroda is on the entry-list for ITF Beijing, with a priority of 2. Her first priority was ITF Podolsk, but she withdrew from that on 8th October.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/tulya/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irodatulyaganova/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/

[Mike_T]

Show your appreciation for Iroda’s come-back by leaving a message in the guest-book over at Uzbekistan's Ultra. Iroda reads that guest-book and posts there herself sometimes, so she will appreciate your messages of support

http://www.geocities.com/smandy0/index.html

Btw, your message must be no longer than 4 lines, otherwise message gets cut-short

[georgekuo1017]

Beijing $50K: Iroda Tulyagonova(UZB) d [8]Chin-Wei Chan(TPE) 64 62

[georgekuo1017]

AMANMURADOVA (UZB) / TULYAGANOVA (UZB) def. HAO (CHN) / XIE (CHN) 76(5) 64

[Kutuzova]

Tulyaganova def. Saeki 6-4 6-7 6-4!!!

[georgekuo1017]

ITF 50K Shanghai 2nd Round: Iroda Tulyaganova def. Tian-Tian Sun(4) 63 64

[georgekuo1017]

50k shenzhen final

Iroda lost to Meng Yuan 6-4 5-7 1-6

[LegionArgentina]

Iroda

Good week in singles and dobles

[andrewbroad]

In the last three weeks, Iroda has played three ITF tournaments in China (Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen), in each one going one better than the last.

This has boosted her ranking from #161 (23rd October) to #131 (13th November), and hopefully in 2007 she'll be a regular on the WTA Tour instead of the ITF Women's Circuit.

Before that, Iroda is due to play in the Asian Hopman Cup (23rd-26th November) and the Asian Games (1st-15th December).

The Asian Hopman Cup will be played at Hyderabad, India. The winning nation gets direct entry into the Hopman Cup proper (Perth, Australia, 30th December - 5th January).


=================== {week of 23rd October}
ITF WOMEN'S CIRCUIT (Beijing, China; outdoor hard; ITF $50k)
=================== http://www.itftennis.com/womens/
Singles
-------

Iroda Tulyaganova:
1r + CHAN,CHIN-WEI [8], 6-4 6-2
2r + Saeki,Miho, 6-4 6-7 (6/8) 6-4
qf - Marina Erakovic, 1-6 1-6

The quarter-final scoreline is shocking after Iroda reached the semi-finals of WTA Kolkata and the final of WTA Tashkent, but at least she lost to a beautiful girl, who went on to win the title.

Marina Erakovic practised with the great Monica Seles at Auckland on 31st January 2005. Marina was 16 then, 18 now. Monica prophesied that Marina would be a top-ten player as she plays an aggressive all-court game, can hit her backhand two-handed or sliced, and is hard-working and eager to learn.

-------
Doubles
-------

Iroda Tulyaganova/Akgul Amanmuradova:
1r + Hao,Jie/Xie,Yanze [WC], 7-6 (7/5) 6-4
qf - ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA/SUNITHA RAO [2], 2-6 3-6


=================== {week of 30th October}
ITF WOMEN'S CIRCUIT (Shanghai, China; outdoor hard; ITF $50k)
===================
Singles
-------

Iroda Tulyaganova:
1r + Kapros,Anikó, 6-0 6-1
2r + SUN,TIANTIAN [4], 6-3 6-4
qf + Marina Erakovic, 6-2 7-5
sf - TAMARINE TANASUGARN [2], 4-6 1-6

I find it ironic that while Iroda avenged her last two defeats - to Sun in the WTA Tashkent final, and to Erakovic at ITF Beijing - she lost to Tanasugarn by the same score by which she had beaten her in the second round of Tashkent.

-------
Doubles
-------

Iroda Tulyaganova/Akgul Amanmuradova:
1r + ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA/SUNITHA RAO [1], 6-7 (2/7) 7-5 6-7 (3/7)
qf + Eva Hrdinová/Marina Shamayko, 4-6 6-1 6-0
sf + Chan,Chin-Wei/Chen,Yi, 6-3 6-0
f - JI,CHUNMEI/SUN,SHENGNAN [2], 4-6 5-7


=================== {week of 6th November}
ITF WOMEN'S CIRCUIT (Shenzhen, China; outdoor hard; ITF $50k)
===================
Singles
-------

IRODA TULYAGANOVA [6]:
1r + Takase,Ayami, 6-3 6-2
2r + Nudnida Luangnam, 7-6 (7/4) 6-2
qf + Xie,Yan-Ze, 6-4 6-4
sf + Sun,Sheng-Nan, 6-4 6-3
f - YUAN,MENG [3], 6-4 5-7 1-6

At least Iroda went one better in each successive tournament, so hopefully next time a title!

No member of my Eternal Fanship has ever won an ITF title apart from those that they won retrospectively (before I inducted them into my Eternal Fanship).

So it was sad to see my jinx continue after Iroda served for the title at 6-4 5-3, only to suffer a back-injury and lose almost every game left in the match.

-----
Final (Sunday 12th November)
-----

I found some information about the final at http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=270113&page=17


First set
---------

Iroda *1-1, 2-1*, 3-2*, *4-4, 5-4*, 6-4.

chrison: "Both players are good runners."

Yuan called for the trainer at the end of the first set.


Second set
----------

Iroda 2-1*, 3-2*, *3-3, *5-3, 5-4*, *5-5, 5-6*, 5-7.

Iroda served for the title at 5-3, but took an off-court medical time-out after Yuan levelled up at 5-5.
chrison: "I think there's something wrong with her low back."

Iroda, serving at 5-5, led 40/15 but lost four points in a row; thus it was Yuan's turn to serve for the set: she had two set-points at 40/15, and converted the second.

James Storms: "Later on, the physiotherapist was called again to work on her right shoulder."


Third set
---------

Iroda *1-3, 1-4*, *1-5, 1-6. The match lasted 2h40m.


Photos
------

http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=9473856
http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=9473882
http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=9473896

-------
Doubles
-------

Iroda Tulyaganova/Akgul Amanmuradova:
1r + EVA HRDINOVÁ/SANDRA ZÁHLAVOVÁ [4], 6-3 6-2
qf + Hao,Jie/Huang,Lei, 6-4 7-5
sf + JI,CHUNMEI/SUN,SHENGNAN [2], 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7/3)
f - HSIEH,SU-WEI/ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA, 0-2 retired

www.wtatour.com still says that Iroda and Akgul lost in the first round! In fact, it says that Eva and Sandra went on to do exactly what www.itftennis.com says Iroda and Akgul did!

So I really have no proof that Iroda and Akgul actually reached the final - it's just one site's word against the other's, although it makes sense that Iroda would retire from the doubles-final with the back-injury she sustained in the singles-final earlier that day. Oh - and apparently www.itftennis.com used to say that Iroda and Akgul lost in the first round, so hopefully what's there now is the correct result.

Eva Hrdinová is another lovely-looking girl. There are photos of her here:
http://www.tennis.info/China5W.html ("Players off-court")

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/tulya/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irodatulyaganova/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/

[andrewbroad]

Reuters: "Uzbekistan have pulled out of the inaugural Asian Hopman Cup to focus on the Asian Games, the organisers said on Wednesday."

I hope this doesn't in any way translate as, "Iroda is injured". Ten days ago, she finished ITF Shenzhen with lower-back and right-shoulder injuries.

The Asian Games start on 1st December.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/tulya/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irodatulyaganova/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/

[georgekuo1017]

vs na li

[georgekuo1017]

she lost to na li in 3 sets

[LegionArgentina]

Thanks for the pics..

Good fight Iroda

[Benshka]

Originally Posted by georgekuo1017

she lost to na li in 3 sets

Well at least now I'm sure she has top 100 level and even more.