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Mirza earns finals showdown with top seed Chakvetadze STANFORD, California, July 28, 2007 (AFP) - India's Sania Mirza reached the final of the 600,000-dollar WTA Bank of the West Classic on Saturday with a three-set victory over eighth-seeded Sybille Bammer. Mirza topped Austria's Bammer - her third seeded victim in a row - 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. In the final she'll get a shot at top-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who beat third-seeded Slovakian Daniel Hantuchova 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-2 Mirza, ranked 35th in the world, reached her first final since Forest Hills in August of 2005. Before beating Bammer, the 20-year-old had ousted fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the quarter-finals and sixth-seeded Tatiana Golovin of France in the second round. "It's a great start to the hardcourt season," Mirza said. "I've had great wins here and I'm starting to hit the ball better." Mirza, who seems fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined her for almost 2 1/2 months earlier this year, earned a key break in the third set to take a 4-3 advantage. After holding serve to get to 5-3, Mirza broke Bammer again to secure the win. "I tried to be more aggressive in the third set and play like I did in the first set," she said. "I started to feel tired late in the second set and then I regrouped. It was all mental. I told myself to hang in there and I did." "In the second set she was a little shaky, a little nervous," Bammer said. "But in the third set she played great tennis. She played deep and I couldn't move her." This will be Mirza's first Tier II final appearance. In her only career singles win, she captured the title at Hyderabad (Tier IV) in 2005 and became the first player from India to win a WTA title. In Chakvetadze she'll face a player who has won eight consecutive hardcourt matches and is in position to capture her second straight singles title. She claimed her fifth career title and third this season on Sunday at Cincinnati. Ranked eighth in the world, the 20-year-old also has claimed titles at Hobart and 's-Hertogenbosch this season. | ||||||
Monday, July 30, 2007
Mirza earns finals showdown with top seed Chakvetadze
Sharapova makes San Diego title defence return
CARLSBAD, California, July 29, 2007 (AFP) - Defending champion Maria Sharapova makes her first appearance since Wimbledon at the San Diego Classic this week as she once again tests her long-standing shoulder injury.
The world number two, who beat Kim Clijsters in the 2006 final to capture the hardcourt title here, has been dogged by the injury problem since the spring.
But a pain-killing injection has helped her to the French Open semi-finals and a Wimbledon fourth-round loss to Venus Williams.
Following the wet fortnight at the All England Club, the 20-year-old Russian underwent a precautionary scan and controversially pulled out of Russia's Fed Cup semi-final win over the United States.
Despite failing to win a trophy so far this season, and with her US Open title defence approaching, Sharapova is unworried.
"I'm 20 years old, I've won two Grand Slams. I've been number one in the world," she said.
"I've got plenty more years to either win matches or find confidence."
Serb Jelena Jankovic, who won a surprise Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Jamie Murray, has played just one Fed Cup rubber indoors since the All England Club.
She will get back on cement for the first time since March in Miami.
Along with the other eight leading seeds, she has a first-round bye at what will be the last edition of an event which has fallen victim to the WTA calendar shake-up.
Russians hold half of the top eight seedings, with Anna Chakvetadze at three, Nadia Petrova fourth and Dinara Safina eighth.
Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli of France will try to put behind last week's opening-match disappointment at Stanford when she lost to Lilia Osterloh.
The Frenchwoman has admitted to still being tired and overwhelmed by her surprise Grand Slam performance this month.
Slovak Daniela Hantuchova takes the sixth seeding with Martina Hingis at seven and playing for the first time since a back injury which hampered her Wimbledon.
Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, who will represent her family after sister Serena withdrew with her thumb injury, last played the event in 2002 when she lifted the title with a win over Jelena Dokic.
Chakvetadze downs Mirza for second successive title
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| Chakvetadze completely dominated the proceedings against Sarnia Mirza (Action Images / Brian Snyder) |
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Chakvetadze had earned a three-set victory against Mirza in the semi-finals en route to the title at Cincinnati last week, and Mirza was unable to improve on that result in this 600,000-dollar hardcourt tournament.
Chakvetadze, ranked eighth in the world, claimed her fourth title of the season, after triumphs at Cincinnati, Hobart and 's-Hertogenbosch.
Mirza, playing in her first Tier II final, had upset three seeded opponents en route to the final, ousting No. 4 Patty Schnyder, No. 6 Tatiana Golovin and No. 8 Sybille Bammer.
Her wins over Golovin and Schnyder were her first over top-20 opponents in a 2007 season that has been disrupted by a knee injury that required surgery in March and sidelined her for more than two months.
Tendulkar joins 11,000 club
The 34-year-old Tendulkar, playing his 139th Test only needed 25 runs to reach the landmark at the start of his innings.
He got there when, on 23, a cover-drive off left-arm spinner Monty Panesar went for four after a misfield on the boundary by James Anderson.
Tendulkar joined an exclusive club whose only other members are Test runs world record-holder Brian Lara (11,953) and former Australia captain Allan Border (11,174), both of whom have retired.
Donald backs Tendulkar to break run record
NOTTINGHAM, England, July 28, 2007 (AFP) - Allan Donald backed Sachin Tendulkar to become Test cricket's leading run scorer after the India star became only the third player in history to score 11,000 Test runs at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
Tendulkar, who only needed 25 runs to reach the landmark at the start of his innings, was 57 not out at stumps on the second day of the second Test against England with India, at 254 for three, 56 runs ahead on first innings.
Former South Africa quick Donald, now England's bowling coach, said of Tendulkar: "He's the best player I've ever had the pleasure of playing against. He's something special, very freakish.
"I think not only what he's done for the game but what he's done for his country has been absolutely phenomenal. He's just a credit to cricket."
Tendulkar did have an uncomfortable moment early in his innings when, on five, he was hit on the helmet as he tried to sway out of the way of a short ball from James Anderson.
"I know he's been through a bad trot with injuries over the last couple of years but he looked quite his old self out there apart from being 'grilled' today. It's not many times you see him getting 'sconned'," added Donald.
"He's definitely the best I've ever seen."
Now only the retired duo of world record holder Brian Lara, with 11,953 runs from 131 matches and former Australia captain Allan Border (11,174 from 156) are ahead of Tendulkar in the list of Test cricket's all-time leading run-makers.
Donald, asked if the 34-year-old Tendulkar, appearing in his 139th Test, could break Lara's record replied: "I hope so. There's still a lot more cricket in Sachin Tendulkar. He still looks so boyish, it's just unbelievable how many years he's stuck it out and has achieved what he's achieved."
Tendulkar, who made his Test debut as a teenager in 1989 against Pakistan, was the first batsman to score 50 hundreds in all international cricket.
He is also the leading century maker in Test history, with 37, and recently became the first man to score 15,000 one-day international runs.
"It's scary to see how many hundreds he's clocked up in Test matches, not to mention one-day internationals," said Donald. "I hope he goes past it because I think he deserves it simply because he's such a humble, wonderful guy."
India opener Dinesh Karthik, who made 77 on Saturday and put on a valuable 147 for the first wicket with Wasim Jaffer, showed that even Tendulkar's team-mates were just as admiring of the 'Little Master' as outsiders.
"For me he's the greatest player I've ever seen," said the 22-year-old, appearing in his 15th Test. "I'm humbled to be part of the same team and I'm honoured that a person like Sachin even knows my name.
"I'm 100 percent sure he will break the record. It's just a matter of time."