THREE-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION SHARAPOVA OPENS WITH STRAIGHT-SET VICTORY OVER GROTH; VANDEWEGHE WINS FIRST SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR MATCH WITH WIN OVER NO. 58-RANKED GARBIN AT L.A. WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY HERBALIFE
Los Angeles Sol, Sparks & Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tennis Stars Come Together to Celebrate "Women in Sports" on Tuesday at The Home Depot CenterCARSON, Calif. (Monday, Aug. 3, 2009) - Three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova dominated the first set before her opponent Jarmila Groth came to life to put up a little bit of a fight during the first night of the $700,000 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife.
Manhattan Beach's Sharapova, ranked No. 61 in the world, continued her comeback to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour with an impressive 6-0, 6-4 win over Slovakia's Groth Monday before an energetic crowd at the Home Depot Center.
Wild-card CoCo Vandeweghe followed Sharapova's win with a victory of her own, beating Tathiana Garbin of Italy, 6-4, 6-4, for her first Tour win. "I've tried and failed a couple of times but to finally get my first win under my belt is a nice feeling," said Vandeweghe, the 17-year-old from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., about 100 miles south of Carson.
For more on what Sharapova and Vandeweghe had to say about their matches, check out the quotes below.
Vania King Sings National Anthem at Dodgers Game
After her big win over Sybile Bammer, Long Beach's Vania King sang the national anthem at the Dodgers game. Check out the link to King's performance here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGh_H2SNp3I
Tuesday's Media Opportunities
There will be two media photo opportunities on Tuesday, Aug. 4, as the Los Angeles Sol (Women's Professional Soccer), Los Angeles Sparks (Women's National Basketball Association) and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players celebrate "Women in Sports." Activities will include an autograph session at 6:30 p.m. for all fans in attendance.
Scheduled to appear for the first photo opportunity include players 2008 LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife doubles champion Chia-Jung Chuang (Taipei) and Zi Yan (China) and Sol midfielder Aya Miyama and forward Han Duan at 12:15 p.m. in the media center.
Players signing autographs in the evening at 6:15 p.m. in the Main Concourse at the Tennis Village include Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players Marion Bartoli and Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) and Sol players Shannon Boxx, Aly Wagner, Karina LeBlanc and Duan. Sparks players include Lisa Leslie, Vanessa Hayden and Kristi Harrower.
Monday's Scores
First-round singles -- Flavia Pennetta (10), Italy, def. Varvara Lepchenko, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0; Anna Chakvetadze, Russia, def. Virginie Razzano (11), France, 7-6 (5), 6-3; Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic, def. Kaia Kanepi (15), Estonia, 6-3, 7-6 (4); Jill Craybas, U,.S., def. Francesca Schiavone (16), Italy, 7-6 (7), 6-2; Vania King, U.S., def. Sybile Bammer, Austria, 6-3, 6-2; Ai Sugiyama, Japan, def. Carly Gullickson, U.S., 6-3, 60-1; Alisa Kleybanova, Russia, def. Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia, 6-1, 6-3; Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium, def. Nicole Vaidosova, Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-1; Shahar Peer, Israel, def. Anastasia Rodionova, Russia, 7-5, 4-1 ret. (left ankle); Elena Vesnina, Russia, def. Agnes Szavay, Hungary, 6-1, 6-0; Shuai Peng, China, def. Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3; Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine, def. Maghann Shaughnessy, U.S., 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Maria Sharapova, U.S. def., Jarmila Groth, Slovakia, 6-0, 6-4; CoCo Vandeweghe, U.S. def. Tathiana Garbin, Italy, 6-4, 6-4.
First-round doubles -- Chia-Jung Chuang, Taipei-Zi Yan, China def. Sorana Cirstea, Romania-Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 1-6, 6-4, (10-5)
Tuesday's ScheduleORDER OF PLAY - TUESDAY, AUGUST 04, 2009
STADIUM start 7 pm
[WC] V King (USA) vs [6] A Ivanovic (SRB)
S Peng (CHN) vs [2] V Zvonareva (RUS)
COURT 4 start 11 am
[Q] M Oudin (USA) vs D Hantuchova (SVK)
S Cirstea (ROU) vs [WC] M Larcherde Brito (POR)
A Wozniak (CAN) vs B Mattek-Sands (USA)
[WC] J Craybas (USA) / C Gullickson (USA) vs [2] D Hantuchova (SVK) / A Sugiyama (JPN)
COURT 5 start 11 am
[Q] K Date Krumm (JPN) vs [17] S Lisicki (GER)
[Q] C Scheepers (RSA) vs M Kirilenko (RUS)
[13] S Stosur (AUS) vs M Niculescu (ROU)
COURT 7 start 11 am
[Q] O Savchuk (UKR) vs [14] J Zheng (CHN)
U Radwanska (POL) vs J Coin (FRA)
T Garbin (ITA) / F Schiavone (ITA) vs M Shaughnessy (USA) / A Spears (USA)
COURT 8 start 11 am
M Czink (HUN) vs E Makarova (RUS)
A Morita (JPN) vs [12] N Li (CHN)
A Bondarenko (UKR) / E Vesnina (RUS) vs A Kleybanova (RUS) / E Makarova (RUS)
POST-MATCH QUOTESMaria Sharapova's post-match press conference:
"She was swinging away all through the match, a lot of them starting to go in, but she couldn't consistently do it. At a certain point I was able to retrieve. Her goal was to attack. It challenged me to really focus, you've got to re-group and start doing something a little bit more in order to get that break back.
"I've been returning well the last few weeks. Considering her serve I thought I did pretty well. There was no issue with the speed, I've been trying to get the second serve in. I've always had a pretty risky serve and I've always gone for my second serve. It's not about those errors, it's how you recover and get back on the horse.
"I haven't really set milestones. I really wanted to face challenges and opponents that create challenges and am glad I can play girls that bring variety and see how my game matches that. "I love the challenges of playing some of the best people in the world."
ON WINNING WIMBLEDON IN 2004:
"It's tough for me. Everyone's career is always different. I think it's hard for me because when I was coming up people said I had a lot of potential. I certainly didn't think I was ready to win that match. I was just happy to be in that situation. Going in to the final I really didn't care about anything. I focused on myself. I looked at the challenge ahead of me I didn't care if it was Wimbledon or Poland."
ON INJURY:
"Playing all these tournaments is a great benefit for me. This is my sixth tournament back and this is going to be a process, a process on things I want to improve and work on my game. It's been a good ride so far."
CoCo Vandeweghe's post-match press conference:
ON FIRST WTA WIN:
"I've tried and failed a couple of times but to finally get my first win under my belt is a nice feeling.""World Team Tennis definitely helped me a lot. Hearing my coach from a different voice with my teammates helped. In the past, what my mentality had to be on the court, I'd get it but I would be inconsistent."
This Week's Television Times
Tennis Channel
Friday, Aug. 7 |
2:00 PM (LIVE) |
Saturday, Aug. 8 |
5:00 AM (TAPE) |
Saturday, Aug. 8 |
2:00 PM (LIVE) |
Sunday, Aug. 9 |
9:00 PM (TAPE) |
Sunday, Aug. 9 |
5:00 AM (TAPE) |
Sunday, Aug. 9 |
6:30 PM (DELAY) |
Monday, Aug. 10 |
9:30 PM (TAPE) |
Tuesday, Aug. 11 |
1:00 PM (TAPE) |
Wednesday, Aug. 12 |
10:00 PM (TAPE) |
ESPN2
- Friday, Aug. 7 8:00 PM (LIVE)
- Saturday, Aug. 8 7:00 PM (LIVE)
- Sunday, Aug. 9 2:00 PM (DELAY)
