Jax Sporting News.com© News & Views

Third Times the Charm for Wozniacki

By Ellen Newton  Story Updated April 10, 2011

Two years ago Caroline Wozniacki was runner up to Sabine Lisicki. Last year she injured an ankle in the semifinals; this year, her third year, she sealed the deal edging Elena Vesnina in the final 6-2, 6-3.

Wozniacki has had her ups and downs at this year’s Family Circle Cup.  Her first match against Irina Falconi was not difficult, she won easily 6-1, 6-1.  Wozniacki’s round of sixteen match against the number 15 seed Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova was a trial that pushed her to 7-6(6), 7-6(9).  That wasn’t her last test.  In the quarterfinal Wozniacki encountered the 6^th seed Yanina Wickmayer where it took her three sets to finish the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.  Everyone was expecting fireworks in the semifinals where Wozniacki met the 3^rd seed and 2007 FCC Champion Jelena Jankovic.  There were no fireworks, maybe one or two sparks but Jankovic showed little resistance falling 6-4, 6-4.

Against Vesnina, Wozniacki showed up fully prepared to win the match, this opportunity was not going to be squandered.  Serving at 1-2, Vesnina was broken for the first time and again serving at 2-5 to lose the first set 3-6.

In the second set Wozniacki held her service game easily and as Vesnina readied herself to serve, the crowd cheered out for her.  At break point she screamed and the crowd applauded and yelled out ‘come on Caroline’. Back at deuce shouts could be heard for Elena.  Vesnina won the next two points and held serve.  Serving at 3-4, Vesnina was broken giving Wozniacki the chance to serve for the championship.  At 40-15 Wozniacki hit a clear winner to win the 2011 Family Circle Cup Title 6-2, 6-3.

“I think I played some very good tennis” Wozniacki said. “Today I played aggressively and everything was working for me.  I was able to adapt my game to the clay and able to learn how to slide.   And it’s the first tournament, and I’m very happy about the way it turned out this week.”

Elena Vesnina may be a runner up in the singles event but she’s not going home empty handed.  Elena along with Sania Mirza defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 6-4, 6-4, to take home the 2011 Family Circle Cup doubles title.

Wozniacki, Vesnina in the Finals

By Pat Byrd  Story Updated April 9, 2011

Charleston, SC—Today world number 1 ranked Caroline Wozniacki met number 3 ranked 2007 FCC Champion Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup on Daniel Island in South Carolina which by the way has been voted the best tennis town in America.

What should have been a spectacular display of professional women’s tennis turned out to be a lackluster performance. At times Jankovic appeared more annoyed by the match than interested in winning while Wozniacki put out just enough effort to get by.  I realize this isn’t one of the slams so there’s a different level of intensity, a different level of expectation, but come on ladies show some heart! Wozniacki had a tougher match against Zahlavova-Strycova when she was pushed to 7-6(6), 7-6(9) and Jankovic had won all her previous matches without breaking a sweat.  Is it wrong to want a little bit more?

In the first set Jankovic was serving at 4-5 needing to hold her serve to stay in the first set.  At 30-40 a decent rally ensued; Wozniacki was getting everything back. Jankovic couldn’t find a winner, then Wozniacki hit Jankovic a short ball bringing her to net, Wozniacki responded with a short overhead. Jankovic had the shot, it was there for the taking.  No, she didn’t win the point, 6-4, first set to Wozniacki.

In the second set Jankovic started trying drop shots; that didn’t work either.  The crowd applauded Jankovic hoping to ignite some passion; they wanted to see a better match.  In an instant it was a replay of the first set, Jankovic serving at 4-5.  She started out fine with a cross court winner, 15-0, then 15-30, next it was match point for Wozniacki and something unusual happened, Jankovic served and out of the blue she came to net, why now, why at match point? Just like the drop shots it didn’t work, game, set, match, 6-4, 6-4.

Asked to comment about the match Jankovic said, “you know I missed some balls that, you know, were kind of crucial, you know, some important points, you know, some balls didn’t really go my way.  But you know, that’s tennis, and I fought hard.  I really, you know, played the best that I could in these kind of conditions.”

My only thought about her statement is what conditions?  It was warm, not hot, with a cool breeze; it wasn’t windy like it was earlier in the week when she won easily.  I have to admit I just don’t understand the excuses.  I do know if Caroline Wozniacki doesn’t give Sunday’s final her full attention, today’s other semifinal winner Elena Vesnina ranked 56 in the world might just take it from her.

Things are Heating Up Down South

By Ellen Newton  Story Updated March 8, 2011

Charleston, SC—The temperature wasn’t the only thing heating up in Charleston.  Four unbelievable quarterfinal matches took place on center court today starting with the number 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki taking on the 6^th seed Yanina Wickmayer.

It was a tale of two matches.  The first tale was one of Wickmayer taking charge pushing the number 1 ranked player around, hitting forehand winners and taking a 6-2, 4-1 lead.  Then Wozniacki remembered something; she’s the number 1 ranked player in the world. She won the next game at love, then broke Wickmayer’s serve.  Wozniacki put herself in the lead and never gave it back, and although Wickmayer gave her a run for her money, she showed why she is the world’s number 1 ranked player winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

“It was a tough match. I think Yanina played very well today.  She went for her shots.  She had some big shots, so it was not easy, but I kept fighting and I felt like I had to stay in the game and keep moving my legs, and I felt like it was a good match out there today.” Wozniacki stated later in her post match press conference.

This tough match for Wozniacki comes on the heels of another close match, this one with Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova in the round of sixteen, 7-6(6), 7-6(9).

In other quarterfinal action, 11^th seed Shuai Peng overcame qualifier Sania Mirza 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 and will take on unseeded Elena Vesnina in the semifinals on Saturday.  Vesnina beat Julia Goerges, the 12^th seed 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

Christina McHale, the lone American left in the tournament was eliminated by 3^rd seed Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-0. Jankovic will take on the number 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki in Saturday’s semifinals.  Jankovic has not dropped a set during the tournament and has only lost 11 games, by far the best record going into the semis.

Wednesday at the Family Circle Cup

By Ellen Newton  Story Updated April 6, 2011

Charleston, SC—Defending Family Circle Cup Champion Samantha Stosur breezed through her second round match in just 57 minutes taking out Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-1, 6-2, while the 2009 finalist and number one seed Caroline Wozniacki blasted American qualifier Irina Falconi 6-1, 6-1 in 56 minutes to reach the round of sixteen.

Also Wednesday, third seed and 2007 champion Jelena Jankovic had no trouble dispatching Tamira Paszek 6-2, 6-3, and 2004 FCC Champion and seventh seed Nadia Petrova beat Edina Gallovits-Hall 6-1, 6-1, and tenth seed Daniela Hantuchova took out another Russian with ease Evgeniya Rodina 6-0, 6-1. 

Two seeds fell today, ninth seed Maria kirilenko lost to Anna Tatishvili in a close on, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, and fourth seed Marion Bartoli lost her second round match to the 2009 Champion Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 6-3.

Wet and Windy Tuesday

By Ellen Newton  Story Updated April 5, 2011

Charleston, SC—Rain was the order of the day, but cloudy skies soon gave way to sunshine, blustery winds, cool temperatures and more great tennis at the Family Circle Cup at Daniel Island.  The scheduled 10 a.m. start was delayed by rain until noon.

Tennis aficionados looking for a tasty match all recognized who was put way over on court number four; former world number four, now ranked 64, 27 year old Jelena Dokic, and she was looking strong coming off her first title win in 8 years at the BMW Malaysian Open, but that was on hard courts and this was clay.

Dokic took an early 3-1 lead in the first set but Anna Tatishvili broke back to even up the score and finally take a tight first set 7-5.  The second set was all Jelena, capturing it easily 6-2.  The third set decider came down to a break of serve; Tatishvili took the third set and the match 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

In other matches, the 2009 Champion Sabine Lisicki moved on by defeating Renata Voracova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.  She will meet the number 4 seed Marion Bartoli Wednesday night.  American Christina McHale beat the number 8 seed Alisa Kleybanova and Melanie Oudin was ousted by Tamira Paszek 6-1, 7-5. Also moving out of the first round;  Daniela Hantuchova dismissed Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 7-6(3).  In the night match, Shahar Peer beat Sofia Arvidsson 6-1, 6-3.

2011 Family Circle Cup Media Day

By Ellen Newton  Story Updated April 4, 2011

Charleston, SC--It’s that time of year again; the Family Circle Cup in Charleston S.C. where the low country is beautiful and tennis is back at Daniel Island. This year I had the pleasure of interviewing three of the top eight seeds at this tournament: Alisa Kleybanova,  Marion Bartoli, and Caroline Wosniacki.

Alisa Kleybanova from Russia is making a wonderful ranking run at the top seeds in the tournament as she is currently ranked 26^th in the world. She normally prefers the hard court surface, but indicated playing on clay is fun. There is a short time to ready herself for the clay court season, but states:  “I’m ready and have been training hard.”  When asked what she likes to do in her off time, she stated, “I like to read, get on the computer, look at movies, and spend time in a peaceful nature setting.” The American public doesn’t know a lot about Alisa so I wanted to know what she would like tennis enthusiasts to know about her. She wants everyone to know how she loves winning and improving her game while showing her personality on court.

Marion Bartoli who is French, but hales from Switzerland was smiling and very positive about her chances to win clay court events. When questioned about her IQ, which has been reported to be 175: she responded in a very humble way. Marion said “I was 12 years old at the time and was quite shocked to have the teacher tell me of the score.” She attributes her ability to focus on the present point while on court as a result of her high IQ.

Caroline Wosniacki drew a massive amount of attention as she is ranked number 1 in the world. She is gracious and charming with a big smile and intelligent answers to the media. She made a grand entrance to the interview as it was in an outdoor setting, by driving a golf cart right to her table for the interview. When asked what is the one thing that has changed in the last two years when she won her first tournament at Ponte Vedra, FL, MPS Tournament and now is number 1 in the world. She responded by saying “I am the same person, love spending time with my family and friends, but would say the notoriety is big.” She is recognized most everywhere she goes and it makes it difficult sometimes to just blend into the crowd.

The Family Circle Cup is a medium size venue, and the stadium and surrounding grounds are beautifully built and there is not a bad seat in the house. This is the United States Tennis Clay court opening event and will surely be enjoyed by all.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

FCC Winner Sam Stosur & Runner Up Vera Zvonareva

By Pat Byrd   Story Updated April18th, 2010

Daniel Island, SC--Sam Stosur entered stadium court today to cries of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi’.  The Australian was definitely the fan favorite coming into the final match of the Family Circle Cup at Daniel Island in South Caroline, taking on the 7^th seed Russian Vera Zvonareva who advanced to the finals when Caroline Wozniacki had to retire during their semifinal match with an ankle injury.

This match was a runaway train from the get go, Zvonareva not able to hold her serve during the first set, and the crowd was still chanting for the Aussie.  Not until 0-3 in the second set when Zvonareva became furious with herself at missing a shot and she struck her racket wildly on the court and broke it nearly in half incurring a warning for racket abuse, did the momentum begin to change.  She won that game, and a couple more, the crowd shifting their alliance, now cheering loudly for the Russian.  But it was too little, too late, Stosur was just too strong. She would hold her serve, and break Zvonareva winning the second set, the match, and the title, 6-0, 6-3.

As to being ‘in the zone’ Stosur stated, “Yeah, I guess as far as game plan or anything like that goes, it just kind of happens.  I didn’t have to constantly think about what I was going to do because I was very clear before I went out to play what that was, and when you can execute that straightaway, then that kind of –you just do it.”

About the match Zvonareva had to say, “Yeah, you know, I’m not really thinking about it.  I think right now I’m a bit disappointed about the match, but overall I think it’s a good start to the clay court season.  It’s my first clay court tournament in two years pretty much almost.  So I should be happy about how I did this week, and hopefully, you know, I can improve my game and play better during the clay court season.”

Jankovic Out in the Quarters

Jelena Jankovic

By Ellen Newton  Story Updated April 16, 2010

Daniel Island, SC—Second seed Jelena Jankovic was one of eight women to take the stadium court today for their quarter final match today at the Family Circle Cup at Daniel Island.  Her opponent; 8^th seed Daniela Hantuchova.

Jelena would soon learn she was going to face yet another three set match.  Clearly before Hantuchova formulated a game plan, Jankovic quickly and easily won the first set 6-1.  By the end of the first set change over, Hantuchova had a plan and put it to action, and it worked, winning the second set 6-3.

In the third set J.J. was broken to 2-4 and Daniela held serve to make it 5-2.  Jankovic would serve to stay in the match and she would hold serve for 3-5.  Now it was Hantuchova serving for the match.  Jankovic had a break point at 30-40 but failed to capitalize on it.  At advantage, Hantuchova held firm and put the match away, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

As to what changed from the first set Hantuchova commented, “I just figured if I kept going like that, I was not going to win for sure.  So I tried to put a little more on the ball, move her around and stay more aggressive, and that made the difference.”

“She, I think, played pretty much the same, but it was my level of play went down, so I let her do that.  You know, when I was dictating and when I got the first strike, she couldn’t do anything, but then I let, you know, my game went down and I started, you know, not moving well.  I wasn’t hitting the ball well.  I just—I let her play, and you know, that’s what happened.” Jankovic said.

Seeds Avoid Upsets

Vera Zvonareva with Ellen Newton

By Ellen Newton Story Updated April 12, 2010

Lisicki Tops Competition at Family Circle

Family Circle Cup 2009

The 2009 Family Circle Cup winner wasn’t number 5 ranked Venus Williams, or at the time number one ranked Serena Williams who pulled out of the tournament due to injury. Try a lower rank player, no, not top 20, try lower, no, not top 30….try 63^rd ranked, 19 year old Sabine Lisicki .Who knew this five foot ten German could take on Venus Williams and win, and continue to win right to the final defeating 12^th ranked 18 year old Caroline Wozniacki 62, 64. This definitely didn’t look like the same girl who the week before lost in the second round at the MPS Championships in Florida. This girl was on a weeklong mission to win.

This was the first time in ten years at the Family Circle Cup that two teenagers would battle for the title, and the battle was much closer than the score would lead you to believe.

With serves reaching upwards of 120 mph and pounding ground strokes Lisicki’s win propels her ranking to number 43. No…she’s not yet top 10 but give her a few more tournaments and she’ll be knocking on the door.

There are critics in women’s tennis who say there is no depth, no real talent past the top ten; I think the 2009 Family Circle Cup final proves them wrong. There are talented teens, fourteen year old Madison Keys for instance, and mature players who have been winning for awhile, just look at the battle for the number one ranking. I think anyone who really loves women’s tennis knows there is a real struggle going on for the top ten spots and there is young talent climbing the rankings every day.

The Family Circle Cup was a wonderful venue to showcase women’s tennis. What a wonderful stadium court. Not a bad seat in the house.  The weather was perfect, you couldn’t have ordered better, and a great crowd of fans. I can’t wait to see another great final like this one next year.

Road Trip to the Family Circle Cup

Vera Zvonareva Injured Right Ankle

On Thursday April 16^th we were able to take a road trip to cover the Family Circle Cup in Charleston South Carolina.  This is the first time we have been able to cover this event on site so we were very excited.  After the four hour drive the first thing we did when we arrived was take a drive by the stadium. Quite impressive! From the interstate the stadium looks very big and has this huge picture of Serena Williams, last year’s champion, hanging on the side of it.

The grounds and stadium were outstanding; the weather was very spring like, something we skip in Florida.

Our first match on center court was a much anticipated third round match between Vera Zvonareva of Russia and Virginie Razzano of France. All’s well until 1 all 40-40 when Vera Zvonareva takes a terrible tumble and falls to the court holding her right ankle and bursting into tears.  She lay on the court several minutes waiting for help. When finally helped to her chair the ankle is wrapped in ice and it is determined she can’t play on.  What a start to our coverage of the Family Circle Cup; just a little drama to start us off.  We won’t be posting pictures of the fall, it wasn’t very graceful, but will post one picture of Vera’s ankle just to give you an idea of how bad the injury was. Sources say she will be out 3 to 12 weeks with the injury.

We also covered North East Florida’s favorite Gator Lisa Raymond and her double partner Kveta Peschke who lost to the tournament eventual winners Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova. Lisa and her partner played with heart and determination but in the end came up just a little short, too bad for Lisa, maybe next year.

Anyone who saw the three set Wozniacki –Dementieva match was in for something special.  Everyone must have thought after the first set, Wozniacki beating Dementieva 64 that it was going to be an easy two setter for Wozniacki the new whiz kid on the block, but wait, the veteran Dementieva wasn’t going down without a fight.  Dementieva battles back taking the second set 75, she not out of the match just yet. Play continues five all and Wozniacki takes control winning set number three and the match 75.  What a spectacular match.  But who can’t wonder if this three set marathon didn’t cost Wozniacki the championship.

I feel terrible, I missed the  Marion Bartoli-Sabine Lisicki match, and this is why I don’t gamble, I really expected Marion Bartoli to win and I thought I would see her in the finals.  There I go thinking again. Lisicki won 63,61.  The score says it was a quick match but I still wish I had seen it.

The final between Wozniacki and Lisicki was much better than the 62,64 score would lead you to believe.  Both girls are very hard hitters and Lisicki has a scorching serve, she really gets off the ground to pound it. 

The doubles final was an intense nail biter going right down to the super tie break 67(5),62,11-9, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova prevailing over Liga Dekmeijere and Patty Schnyder. This match was a tug of war between wills right down to the last point.  You couldn’t ask for a better doubles match.

Sony Ericsson and the Family Circle Cup continue to display world class women’s tennis at one of the top notch venues in the world.  I urge anyone looking for a tennis tournament to visit to go to Charleston.  The tennis, the people, the surroundings are world class, you simply can’t go wrong!