Henins Wins 3rd Sydney and 40th Carrer Title Medibank International 2008-01-11 By Ben Rassieur Associated Players: Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova Justine Henin took a very close three set match against Svetlana Kuznetsova. This was the 103rd time the numbers 1 and 2 ranked players have faced each other in a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour final, since the inception of computer rankings. The victory gave Henin her 40th career title and her 28th consecutive match.The first set went rather quickly. Kuznetsova struck first by breaking Henin’s serve to go up 4-2. But... Read More
Henin Books Spot in Her First Final of the Year Medibank International 2008-01-10 By Ben Rassieur Associated Players: Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic The two-time Sydney champ, Justine Henin defeated Ana Ivanovic in a grueling battle on center court at the Medibank International. Henin struggled a bit with her serve, going 47% on first serves with 11 double faults. But the weather conditions were tough for both players, “The conditions were pretty tough. No, it's not as hot as it is in Melbourne, but still it was quite difficult on the court and pretty windy,” Henin said to ... Read More
Ivanovic Comes Back in 3 (Again) Medibank International 2008-01-09 By Ben Rassieur Associated Players: Ana Ivanovic, Katarina Srebotnik Ana Ivanovic had another tough three-set match today, beating Katarina Srebotnik 6-3 3-6 6-2. The Serb took the first set fairly easily. She was serving well, with three aces, and returning well, on Srebotnik’s second serve. But she wasn’t as effective on her Srebotnik’s first serve.The beginning of the second set Ivanovic was playing even better than the first. She jumped out to a 3-1 lead. But just as Ivanov... Read More
Serbs Support Their Own Medibank International 2008-01-09 By Ben Rassieur Associated Players: Ana Ivanovic The noise of the Serbian fans may have also been a little distracting for Ana Ivanovic today. It certainly was for Srebotnik, who stopped her service motion several times to quite the crowd. The chair umpire also got involved and made repeated attempts at quitting the crowd. “There were times they were a little bit noisy between the pints, even between the serves talking,” Ivanovic admitted, “But they’re used to, you know, bein... Read More
Safarova Buttocks Force Her to Withdraw Medibank International 2008-01-08 By Ben Rassieur Associated Players: Sofia Arvidsson, Justine Henin, Kaia Kanepi, Lucie Safarova Justine Henin’s first match of the season would be delayed another day. She received a walk over win from Lucie Safarova. Safarova is suffering from a strained buttock. It’s unclear whether this injury will affect her ability to play the Australian Open. But the good news is she appears to be fully recovered from the stomach virus she caught last week in Perth.The news had to have been disappointing for Henin.... Read More
Trend Setters or Heart Breakers? Medibank International 2008-01-08 By Ben Rassieur Associated Players: Sofia Arvidsson, Sybille Bammer, Marion Bartoli, Kaia Kanepi, Francesca Schiavone, Katarina Srebotnik A pattern emerged on the outer courts today; win the first set and forget about the ret of the match. Sybille Bammer, Marion Bartoli, and Sofia Arvidsson all forgot that you have to win two sets to win a match.The trend started in the Sybille Bammer and Katarina Srebotnik match. The first set was pretty brutal. Neither player was serving particularly well. And there were 7 break opportunities between them, Srebotnik... Read More
Vaidisova Over Powers Hantuchova in 2nd Rd Medibank International 2008-01-08 By Ben Rassieur Associated Players: Daniela Hantuchova, Nicole Vaidisova Daniela Hantuchova and Nicole Vaidisova faced off in the first evening match. There are a lot of similarities between these two players. Both are tall, have big serves, and both are consider among the attractive girls on tour. Another similarity was they both faced three set scares yesterday.But today would be straight sets for Nicole Vaidisova. She brought the heat in the first set serving up four aces. ... Read More
Chakvetadze Melts in Australian Heat Medibank International 2008-01-07 By Ben Rassieur Associated Players: Anna Chakvetadze, Katarina Srebotnik On another hot Sydney afternoon Katernina Srebotnik and Anna Chakvetadze took to Court 1 to start things off for the girls on Day 2. Although today is nowhere near as humid as yesterday. Chakvetadze holds a lead over Srebotnik, 3-2, in career meetings having won the last two. Both Chakvetadze’s wins came on their only meetings on hard courts, the last being a quarterfinal show down at Stanford last August going three sets in ve... Read More
