Lucie Safarova produced the first shock in the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open by knocking out seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska from the first round.
In her third Doha Appearance, the world no. 35 Czech needed a tie break in the first set to win 7-6 (3), before winning the second set 6-3 to reach the second round in this tournament for the first time in her career. Her next opponent will be either Flavia Pennetta (Italy) or Jie Zheng (China).
French star Marion Bartoli was the first to reach the second round on Monday after she defeated Russian promising star Alisa Kleybanova in two straight sets 7-5 6-2.
The 2007 Wimbledon finalist is looking for her first WTA title since defeating Venus Williams in the final of Stanford in August 2009.
Meanwhile, 2006 Qatar Open champion Nadia Petrova of Russia eased into the second round with a 6-4 6-2 win over Roberta Vinci of Italy.
Vinci was also a winner here before, when she grabbed the 2001 doubles title with French Sandarine Testud.
Petrova, who won nine WTA titles over her 12 years career, will now face a tough test in the second round as she will meet World number one Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
In her third Doha Appearance, the world no. 35 Czech needed a tie break in the first set to win 7-6 (3), before winning the second set 6-3 to reach the second round in this tournament for the first time in her career. Her next opponent will be either Flavia Pennetta (Italy) or Jie Zheng (China).
French star Marion Bartoli was the first to reach the second round on Monday after she defeated Russian promising star Alisa Kleybanova in two straight sets 7-5 6-2.
The 2007 Wimbledon finalist is looking for her first WTA title since defeating Venus Williams in the final of Stanford in August 2009.
Meanwhile, 2006 Qatar Open champion Nadia Petrova of Russia eased into the second round with a 6-4 6-2 win over Roberta Vinci of Italy.
Vinci was also a winner here before, when she grabbed the 2001 doubles title with French Sandarine Testud.
Petrova, who won nine WTA titles over her 12 years career, will now face a tough test in the second round as she will meet World number one Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
A lot of thrill is expected today as the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open kicks off at Khalifa Tennis & Squash Complex.
This year’s edition is expected to be one of the best since the tournament started in 2011, as it will feature a number of top tennis stars headed by World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and World No.3 Vera Zvonareva of Russia, in addition to other famous names like Serbian Jelena Jankovic, Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka and Indian Sania Mirza.
Wozniacki will be the favorite to clinch the title in Doha. The Danish young star proved yesterday that she is in top form as she won Dubai Tennis Championships title after defeating Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.
Winning the title in Doha will be vital for Wozniacki as she aims to open a bit of a gap at the top of WTA Rankings, between her and world no. 2 Kim Clijsters of Belgium who was able to get the no.1 spot over last week. Wozniacki retained the top spot later by reaching the semifinals of Dubai Tennis Championships.
But, it will be a difficult mission for the young Danish star with a presence of stars like Vera Zvonareva who also aims at getting back to world no.2 spot, and her experienced compatriots Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Kirilenko, Nadia Petrova and Dinara Safina.
Other favorites to mount a serious challenge for the title includes 2011 Australian Open finalist Li Na (China), promising Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka, former world no.1 Jelena Jankovic (Serbia), 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone (Italy) and Polish star Agnieska Radwanska.
Khalifa International Tennis Complex is ready for the expected huge crowds who, besides watching top class tennis, will find a lot of entertainment options at the Public Village, including the newly added Virtual Tennis Section where fans can challenge each other in PS3 tennis games.
A number of well-known restaurants and cafes will offer a variety of options for the fans, who will be also updated with the results minute by minute through huge screens in the public village, and of the course the always popular Kids zone will be ready to offer the families an unforgettable experience.
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open tickets are available through the box office in front of Khalifa Tennis Complex, and the shopping centers Villagio and Landmark. You can also buy your ticket online by visiting the official website of Qatar Tennis Federation www.qatartennis.org.
This year’s edition is expected to be one of the best since the tournament started in 2011, as it will feature a number of top tennis stars headed by World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and World No.3 Vera Zvonareva of Russia, in addition to other famous names like Serbian Jelena Jankovic, Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka and Indian Sania Mirza.
Wozniacki will be the favorite to clinch the title in Doha. The Danish young star proved yesterday that she is in top form as she won Dubai Tennis Championships title after defeating Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.
Winning the title in Doha will be vital for Wozniacki as she aims to open a bit of a gap at the top of WTA Rankings, between her and world no. 2 Kim Clijsters of Belgium who was able to get the no.1 spot over last week. Wozniacki retained the top spot later by reaching the semifinals of Dubai Tennis Championships.
But, it will be a difficult mission for the young Danish star with a presence of stars like Vera Zvonareva who also aims at getting back to world no.2 spot, and her experienced compatriots Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Kirilenko, Nadia Petrova and Dinara Safina.
Other favorites to mount a serious challenge for the title includes 2011 Australian Open finalist Li Na (China), promising Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka, former world no.1 Jelena Jankovic (Serbia), 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone (Italy) and Polish star Agnieska Radwanska.
Khalifa International Tennis Complex is ready for the expected huge crowds who, besides watching top class tennis, will find a lot of entertainment options at the Public Village, including the newly added Virtual Tennis Section where fans can challenge each other in PS3 tennis games.
A number of well-known restaurants and cafes will offer a variety of options for the fans, who will be also updated with the results minute by minute through huge screens in the public village, and of the course the always popular Kids zone will be ready to offer the families an unforgettable experience.
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open tickets are available through the box office in front of Khalifa Tennis Complex, and the shopping centers Villagio and Landmark. You can also buy your ticket online by visiting the official website of Qatar Tennis Federation www.qatartennis.org.
