Hantuchova Claims 3rd Title of Career at Linz!

October 28th, 2007

Linz, Austria

This week the WTATour stopped in the city of Linz for the Generali Ladies Linz tournament. Going into this week, many people expected the likes of Anna Chakvetadze or Nicole Vaidasova to be in the finals, however that was not to be the case. Instead, Daniela Hantuchova and Patty Schynder were the two participants competing for the title. The match was even in the first set until around 4-4, when Hantuchova took it to another level and won the first set 6-4.

In the Second set, Hantuchova got a break to go up 3-1 and never officially looked back. The end score was 6-4, 6-2 and Hantuchova had won her third career title and second title of the year. She previously had won at Indian Wells, in March. With the win, the Slovak has qualified for the Year End Championships which are set to begin a week from Monday. Venus Williams has withdrawn from the event citing fatique and dizzy spells, some of which date back to the US Open in August/September.

Next week the tour stops in its final regular stop in Quebec for the Bell Challenge. Nicole Vaidasova is the largest name in the field and she will definitely be trying to end a rollercoaster year for her. The week after is the Year End Championships where all eyes will be on the 8 best players of the season.

Hantuchova was awards $25,840 dollars while Schynder takes home, $13,520.

Justine Henin Captures 9th Title of the Year at Zurich!

October 21st, 2007

The World Number 1 on the WTA Tour, Beligian's Justine Henin has captured her 38th career title and 9th title of the year in Zurich. The Zurich Open is a Tier I title on the tour and awards the champion 182,000 US Dollars. Justine Henin defeated France's Tatiana Golovin in the Finals, with a score of 6-4, 6-4. The Beligian looked solid all tournament long, only having a hiccup in the Semi-Finals against young Czech, Nicole Vaidasova. The rest of the week has been purely stunning with the Belgian having little to no trouble with the rest of the field.

At the beginning of the tournament, Serena Williams was included in the field but pulled out during her First Round match after being down 6-0, 3-0 to Switzerland's Patty Schynder. Williams had been playing in her third consecutive week on the tour, and seemed like she couldn't handle the phsyical toll it took on her body.

Next week the WTA Tour moves to Linz for the Generali Ladies Linz tournament, a Tier II event with a rather subdued field, with only a couple of big named players participating such as Nicole Vaidasova and Anna Chakvetadze. The tour of course is coming to a close for the 2007 season in the next 3 weeks. The Year End Championships will be held in Madrid this year, with the Top 8 qualifying for the event.