Jelena Jankovic beats Svetlana Kuznetsova to triumph at China Open

Jelena Jankovic beats Svetlana Kuznetsova to triumph at China Open

Seed number one Jelena Jankovic won her second title of the 2008 season with a 6-3 6-2 victory over fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova at the China Open in Beijing.

The 23-year-old Kuznetsova failed to win her first title of the year. The Russian has lost ten of her last eleven singles finals. She lost all her finals since the beginning of 2007, except for the one in New Haven last August. Kuznetsova was defeated in five finals in 2007 and five so far in 2008.

Jankovic, who was a runner-up last year at the China Open, collected $95,500 with today’s victory at the Tier II event. Being the finalist, Kuznetsova earned $51,000. (photo via Yahoo)

Svetlana Kuznetsova overcomes Zheng Jie to reach China Open final

Svetlana Kuznetsova at China OpenSvetlana Kuznetsova beat Zheng Jie in a tight two-setter to set up a clash with top seed Jelena Jankovic in the final of the $600,000 China Open in Beijing.

The Russian fourth seed, last week's runner-up in Tokyo, defeated Chinese crowd favorite Zheng Jie 7-6 (3) 7-5. Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng reached the final four with a triumph over second-seeded Ana Ivanovic.

Kuznetsova leads Jankovic 4-2 in their head-to-head. This year they have met twice, in Dubai and Tokyo, and both times the Russian was victorious.

The 2008 China Open titlist will earn $95,500. (photo: Getty Images)

Dinara Safina claims Toray Pan Pacific Open title

Dinara Safina claims Toray Pan Pacific Open title in TokyoDinara Safina powered to her fourth title of the season with a solid 6-1 6-3 victory over fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Powerful Safina, seeded fourth, lost only one game in her Tokyo semifinal against Nadia Petrova, and in the championship match against Kuznetsova she took the first set giving away only one game. A third break in the second set sealed the victory.

In addition to this year’s titles in Berlin, Los Angeles, Montreal, and Tokyo, the 22-year-old Safina has been in three other finals, including Roland Garros and the Beijing Olympics. The fifth-seeded Kuznetsova, on the other hand, didn’t manage to win her first title of the season and lost in a final for the fourth time.

Safina currently sits at a career-high of number five in the world and is projected to move to spot number three in the rankings.

Safina will collect $196,900 for the win at this Tier I tournament, while Kuznetsova earned $105,800. (photo via Yahoo)

Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina in Tokyo final

Svetlana KuznetsovaDinara SafinaRussians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina both claimed comfortable straight-set wins to advance into the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

The fourth-seeded Safina won her first in six matches against Nadia Petrova and the score was more than impressive, 6-1 6-0. With the victory, in-form Safina moved into her seventh Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles final of the year.

Kuznetsova, the fifth seed, beat Slovenian qualifier Katarina Srebotnik 7-6(5) 6-2. Kuznetsova, who recently lead Russia to a win over Spain in the Fed Cup final, started slowly before taking the first set, but at 2-2 in the second, she won four straight games to win the match.

Safina will be bidding for her fourth title of 2008 (after Berlin, Los Angeles and Montreal), and Kuznetsova for her first. (photos: Getty Images)

Russia beats Spain to defend Fed Cup title

Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia celebrates with teammates after beating Anabel Medina of Spain during a Fed Cup tennis final match in MadridIn the Sunday's Fed Cup final, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 5-7 6-3 6-4 to give the Russian team an unassailable 3-0 lead.

On Saturday, Vera Zvonareva beat Anabel Medina Garrigues and Svetlana Kuznetsova dismissed Carla Suarez Navarro, so Russia took a 2-0 lead.

The Russian team have won their fourth Fed Cup title in five years. They were the champions last year too, beating Italy in the final.

"It was a tough match and I was never really close," said Medina Garrigues.

"She really stepped up on the big points (but) we can't criticize this team – we did very well to get to the final and we can be satisfied overall."

Russia has six players in the Top 20 and it comes as no surprise they were able to retain the trophy despite the absence of some of their aces.

UPDATE: Final score was 4-0 as Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina  defeated Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives and Carla Suarez Navarro 62 61. (photo via Yahoo)


Page 18 of 27« First...10...1617181920...Last »