PierreC
03-23-2008, 06:06 PM
Results - Sunday, March 23, 2008
Singles - Final
(1) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 64 63
Doubles - Final (played Saturday)
Safina/Vesnina (RUS/RUS) d. (3) Yan/Zheng (CHN/CHN) 61 16 108 (Match TB)
Final Facts
- Ivanovic wins her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title of the year, and the sixth of her career (this is also her third Tier I singles title, after 2006 Montréal and 2007 Berlin); she is now 1-1 in Tour singles finals this year (having finished runner-up at the Australian Open) and 6-3 in her career.
- Kuznetsova is now 0-3 in Tour singles finals this year (having finished runner-up at Sydney and Dubai) and 9-15 in her career; she has now lost eight of her last nine Tour singles finals.
- This was the third time this year that the Top 2 seeds have met in a Tour singles final, and the No.1 seed is now 3-0 in those (Henin d. Kuznetsova in Sydney, Pennetta d. Cornet in Acapulco); No.1 seeds are now 7-0 in Tour singles finals this year, while No.2 seeds are now 0-5.
- Safina and Vesnina had played only four matches together coming into Indian Wells, going 2-2 in those; they went 5-0 to win the Tier I title this week however, beating four seeded teams along the way (including No.3 seeds Yan and Zheng in the final); Safina wins her eighth career Tour doubles title while Vesnina wins her third.
Final Quotes
Ana Ivanovic, 2008 Pacific Life Open singles champion:
"It was such a strong field and I was still the No.1 seed; obviously more pressure comes into play. The first few matches I was more nervous but then I just started to focus on each match and not even think about who I was playing against. I've been practicing really well and working so hard on my fitness, and that's something I tried to focus on when I was on the court."
"It's a great victory for me. We always have tough matches. I think we both played good tennis from first point on, and I was really happy with that. We both kept level for most of the match. When I managed to break her at 4-all in the first set it gave me confidence, and I went strong from that point on. I realized that's what I had to do. I'm happy I managed to do that again later on."
Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2008 Pacific Life Open singles runner-up:
"In every final, there's also another player who plays; I have had different and better chances. Justine and I played an amazing final and I had chances against Elena too. Today I didn't have that many chances. It's always painful to lose, but I prefer losing in the final to losing in the second round. I still played a pretty good tournament."
Singles - Final
(1) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 64 63
Doubles - Final (played Saturday)
Safina/Vesnina (RUS/RUS) d. (3) Yan/Zheng (CHN/CHN) 61 16 108 (Match TB)
Final Facts
- Ivanovic wins her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title of the year, and the sixth of her career (this is also her third Tier I singles title, after 2006 Montréal and 2007 Berlin); she is now 1-1 in Tour singles finals this year (having finished runner-up at the Australian Open) and 6-3 in her career.
- Kuznetsova is now 0-3 in Tour singles finals this year (having finished runner-up at Sydney and Dubai) and 9-15 in her career; she has now lost eight of her last nine Tour singles finals.
- This was the third time this year that the Top 2 seeds have met in a Tour singles final, and the No.1 seed is now 3-0 in those (Henin d. Kuznetsova in Sydney, Pennetta d. Cornet in Acapulco); No.1 seeds are now 7-0 in Tour singles finals this year, while No.2 seeds are now 0-5.
- Safina and Vesnina had played only four matches together coming into Indian Wells, going 2-2 in those; they went 5-0 to win the Tier I title this week however, beating four seeded teams along the way (including No.3 seeds Yan and Zheng in the final); Safina wins her eighth career Tour doubles title while Vesnina wins her third.
Final Quotes
Ana Ivanovic, 2008 Pacific Life Open singles champion:
"It was such a strong field and I was still the No.1 seed; obviously more pressure comes into play. The first few matches I was more nervous but then I just started to focus on each match and not even think about who I was playing against. I've been practicing really well and working so hard on my fitness, and that's something I tried to focus on when I was on the court."
"It's a great victory for me. We always have tough matches. I think we both played good tennis from first point on, and I was really happy with that. We both kept level for most of the match. When I managed to break her at 4-all in the first set it gave me confidence, and I went strong from that point on. I realized that's what I had to do. I'm happy I managed to do that again later on."
Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2008 Pacific Life Open singles runner-up:
"In every final, there's also another player who plays; I have had different and better chances. Justine and I played an amazing final and I had chances against Elena too. Today I didn't have that many chances. It's always painful to lose, but I prefer losing in the final to losing in the second round. I still played a pretty good tournament."