Turkish Forum

Tag: Tennis

  • Sharapova in Istanbul Final After Beating Azarenka

    Sharapova in Istanbul Final After Beating Azarenka

    Maria Sharapova upset world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in straight sets on Saturday to book an encounter with Serena Williams in Sunday’s WTA Championships final.

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    Sharapova beat Azarenka 6-4, 6-2 after earning two early breaks in the first set and taking control in the second when Azarenka began to struggle with a problem affecting her right thigh.

    “When you’re playing the World No.1, you have to be ready for every shot – you have to run because the point can keep going and going,” Sharapova said on the WTA website.

    “I’d lost to Victoria the last few times, so I’m really happy I put myself in the semifinals to play against her and try to improve that – I was hoping to have a better result, and I’m really happy I did today.”

    The Belarusian leads Sharapova 7-5 in head-to-head meetings.

    Despite the defeat, the Belarusian will hold the world No. 1 spot at the end of the season after winning six titles including her first Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open.

    via Sharapova in Istanbul Final After Beating Azarenka | Sports | RIA Novosti.

  • Maria Sharapova arrives in Istanbul

    Maria Sharapova arrives in Istanbul

    The World No. 2 ranked Maria Sharapova of Russia has arrived in Istanbul to take part in the WTA Championships, which is scheduled to kick off on 25th to 30th October, 2011.

    The Russian star Sharapova has sustained foot injury in the quarter finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she has withdrawn from the tournament playing against 2011 Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova. Sharapova also pulled out of the China Open, as she is looking very positive to return back to court at Istanbul tournament.

    The 24-year-old Sharapova said her Physio Juan has done an amazing job from last couple of weeks and happy to be fully fit in time. Sharapova has played remarkable tennis on all surfaces grass, clay and hard courts, where she has clinched the Cincinnati Masters title and Rome Masters. She also reached the final at Wimbledon and semi final at French Open. Sharapova had played great tennis, after return back to court from shoulder and wrist injury.

    The three-time major title winner Sharapova hopes to win the third WTA crown at Istanbul, where Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na, Vera Zvonareva and Samantha Stosur have qualified for the WTA Championship. The tough battle between Agnieszka Radwanska and Andrea Petkovic will be the eighth player to qualify for the tournament, after Austrian Open this week.

    via Maria Sharapova arrives in Istanbul  | Live Tennis Guide.

  • BNP Paribas to Sponsor Women’s Tennis Tournament in Istanbul

    BNP Paribas to Sponsor Women’s Tennis Tournament in Istanbul

    BNP Paribas (BNP) and its Turkish unit, Turk Ekonomi Bankasi AS (TEBNK), will be the title sponsors of the year- ending tournament for women’s tennis.

    The agreement will last three years, through the 2013 final, the WTA, the organizer of women’s tennis, said today in an e-mailed statement. The event brings together the top eight female singles players and top four doubles teams, who will compete for $5 million in prize money.

    It’s the fifth large agreement signed by the WTA in the past 12 months. Sony Ericsson is the sport’s lead global sponsor, and cosmetics maker Oriflame, Chinese clothes maker Peak and Qantas Airways Ltd.’s Jetstar subsidary signed new agreements. Usana, a vitamin maker, renewed its sponsorship.

    TEB is among the top 10 banks in Turkey, and has more than 3 million clients at its 600 branches, the WTA said.

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Elser at celser@bloomberg.net

    via BNP Paribas to Sponsor Women’s Tennis Tournament in Istanbul – Bloomberg.