STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – Aleksandra Wozniak upset sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday afternoon in front of 3084 fans to capture her first career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles championship, completing an unbelievable nine-day stretch that began in the qualifying round and included a victory over eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.
Playing her eighth match in nine days, Wozniak is the first qualifier to win the singles title at the Bank of the West Classic since the inception of computer rankings in 1982 and only the third qualifier to win a tournament this year. The 20-year-old Canadian entered the tourney ranked No. 85 in the world and had to win three qualifying matches and four contests in the main draw just to reach Sunday’s final.
“It feels great,” said Wozniak, the first Canadian to win a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title in 20 years. “It’s my first title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and I’m really excited and proud of what I have accomplished here advancing through the qualifying round. Playing eight matches in one week is never easy…I focused so hard this week on winning one match at a time. I believe in myself but I never thought I would win this tournament.”
Her victims along the way included three seeded players (No. 6 Bartoli, No. 1 Williams and No. 8 Francesca Schiavone) and two victories over fellow qualifier Samantha Stosur in a scheduling rarity that saw the two players meet in the qualifying round and again in the quarterfinals.
Against Bartoli on Sunday, Wozniak dictated play with 33 winners and continued to keep the 2007 Wimbledon finalist off balance throughout the match. Bartoli, who looked out of sync and eventually called for a medical timeout early in the second set, managed to finish the match but came up short in her quest for her first singles title since 2006.
After alternating games in the first set, Bartoli finally took control at 4-3. She then led 5-4 before Wozniak stormed back to win three straight games and close out the first set 7-5.
Tied at 1-1 in the second set, Wozniak looked dominating as she ripped off three straight games to take a commanding 4-1 advantage. Bartoli closed to within 5-3 before Wozniak served out for the match and the championship.
Bartoli had put together a strong run of her own in the tournament, reaching her first final of the year with wins over defending Bank of the West Classic champion Anna Chakvetadze and tour veteran Ai Sugiyama.
“It’s hard to retire during the final of tournament,” said Bartoli. “I just wanted to give the fans a complete match and even if I knew I was unable to win it, it was just better for everyone to try and keep going to the end.”
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: The Bank of the West Classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first stop of the US Open Series. A Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $600,000. Held on Stanford University’s campus at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams. The Bank of the West Classic is owned and operated by IMG.
ABOUT BANK OF THE WEST: Founded in 1874 and headquartered in San Francisco, $62 billion-asset Bank of the West is the second-largest commercial bank based in California. Bank of the West offers a full range of business, trust, international and personal banking services. The bank currently operates more than 700 commercial and retail banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. In 2008, Bank of the West ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Retail Banks in the West” by J.D. Power and Associates. Bank of the West's holding company, BancWest Corporation, is owned by BNP Paribas, a leading global financial services institution ranked by Standard & Poor's as one of the world's four strongest banks. More information is available at www.bankofthewest.com.