Day One of Qualifying in the Books
STANFORD, Calif. – Melanie Oudin and Stacey Tan posted convincing straight-set victories on Saturday afternoon, highlighting the opening day of singles qualifying action at the 2009 Bank of the West Classic.
Saturday’s competition produced 16 winners in the qualifying draw, which continues Sunday before final qualifiers are determined Monday morning.
Of the eight seeded competitors in the singles qualifying draw, six advanced to Sunday’s second round. Former Stanford standout and 1997 NCAA singles champion Lilia Osterloh outlasted No. 4 seed Jill Craybas 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 while Stephanie Foretz edged No. 7 seed Elena Baltacha 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 to provide the day’s most notable upsets.
Oudin, the 17-year old from Marietta, Ga., easily dispatched of Tatiana Poutchek 6-0, 6-2 and will face Shenay Perry on Sunday. The No. 3 seed in this weekend’s draw, Oudin made headlines earlier this summer when she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon thanks to a 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 upset of then-No. 6 Jelena Jankovic.
Meanwhile, incoming Stanford freshman Stacey Tan looked extremely sharp during a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Nicole Vaidisova. A native of Lakewood, Calif., Tan surrendered only three games to Vaidisova, a tour veteran who has been ranked as high as No. 7 in the world during her career. Tan now battles Yung-Jan Chan in Sunday’s action.
This year’s qualifying singles field features 32 players, with eight seeded participants and four wildcards. In fact, last year’s qualifying draw produced the eventual tournament champion, with Aleksandra Wozniak capturing her first career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title.
The Bank of the West Classic qualifying tournament continues tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Tickets for the 2009 Bank of the West Classic can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.
Single-session tickets for the tournament's opening round start at just $23.
Full-week packages, which include tickets to all 13 sessions, start at only $530. Those who purchase a box of four full week packages will also receive four passes to the exclusive VIP Plaza Club, four invitations to the Meet the Players Party, two VIP parking passes and an autographed poster.
The Bank of the West Classic is also offering several weekend packages starting at $230.
The Bank of the West Classic, a premier Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event, is now in its 39th year and features a 32-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. The event is owned and operated by IMG and serves as the opening women's event of the Olympus US Open Series.
The list of past champions of the event reads like a Who's Who of women's tennis including Lindsay Davenport, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters.
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 Olympus US Open Series. A Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premier event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $700,000. 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: With more than $66 billion in assets, San Francisco-based Bank of the West is one of the nation’s 25 largest banks. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West is a full-service financial institution with nearly 4 million accounts in more than 700 branch and commercial offices across 19 Western and Midwestern states.
