Singles Quarterfinal Matchups Set At Bank Of The West Classic
STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – All four seeded players in action on Thursday at the 2009 Bank of the West Classic punched their tickets to the quarterfinal round despite being tested along the way.
No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 2 Venus Williams, No. 4 Jelena Jankovic and No. 8 Marion Bartoli all hung on for victories on Thursday, resulting in a star-studded quarterfinal field that features five seeded players in addition to three-time Grand Slam singles champion Maria Sharapova.
But it wasn’t easy for any of the top seeds. Serena Williams started the day with a 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over Melinda Czink. After looking strong in the first set, Williams trailed the entire second set until prevailing in the tiebreaker.
Meanwhile, Venus Williams cruised to a 6-1 win in the first set and looked to be in complete control midway through the second frame with a 5-3 lead. But Alla Kudryavtseva won back-to-back games to tie the set at 5-5 before Williams swiped the next two games for a 6-1, 7-5 triumph.
The third match of the day pitted Bartoli against 17-year old phenom Melanie Oudin in what ended up playing out as yet another competitive match. Trailing 5-3 in the first set, Oudin knotted the match at 5-5 before Bartoli won back games to claim the first set and hung on 6-4 in the second set. The entire contest took just under two hours to complete.
Jankovic squeaked out a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sabine Lisicki during the night session. Lisicki ambushed Jankovic with a quick first set win, only to see the tournament’s No. 4 seed surrender just six games over the next two sets.
The singles quarterfinal matchups are now set for Friday: No. 3 seed Elena Dementieva battles unseeded Daniela Hantuchova in the opener at noon, No. 1 Serena Williams faces Samantha Stosur, No. 4 Jelena Jankovic tangles with No. 8 Marion Bartoli and No. 2 Venus Williams clashes with Maria Sharapova in the only night session singles contest at 7 p.m.
Also on Thursday, The Bank of the West Classic and Stanford University announced a three-year contract that will keep the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world at the Taube Family Tennis Center through the year 2012.
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.
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.
