THREE OLYMPIANS, FIFTEEN YEAR-OLD ADVANCE
STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – Qualifying singles action kicked off at the Bank of the West Classic Friday with three Olympians, Ayumi Morita, Samantha Stosur and Tatiana Poutchek, advancing to the second round at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the campus of Stanford University.
Japan’s Morita came back from dropping the first set to Stanford standout Theresa Logar and cruised through the next two sets to advance, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Morita struggled early with her service game, winning only 38% of her first serve points as Logar broke her twice in the first set. However, the roles reversed in the next two sets as Logar held serve only twice allowing Morita to capitalize on five break-point opportunities.
Morita will move on to face the fourth-seeeded Canadian, Alekzandra Wozniak who is currently ranked No.1 in her country.
The fifth-seeded Stosur of Australia gave a dominating performance recording eight aces including the match point winner to ease past Alina Jidkova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.
Poutchek, a native of Belarus, also advanced defeating Monique Adamczak in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. Poutchek will battle the third-seeded Anne Keothavong who knocked off American Alexandra Podkolzina in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.
Fifteen year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal scored the day’s biggest upset with a convincing straight set, 6-0, 6-1 rout of the top-seeded Polish Olympian Marta Domachowska.
Larcher de Brito was the seventh-youngest player in history to win a Tour singles main draw after recording a first round win over Meghan Shaughnessy at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
Additionally, seven of the eight seeded players advanced including Monica Niculescu (2), Anne Keothavong (3), Julie Ditty (6), Meng Yuan (7) and Olga Puchkova (8). Other women advancing include Georgie Stoop, Melina Czink, Alexandra Stevenson, Julie Coin and Abigail Spears.
The Bank of the West Classic qualifying tournament continues Sunday, July 13 beginning at 10 a.m. and is free to the public.
Tickets for the tournament’s opening rounds start at just $23. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or log on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.
The Bank of the West Classic, a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event, will be played July 14-20 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium at Stanford University and features a 28-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.
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.