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Anna-Lena Groenefeld

Clijsters returns to competitive tennis

Tue, 08/11/2009 - 11:20 by preet_20

Mason, Ohio Aug. 10: Kim Clijsters returned to competitive tennis Monday with a win in the $2 million Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati.

Clijsters, 26, posted a 6-4, 6-3 victory over France's Marion Bartoli in the first round. It was the first WTA Tour match for Clijsters, a former world No.1 player, since the spring of 2007.

She gave birth to a daughter since she retired to start a family and become injury-free.

Clijsters, who earned her lone major title at the 2005 U.S. Open, owns 34 singles titles and was ranked No. 1 for a total of 19 weeks in her prime.

Errani, Pennetta reach final in Palermo

Sun, 07/19/2009 - 04:15 by surajdogra

Palermo, Italy -- Fifth-seeded defending champion Sara Errani and top-seeded Flavia Pennetta advanced Saturday to an all-Italian final at the Palermo International.

Errani posted a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 victory Saturday over German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who had reached the semifinals after second-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder withdrew from their quarterfinal match Friday.

Pennetta later beat countrywoman Tathiana Garbin 6-1, 6-1 in a match interrupted by a suspension due to darkness.

The final will be the first all-Italian WTA title match since Bogota in 2007.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.

Top seed reaches Palermo semis

Sat, 07/18/2009 - 12:43 by surajdogra

Palermo, Italy July 17: Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta and defending champion Sara Errani moved into the semifinals of the Palermo International Friday.

Pennetta recorded a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Aravane Rezai, setting up a semifinal meeting with Tathiana Garbin.

Garbin, who won this tournament three years ago, was an easy 6-2, 6-1 winner over Olga Govortsova.

The other semifinal will send Errani against Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who advanced when second-seeded Patty Schnyder retired in the first set. Schnyder was coming off a runner-up finish last week in Budapest.

Errani, who won last year's championship match over Mariya Koryttseva, defeated Yaroslava Shevdova 6-2, 7-5 to reach the semifinals.

World No. 1 Safina easy first-round winner

Wed, 06/17/2009 - 04:09 by surajdogra

S-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, -- World No. 1 Dinara Safina was an easy opening-round winner Tuesday at the Ordina Open in the Netherlands.

Safina defeated German Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-0, 6-3. Safina, a French Open and Australian Open runner-up, was upset in last year's final by Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn.

Three seeded players lost Tuesday. France's Nathalie Dechy beat second-seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Belgian Yanina Wickmayer beat fourth-seeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3; and defending Ordina champion Tanasugarn beat seventh-seeded Czech Iveta Benesova 6-3, 6-1.

Third-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta, who swept past Russian Ksenia Pervak 6-1, 6-1, plays Tanasugarn in the quarterfinals.