PETROVA ENJOYED 2012

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Nadia Petrova, had a great 2012 season. The Russian player was in good nick in most parts of the season and defeated quite a few players who were higher in ranking than her. She won a total of 3 titles in the 2012 season and ended the season as the no. 12 player in the world.

Petrova first won the UNICEF Open at s-Hertogenbosch. She was in great form in that tournament and she demolished every player who came her way. She won all her matches in that tournament in the straight sets. She won the title by defeating Urszula Radwanska in the final.

The second tournament that Petrova won in 2012 was the Toray Pan Pacific Open which was played in Japan. She pulled off quite a few upsets in that tournament. She defeated three top 10 players in order to win the title. Those three players were Sara Errani, Samantha Stosur and Agnieszka Radwanska.

The third tournament won by Petrova in 2012 was Qatar Airways Tournament of champions which was played at Sofia, Bulgaria. Petrova made a brilliant start to that tournament and in her first round robin match; she absolutely thrashed the Chinese player Zheng Jie.

Petrova carried on the momentum in her second round robin match as well and secured a place in the semi finals with a victory over Maria Kirilenko. But, even after qualifying for the final 4, Petrova didn’t take the third round robin match lightly and performed with the same intensity to defeat the local player Tsvetana Pironkova.

In the semi final, Petrova took on Roberta Vinci of Italy and defeated her in a close match.

In the final match, Petrova had to face the former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Petrova was at her very best in that match. She hit a lot of winners and pulled off an easy victory against the Polish superstar to win the title.

FILMS NEXT FOR MARIA

Anna Kournikova’s compatriot, Maria Sharapova, has said that she wants to work in a Hollywood film and she hoped to get this opportunity after announcing her retirement from professional tennis. Sharapova is currently in New Delhi. She has visited Delhi as the brand ambassador of an estate organization based in Britain. This is Sharapova’s first visit to India. Talking to the reporters after arriving Delhi, Sharapova said, “I had heard that India is a wonderful country and I had a desire to come here since a long time, but, because of my busy schedule, I never got time to visit this place. But, I am delighted that eventually, I managed to come here.”

“I had also heard that there are quite a lot of Indian people who are my fans and I guess that’s right because I have got a very warm reception here. I am looking forward to my stay here. Christmas is not too far away and I need some gifts for my friends. So, I would have to visit the malls here as well.”

When asked what she would like to do after quitting tennis, Sharapova said, “I am still quite young and if everything goes all right, I would keep playing tennis for the next 8-9 years and you cannot plan what you are going to do after 8-9 years. I am fully committed to tennis at the moment and I don’t have enough time to think about my post retirement plans. But, since childhood, I have a desire to work in a Hollywood movie. So, I guess if I get a chance, I would like to work as an actress in a Hollywood movie.”

“But, it’s not easy to act in a film. You must have a bit of acting skills and I am not sure I possess those skills. But, I hope that I would get that opportunity at some point of time in my life.”

PETROVA LOSES OUT

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Nadia Petrova, has been defeated by Li Na of China in the second round of the China Open at Beijing. Li won the match in the straight sets by 6-1, 6-2. It was a completely one sided match and Li won it in just 79 minutes.

Petrova had won the Toray Pan Pacific Open before coming into this tournament and she was high on confidence. She was expected to reach the semi finals easily. But, Petrova didn’t show the form that she had shown in the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She looked horribly out of nick and managed to win only 3 games in the entire match.

In the post match interview, Li Na said, “I had come into the match expecting a tough fight from Petrova, but, luckily, she wasn’t at her best today and made many unforced errors.”

“It’s nice to get a convincing win against a quality player like Petrova. But, I need to carry on the momentum. I want to win the title on my home soil and hopefully, I would succeed.”

On the other hand, Petrova looked disgusted after being defeated. The Russian player said, “It was a terrible match for me. I am pretty disappointed with the way I served in the whole match. Li was fantastic in today’s match and she hardly gave me any opportunity.”

In the opening set, both the players held their service in the first two games and the scorecard was saying 1-1 at the end of the 2^nd game. But, after that, Li was all over Petrova.  She won the next five games on the trot and sealed the first set by 6-1.

Li started the second set in a brilliant fashion. She broke Petrova’s service in the first and the third game and took a lead of 4-0. However, Petrova got a breakthrough in the 6^th game and reduced the lead to 4-2, but, that was it for her in the match. Li broke Petrova’s service in the 7^th game and then, wrapped up the match by holding her service in the next game.

In the third round, Li Na will play against her countrywoman Shuai Peng.

PETROVA MAKES SECOND ROUND

Anna Kournikova’s compatriot, Nadia Petrova, has reached the second round of the US Open by defeating Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia in the first round. Petrova won the match in the straight sets by 6-3, 7-6(3). Gajdosova played some good shots in the second set, but, Petrova’s experience and versatility proved to be too much for her. Petrova served very well in the match. She also played some majestic forehand shots.

Petrova came into the match with all guns blazing. She made a fantastic start to the first set. She broke Gajdosova’s service in the second game of the first set and then, served out the third game to get ahead in the set by 3-0.The Aussie needed a breakthrough badly, but, Petrova didn’t let her do that. Petrova maintained her lead till the end of the set and sealed the opening set by 6-3. In the second set, Gajdosova tightened her game and held her entire serves. However, Petrova could have broken her opponent’s service in the 11^th game, but, she wasn’t able to take advantage of the two breakpoints that she got. The set went into the tie breaker. Petrova flattened the Aussie with some cracking shots in the tie breaker and won the match.

In the post match interview, Petrova said that she shouldn’t have let the second set go into the tie breaker. She should have capitalized on the breakpoint that she had got towards the end of the second set. As per Petrova, she would have to play against some top quality players in the further matches and if she continues making such mistakes in those matches, it might prove costly for her. The Russian player said that she would have to raise the standard of her game for the further matches. In the second round, Petrova will play against Simona Halep of Romania.

RUSSIAN OLYMPIC DREAMS

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman Maria Sharapova has defeated Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the third round of the women’s tennis singles tournament of London Olympics. Lisicki had stunned Sharapova by defeating her in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championship a few days back. But, Sharapova took her revenge and knocked the German player out of the Olympics. However, Lisicki fought hard and made Sharapova work hard for her points. Sharapova won the match by 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 6-3 and secured a place in the quarter finals. Sharapova had to struggle for 2 hour and 47 minutes to win the match.

Lisicki broke Sharapova’s service in the very first game of the first set, but, Sharapova bounced back and got a breakthrough in the second game to level the score 1-1. Thereafter, both the players held their service in the next four games and the score was 3-3. But, Lisicki was able to break Sharapova’s service in the seventh game. She held his service in the next game to make the score 5-3. At the score of 5-4, when she was serving for the set, she couldn’t hold his service and Sharapova was able to level the score 5-5. Both the players held their service in the next two games and the score was tied at 6-6. But, in the tie breaker, the German player played sensibly and won the first set.

After losing the first set, Sharapova was under a lot of pressure. Lisicki continued to play well in the second set and broke the service of Sharapova in the seventh game. It seemed that the German player might upset Sharapova again. But, Sharapova made a comeback and broke Lisicki’s service in the eighth game to make the score 4-4. Sharapova again got a breakthrough in the 10th game to win second set by 6-4. In the third set, Sharapova played well and broke Lisicki’s service once to win the set easily by 6-3.

After the match, Sharapova admitted that she wasn’t at her best in the match. She said that she would like to play better in the upcoming matches. In the quarter final, Sharapova will play against Kim Klijsters of Belgium.

PETROVA SUFFER DEFEAT

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Nadia Petrova, has been defeated in the opening round of the Rogers Cup by Kiki Bertens of Netherlands. The match was very interesting and both the players tried hard, but, the Dutch youngster maintained her composure throughout the game and defeated Petrova after a long struggle of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Bertens, who has been ranked 80th in the official rankings of WTA, won the match by 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.

In the first two games of the first set, both the players broke each other’s service and the scores were leveled at 1-1. Thereafter, Petrova got two consecutive breakthroughs in the third game and the fifth game and won the next three games in a row to make the score 4-1. Read more »