SHARAPOVA THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Sharapova, has defeated Klara Zakopalova of Czech Republic in the fourth round of the Sony Open. Sharapova won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 6-2.

Sharapova has moved into the final 8 with the help of this win.

After the match, Sharapova said, “I think I played a bit more aggressively than the last match. Also, the conditions were a bit cooler today, so, that also helped. I am glad that I am in the final 8 of this competition again.”

In the quarter final, Sharapova will face Sara Errani of Italy who reached the quarterfinals with a win over Ana Ivanovic.

Sharapova has so far played three matches against Errani and has won all those matches.

Sharapova started with a bang and with a couple of serve breaks, she raced to a lead of 4-0 in the opening set. Zakopalova held her serve for the first time in the 5^th game and then, she got a breakthrough in the next game to bring down the lead to 2-4. But, that’s all for her in the set. Sharapova wrapped up the set with a breakthrough in the 7^th game and a serve hold in the 8^th game.

Both the players started the second set with a serve hold and the scores were levelled at 1-1 at the end of the second game. Thereafter, Sharapova got two consecutive breakthroughs i.e. in the 3^rd and the 5^th game and took a lead of 4-1.

Zakopalova broke back in the 6^th game to make it 4-2. That was the last game won by her in the match.

Sharapova got yet another breakthrough in the 7^th game and then, with a serve hold in the next game, she secured her win.

This was Sharapova’s 5^th win against Zakopalova in 6 matches.

Anna Kournikova is Back for More

Kournikova Online video Rating: four / five[/random]

KIRILENKO THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Kirilenko, has defeated Sabine Lisicki of USA in the final of the PTT Pattaya Open which was played at Thailand. Kirilenko won the match by 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(1).

In the last year’s tournament in Thailand, Kirilenko was defeated in the final by Daniela Hantuchova, but, the Russian player didn’t let that happen again. She lost the opening set, but, thereafter, she played excellent tennis.

Kirilenko had a great start in the opening set. She broke Lisicki’s serve in the third game of the first set and then, served out the fourth game to take a lead of 3-1.

Kirilenko failed in continuing her lead till the end of the set. Her serve was broken in the sixth game and the scores got equalized at 3-3. In the next five games, neither of the two players dropped her serve and at the end of the 11^th game, Lisicki was ahead by 6-5.

Kirilenko needed to serve out the 12^th game to extend the set into the tie breaker, but, she couldn’t do that. She dropped her serve for the second time in the set and lost the first set.

In the second set, Sabine Lisicki held her serve in the first game, but, thereafter, she was taken apart by Kirilenko. The Russian player won six games in a row with three consecutive serve breaks and sealed the second set by 6-1.

Kirilenko started the final set in an aggressive mood. She won the first three games consecutively with a breakthrough in the second game. However, Lisicki made up for that blow by breaking Kirilenko’s serve in the ninth game. Both the players held their serve in the remaining three games which took the set into the tie breaker.

In the tie breaker, Kirilenko was at her best. She was so dominating that her opponent managed to win just one point in the tie breaker. With a couple of great backhand shots, she finished off the match and won the title.

Anna Kournikova Smash Hits

Kournikova Video Rating: 5 / 5[/random]

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.

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Kournikova Movie Score: five / 5[/random]