Clijsters wins Year-Ending Champonships against year-ending No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki

Kim Clijsters started strongly, lost her way a little and finished fast in the final of the WTA Championships - Doha 2010, scoring a 63 57 63 win over Caroline Wozniacki for her third career title at the season-ender.

Coming into this year's event, Clijsters was the only player in the field who had a winning record at the WTA Championships in previous years (she had been 15-6 here, with none of the other seven players better than even). She was also on a roll in big matches, winning all five finals since returning to tennis last year.

All of that may have played into a very fast start for Clijsters, who burst out to a 63 41 lead; Wozniacki, who had won more matches than anyone this year, did not surrender - in fact she raised her level in a big way, upping the aggression and winning seven of the next eight games to win the second set and break for 1-0 in the first game of the third. The match would turn once more, however.

Clijsters broke right back in the second game of the third set and was again the frontrunner from there, firing an inside out forehand winner to break again for 4-2, holding easily for 5-2 then holding again two games later to complete the victory.

"At the moment I'm kind of relieved it's over. It seemed like it would never end," Clijsters said. "It was a tough battle. We showed some great tennis and some great fitness - I think we showed the crowd some great women's tennis tonight. This was my first time in the Middle East and it was an amazing experience."

Having also won this event in 2002 and 2003, Clijsters is the fifth player in WTA history to win here three or more times (Martina Navratilova won the event eight times, Steffi Graf five, Chris Evert four and Monica Seles three).

Clijsters won her fifth WTA title of the year, following triumphs in Brisbane, Miami, Cincinnati and the US Open; the only player who won more titles than Clijsters this year was Wozniacki (the Dane won six titles this year).

Wozniacki has a lot to be happy about after this week, making it to one of her biggest career finals (last year's US Open final was arguably her only bigger final, and she fell to Clijsters there too) and, by virtue of beating Francesca Schiavone in round robin play, securing the year-end No.1 ranking - she rose to No.1 on October 11 and is the 10th player ever to finish a year No.1.

"This may be disappointing for Caroline, but she has a great future," Clijsters added. "I also have to congratulate her on making it to the No.1 ranking."

"I gave my all today. I couldn't have played better," a gracious Wozniacki said. "I haven't thought about the match yet, but I'm going to look back and learn from it for sure. I've still had a fantastic year, winning six tournaments and beating so many good players. Right now I'm going to enjoy my break. I'm going to have a few weeks off, then I'll start working hard again and be even better in January."

WTA Launches New Logo

The WTA, the world's leading global sport for women with a 37-year history, launched a new logo Sunday. The new mark is designed to serve as a distinctive and modern reminder of the captivating athleticism and excitement that has driven the international popularity and growth of women's pro tennis and placed it firmly at the nexus of sport and entertainment.

"For close to four decades the WTA brand has stood for premium athleticism and entertainment on a global stage," said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the Women's Tennis Association. "The WTA identity unveiled today is intended to be a modernized presentation of our logo that is both functional and effective for our partners and members across all forms of media."

"I think that this is a very exciting time for the WTA with great new sponsors and now the very cool and fresh look and feel for women's tennis," said Caroline Wozniacki. "I'm so proud to be a part of this time for the sport and the players will definitely have a greater connection to the fans through the new brand."

To create its new logo, the WTA enlisted Chermayeff & Geismar, a leading global brand design firm behind many of the world's most recognizable trademarks including Chase, Mobil, NBC, PBS, Armani Exchange, National Geographic and Barney's New York, among others.

"By diverging from the expected approach of featuring an image of an athlete, we created a mark that is unusual in pro sports, and its appropriately bold identity will over time come to recall the incredible athletes that represent women's tennis," said Chermayeff & Geismar Partner and designer Tom Geismar.

The design of the new brand image departs from conventional sport logos by not featuring a figure of a female tennis player, but rather putting the emphasis on the letters W, T and A. The symbol also incorporates subtle references to the sport: the oval shape of the mark is a reference to both the imprint a tennis ball leaves on the court and to the shape of a racquet, while the yellow circle as the crossbar of the A recalls a tennis ball. The new core brand identity will be fully integrated throughout the WTA and women's tennis, including in TV graphics, print materials, tournament branding, advertising, promotion and digital and social media in all its forms throughout the 2011 season.

Earlier this year, Sony Ericsson, the WTA's title sponsor since 2005, renewed its landmark partnership with the sport in the role of lead global sponsor in lieu of title sponsor, providing women's tennis the opportunity to reestablish its core identity. During the course of 2010, the WTA has renewed both Sony Ericsson and Travelex and signed new partnerships with Oriflame, a Swedish cosmetics company and Peak, a Chinese apparel brand.

Serena wins 13th Grand Slam at Wimbledon

World No.1 Serena Williams kept adding to her grand legacy in London, defeating Vera Zvonareva in straight sets for her fourth Wimbledon crown and 13th overall Grand Slam title.

Williams, the No.1 seed, and Zvonareva, No.21, went toe-to-toe from the baseline in the first six games of the match, but from 3-all Williams' big stage experience really began to shine, as she took the power level up a notch - particularly on her serve and crosscourt backhand - and she took a 6-3 first set.

After winning the first set at a major Williams was 174-3, and after winning the first set in major finals she was 10-0 - the 28-year-old American's record was phenomenal in the situation and that trend continued, as she made it 175-3 and 11-0 with a 63 62 victory, serving it out at love and ending it with a big smash.

Williams tied Billie Jean King for fourth most Wimbledons in the Open Era (Martina Navratilova nine, Steffi Graf seven and Venus Williams five). She passes King for sixth most overall majors in the Open Era (Margaret Court 24, Graf 22, Helen Wills Moody 19 and Navratilova and Chris Evert 18 each).

"This one's very special. Hey Billie, I got you," Williams said in the on-court interview with Sue Barker. "I want to congratulate Vera. She played amazing here. She's been through so much in the last year. Everyone should give her a round of applause... she defines what a champion and never giving up means."

Williams' serving throughout the tournament was a centerpiece of her success. She was out-acing even the best men's players in the world (going into the semifinals she had over 1.6 aces per service game while none of the men's semifinalists even had 1) and she smashed the women's tournament ace record of 72 (which she set herself last year), finishing with 89 after the final.

"I've honestly never served this well," Williams added. "Whenever I come on this grass, on this amazing Centre Court, I start serving well. I want to keep it up."

This was Williams' sixth career Wimbledon final. She is now 4-2 in those, winning in 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2010, and finishing runner-up in 2004 (losing to Maria Sharapova) and 2008 (losing to Venus Williams).

How far is Williams planning to go? She was asked in press: "I love my dogs; I love my family; I love going to the movies; I love reading; I love going shopping. I would love to open more schools in Africa or in the United States, and I would love to help people. I would like to be remembered like, 'She was a tennis player, but she really did a lot to inspire and help other people.' That's what I think about - not about Serena Williams won X amount of Grand Slams."

Schiavone bests Stosur to capture first Grand Slam title in Paris

The name Francesca is derived from the Latin Franciscus, meaning French. So perhaps it was only destiny as Francesca Schiavone, a longshot No.17 seed, would win her first career major at the French Open.

Playing the red hot Samantha Stosur in the final, Schiavone was solid in every way, giving away almost zero free points and taking control of the rallies in many ways - loopy topspin groundies, creativity at the net, crafty retrieving.

After breaking serve in the ninth game of the match and serving out the first set, Schiavone rallied from 4-1 down in the second set against the No.7-seeded Stosur, eventually playing a perfect tie-break to clinch one of the most unlikely Grand Slam title runs in the Open Era - and in tennis history, 64 76(2).

"I didn't prepare anything, because whenever I prepare something for the future, it doesn't happen," Schiavone told the crowd during the trophy presentation. "I've watched every final of this tournament and I know what the big champions say. So I want to thank everybody. I felt amazing today. I'm really, really happy."

Schiavone had a few words to add for Stosur, who, like herself, was in her first major final. "Congratulations Sam. I think you're a great, great person and a great athlete. You deserve to be here and you're young, so you'll do it too."

Schiavone, who turns 30 years old this month, is the second-oldest player in the Open Era to win their first Grand Slam title (Ann Jones was 30 years, 8 months when she won Wimbledon in 1969). But she doesn't see things as other players her age may: "I can still improve," she told Italian reporters earlier in the week. "I can still be more explosive. I can still put more spin on my shots. I can still hit deeper. I can still improve my serve. I'm just beginning."

Not only was Schiavone the first Italian woman ever to win a major, she was the first to reach a major final, and the first in the Open Era to reach a major semi.

Stosur had been on fire throughout the tournament and the last few months. She has had more clay court wins and more overall wins than anyone else this year, and had beaten three No.1s en route to the final: Justine Henin in the fourth round, Serena Williams in the quarters and Jelena Jankovic in the semis.


Saturday, June 5, 2010

Singles - Final
(17) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. (7) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 64 76(2)