New Haven Open 2012: Petra Kvitova Cruises To Win

Petra Kvitova won the New Haven Open on Saturday, defeating Maria Kirilenko to complete a championship run in which she did not lose a single set. After winning a marathon first set 7-6(9), she was down 5-2 in the championship match, but was able to battle back and tie things 5-5 before going on to win 7-5.

It was the second grueling match in Kvitova’s tournament. Prior to her match with Kirilenko, the No. 2 seed, she had a difficult second-round match against unseeded American Nicole Gibbs, winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Prior to that, Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champ, ran through fourth seeded Italian Sara Errani 1-6, 3-6, winning the first set in only 24 minutes.

Maria Kirilenko and Petra Kvitova will face one another in the 2012 New Haven Open final on Saturday.

Kirilenko advanced after No. 3 seed and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki retired prior to the match’s second set due to aggravating a right knee injury she suffered in the quarterfinal. Kvitova had a slightly more difficult route but still managed a comfortable win over Italy’s Sara Errani, 6-1, 6-3.

Caroline Wozniacki’s reign at the New Haven Open has come to a close as the four-time defending champ exited her match with a knee injury.

The third-seeded Wozniacki lost her first set 7-5 against No. 7 Maria Kirlenko in the semi-finals on Friday. During the changeover, she requested to see her trainer and after a short deliberation decided not to continue.

The semifinals of the 2012 New Haven Open begin Friday and three of the top four seeds remain in action.

No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova, the highest seed remaining, will face No. 4 seed Sara Errani on Friday. Kvitova advanced to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-3 over No. 8 Lucie Safarova while Errani knocked off No. 5 seed Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-2.

The 2012 New Haven Open continued Thursday with quarterfinal action. As has mostly been the case throughout the tournament, the top seeds once again advanced.

No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova, the highest remaining seed, advanced to the semifinals in a straight set win over No. 8 Lucie Safarova. Kvitova advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win and will now face No. 4 seed Sara Errani. Errani advanced past No. 5 seed Marion Bartoli with a 6-4, 6-2 win.

The 2012 New Haven Open continues Thursday with the start of quarterfinal play. Only eight players remain, with seven of the top eight seeds still in action.

No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova, the highest remaining seed, will play No. 8 Lucie Safarova in the quarterfinal. Kvitova won her second-round match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. Safarova also cruised into the quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-0 win.

The 2012 WTA New Haven Open’s second round saw the top two remaining seeds, Caroline Wozniacki (No.3) of Denmark and Petra Kvitova (No. 2) of Russia advance to the Quarterfinals on Thursday.

Wozniacki defeated Sofia Arvidsson, 7-6, 6-2, and will face sixth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in Thursday’s Quarterfinals. Kvitova made quick work of American Nicole Gibbs and won, 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets and will face Lucie Safarova.

Defending New Haven Open champion Caroline Wozniacki hits the court Wednesday for a tough test in the round of 16, as she faces unranked Sofia Arvidsson this afternoon.

Wozniacki had little trouble disposing of unranked Ekaterina Makarova in opening round action, 6-3, 6-3, but Arvidsson has proven a bit of a thorn in Wozniacki’s side. Wozniacki holds a 3-2 career advantage over the Swed, with the two splitting their two meetings on hard courts.

The 2012 New Haven Open continued Tuesday and No. 1 seed Agnieszka Radwanska was forced to retire during her matching due to injury.

Radwanska, the current No. 2 player in the world, withdrew from her match against Olga Govortsova during the second set due to a shoulder injury. Govortsova won the first set 6-0 and was leading the second set 2-1 when Radwanska withdrew.

If Caroline Wozniaki wants to defend her New Haven title, she’s likely going to have to get through the tournament’s top seed and second-ranked WTA player in the world, Agnieszka Radwanska. After a first-round bye, Radwanska takes to the court tonight against Olga Govortsova starting at 7:00 p.m. ET in the Stadium Court.

Prior to Radwanska’s debut at New Haven, there are three matches during the day on Tuesday. Beginning at 12:00 p.m. on the Stadium court is Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain facing fourth-ranked Sara Errani of Italy. Suarez Navarro is coming off a straight-set victory over Agnes Szavay of Hungary. Errani dispatched American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.

The first round is over at the 2012 New Haven Open at Yale, with no huge surprises playing out yet.

Caroline Wozniacki has been dominant at New Haven, winning all five tournaments she has played there. On Monday against Russian Ekaterina Marakova, Wozniacki took care of business in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

The first round of the 2012 New Haven Open at Yale continues Monday with nine matches. The action in Connecticut will begin at 12 p.m. EST with three contests, as Bethanie Mattek-Sands takes on Sara Errani, the tournament’s No. 4-ranked player, Melanie Oudin faces Sofia Arvidsson, and Nicole Gibbs battles Alexa Glatch in an all-American matchup.

Errani, the 10th-ranked woman in the world in the latest WTA Tour rankings, will be looking to rebound after a disappointing third-round defeat at the hands of Venus Williams earlier this month at the WTA Tour Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open.

Fifth-ranked Maria Bartoli’s straight-set victory and eighth-seeded Lucie Safarova’s victory because of a retirement highlighted the first day of action at the New Haven Open on Sunday.

Bartoli cruised past unranked Great Britain’s Laura Robson, 6-3, 6-3 in 85 minutes, asserting herself against the Brit in dominating fashion. Safarova was well on her way to victory over Varvara Lepchenko when Lepchenko was forced to retire at 6-3, 4-1.

Sunday’s opening round of the 2012 New Haven Open will see ten singles matches and two doubles matches. Of the day’s singles matches, the biggest name competing will be 19-year-old rising tennis star, Sloane Stephens.

Stephens is coming off an epic match against Agnieska Radwanska in the third round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio last week, losing the match 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

The first round of the 2012 New Haven Open begins Sunday, with a field that features four women currently ranked in the top 10 of the world rankings.

The tournament field will have 18 players who participated in the 2012 London Olympics including Americans Christina McHale and Sloane Stephens. Agnieszka Radwanska, the current No. 3 player in the world, is the highest ranked player in the tournament.