1,1'01ASB BANK Classic
Pavlina Nola is commited to play the ASB BANK tournament
in New Zealand. As a married for a New Zealander, she will
surely receive the crowd attention and hopefully she continues
her great way of play. Last year it was Pavlina to finish
the year with a quarterfinal in Kuala Lumpur. In the main
draw she is the N20 to enter. Meanwhile the young Bulgarian
Fed Cup player Antoaneta Pangerova lost her first round match
in the qualifications in Gold Coast in Australia. She played
with the 4th seeded Nagyova and lost the tough match.
1,1'01 In the first round Pavlina will meet a qualifyer,
and if she is successful she will meet in the second round
the No.6 seeded Suarez, who beat Jana Najedely. Pavlina is
also in the doubles draw.
6,01,01 ANZ Tasmanian International
In the main draw of the tournament is listed Pavlina Nola.
She is probably playing the doubles as well. In the same tournament
but in the qualifying event, Antoaneta Pangerova lost in the
first round.
Pavlina Nola had a tough draw at the AZN Tasmanian International.
In the first round she had to play vs Grzybowska - a very
talented player, but virtually beat her to gain her second
win of the season. The match was not very hard, it seems 6-4
6-2. In the second round Pavlina will eventually face the
No. 4 seeded French woman Anne Gaelle Sidot. Pavlina is not
in the doubles draw
10,01'01 Pavlina Nola also couldn't make it to the quarterfinal
at the AZN Tasmanian International event. In the second round
she was upset by the No.4 seeded Anne Gaelle Sidot 3-6 1-6.
Next for her is the Australian open.
6,1'01Canberra International
Maggie Maleeva starts the year 2001 in the Canberra International
event. Maggie Maleeva is No. 5 seeded. However, her draw is
not very good. In the first round Maggie plays vs Suarez of
Argentina, who is playing a good tennis. If successful Maggie
will play either Jeyaseelan or Henin - both young and very
talented players. However, Maggie is playing top tennis and
she will surely do well there. In the doubles draw, Magdalena
is paired with Asa Carlsson of Sweeden. In the first round
they play vs Jeyaseelan/Habsudova
Maggie Maleeva won her first match of the season. In the
first round of the Canberra International event, Magdalena
topped Paola Suarez and forced her to retire. Maggie lost
the first set 4-6, won the following set at 6-3 and lead in
the deciding one 2-0, and then Suarez retired. In the second
round Magdalena will play either Jeyaseelan or Hennin.
Maggie Maleeva and Asa Carlson won their first round doubles
match. They took the match over Habsudova and Jayeseelan 6-4
6-3. In the second round Magdalena and Asa will meet the No.1
seeded pair Ai Sugiyama and Nicole Arendt. In the second round
of the singles Maleeva will meet the Gold Coast winner Justine
Henin.
10,01'01 Maggie Maleeva couldn't pass the second round of
the Canberra International tournament. She lost her second
round match vs the young Justine Henin 3-6 2-6. Maggie is
yet to play her doubles quarterfinal match.
11,01'01 Maggie Maleeva and Asa Carlson lost their quarterfinal
match in the doubles in Canberra. They lost to the No.1 seeded
pair Sugiyama/Arendt 6-7 3-6.
10,01, 01adidas International
Lubomira Bacheva is playing at the adidas International tournament
this week. She couldn't qualify for the main draw of the singles,
but entered the main draw of the doubles. With her partner
Torrens Vallero, she passed the first round to reach the second.
They upset the Australian pair Stewart/Musgrave 6-4 6-4. In
the second round they will face the No.1 seeded pair Raymond/Stubbs
Lubomira Bacheva and Torens?alero also couldn't make it to
the semifinals of the adidas International tournament. They
had fallen to one of the best doubles pairs in the world Raymond/Stubbs
in two sets 1-6 3-6
10,01, 01Australian Open
10, 01, 01 The qulifying draw for the first Grand Slam of
the year were announced. Two Bulgarians will compete to enter
the main draw of the women's singles - Dessislava Topalova
faces in the first round Laura Dell'Angelo and Antoaneta Pangerova
plays vs Maja Palaversic of Croatia. Both Dessislava's and
Antoaneta's draw is not very easy - they both will probably
face in the second round seeded players. However, they can
make it to the main draw. No Bulgarian to be listed in the
Men's qulifying evetnt.
12, 01 '01 The singles draws at the Aus Open were released
today. Three Bulgarians will be in the main draw of the singles
for now. In the first round Maggie Maleeva will face Tamarine
Tansugarn of Thailand. Her probable second round opponent
will be Asa Carlson, her doubles partner. In the third round
Magdalena may face the No.6 seeded Serena Williams. Pavlina
Nola has a bad draw; in the first round she faces Sabine Apelmans
of Belgium, a very talented player, but not in top form now,
and Pavlina playing very good tennis . Lubomira Bacheva will
play vs Alexandra Stevenson, but I don't think that Bacheva
will have any problem with her. Her probable second round
opponent will be Virginia Ruano-Pascual. Meanwhile, Dessislava
Topalova is doing very well in the qulifications. In the first
round she upset Laura Dell'Angelo 6-3 7-5. In the second round
she will meet Andrea Glass. Antoaneta Pangerova couldn't pass
the first round - she was upset by Maja Palaversic 2-6 2-6
15, 01, 01 Lubomira Bacheva was the first Bulgarian to play
her match at the Australian Open this year. In the first round
Bacheva was playing vs Stevenson and she lost the match 5-7
1-6. Virtually Bacheva had four break opportunities, but couldn't
win one. Bacheva was playing more defensive tennis with less
unforced errors, but she made as well less winners. In the
women's doubles Lubomira Bacheva and Torrens-Valero will meet
the No.9 seeded Fusai/Grande. Maggie Maleeva and Pavlina Nola
are yet to play their first round matches. Maggie plays on
court 6, while Pavlina meets Apelmans on court 10. In the
women's doubles Magdalena Maleeva and Asa Carlson face Hantchukova/Pleming.
17, 01, 01 Both Maggie Maleeva and Pavlina Nola lost their
first round matches in the women's singles in the Australian
Open. Maggie Maleeva lost to Tamarine Tansugarn and Nola lost
to Apelmans. They both played hard matches, which virtually
went to tie-breaks in the first set. In her match, Magdalena
was serving very well - she made 5 aces and only two double
faults. The first set went to a tie-break, which Maggie lost
2-7 and then lost the second set 5-7. Magdalena did 4 break
points, but Tansugarn - 5. The first set of Nola-Apelmans
match also went to a tie-break, which Pavlina lost 5-7. The
next set Pavlina lost 1-6. The only Bulgarians that still
remain in the main draw are Maleeva and Bacheva in the doubles.
In the girls singles probably Maria Penkova will play.
18, 00, 01 Maggie Maleeva and Asa Carlson did't had many
problems in their first round match vs Hantuchova/Plemming
and beat them 6-1 6-4. In the next round they will face the
No.12 seeded Crizan/Salutina. Bacheva and Torrens-Valeero,
however, couldn't pass the first round. They were upset by
the No.9 seeded Fusai/Grande
21, 01 '01 Maggie Maleeva and Asa Carlson are doing very
well in Australia. In the second round they defeated the No.12
seeded pair Crizan/Salutina and next they play the Williams
sisters. It seems that Maggie and Asa feel comfortable with
each other and they will have more and more success as a team
21, 01, 01 Maggie and Asa lost their 1/8 final match to the
Williams sisters. The match was in three sets, and a very
close one. After losing the first set 1-6, Magdalena and Asa
Carlson won the next set 6-4, but lost the final and deciding
one 4-6. She was the last Bulgarian left in the draw. In the
juniors draw, Maria Penkova is not commited, despite her ranking
(she is No.35 in the junior's rankings).
30,01, 01Toray Pan Pacific Open
Maggie Maleeva is playing this week at the Toray Pan Pacific
Open. She is No.8 seeded and has a great draw. In the first
round Magdalena faces a qulifyer. In the second round, if
successful she will play either Garbin or Panova. Maggie is
in the part of the draw where is Hingis as well. In the doubles
Magdalena plays in a pair with Husarova. In the first round
they will have to play vs the No.1 seeded pair Raymond/Stubbs.
This is a very special tournament for the Maleeva family.
Manuela Maleeva was twice a champion here. Indeed, she won
the first and the second tournament and reached the final
of the third.
Well, the official draw of the Toray Pan Pacific is out.
Maggie Maleeva will play in the first round vs Ells Callens,
a qulifyer. If successful Magdalena will play in the next
round vs Tatiana Panova of Russia, who beat Garbin. However,
Maggie finished her doubles performance, as she and Boogert
(not Husarova as announced) lost to Pratt /Shaughnessy 3-6
1-6. Magdalena is yet to play her first round match in the
singles
31, 01 '01b Maggie Maleeva won her first round match in the
singles. She defeated Els Callens in straight sets 6-3 6-4
and will face the next round Tatiana Panova of Russia. Best
of luck!!!
01, 02 '01 Maggie Maleeva had reached her first quarterfinal
of the year. In the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific
she upset Tatiana Panova of Russia in straight sets, the first
of which went to a tie-break. Magdalena won the match 7-6
6-2. In the quarterfinals Maggie will face Asagoe, who beat
in a very tough match the No.4 seeded Coutzer of South Africa.
Go Maggie!!!
02, 01 '01 Yesss!!! Maggie Maleeva is doing great at the
Toray Pan Pacific Open in Japan. She had reached the semifinal
of the Toray Pan Pacific, after upsetting the native Asagoe
in straight sets. Magdalena won the match 6-1 7-6(7-1). Maggie
is playing now a wonderful tennis. In the semifinal match
she will face the No.1 seeded Martina Hingis, but Maggie has
the chance and the ability to face her and beat her. This
semifinal will give Magdalena a lot of confidence for the
upcoming tournaments and with no many points to defend, she
will surely enter the top 15 of the world
03, 02'01 Well done Maggie! Despite Maggie lost the semifinal
match vs Martina Hingis, it was a great performance by Magdalena
Maleeva at the Toray Pan Pacific. Maggie Maleeva lost the
first set 3-6. She was broken in the very first game of the
match, but straight after Maleeva broke Hingis back. Then
Maggie was broken in the fifth set, had then some break points
in eight set, but virtually lost them all and Hingis won the
first set.
In the second set Madalena was playing a top tennis and lead,
"running Hingis from corner to corner" (AP). Hingis
said: "You lose one serve, and all of a sudden you're
down 3-0,'' ``I also haven't played Maggie in a long time,
so I didn't exactly know what to expect, and she hit some
great shots.''
``Then from being down 3-0, 4-0, you're maybe more focused
already playing the third set again,'' she said. ``I knew
it's going to be very hard .... and I tried to save my energy
and power for the third, and it paid off.''
Maggie is in a top form now and hopefully she continues her
great performance in the next tournamenst she plays. Go Maggie
!!
28,01, 01Colombia Open
Orlin Stanoytchev is commited for the main draw of the Colombia
Open tournament. This will be first tournament for Orlin for
the new year.
The draw for the Bogota tournament is out as well. Orlin
is facing in the first round the No.3 seeded Chela of Argentina.
31, 01 '01 Orlin Stanoytchev was defeated hollow in the first
round of the Bogota tournament. Orlin had fallen to the No.3
seeded Chela 1-6 1-6. The previouse day he and his doubles
partner had fallen in the second round of the doubles qualifying
event.
30,01, 01Tipton, Great Briton
Dimana Krastevich is playing this week in Tipton, Great Briton.
In this tournament ($10 000) she is playing in the qulifcations,
where she is seeded second. In the first round Dimana beat
the WC-card player Luisa Cowper of Great Briton in straight
sets 7-5 6-3 and she is now to play vs Karina Jacobsgaard.
Best of luck to her. Dimana is No522 in the last rankings
of the WTA tour.
Dimana Krastevich had qualifyed for the main draw of the
Tipton event. In the first round she will meet Anne-Laure
Heitz of France and if successful she will face the No.1 seeded
Julie Pullin of Great Briton. The other Bulgarian in the main
draw is Maria Gusheva-Geznenge, who plays vs Anne Keothavong
of Briton. Maria Gusheva and partner Eleni Daniilidou(Greece)
are seeded first in the doubles. They have a bye in the first
round.
31, 01 '01 Unfortunatelly, both Dimana Krustevich and Maria
Gusheva lost their first round matches. Dimana, who played
two rounds in the qualifications lost to a French woman 3-6
2-6 and Gusheva lost to the native Keothavong 1-6 4-6. In
another tournament in Spain (Mallorca - $10 000), in the first
round of the qualifications Virginia Trifonova was upset in
a three set match, which prooved to be quite a thriller. She
lost the match 1-6 7-6 5-7 to Neuza Silva.
01, 02' 01 In the quarterfinals of the doubles in Tipton,
Maria Gusheva and Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) face the French
pair Segolene Berger/Elsa Morel.
01, 02 '01 In the quarterfinals of the doubles in Tipton,
Maria Gusheva and Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) face the French
pair Segolene Berger/Elsa Morel.
03, 02 '01 In the quarterfinals of the doubles in Tipton,
Maria Gusheva and Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) beat the French
pair Segolene Berger/Elsa Morel in straight sets 6-3 6-3.
In the semifinals they will face the Belgiums Stephanie De
Ville/Caroline Maes
05, 02 '01 Maria Gusheva and Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) lost
the finals in Great Briton to a British pair. The match was
very close - 6-2 4-6 4-6.
02,02, 01 Istanbul,Turkey
Two Bulgarians are playing in the main draw of the ITF Challenger($10
000) in Instanbul. In the first round Biljana Pavlova faces
the Russian Svetlana Mossiakova. The other Bulgarian, Radosslava
Topalova(the little sister of Dessislava) had to go through
the qualifications. In the first round ot the singles she
upset another qualifyer - Martina Strussova. Both Bulgarians
play the doubles. Radoslava Topalova plays in a pair with
Leonne Muller Van Moppes, while Biljana Pavlova is paired
with Ljiljana Nanusevic, and seeded 3.
05,02, 01Open Gaz de France
Lubomira Bacheva is doing very well at the Open Gaz de France
qualifying event. In the first round ot the qualifcations
she defeated the Wild Card player Stephanie Cohen-Aloro in
straight sets, the second of which went to a tie-break. In
the second round Lubomira was playing a wonderful tennis giving
no chance to the young German talent Jana Kandarr. Luba won
- 6-0 6-2. She will face now another German Andrea Glass.
In the main draw of the event will be Magdalena Maleeva.
06, 02' 01 The main draw of the singles and the doubles in
Paris is already out. In the first round our top player Magdalena
Maleeva is playing the Russian Elena Lichovtsewa. If successful,
Maggie will face in the second round another Russian, the
player of the 2000 (for me) Elena Dementieva. Unfortunatelly,
Maggie is not seeded. In the doubles draw Magdalena and Asa
Carlson (this is the beginning of a good doubles partnership)
will play in the first round vs Callens and Sidot, who are
seeded third. Lubomira Bacheva, however, couldn't pass the
qualifcations. In the third, deciding set she lost to the
German Andrea Glass in two sets - 3-6 4-6. However, Luba in
a pair with the Frenchwoman Caroline Dhenin passed the qualifcations,
and will face in the first round Dragomir/Elia. Good luck
to both Bulgarians there.
07, 02, 01 Grear news for Maggie. She had passed both the
singles' and the doubles' first round. In her first round
singles match, Magdalena defeated hollow the Russian Elena
Lichowtseva, giving her no chance to react. Maggie won the
match 6-1 6-1, showing a top tennis play. In the second round
Maleeva will face another Russian - Elena Dementieva. No doubt
that Maggie will win!!! Magdalena and Asa did very well together
in the doubles. They defeated the No.3 seeded pair Callens/Sidot.
Very well done Maggie!!!
09, 02 '01 Magdalena Maleeva is a hero. She had reached the
quarterfinals of both the singles and the doubles in Paris.
In the second round of the singles, Maggie defeated the No.4
seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia. That was the second successive
win over a Russian for Maleeva. Dementieva started the match
very confidently and won the first set at 2-6. "The first
set was easy and I expected the second to be the same,"
said Dementieva. However, Maggie started to play her way,
and forced Dementiva to move back and forth on the court.
Maggie won the second set 6-0, giving no chance to Dementieva.
"Maggie started playing more aggressively and I was waiting
for her to make mistakes -- which wasn't the right tactic."
was Dementieva's comment for the second set. In the third
set Magdalena found herself 1-3 down, but than she showed
top tennis play to win the next five games of the set and
the match. "I didn't start the third set well and I was
making a lot of little mistakes, but I cut them out, played
my game and that worked. I wasn't feeling tired at all,"
Maleeva said This is surely a very important win for Maggie,
because it will give her a lot of confidence for the upcomming
matches. Next she faces M. Shaughnessy ot the USA. In the
doubles Magdalena and Asa Carlson upset Dechy and Loit to
secure some new points for the doubles rank list. The other
Bulgarian there couldn't pass the first round of the doubles.
Lubomira Bacheva and Dhenin were upset 4-6 2-6 by Ruxandra
Dragomir(ROM)/Silvia Farina-Elia(ITA).
09, 02 '01 The best Bulgarian tennis player is doing very
well. Maggie Maleeva had reached her second successive semifinal
of the year. In a quarterfinal match, which lasted two hours
and twenty minutes (WOW), Maleeva upset the progressive Shuaghnessy.
Maggie lost the first set 4-6, but with a constant good play
managed to come back and win the match with 6-4 in the third
set. In the semifinals Maggie Maleeva will face Anke Huber
of Germany, who defeated Anne Kremer. Maggie had played several
times vs Huber, but their last meeting was more than a year
ago .
What helped Magdalena in this match was her steadiness .
She was quite constant, while Shaughnessy was on the opposite
- inconstant. "It was a difficult match to get through,"
she said. "But I'm very pleased with the way this year
is starting for me." . With this win Maggie will surely
break back into the top 20 of the world, probably at No.20.
Good luck Maggie!!!!
10, 02 '01 Maggie finished her performance in Paris. In a
very tough match, our top tennis player lost to Anke Huber
of Germany. The match was a two sets one, 6-4 7-5 for the
German. In the second set Maggie recovered after being 0-3
down, but couldn't make it to winning the set. Yesterday,
Maggie and Asa Carlson lost their quarterfinal match to Po
and Tauziat.
However, Magdalena is playing a very good tennis now and
she will break back in the top twenty next week, and improve
her doubles ranking as well.
Next week Maggie is playin in another French city - Nice.
The draw of Maggie is not very good, but she can manage vs
any of the Players. In the first round she plays vs Patty
Schnieder of Switzerlad. The last meeting between them was
in Luxemburg, when Maggie won. In the Nice tournament plays
as well another Bulgarian Dessislava Topalova, but in the
qualifying event. In the first round she meets Laurence Courtois.
Best of Luck!!!
06,02, 01ATP Challengers
In Dallas, USA ($50 000), Orlin Stanoytchev (No.6 seeded)
lost the first round to a Wild Card player.
Ivailo Traykov is doing very well in Poland. He had qualifyed
for the main draw of the singles for the Polish Indoors ($125
000). In the first round he will face K. Kim. Best of luck!!!
08, 02 '01 Very sad that Ivailo Traykov had lost the first
round at the Polish Indoors ($125 000). However, it was a
very tough match and Ivailo is showing a very good form now.
He lost the match after two tie-breaks in the first and in
the second set. The result is 6-7 6-7.
06,02, 01WTA Challengers
The both Bulgarians lost their matches in Instanbul. Biljana
Pavlova lost in the first round, but Radoslava Topalova reached
the semifinals, where she lost the match in three sets 7-5
5-7 1-6. In the doubles they both lost their first round matches.
In Rockford, USA($25 000), Svetlana Kriventcheva is a round
away from qualifying for the main draw of the tournament.
She is seeded second in the qualifying tournament and first
in the main draw of the doubles. She is playing with her ex-constant
partner Elena Tatarkova (they had reached the 1/8 finals at
the Australian open together). In the first round they meet
Freye/Roesch (GER).
08, 02 '01Svetlana Kriventcheva had qualifyed for the main
draw of the singles in Rockford, USA($25 000). Unfortunatelly,
she lost her first round match to the No.8 seeded Cho of Corea.
However, she and Tatarkova are still to play their first round
in the doubles.
09, 02 '01 Svetlana Kriventcheva teamed with Elena Tatarkova
had reached the quarterfinals of the Rockford, USA event.
In the first round they weared down the German pair Freye/Roesch
6-2,6-2. Now they face Jane Chi/Lioudmila Skavronskaya
Tough draw for Antoaneta Pangerova in Redbridge,Great Britain
($25 000). In the first round she will face the No.1 seeded
Amanda Hopmans of the Netherlands. However, she is in a very
good form now and I think that she will do very well there.
In the main draw of the doubles Pangerova and Daskovic play
vs Martincova/Pastikova (CZE). In the doubles play Maria Gusheva
as well.
08, 02 '01 Antoaneta Pangerova also couldn't make it to the
second round in Redbridge,Great Britain ($25 000). In the
first round she had fallen to the No.1 seeded Amanda Hopmans
of the Netherlands. It was a very tough match, which spread
to three sets. The second set went to a tie-break, which Antoanet
won 9-7. In the main draw of the doubles Pangerova and Daskovic
defeated Martincova/Pastikova (CZE) 6-2 6-4. In the doubles
quarterfinals they meet Hegedus/Zarska.
19,02, 01 Terazura Internationaux de Tennis
Well done Maggie !!! Despite the fact, that Madalena Maleeva
lost the final to Mauresmo, it was a wonderful week for the
Bulgarian tennis. Magdlena Maleeva had reached her fisrt final
of the year. The draw in Nice was a very tough one for the
Bulgarian. In the first round, she had to face Patty Schnyder
- a talented young player.
The first two matches of Maggie were very tough, they both
went to three sets. In the first round Maggie Maleeva upset
Patty Scnyder, and then struggled to win the match vs the
No.8 seeded Justine Henin, another quality player. In the
quarterfinals Magdalena faced the No.4 seeded player Elena
Dementiva. It was Maleeva to upset her last week in the Open
Gaz de France event. It was easier this time. Maggie won at
6-3 6-3.
Then came the great victory of Magdalena. In the semifinals
she faced Venus Williams, the No.3 player of the world and
No.1 seeded here in Nice. It was a tough match, but Maggie
won it. The match was close till the end, Venus strained her
right knee in the second set. However, Venus said : "I
don't think it affected the outcome of the match". Maggie
was playing the tennis of her life. "I didn't think I
could play like that" said she.
After the match vs Williams and then the doubles semifinal
match, it was probably hard for Magdalena to face Amelie Mouresmo,
a winner of last weeks Gaz de France event. "It's a pity
to finish a tournament, where I had such good results against
top players, 6-2, 6-0," Maleeva said. "But I have
to remember the week and the good memories."
And we all will, for it was a week to remember. Maggie is
in a top form now. She will give herself some weeks to rest,
and she will be ready for the next big performance. Go Maggie
>>L?eck, Germany ($25 000) - Ivaylo Traykov did very
well last week in Germany. He had reached the semifinals of
the event, before falling in three tough sets to the eventuall
winner of the tournament. The No.3rd seeded Orlin Stanoytchev
lost in the quarterfinals.
21,02, 01 Bogota, Colombia
Elena Wagner started the year very well. Her first tournament
of the year is the one in Bogota. In the first round of the
singles, she upset the qualifyer M. Ramon in three sets. The
first one was won by Ramon 0-6, but straight then she fixed
her playing to win the next two sets 6-4 6-3. In the second
round she faces Katalin Marosi-Aracama. In the doubles Elena
Wagner and Eva Martincova defeated in the first round Fujiwara/Grahame
in two tough sets. Best ot Luck to Elena!!!
Elena lost in the second round of both the singeles and the
doubles
21,02, 01Dubai
Pavlina Nola of Bulgaria was defeated in the first round
of the Dubai event. She had to play vs the No.5 seeded Tansugarn
of Thailand. This was second successive lost of Nola to Tansugarn.
This time the match went to three sets 3-6 6-1 1-6. In the
second qualifying round, the other Bulgarian - Lubomira Bacheva
- lost to Lina Krasnorutskaya. Bacheva is still in the main
draw of the doubles
Bacheva lost in the quarterfinal of the doubles
14,02, 01ATP Challengers
>>Warsteiner, Germany ($25 000) - Both Ivailo Traykov
and Orlin Stanoytchev are playing this week at the Warsteiner
Challenger. In the first round of the singles however, Ivailo
Traykov was defeated in a tough match 6-7 6-7. Orlin is the
second seeded player in this tournament.
01,03, 01Scottsdale, USA
Pavlina Nola had qulifyed for the main draw of the singles
in Scottsdale. In the first round she played vs Cara Black
from Zimbabwe, and unfortunatelly lost the match. However,
the match was quite a close one. The first set went to a tie-break,
which Pavlina lost. The second one was a tough one as well,
Pavlina lost it 5-7. In the doubles, Nola and Bovina met Capriati/Seles.
Pavlina lost this match as well. Next Pavlina Nola is playing
in Indian Wells
01,03, 01Acapulco, Colombia
Elena Wagner couldn't qualify for the main draw of the singles,
but together with her doubles partner Martincova reached the
quarterfinals of the doubles. There they were defeated by
the No.1 seeded pair Pascual/Suarez.
01,03, 01
05,03, 01Cherbourg, France
Orlin Stanoytchev had won the Cherbourg Challenger in France.
This is a great success for Orlin and it will surely help
him a lot. After playing not his top tennis for almost a year,
it seems that finaly Orlin is regaining his top form. Ranked
as high as No.32 in the beginning of the 2000, he has now
dropped out of the top 100 in both rankings of ATP. The title
in Cherbourg will add some 55 points in Orlin's rankings and
some $5400 as well. Best of luck to Orlin in the upcoming
tournaments.
12,03, 01 Indian Wells, USA
Well, Indian Wells proved to be a success for the Bulgarian
tennis. Three Bulgarians were competing in the main draw of
the singles and two of them had qualifyed as well for the
maind draw of the doubles. The first Bulgarian to play her
match was Pavlina Nola. She had played vs Petrova of Russia
and virtually lost the match. Than was Bacheva, who was announced
to be fly ill. She played vs de los Rios, but lost the match.
Both sets went to a tie- break 6-7 6-7. And than the doubles
- Bacheva and her partner Torens-Valero were defeated by Shett
and Huber in three tough sets. Maggie Maleeva and Asa Carlson
followed Lubomira's way out. They lost to Montavlo/Horn. However,
Maggie is doing very well so far in the singles. In the second
round (she had a first round bye), she had a pretty tough
match vs Putchek, but than she won vs Serna in straight sets
7-5 6-2. Next Maggie faces Serena Williams. If Maggie plays
her tennis, she will be a quarterfinalist. Go Maggie !!!
Unfortunatelly, Maggie lost her third round match 2-6 3-6
12,03, 01 Challengers
Ortisei,Italy($25 000) The tournament was not very successful
for the Bulgarians. In the first round was defeated Dessislava
Topalova in three tough sets. Antoaneta Pangerova however,
did better. In the first round she defeated Zanetti of Italy
and then another Italian - Camerin. However, the quarterfinals
were end station for Antoaneta - she was defeated by Maja
Matevzic. Paired together, Pangerova and Topalova lost in
the quarterfinals.
23rd Gerdau Tennis Cup
23.03.2001
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Maria Penkova is seeded sixth in this tournament. She had
no problems reaching the round of last 16. In the first round
she had a bye. In the second she defeated A. Sanches of Brazil
in straight sets 6-1 6-3. For a place in the quarterfinals
she will face the tenth seeded player. The other Bulgarian,
Neda Mihneva passed a round before falling to the fourth seeded
Migliarini.
The Bulgarian Yordan Kunev is doing also very well. He had
reached the quarterfinal, after some tough matches. In the
first round he had defeated Mello of Brazil in a three set
match. Then he had an easy match 6-1 6-0 vs Castanheira. His
triumph was his win over the second seeded Falla. It was quite
a tough match - 6-7 7-6 6-2. To enter the final four, Kanev
will meet Tsonga. Best of luck to him !!!
Maria Penkova and Neda Mihneva were great in the first round
of the doubles. They blew away Passini/Sanches 6-0 6-0.
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26.03.2001
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Maria Penkova reached the semifinals, before falling to the
No.1 seeded Mezak of Croatia. The match was indeed tough,
and Mezak won it at 7-5 6-4. In the doubles Penkova and Mihneva
had a tough match as well. They lost to the No.3 seeded pair
1-6 6-7. Yordan Kunev couln't make it to the semis. He was
upset by the qualifyer Tsonga 3-6 6-2 3-6.
26,03, 01 Ericsson Open, USA
Well, almost all Bulgarians are now out of the Ericsson Open
in Miami, Florida. Both Pavlin Nola and Maggie Maleeva lost
their second round matches. Pavlina Nola didn't have much
chance, because she faced Serena Williams, one of the top
tennis players now. However, Pavlin played well - didn't make
many unforced errors, served well, but Serena was much more
aggressive and won the match 6-1 6-4.
It was one of the surprises of the tournaments, that Maggie
Maleeva, No12 seeded, was upset in the second round. She had
fallen in straight sets to Marta Marerro. It wasn't Maggie's
day - she was not serving very well, played her aggressive
tennis, but made many unforced errors as well. The match ended
at 4-6 3-6 for Marerro. However, Maggie and Asa Carlson are
doing well so far in the doubles. They passed the first round
after a win over Tulyaganova/Vis with 6-3 7-6 (7-4). In the
second round they face Po and Pratt.
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27.03.2001 Maggie Maleeva and Asa Carlson lost their second
round match in the doubles. they were upset by Po/Pratt 2-6
1-6
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27,03, 01 Challengers
Bari, Italy($10 000) Maria Gusheva, who reached the finals
of the Rome event last week is now seeded second for the Bari
event. In the first round Maria will face Alexandra Vucenovic
of Yugoslavia. Best of luck to her !!!
Barletta, Italy ($25 000) - Orlin Stanoytchev is playing
this week in the Barletta Challenger. In the first round he
faces Felix Mantilla of Spain.
Makarska, Croatia($10 000) Radoslava Topalova was quite successful
in Makarska. She managed to pass the qualifications to enter
the main draw of the singles. In the first round Topalova
will face the Romanian Ciochina. In the doubles Topalova and
Kekez will play vs the No.2 seeded pair
West Palm, USA($75 000) - Two Bulgarians are playing in the
West . Svetlana Krivecheva and Pavlina Nola. Unfortunatelly,
Svetlana Kriventcheva couln't pass the singles qulifying event,
but she plays in the doubles, paired with Palaversic of Croatia.
Pavlina Nola doesn't have very good draw. In the first round
she faces the third seeded Dechy of France. Best of luck to
both of them !!!
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05, 04, 01 Pavlina Nola lost her first round match vs Dechy
(No.3 seeded). The match was quite a tough one, the second
set went to a tie-break, which Pavlina won. In the third set,
being 4-0 down, Pavlina retired.
05,04, 01 Porto,Portugal
Lubomira Bacheva is playing this week in the Porto event
in Portogal. In the first round Lubomira, who is No.98 in
this week's ranikings, won her first round match. She defeated
the local hope Ana Nogueira, who played with a Wild Card in
three sets 6-4 4-6 6-1. The draw of Lubomira is not easy.
In the second round she will face either the No.2 seeded Chanda
Rubin, or Nuria Llagostera. Lubomira Bacheva and Christina
Torrens-Valero are playing in the first round of the doubles
vs Gubasci/Zaric, who had passed the qualifications. Best
of luck to Luba !!!
05, 04, 01 Lubomira Bacheva and Christina Torrens-Valero
won their first round match in the doubles. They defeated
the qualifyers Gubasci/Zaric in three sets 7-5 3-6 6-1. In
the quarterfinals Bacheva and Valero will face Bes/Dominguez
Lino. Bacheva's second round opponent in the singles is still
unknown, as Chanda Rubin and Nuria Llagostera have not played
their matcht yet.
06,07 '01 Lubomira Bacheva is doing great in Porto. In the
second round she upset the No.2 seeded Chanda Rubin of USA
to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament. Indeed, the
match was a quite tough one only in the first set, which went
to a tie-break. Luba won it at 7-3, the next set ended 6-1
for Bacheva as well.
06,04, 01 Challengers
Makarska, Croatia($10 000) Radoslava Topalova is playing
very well now. In the first round of the tournament she defeated
Ciochina, before falling to the No.7 seeded Moldovan in three
tough sets.
Dubai, UAE($75 000) Both Antoaneta Pangerova and Dessislava
Topalova lost their matches. Dessislava lost in the first
round to Angelika Bachmann of Germany 4-6 4-6. Then Antoaneta
Pangerova, who had passed the first round was defeated by
Angelika Bachmann as well. In the doubles Pangerova and Topalova
won their first round match.
Budapest Open
Maggie Maleeva is just great. WOW, she had won the Budapest
Open the very last week. That is Maggie's first title since
Pattay in 1999, when she defeated Kremer in the final. This
time it was Kremer again, to be dereated by Maggie, the match
lasted more than 2 hours, but Magdalena won it at 3-6 6-3
6-4.
Maleeva's words before the final were that she feels confident
enough to win the title. And she did it. This was quite expected,
though, as Magdalena started the year very confidently and
successfully - she had reached the semifinals of the Tokyo
and Paris, and the finals of the Nice event, marking wins
over players as Venus Williams, Elena Dementieva and Justin
Henin. However, Maggie didn't play very well next few tournaments.
But now she is in top form again and well prepared for the
upcoming French Open.
``It is always a pleasure to be No. 1 seed in a tournament,
and I am very proud of myself,'' Maleeva said for her 8th
WTA tournament win. This will add $16 000 in her account and
more ranking points. This will give Maggie a lot of confidence
for the upcoming events.
Betty Barclay Cup, Hamburg (GER)
Elena Wagner quits, Maggie out
On a press conference at the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg,
Elena Wagner announced that she will probably quit her career
as a professional tennis player, after the Australian Open
2002.
As a principle reason for the close of her career, Elena
names the constant injuries, which prevented her to play ever
since 1999, when she was under surgery, due to Achiles injury.
"I will try to play as many tournaments as possible this
year" - says Wagner. "It makes no more fun to play
with injuries all the time. My sport spirit is still alive,
but my body refuses to participate any longer". Asked
about her best match, she says: -With the Fed Cup match (Elena
defeats Saeko, Germany retains its place in WG I) is connected
the best moment in my career. A hole life of training is worth
for such a match. She decided to announce her retirement,
because: - I have always played in Hamburg with pleasure.
That's why I decided to announce it right here. What is next?
Elena wants to be in the area of the sports marketing."
Surely, I will have more time for my hobbies and my private
life
Elena Wagner is one of the most talented Bulgarian tennis
players, she will always stay in the history of the Bulgarian
tennis as one of the best Bulgarian tennis players.
The second round of the Betty Barclay Cup was a final stop
for the No.5 seeded Magdalena Maleeva. After a tough match
in the first round vs Ruxandra Dragomir, Maggie lost in the
second round vs Jelena Dokic 1-6 1-6. Maggie and Lubomira
Bacheva lost as well the doubles - in the first round, in
a very tough match, they were upset by Sances/Serna. Next
stop for Maggie will be German Open in Berlin.
Croatian Boll
Well done Pavlina!!! Pavlina Nola defeated the No.8 seeded
Nataly Dechy of France in the second round of the Bol event
this week in Croatia. Indeed, Pavlina didn't have much problems
with Dechy, as she upset her 6-4 6-2. Next Pavlina will face
the young and promising Kim Clijsters of Belgium, who is as
well No.1 seeded in the tournament. This is the first meeting
between them. Best of luck to Nola!!!
Pavlina NOla lost quarterfinal match vs Klijsters, but she
was playing very well, especially in the first set. She made
Klijsters do most of the work, had some set points but didn't
take advantage of the lead andlet Klijfsters win the set and
than the match.
ZAGORKA GOLD CUP
The first tournament of the satellite was won by Milen Velev,
Todor Enev reached the quarterfinals. In the second tournament,
Enev and Velev had qualified for the quarterfinals as well.
Bulgarian Juniors Challengers
Taranto(USA $75 000) Biljana Pavlova did very well in the
qualifying event in Italy. She won three matches, two of them
vs seeded players - the No.5 seeded and the No.2 seeeded.
In the main draw Biljana will face Tatiana Kuvaltchuk of Ukrane.
In the doubles, she lost her first round match.
------------------------------------------------------------
German Open, Berlin (GER)
Only two Bulgarian are left in the main draw of the German
Open in Berlin in the third day of the tournament - Lubomira
Bacheva and Magdalena Maleeva.
Lubomira Bacheva played the first match of the Bulgarians.
In the first qualifying round she played vs Fusai of France.
Luba started the match very confidently, making almost no
unforced errors, playing agressively and serving very well.
She won the set 6-1. Next two sets were much more tough, Luba
continued to play agressively, but she started to make more
unforced errors as well, while Fusai played defensively, but
very confidently. However, Bacheva won the match at 6-1 6-7
7-6.
Next played Pavlina Stoyanova - also first round of the qualifications.
She faced Ells Callens of Belgium. Pavlina played very confidently
and throughout the match, she was the leader. Despite that
Callens played very powerfully, Pavlina made almost no unforced
errors to win the match 6-4 6-4.
The second round of the qualifications was quite unsuccessful
for the Bulgarians. Both Bacheva and Nola lost their matches.
Luba played very well vs Carlsson, despite the 1-6 2-6 result,
the match was a very tough one, and Luba kept fighting till
the end. Pavlina Nola played very well vs Craybas as well.
She lead 3-0 in the first set, but straight then Craybas started
to play as a machine - she was returning everything and she
was placing it very well on the court. Pavlina tried hard
to turn the match. She lost 6-7 1-6.
The first round of the doubles was very interesting. Lubomira
Bacheva and Asa Carlsson (Maggie's ex-constant partner) enjoyed
a great match vs Plischke/Graham. They won 6-1 6-1 and in
the next round they wait for the winner of the Navratilova/Sances
- Tarabini/Riera match. Elena Wagner and Tatiana Poutchek
had a great match as well. They faced the No.6 seeded Arendt/Vis.
Wagner/Poutchek took the first set very easy - 6-4, lead in
the second set 4-1, but straight then Arendt/Vis started to
play very well and won the set 6-4. The third set was a quite
tough one. Wagner and Poutschek lead again, but after some
unsuccessful games, Poutchek started to play awful, leaving
Elena do the whole work alone. Elena tried her best and she
was playing really great, keeping the smile on her face till
the very last point of the match. However, Poutschek was not
support for her and they lost the match - 6-4 4-6 6-7.
Maggie Maleeva is No.9 seeded in Berlin. Yesterday she played
her first round match vs Hrdlichkova - a replay of the last
year's first round. However, this time was Maggie's time.
The first game, Maggie served. Kveta made a break-point, but
straight then Maggie broke back and won the next service-game.
She lead 2-1. She won the first set 6-4. The next set was
a very tough one as well, Hrdlichkova won it 1-6. In the third
set Magdalena kept her play good, while Hrdlichkova started
trying more aggressive shots - the result was, that she started
to make more unforced errors. At 5-2 for Maggie, Hrdlichkova
was serving to stay in the match. Maggie made it to 40-40,
than Hrdlichkova doublefaulted. The last point of the match
was tough - Hrdlichkova kept fighting, Maggie wanted to finish
the match as soon as possible. Kveta tried a hard shot, but
virtually it went in the net. Maggie won 6-4 1-6 6-2. Next
she plays Paola Suarez of Argentina. They have played only
once - in Canberra this year, when Maggie won. Best of Luck
to Magdalena today !!!!!!!
Tennis Cup Vlaanderen 2001
Three Bulgarians are playing in Antwerp this week. Pavlina
Nola, ranked 69th is seeded seventh. She plays vs Ells Callens
in the first round. It was Pavlina to beat Callens last week
in the qualifications for the German Open. Lubomira Bacheva
had already won her first round match. She beat Evie Dominkovic
in straight sets - 6-2 6-1. Luba is playing a great tennis
now. She will face Barbara Rittner in the second round. Luba
is a last year's quarterfinalist here. Svetlana Kriventcheva
is playing only the doubles. She, paired with Henke of Germany
are playing vs Martinkova/Bes. Unfortunatelly they had lost
the first set 2-6, but are now 3-2 up in the second set. Best
of luck !!!.
Magdalena Maleeva is seeded No.8 in the event, and in the
first round she has a bye. In the second round she awaits
the winner of the Sugiyama - Schiavone match. Go Maggie !!!
Tennis Cup Vlaanderen 2001
All Bulgarians lost their matches yesterday at the Antwerp
event. The No.7 seeded Pavlina Nola lost vs Callens in 2-6
0-6. Lubomira Bacheva had a match much more tough vs Rittner.
She lost 2-6 6-7. Kriventcheva and Henke lost in the doubles
as well - 2-6 5-7 vs Martinkova/ Bes.
Challengers
ATP - Antwerp, Belgium
Orlin Stanoytchev had won his first round match in Antwerp.
He defeated the wild card player Christophe van Garsse in
straight sets ?7-5 6-2, and will face in the second round
Nikolay Davidenko.
Zagreb, Croatia ($50 000) - Ivailo Traykov is doing very
well in Zagreb. He passed three rounds to qualify for the
main draw. In the first round he will face the No.4 seeded
Jakob Diaz of Spain.
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Unfortunatelly, Ivo Traykov had lost his first round match.
It was quite a tough match and Ivo lost it at 5-7 6-4 2-6.
Best of luck to Ivailo in the upcoming events.
ROLAND GAROS
Three Bulgarians started in the qualifying event in Paris.
Dessislava Topalova, Antoaneta Pangerova and Orlin Stanoytchev
will try to enter the main draw of Roland Garos, the second
Grand Slam event of the year. In the first round of the singles
qulifying Antoaneta Pangerova faced Gloria Pizzichini and
virtually lost the match. It was quite a tough match, which
spread to three sets. Antoaneta lost the first set 2-6, but
then won the next one 7-5. However, she couldn't succeed in
winning the third deciding set and lost it at 3-6.
The other two Bulgarians had a first round success. Dessislava
Topalova had an easy match vs Tara Snyder of the USA. She
won the match in straight sets 6-3 6-1. In the next set she
will face Eva Dyrberg of Denmark. Orlin Stanoytchev also won
his first round qualifying match. He defeated Ladislav Svarc
of Slovakia. Orlin won the first set 6-3, then lead 3-0 in
the second set, before Svarc retired. Next for Orlin is Michael
Russel of the United States of America.
International Raiffeisen Grand Prix
Ivailo Traykov made his debute at a ATP tournament in Austria.
Ivailo played the qualifications, but lost the last round
vs Armando Hugo. However, he entered the main draw of the
singles as a Lucky Looser to face another qualifyer - Jan
Kroslak of Slovak Republic. And he beat him in a match, which
lasted two sets 7-6 7-5 for Ivailo. For a place in the quarterfinals
Ivailo played the No.1 seeded Ivan Lubcic. The match was a
very tough one - Ivailo lost it 2-6 7-6 6-4. However, this
is a great performance by Traykov, and hopefully he will do
very well in the future. Best of luck!!!
ROLAND GAROS
Maggie Maleeva seeded 13th
Three Bulgarians will play in the main draw of the second
Grand Slam of the year - Roland Garos. Maggie Maleeva, our
top tennis player is seeded 13th and in the first round faces
Dawn Buth of the USA. The draw of Maggie is not very tough,
her possible 1/4 final opponent will be Martina Hingis though.
If Maggie plays good, she has all the chances for a quarterfinal
here. Pavlina Nola has a good draw as well. In the first round
she will have to play a qualifyer, possible third round vs
Jennifer Capriati. Lubomira Bacheva, who is playing very well
now, faces in the first round Marian Diaz-Oliva. If successul,
Bacheva's second round opponent will be prabably Kim Clijsters,
a player that Bacheva had already beaten. Bacheva and Maggie
Maleeva will be in the doubles as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change in draw appeared - Maggie Maleeva, seeded 13th will
face in the first round Silvia Farina-Ellia, Pavlina Nola
faces Eva Bes of Spain
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In the qualifications both Orlin Stanoytchev and Dessislava
Topalova lost their matches. Orlin was upset by Michael Russel
in straight sets, while Dessislava played a match much tougher.
She lost to Eva Dyrberg 6-3 1-6 6-8.
All Bulgarians lost their matches at Roland Garos. Only Maggie
Maleeva pass a round. In the first round of the singles Maggie
lost to Silvia Farina - Elia, Pavlina Nola to Eva Bes and
Luba Bacheva to Diaz-Oliva. In the doubles, Maggie Maleeva
and Asa Carlson passed a round, before falling to Capriati/Sugiyama.
Bacheva and Torens-Valero had a tough draw, they lost to the
No.2 seeded Ruano-Pascual/ Suarez. Today Maggie lost her match
in the mixed doubles.
ROLAND GAROS
Bulgarian Juniors
The two Bulgarians who have enterd the Juniors Roland Garos
are doing very well so far. Yordan Kunev had won both his
matches - in the singles and in the doubles. In the first
round of the singles he had defeated Markus Egger of Austria
with 7-5 6-1. In the next round he will face the No.15th seeded
Alex Bogdanovic of Great Briton. In the doubles Kunev, paired
with Kovacevic of Australia defeated the Russian pair Gabashvili/Ivanov
6-1 6-3. Next they< play vs the Spaniards Carlos Cuadrado/Fernando
Verdasco. Maria Penkova didn't enter the main draw of the
singles, but she is doing pretty well in the doubles. In a
pair with Yomna Farid of Egypt, they defeated Edon / Pichet
of France. The result 6-3 6-4. They will play next vs Melissa
Torres /Angelique Widjaja
ROLAND GAROS
Yordan Kunev goes through, Penkova out.
Yordan Kunev is the only Bulgarian left in the main draw
of the Roland Garos, and he is the only one, who managed to
pass more than a round. Yesterday, Yordan defeated the No.15
seeded Bogdanovic of Great Briton in straight set. The score
is 6-3 6-3. Today, in less than some minutes starts his third
round match vs the No.2 seeded Gilles Muller of Luxemburg.
Later today, Kunev is scheduled to play his doubles match
as well. Maria Penkova was not that successful in the doubles.
She and her partner were defeated in straight sets.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yordan Kunev had just finished his third round match vs the
No.2 seeded Gustav Muller of Luxemburg. Kunev won it in straight
sets and thus qualifyed for the quarterfinals. This is a great
success for Yordan, and surely will help him a lot. In the
quarterfinals he will face Lamine Ovahab of Algere. Yordan
is yet to play his second round in the doubles. DAVIS CUP
BUL. d NAM 3-0
Bulgarian Davis cup team did very well vs Namibia. In the
singles Ivo Bratanov defeated Enrico de Plessi 5-4 (6) 4-0
4-0, Milen Velev was even more convincing vs Jochan Terron
4-1 4-0 4-0. In the doubles, Todor Enev in a pair with Milen
Velev, defeated the Namibian pair 4-0 4-2 0-4 4-0. Next Bulgaria
plays vs Togo and then vs Macedonia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bulgaria qualifyed for the II Group of the Euro-African Zone
of the Davis Cup event. Bulgaria finished the competition
at first place in the group, we won all matches. With this
team, Bulgaria has all the chances to qualify for the first
group.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compaq Challeger - Orlin Stanoytchev had reached the quarterfinals
of the Compaq Challenger in Bukarest, Romania. In the first
round he defeated the No.1 seeded Hantschk of Germany. For
a place in the semifinals, Stanoytchev will face Alvarez of
Spain, No.5 seeded.
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Biela, Italy - Svetlana Kriventcheva lost her first round
match in the singles, but with her partner Volakova are doing
very well in the doubles. They are seeded second, and had
reached the semifinals, losing only 8 games. In the semifinals
thy will face the sisters Klemenschitz of Austria.
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Warsaw, Poland - Bilyana Pavlova did very well in Warsaw.
She had reached the quarterfinals of the event, before falling
to Ciochina (No.4 seeded).
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06.06 '01 Ankara, Turkey($10 000)- Some five Bulgarians started
this week in the Ankara ITF tournament. Nadejda Vassileva,
Neda Mihneva, Elena Gancheva and Nikolina Hrankova had to
go through the qualifications. They all did it, exept Nikolina
Hrankova, who lost in the first round of the qualifying event.
In the main draw of the singles Neda Mihneva had the bad luck
to play the No.1 seeded Vesenjak and lost the match. Nadejda
Vassileva and Elena Gancheva had to play one vs another, the
winner of the all Bulgarian match was Gancheva. One more Bulgarian,
Dimana Krustevic, who is seeded 6th, passed the first round.
In the next round Gancheva faces Woerle of Germany, and Krustevic
- Savaransky. In the doubles Elena Gancheva is paired with
Nadejda Vassileva, Neda Mihneva with Monica Mastan of Romania,
and Nikolina Hrankova with Dimana Krustevic.
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06.06 '01 Fuerth, Germany($50 000)- Orlin Stanoytchev lost
in the first round to the second seeded Stoilarov in straight
sets. Ivailo Traykov played the qualifications, but couldn't
pass a round.
DFS Classic, Birmingham, England
Only Lubomira Bacheva plays on a main event this week. She
has entered the main draw of the Birmingham event, where in
the first round, she lost to the native WC player Lorna Woodroffe.
The match was a quite tough one, spread in three sets, the
one of which lasted to a tie-break. The result - 3-6 7-5 6-7.
Lubomira plays the doubles as well. She is paired with Maria
Vento. In the first round thy meet Hiraki(JPN)/Stevenson (USA).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.06 '01 Marseille,France ($50 000)- Antoaneta Pangerova
plays in the main draw of the Marseille event this week. In
the first round she will face a wild card player - Emanuelle
Edon of France. If successful, Pangerova will meet in the
second round possibly the No.1 seeded player. Antoaneta is
seeded in the doubles. She and her partner Camerin of Italy
are seeded fourth and in the first round they play vs Koukalova
/ Vakoulenko.
14-06.01 Marseille,France ($50 000)- Antoaneta Pangerova is
doing very well so far in France. In both the singles and
doubles she had won her first round matches. Pangerova did
not had many difficulties in her first round singles match
- she upset the Frenchwoman Emanuelle Edon in straight sets.
In the doubles, Antoaneta her partner Camerin of Italy, seeded
fourth, defeated in the first round Koukalova / Vakoulenko
in three sets. Pangerova plays in the second round vs Vakulenko,
who upset the No.1 seeded player.
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12.06 '01 Weiden, Germany($50 000)- Orlin Stanoytchev and
Ivaylo Traykov play in the Germany this week. Orlin Stanoytchev
plays in the firs round vs Julian Alonso. Ivaylo Traykov lost
his second round match in the qualifications 14.06 '01 Weiden,
Germany($50 000)- Orlin Stanoytchev lost his first round match
in Germany. He was defeated by Julian Alonso in straight sets.
14.06 '01 Tallin, Estonia($25 000)- Miaria Gusheva-Geznenge
did the surprise of the $25 000 event in Estonia. In the first
round of the singles, Maria managed to upset the No.2 seeded
Eva Krejcova of the Chech Republic. In the second round Maria
faces Van Exel of the Netherlands. Geznenge plays the doubles
as well.
DFS Classic, Birmingham, England
After her first round loss in the singles, Bacheva is now
out of the doubles as well. She and Vento loss to Hariaki
/ Stevenson in a quite tough match.
Eastbourne, Great Briton
Maggie Maleeva has a good draw in Eastbourne. She is seeded
4, with only Tauziat better seeded than her in her part o
of the draw. In the first round Maggie has received a bye,
and in the second round she will face the winner of the Frazier
- Serna match. Seeded players in her part of the draaw are
also Shaughnessy and Testud. Maggie Maleeva plays the doubles
as well. She is paried with Farina-Ellia. In the qualifications
of the tournament Svetlana Kriventcheva lost in the first
round, to the second seeded Vavirnec.
Heineken Trophpy, The Netherlands
Pavlina Nola had a tough match vs the No7 seeded Panova of
Russia in the Netherlands. She lost it, but it was quite a
good preparation for Wimbledon, for it was a really tough
match and Panova won it with 7-5 in the third set. Bachava
and Torrens-Valero also lost their first round match in the
doubles.
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Challengers - 19-06.01
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Both Maria Gusheva and Antoaneta Pangerova lost their second
round matches in the ITF tournaments last week.
Maggie Maleeva seeded 12 at Wimbledon
Maggie Maleeva is seeded 12 at the Wimbledon event in Great
Briton next week. She has a pretty good draw - in the first
round she faces a qualifyer, her probable 1/8 finals opponent
is Serena Williams, if both reach the semifinals. Pavlina
Nola (NZL) will play in the first round vs a qualifier and
if successful - a meeting with the Roland Garos runner up
Kim Clijsters in the second round. Bacheva also plays vs a
qualifyer, her probable second round opponent is Amelie Mouresmo
of France. In the qualifications all Bulgarians lost their
matches - Ivailo Traykov, Antoaneta Pangerova and Dessislava
Topalova were all upset in the first round of the qualifications.
Wimbledon, Great Briton
Maggie Maleeva plays her first round match today. She is
the only Bulgarian to play today. Her match is second on court
seven, Maleeva faces Clarisa Fernandez of Argentina. Maggie
Maleeva plays in the doubles as well. She is paired with Asa
Carlson - in the first round they take on Justine Henin and
Magui Serna. Bacheva plays in the first round of the singles
vs the qualifyer Elena Daniiliodou, while Pavlina Nola faces
Maureen Drake of Canada. Bacheva plays in the doubles as well.
She is paired with Torrens-Valero.
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Maggie Maleeva did great in the first round of the Wimbledon.
She upset the qualifyer Clarisa Fernandez of Argentina. Maggie
won the match in straight sets, giving no chance to Clarisa
to react. The result of the match is 6-0 6-2 for Maleeva.
The other Bulgarians are yet to play
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26-06'01 Lubomira Bacheva and Pavlina Nola play their matches
today. First to play is Pavlina Nola. Her match is scheduled
second on court 15, straight after that is the match of Lubomira
Bacheva on the same court. NOla faces Drake, Bacheva - Daniliidou
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27-06'01 Court 15 proved to be unsuccessful for the Bulgarians.
Both Pavlina Nola (NZL) and Lubomira Bacheva lost their matches
yesterday on court 15. It was Pavlina Nola to lose first.
She was upset by M. Drake of Canada in straight sets - 3-6
2-6. Then Bacheva lost to Danaiilidou of Greece in three sets
-0-6 6-3 3-6. Today Maggie Maleeva plays her second round
match on court 3 - this is the third scheduled match on this
court. Lubomira Bacheva and Torrens-Valero are playin on court
9 vs Habsudova/Hantuchova. This is the last scheduled match.
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29-06'01 Maggie Maleeva is through to the 1/8 finals of the
Wimbledon. Well done Maggie. In the second round, Maleeva
had a pretty tough match vs Bovina, which she won 7-5 7-5.
In the same day she lost her doubles match (with A. Carlsson),
but today she has won her third round singles match, defeating
Ami Frazier of the USA in straight sets. Next Maggie will
face Serena Williams.
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03-07'01 Maggie Maleeva lost her 1/8 final match at Wimbledon.
Serena Williams played great, and gave Maggie no chance. However,
Maleeva did great besting her performance at Wimbledon.
Wimbledon, Great Briton
The last Bulgarian left at Wimbledon is Yordan Kunev, who
reached the quarterfinals of the doubles event in the juniors
competition. Despite his lost in the first round of the singles,
Yordan is doing very well so far in the doubles. He plays
his quarterfinal match today from about 16.30 CET on court
3. Kunev is paired with Goran Kovacevic of Australia, they
meet the No.8 seeded Lapenti/Dancevic
05-07'01 ITF Women Tournaments:
? Los Gatos, USA ($50 000) - Svetlana Kriventcheva is playing
both the singles and the doubles of the event. In the first
round of the singles, she plays vs Morigami of Japan, in the
doubles, paired with Li (CHI), faces Inoue/Inoue of Japan.
?Obretello, Italy ($50 000 + H) - Lubomira Bacheva is seeded
fourth in the singles, and first in the doubles. She had already
won her first round singles match, defeating Sandra Kleinova
of the Chech Republic in straight sets - 7-5 6-1. In the doubles,
Bacheva and Courtois face Diaz-Oliva/De los Rios.
?Vaihingen,Germany ($25 000) Antoaneta Pangerova is seeded
8th in the singles event ot the tournament. In the first round
she faces Adrian Barna. Pangerova plays the doubles as well.
She is seeded fourth, plays with Daskovic.
?Lido Di Camaiore,Italy Dimana Krusteveic lost in the first
round of the singles event. She was defeated by the qualifyer
Dizdar in three tough sets. She plays in the doubles as well.
Nikolina Hrankova plays in the double of the event as well.
Maggie Maleeva - the only Bulgarian in the main draw of the
'Us Open'
Maggie Maleeva will be the only competitor of Bulgaria in
the main draw of the singles at the US Open. Maggie is seeded
15th and in the first round she will face K. Hrdlichkova.
Maleeva and Hrdlichkova had played three times one vs another,
the last one of which was at the German Open'01, when Maggie
won in three tough sets. However, this match was on clay,
which is for sure not Maggie's surface. It will be a tough
match, but Us Open is Maleeva's Grand Slam event.
If successful, Maggie will have a nice draw at least to the
quarterfinals - possible third round match vs Barbara Schett
and a quarterfinal vs Jeniffer Capriati (seeded second). If
Maleeva plays her game, she will surely enjoy a successful
Us Open.
The draw of Pavlina Nola (NZL) is much tougher. In the first
round she takes on the No. 5 seeded Kim Clijsters. They have
played only once, at Bol this year, when Kim won in two sets.
It was a tough match then.
All other Bulgarians - Bacheva, Pangerova and Topalova could
not qualify.
Lubomira Bacheva, however, plays the doubles with Torrns-Valero.
In the first round, they face Poutchek/Perebyinis. Maggie
Maleeva and Asa Carlson have much tougher draw. In the first
round they will play vs Wartusch/Manudula, but in the second
round it is the No.1 seeded Raymond/Stubbs to wait for them.
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29-08'01 Maggie Maleeva crushed Hrdlichkova in straight sets
6-2 6-1, which is a great result for our Maggie. In the second
round Maleeva will play vs A. Molik of Australia. The last
meeting between them was some almost two years ago, when Maggie
won 6-1 6-0. Go Maggie
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Denain, France ($50 000)
Lubomora Bacheva did great in Denain, France. Bacheva played
very well and reached the finals of the event, where she lost
to Celine Beigbeder of France. Bacheva was seeded second in
the tournament (which she has already won once) and on her
way to the finals, she lost only one set. Very well done,
Luba !!!
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Ei Bank Bulgarian Challenger ($25 000 + H)
There are five Bulgarians in the main draw of the biggest
men's event in Bulgaria - the Ei Bank Bulgarian Challenger.
Orlin Stanoytchev and the former champion Ivailo Traykov have
ranking good enough, while Todor Enev, Illia Kishev and Radoslav
Lukaev received "wild cards" for the main draw.
After the first day of the tournament, only Todor Enev made
it to the second round. He played vs Haehnel of France (No.6
seeded) and defeated him in straight sets 6-4 6-4. Ivailo
Traykov also played, but he lost his match to Saoudi (FRA)
in three tough sets. Traykov won the first set with the smashing
6-1, but then after he lost the tie-break in the second set,
lost the third deciding set as well.
Radoslav Lukaev has a tough draw. He has to play in the first
round vs the second seeded Stefano Galvani of Italy, Ilia
Kushev will play vs another Bulgarian - the fifth seeded Stanoytchev.
In the doubles, the Bulgarians are much more. Todor Enev
is paired with Ilia Kushev, Radoslav Lukaev plays with Luben
Pampulov (AUT), Ivo Bratanov and Yordan Kunev had already
lost their match to Tolev (BUL)/Smole (SLO). Orlin Stanoythev
and Ivailo Traykov are playing vs Dimiter Pamukchian (BUL)/
Mitko Blagoev(AUT). There are two Bulgarian pairs more: Angel
Diankov/Peter Kirilov and Donik Arabyan/Viktor Ivanchev.
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Bordeaux, France($75 000)
Lubomira Bacheva is seeded seventh in Bordeaux, France. She
has a pretty good draw. In the first round plays vs a qualifier,
and her probable quarterfinals opponent will be Emili Loit
of France. In the doubles Bacheva plays vs Dhenin, they are
seeded third. Their first round opponents are Berger/Ghirardi.
Peachtree, USA($25 000)
Svetlana Kriventcheva is seeded second in the tournament.
In the first round she plays vs a qualifier. In the doubles,
Kriventcheva and Miller play vs Chapman/Trail
Big Island Championships
Pavlina Nola will face in the first round of the tournament
Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, who plays with a wild card.
Pavlina will also compete in the doubles event. She is paired
with Aniko Karpos of Hungary. In the first round they meet
the No.3 seeded Arantxa Sances-Vikario and Rachel McQuillan.
>> Maggie Maleeva is doing very well so far in Leipzig,
Germany. Magdalena is seeded 6th and in the first round she
was playing vs Denitsa Chladkova of The Chech Republic. Maggie
won this match in straight sets 6-3 6-3. In both sets, whe
allowed an early break on her serve, but Magdalena menaged
to down Chladkova with heavy grandstrokes.
Magie said:
"I played a very good match and served very well,"
said Maleeva. "It was a tough first round but I made
it easy by playing well."
In the second round, Maleeva faced the Russian qualifier
T. Panova. This match proved to be a bit harder, Maggie won
it in the third set. After an easy first set, Magdalena struggled
and lost the second one. She had to work hard to win the third
sets.
Maggie's comment on the match:
"Perhaps I was less aggressive today but she played very
well at times," Maleeva said. "We had a couple of
long games in the third set but I won most of the important
points."
Next Maggie will play a Russian, either Ana Kournikova or
Anastasiya Musskina.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>> Albuquerque,USA ($75 000) Svetlana
Kriventcheva won her first round match in the main draw of
the singles. She defeated Nana Miyagi of Japan in straight
sets 6-3 6-1. In the second round Svetlana will face Maria
Vento-Kabchi of Vencuela. Svetlana will play the doubles as
well
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Batumi, Gerogia ($ 75 000) Dessislava Topalova
and Antoaneta Pangerova are playing in Batumi this week. In
the first round of the singles, Dessislava beat Fitz in straight
sets 6-2 6-3. Pangerova, however, was not that lucky, she
lost her first round match to the fifth seeded Marosi Arakama.
Pangerova and Topalova are paired together in the doubles.
The last some weeks were very successful for the Bulgarian
tennis.
Firstly, Maggie Maleeva, one of the best players of the world
regained her top form (or better say, played very well indoors,
her fave surface). She reached the finals of Leipzig one of
her top tournaments, where she never exited before the quarterfinals.
On her way to the finals, she upset Natalie Tauziat, a very
great player, seeded second and No.10 in the world. Maggie
said:"I hope that this year it will be better, then in
1995 I was unable to play, because I had some injury (or stomachaches).
It is wonderful that I beat Natalie, this was my first win
over her. It is sad that she retires, because she still plays
great." The match between Maggie Maleeva and Natalie
Tauziat was the hit match of the tournament, it was named
a "classic match" and it summoned more than 6000
people, all tickets were sold.
In the final, Maggie played good, but Kim Clijsters was great,
she was hitting winner after another, giving Maggie no chance
at all. However, it was a great moment for Maleeva and the
Bulgarian tennis. "It is understandable that I am disappointed,
but Kim gave me no chance today, she played without mistakes.
However, I am very happy from this week in Leipzig" Maggie
said.
This is the profile of Magdalena, that appeared on the tournament's
website
For Magdalena Maleeva Leipzig is always a good tournament.
Till now she played seven times, four times she was quarterfinalist
here (1992,1993,1996,2000) and two times finalist (1995,2001).
A very dynamic player on the tour, always nice and in a good
mood, and above all - with top performaces in Leipzig. That's
why, she is one of the favourite players in Leipzig"
said the tournament boss Henner Ziegfeld. Her 26 years give
her the knowledge of a veteran, this year she completed her
13th saison as a profi-player. She won more than $2.5 mln,
was once No.4 in the world, won 8 WTA titles and reached the
quarterfinals of the Us Open in 1992, took part in the Olympia
games in 1992 and 1996, was a player of the Bulgarian Fed
Cup team. This saison, she reached the finals in Nice, semifianal
in the Pan Pacific Open and took her 8th title in Budapest.
The next tournament that Magdalena played was in Moscow,
where she upset Anke Huber of Germany in straight sets. For
this win, she gained 23 points bonus. In the second round,
Maggie fell to the shooting Myskina, who entered the draw
with an wild card, but menaged to the semifinals.
Then it was some great performance of Lubomira Bacheva. She
reached the finals in Denain, France. In this tournament she
was seeded second. Next week in Bordeaux, France ($75 000),
she showed some great improvement of her tennis, winning the
tournament. She was seeded seventh, on her way to the title,
she upset two seeded players. The second seeded Emilie Loit
of France in the quarterfinals, and then the fifth seeded
Smashnova of Israel in the finals. Ever since, she reached
at least the quarterfinals of the tournaments she was taking
part in.
Another pleasent surprise was the play of Pavlina Nola in
Japan. She reached the quarterfinals in Japan, matching the
end (hopefully) of her not so brilliant performance this year.
In the second round, Pavlina did a surprise, upsetting Nataly
Dechy of France.
Our men's tennis is doing very well as well. The new tennis
generation, Todor Enev and Radoslav Lukaev, are doing great
so far. Todor Enev had reached the quarterfinal of the Bulgarian
open, some weeks ago. He played with an wild card and eventually
beating the 6th seeded Haehnel in the first round. Then in
Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Enev had also reached the quarterfinals.
In the second round he upset Denis Golovanov of Russia. All
those wins will help Todor Enev improve his ranking.
Radoslav Lukaev had some great moments as well. In Kamnik,
Slovenia Lukaev had reached the semifinals. On his way, he
upset the fourth and the fifth seede players of the tournament,
before falling to the No.1 seeded Mazarakis of Greece. Lukaev
fully met the expectations of the organizers, who gave him
an wild card
Enev, Velev and Kushev in action this week
In Greece, Milen Velev and Ilia Kushev are playing a $10 000
Futures event. Velev is seeded second, while Kushev is the
8th seeded. In the first round of the singles, Milen defeated
hollow, the Greek Lefteris Alexiou in straight sets 6-1 6-1.
The first round was not so easy for Kushev, however. Despite
being seeded, he lost to Sproga 3-6 5-7. Milen and Ilia are
in a team for the doubles. Seeded third, they had defeated
an Austrian pair.
Todor Enev is still in Uzbekistan. There he plays a $15 000
Futures. He is seeded fourth, in the first round defeated
the native player Inoyatov in two easy sets 6-1 6-4. He had
a win in the first round of the doubles as well.
The last some weeks were very successful for the Bulgarian
tennis.
Firstly, Maggie Maleeva, one of the best players of the world
regained her top form (or better say, played very well indoors,
her fave surface). She reached the finals of Leipzig one of
her top tournaments, where she never exited before the quarterfinals.
On her way to the finals, she upset Natalie Tauziat, a very
great player, seeded second and No.10 in the world. Maggie
said:"I hope that this year it will be better, then in
1995 I was unable to play, because I had some injury (or stomachaches).
It is wonderful that I beat Natalie, this was my first win
over her. It is sad that she retires, because she still plays
great." The match between Maggie Maleeva and Natalie
Tauziat was the hit match of the tournament, it was named
a "classic match" and it summoned more than 6000
people, all tickets were sold.
In the final, Maggie played good, but Kim Clijsters was great,
she was hitting winner after another, giving Maggie no chance
at all. However, it was a great moment for Maleeva and the
Bulgarian tennis. "It is understandable that I am disappointed,
but Kim gave me no chance today, she played without mistakes.
However, I am very happy from this week in Leipzig" Maggie
said.
This is the profile of Magdalena, that appeared on the tournament's
website
For Magdalena Maleeva Leipzig is always a good tournament.
Till now she played seven times, four times she was quarterfinalist
here (1992,1993,1996,2000) and two times finalist (1995,2001).
A very dynamic player on the tour, always nice and in a good
mood, and above all - with top performaces in Leipzig. That's
why, she is one of the favourite players in Leipzig"
said the tournament boss Henner Ziegfeld. Her 26 years give
her the knowledge of a veteran, this year she completed her
13th saison as a profi-player. She won more than $2.5 mln,
was once No.4 in the world, won 8 WTA titles and reached the
quarterfinals of the Us Open in 1992, took part in the Olympia
games in 1992 and 1996, was a player of the Bulgarian Fed
Cup team. This saison, she reached the finals in Nice, semifianal
in the Pan Pacific Open and took her 8th title in Budapest.
The next tournament that Magdalena played was in Moscow,
where she upset Anke Huber of Germany in straight sets. For
this win, she gained 23 points bonus. In the second round,
Maggie fell to the shooting Myskina, who entered the draw
with an wild card, but menaged to the semifinals.
Then it was some great performance of Lubomira Bacheva. She
reached the finals in Denain, France. In this tournament she
was seeded second. Next week in Bordeaux, France ($75 000),
she showed some great improvement of her tennis, winning the
tournament. She was seeded seventh, on her way to the title,
she upset two seeded players. The second seeded Emilie Loit
of France in the quarterfinals, and then the fifth seeded
Smashnova of Israel in the finals. Ever since, she reached
at least the quarterfinals of the tournaments she was taking
part in.
Another pleasent surprise was the play of Pavlina Nola in
Japan. She reached the quarterfinals in Japan, matching the
end (hopefully) of her not so brilliant performance this year.
In the second round, Pavlina did a surprise, upsetting Nataly
Dechy of France.
Our men's tennis is doing very well as well. The new tennis
generation, Todor Enev and Radoslav Lukaev, are doing great
so far. Todor Enev had reached the quarterfinal of the Bulgarian
open, some weeks ago. He played with an wild card and eventually
beating the 6th seeded Haehnel in the first round. Then in
Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Enev had also reached the quarterfinals.
In the second round he upset Denis Golovanov of Russia. All
those wins will help Todor Enev improve his ranking.
Radoslav Lukaev had some great moments as well. In Kamnik,
Slovenia Lukaev had reached the semifinals. On his way, he
upset the fourth and the fifth seede players of the tournament,
before falling to the No.1 seeded Mazarakis of Greece. Lukaev
fully met the expectations of the organizers, who gave him
an wild card
