Dinara Safina
Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the 2009 French Open, falling to Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, respectively. She had success at Grand Slam events in women's doubles by winning the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She also won the Olympic silver medal in women's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Safina retired in 2014 after a lengthy absence from the tour since 2011 due to an ongoing back injury. She is the younger sister of former world No. 1 men's player Marat Safin. The brother–sister pair are the first to both achieve No. 1 rankings. Biography Early life Safina was born in Moscow to Tatar parents. Her mother Rauza Islanova was her trainer when she was younger; while her father is director of the Spartak tennis club in Mosc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2009 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated Dinara Safina in the final, 6–0, 6–3 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2009 Australian Open. It was her fourth Australian Open singles title and her tenth major singles title overall. With the win, Williams regained the world No. 1 ranking. Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but withdrew from the tournament due to a recurring shoulder injury. This was also the first Australian Open to feature three Russian semifinalists, those being Safina, Vera Zvonareva and Elena Dementieva. Seeds Qualifying Draw Finals Top half Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Bottom half Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 Section 8 Championship match statistics External links 2009 Australian Open – Women's draws and resultsat the International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the Internation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to a larger district, the Monte Carlo Quarter (corresponding to the former municipality of Monte Carlo), which besides Monte Carlo/Spélugues also includes the wards of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins and Saint Michel. The permanent population of the ward of Monte Carlo is about 3,500, while that of the quarter is about 15,000. Monaco has four traditional quarters. From west to east they are: Fontvieille (the newest), Monaco-Ville (the oldest), La Condamine, and Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo is situated on a prominent escarpment at the base of the Maritime Alps along the French Riviera. Near the quarter's western end is the "world-famous Place du Casino, the gambling center ... that has ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles
Serena and Venus Williams defeated Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the final, 6–2, 6–2 to win the ladies' doubles tennis title at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. It was their third Wimbledon title together and seventh major title together overall, and they won the title without dropping a set. The Williams sisters played against each other in the singles final as well, in which Venus emerged victorious. Cara Black and Liezel Huber were the defending champions but lost in the semifinals to Raymond and Stosur. Seeds Cara Black / Liezel Huber ''(semifinals)'' Ai Sugiyama / Katarina Srebotnik ''(second round)'' Květa Peschke / Rennae Stubbs ''(third round)'' Chan Yung-jan / Chuang Chia-jung ''(first round)'' Anabel Medina Garrigues / Virginia Ruano Pascual ''(third round)'' Victoria Azarenka / Shahar Pe'er ''(quarterfinals)'' Alona Bondarenko / Kateryna Bondarenko ''(withdrew)'' Peng Shuai / Sun Tiantian ''(first round)'' Yan Zi / Zheng Jie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian inactive professional tennis player. She is a two-time major singles champion, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. In doubles, Kuznetsova reached the finals of each major at least once, winning the Australian Open twice. Kuznetsova moved to Spain at the age of seven to attend the Sanchez-Casal Academy. In 2001, she first took part in a WTA Tour tournament, the Madrid Open, and a year later won her first WTA Tour title at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Helsinki, Finland. Her first appearance at a major was at the 2002 Australian Open, and her first major title came at the 2004 US Open over countrywoman Elena Dementieva, making her the third Russian woman to win a major title (after Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova earlier that year). Kuznetsova's second major singles title was the 2009 French Open, defeating compatriot Dinara Safina in the final. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks, including a joint-record 186 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. She won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time. Along with her older sister Venus, Serena Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams. Turning professional in 1995, she won her first major singles title at the 1999 US Open. From the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open, she was dominant, winning all four major singles titles (each time over Venus in the final) to achieve a non-calendar year Grand Slam and the career Grand Slam, known as the 'Serena Slam'. The next few years saw her claim two more singles majors, but suffer from inju ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ana Ivanovic
Ana Schweinsteiger ( sr, Ана Швајнштајгер / ''Ana Švajnštajger''; born 6 November 1987), professionally known by her birth name Ana Ivanovic (Ана Ивановић / ''Ana Ivanović'', ), is a Serbian former world No. 1 tennis player. She gained the top ranking in 2008 after she won the 2008 French Open, and held it for a total of 12 weeks. She was also the runner-up at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open, losing to Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova respectively. She qualified for the year-end WTA Tour Championships three times, in 2007, 2008 and 2014 and won the year-end WTA Tournament of Champions twice, in 2010 and 2011. Ivanovic won 15 WTA Tour singles titles, and one Grand Slam singles title, the French Open in 2008. Additionally during this time, she earned over $15.5 million in prize money, which is the 25th highest in the all-time rankings. In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Futu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2009 French Open
The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 113th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 24 through June 7, 2009. Rafael Nadal and Ana Ivanovic were the defending champions. Both failed to defend their titles, losing to Robin Söderling and Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round, respectively. Nadal's loss to Söderling was his first defeat in the tournament since debuting in 2005, and would remain his sole loss at the tournament until the 2015 French Open. Söderling proceeded to defeat Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando González on his way to the final, where he was defeated by Roger Federer. By winning the French Open, Federer equalled Pete Sampras' then-record of 14 Grand Slam titles, and completed his Career Grand Slam by winning the tournament; he had lost the previous three finals to Nadal. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the runner-up to J ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2009 Australian Open
The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The tournament is remembered for containing many notable matches of the 2009 year,10 most memorable matches of 2009 www.tennis.com including the Nadal v Verdasco semi final and the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 112th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 25 May until 8 June 2008. Justine Henin did not defend her trophy due to her retirement from the sport on May 14. Ana Ivanovic, the runner-up to Henin in 2007, won the Women's Singles. On the men's side, Rafael Nadal won the Men's Singles, and equalled Björn Borg's record of four consecutive French Open titles in the Open Era. Other competitions included men and women's doubles, junior singles and doubles as well as wheelchair and 'veteran' competitions. The 2008 edition marked the first time in the Open Era no American man or woman reached the singles' quarterfinals at Roland Garros. Notable stories Justine Henin's retirement On May 14, 2008, less than two weeks before the start of the 2008 French Open, defending champion and world No. 1 Justine Hen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 28 sports and 302 events, one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics. This was the first time China had hosted the Olympic Games, and the third time the Summer Olympic Games had been held in East Asia, following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. These were also the second Summer Olympic Games to be held in a communist state, the first being the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union (with venues in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Estonia). Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after two rounds o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tennis At The Summer Olympics
Tennis was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics due to disputes between the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the International Olympic Committee over how to define amateur players. After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984 (with a U-21 age limit), it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics open for all players regardless of their age and status and has been played at every summer Games since then. In 1896, 1900, 1904, 1988, 1992, semifinal losers shared bronze medals. In all other years, a playoff match for the bronze medal was staged. From the 2004 until the 2012 Summer Olympics, results from the Olympics had ranking points that the ATP and WTA added to their players' annual totals in singles for that calendar year. This was discontinued beginning with the 2016 Summer Olympics. While the number of ranking points did not equate with those ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis. It had close connections both to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis. The rules of modern tennis have ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |