ASB Classic – Auckland, New Zealand
Article by VTennis.co.uk
Some players chose to go to play in the ASB Classic in Auckland rather than go to Brisbane. The New Zealand tournament ran from January 3rd to 8th 2011.
The Womens International Tennis Event grew from humble beginnings to the currently sold-out event. When it was first held in 1985 there had not been any Women’s International Tennis events in Auckland for 5 years.
The first tournament was held from December 10-15 1985 and was played on grass courts. It was included in the 1986 WTA Year and it was won by the British player Anne Hobbs. The 1987 event was played on hard courts with a 64 player main draw.
There was a very classy line-up for 2011 with Maria Sharapova as top seed and Defending Champion Yanina Wickmayer as number 2.
The full line-up of seeds were:
1. Maria Sharapova2. Yanina Wickmayer3. Svetlana Kuznetsova4. Julia Goerges5. Kimiko Date6. Elena Vesnina 7. Sofia Arvidsson8. Carla Suarez Navarro
The first round upset was caused by Wild Card entry Kateryna Bondarenko who knocked out 5th seed Kimiko Date Krumm 6-4/6-3.
British teenager Heather Watson came through qualifying to reach the main draw. She knocked out fellow qualifier Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in the first round 6-1/6-1. She then went on to defeat 8th seed Suarez Navarro 7-6(5)/6-1 to reach the Quarter Final where she lost to Shuai Peng of China, who had just knocked out the 3rd seed Kuznetsova.
Unseeded Hungarian player Greta Arn was to cause the biggest upset in the Championships. She ended Number 1 seed Shaparova’s run by beating her 6-2/7-5 in the Quarter Final, then knocked out 4th seed Julia Goerges 7-6(3) /6-3 in the Semi Final to line up a final against Defending Champion Yanina Wickmayer.
Arn played the match of her life to become the new Champion defeating her opponent 6-3/6-3. When she went to Auckland she was ranked 88 in the world, as of March 7th 2011 she is 53 in the world and one to watch in the future.
About the Author
VTennis.co.uk go now for more information on Yanina Wickmayer, Heather Watson and Julia Goerges for female tennis player biographies.
