Saudi Arabia welcomes trilateral border treaty between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan    Trump prepares to unveil sweeping new US tariffs on 'Liberation Day'    At least 22 civilians killed in Israeli strike on UNRWA clinic in Gaza    UK says it won't jump into US trade war as Starmer urges calm response to tariffs    Russia, Ukraine trade fresh accusations of violating US-brokered energy ceasefire deal    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Over 1 million pilgrims benefit from golf cart service at Grand Mosque during Ramadan    Visitors welcomed with Eid initiative at Thee Ain Heritage Village in Al-Baha    Tebuk emir reviews rain response in Tayma    Saudi Arabia considers rent cap as part of major real estate reforms    Messi's bodyguard banned from touchline at Inter Miami games    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Haramain High-Speed Railway transports over 1.2 million passengers during Ramadan    Saudi Transport Authority says passengers can ride for free if taxi meters are off    Ministry of Education forms 425 community partnerships with SR653 million impact    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Pavlyuchenkova ousts Safarova
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 10 - 2015

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia ousted second-seeded Lucie Safarova from the Kremlin Cup 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-3 Wednesday, reducing the Czech player's chances of making the season-ending WTA Finals.
Safarova's second-round loss guaranteed a spot in Singapore next week for Germany's Angelique Kerber.
The last two spots were still up for grabs, and US Open champion Flavia Pennetta also was in Moscow in hope of securing one of them. She advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 win Wednesday over Daria Gavrilova of Russia.
After easily taking the first set, Pavlyuchenkova went up 5-2 in the second, but then lost the next three games and failed to convert her only match point in the set with Safarova serving at 6-5. She double-faulted on her opponent's first set point in the tiebreaker. Reclaiming control in the decider, the Russian got the win when Safarova hit a volley long.
Pavlyuchenkova, last year's winner in Moscow, stretched her unbeaten streak in indoor hard court events to 17 matches. She also won in Paris last year and clinched her first title of this season on Sunday in Linz.
In the quarterfinals, she will play her first match against fellow Russian Margarita Gasparyan, who upset ninth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-2, 6-3.
Sixth-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic kept her hopes alive for a place at the season-ending WTA finals with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7) win over Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru Tuesday.
Fifth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain also stayed in the hunt by defeating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-4, 7-5 in a second-round match.
In the men's competition, sixth-seeded Borna Coric was upset by Evgeny Donskoy of Russia, ranked No. 118 in the world, who only faced one break point against the Croatian.
Trailing 4-1 in the third set, Dulgheru took the next four games and hung on to force the match into a tiebreaker, where she took a 4-1 lead. She then squandered a match point by double faulting at 6-5. Pliskova wrapped up the match in 2 hours, 39 minutes on her second match point.
Pavlyuchenkova held on for a 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 victory over Monica Niculescu of Romania.
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, the eighth seed, and ninth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic also won Tuesday.
Among the seeded men to advance Tuesday was fifth-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, who was up 6-1 against Pere Riba when the Spaniard retired with a right leg injury. Eighth-seeded Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan moved into the second round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Russia's Andrey Rublev.
Sock, Baghdatis through
American Jack Sock and Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus advanced to the second round of the Stockholm Open with hard-fought wins Tuesday, while Finland's Jarkko Nieminen ended his singles career with a defeat against Nicolas Almagro.
Seventh-seeded Sock hit 11 aces to beat Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-3 for a second-round match against Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
The 2009 champion Baghdatis was taken to a first-set tiebreaker before beating Sam Querrey of the United States 7-6 (2), 6-1 in a match lasting 77 minutes. He now faces fourth-seeded Bernard Tomic of Australia.
Lucky loser Almagro beat Nieminen, making his 16th straight appearance in Stockholm, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4.
Also, eighth-seeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg saved eight of 10 break points and hit 16 aces in a 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-1 win over qualifier Mischa Zverev of Germany. Steve Darcis of Belgium defeated Adrian Mannarino of France 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Hawaii to host Fed Cup tennis for 1st time
Hawaii will host Fed Cup matches for the first time when the United States faces Poland on Feb. 6-7.
The US Tennis Association announced Tuesday that the countries will have their 2016 first-round meeting in World Group II at Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
The matches will be played on an outdoor hard court.
Hawaii is the 16th state to host the Fed Cup. It previously held Davis Cup matches in 1992.
The US has a 3-0 Fed Cup record against Poland. The winner this time will advance to the World Group playoff in April, with a chance to get to the main tier of the event in 2017.


Clic here to read the story from its source.