WTA Preview: Szavay, Cornet Headline 2008 Bad Gastein
Posted on July 14, 2008
BAD GASTEIN, Austria -- The hills are alive to the sound of tennis balls and rallies as dozens of Tour stars arrive at the second staging of the Gastein Ladies in the Austrian alps. A Hungarian No.1 seed and a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour returnee are just a couple of title potentials in the draw at the Tier III tournament as players head to the mountainous setting of this year's $175,000 clay court event.
Agnes Szavay is this year's No.1 seed at Bad Gastein; the Hungarian hopes to have a more successful tournament after falling in the second round on home soil in Budapest last week. But despite this setback, Szavay has had a solid season as the runner-up at the Paris Indoors and reaching the quarterfinals at Berlin and the fourth round at Wimbledon. At last year's Gastein Ladies she made it through to the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Francesca Schiavone. With the absence of last year's title holder, Szavay might have a chance of making it further this time round.
Sunday's clay court winner at Budapest, Alize Cornet, has had no time to dwell on her victory as she heads straight over to Austria for her next campaign. Seeded No.2 she faces Rossana de los Rios in the first round; ranked No.20 on the Tour, Cornet is currently on good form to beat the No.119-ranked player.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki is Bad Gastein's No.3 seed and after an excellent season, reaching her first Grand Slam fourth round at the Australian Open in January, she went on to secure her first Tier I quarterfinals at Doha as well as getting through to the fourth round at Indian Wells. She did well at this year's Roland Garros, but lost in the third round to the eventual champion and current world No.1, Ana Ivanovic. The 18-year-old, ranked No.30, has shown astonishing progress after making her pro debut just three years ago.
Bad Gastein is overjoyed to welcome back to the Tour 25-year-old Sandra Klemenschits, after battling a rare form of cancer, which sadly took the life of her twin sister, Daniela, in April. The Austrian doubles player, who used to partner with her sister, has been given a wildcard by the tournament and her and her partner, Marlene Weingartner, are drawn to play No.2 seeds Mariya Koryttseva and Galina Voskoboeva in the first round.
-- Courtesy Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
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