TENNIS E-News *

*A South Carolina-registered service mark *

Wednesday, Apr. 06, 2011         Vol. X,  No. 41                  Winner of the South Carolina Media of the Year Award                                    Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Coming Soon:

    Entry deadline for 5th Junior Banana Challenge is Sunday, Apr. 24

    Entry deadline for 26th annual BillyBob Century Cup is Monday, Apr. 25

    Details below.

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Category Championships at Stake

     Playoff Spots Settled in Senior Men's & Women's 3.5 Flights; Men's 3.0s Meet Again for #2 Seeding

        HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News) -- No question something had to give. Final date on the Senior Women's 3.5 regular season with two unbeaten teams stop Flight II: Palmetto Dunes PDQ and Port Royal Glory Girls both at 9-0, with the teams aiming to advance to the category championship playoffs next week.

    PDQ won the battle, taking a critical third set on #1 court and prevailing 2-1 for the flight #1 spot. The South Beach Sandspurs also won and stayed in first with a 9-1 record. PDQ and the Sandspurs will square off next week to decided #1 and #2 seeding for the South Carolina State Championships May 14-16 on Hilton Head Island. A wild card slot opened up for the locals and the Glory Girls will play Flight II #2 Daufuskie Divas for the HHI #3 seeding at States.

    Meanwhile, the Senior Men's 3.5 Flight I was settling its lineup for Monday's category championship match as Spring Lake Lakers visited Indigo Run. The home team came through with a 2-1 win, taking a 6-4 third set on the #3 court for the deciding match. Indigo Run will meet Flight II's Country Club of Hilton Head Barbarians Monday for the category championship and right to advance to States. Winner will advance as HHI's sole entrant; loser will go to States only if a wildcard opens.

    In the Senior Men's 3.0s, Moss Creek Tornadoes clinched #1 seeding at States, while CCHH and Spring Lake tied with 6-2 records and will play off next week for the HHI #2 seed spot in the SC championships.

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26th for BB; 1st for Pros

     The BillyBob & the HHI Pro League Open at South Beach Apr. 29

        HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC (TENNIS E-News) -- Friday the 29th will be more than just opening day for the 26th annual BillyBob Century Cup Doubles. As entertainment for the South Beach Racquet Club's player party that night, the Hilton Head Island Professional Tennis League will open its inaugural season. Player draft for the Pro League is being held tonight.

    The 29th through May 1st BillyBob has added a new tweak to its men's, women's and mixed combined-age playing categories: 4.0 & Below categories for players with combined ages of 80 and above and 120 and above. Ya got that? If you and your partner are 4.0s or below and your combined ages is 80 years or more, you play the 4.0 80s division; if you and partner ages combine to 120 or more, you can play the 4.0 120s.

    In addition to the new configuration, open rating divisions will be played in 80s, 100s and 120s. The 140s division is restricted to 4.0 and below players; the 150s is only for 3.5s and below.

    You can get an entry form at racquet clubs throughout the island or by going to this website: www.southbeachracquetclub.com.

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USTA Member Appreciation Day

     Top Seeds Roll Quickly at Family Circle Cup; Lisicki Upsets Bartoli in Headliner Tonight  

Late score: Lisicki def. Bartoli 6-2, 6-3
        CHARLESTON SC (TENNIS E-News) -- Storms that blew through Tuesday are gone, replaced by some hot hitting by top seeds at the Family Circle Cup today. World #1 Caroline Wozniaki zipped through her first match 6-1, 6-1, followed by defending champion #2 seed Samantha Stosur, #3 Jelena Jankovic. Marion Bartoli, the #4 seed, faces a tough battle tonight against 2009 champion Sabine Lisicki, who was injured and missed last year's FCC .

    Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island got sunny but cool weather for its third day of main draw action. Two lower seeds went down so far today.  #9 Maria Kirilenko lost to Anna Tatishvili in a protracted 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 battle and Elena Vesnine defeated #14 seeded American Bethanie Mattek.

    The $721,000 championships drew more than 10,000 spectators during qualifying rounds Saturday and Sunday and a total of almost 30,000 through Tuesday night. Included in today's USTA Member Appreciation Day crowd was a busload of spectators from Country Club of Hilton Head. Saturday night's "Game, Set, Rock! Tennis Presented by Dove" is expected to be a sellout and will feature music and tennis by John McEnroe, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Todd Martin in singles and mixed doubles. 

    FCC and its parent company, Meredith Corp., have partnered with Subaru of Charleston and the American Red Cross in a tsunami relief effort, with all proceeds benefitting the Red Cross Japan relief program. Each tournament day until 1 p.m. Sunday fans can guess the number of tennis balls inside a Subaru Forrester on-site at the Family Circle Cup for $5 per entry. The closest guess will win the use of a Subaru Forrester for 90 days. Top-seed Caroline Wozniacki has donated two Player Box seats for a match, as well as a private meet and greet after the match. World No. 5 and defending FCC champion Samantha Stosur has donated a private 30-minute hitting session including her and her coach during the tournament.

    Meredith Corp. holds an annual charity auction with VIP guests during the tournament, and 50 per cent of all proceeds at this year’s event Friday will be donated to the Japan relief effort. Also, $2 for every patron who attends the finals Sunday will go to the fund.

    Single session tickets are available. For more ticket information, go to www.familycirclecup.com.

    Today's results thus far:

Second Round Singles:
Anna Tatishvili def. (9) Maria Kirilenko 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
(15) Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova def. Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
(1) Caroline Wozniacki def. Irina Falconi 6-1, 6-1
(3) Jelena Jankovic def. Tamira Paszek 6-2, 6-3
(10) Daniela Hantuchova def. Evgeniya Rodina 6-0, 6-1
(7) Nadia Petrova def. Edina Gallovits 6-1, 6-1
(2) Samantha Stosur def. Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-1, 6-2
Elena Vesnina def. (14) Bethanie Mattek 6-4, 7-6

Sabine Lisicki def. (4) Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-2
Doubles - First Round
[1] K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO) d V Dushevina (RUS) / T Poutchek (BLR) 61 61
S Mirza (IND) / E Vesnina (RUS) d [2] L Huber (USA) / L Raymond (USA) 63 64
S Peng (CHN) / J Zheng (CHN) d [3] V King (USA) / B Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 23
J Goerges (GER) / N Petrova (RUS) d A Kleybanova (RUS) / Z Yan (CHN) 26 64 10-3
D Hantuchova (SVK) / M Kirilenko (RUS) d A Hlavackova (CZE) / R Voracova (CZE) 67(8) 62 16-14
R Kops-Jones (USA) / A Spears (USA) d M Kondratieva (RUS) / S Lefevre (FRA) 76(5) 67(5) 10-7
A Kudryavtseva (RUS) / A Rodionova (AUS) d [WC] S Rogers (USA) / P Schnyder (SUI) 64 67(8) 10-6

ORDER OF PLAY - THURSDAY, APRIL 07, 2011
STADIUM start 11:00 am
[Q] A Tatishvili (GEO) vs [6] Y Wickmayer (BEL)

Not Before 1:00 PM
[1] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [15] B Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)
E Vesnina (RUS) vs [2] S Stosur (AUS)
[Q] S Mirza (IND) vs [WC] S Lisicki (GER)

Not Before 7:00 PM
[3] J Jankovic (SRB) vs C Scheepers (RSA)
[4] B Mattek-Sands (USA) / M Shaughnessy (USA) vs D Hantuchova (SVK) / M Kirilenko (RUS)
ALTHEA GIBSON start 11:00 am
[5] S Peer (ISR) vs [12] J Goerges (GER)

Not Before 12:30 PM
[7] N Petrova (RUS) vs [11] S Peng (CHN)
[10] D Hantuchova (SVK) vs C Mchale (USA)
[1] K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO) vs J Goerges (GER) / N Petrova (RUS)