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Mauresmo, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006, will be making her eighth trip to the Pilot Pen where she has had tremendous success reaching the quarterfinals five times (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006), the semifinal (2003) and the final (2005). This year she has reached the quarterfinals of Gold Coast, Paris, Dubai and Amelia Island. Radwanska, a personable 19-year old enjoying a magical season that has propelled her to a career-high ranking, reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last week. It was her second appearance this year in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, with the first coming at the Australian Open. In addition, this year she has won as much as anyone on the WTA Tour adding three titles to her resume, at Pattaya City, Istanbul and Eastbourne. Szavay, another 19-year old who had a strong run at Wimbledon to the fourth round, had an amazing run to the finals at Pilot Pen Tennis last year that included grinding her way through the qualifying draw, playing nine matches in eight days and battling a back injury all week that would eventually force her to retire in the finals, even thought she was leading 6-4, 0-3, against then world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova. This year she has continued her ascent in the rankings and has impressive results including reaching the finals of Paris and the quarterfinals of Amelia Island, Charleston and Berlin. Azarenka and Cornet, both 18-year old sensations that just reached career-high rankings, have had terrific campaigns on the circuit this year. Azarenka reached two finals at Gold Coast and Prague and the semifinals of Berlin, while Cornet has reached the finals of Acapulco and Rome and the semifinals of Amelia Island and Charleston. Bartoli, who cemented her position as one of the game’s elite players last year by reaching the 2007 Wimbledon finals by defeating World No. 1 Justine Henin, has so far had a successful 2008 reaching the semifinals of Paris and Eastbourne. Maria Kirilenko, another player peaking this year, doubled her trophy collection this year at Estoril and Barcelona, matching the two titles she added last year at Kolkata and Dubai. Two other veterans enjoying terrific seasons are Flavia Pennetta (No. 21) and Anabel Medina Garrigues (No. 31). Both of them have already won this season with Pennetta capturing titles at Vina del Mar and Acapulco and Garrigues at Strasbourg. In addition, Katarina Srebotnik (No. 26) has done well this year reaching the finals at Strasbourg, the semifinals at Prague and the quarterfinals at Auckland, Sydney and s-Hertogenbosch. Samantha Stosur (No. 36), who enters the event with a protected ranking due to a severe viral illness that kept her off the circuit for approximately one year, has rebounded exceptionally well and just last week reached the finals of Wimbledon in doubles. Formerly the No. 1 doubles player in the world, she was steadily climbing the singles ranking at the beginning of 2007, and had broke into the top 30, before her illness hit. This will be her fifth trip to New Haven, with her best result coming in 2006 when she reached the semifinals. Dinara Safina (No. 9), who had previously committed to the event, has withdrawn from the field due to scheduling reasons as she has just been added to the Olympics singles competition in addition to the doubles competition. The “cut off” for the direct entries into the women’s main draw is No. 43, reflecting an exceptionally competitive field. Three players that will be looking to receive the three wild cards which have not yet been assigned are Americans Bethanie Mattek, Ashley Harkleroad and Jill Craybas. Players on the alternate list can move into the main draw three ways: by receiving a wildcard, by qualifying or moving into the main draw should there be any withdrawals. “Having six of the top 20 players in the world commit early, in an Olympic year, is a very positive position for the Pilot Pen to be in at this point,” said Worcester. “What’s even more exciting is that these players are all young, rising stars that will be the face of the tour for many years to come. It’s a great opportunity for fans to see veterans like Amelie Mauresmo compete against rising stars like Radwanska and Szavay for the coveted Pilot Pen Tennis title.” For tickets, how to become a volunteer, or more information about the tournament, please call the Pilot Pen Tennis Box Office, 888/99-PILOT, 203/776-7331, or log on to www.pilotpentennis.com. About Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Schick ® Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Schick, an Olympus US Open Series event on the ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, will be held August 15-23, 2008 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale and feature group of top-ranked international stars including Former World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo; World No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska and World No. 14 Agnes Szavay, World No. 13 Fernando Verdasco and World No. 19 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; American Mardy Fish; and veterans Marion Bartoli and Ivan Ljubicic. The Pilot Pen is the first ever combined men’s and women’s summer tournament leading into the US Open. The 2007 Pilot Pen, whose champions are Svetlana Kuznetsova and James Blake, drew nearly 100,000 spectators and was televised nationally for 18 hours on ESPN2 and CBS Sports. About the Olympus US Open Series The Olympus US Open Series brings together the 10 summer tournaments in North America, three television networks, tennis’ sanctioning bodies and top corporate sponsors during the summer tennis season. In 2007 the Series continued its enhancements to the sport, including more national TV hours, live back-to-back Finals every Sunday, bonus prize money at the US Open, new court colors, and a significant national marketing campaign. © Copyright by NorwalkPlus.com. Some articles and pictures posted on our website, as indicated by their bylines, were submitted as press releases and do not necessarily reflect the position and opinion of NorwalkPlus.com, Norwalk Plus magazine, Canaiden LLC or any of its associated entities. Articles may have been edited for brevity and grammar. Related Articles: Fairfield County Sports Commission names Sports Persons Of The Year in 15 communities - Sep 8, 2008 - 9:57 AM World No. 15 Patty Schnyder and Americans Bethanie Mattek and Jill Craybas granted wildcards into Pilot Pen Tennis women's main draw - Aug 15, 2008 - 12:19 PM Hot happening and special access events to occur at Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament - Aug 13, 2008 - 4:30 PM American Robby Ginepri receives first wildcard - Aug 13, 2008 - 3:15 PM Governor Rell declares “Connecticut Olympians Day” - Aug 7, 2008 - 3:42 PM CURRENT HEADLINES: Top of Page
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