MASON – Nine of the Top 10 players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will be in action on Thursday at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open.
THURSDAY ORDER OF PLAYWorld No. 1
Dinara Safina will headline the nigh session beginning at 7 p.m. when she plays China’s
Shuai Peng.
During the day, beginning at noon, three of the top six players in the world will take to the court.
Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and No. 3 player in the world, will take on the hottest player on tour when she plays
Flavia Pennetta. The Italian owns a 13-match winning streak, having won back-to-back tournament titles.
The next match on court will be the third in the comeback of
Kim Clijsters. The former World No. 1 and the 2005 US Open champion will take reigning French Open champion
Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is No. 6 in the world.
The final match on Center Court features
Serena Williams, winner of three of the last four Grand Slams, taking on unseeded
Sybille Bammer.
The Grandstand and Court 3 will also be action packed. Former Cincinnati champion and World No. 7
Vera Zvonareva will take on
Daniela Hantuchova followed by World No. 4
Elena Dementieva facing
Sorana Cirstea on Grandstand.
Closing out the day on Grandstand will be a pair of Top 10 players doing battle as 2008 US Open finalist and World No. 5
Jelena Jankovic faces No. 9
Victoria Azarenka.
The No. 8 player in the world,
Caroline Wozniacki, will play for her spot in the quarterfinals on Court 3 against
Melinda Czink at 2 p.m.
The day session gets underway one hour earlier on Center Court, with a 10 a.m. doubles match as Spain’s
Nuria Llagoostera Vives and
Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez will take on Russians
Maria Kirilenko and
Elena Vesnina.
Tickets remain for both Thursday sessions.