The Advanta Championships is a Tier II WTA event which took place this year November 1-7 at
the Pavilion at Villanova University. I went on Saturday the 6th, which was supposed to feature
3 semifinal matches. First off was a singles semifinal between two upcoming Russians, with
Vera Zvonareva defeating Nadia Petrova. Next up was supposed to be the second singles
semifinal between top seeded Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova, but Sharapova pulled
out of the tournament that morning with a "right shoulder strain." She probably could have played
but wanted to be cautious due to the season-ending championships the following week. So the
second and final match of the night was a great doubles semifinal matchup which featured
Lisa Raymond with first-time partner Alicia Molik against the top seeded pair of Cara Black and
Rennae Stubbs (Lisa's former long-time doubles partner). Surprisingly, Raymond and Molik
easily handled their opponents on their way to winning the title. Mauresmo also ended up
winning the singles title for the second straight year. |
