Doubles final [08.06.2013]
Unfortunately Sara didn't make the final of Roland Garros in singles. Serena Williams played an amazing match, and was much too strong for Sara: 6-0 6-1. But Sara and Roberta are once again in the doubles final! In a tough semifinal they beat Petrova/Srebotnik 6-3 5-7 6-3. In the final they will play the Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
Into the semifinal! [05.06.2013]
With a great match in the quarterfinals, Sara has once again made it to the semifinal at Roland Garros! She beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 7-6 in a match that lasted almost two hours. "Agnieszka is very strong", said Sara after the match, "we have a very similar game. We don't hit a lot of winners, but we don't really hit a lot of errors either."
In the semifinal Sara will face world #1 Serena Williams. It will be a tough match of course, but as Sara said after her quarterfinal that it's normal to find a player like Serena across the net at this stage of a Grand Slam. Sara also said she didn't expect to be in another semifinal this year. "I'm defending so many points here in Paris, so there was a lot of tension. It's the first time I'm in this situation in a big tournament, and it's hard. I'm glad because I was able to handle the tension very well."
You can find articles on the match on the Roland Garros site , on the site of la Gazzetta dello Sport, and on ubitennis. Ubitennis has also posted their usual roundup of Italian media.
Sara has also been on the Road to Roland Garros, a video series.
4th round [03.06.2013]
Sara's 4th round match at Roland Garros was very long and tough, but she made it through! She beat Carla Suarez Navarro 5-7 6-4 6-3 and will face Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinal.
Sara said after the match that her coach had told her to play to Suarez' forehand, but she just couldn't do it, and she struggled a lot during the match. At 5-5 and 40-40, Sara suddenly doubled over in pain and called for the trainer. She explained after the match that "Every time I was breathing was very painful. I know it wasn't muscular, but I couldn't stay up. So I called the physio and she told me that I had the diaphragm totally blocked and she tried to release it a bit. After it was much better. It's still painful to touch and I will go to the physio for sure, but it was very strange. This has never happened to me (before) and it was a very strange feeling. I couldn't breathe (so it) made me more nervous."
After the injury timeout, Sara went on to lost the first set and got 4-2 behind in the second set, but then she fought back and won the second and third set.
You can find a long matchreport on ubitennis, where they have also posted the articles on the match from Italian media. Federtennis has also posted an article, with lots of quotes from Sara's pressconference.
Of course all the pictures from the match are in the photogallery.
Roland Garros [01.06.2013]
Sara has started her Roland Garros 2013 campaign well, after 3 easy wins, she's already in the 4th round. She beat Arantxa Rus 6-1 6-2 in the first round, Yulia Putintseva 6-1 6-1 in the second round, and Sabine Lisicki 6-0 6-4 in the third round. In the first round she'll play against Carla Suarez Navarro, for the 4th (!) time this year.
Roland Garros draw [24.05.2013]
The draw for Roland Garros has been released. It's the 2nd Grand Slam of the year, and Sara is defending her points from making the final last year. She's 5th seed, and will play against Arantxa Rus from the Netherlands in the first round. Sara leads the head-to-head 3-0, all 3 matches won in 2 sets. The first seed Sara can meet is 32nd seed Sabine Lisicki from Germany. You can see the full draw here.
Semifinals [19.05.2013]
In the third round in Rome Maria Kirilenko had to retire when Sara was leading 6-3 2-0, and Maria Sharapova was ill and unable to play, so Sara got a walkover through the quarterfinal. However, today she lost in the semifinal. Victoria Azarenka was too strong and won 6-0 7-4.
In doubles, Sara and Roberta beat Mattek-Sands/Mirza in the quarterfinal, 6-4 6-3. In the semifinal they beat Kudryavtseva/Rodionova 6-2 6-1. Tomorrow they'll play the final against Hsieh/Peng.
2d round win [15.05.2013]
Despite a really difficult match, Sara is in the third round in Rome! The first half of the match went quite well, and Sara took a 7-5 5-2 lead. But then, as she said after the match, she "got nervous and couldn't close a single point." She had 5 matchpoints in the second set, but lost the set 7-5. In the third set, Sara took a quick 5-0 lead, and had another three matchpoints before finally closing out the match at 5-2, on her 9th matchpoints.
It may have been tough today, but getting through tough matches is always a good thing! In the third round, Sara will face Maria Kirilenko.
Sara and Roberta also started their doubles tournament today. After a bye, they beat Mladenovic/Voskoboeva in the 2nd round, 7-5 6-4.
Of course all the best pictures from Rome, both oncourt and offcourt, can be found in the photogallery. Also, after blogging for the WTA last week, Sara blogs for the Gazzetta dello Sport this week!
Madrid, Rome [12.05.2013]
It was a great fight, especially in the first set, but Sara lost to Serena Williams in the semifinal in Madrid, 5-7 2-6.
Next up is the tournament in Rome, Sara is 7th seed and has a BYE in the first round. Her first opponent will be the winner of the match between Karin Knapp and Christina McHale. The full draw is available here.
Of course all the pictures from Madrid are in the photogallery, and all the highlights and interviews from the last few tournaments have been added on the multimedia page.
Semifinal! [10.05.2013]
After two very good matches, Sara is in the semifinal in Madrid! In the third round, she beat Varvara Lepchenko 7-5 6-3, and in the quarterfinal she played a very good match against Ekaterina Makarova, beating her 6-4 6-3. In the semifinal, Sara will play against world #1 Serena Williams. The match will be played tomorrow, at 11am local time.
"It was my best match of the tournament," Sara commented after the quarterfinal. "I'm very satisfied, especially with my forehand. The courts are perfect this year, more slow than last year. Last year they favoured the offensive players."
She also commented on the upcoming Fed Cup final against Russia, in november: "We want to play outdoors, on clay, to have an advantage over Russia. It will be difficult to play outdoors at the Foro Italico in november, I think it's better to play further to the south."
You can check out the new entries of Sara's blog for the WTA site here.
2nd round [07.05.2013]
After a long and difficult match, Sara is in the 3rd round in Madrid. In the second round she beat Sorana Cirstea 7-6 2-6 6-4. It was an up and down match from both players, but Sara held on and was able to get the win. The match was so close that Cirstea even won more points than Sara.
Sara's 3rd opponent isn't known yet; Julia Goerges and Varvara Lepchenko will play their second round match on wednesday.
Of course you can find pictures from the first two matches in Madrid in the photogallery.
Sara also writes a blog for the WTA site this week. So far there have been three entries, which you can find here.
Madrid [04.05.2013]
Sara won her first round in the premium mandatory tournament in Madrid, 6-4 6-1 over Urszula Radwanska. In the second round she'll play against Sorana Cirstea or Ayumi Morita. The full singles draw is available here.
Sara and Roberta don't play doubles this week, thus not defending their title from last year.
Happy birthday! [29.04.2013]
Happy 26th birthday Sara!!
As a nice kind of birthday present for Sara, she returned to the #1 position on the doubles rankings today. After Sara was #1 for 5 weeks, and Roberta Vinci for 28 weeks, this week is the first week they (finally) share the top position in the ranking. Considering their lead on other players, they are likely to keep the top spot at least until after Roland Garros. And as long as neither of them plays a tournament with another player, they will keep sharing the ranking.
Sara was also interviewed live at Sky Sport 24 today, which you can see here.
Before the Fed Cup weekend, Sara attended the Trofeo Tennis Kinder+Sport. You can see a video from the day here.
2nd round loss [27.04.2013]
Sara lost in the 2nd round in Stuttgart, 0-6 6-4 1-6 against Bethanie Mattek-Sands, in a match that ended around 2am in the morning.
Because there's only an International tournament next week, Sara has a week off now, before heading to Madrid for the mandatory tournament there.
Stuttgart [24.04.2013]
Sara plays the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart this week. As 4th seed, she has a first round bye. In the second round she'll play against Bethanie Mattek-Sands. You can see the full draw here.
As Roberta Vinci had to withdrew from doubles with a shoulder injury, Sara will only play in singles this week.
Fed Cup final! [22.04.2013]
After an exciting tie against the Czech Republic, Italy is in the final of the Fed Cup! Sara started the tie well, giving Italy a 1-0 lead with a strong 6-4 6-2 lead over Lucie Safarova. Roberta Vinci followed up with a 6-4 6-1 win over Petra Kvitova. On sunday, only one match could be played due to the rain, and Sara lost to Kvitova. After a strong start by Sara, the Czech girl came back and won 2-6 6-2 6-0.
The tie then continued on monday, and in an exciting match, Vinci clinched the tie for Italy, by a close 3-set victory over Lucie Safarova.
With this 3-1 victory, Italy is in the final of the Fed Cup, for the 5th time since 2006 (3 wins, 1 loss). The final will be played on november 2 and 3, in Italy, against Russia.
All the articles from the Italian media can be found here, and of course all the pictures are in the photogallery!
Fed Cup draw [18.04.2013]
The draw for the Fed Cup meeting this weekend has been released, and it is as expected: Sara will open the tie tomorrow at 1.30PM, against Lucie Safarova, and then Roberta Vinci will play Petra Kvitova. On sunday the singles will be reversed, and Sara will play Kvitova, while Roberta will play Safarova. The doubles match will be Pennetta/Schiavone vs Hlavackova/Hradecka.
On the Fed Cup site is an article about the tie with quotes from Sara and audio interviews with different players. Federtennis also posted several videos from Palermo, and of course there are more pictures from Palermo in the photogallery.
Fed Cup [17.04.2013]
After the tournament in Miami, Sara withdrew from Charleston with a thigh injury and had a week off. Now her leg is feeling well again, and she'll play in the semifinal of the Fed Cup this weekend. Italy will play at home (in Palermo) against the Czech Republic. Sara, Roberta Vinci, Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta will play Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, Klara Zakopalova and Lucie Hradecka. The draw ceremony will be held on friday, but it's expected that Sara and Roberta will play the singles matches for Italy, while Kvitova and Safarova will probably play for the Czech Republic.
The first pictures from Palermo are already in the photogallery.
Miami update [27.03.2013]
After a good tournament in Miami, with an easy win over Simona Halep, and a tougher win over Ana Ivanovic, Sara lost today in the quarterfinal. Just like two weeks ago in Indian Wells, Maria Sharapova proved too tough for her, but the match was closer than last time. The start of the match was tough for Sara, and she went a double break behind, but Sharapova was struggling on her serve as well and Sara got both breaks back, before getting broken again at 5-5. The second set was almost the same scenario; an early break for Sharapova, a rebreak for Sara and a deciding break at 5-5. Despite the loss, Sara has a lot to be proud of in this match! She played well, and made it closer than any of her other matches against Sharapova have been.
However, the tournament in Miami is not over yet! Sara and Roberta are in the semifinal in doubles, where they will face Lisa Raymond and Laura Robson.
Of course there are several pictures from Miami in the photogallery.
Miami [23.03.2013]
Sara won her first match at the premium mandatory tournament in Miami. After a bye in the first round, she beat Daniela Hantuchova in the second round: 6-3 6-1. It was a good match from Sara, in which she took her chances very well. In the third round, Sara will play against Simona Halep, which will be the first meeting between the two players. You can see the full Miami draw here.
In doubles Sara and Roberta start their tournament today. They will play Date Krumm/Dellacqua in the first round. The full doubles draw can be found here.
As a top 8 seed in Miami, Sara was also part of the All Access Hour, of which you can see the video on youtube and she also featured in a fun "Awkward or Awesome?" video by TennisFansUnited. In the photogallery you can find some pictures from off-court activities.
Quarterfinal [17.03.2013]
Sara made the quarterfinal in Indian Wells by a very good 6-3 6-2 win over Marion Bartoli in the 4th round, but unfortunately she lost her quarterfinal match to Maria Sharapova: 6-7 2-6. On the WTA site you can watch interviews with Sara after the 3rd round, 4th round and the quarterfinal and also highlights from the matches against Larsson, Bartoli and Sharapova.
Of course there are alsto some pictures in the photogallery.
Next week, Sara will play the Sony Open Tennis in Miami.
4th round [10.03.2013]
Sara is in the 4th round in Indian Wells. After a bye in the first round, she beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino in a tough match in the second round: 6-2 3-6 6-3, and today she beat Johanna Larsson in the second round: 6-3 6-1.
In doubles, Sara and Roberta lost their first match after 15 wins in a row. In the second round, Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng were too strong and beat them 6-2 6-3.
Indian Wells [05.03.2013]
The draw from the mandatory tournament in Indian Wells has been released. As 6th seed, Sara has a bye in the first round. In the second round, she'll play either a qualifier or Lourdes Dominguez Lino. The first seed Sara can meet is 26th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. You can check the full draw here.
Champion! [03.03.2013]
1st title of the year, 2nd title in Acapulco, 7th title of her career, not a set lost in the tournament...Sara is the champion in Acapulco! In the final she beat Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-0 6-4. After taking a 6-0 2-0 lead rather easily, the match got more difficult for Sara, but despite losing her service 3 times in the second set, she served out the match at 5-4 in the second set.
After the match, Sara said she was really happy because it had been a difficult week for her, and it's the first time she defends a title. "In the first set the ball was much more live and the points were going much quicker, and I just played an incredible set," commented Sara about the match. "Even in the second set until 2-0 for me, 15-40 on her serve, I was in control, playing very aggressively. But the ball started getting heavier and the rallies were getting much tougher, and also she started to play much better. It got very difficult at the end. I'm so happy I closed it out at the end. Carla was playing really well."
There's an interview with Sara after the final on youtube, and of course there are a lot of pictures from the final and the ceremony in the photogallery.
Final! [02.03.2013]
Sara is in the final in Acapulco! It's already her 3rd final of the year, and also her 3rd final in her last 4 tournaments! Despite small injuries on both her legs (she is playing with both her thighs strapped), Sara had no problems beating Eugenie Bouchard (7-6 6-2), Kiki Bertens (6-4 6-4) and Alizé Cornet (6-2 6-1).
Sara's opponent in the final will be Carla Suarez Navarro. It's already their third meeting of the year: Suarez Navarro won in the first round of the Australian Open, and Sara won a hard-fought battle in the quarterfinal in Paris. The match will be played tonight, at 6.30PM local time.
Of course you can find several pictures from Acapulco in the photogallery.
1st round win [27.02.2013]
Sara made it to the second round in Acapulco, through a solid 6-3 6-2 win over Alexandra Cadantu. Tonight she'll play her 2nd round, against Eugenie Bouchard.
On PuntodeBreak.com, a very nice article has been posted on Sara, her ranking and what that means for her schedule in 2013. It's in Spanish, but it provides a really good read.
Acapulco [26.02.2013]
Sara will play in Acapulco this week. As the only top 10 player in the draw, she is first seed. In the first round she'll play against Alexandra Cadantu from Romania. The first seed she can meet is 5th seed Kiki Bertens from the Netherlands. You can check the full draw here.
