She took a set from top-seeded Amélie Mauresmo in the third round of the 2006 US Open, and led 2–0 in the deciding set, only to lose the next six games. She also defeated Anastasia Myskina in 2006, her first win over a top-20 player. She and her Italian teammates Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, and Roberta Vinci beat the Belgian team 3–2 in the 2006 Fed Cup final. Justine Henin had to retire in the fifth and final match because of an injury in her right knee, which let Italy win their first Fed Cup trophy.[1]
Despite holding match points in both matches, Santangelo lost to Agnieszka Radwańska and Dinara Safina in successive first rounds at Luxembourg and Stuttgart respectively, in three set matches. In Moscow, Santangelo lost in the first round to Iveta Benešová in another three-setter. In Linz, Santangelo defeated Alona Bondarenko; she lost to eventual semifinalist Nicole Vaidišová. At her final tournament of the year in Hasselt, Santangelo retired while 5–2 down against Michaëlla Krajicek in the first round. She ended the year ranked world No. 31, a new career high.
Santangelo was still recovering from injury when 2007 commenced. At her first tournament in Hobart, she defeated countrywoman Maria Elena Camerin in the first round, losing to Catalina Castaño in the second round. At the Australian Open, Santangelo drew then-world No. 81 eventual champion Serena Williams in the first round, losing in two sets. She reached her first quarterfinal of the year at the Tier IV Pattaya City tournament, losing to Sania Mirza in straight sets. At her very next tournament, the Tier III Bangalore, as the defending champion, Santangelo made the final for the second straight year, where she lost to Yaroslava Shvedova in the final.
In Doha during the second round, Santangelo faced fellow countrywoman Francesca Schiavone, and led 6–4, 6–6 (6–5), but lost 6–4, 6–7, 0–1 ret., after dropping a match point. She rebounded during her next tournament, however, in Key Biscayne, defeating Jelena Janković in the third round in three sets – which was the first top 10 victory of her career. She lost in the round of 16 to Anna Chakvetadze. Reaching the fourth round of Key Biscayne has thus far been the best showing of Santangelo's in a high-tier event.
During the clay court season, Santangelo defeated Nadia Petrova in the second round of Warsaw, for her second career top-10 victory, reaching her third quarterfinal of the year. She lost to eventual champion Henin. At the French Open, in singles, Santangelo reached the third round, losing to eventual champion Henin. For doubles, however, partnering Alicia Molik, she won the championship, winning her first Grand Slam title. The victory was her fourth title in doubles for the year, with four different partners at each championship.
In 2007 Wimbledon Championships, Santangelo was defeated in round three by the defending champion and fourth-seeded, Amélie Mauresmo, in 57 minutes. Santangelo took part in the 2007 Fed Cup final, where she was defeated by Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second rubber and by Elena Vesnina in the fourth rubber; Italy failed in defending the title and Russia won the trophy with a 4–0 score. Santangelo had to miss the warm-ups for the Australian Open and the Australian Open itself in 2008 because of a troublesome left foot injury. She also missed the Paris indoors event and the Bangalore Open event, where she had previously won a WTA-level title and been a runner-up.
Santangelo returned from eight-month left foot injury lay-off in May; she reached the second round twice (including the 2008 Wimbledon Championships) and she won two ITF tournaments, Biella and Ortisei. At the Beijing Olympics, she was defeated by Dinara Safina in the first round.
In May 2010, Santangelo announced her decision to compete in doubles events only, citing her recurrent left foot injury as the main cause that persuaded her to renounce to play singles matches.[3] On 28 January 2011, she declared her retirement from professional tennis due to recurring injuries with her left foot.
Personal life
Santangelo was born in Latina, but grew up in the Fiemme Valley in Trentino. She started playing tennis at the age of 6. Her mother, Patrizia, died in a car accident in 1997, when she was sixteen.
Santangelo is a Catholic.[4] In 2010, she went on a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Medjugorje, and has been vocal about her faith since then. Santangelo has written an autobiography, Te lo prometto (I promise you), based on her tennis career and spiritual life.[5]
Amélie Simone Mauresmo is a French former world No. 1 tennis player and tournament director. Mauresmo won two major singles titles at the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships, and also won the silver medal in singles at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the singles title at the 2005 year-end championships.
Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova is a Russian former professional tennis player. A former top-five player in both singles and doubles, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world in both disciplines. Petrova won a total of 37 titles on the WTA Tour in her career, 13 in singles and 24 in doubles, as well as over $12.4 million in prize money, making her one of the most successful Russian tennis players of all time.
Dinara Mubinovna Safina is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the 2009 French Open. She had even greater success at major events in doubles, winning the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She also won the Olympic silver medal in women's singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Martina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon Championships and US Open, ending the year in the top ten. She was part of the Slovak team that won the 2002 Fed Cup and the 2005 Hopman Cup.
Ai Sugiyama is a Japanese former tennis player. She reached the world No. 1 ranking in women's doubles on the WTA Tour and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. In her career, she won six singles and 38 doubles titles, including three Grand Slam titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. Sugiyama held the all-time record, for both male and female players, for her 62 consecutive Grand Slam main-draw appearances, until she was surpassed by Roger Federer at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.
Tatiana Golovin is a French former professional tennis player. She won the 2004 French Open mixed-doubles event, partnering with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinals at the 2006 US Open, losing to the eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 12. In 2008, she was diagnosed with lower back inflammation and was forced to stop playing competitive tennis.
Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina is a Russian former professional tennis player.
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run at Roland Garros. Justine Henin also equaled Monica Seles' record of three consecutive wins. This was the third straight year that Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin won the French Open singles titles.
The 2007 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 121st edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held from 25 June to 8 July 2007. It was the third Grand Slam tennis event of the year.
Amélie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne in the final, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 to win the ladies' singles tennis title at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships. It was her second and final major title, having won the Australian Open earlier in the year. Mauresmo also became the first Frenchwoman to win Wimbledon since Suzanne Lenglen in 1925. Henin-Hardenne was attempting to complete the career Grand Slam.
Two-time defending champion Justine Henin defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final, 6–1, 6–2 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2007 French Open. It was her fourth French Open title and sixth major title overall. For the second consecutive year, Henin won the title without losing a set or facing a tiebreak in any set during the tournament. Ivanovic became the first player representing Serbia to reach a major final.
The 2007 US Open was held from August 27 to September 9, 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City.
The 2008 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and is part of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, from 4 November through 9 November 2008.
Justine Henin defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 6–1, 6–3 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2007 US Open. She did not lose a set during the tournament. It was her second US Open, her seventh and last major title and final US Open appearance.
The 2008 Qatar Telecom German Open was a women's tennis event that was played from 5 May to 11 May 2008. It was one of two Tier I events that took place on red clay in the build-up to the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open. It was played at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in the German capital of Berlin. The tournaments offered a total prize fund of US$1,300,000 across all rounds.
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She won 16 WTA singles titles, reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open and reached seven other Grand Slam semifinals. Dementieva was also part of the Russian team that won the 2005 Fed Cup. In doubles, she won the 2002 WTA Championships with Janette Husárová and was the runner-up in two US Open doubles finals – in 2002 with Husárová and in 2005 with Flavia Pennetta. Dementieva achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 3, which was accomplished on 6 April 2009. She announced her retirement on 29 October 2010, after her final match at the 2010 WTA Championships. Between 2003 and 2010, she only ended one year, in 2007, outside the top 10. She is considered to be one of the most talented players never to have won a Grand Slam tournament.
The 2009 WTA Tour Championships was held in Doha, Qatar from October 27 to November 1. It was the second time the Khalifa International Tennis Complex hosted the WTA Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships.
The 2010 WTA Tour or 2010 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup, and the year-end championships. Also included in the 2010 calendar is the Hopman Cup, which does not distribute ranking points and is organized by the ITF.
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova is a Russian former professional tennis player. She is a two-time major singles champion, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. In doubles, Kuznetsova reached the finals of each major at least once, winning the Australian Open twice. Kuznetsova moved to Spain at the age of seven to attend the Sanchez-Casal Academy. In 2001, she first took part in a WTA Tour tournament, the Madrid Open, and a year later won her first WTA Tour title at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Helsinki, Finland. Her first appearance at a major was at the 2002 Australian Open, and her first major title came at the 2004 US Open over countrywoman Elena Dementieva, making her the third Russian woman to win a major title. Kuznetsova's second major singles title was the 2009 French Open, defeating compatriot Dinara Safina in the final. At the 2006 French Open and the 2007 US Open singles tournaments she was the runner-up, both times to Justine Henin. As a result, Kuznetsova obtained a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 2, holding that position for 24 weeks in 2007 and 2008. After the 2010 season, Kuznetsova lost her top 10 position and dropped down to a year-end ranking of 72 in 2012, until recovering gradually through 2016, when she reentered the top ten and reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals, her best result in that tournament. Apart from singles tournaments, Kuznetsova was also successful in doubles. She won her first five WTA doubles titles with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. After a series of disappointing results with her she paired with Martina Navratilova, Elena Likhovtseva, Alicia Molik, and Amélie Mauresmo. Pairing with Likhovtseva, she climbed to No. 3 in doubles in 2004, holding that position for eight weeks, her career-high. She won the Australian Open twice in doubles, in 2005 alongside Molik and in 2012 partnering Vera Zvonareva. Kuznetsova also played various mixed doubles events, most prominently in 2003, but never went beyond the quarterfinals. Over her career, she won a total of 18 singles and 16 doubles titles.
Results and statistics from Maria Sharapova's 2008 tennis season.
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