STANFORD, CA (www.bankofthewestclassic.com) – The women’s quarterfinals are set at Wimbledon and four players committed to the 2011 Bank of the West Classic are still alive including Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Marion Bartoli and Sabine Lisicki.
Sharapova, already a three-time Grand Slam champion, defeated China’s Peng Shuai 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals at the All-England club for the first time since 2006. Sharapova earned her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2004. She will next face Dominika Cibulkova.
The winner of the Sharapova/Cibulkova match will face either Marion Bartoli or Sabine Lisicki.
Bartoli, a semifinalist at last month’s French Open, reached the 2007 Wimbledon finals and won the 2009 Bank of the West Classic singles title. Bartoli advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 7-6(6) win over Serena Williams. Lisicki, who also advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2009, defeated Petra Cetkovska 7-6(3), 6-1in her fourth round match. Earlier in the tournament Lisicki knocked off French Open champion Li Na.
The Bartoli/Lisicki match guarantees that the Bank of the West Classic will have at least one Wimbledon semifinalist.
Defending Bank of the West Classic champion Victoria Azarenka highlights the bottom half of the draw. She defeated Russia’s Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals. This marks the second time the current world No. 4 has advanced to the final eight at Wimbledon. She will face surprise quarterfinalist Tamira Paszek.
The fourth quarterfinal match will be between Petra Kvitova and Tsvetana Pironkova.
The 2011 Bank of the West Classic will be held from July 25th – 31st. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com. Single-session tickets for the tournament’s opening round start at just $26.
In addition to single-session tickets, fans can also purchase Daily Double passes to attend both the day and evening sessions for as little as $45. Attendees may also pre-purchase parking passes for the event for just $10.
Full-week packages start at just $575 and include tickets to all 13 sessions, a pass to the exclusive Plaza Club and an invitation to the Meet the Players Party. Those who purchase a pair of seats will also receive a weeklong VIP parking pass and a Bank of the West Classic Tournament program.
Weekend packages start at only $240.
The Bank of the West Classic, a WTA Premier event, is now in its 41st year and features a 28-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. The event is owned and operated by IMG and serves as the opening women’s event of the Olympus US Open Series.