COMMONWEALTH BANK TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 

Written by: Staff on 6th November 2011

COMMONWEALTH BANK TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia returns the ball during her semifinal match against Nadia Petrova of Russia at the WTA tennis Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, 05 November 2011. Ivanovic won the match 6-1, 7-5. EPA/MADE NAGI |

Bali Indonesia

November 3-6, 2011

$600,000/SEC Hard/Indoors

Results – Sunday, November 6, 2011 Singles – Final

(WC) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 63 60

Singles – Third Place Play-Off

Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. (3) Sabine Lisicki (GER) w/o (mid back injury)

Final Facts

– Ivanovic wins her first WTA title of 2011, and the 11th of her career, on her 24th birthday. The former world No.1 was the defending champion in Bali; the win marks the first time she has won any WTA event two years running. She defeated Alisa Kleybanova in last year’s final.

– Although she didn’t win an International title during the main playing season this year, Ivanovic received one of two wildcards for the eight-player field. This week she snapped a two-match losing streak to Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, and defeated longtime rival Nadia Petrova in the semis. After her win over Medina Garrigues she is now 11-4 in WTA finals.

– Ivanovic hit 20 winners during Sunday’s 61-minute final, and lost just seven points in the second set.

– Titles on clay at Estoril and Palermo helped Medina Garrigues, 29, qualify for Bali for the second time (she did not pass the round robin stage in 2009). The Spaniard got past No.1 seed Marion Bartoli and No.3 seed Sabine Lisicki to reach the biggest final of her career. She is now 11-7 in WTA singles finals.

– Next year the Tournament of Champions will be hosted by Sofia, Bulgaria, beginning a three-year tenure (2012-14).

– Including the four Grand Slam tournaments, WTA players have contested 57 events this year. Singles titles have been won by 33 different women, Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova topping the leaderboard with six tournament wins apiece. In all, 13 players won multiple titles (adding up to 37 titles) and 20 players lifted one trophy each (six of these were first-time titlists).

Final Quotes

Ana Ivanovic, 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions singles champion:

“I felt like I didn’t do much wrong. It was a great match for me. Anabel and I practiced together all week, so it was nice we got a chance to play each other on the last day of the tournament.”

“I’m super relaxed here, and that helps. I come here to compete, but I also spend lots of time on the beach and in the spa, and the people are so friendly – I’ve made many new friends. It’s just so enjoyable here.”

Anabel Medina Garrigues, 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions singles runner-up:

“Congratulations to Ana. She was playing so well, I couldn’t do anything today. She has been No.1 in the world and she’s a very good player. I’m really happy with my week, but she was too good on the court today.”

“Bali is very important for us. It’s always nice to see all the people here supporting us… I hope we can have another WTA event here soon.”

Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Anabel Medina Garrigues