CONNECTICUT OPEN – WIMBLEDON CHAMPION KVITOVA, WIMBLEDON FINALIST BOUCHARD, DEFENDING CT OPEN CHAMPION HALEP & FOUR-TIME CT OPEN CHAMPION WOZNIACKI HEADLINE FIELD COMING TO NEW HAVEN

Written by: Staff on 9th July 2014

CONNECTICUT OPEN - WIMBLEDON CHAMPION KVITOVA, WIMBLEDON FINALIST BOUCHARD, DEFENDING CT OPEN CHAMPION HALEP & FOUR-TIME CT OPEN CHAMPION WOZNIACKI HEADLINE FIELD COMING TO NEW HAVEN

epa04300366 Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic returns to Eugenie Bouchard of Canada during their women's singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 05 July 2014. EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH |

2014 WIMBLEDON CHAMPION AND WORLD NO. 4 PETRA KVITOVA, 2014 WIMBLEDON FINALIST AND WORLD NO. 7 GENIE BOUCHARD, AND DEFENDING CHAMPION AND WORLD NO. 3 SIMONA HALEP HEADLINE CONNECTICUT OPEN PLAYER FIELD

World No. 15 And Four-Time Connecticut Open Champion Caroline Wozniacki To Chase Record-Setting Fifth Title In New Haven; World No. 13 Flavia Pennetta, World No. 14 Sara Errani, And Rising Stars American Coco Vandeweghe and Spaniard Garbine Muguruza Also Part Of Talented Field.

Pro-Am And Meet & Greet Opportunities Available For Legends Event Featuring Fairfield’s James Blake, And Former World No. 1’s And Grand Slam Champions Andy Roddick And Jim Courier.

2014 Wimbledon Champion and World No. 4 Petra Kvitova, 2014 Wimbledon Finalist and World No. 7 Genie Bouchard, and Defending Champion and World No. 3 Simona Halep headline the field, which has collectively won 14 Grand Slam and 188 WTA singles and doubles titles, for the 2014 Connecticut Open presented by United Technologies, it was announced today by Tournament Director Anne Worcester. The WTA event, which is part of the Emirates Airline US Open Series, will be held August 15-23, 2014 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale,

Kvitova, the 2012 Connecticut Open Champion, marched through the Wimbledon fortnight the past two weeks to grab her second career Grand Slam title in four years, becoming just the third two-time winner in women’s singles since 1996. The Czech star defeated Bouchard in the final, the first Grand Slam final of the young star’s career. The 20-year-old has rapidly ascended the rankings to become the highest-ranked Canadian player in history, thanks to semifinals appearances at both the Australian and French Opens, along with capturing her first WTA title at Nurnberg. This will be her first appearance at the Connecticut Open.

Petra Kvitova

Halep is having a fantastic season highlighted by a finals appearance at the French Open, reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon, and winning the title in Doha, all of which have catapulted her to a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world. She returns to defend her 2013 Connecticut Open title, where she defeated Kvitova to win the trophy.

Aside from Halep, Kvitova and Bouchard, five other players in this year’s Connecticut Open field are ranked in the WTA top 20 including No. 15 and four-time Connecticut Open Champion Caroline Wozniacki, who will be chasing a record fifth title in New Haven (currently tied with Venus Williams with four Connecticut Open titles). In addition to Wozniacki, No. 13 Flavia Pennetta, who won in Indian Wells earlier this year; No. 14 and 2012 French Open finalist Sara Errani; No. 16 Carla Suarez-Navarro, who will be making her fourth Connecticut Open appearance; and No. 19 Ekaterina Makarova, a Grand Slam doubles champion, who advanced to the quarterfinals at New Haven last year, will compete for the title.

Caroline Wozniacki

Joining the top-20 stars in this year’s field are American Coco Vandeweghe, a former US Open Junior Champion who also triumphed at s’-Hertogenbosh to capture her first WTA title; Garbine Muguruza, who advanced to this year’s French Open quarterfinals and defeated World No. 1 Serena Williams along the way; Roberta Vinci, who teamed with Errani to complete the doubles Grand Slam at this year’s Wimbledon; Shuai Zhang, who advanced to the semifinals at Birmingham, Kuala Lumpur and Acapulco this year; Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova, who advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and made a finals appearance in Birmingham, England; Klara Koukalova, a victor in Florianopolis and finals attendee in Rio de Janeiro and Hobart; Elina Svitolina, who advanced to the semifinals in Nurnberg; and Casey Dellacqua, a Birmingham semifinalist.

Rounding out the field are Magdalena Rybarikova, a four-time WTA tournament winner and semifinalist at s’-Hertogenbosch; Kurumi Nara, winner in Rio de Janeiro; Camila Giorgi, who advanced to the finals in Katowice; and Bojana Jovanovski.

“The 2014 Connecticut Open presented by United Technologies player field is loaded with talent – Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova and Wimbledon Finalist Genie Bouchard; Defending Connecticut Open Champion Simona Halep and four-time Connecticut Open Champion Caroline Wozniacki; and rising stars such as Spaniard Garbine Muguruza and American Coco Vandeweghe,” said Worcester. “All told, we have three of the top 10 players in the world, eight of the top 20, and with the men’s event featuring James Blake, Andy Roddick and Jim Courier, the tournament promises to be exceptionally entertaining this year.”

On Wednesday, August 20, Fairfield native James Blake, a two-time Connecticut Open Champion and former top-five ranked player, will matchup against Jim Courier, a four-time Grand Slam Champion and former World No. 1. On Thursday, August 21, Blake will face-off against Andy Roddick, another former World No. 1 and Grand Slam Champion. Both matches will be played following the 7:00 p.m. WTA feature match on their respective nights, and they will be best of three sets, with a super tie-break played for the third set. In addition, fans interested in participating in a Pro-Am with these American stars before the matches, or who want to capitalize on a party complete with dinner and a “meet and greet,” should visit www.ctopen.org for more information.

The field will be completed in the coming weeks with the addition of four wildcards, which the tournament will award, and the addition of six players who will advance through the 48 player qualifying draw. The first two seeds at the tournament will receive a bye.

Secure your tickets today, starting at only $25, to see a top notch women’s field and men’s legends up close and personal by logging on to www.ctopen.org, calling 1-855-464-8366, or visiting our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter).

About Connecticut Open presented by United Technologies

Connecticut Open presented by United Technologies is now owned by the State of Connecticut and is newly minted as a not-for-profit 501c3 charitable organization. However, the event has always existed to give back to the community, and has always been much more than just a tennis tournament; it is a leading example of leveraging a large-scale international sporting event to generate $26 million in regional economic impact and to build community pride, spirit and engagement, especially among youth. The women’s-only WTA event will be held August 15-23, 2014 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale, and feature six different competitions including WTA qualifying, WTA singles, WTA doubles, Men’s Legends, US Open National Playoffs Championship, and the Maureen Connelly Cup. The Connecticut Open is prominently featured domestically on ESPN2 and also broadcast around the world. For more information about the tournament and tickets, visit www.ctopen.org or call 1-855-464-8366.

About United Technologies

United Technologies, based in Hartford, Connecticut, provides high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries. For more information, visit our website at www.utc.com or follow us on Twitter: @UTC.

Topics: Caroline Wozniacki, Connecticut Open, Flavia Pennetta, Genie Bouchard, Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Sports, Tennis, Wimbledon, Wta

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July 9, 2014 at 9:24 am

@connecticutopen – @Wimbledon CHAMPION @Petra_Kvitova , WIMBLEDON FINALIST @geniebouchard , DEFENDING CT OPEN CHA…- http://t.co/xibXyfbNVC