AMERICAN FINK ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS
Rancho Mirage, Calif. (Feb. 10, 2012) – Southern California native Amanda Fink knocked off No. 1 seed Claire Feuerstein of France 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Childhelp Desert Classic pro tennis tournament benefiting Childhelp Merv Griffin Village in nearby Beaumont, Calif.
The tournament is a $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger that is taking place at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage. Qualifying for the tournament took place Sunday, Monday and Tuesday while main draw matches began Tuesday, February 7. Admission is free to the tournament, which is being co-chaired by Jackie Cooper and Lornie Kuhle.
Fink, who graduated from the University of Southern California in 2009, won her second consecutive three-set match. “Claire has a strong forehand and puts a lot of variety on her shots so it was a big challenge to overcome that,” Fink said. The third set was neck and neck with some high level tennis and mentally I just stuck in there and pulled out the victory.”
The-25-year old Fink has recently been focusing on a couple aspects of her game to improve her pro career. “I’ve really been working on stepping up and taking returns and using my serve to make points shorter and it’s nice to see the hard work starting to pay off,” Fink said. Fink will face No. 6 seed Lenka Wienerova of Slovakia, who defeated fellow Slovakian Zuzana Zlochova 6-1, 6-2.
Jimmy Connors, an 8-time Grand Slam champion who’s often regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, will do a fireside chat to raise funds for the Childhelp Merv Griffin Village in nearby Beaumont, Calif. as part of the Childhelp Desert Classic. The event will take place at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11. Anyone interested in information on the event can e-mail tournament director Lornie Kuhle at ekuhle@aol.com for details.
In the other matches on Friday, Florida native Alexandra Kiick, who won five consecutive matches earlier in the week, fell 6-3, 6-2 to Valeria Solovieva of Russia. Solovieva will face Johanna Konta of Australia, who beat American and No. 8 seed Lauren Davis.
In doubles, Ekaterine Gorgodze and Sofia Shapatava of Georgia defeated Americans Amanda Fink and Elizabeth Lumpkin 6-1, 6-3 to reach the finals. They will face Lenka Wienerova and Valeria Solovieva, who beat Amra Sadikovic and Maria Sanchez 6-3, 6-3.
For information on contributions to Childhelp, e-mail tournament director Lornie Kuhle at EKuhle@aol.com.
Friday’s results from the Childhelp Desert Classic.
USTA Women’s $25,000 Pro Circuit event at Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage.
Singles draw – 32
Doubles draw – 16
Surface: Hard court
Friday, February 10 – RESULTS
Singles – Main Draw
Amanda Fink, USA, def. Claire Feuerstein (1), France, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.
Lenka Wienerova (6), Slovakia, def. Zuzana Zlochova, Slovakia, 6-1, 6-2.
Valeria Solovieva, Russia, def. Alexandra Kiick, USA, 6-3, 6-2.
Johanna Konta, Australia, def. Lauren Davis (8), USA, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Doubles – Main Draw
Ekaterine Gorgodze/Sofia Shapatava, Georgia, def. Amanda Fink/Elizabeth Lumpkin, USA, 6-1,
6-3.
Valeria Solovieva, Russia/Lenka Wienerova, Slovakia, def. Amra Sadikovic, Switzerland/Maria Sanchez, USA, 6-3, 6-3.
Saturday’s February 10 – SCHEDULE
Court 1 – starting at 10 a.m.
Amanda Fink vs. Lenka Wienerova (6) followed by
Johanna Konta vs. Valeria Solovieva followed by
Valeria Solovieva/Lenka Wienerova vs. Ekaterine Gorgodze/Sofia Shapatava
Share this article:
Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:
10sBalls Top Stories
- No Key Biscayne, No Problem; New Site, Same Great Miami Open Tennis Event
- 10SBALLS SHARES FAVORITE EPA TENNIS PHOTOS Of 2018
- THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR ANY TENNIS PLAYER & FAN
- ATP MEN’S TENNIS • WILL IT MOVE FROM LONDON TO MANCHESTER OR TOKYO OR SINGAPORE? OR TURIN?
- ALIX RAMSAY WRITES TO “TENNIS SANTA CLAUS” WITH HER WISHES • ANDY MURRAY!
- CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE JACK KRAMER CLUB – DECEMBER 15 TO 22 2018 • UTR • ORACLE • AND AN AWESOME NEW TENNIS EVENT
- 10sBalls.com Shares Alix Ramsay’s Rambling On About Tennis and The Holidays
- ROGER FEDERER JOINED BY RAFA NADAL FOR THE 2019 LAVER CUP FESTIVITIES IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- TENNIS PLAYERS’ UNION – IS IT NEEDED? BY MARK WINTERS
- Tennis News: Wilson’s Revolution Is Here – THE CLASH
- ROTTERDAM TENNIS TOURNEY DIRECTOR RICHARD KRAJICEK ANNOUNCES DAVID GOFFIN TO PLAY IN 2019 ABN AMRO
- JELENA VEMIC’S PHOTO GALLERY
- TENNIS NEWS FROM LONDON • 10SBALLS REPORTS ON THE LAWN TENNIS WRITERS HOLIDAY LUNCHEON AT WIMBLEDON’S DEBENTURE CLUB
- 10sBalls.com Shares a Great Gift For A Tennis Player – The Functional Tennis Match Journal
- BNP PARIBAS TENNIS OPEN NAMED 2018 WTA PREMIER MANDATORY TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR
In Case You Missed It
EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA
Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE
Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER
According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife
Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos