MEAC_ALLAMERICAN
Legend
Henin, Jankovic Qualify For Madrid
By Tennis Week
Reigning champion Justine Henin and first-time qualifier Jelena Jankovic have secured their spots in the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, set to take place at Madrid Arena in the Spanish capital, Nov. 6-11.
Four-time French Open champion Henin and Wimbledon mixed doubles champ Jankovic are currently in first and second place respectively in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships with 3,245 and 2,990 points each.
Henin leads the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour with five singles titles on the season. Jankovic has won four titles on three different surfaces.
World No. 1 Henin, winner of a record-equaling third consecutive Roland Garros title, earned a spot in the season-ending event for the seventh straight year.
"I have excellent memories of playing in Madrid last year and winning the Sony Ericsson Championships," said the 25- year-old Belgian. "The title meant a lot to me as I hadn’t played since the U.S. Open. I was unsure of how I would do, yet I wound up beating the top two players Mauresmo and Sharapova to finish the year No. 1. I am proud of the fact that for the second year in a row, I am the first to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships as one of the elite eight singles players and can’t wait to go back there and be a part of that special atmosphere."
Jankovic is the first Serbian woman representing her country to qualify for the season-ending event.
"I really can’t believe it. Here I am, No. 3 in the world and to have qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships at this point of the season, it’s amazing," said Jankovic. "At the beginning of last year I was going through a really tough time and was considering quitting the sport, going back to university, and 15 months later it has all turned around. It’s incredible. I’m delighted to be part of such an elite event, where only the best players play, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world."
Henin has won 34 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles and six Grand Slam titles in her career (four at Roland Garros, one Australian Open and one U.S. Open) and over $16 million in career prize money. In 2007, she leads all players with five singles crowns at the Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Qatar Total Open in Doha, Qatar; J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland; Roland Garros in Paris, France and International Women’s Open in Eastbourne, Great Britain. Last year, she claimed her first season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships title after qualifying for the sixth straight year. To date, she has amassed over 76 non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles rankings, seventh all-time behind Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport.
Jankovic is the most improved player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in the last year, improving her singles ranking from No. 38 in May 2006 to her current career-high of No. 3. This year, she has won four singles titles on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand; Family Circle Cup in Charleston, SC, USA; Inter****onali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Italy; and DFS Classic in Birmingham, Great Britain and is the only player to have wins over both Serena and Venus Williams in the last 12 months.
The Sony Ericsson Championships will gather the top eight singles players and top four doubles teams from the regular 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season. Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur are the reigning doubles champions.
By Tennis Week
Reigning champion Justine Henin and first-time qualifier Jelena Jankovic have secured their spots in the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, set to take place at Madrid Arena in the Spanish capital, Nov. 6-11.
Four-time French Open champion Henin and Wimbledon mixed doubles champ Jankovic are currently in first and second place respectively in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships with 3,245 and 2,990 points each.
Henin leads the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour with five singles titles on the season. Jankovic has won four titles on three different surfaces.
World No. 1 Henin, winner of a record-equaling third consecutive Roland Garros title, earned a spot in the season-ending event for the seventh straight year.
"I have excellent memories of playing in Madrid last year and winning the Sony Ericsson Championships," said the 25- year-old Belgian. "The title meant a lot to me as I hadn’t played since the U.S. Open. I was unsure of how I would do, yet I wound up beating the top two players Mauresmo and Sharapova to finish the year No. 1. I am proud of the fact that for the second year in a row, I am the first to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships as one of the elite eight singles players and can’t wait to go back there and be a part of that special atmosphere."
Jankovic is the first Serbian woman representing her country to qualify for the season-ending event.
"I really can’t believe it. Here I am, No. 3 in the world and to have qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships at this point of the season, it’s amazing," said Jankovic. "At the beginning of last year I was going through a really tough time and was considering quitting the sport, going back to university, and 15 months later it has all turned around. It’s incredible. I’m delighted to be part of such an elite event, where only the best players play, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world."
Henin has won 34 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles and six Grand Slam titles in her career (four at Roland Garros, one Australian Open and one U.S. Open) and over $16 million in career prize money. In 2007, she leads all players with five singles crowns at the Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Qatar Total Open in Doha, Qatar; J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland; Roland Garros in Paris, France and International Women’s Open in Eastbourne, Great Britain. Last year, she claimed her first season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships title after qualifying for the sixth straight year. To date, she has amassed over 76 non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles rankings, seventh all-time behind Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport.
Jankovic is the most improved player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in the last year, improving her singles ranking from No. 38 in May 2006 to her current career-high of No. 3. This year, she has won four singles titles on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand; Family Circle Cup in Charleston, SC, USA; Inter****onali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Italy; and DFS Classic in Birmingham, Great Britain and is the only player to have wins over both Serena and Venus Williams in the last 12 months.
The Sony Ericsson Championships will gather the top eight singles players and top four doubles teams from the regular 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season. Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur are the reigning doubles champions.
