The PNC International Tennis Classic at Oxford Athletic Club North in Wexford continued through the second round of qualifying singles with the No. 1 seed Svetlana Krivencheva of Bulgaria defeating Kristin Schlukebir of the United States, 6-4, 6-2.
Krivencheva escaped an upset Sunday before defeating Petra Rampre of Slovenia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
“I made an adjustment in my strokes and took a better look at the ball,” Krivencheva said. “It helped to overcome my tough opponent and friend in the third set.”
No. 5 seed Bea Bielik of the United States narrowly defeated fellow American Ally Baker in back-to-back tiebreakers, 7-6, (8-6) and 7-6 (7-3).
You may remember Bielik as the Women's Champion at the Mt. Lebanon's National Collegiate Clay Tournament a few years ago.
Other matches featured No. 2 seed Maria Geznenge of Bulgaria defeating Joanne Moore of Great Britain, 6-2, 6-4, No. 4 seed Jana Nejedly of Canada beating
Abigail Spears of the United States, 6-2, 6-4, and No. 7 seed, Maria Sharapova of Russia topping Maria Fernanda of Brazil, 6-3, 6-4. Also, Tanner Cochran of the United Statesdowned Tory Zawacki, 6-3, 6-0, and Nana Miyagi of Japan got past Jessica Steck of Slovenia, 6-1, 7-6, (7-5).
No. 1 seed Amy Frazier currently leads the main draw of the PNC International Tennis Classic. The 2000 Champion, Sandra Cacic of the United States, and 2001 Champion, Alina Judoka of Russia, are trying for their second PNC International Tennis Classic championship. Last year's finalist, Marie-Eve Pelletier, returns to the tournament with fellow Canadian, Maureen Drake.
A battle of possible top ten players, Ashley Harkleroad and Maria Sharapova, might be in the tournament's future.
Tennis Magazine has called Harkleroad, 17, and Sharapova, 15, are on a fast track to a bright future.
Mashona Washington, Wimbledon finalist Malavai Washington's sister, is expected to continue her rise in the Sanex WTA rankings in this year's PNC International Tennis Classic. Washington is seeded No. 8.
SCHEDULE
There are a variety of remaining tennis events still to come at the PNC International Tennis Classic.
On Wednesday, The main draw begins at 10 a.m. Also, there will be featured doubles matches at 7:30 p.m.
In addition to the matches, clinics with WTT members.
USA Tennis Grassroots Challenge – Clinic with pros from 6:30 – 7:30.
On Thursday, main-draw matches begin at 1 p.m.
Friday features quarterfinal matches at 1 p.m., followed by evening singles and doubles matches.
On Saturday, semifinal matches start at 12:30 p.m. There will also be evening singles matches starting at 7 p.m. The finals of the High SChool Challenge will be played at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday features championship doubles at 1 p.m., followed by championship singles.
A silent auction and raffle will be held during the week as well.
Tickets are available for Championship Weekend at $15 a day. The PNC International Tennis Classic is a USTA Professional Circuit Event. Call the Ticket Hotline at (724) 933-1911, Ext.112, for more information.
Jim Rudolph's Tennis2day Notebook appears Tuesdays in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
