Bell Challenge

She needed to reach the semifinals in Québec City to qualify as an alternate for the Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2008, and with three easy wins to start the week she achieved the feat with flying colors. But she didn't stop there by any means, winning that semifinal handily on Saturday then battling past a game Bethanie Mattek on Sunday to capture the Tier III Bell Challenge title.
 

Nadia Petrova got one step closer to her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title of the year Saturday, defeating Angela Haynes in straight sets to reach the final of the Bell Challenge.
 
Haynes, who had never reached a singles quarterfinal on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour before this week, had reached the semifinals with some impressive wins, and as a lucky loser, no less. But she drew the top-seeded Petrova in that round and her breakthrough run came to an abrupt end in 50 minutes, as she fell, 61 63, to the world's No.11 player.
 

Nadia Petrova clinched the second alternate berth for the Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2008 on Friday, with a quarterfinal win halfway across the world in Québec City.
 
If Petrova - the No.1 seed at the Tier III event - lost her quarterfinal with Melinda Czink, then Flavia Pennetta would have joined Agnieszka Radwanska in the alternate line-up at the prestigious season-ender, which will be held next week in Doha, Qatar. But she beat the unseeded Hungarian, 61 64, thus overtaking Pennetta in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships.

The last four quarterfinal berths were snapped up at the Bell Challenge on Thursday, with the winners including No.5-seeded Canadian sensation Aleksandra Wozniak and a trio of non-seeds.
 
Wozniak, who has rocketed up the rankings this year and is currently at No.37 in the world, cruised past qualifier Carly Gullickson in straight sets in the feature night match, 63 62. She now moves into the quarters of the Tier III event for the second time in four appearances, having gotten to this stage in 2006 as well (falling to Lilia Osterloh).
 

France's Nathalie Dechy advanced to the quarterfinals of the $175 000 WTA Quebec Challenge on Thursday with a 6-1, 7-5 upset of seventh seed Olga Govortsova of Belarus.
 
Dechy doomed Govortsova's bid for her first career title and advanced to a Friday matchup against American lucky loser Angela Haynes, who ousted France's Severine Bremond 6-2, 6-4.
 
The Dechy-Haynes winner will meet either Russian top seed Nadia Petrova or Hungary's Melinda Czink in a Saturday semifinal.
 

The first round wrapped up and the second round began on Day 3 of the Bell Challenge in Québec City. Among those moving into the quarterfinals of the Tier III event was top seed and tournament favorite Nadia Petrova, who cruised in straight sets in the night match.
 

Top-seed Nadia Petrova breezed into the second round at the Challenge Bell on Tuesday after easing to a 6-1 6-2 victory over Russian compatriot qualifier Maria Mokh.
 
The 26-year-old former world number three, who won her eighth singles title at Cincinnati, will face Varvara Lepchenko in the next round after the American qualifier beat Rossana De Los Rios of Paraguay 6-1 6-3.
 

Aleksandra Wozniak became the first Canadian woman to win a tournament title in 20 years in July. Yesterday, she enjoyed a medal moment.
 
The Québec native was honored by the members of the Canadian National Assembly. To highlight the recent performances of the 20-year-old Wozniak, the MNAs presented her with the Medal of the National Assembly, which is for the exclusive use of parliamentarians and is awarded to persons of their choice who merit special recognition.
 

First round action kicked off at the Bell Challenge in Québec City on Monday, and already one of the tournament favorites has been ousted, as No.3 seed Sybille Bammer was ousted.
 
Bammer struggled early in her match with American teenager Melanie Oudin, falling behind 64 20, before finding her range and winning 10 of the next 13 games to win the second set and lead 4-2 in the third. But the momentum swung sharply back the other way as Oudin found her range again, and the Austrian lefty was defeated, 64 36 75.
 

Former world No.3 Nadia Petrova headlines the field at the Bell Challenge in Québec City, the penultimate stop of the 2008 season. The 26-year-old Russian has enjoyed a terrific resurgence of form in recent months, reaching the finals at Eastbourne and Stuttgart and winning her eighth singles title at Cincinnati. But while success this week could take the world No.13 closer to her goal of a return to the Top 10, there is no shortage of talent standing in the way.