HEAD Pros Thrive on Tour

HEAD players prospered at ATP and WTA tournaments this past weekend.

HEAD player Svetlana Kuznetsova, of Russia reached the final round at the Qatar Telecom German Open Berlin against Ana Ivanovic, but fell just short of victory. Rain tried to dampen the tournament, but skies cleared on Sunday as Ivanovic prevailed in a nail-biter against Kuznetsova ending with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Kuznetsova dominated the tournament with her MicroGel Extreme.

Ivanovic was pushed to the limits by No.3-seeded Kuznetsova, having to recover from a one set deficit and losing a 5-3 third set lead before clinching the title in two hours and 15 minutes.

“I'm obviously very disappointed with how I played today; I was a little tired and my shots weren't going where I wanted them to go," Kuznetsova said. "But Ana played well. I have to say that this week I had a lot of pluses and one big minus."

In other WTA news, HEAD player Amelie Mauresmo, of France, returned to the court this week after acute appendicitis sidelined her for four weeks. She and Kunzetsova enter the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome this week as the No. 1 and 2 seed in singles play.

At the ATP Masters Series tournament in Rome, HEAD player Filippo Volandri, of Italy reached the semifinal. Along the way, Volandri defeated world No. 1 Roger Federer 6-2, 6-4, in the third round. Filippo plays with the Flexpoint Prestige MP.

After clinching the match point, Volandri dropped to his back and then enjoyed a victory lap of center court, greeting the Italian fans. It is the first time that an Italian player has reached the Rome quarterfinals since Volandri himself lost to Federer in the quarterfinals in 2003.

In the doubles competition, HEAD players Fabrice Santoro, of France, and Nenad Zimonjic, of Serbia, won the final round against Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States. Santoro plays with a Flexpoint Radical MP while Zimonjic dominates on the court with his Flexpoint Prestige MP.

Meanwhile, at the Prague Open, HEAD player Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, reached the semifinals on Saturday playing with a Flexpoint Instinct.