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2008 Champion: Serena Williams
Serena Williams put the finishing touches to championship clay court form on Sunday afternoon with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory against Vera Zvonareva in the Family Circle Cup final. It is her third clay court title, following title runs in 2002 at Rome and Roland Garros. In spite of her No.5 seeding, Williams was considered by many as one of the two or three top contenders at the Tier I event, alongside top seed Jelena Jankovic and No.2 seed Maria Sharapova. After all she came into Charleston on a 10-match winning streak that brought her back-to-back titles at Bangalore and Miami. Read more... |
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A Championship Sunday to Remember
Six Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stars - including megastar Serena Williams - take the Stadium court for a piece of Tier I title glory. First on the schedule at 11:00am will be the doubles final, pitting No.2 seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama against the unseeded, surprise finalist pair of Edina Gallovits and Olga Govortsova. Srebotnik and Sugiyama have been playing together since just over a year ago and in that short time have placed themselves as one of the best teams in the world, winning titles at Toronto last summer and Miami just a few weeks ago (both Tier I events like this one). Read more... |
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Williams Defeats Cornet to Reach Final
Serena Williams overcame an early match deficit against surprise semifinalist Alize Cornet on Saturday afternoon and sent the French teen home in straight sets to reach her second career Family Circle Cup final.
Cornet, just 18 years old, followed up her semifinal from Amelia Island last week with another final four appearance on the green clay here, although she did have to work hard to make that round.
Read more... |
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Zvonareva Tops Dementieva to Set Final
It was definitely a Semifinal Saturday to remember at the 2008 Family Circle Cup. After Serena Williams' tight 7-5, 6-3 win over Alize Cornet to start the day it was Vera Zvonareva's time to shine, as she won an all-Russian clash against Elena Dementieva to reach the final of the prestigious Tier I tournament.
Often a fast starter, the No.9-seeded Zvonareva came out of the blocks firing under sunny skies, racing ahead 5-1 and going up 30-15 on her serve to get to within two points of a first set rout. Read more... |
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35th Anniversary Celebration Events
What a glorious day it was during semifinal Saturday on Daniel Island at the 2008 Family Circle Cup. It was a day where the sun was shining, yet the stars were out. The stars were none other than past champions who once ruled the Cup’s green clay from the very first match on Hilton Head Island in 1973 to last year’s championships held here in Charleston. This year, the Family Circle Cup was graced with the presence of legendary commentator, writer and Tennis Hall of Fame inductee, Bud Collins. Collins was there 35 years ago when Rosie Casals took the very first title and the check for an unheard of $30,000. Read more... |
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35th Anniversary Kick-Off - A Star-Studded Event
The 2008 Family Circle Cup had its official opening on Tuesday evening, as the 35th Anniversary Celebration Kick-Off took place on Family Circle Magazine Stadium court. Opening the Stadium court celebration was the Burke High School marching band, a national award-winning marching band from the local area. Following their performance was a formal introduction of the entirte player field, where, one by one, the competitors in this year's tournament were introduced to the crowd and stood in line along the singles sideline. Read more... |
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Player Party presented by SunTrust
While the star-studded cast of the Family Circle Cup kicked off the on-court portion of the tournament during the day, on Monday night it was time to kick off the off-court proceedings as Saks Fifth Avenue hosted the official player party, sponsored by Suntrust.
For one night, the famed department store in downtown Charleston was changed into the center of celebration for one of the premier events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour calendar, with live music, a variety of food, a candy station and, of course, all the shopping one could imagine. Read more...
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"A Look Back with Bud" by Bud Collins
Legendary tennis commentator and columnist Bud Collins shared his fondest memories of the Family Circle Cup each day in this rousing feature throughout our 35th Anniversary Celebration.
Bud's witty enthusiam entertained the crowds throughout the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, and now fans at home can take a look back at some of this event's brightest moments through Bud's colorful descriptions. Click here to enjoy Bud's commentary... |
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Family Circle Cup / Center for Women Auctions
The Center for Women has reached more than 70,000 women since it was established in 1990, connecting thousands of women across the Tri-County area to professional sources for practical help by providing counseling, facilitating peer support groups, and making referrals. A selection of activities and auctions have been designed to raise money and awareness for the Center for Women. View the exciting items up for bid... |
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Champions Return for 35th Anniversary!
Some of the most celebrated women to play the game including Rosie Casals, titlist at the inaugural Family Circle Cup in 1973, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Conchita Martinez, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, and Iva Majoli will be present to mark this important milestone in women’s tennis on Sat., April 19th. This distinguished group of retired Family Circle Cup champions will take part in various activities at the tournament highlighted by a special on-court “Parade of Champions” ceremony emceed by legendary tennis commentator Bud Collins on Saturday, April 19th. Be sure to join us for this special day. Read more ... |
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Dunlop Chosen as Official Ball of Family Circle Cup The specially made tournament balls will be produced in the same production run as the Dunlop balls to be used at Roland Garros, and will be uniquely adorned with the Family Circle Cup’s 35th Anniversary logo. Read more... |
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Win4Life Program presented by Prudential
The interactive sessions help WIN4LIFE participants develop life skills and improve their tennis game. At the mentoring seminars, topics such as tennis history, college opportunities, physical fitness tips, improving communication skills and information about professional careers behind the scenes in tennis will be discussed. As a testament to the success of last year’s program, many of the kids from the 2007 program have been asked to serve as junior counselors for the 2008 group. Read more... |
• 2008 Family Circle Cup Player Field
• 2007 Family Circle Cup Review
• 2006 Family Circle Cup Review
• Family Circle Cup Historical Champions Review
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