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Bank of the West Classic
07/02/2012 | Press release
Bank of the West Classic Players Highlight Wimbledon Quarterfinals (7/2/12)
distributed by noodls on 07/02/2012 18:53
Stanford, CA (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) - The Wimbledon Quarterfinalists were decided today and four of the eight players remaining are set to play at the 2012 Bank of the West Classic, including Serena Williams, Sabine Lisicki, Angelique Kerber, and Tamira Paszek.
Lisicki advanced to the quarterfinals at the All England Club for the third time in her career, defeating world No. 1 Maria Sharapova in straight sets. In a rematch of last year's Wimbledon semi-final, Lisicki's strong serve overpowered the reigning French Open champion Sharapova for a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Having lost all three previous matchups with the 2004 Wimbledon Champion, the 15th-seed Lisicki is looking to win her first Grand Slam singles title. She will face fellow German Angelique Kerber on Center Court tomorrow Tuesday, July 3rd.
Kerber, also scheduled to play at the 2012 Bank of the West Classic, reached the quarterfinals after a dominating performance against former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters. The 8th seeded Kerber didn't waste any time in the match, defeating the four time Grand Slam champion Clijsters 6-1, 6-1 to earn a tour leading 44 wins this year.
The Lisicki/Kerber match guarantees that the Bank of the West Classic will have at least one Wimbledon semi-finalist. The winner of Lisicki/Kerber will move on to face either Agnieszka Radwanska or Maria Kirilenko.
In the bottom half of the draw, 13-time Grand Slam champion and 2011 Bank of the West Classic champion Serena Williams advanced after defeating wildcard Yaroslava Shvedova 6-1, 2-6, 7-5. Williams, a four time Wimbledon champion, will move on to face the defending Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
Rounding out the draw is surprise quarterfinalist Tamira Paszek. Paszek advanced to her second consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal after beating 21st seed Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-2 in just 63 minutes. Earning her third career singles title just a few weeks ago at Eastbourne, the Austrian Paszek is the only unseeded player still remaining at the All England Club. She will face former world No. 1 and the tournament's No. 2 seed Victoria Azarenka in Tuesday's semi-finals.
The 2012 Bank of the West Classic will be held from July 9th- 15th at the Taube Family Tennis Center at Stanford University. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.
Individual session tickets to the tournament's opening round start at $26.
The Bank of the West Classic, a premier WTA event, is now in its 42nd year and features a 28-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. The event is owned and operated by IMG and serves as the opening women's event of the Emirates Airline US Open Series.
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: The Bank of the West Classic is one of the oldest women-only professional tennis tournaments in the world and is the first stop of the Emirates Airline US Open Series. A WTA Premier event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $740,000. Held on Stanford University's campus at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams. The Bank of the West Classic is owned and operated by IMG.
ABOUT BANK OF THE WEST: Founded in 1874, $62.4 billion-asset Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com), member FDIC and equal housing lender, offers a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services. The bank operates more than 700 retail and commercial banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 80 countries with nearly 200,000 employees.
ABOUT IMG: IMG Worldwide is a global sports, entertainment and media business, with nearly 3,000 employees operating in 30 countries around the globe. IMG's areas of expertise are diverse and wide ranging: IMG College; IMG's Joint Ventures in China, Brazil, India and Turkey; IMG Media; IMG Events and Federations; IMG Fashion; IMG Models; IMG Art+Commerce; IMG Clients; IMG Academies; IMG Consulting and IMG Licensing. More information is available at www.imgworld.com.
