Vardan
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Natural History Museum [attachmentid=17058]
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Vahe, Вижу проффисионал фотографировал, это ты???
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ЛОЛ :lol:
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CONFERENCE FINALS PHOENIX (1) vs. SAN ANTONIO (2) Gm 1: SAN 121, PHO 114 | 300k | Post. Gm 2: at PHO, Tue., May 24, 9:00, ESPN Gm 3: at SAN, Sat., May 28, 9:00, ESPN Gm 4: at SAN, Mon., May 30, 8:30, ABC *Gm 5: at PHO, Wed., June 1, 9:00, ESPN *Gm 6: at SAN, Fri., June 3, 9:00, ESPN *Gm 7: at PHO, Sun., June 5, 8:30, ABC MIAMI (1) vs. DETROIT (2) Gm 1: at MIA, Mon., May 23, 8:00, TNT Gm 2: at MIA, Wed., May 25, 8:00, TNT Gm 3: at DET, Sun., May 29, 8:00, TNT Gm 4: at DET, Tue., May 31, 8:00, TNT *Gm 5: at MIA, Thu., June 2, 8:00, TNT *Gm 6: at DET, Sat., June 4, 8:00, TNT *Gm 7: at MIA, Mon., June 6, 8:00, TNT
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May 21, 2005 © Istanbul Cup Venus Wins First Istanbul Cup ISTANBUL - Former world No.1 Venus Williams won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title in over a year on Saturday, defeating rising star Nicole Vaidisova 63 62 in the final of the inaugural Istanbul Cup, a Tier III clay court event held in Istanbul, Turkey. The top-seeded Williams dominated the No.2 seed from the outset, serving well, starting the match aggressively and rushing the net at every opportunity. After Williams raced to a 4-0 lead, Vaidisova broke back and held for 4-2, but there were no more breaks and the American held on convicingly to take the first set in 33 minutes. The second set was much the same, with the 13th-ranked Williams holding on to her own serve while breaking the Czech teenager twice, eventually taking the match in one hour and 10 minutes to claim her 32nd career title, and seventh on clay. "I played against four very different styles of players this week, which is good preparation for me," said Williams on her week in Istanbul. "Nicole is a very good player who's only going to get better. I really enjoyed playing against her, especially in the long rallies." "Venus was just too good today," said the 39th-ranked Vaidisova, who was facing Williams for the first time. "I was making lots of mistakes, but that was largely because I was forced into shots I don't normally have to make. It's been a good week for me. Of course I'm disappointed to lose today, but it's my first claycourt final and I'm glad that I'm improving on this surface." It will be the fifth time that Williams heads into a Grand Slam after winning a tune-up event the week before, and the first time heading into Roland Garros. The American won at New Haven the week before the US Open four straight times between 1999 and 2002. Twice she went on to win the US Open, in 2000 and 2001, and the other times she didn't do too badly, reaching the semifinals in 1999 and the final in 2002. "It's great to win my first tournament of the year, especially on the eve of a Grand Slam," said the two-time former Wimbledon and US Open champion. "I'm going to go into Roland Garros with lots of confidence, and after four good matches on clay." Previous to this week, it had been over a year since Williams had won her last event, which came at Warsaw last May. She has looked impressive all week in Istanbul, routing 117th-ranked Spaniard Marta Marrero 60 60 in her opening round, and easing past 60th-ranked Russian Anna Chakvetadze 62 61 in Thursday's quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Williams defeated 220th-ranked qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 61 63. Vaidisova was playing in her third career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour final, and her biggest one yet. She had already won titles last year at the Tier V event in Vancouver and the Tier IV in Tashkent. She began her week with a 62 63 win over 212th-ranked Croatian qualifier Ivana Abramovic, then almost let a 5-2 second set lead slip away in the quarterfinals before closing out 46th-ranked German Anna-Lena Groenefeld 75 76(6). In the semifinals, Vaidisova dropped the first set against No.3 seed Anna Smashnova of Israel before storming back to win 46 61 60. A milestone was reached on Saturday as Williams set a new season record for fewest games lost in winning a Tour singles title. The previous record of 27, set by Ana Ivanovic at Canberra and matched by Flavia Pennetta at Bogota and Kim Clijsters at Miami, was shattered by Williams, who lost just 12 games en route to the title this week. It is the fewest games lost since Elena Likhovtseva won at Forest Hills last August after losing just 11 games en route to the title. Saturday's match also marked just the second time this season that the top two seeds played for the title, after the Tokyo [Pan Pacific] final between top seed Lindsay Davenport and second seed Maria Sharapova, which Sharapova won in a third-set tie-break. In the doubles final, No.4 seeds Marrero and Antonella Serra Zanetti defeated unseeded Austrian sisters Daniela and Sandra Klemenschits 64 60 in 52 minutes. It was the second career Tour doubles title for each of the winners, with Marrero also winning at Sopot last year with Nuria Llagostera Vives, and Serra Zanetti also winning at Tashkent last year with sister Adriana.
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May 22, 2005 © Getty Images Roland Garros - First Round Preview PARIS - The year's second Grand Slam event kicks off on Monday in Paris. Here's a look at the matchups featuring the tournament's Top 16 seeds: (1) Lindsay Davenport (USA) vs. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) - Davenport Leads 1-0 World No.1 Davenport opens her Roland Garros campaign against a player she easily defeated in their only other career meeting. Davenport downed Srebotnik by a 60 61 count in a quarterfinal meeting last year at Strasbourg. However, Davenport hasn't taken the court since participating in Fed Cup action almost a month ago. Her last clay court appearance was a Charleston when she was forced to retire in her quarterfinal match with Justine Henin-Hardenne due to a hip flexor strain. (2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. Evgenia Linetskaya (RUS) - First Meeting Sharapova stands a mere 91 points away from the World No.1 ranking and will begin her quest for not only the Roland Garros title, but also the top seat in all of women's tennis against Linetskaya. Sharapova reached the quarterfinals last year in her first appearance at Roland Garros, but could have a tough opening round opponent on her hands. Linetskaya recently reached her first Tier I quarterfinals at Rome. (3) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) vs. Evie Dominikovic (AUS) - Mauresmo Leads 1-0 Once again, all eyes in France will be upon Mauresmo as she looks to final conquer the red clay of Paris. She will begin her two-week quest against No.111-ranked Dominikovic, whom she will be facing for the first time since 1999. Mauresmo has reached the quarters in Paris the last two years, but will be a strong title contender like any other year. She enters Paris after having captured her second straight title in Rome one week ago. (4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) vs. Barbora Strycova (CZE) - First Meeting Last year's runner-up Dementieva will look for a repeat performance at Roland Garros in 2005 and will start off against Strycova, whom she will be meeting for the first time. Dementieva started off the clay season strong in Charleston, reaching the finals where she lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne. However, she didn't fare as well in her last outing, an upset loss to Gisela Dulko in her first match at Paris. Strycova has gone 5-5 so far on clay in 2005. (5) Anastasia Myskina (RUS) vs. Maria Sanchez Lorenzo (ESP) - Myskina Leads 1-0 The defending Roland Garros champion returns to Paris seeking to duplicate her good fortunes in 2004. But Myskina comes to Roland Garros with three straight losses on clay and a dismal 8-9 record in 2005. The Russians mediocre results this season could be put to the test against Sanchez Lorenzo, who has reached at least the second round in Paris on four of her seven appearances at the event. (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs. (WC) Mathilde Johansson (FRA) - First Meeting With the experience of one Grand Slam title under her belt, Kuznetsova should have a sizable advantage against her No.249-ranked wild card opponent, Johansson. Kuznetsova will be making her third appearance at this event, having reached the fourth round at last year's event. She is still seeking her first title of the year and has performed well on clay this year, reaching the final at Warsaw and also the quarterfinals at Berlin. (7) Nadia Petrova (RUS) vs. Mashona Washington (USA) - First Meeting This will be the first career meeting between Petrova and Washington. Petrova has performed very well on clay in 2005, reaching the final in Berlin, semifinals at Amelia Island and quarters in Charleston. She looked well on her way to another strong week in Rome before a right thigh strain forced her early exit from the tournament. ( Patty Schnyder (SUI) vs. Yoon Jeong Cho (KOR) - First Meeting Schnyder enters Paris having one of the most consistent clay court seasons this year. She was runner-up to Mauresmo at Rome and also reached the semifinals at Berlin and Charleston, quarters in Warsaw and third round at Amelia Island. Schnyder, a former quaraterfinalist at Roland Garros will begin her week at Paris against Cho, who enters Paris with only two clay court matches in 2005 under her belt. (9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) vs. (Q) Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) - First Meeting After a difficult clay stretch, which included four straight losses, Zvonareva finally broke out with a semifinal performance at Rome. Zvonareva has made it to at least the third round in all three previous appearances in Paris and will seek another strong opening against No.146-ranked qualifier Meusburger. (10) Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) vs. Conchita Martinez (ESP) - Henin-Hardenne Leads 6-0 There may be no player more feared in this year's event than 2003 champion Henin-Hardenne, who enters Paris on a 17-match winning streak and a 20-1 record since her return to tennis in March. But the Belgian former No.1 will have anything but a cake walk in the first round against Martinez, the 2000 runner-up in Paris. However, Henin-Hardenne does hold a 6-0 career mark against the Spanish star. (11) Venus Williams (USA) vs. Marta Marrero (ESP) - Williams Leads 1-0 Venus went to Istanbul last week with the goal of getting some quality matches under her belt before hoping on a flight to Paris with a title and some added confidence to go along with it. Williams accomplished everything she had hoped and will now face Marrero for the second time in as many weeks. The American scored only her third career double bagel against Marrero in the second round at Istanbul last week. (12) Elena Bovina (RUS) vs. Maria Vento-Kabchi (VEN) - First Meeting Bovina made it through to the quarterfinals at Warsaw, Berlin and Rome, but will have to take on a dangerous Vento-Kabchi, who has been known to pull off an upset of this calibur from time to time. (13) Nathalie Dechy (FRA) vs. Michaela Pastikova (CZE) - Dechy Leads 1-0 Dechy comes to Paris from Strasbourg, where she was disappointed to not win the title as the tournament's top seed. She will be facing Pastikova for the first time in six years as she opens her Roland Garros as France's No.2 hope behind Mauresmo. (14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) vs. (Q) Meilen Tu (USA) - Clijsters Leads 1-0 After suffering that scary knee injury on a slide at Berlin, many did not expect Clijsters to be ready for Roland Garros. Still, the 2003 runner-up will attempt a return to the event where she has reached one final and two semifinals in her last three appearances. She will take on American qualifier Tu, whom she defeated in their only previous meeting. (15) Jelena Jankovic (SCG) vs. Anna Smashnova (ISR) - First Meeting Jankovic comes to Paris with the confidence of her first career Tier I semifinal at Berlin in her arsenal. She will be making her second appearance in the singles draw and will be looking for her first win at Roland Garros against Smashnova, who was a semifinalist last week at Istanbul. (16) Elena Likhovtseva (RUS) vs. Yuliana Fedak (UKR) - First Meeting Likhovtseva is the eighth Russian in the Top 16 seeds and will look to reach the second round for the eighth time in 11 trips to the event. Fedak carries an 8-5 clay court record in 2005 into this first round meeting.