Week #20: First WTA titles for Dulgheru and Rezai

Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru got one of the most surprising victories in the WTA Tour as she captured the title in the WTA Premier tournament of Warsaw, which was weakened by the late withdrawals of 1st and 2nd seeds Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska. Dulgheru, who was ranked below Top-200 before the tournament and had to go through the qualification to get her place in the Main Draw, astonished everyone as she progressed to the final defeating very solid players such as 5th seed Sara Errani and 6th seed Daniela Hantuchova. In the final, Dulgheru defeated Alona Bondarenko, who showed a great performance throughout the tournament, reaching the final without dropping a set. Hantuchova and Anne Keothavong completed the semis, while former #1 Maria Sharapova returned after a 9-month break due to a shoulder injury. Sharapova suffered to defeat Italian Tathina Garbin in the 1st round and enjoyed an easy victory over lucky-loser Darya Kustova before losing to Bondarenko in the quarters.

In Strasbourg, French player Aravane Rezai captured her 1st WTA title in a tournament plenty of upsets, as only one seeded player was able to reach the quarter-finals. Rezai upsetted 2nd seed Sybille Bammer in the 1st round and then enjoyed an easy draw to the title, as she didn't face any Top-50 player. In the final, Rezai (WTA #79) defeated Lucie Hradecka (WTA #84), who also enjoyed an easy draw not facing any Top-70 player. Ayumi Morita and Viktoriya Kutuzova completed the semis.

Warsaw (POL), Premier, $600,000
Final: Alexandra Dulgheru (ROM) def Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 7/6 3/6 6/0

Strasbourg (FRA), International, $220,000
Final: Aravane Rezai (FRA) def Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 7/6 6/1