Nadia Petrova

Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player. Petrova is an all-court aggressive player who is capable of hitting winners off both wings. Petrova\'s serve is considered her biggest asset and one of the best serves in the women\'s game. Petrova states hard courts as her preferred surface, however, she has been most successful on clay courts. As a junior, Petrova won the 1998 French Open, beating Jelena Dokić in the final. The same year she finished runner-up at the Orange Bowl to Elena Dementieva and she also finished runner-up at the junior 1999 US Open to Lina Krasnoroutskaya. At the 2003 Australian Open, Petrova defeated Gréta Arn 6–2, 6–1. Petrova ended 2003 ranked World No. 12 with a 45–23 singles record. She reached her third career final at the Qatar Total German Open in May 2005. Petrova finally won her first title at the Generali Ladies Linz held in Linz, Austria, beating Patty Schnyder in the final. At the Qatar Total Open held in Doha, Petrova picked up her first title of 2006. Petrova then began a run that would take her to three titles, winning fifteen straight matches. At the Bausch & Lomb Championships, she defeated Francesca Schiavone in the final to pick up her third title in the past six months. One week later, she won her second straight title and fourth overall at the Family Circle Cup with a victory over Patty Schnyder. She next entered the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, defeating Justine Henin. At the Stuttgart, Petrova won her first tournament title since the Qatar Telecom German Open in May 2006. Overall, she has won 31 WTA Titles, twelve in singles and nineteen in doubles. In doubles, she won the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in 2004 with Meghann Shaughnessy, and in 2012 with Maria Kirilenko. As of 31 December 2012 (2012 -12-31)[update], Petrova is ranked world no. 12 in singles and world no. 5 in doubles.