A Girl’s Best Friend: The organizers of the Qatar Total Open 2013 in Doha are a bit more excited about this year’s draw, with the possibility of the Diamond Ball trophy being awarded at the end of the week. The secondary trophy can go to a player who wins the Qatar Total Open three times. Both Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova have each hoisted two Total Open trophies; Sharapova won Doha both in 2005 and 2008, while Petrova won Total Open titles in 2006 — in Doha and Berlin.
Trophy Watch: This isn’t the first time a special trophy’s been awarded to three-time winners. The Proximus Diamond Games, held for most of the 00’s in Antwerp, handed out a bedazzled racquet to Amelie Mauresmo.
(RELATED: TSF’s Trophy Watch archives)
Doha: Save for a few early dropouts in Kirilenko and Sloane Stephens — and breakthroughs in Barthel (over Kerber) and McHale (over Safarova), it’s biz as usual. Results, draws, and orders of play available at the Qatar Total Open website.
(Photo Credit: Qatar Total Open)
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