Irina-Camelia Begu

Irina-Camelia Begu
Full name Irina-Camelia Begu
Country  Romania
Residence Bucharest, Romania
Born August 26, 1990 (1990-08-26) (age 21)
Bucharest, Romania
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro 2005
Retired Active
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money $305,786
Singles
Career record 168 - 88
Career titles 0 WTA, 8 ITF
Highest ranking No. 38 (12 September, 2011)
Current ranking No. 38 (12 September, 2011)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open Q3 (2011)
French Open 2R (2011)
Wimbledon 1R (2011)
US Open 1R (2011)
Doubles
Career record 109 - 51
Career titles 0 WTA, 16 ITF
Highest ranking No. 80 (July 25, 2011)
Current ranking No. 80 (July 25, 2011)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon 1R (2011)
US Open 2R (2011)
Last updated on: July 25, 2011.

Irina-Camelia Begu (born August 26, 1990) is a professional Romanian tennis player. On September 12, 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 38. Her highest doubles ranking of 80 was reached on July 25, 2011. She is coached by Comanescu Marius.[1]

Contents

Biography

Irina Begu was born in Bucharest. Her mother, Steluţa, works for the Government of Romania, while her father Paul is an electrician. She has an older brother, Andrei.[2]

She started playing tennis when she was 3 years old, her aunt Aura Wagner coached her and she is currently working with two coaches at a club in Bucharest.[3] Her hobbies include shopping and going to the cinema with friends. She likes Melbourne and Paris, but her favorite city is New York.[2]

Irina's favorite surface is the clay, she admires Martina Hingis and Roger Federer and her goal is to become a top 10 player.[2]

Professional career

2011

Irina Begu started the year at No.234 - never winning a main draw match at WTA level.

Begu won the first $100,000 ITF event of her career in February in Cali, defeating world #82 Laura Pous Tió in the final in straight sets.

In April, she entered the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience as a qualifier and eventually made the qualifications without losing a set. Then she defeated Alberta Brianti 6–4, 6–1 in the first round and followed that up with a 7–5, 6–0 win over Estrella Cabeza Candela to advance to the quarterfinals. She made to the semifinals after she beat 34th-ranked Klára Zakopalová 6–3, 6–3. In the semifinal, she stunned world #14 and former world #2 Svetlana Kuznetsova 3–6, 7–6, 6–4 to reach her first WTA final, eventually losing to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.[4]

Begu neared her first ever WTA title, reaching her second final of the year in Budapest on 10th July. The Romanian played the semifinal more aggressive than the fifth seed Medina who allowed the youngster break her when counted the most. Irina had previously crashed another Spaniard Estrella Cabeza Candela 6–0, 6–3. Her first round have brought her a 6–4, 6–4 win over another Spanish player, Laura Pous Tió whom she defeated 6–4, 6–4, and a second straight similar win over Ajla Tomljanović of Croatia.[5] She eventually lost the last act against Top-seeded Roberta Vinci, 4–6, 6–1, 4–6.[6]

She posted in July the lone upset of second-round at the 2011 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo tournament in Italy, defeating second-seeded Roberta Vinci 6–4, 6–3, after eliminating another local in the first round, Maria Elena Camerin.[7] Begu lost eventually to the fifth-seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in the quarterfinals, who was also the winner of the competition.[8]

In the same month, Irina-Camelia Begu won the 2011 BCR Open Romania Ladies title from Bucharest, after defeating the Spanish opponent Laura Pous Tió 6–3, 7–5, in the final. Begu has achieved her third consecutive win against Laura Pous Tió, in 2011, after the ones in Cali and Budapest. It was her fifth final of the year and her second trophy. The 50 WTA points allow Irina to enter the top 50 of best women players in the world, becoming also the highest ranked Romanian player.[9]

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Legend: Starting in 2009
Grand Slam (0–0)
WTA Championships (0–0)
Premier Mandatory (0–0)
Premier 5 (0–0)
Premier (0–0)
International (0–2)
Titles by Surface
Hard (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–2)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. 10 April 2011 Marbella Clay Victoria Azarenka 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 2. 10 July 2011 Budapest Clay Roberta Vinci 6–4, 1–6, 6–4

Singles

Tournament 2008 2009 2010 2011 W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A A Q3 2–1
French Open A Q3 A 2R 3–2
Wimbledon A Q2 Q1 1R 1–3
US Open A Q1 A 1R 0–2
Win–Loss 0–0 3–3 0–1 3–4 6–8
Year end ranking 231 230 214 60

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 13 (8–5)

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 10 September 2006 Bucharest 6, Romania Clay Alexandra Cadanţu 3–6, 6–2, 3–6
Winner 2. 9 September 2007 Braşov, Romania Clay Cristina Mitu 7–6(7–2), 6–2
Runner-up 3. 23 March 2008 Ain Sukhna, Egypt Carpet Katarzyna Piter 6–7(7–9), 4–6
Winner 4. 7 September 2008 Braşov, Romania Clay Diana Enache 4–6, 6–4, 6–1
Winner 5. 14 September 2008 Budapest, Hungary Clay Laura-Ioana Andrei 7–5, 6–1
Winner 6. 11 October 2008 Jounieh, Lebanon Clay Anastasia Yakimova 6–2, 6–0
Winner 7. 26 October 2008 Glasgow, Scotland Hard Patricia Mayr 2–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–1)
Runner-up 8. 11 April 2010 Incheon, South Korea Hard Lee Jin-A 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 9. 15 August 2010 Versmold, Germany Clay Magda Linette 2–6, 5–7
Winner 10. 19 September 2010 Podgorica, Montenegro Clay Annalisa Bona 6–1, 6–1
Winner 11. 13 February 2011 Cali, Colombia Clay Laura Pous Tió 6–3, 7–6(7–1)
Runner-up 12. 12 June 2011 Marseille, France Clay Pauline Parmentier 3–6, 2–6
Winner 13. 23 July 2011 Bucharest, Romania Clay Laura Pous Tió 6–3, 7–5

Doubles: 23 (16–7)

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
Winner 1. 30 June 2006 Galaţi, Romania Clay Carmen-Raluca Ţibuleac Bianca Bonifate
Diana Gae		 6–2, 7–5
Winner 2. 11 May 2007 Bucharest, Romania Clay Simona Halep Laura-Ioana Andrei
Ioana Gaspar		 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 3. 31 August 2007 Hunedoara, Romania Clay Laura-Ioana Andrei Diana Enache
Antonia-Xenia Tout		 6–3, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up 4. 9 September 2007 Braşov, Romania Clay Diana Gae Raluca Ciulei
Camelia Hristea		 5–7, 4–6
Runner-up 5. 15 June 2008 Craiova, Romania Clay Alexandra Damaschin Laura-Ioana Andrei
Diana Enache		 3–6, 1–6
Winner 6. 11 July 2008 Bucharest, Romania Clay Ioana Gaspar Mihaela Bunea
Gabriela Niculescu		 4–6, 6–3, [10–3]
Winner 7. 25 July 2008 Hunedoara, Romania Clay Elora Dabija Katarína Poljaková
Zuzana Zlochová		 7–5, 6–2
Winner 8. 29 August 2008 Bucharest, Romania Clay Laura-Ioana Andrei Lyudmyla Kichenok
Nadiya Kichenok		 6–2, 3–6, [10–6]
Winner 9. 5 September 2008 Braşov, Romania Clay Laura-Ioana Andrei Bianca Hîncu
Cristina Stancu		 6–2, 6–2
Winner 10. 14 September 2008 Budapest, Hungary Clay Laura-Ioana Andrei Davinia Lobbinger
Efrat Mishor		 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up 11. 26 October 2008 Glasgow, Scotland Hard Laura-Ioana Andrei Stefania Boffa
Amanda Elliott		 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Winner 12. 9 May 2009 Bucharest, Romania Clay Simona Halep Julia Görges
Sandra Klemenschits		 2–6, 6–1, [12–10]
Winner 13. 10 April 2010 Incheon, South Korea Hard Erika Sema Misaki Doi
Junri Namigata		 6–0, 7–6(10–8)
Runner-up 14. 18 July 2010 Darmstadt, Germany Clay Erika Sema Vitalia Diatchenko
Laura Siegemund		 6–4, 1–6, [4–10]
Winner 15. 30 July 2010 Bucharest, Romania Clay Elena Bogdan María Irigoyen
Florencia Molinero		 6–1, 6–1
Winner 16. 8 August 2010 Hechingen, Germany Clay Anaïs Laurendon Julia Schruff
Erika Sema		 6–2, 4–6, [10–8]
Winner 17. 18 September 2010 Podgorica, Montenegro Clay Mihaela Buzărnescu Valeria Solovieva
Maryna Zanevska		 5–7, 7–5, [12–10]
Winner 18. 25 September 2010 Bucharest, Romania Clay Elena Bogdan Leticia Costas-Moreira
Eva Fernández-Brugués		 6–1, 6–3
Runner-up 19. 8 October 2010 Madrid, Spain Clay Elena Bogdan Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino
María-Teresa Torró-Flor		 4–6, 5–7
Runner-up 20. 27 November 2010 Toyota, Japan Carpet (I) Mădălina Gojnea Shuko Aoyama
Rika Fujiwara		 6–1, 3–6, [9–11]
Winner 21. 12 February 2011 Cali, Colombia Clay Elena Bogdan Ekaterina Ivanova
Kathrin Wörle		 2–6, 7–6(8–6), [11–9]
Winner 22. 11 June 2011 Marseille, France Clay Nina Bratchikova Laura-Ioana Andrei
Mădălina Gojnea		 6–2, 6–2
Winner 23. 22 July 2011 Bucharest, Romania Clay Elena Bogdan Maria Elena Camerin
İpek Şenoğlu		 6–7(1–7), 7–6(7–4), [16–14]

Awards

2011

References

  1. ^ "Irina-Camelia Begu's Biography at ITFTennis". http://www.itftennis.com. 2011-02-17. http://www.itftennis.com/womens/players/player.asp?player=100072466. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  2. ^ a b c Begu, Irina (9 April 2011). "Biography". wtatennis.com. http://www.wtatennis.com/page/GettingToKnow/Read/0,,12781~2334619,00.html. Retrieved 24 July 2011. 
  3. ^ "Arabela din Marbella" (in Romanian). prosport.ro. http://www.prosport.ro/alte-sporturi/tenis/arabela-din-marbella-8141362. Retrieved 9 April 2011. 
  4. ^ "Azarenka dominates Begu, wins in Marbella" (in English). tennis.com. http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=11406&zoneid=25. Retrieved 10 April 2011. 
  5. ^ "Budapest: Begu Sets Vinci Final" (in English). metrolic.com. http://www.metrolic.com/budapest-begu-sets-vinci-final-172797/. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
  6. ^ "Vinci beats Begu in final of Budapest Grand Prix" (in English). sportsillustrated.cnn.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/tennis/07/10/budapest.gp.ap/index.html. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
  7. ^ "Begu upset is ticket to quarterfinals" (in English). upi.com. http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2011/07/14/Begu-upset-is-ticket-to-quarterfinals/UPI-38651310678510/. Retrieved 14 July 2011. 
  8. ^ "Palermo: Medina Cruises Through The Last Term" (in English). metrolic.com. http://www.metrolic.com/palermo-medina-cruises-through-the-last-term-173557/. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  9. ^ "The trophy stays in Bucharest!" (in English). bcropen.ro. http://www.bcropen.ro/en/news/article/the-trophy-stays-in-bucharest-103.html. Retrieved 23 July 2011. 

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Petra Kvitová		 WTA Newcomer of the Year
2011		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Women's Tennis Association: Top ten Romanian female singles tennis players as of January 2, 2012
1. Monica Niculescu (30 ) · 2. Irina-Camelia Begu (40 ) · 3. Simona Halep (47 ) · 4. Sorana Cîrstea (60 ) · 5. Alexandra Dulgheru (65 )
6. Alexandra Cadanțu (109 ) · 7. Edina Gallovits-Hall (123 ) · 8. Mihaela Buzărnescu (159 ) · 9. Mădălina Gojnea (187 1) · 10. Elena Bogdan (198 ) 
Women's Tennis Association: Top ten Romanian female doubles tennis players as of January 2, 2012
1. Monica Niculescu (50 ) · 2. Alexandra Dulgheru (57 ) · 3. Irina-Camelia Begu (64 ) · 4. Sorana Cîrstea (71 ) · 5. Elena Bogdan (100 )
6. Ioana Raluca Olaru (115 ) · 7. Edina Gallovits-Hall (125 ) · 8. Mihaela Buzărnescu (173 ) · 9. Alexandra Cadanțu (191 2) · 10. Simona Halep (202 1)