WTA Championships Istanbul 10/25-10/31 2011 - Page 2 - DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate

**FelixQY** · 10-19-2011, 05:47 PM

Maria in Turkey http://www.dha.com.tr/dhavideogaleri.asp?vid=223226

**Vomephems** · 10-19-2011, 07:39 PM

I so took that the wrong way

**Lunims** · 10-19-2011, 11:02 PM

Because Bartoli won Osaka last week and Radwanska lost her first match, Bartoli can grab the 8th spot with a win in Moscow. A potential semifinal with Zvonareva could be very exciting!

**FelixQY** · 10-19-2011, 11:06 PM

Because Bartoli won Osaka last week and Radwanska lost her first match, Bartoli can grab the 8th spot with a win in Moscow. A potential semifinal with Zvonareva could be very exciting!

Yeah it will be

**Switiespils** · 10-19-2011, 11:51 PM

I know this doesn't belong in this thread, but in celebration of the YEC taking place in Istanbul, I thought TAT would find this story from five years ago quite the fascinating read.

Well, after forty countries and many, many combined months of travel, my number finally came up. I suppose if this is the worst thing that ever happens to me when I travel, I should count myself lucky. Nonetheless, I am feeling pretty bad right now and am trying hard not to let this ruin my entire vacation.

Here's what happened.

I arrived in Istanbul earlier today and am staying at the Hyatt. About 8:00 I decided to go for dinner and the hotel recommended a restaurant for me. I was walking there when this well dressed young guy asked me for the time. He then began talking to me in pretty-much perfect English, explaining that he ran a carpet store in the Hyatt and was on his way to reservation, which was not until 9:30.

Anyway, he says he is from Iran and -- and I know this sounds really dumb -- I decided to continue to talk with him as we were on an open street and I feel strongly that it is important to engage people from his part of the world when the opportunity arises. He ends-up showing me around some other restaurants that he likes in the area and then accompanies me to dinner. He doesn't eat anything more than a sweet (he just ate at the hotel), but pays fro my dinner despite my protestations. He then invites me to a sweet shop where he buys me a pastry.

As I write this I realize how dumb I must be looking, but I really was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt because he claimed to be Iranian.

Anyway, after the dessert, I try to beg off, but he insists that I come with him to the club at which he had a reservation. I, of course, stupidly felt obligated, so I went.

At this point I should mention that I abhor clubs and find them way, way beyond my comfort level. I just think they are places where bad things can and do happen and I give them wide berth. I also rarely stay out late when I am traveling by myself as I get somewhat nervous in the night (I know, I'm a wuss).

Anyway, we go to the club and it is full of all these Ukrainian and Russian women dancing on a disco floor, like they are putting on a show. I had a real bad feeling at this point, but, stupidly, felt obligated. So we order some beers, which I nurse, not sure if anything was put into it (I was totally getting a bad vibe). Soon enough, two of the women come over and sit down and, before I know it, my "friend" has ordered a bottle of champagne. At this point I knew I was in deep water, but felt trapped (because I probably was).

We were only there for less than an hour, when I finally said I am leaving. The bill comes and it is 2800 Turkish Lira, or slightly over $2000. Of course, this time my "friend" suggests we split it, but I protest that I don't have that kind of money on me (which I don't). The manager comes out and escorts us into a back office. At this point, my heart is pounding. I have heard of set-ups like this and I was really, really nervous. The manager starts demanding cash and that I go to an ATM to withdraw the 1400 Lira. I don't have that much money in my account, but he says he cannot use a credit card, because it is Sunday. I know that this is total nonsense, but I was tucked away in some back room and there were suddenly people everywhere. I was never physically threatened, but I sure felt intimidated, which, of course, was the point. I offered every thing in my wallet (about $75), but the manager said "I don't want your s*** money." Now I was really starting to get scared. Finally, he agrees to charge me $900 on my credit card, but wants a photocopy of my drivers license. Since the address on my license is not my current address, I comply (thank God for being too lazy to go to the DMV to get it updated). He swipes the card, I sign, and I get the heck out of there. My knees are literally weak.

I make it back to the hotel (a short walk never seemed longer -- suddenly every traffic light was an eternity and everybody looked suspicious). I tell my story to the hotel manager and he knew exactly what had happened before I was even done with the story. It clearly happens somewhat often.

The manager tells me to go to the police and calls them on my behalf and sends me over there. He tells me that I need to tell the police that I was threatened with a knife and to offer to tip them, but there was no way I was going to knowingly give false information to a police officer.

Well the police officer walks me over to another bar and, soon enough, the manager of the original bar soon shows-up. I didn't even know the name of the place, but somehow he knew which one it was. The manager is giving me some line about settling the matter fairly and asks me what I want to pay. I tell him $50, which is way generous for a beer, but he refuses, telling me that we can just go to court in the morning and implying, in from of the police officer, that he very well connected in the town. I was starting to feel uneasy all over again. Finally, we agree on 450 Lira (about $300), but he insists on me going back to the club so he can cancel the previous charge. No way was I stepping foot in that place again, so I insisted on waiting outside with the police officer present. We go back to the club, he cancels the charge and returns both my original receipt and the void slip, but now he insists I pay him in cash. I said no, but he insisted and I just wanted out of there, so I tried to get a cash advance on my credit card (thinking I would just dispute the charge when I go home on the ground of coercion), but, of course, I don't have a PIN, so I have to take the cash out of my credit card.

Finally we were done and I practically ran back to the hotel. I just wanted to be off the street and behind a locked door.

The police officer, of course, seemed more on his side than mine, but that really did not surprise me.

At the end of the day, I am out $300 and I am probably going to cancel my credit card as I don't trust them at all. At the moment, I am seriously considering just coming home, as I feel I cannot trust anyone in this country right now, which is a shame since the Turks have, overall, a great reputation.

While I was a colossal idiot for getting myself into this position in the first place, I am at least proud of how I handled it when I was confronted with the bill. I kept myself together and just did what I needed to do to get out of there with a mind toward resolving it later. I am not sure that I should have gone to the police though. I think I should just have disputed the original charge on the grounds of coercion and intimidation. I think I would have prevailed with the credit card company.

So, that's my story. I've learned my lesson. Trust no one when you are traveling, especially in this part of the world.

**Affiltavajefe** · 10-21-2011, 02:45 PM

Players
SINGLES
1Caroline Wozniacki
2Maria Sharapova
3Petra Kvitova
4Victoria Azarenka
5Li Na
6Vera Zvonareva
7Samantha Stosur
8Agnieszka Radwanska

DOUBLES
1 Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik
2 Liezel HuberLisa Raymond
3 Gisela DulkoFlavia Pennetta
4 Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova

**NewYorkDoctorD** · 10-21-2011, 03:33 PM

ISTANBUL, Turkey -
Following Marion Bartoli's withdrawal from Moscow on Friday due to a viral illness, the race is over - Agnieszka Radwanska has become the eighth and final qualifier for the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, the WTA's eight-woman year-end finale to be held in Istanbul, Turkey next week.

Radwanska, who was an alternate for the Championships in 2008 and 2009 but has never been one of the elite eight qualifiers, asserted herself as a frontrunner for the last spot with back-to-back Premier-level titles at Tokyo and Beijing. Bartoli and Andrea Petkovic both had a chance to overtake her but fell short of their scenarios and will now be the two alternates for this year's event.

"I'm so happy to finally qualify for the Championships as one of the Top 8 singles players," Radwanska commented. "Just a few weeks ago I didn't think I had a chance of qualifying and am now so happy to end my season in Istanbul."

**Affiltavajefe** · 10-24-2011, 01:01 AM

RED GROUP
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
(3) Petra Kvitova (CZE)
(6) Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
(8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)

WHITE GROUP
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS)
(4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
(5) Li Na (CHN)
(7) Samantha Stosur (AUS)

**FelixQY** · 10-24-2011, 01:04 AM

2011 CHAMPIONSHIPS PARTICIPANTS - HEAD-TO-HEAD BREAKDOWN

http://www.wtatennis.com/SEWTATour-A...11/808_h2h.pdf

**Lunims** · 10-24-2011, 01:50 AM

RED GROUP
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
(3) Petra Kvitova (CZE)
(6) Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
(8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)

WHITE GROUP
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS)
(4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
(5) Li Na (CHN)
(7) Samantha Stosur (AUS)

Goodness gracious. If you held a gun to my head and told me to pick one semifinalist, much less the winner, and I don't think I could do it.

10-19-2011, 05:47 PM	#21
FelixQY Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 601 Senior Member	Maria in Turkey http://www.dha.com.tr/dhavideogaleri.asp?vid=223226 Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-19-2011, 07:39 PM	#22
Vomephems Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 727 Senior Member	I so took that the wrong way Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-19-2011, 11:02 PM	#23
Lunims Join Date Nov 2005 Location CA Posts 601 Senior Member	Because Bartoli won Osaka last week and Radwanska lost her first match, Bartoli can grab the 8th spot with a win in Moscow. A potential semifinal with Zvonareva could be very exciting! Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-19-2011, 11:06 PM	#24
FelixQY Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 601 Senior Member	Because Bartoli won Osaka last week and Radwanska lost her first match, Bartoli can grab the 8th spot with a win in Moscow. A potential semifinal with Zvonareva could be very exciting! Yeah it will be Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-19-2011, 11:51 PM	#25
Switiespils Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 619 Senior Member	I know this doesn't belong in this thread, but in celebration of the YEC taking place in Istanbul, I thought TAT would find this story from five years ago quite the fascinating read. Well, after forty countries and many, many combined months of travel, my number finally came up. I suppose if this is the worst thing that ever happens to me when I travel, I should count myself lucky. Nonetheless, I am feeling pretty bad right now and am trying hard not to let this ruin my entire vacation. Here's what happened. I arrived in Istanbul earlier today and am staying at the Hyatt. About 8:00 I decided to go for dinner and the hotel recommended a restaurant for me. I was walking there when this well dressed young guy asked me for the time. He then began talking to me in pretty-much perfect English, explaining that he ran a carpet store in the Hyatt and was on his way to reservation, which was not until 9:30. Anyway, he says he is from Iran and -- and I know this sounds really dumb -- I decided to continue to talk with him as we were on an open street and I feel strongly that it is important to engage people from his part of the world when the opportunity arises. He ends-up showing me around some other restaurants that he likes in the area and then accompanies me to dinner. He doesn't eat anything more than a sweet (he just ate at the hotel), but pays fro my dinner despite my protestations. He then invites me to a sweet shop where he buys me a pastry. As I write this I realize how dumb I must be looking, but I really was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt because he claimed to be Iranian. Anyway, after the dessert, I try to beg off, but he insists that I come with him to the club at which he had a reservation. I, of course, stupidly felt obligated, so I went. At this point I should mention that I abhor clubs and find them way, way beyond my comfort level. I just think they are places where bad things can and do happen and I give them wide berth. I also rarely stay out late when I am traveling by myself as I get somewhat nervous in the night (I know, I'm a wuss). Anyway, we go to the club and it is full of all these Ukrainian and Russian women dancing on a disco floor, like they are putting on a show. I had a real bad feeling at this point, but, stupidly, felt obligated. So we order some beers, which I nurse, not sure if anything was put into it (I was totally getting a bad vibe). Soon enough, two of the women come over and sit down and, before I know it, my "friend" has ordered a bottle of champagne. At this point I knew I was in deep water, but felt trapped (because I probably was). We were only there for less than an hour, when I finally said I am leaving. The bill comes and it is 2800 Turkish Lira, or slightly over $2000. Of course, this time my "friend" suggests we split it, but I protest that I don't have that kind of money on me (which I don't). The manager comes out and escorts us into a back office. At this point, my heart is pounding. I have heard of set-ups like this and I was really, really nervous. The manager starts demanding cash and that I go to an ATM to withdraw the 1400 Lira. I don't have that much money in my account, but he says he cannot use a credit card, because it is Sunday. I know that this is total nonsense, but I was tucked away in some back room and there were suddenly people everywhere. I was never physically threatened, but I sure felt intimidated, which, of course, was the point. I offered every thing in my wallet (about $75), but the manager said "I don't want your s*** money." Now I was really starting to get scared. Finally, he agrees to charge me $900 on my credit card, but wants a photocopy of my drivers license. Since the address on my license is not my current address, I comply (thank God for being too lazy to go to the DMV to get it updated). He swipes the card, I sign, and I get the heck out of there. My knees are literally weak. I make it back to the hotel (a short walk never seemed longer -- suddenly every traffic light was an eternity and everybody looked suspicious). I tell my story to the hotel manager and he knew exactly what had happened before I was even done with the story. It clearly happens somewhat often. The manager tells me to go to the police and calls them on my behalf and sends me over there. He tells me that I need to tell the police that I was threatened with a knife and to offer to tip them, but there was no way I was going to knowingly give false information to a police officer. Well the police officer walks me over to another bar and, soon enough, the manager of the original bar soon shows-up. I didn't even know the name of the place, but somehow he knew which one it was. The manager is giving me some line about settling the matter fairly and asks me what I want to pay. I tell him $50, which is way generous for a beer, but he refuses, telling me that we can just go to court in the morning and implying, in from of the police officer, that he very well connected in the town. I was starting to feel uneasy all over again. Finally, we agree on 450 Lira (about $300), but he insists on me going back to the club so he can cancel the previous charge. No way was I stepping foot in that place again, so I insisted on waiting outside with the police officer present. We go back to the club, he cancels the charge and returns both my original receipt and the void slip, but now he insists I pay him in cash. I said no, but he insisted and I just wanted out of there, so I tried to get a cash advance on my credit card (thinking I would just dispute the charge when I go home on the ground of coercion), but, of course, I don't have a PIN, so I have to take the cash out of my credit card. Finally we were done and I practically ran back to the hotel. I just wanted to be off the street and behind a locked door. The police officer, of course, seemed more on his side than mine, but that really did not surprise me. At the end of the day, I am out $300 and I am probably going to cancel my credit card as I don't trust them at all. At the moment, I am seriously considering just coming home, as I feel I cannot trust anyone in this country right now, which is a shame since the Turks have, overall, a great reputation. While I was a colossal idiot for getting myself into this position in the first place, I am at least proud of how I handled it when I was confronted with the bill. I kept myself together and just did what I needed to do to get out of there with a mind toward resolving it later. I am not sure that I should have gone to the police though. I think I should just have disputed the original charge on the grounds of coercion and intimidation. I think I would have prevailed with the credit card company. So, that's my story. I've learned my lesson. Trust no one when you are traveling, especially in this part of the world. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-21-2011, 02:45 PM	#26
Affiltavajefe Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 405 Senior Member	Players SINGLES 1Caroline Wozniacki 2Maria Sharapova 3Petra Kvitova 4Victoria Azarenka 5Li Na 6Vera Zvonareva 7Samantha Stosur 8Agnieszka Radwanska DOUBLES 1 Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik 2 Liezel HuberLisa Raymond 3 Gisela DulkoFlavia Pennetta 4 Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-21-2011, 03:33 PM	#27
NewYorkDoctorD Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 428 Senior Member	ISTANBUL, Turkey - Following Marion Bartoli's withdrawal from Moscow on Friday due to a viral illness, the race is over - Agnieszka Radwanska has become the eighth and final qualifier for the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, the WTA's eight-woman year-end finale to be held in Istanbul, Turkey next week. Radwanska, who was an alternate for the Championships in 2008 and 2009 but has never been one of the elite eight qualifiers, asserted herself as a frontrunner for the last spot with back-to-back Premier-level titles at Tokyo and Beijing. Bartoli and Andrea Petkovic both had a chance to overtake her but fell short of their scenarios and will now be the two alternates for this year's event. "I'm so happy to finally qualify for the Championships as one of the Top 8 singles players," Radwanska commented. "Just a few weeks ago I didn't think I had a chance of qualifying and am now so happy to end my season in Istanbul." Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-24-2011, 01:01 AM	#28
Affiltavajefe Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 405 Senior Member	RED GROUP (1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) (3) Petra Kvitova (CZE) (6) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) (8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) WHITE GROUP (2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) (4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) (5) Li Na (CHN) (7) Samantha Stosur (AUS) Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-24-2011, 01:04 AM	#29
FelixQY Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 601 Senior Member	2011 CHAMPIONSHIPS PARTICIPANTS - HEAD-TO-HEAD BREAKDOWN http://www.wtatennis.com/SEWTATour-A...11/808_h2h.pdf Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

10-24-2011, 01:50 AM	#30
Lunims Join Date Nov 2005 Location CA Posts 601 Senior Member	RED GROUP (1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) (3) Petra Kvitova (CZE) (6) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) (8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) WHITE GROUP (2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) (4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) (5) Li Na (CHN) (7) Samantha Stosur (AUS) Goodness gracious. If you held a gun to my head and told me to pick one semifinalist, much less the winner, and I don't think I could do it. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)