Nos últimos dias, devido à boa participação em Miami, Michelle tem aparecido por diversas vezes na imprensa e ganhou uma nova legião de seguidores, a julgar pelas palavras de um apoiante da israelita Shahar Peer, ao Miami Herald.

"The Israeli fan who screamed her praises -- Avi Rotem, now of Miami -- said he has watched her compete twice in the U.S. Open.
''Everyone is so quiet here,'' said Rotem, 30, who owns a moving company. ``It's nice to give power to Shahar. You need guys like me to get the stadium going.
''I tell you something,'' he added. ``If the Portuguese girl didn't play Shahar, I'd go for her 100 percent. She's going to be in the Top 10 one day.''

Ver mais em www.michellemania.com.

"Peer’s defense too much for Larcher de Brito"

"All good things must come to an end. And that was the case for NBTA student Michelle Larcher de Brito today. After two incredible comeback wins, her run at the Sony Ericsson Open ended today. She fell to #16 Shahar Peer 6-0, 6-2. Peer demonstrated why she is one of the top players in the world, as she played incredible defense throughout the match. Her ability to get to almost every ball forced Michelle to win the point and put a tremendous amount of pressure on the young girl.

Peer played extremely smart, and was spurred on by the large contingent of Israeli fans that cheered her on and waved the Israeli flag throughout the match. Throughout the match, Peer had Michelle pinned behind the baseline and controlled the court. Their were long rallies, but every time there was one it seemed like Peer won it.

It was a great tournament for Michelle regardless, because she showed that she is very capable of competing with the top girls. She also demonstrated how tough she is mentally and that she will never give up during a match. I want to congratulate her for the way she played. She has a bright future, and we are all very excited for her."

by Nick's Picks on March 30, 2008.

Ver mais em http://nickstennispicks.com/2008/03/30/peers-defense-too-much-for-larcher-de-brito/

Resultados de Michelle no torneio Sony Ericsson Open (Tier I do WTA Tour), disputado de 26 de Março a 6 de Abril, em Miami, Estados Unidos, Flórida.

Singulares:

Quadro Principal:

1ª ronda: venceu a russa Ekaterina Makarova, por 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3

2ª ronda: venceu a polaca Agnieszka Radwanska, por 2-6, 6-3, 7-5

3ª ronda: perdeu com com a israelita Shahar Peer, por 6-0, 6-2

Duas excelentes vitórias de Michelle e conquista de 45 pontos que, mesmo com a saída dos 30 pontos conquistados neste torneio em 2007, lhe irão permitir uma subida, no ranking WTA, para perto da posição 234.

A próxima competição será na terra batida do  Estoril Open onde garantiu a atribuíção de um convite para o quadro principal. O torneio disputa-se de 14 a 20 de Abril de 2008, em Portugal.
 

Michelle Larcher de Brito perdeu, na 3ª ronda do quadro principal do torneio Sony Ericsson Open (Tier I do WTA Tour), com a israelita Shahar Peer, por 6-0, 6-2.

"Michelle powers through to 3rd Round

NBTA student Michelle Larcher de Brito continued her impressive run at the Sony Ericsson Open with a thrilling 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over 17th seeded Agnieszka Radwanska. Larcher de Brito, who is only 15 years old, played an incredible match to pull off the upset and win the biggest match of her career. She simply outslugged Radwanska, and one big stat that pops out is the fact that she didn’t have one double fault. As we noted in her first match, Larcher de Brito struggled with her serve. Well, not today. This was a major factor throughout the match.

In the first set it was all Radwanska, as she demonstrated why she is ranked in the Top-20 in the world. She controlled play and dominated the set. Michelle came out firing in the second set, getting a break in the first game to go up 2-0. She didn’t relent, hitting powerful groundstrokes from both sides of the court. She must have a radar for the lines too, because she was hitting them throughout the match. After the second set, Radwanska took back-to-back injury timeouts and the trainer worked on her foot.

In the third set, Michelle pulled out to a 3-0 lead and looked like she was going to cruise. But that was not to be, as Radwanska came roaring back to even the match at 3-3. Then, the two went back and forth until 5-5. The rallies were long, and the points were dramatic. Both girls were giving it their all, and the crowd was very appreciative. At 5-5, Michelle held and then she broke Radwanska to win the match.

She will now face Shahar Peer in the third round. This should be a very similar match to the one she just played. Peer, like Radwanska, won’t be able to overpower Michelle, but she will get tons of balls back. Michelle cannot afford to get out to a slow start like she has done in the past two matches, because sooner or later that is going to catch up with her. Whatever the case, we are all looking forward to the match."

Ver mais em http://nickstennispicks.com/2008/03/28/michelle-powers-through-to-3rd-round/

Michelle Larcher de Brito venceu, na 2ª ronda do quadro principal do torneio Sony Ericsson Open (Tier I do WTA Tour), a polaca Agnieszka Radwanska, por 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Na 3ª ronda terá como adversária a israelita Shahar Peer, actual 19ª do ranking WTA e 16º cabeça de série do torneio. Parabéns.

"Saved by Michelle
.......
After getting that news, we headed over to see Michelle Larcher de Brito play her first round match against Ekaterina Makarova. We were hoping for a win considering the previous results of the day. After about 10 minutes of the match, it didn’t appear that was going to happen. Makarova dominated the match and was frustrating the heck out of Michelle. Like Kei, Michelle couldn’t get a first serve in and her penetrating groundstrokes weren’t hurting Makarova. Michelle is only 15 years old, but she needs to add some variety to her game. She can pound the ball with the best of them, but adding a drop shot and a slice is a must. This will keep her opponents off guard and also change the pace of the rallies. Back to the match…Makarova won the first set 6-3 and went up 5-1 in the second set. We were packing our bags and preparing for another loss when something clicked in Michelle’s head. She went off! She saved two match points at 5-2 and stormed back to take the lead 6-5. Then, in the tiebreaker she went down 3-0. The crowd was going nuts, but the young girl kept her composure taking the breaker 7-3. The third set was all Michelle as Makarova tried to slow the match down by taking a bathroom break and calling for the trainer. It wasn’t going to stop Michelle though, as she won the match 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3. It was an amazing win, and it made the wait well worth it. Everyone was all smiles at the end! Congrats to Michelle on a great win, and we hope you continue it in the second round."

Ver mais em http://nickstennispicks.com/2008/03/26/saved-by-michelle/

Michelle Larcher de Brito venceu, na 1ª ronda do quadro principal do torneio Sony Ericsson Open (Tier I do WTA Tour), a russa Ekaterina Makarova, por 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3. Extraordinária recuperação no 2ª set, passando de 1-5 para 7-6. Na 2ª ronda terá como adversária a polaca Agnieszka Radwanska, actual 16ª do ranking WTA e 17º cabeça de série do torneio. Quando tudo parece estar perdido, Michelle aparece e resolve. Parabéns.

Michelle Larcher de Brito defronta na 1ª ronda do quadro principal do torneio Sony Ericsson Open (Tier I do WTA Tour) a russa Ekaterina Makarova, actual 75ª do ranking WTA. Se passar à 2ª ronda terá como adversária a polaca Agnieszka Radwanska, actual 16ª do ranking WTA e 17º cabeça de série deste torneio, que se disputa de 26 de Março a 6 de Abril, em Miami, Estados Unidos, Flórida.

Michelle faz parte da colecção de cromos 2008 Grand Slam II Tennis Trading Cards Box da Ace Authentic.

   

Michelle Larcher de Brito recebeu hoje um convite para o quadro principal do torneio Sony Ericsson Open (Tier I do WTA Tour). O torneio disputa-se de 26 de Março a 6 de Abril, em Miami, Estados Unidos, Flórida.