Women Who Serve

Townsend wins Australian Open junior girls championship

2012-01-28T01:01:00.002-06:00

15-year-old Taylor Townsend of the USA won the Australian Open junior girls title today, defeating 4th seed Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Townsend and her partner, Gabrielle Andrews, won the doubles title yesterday, with a victory over the top seeds.

The first set was as one-sided as it appears in the scoreline, but Putintseva picked up her game and became more aggressive in the second set. It wasn't really until the third set, though, that the players had settled down enough to show off some of their better skills. Townsend played aggressively, coming to the net 29 times, and she served well.

Unfortunately, the most memorable feature of this match was the theatrical carrying on of Putintseva, who yelled and screamed "Come on!" (and sometimes considerably more) after every point that favored her. When things didn't go well for her, she struggled to keep herself from breaking her racquet. In retrospect, it's amazing that she didn't break it.

When the match was over, before she walked to the net for the handshake, the young Russian player gave her racquet a crack on the court. And then, when she was at the net, about to shake her opponent's hand, she cracked the racquet again.

After the handshake, Putintseva sat in her chair and sobbed continually and loudly. Townsend looked stunned, and a little confused about what she was supposed to do. After a considerable delay, as the sobbing continued, the trophy presentation took place. Putintseva held up her trophy and souvenir stuffed koala, constructed a frozen smile, and made a hasty exit. I'm sure she'll be criticized for not saying anything, but I'm quite sure that any effort to speak on her part would have led to even more weeping. I think she did the best that she could do under the circumstances.

Some people, for physiological and/or psychological reasons, cry more easily and more copiously than others. But it wasn't just the crying--Putintseva spewed all kinds of emotion throughout the match. She appears to be a less-than-mature 17-year-old, which must make it hard for her to participate in competitive sports. Also, the racquet crack at the net was inexcusable by any standard.

Townsend took all the drama in stride, which helped her win the match.

Vergeer wins 9th Australian Open title

2012-01-28T00:20:00.002-06:00

What do you do if you've been on a 443-match win streak? If you're Esther Vergeer, you make it 444 by winning the Australian Open women's wheelchair championship, defeating your opponent 6-0, 6-0. Vergeer has won the last 20 majors in which she's competed. In today's final, she beat Aniek Van Koot in 47 minutes.

Some of you may recall that Vergeer's former doubles partner (and her main competition in singles), Korie Homan, stopped playing some time ago because of a wrist injury, and that she presumably left the sport. It's now confirmed that Homan has retired because her injury was inoperable.

Kuznetsova and Zvonareva win Australian Open doubles title

2012-01-27T09:42:00.000-06:00

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva became the first all-Russian team to win a major doubles title yesterday when they defeated Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the Australian Open final. The Russian team beat the Italian team 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Errani and Vincie are, of course, known for their exciting Fed Cup victories.

Kuznetsova won the Australian title in 2005 with Alicia Molik. This is Zvonareva's first Australian Open title; she won the U.S. Open doubles title in 2006 with Nathalie Dechy.

In the third round, Kuznetsova and Zvonareva took out top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in a thrilling, well-played match.

Meanwhile, Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven defended their 2011 women's wheelchair doubles title by defeating Aniek Van Koot and Marjolein Buis 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Vergeer and Van Koot will face each other again in the singles championship match.

Elena Vesnina will not have to play her doubles partner, Sania Mirza, in the mixed doubles final. Mirza and partner Mahesh Bhupati lost their semifinal match to Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Horia Tecau. Vesnina and partner Leander Paes defeated Roberta Vinci and Daniele Braccieli in the semifinals.

In juniors, an all-USA semifinal was won by Taylor Townsend. Townsend defeated Krista Hardebeck 7-6, 6-4. In the other match, 4th seed Yulia Putintseva defeated 2nd seed Eugenie Bouchard 7-5, 6-1.

Townsend and partner Gabrielle Andrews won the junior doubles title. They defeated top seeds Irina Khromacheva and Danka Kovinic 5-7, 7-5, 10-6. Andrews and Townsend, who were unseeded in Australia, were the runners-up at the 2011 U.S. Open. Townsend, playing with Jessica Pegula, also made it to the third round of the main draw at the U.S. Open.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-27T09:08:00.000-06:00

If you win tomorrow you'll take your first Grand Slam title and become world number 1. Are you ready for the pressure and the responsibility that brings?
You guys love doing that, huh? You know, let's talk about it tomorrow. Then I'll tell you my feelings, okay? Fair enough?
I'll ask you tomorrow.
Thank you.

Victoria Azarenka

...there will be fierce stares across the net and Sharapova will play with all the obvious joy of someone facing a tax audit.

Lynn Zinser

Is the Olympics a possibility?
I don't know. Everyone is keep asking us this question. But, you know, when we're sign in to play doubles here, we weren't thinking about it.

Vera Zvonareva

I think we both were understanding that with all respect to the opponents that we were not playing our best game, and still the game were so equal. We both wanted to do better, and we couldn't just get a little bit. We needed just few percent to improve our game. I think we just talking about finding the right key. I think we did it in the middle of second set. We found the right game, what was good for us.

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Friday cat blogging--crashed out edition

2012-01-27T08:35:00.002-06:00

Scream 2

2012-01-26T18:27:00.001-06:00

When Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka stood on the court after the Istanbul final, I didn't think it was a coincidence that Stacey Allaster didn't look them in the eye. One "barks," the other screams, and there they were--the winner and finalist of the WTA Championships. Allaster has waffled more than a political candidate about the issue of noise-making by the players. She defended them, then she decided to have "gruntometers" designed and installed, then she defended (shortly after the Istanbul final) her players again.

Now, the two biggest noise-makers on the tour--Maria Sharapova and VIctoria Azarenka--have reached the Australian Open final. One of them is going to be the champion, and the other one isn't going to look too shabby. What, you may wonder, is Stacey Allaster to do?

Her dreams of technology may have failed, but recent events indicate that subterfuge is perhaps a better weapon. Though in the past, they said either nothing, or that grunting/screaming didn't bother them at all, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic and Agnieszka Radwanska have all recently called for action to be taken against the noise-makers. ESPN has devoted as much attention to the subject as it has to actual match-calling. There is, it would seem, a campaign to get the job done by using the players and the media to support what is said to be public disapproval of some players.

The other night, Martina Navritalova stated bluntly that if it were really a "P.R. problem," it would have already been solved.

So have some players been troubled by the noise but, for years, lacked the guts to come forward and say so? Or do players who aren't especially bothered by the sounds just not have the guts to say "no" to Allaster or whoever represents her in this issue? Either way, it doesn't look good, spine-wise.

I've stood really close to both Sharapova and Azarenka (and Venus Williams, for that matter) while they were playing, and I wasn't bothered at all by the noise. I understand that some spectators are bothered (many for sexist reasons, some because they just want players to be quiet), and that brings us back to the question of: Who decides what noises are prohibited? I haven't heard anyone complaining about Rafael Nadal or David Ferrer. I haven't heard anyone complaining about Caroline Wozniacki or Svetlana Kuznetsova. All of those players grunt. And while it's true that ATP players don't scream, it's worth noting that--as a rule--men don't scream.

The screaming and yelling seem to be part of a new culture of "power" tennis. I can tolerate the noise more than the playing style; I still want the players to use wooden racquets. But times have changed. Players cannot be stopped from grunting (and why would you want to stop them?), so it seems odd to try to stop them from screaming.

The worst part of all this is that the WTA gets way more public attention because a few players scream than it does for the daily grind and occasional wonder of its athletes who--by fate of birth--don't happen to be men. A "screamer" is going to win the Australian Open, and the WTA will airbrush her and promote her and tell the world what a great champion she is. All that will be done publicly, but who knows what's next in the more private campaign to get her and the runner-up to be quiet?

Top Australian Open junior seed out of tournament

2012-01-26T17:46:00.000-06:00

Krista Hardebeck of the USA has reached the semifinals of the Australian Open junior girls' draw by defeating number 1 seed Irina Khromacheva 6-3, 6-3. Hardebeck had already taken out the 8th and 9th seeds. The remaining semifinalists are 4th seed Yulia Putintseva, 14th seed Taylor Townsend and 2nd seed Eugenie Bouchard.

Top seed Esther Vergeer won her women's wheelchair semifinal, and will play 2nd seed Aniek Van Koot in the final. Vergeer and her partner, Sharon Walraven, the top doubles seeds, have made it to the final, and will play 2nd seeds Van Koot and partner Marjolein Buls.

In mixed doubles, 5th seeds Elena Vesnina and Leander Paes have advanced to the semifinals with a win over 4th seeds Lisa Raymond and Mahesh Bhupati. Also advancing were 3rd seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Horia Tecau, who beat Jarmila Gajdosova and Bruno Soares.

We have our finalists!

2012-01-26T17:35:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, in the third set of her Australian Open semifinal match against Petra Kvitoa, Maria Sharapova--serving at 4-all, 0-30--hit a shot that was called out, giving Kvitova three break points, and a chance to serve for the match. Only the ball wasn't out, and Sharapova knew it. She immediately challenged and was validated, and that was the beginning of the end for Kvitova. In her press conference, the Czech player said she didn't remember the challenge--I'm sure it had all become just a blur for her--but that moment obstructed her momentum, and a short time later, she was out of the Australian Open. Sharapova took the match 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

I decided last night not to make any notes on the matches, but rather, to just relax and enjoy them. I encourage you to check out Todd's excellent play-by-play analyses of both semifinals.

I do have some observations, however. One is that Maria Sharapova's mental toughness got her out of a lot of trouble yesterday. Kvitova was a mess in the first set, but she was once again scary-good in the second, and the third would have been hers if she had had her opponent's mentality. Sharapova had only five break opportunities against Kvitova, but she converted all five, including the crucial one at the end. In contrast, Kvitova had fourteen break opportunities, and converted only three of them.

Another is that Sharapova's movement keeps getting better, and she anticipated many of her opponent's forward moves.

Finally, this was the best singles match I've seen at this year's Open. The tension was high almost from the first strike, and--while both players had difficulty with one thing or another (Sharapova double-faulted ten times)--their very best features were also on display much of the time. It was a nerve game in the end, and Sharapova held hers. (Note to Chris Fowler: Sharapova's gender prohibits her from being the "king" of anything.) The mental aspect of Kvitova's tennis--though much better than in the past--is still a vulnerability. She just can't seem to settle down, and when she gets anxious, she plays way too fast.

The other match was played during the annoying Australia Day air show, and a formation of planes repeatedly flew low toward the court, outdoing the sparrows and seagulls that have been swooping around the players for a week and half. Defending champion Kim Clijsters played Victoria Azarenka, and on ESPN, the fist set was accompanied not only by buzzing aircraft, but by almost non-stop Azarenka-bashing, with occasional match commentary tossed in by Cliff Drysdale and Pam Shriver. (Shriver's comprehension of "irony" is somewhat impaired--there's a real difference between experiencing a highly significant and career-defining moment while working in one's profession, and sitting in a seat enjoying some recreational viewing.)

In the first set, Azarenka put Clijsters under so much pressure, the defending champion began to make what would become a long series of errors. Azarenka won the set 6-4, but lost her way in the second set, when Clijsters dominated 6-1. To the crowd, it probably looked like Aussie Kim was going to walk away a finalist, but Azarenka wasn't finished. She obviously put the second set completely behind her (something she hasn't always been able to do), and won the deciding set 6-3.

The pair broke each other four times, and Clijsters ended the match with one more point than Azarenka. But it didn't matter because Azarenka did what the best players do--she won the big points, when it really counted.

2008 champion Sharapova and Azarenka have played each other six times and have split the victories three and three. On hard courts, they've split the victories two and two. Here is a look at their paths to the Australian Open final:

MARIA SHARAPOVA (4)
round 1--def. Gisela Dulko
round 2--def. Jamie Hampton
round 3--def. Angelique Kerber (30)
round of 16--def. Sabine Lisicki (14)
quarterfinals--def. Ekaterina Makarova
semifinals--def. Petra Kvitova (2)

VICTORIA AZARENKA (3)
round 1--def. Heather Watson
round 2--def. Casey Dellacqua
round 3--def. Mona Barthel
round of 16--def. Iveta Benesova
quarterfinals--def. Agnieszka Radwanska (8)
semifinals--def. Kim Clijsters (11)

Australian Open---what they said

2012-01-26T09:40:00.002-06:00

I felt like I was down and out. There are times where, you know, I felt like she was just returning too good. I just kept going for it.

Maria Sharapova

She's played some incredible tennis these past three weeks already, in Sydney as well. She's been able to do that before in the past, but never really throughout, you know, that same amount of time. She was capable of beating the Williams sisters, but not always in a row. I think she's been able to use that experience. She's done that really well.

Kim Clijsters, speaking of Victoria Azarenka

...probably I play more aggressive in the Wimbledon and didn't have like a lot of mistakes what I did today. But, anyway, it's there. I mean, it was fine match for the people, hopefully. I'm looking forward for the next matches.

Petra Kvitova

This time next year do you imagine you'll be sitting watching on television or will tennis be very much in the past for you?
I have no idea. I have no idea.

Kim Clijsters

How long did it actually take you to find a serve that you were comfortable with once you came back to the game?
Well, when I came back I had to start with a different motion because, I mean, I wanted to come back so early. I couldn't quite come back as early as I wanted to. It came to a point where if you don't want to hurt things, then, you know, maybe you have to make some adjustments. That was probably a tough adjustment, because even though I changed motions many times in my career, I had to really go to a really different one which was very short and very compact. I was not used to that because I have long arms and I'm just used to kind of longer things and longer swings. But I had to do that in the beginning, and that was the toughest thing, yeah.

Maria Sharapova

Do you remember your first ITF events in Israel in 2003?
You mean the 10,000s?
Yes.
Yeah.
You must have been really small then, huh?
I was really small. I remember even few girls who are playing quallies here, I was playing with them. They were kicking my ass.

Victoria Azarenka

French Fed Cup team does not include Bartoli

2012-01-25T13:47:00.002-06:00

The French Fed Cup team for the February 4-5 event, in which France plays the Slovak Republic, will be composed of Alize Cornet, Pauline Parmentier, Virginie Razzano, and Aravane Rezai. Once again, France's top player, Marion Bartoli, has been left off of the team.

The Italian Fed Cup team includes Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani, and Roberta Vinci. This is, of course, the team that has led Italy to the Fed Cup championship in the past. Italy will play Ukraine.

Captain Mary Joe Fernandez has named Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Christina McHale, and Liezel Huber to the USA's team for the February competition. Sloane Stephens is the alternate. The USA will play Belarus.

Zvonareva enters Family Circle Cup

2012-01-25T11:54:00.001-06:00

Two-time finalist Vera Zvonareva has entered the 2012 Family Circle Cup in Charleston. The world number 7 is a fan favorite in Charleston, where she holds a 20-8 record. Zvonareva was in the final in 2008 and 2010. She did not play in the tournament last year.

This year's Family Circle Cup will be held March 31-April 8 at the Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island.

Down to four

2012-01-25T11:48:00.000-06:00

There are only four women standing at the Austrlian Open, and a case can be made for each of them to claim the championship. That means that we are likely to see two really good semifinal matches today.

In the first match scheduled for Rod Laver Arena, defending champion Kim Clijsters takes on 3rd seed Victoria Azarenka. Clijsters doesn't seem to be bothered by her sprained ankle, and Azarenka--so far--doesn't seem to be bothered by any injuries or illnesses (though she had some kind of "moment" while practicing the other day).

This is a real Veteran vs. Upstart contest. Clijsters has had two WTA careers and won four majors; Azarenka has never won a major, but has suddenly reached two semifinals in a row. Both are big hitters. Clijsters is a superb mover with an outstanding transition game. Clijsters can also be error-prone, however, and Azarenka can be competitive by keeping her game clean. She has done a great job so far in Melbourne, and certainly has a chance to reach the final. The crowd, of course, will be cheering for Aussie Kim.

There's a bit more drama attached to the second match. Petra Kvitova will play Maria Sharapova, whom she beat in the 2011 Wimbledon final. Sharapova's service problems have decreased significantly in this tournament, though they did appear for a little while. With her serve intact, she can take advantage of a shaky Kvitova. Only Kvitova may not be so shaky for this match. So far, though, the 2nd seed has "gone off" several times, only to pull herself together for the big points. They're both great servers (when Sharapova's serve is working) and great returners. Kvitova has also shown herself to be skillful at the net.

No matter who wins the 2012 Australian Open, the win will be special. For Clijsters, it's her last chance to win in Melbourne and she would also be defending her title from 2011. Additionally, a victory would mean that she would retire with a minimum of five major singles titles. For Azarenka, a victory would place her in the elite group of women who have won majors, and annouce her as the latest really big star on the tour.

If Kvitova wins the Australian Open, she becomes an even bigger threat than she is now--a two-time major winner on an impressive victory roll, and with a gain in confidence. And if the trophy goes to Sharapova, then she will finally be all the way "back" and ready to contend for more major titles.

Even though Clijsters is retiring some time this year (maybe before the end of 2012?), a win for Sharapova seems like it would be the most emotionally charged. The Russian star hasn't won a major since she won the Australian Open in 2008, and she has struggled through a misdiagnosis, shoulder surgery, two rehabs, a drop in confidence, and major problems with her serve.

The semifinal draw "looks good" on paper. The defending champion is playing, along with seeds 2, 3 and 4. Missing, of course, are five-time champion Serena Williams and top seed Caroline Wozniacki. It's also worth noting that the 2011 finalist, Li Na, is also missing from the semifinals.

Kvitova and Sharapova go to Australian Open semifinals

2012-01-25T11:13:00.004-06:00

2nd seed Petra Kvitova defeated Sara Errani 6-4, 6-4 yesterday in the Australian Open quarterfinals, yet it's Errani who stands out for her clever and gutsy performance. Errani gave her all, and that was considerable. Kvitova later acknowledged that she had problems with some of the Italian's high, spinning balls. She had other problems, too; she made 44 unforced errors. The 2011 Wimbledon champion has played five matches in Melbourne, but she has yet to settle down. Of course, toward the end of the second set, Kvitova took charge, kind of like we knew she would, and put and authoritatively put an end to the match. Still, she may be living a little too much on the edge in this tournament.

In the other quarterfinal played yesterday, Maria Sharapova put an end to Ekaterina Makarova's impressive Australian Open run, defeating her 6-2, 6-3. Makarova had service problems throughout both sets, which left her vulnerable to some of the biggest returns in women's tennis.

Of the four quarterfinal matches, I enjoyed the Kvitova-Errani one the most, because of Errani's spirited and challenging performance.

Errani's day got better, too, when she and partner Roberta Vinci reached the doubles final by defeating Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. The Italian team is seeded 11th at the event. In the other semifinal, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva defeated Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina 7-6, 2-6, 6-4. The unseeded Russian team took out the defending champions, Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, in the third round.

So far, I've enjoyed the doubles competition more than the singles competition at this Australian Open. There have been some thrilling doubles matches just about every day.

Women'e wheelchair singles began yesterday, and top seed Esther Vergeer won her quarterfinal match 6-0, 6-2.

Quarterfinal winners in mixed doubles were: Sania Mirza/Mahesh Bhupati, Jarmila Gajdosova/Bruno Soares, Roberta Vinci/Daniele Bracciali, and Elena Vesnina/Leander Paes.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-25T00:09:00.005-06:00

Did you go into the match with a game plan? You'd played once before.
Yeah, of course. For sure I should move her and let her run. Sometimes I didn't make that good today because she played so aggressive and pushed me all the time. It was difficult.

Ekaterina Makarova

I have to play my game as always and be aggressive but not really hectic and be focused on every point and it's easy.

Petra Kvitova

Today you just can't let yourself get pushed back. That's what she has to do. She has to try to move in, step forward, otherwise there is always going to be somebody coming on top of her at a Grand Slam.

Martina Hingis, speaking of Caroline Wozniacki

When Errani hit that drop shot, I reacted. But, like Kvitova, I did not get there.

Martina Navratilova

Being a fellow Russian player, do you know Maria very well off the court?
I don't know her at all.

Ekaterina Makarova

I see myself playing this sport for many more years because it's something that gives me the most pleasure in my life. I think it helps when you know you're good at something, and you can always improve it. It obviously helps with the encouragement.

Maria Sharapova

She's a true champion. Sooner or later I think we'll see her at the top spot probably. If it's not going to happen here, I think it's a question of time.

Martina Hingis, referring to Petra Kvitova

Why do you think you were able to come back today? What did you do well?
What do I did well? Actually, I think I didn't play like stupid and I tried to be really to play what I have to play.
Petra Kvitova

Radwanska was one player that said she thinks the noise you and Azarenka make is excessive and she'd like to see the WTA change the rules to prohibit that.
Isn't she back in Poland already?

Maria Sharapova

Azarenka and Clijsters advance to Australian Open semifinals

2012-01-24T15:42:00.001-06:00

Victoria Azarenka, who some have predicted will win the Australian Open, took another step toward that goal yesterday when she defeated her good friend Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. The first set, as the scoreline shows, was highly competitive, but then took a turn when Radwanska won the tiebreak 7-0. But a completely different Radwanska stepped onto the court for the second set. She looked suddenly sluggish (not a term one would generally use to describe her), and she was unable to win a game.

I expected the third set to be competitive, also, but by this time, Azarenka had all the momentum, and Radwanska--while she was able to get on the scoreboard--continued to serve poorly and make errors. We haven't seen Radwanska fade to this extent in a long time. She is generally not that vulnerable to the terrible heat, so I don't really know what happened to her.

Speaking of Radwanska--she had added a coach to her team. She is working with Jelena Dokic's former coach, Borna Bikic. However, Tomasz Wiktorowski--the Polish Fed Cup coach whom Radwanska recently hired to coach her--is still part of her coaching team. Both coaches were with her at the Australian Open.

In the other quarterfinal played yesterday, defending champion Kim Clijsters defeated top seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 7-6. Clijsters injured her ankle in her round of 16 match against Li Na, and she also saved four match points in that match. She's been busy icing and treating her ankle ever since, and during that time, she also learned how to move on her foot in a way that would minimize any further tweaking of the injury. She apparently learned well because we saw the famous Clijsters splits in yesterday's match.

The defending champion was anxious, though, and was broken four times, including when she served for the match at 5-3 in the second set. That set went to a tiebreak, which Clijsters won 7-4. She hit a volley on match point, which accentuated how successful she had been at the net throughout the match. For her part, Wozniacki was successful with less than half of her volleys, she got her first serve in 57% of the time, and she made twice as many unforced errors as she winners.

It wasn't a great performance from Clijsters, but it was certainly good enough. She also had the crowd behind her. As for Wozniacki--she has now lost her number 1 ranking, but could certainly get it back.

Next for Clijsters is Azarenka, against whom she has a 4-2 record.

Plenty of drama, but not on the singles courts

2012-01-24T14:38:00.001-06:00

If you've been watching the Australian Open and looking for the excitement we generally associate with major tournaments, you may have been looking in the wrong place. Yesterday--while the singles quarterfinals were interesting only because of the depth of the tournament--the real drama was going on in Margaret Court Arena. 2nd seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond played 6th seeds Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina for over three hours, and there was rarely a dull moment experienced.

Mirza and Vesnina, who wound up hitting 60 winners, got off to a strong start and took the first set 6-3. They had match points in the second set, and while Huber and Raymond can be credited for their saves, the last one went away when an obviously nervous Vesnina hit a long ball that--had it landed inside the court--would have almost surely been a (match) winner.

That mistake gave Huber and Raymond just the opening they needed. They broke the 6th seeds, and went on to the take the second set 7-5. They wondered aloud to the chair umpire about their opponents between-sets locker room break, and gave impatient looks to Mirza and Vesnina when they finally emerged and walked onto the court. The atmosphere was tense, and after almost and hour and a half of hard-played doubles, the teams arrived at a tiebreak. Mirza and Vesnina had more match points, and on the seventh one, they jumped up to celebrate their win--only chair umpire Carlos Ramos stopped them.

The ball had bounced twice before Huber scooped it up to hit it back, Mirza and Vesnina insisted. Ramous apparently didn't see it that way, or didn't see it at all. Mirza asked Huber if the ball had bounced twice, and Huber replied "I didn't see." Vesnina then went into an all-out rage, and had to be reeled in by her partner. Mirza decided to let her racquet do the talking, and she soon struck a sharp forehand (we're talking a Sania Mirza forehand here) right at Huber, who fell down backwards onto the blazing court. Finally, on their eighth match point, Mirza Vesnina won the match, and advanced to the semifinals.

But there was more. After the expected cold handshake, Huber got in Vesnina's face and began talking to her after they all moved away from the umpire's chair. Mirza and Vesnina just walked away as the crowd cheered. "We won the match like, twice," Mirza said as she made her exit.

And while it wasn't as dramatic (what could be?), another good match was played between 3rd seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova and 7th seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. The Czech team upset King and Shvedova 7-5, 6-2, and moved a step closer to claiming their second major trophy.

In other quarterfinal action, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva defeated Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu, and 11th seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci defeated Alla Kudryavtseva and Ekaterina Makarova. Both Errani and Makarova are still in the singles draw.

In the semifinals, Errani and Vinci will play Hlavackova and Hradecka, and Kuznetsova and Zvonareva will play Mirza and Vesnina. Zvonareva and Vesnina have been doubles partners in the past.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-24T09:02:00.003-06:00

I start laughing every time because the media talks to me like I'm finishing my career and I only have one year left and time is running out.

Caroline Wozniacki

Your mind is sometimes boiling and it's difficult to think.

Victoria Azarenka

Are you sure about this ball?
It's more out than in.

Chair umpire to Andrea Hlavackova

There's been a lot made of the noise of some of the female players. What are your thoughts on that?
To be honest, I'm kind of used to it, you know, especially with Vika. We know each other for many years. About Maria, I mean, what can I say? For sure that is pretty annoying and it's just too loud.

Agnieszka Radwanska

The WTA is looking at it (grunting, etc.) and obviously assessing their options. Do you think they need to be acting on it?
I think it's kind of silly, you know. But WTA should maybe look at some other things, too.

Victoria Azarenka

It was good not to use too much energy in the heat, but also just with my foot trying to always positioning it straight. You know, the rotation where my foot is in the ground and I like rotate with my foot on the ground, that's, you know, what I'm trying to be careful with, because the ligaments, you know, are definitely a little bit hurt.

Kim Clijsters

We won the match like, twice.

Sania Mirza

Her name is Makarova

2012-01-23T19:04:00.001-06:00

I was really pleased that, in her post-round of 16 interview, Ekaterina Makarova made it clear that she doesn't like being called "Macaroni" or "Macarena," the "nicknames" sometimes given to her by the crowd. It's bad enough that commentators, and even some umpires, don't bother to pronounce players' names correctly (I wish that Zheng Jie hadn't gone along with that awkward, ridiculous Jay-Z stunt; it only served to encourage people to keep mispronouncing her name), but to also call players "cute" names they don't like just adds to the insult.

For a few years now, Svetlana Kuznetsova has practically begged people to stop calling her "Kuzy," but even her friend Martina Navratilova still does it. Brad Gilbert nicknamed Yanina Wickmayer "Wicker Chair," and he calls Richard Gasquet "Dicky Gasket." Wow, that's so funny.

This isn't a new phenomenom. Shirley Muldowney hated the nickname "Cha-Cha," but to this day, writers use it when referring to her.

5-time champion Williams defeated in Australian Open round of 16

2012-01-23T10:16:00.001-06:00

When Serena Williams played Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the second round of the Australian Open, she lost her way for a while in the second set. It isn't unusual for a top player to stumble a bit in an early round, and Williams is known for "playing her way into" majors. But there was something about the look on her face that made me take note. She looked lost, and I wondered whether she was tired or in pain.

Yesterday, in the round of 16, that lost look was what we saw throughout most of her match against Ekaterina Makarova. Makarova, one of those mystery players whose talent has long exceeded her ranking, did not look lost at all. The Russian player has been on something of a tear since she arrived in Melbourne, and she had already disposed of Brisbane champion Kaia Kanepi and 7th seed Vera Zvonareva. When she needed six set points to close the first set against Williams, it also became clear that she was probably not going to fold in light of the occasion.

Williams has had problems with various opponents over the years, but, in the end, her serve has usually gotten her out of every type of trouble. But not yesterday--and that was the most surprising aspect of a match full of surprises. She double-faulted seven times, she had trouble getting her first serve in, and Makarova attacked and destroyed her second serve. In contrast, Makarova's second serve was one of her strengths, and her shots were fluid and precise; Makarova played from a vantage point of confidence.

Williams sprained her ankle in Brisbane, and this physical liability was obvious during the match; Williams' feet just weren't doing what they usually do, and she couldn't launch herself the way she generally does. She also made 37 unforced errors. Even with Williams playing with an injured foot, however, many players would have eventually faded away, and they certainly wouldn't have gone the distance to get that sixth set point. But Makarova wouldn't go away, and she ended the match with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Obviously, there was more than one factor in play in bringing about the upset; there are probably factors about which we know nothing. But I think that one of those factors was Sam Stosur's sound defeat of Williams in the 2011 U.S. Open final. Once something like that happens, other players get the idea that they, too, might be able to face the icon and not blink. And yes, there's a certain amount of irony in that theory, since Stosur was sent packing from Melbourne in the first round.

Not surprisingly (at least to me), Maria Sharapova defeated Sabine Lisicki, though she needed three sets to do it. Sharapova double-faulted eight times, so, again, her serve is something on which we want to keep an eye.

2nd seed Petra Kvitova defeated Ana Ivanovic in straight sets, but--once again--Kvitova had a bad patch. She was all power and dominance in the first set, which she won 6-2. But serving at 5-3 in the second set, and with a break point against Ivanovic, the Czech player whiffed an overhead. She couldn't shake off the mistake, and proceeded to lose the next two games at love. At 5-6, it looked as though Kvitova would be broken, but she did whatever it is she does in those moments, and--just like that--she was back. She held for 6-all, and the tiebreak went about like the first set had gone; Kvitova was dominant and aggressive.

In yesterday's other singles match, Sara Errani defeated Zheng Jie 6-2, 6-1 in a beatiful display of tennis. The talented Zheng likes to absorb pace and race around the court in a hitting contest, but she couldn't get the rhythm she wanted from Errani, who kept hitting high balls to her and forcing her out of her running zone.

The comeback players of yesterday were Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina, who defeated Jarmila Gajdosova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands 7-5, 6-3. Mirza and Vesnina were down 1-5 in the first set.

2011 French Open champions Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka defeated Rika Fujiwara and Ayumi Morita (in an entertaining match), and Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci defeated Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska. Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu won when their opponents--5th seeds Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova--retired during the first set. Kirilenko has a thigh injury, which caused her to retire against Petra Kvitova in singles.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-23T00:05:00.002-06:00

It wasn't hot enough for them to close the roof. I'm like, bloody hell. Glad I'm not playing anymore. I don't know how they do it.

Martina Navratilova

It was still in my head that it was an easy shot. I tried to get it out, but it was still there.

Petra Kvitova

...Yeah I served really well, that's why today was frustrating. I still felt like my rhythm was there and just wasn't executing well and mis-timing the ball a little bit.

Ana Ivanovic

It may have been Chinese New Year, but the dragon today was all Italian.

Nick Lester

...Caroline doesn't need to explain why she was number 1, it's the WTA that needs to explain that.

Martina Navratilova

Is there any one thing that you put it down to today?
I don't know. I served horrendous. That's one of the fifty things.

Serena Williams

Kim was in the fire and she just play.

Petra Kvitova

Comeback Kim knocks Li out of Australian Open

2012-01-22T13:10:00.001-06:00

I woke up this morning to learn I had watched a "thriller" last night (it was night in the USA) between Kim Clijsters and Li Na in the Australian Open round of 16. The last part of the third set was certainly thrilling, but the match, as a whole, was more bizarre and disappointing than anything else. The match had gotten a deservedly big buildup because Clijsters and Li played in last year's Australian Open final. And, in the final analysis, the content--if not the form--of the two matches was similar.

I went back to look at what I'd written about the 2011 final, and one of the things I said about Li in the second set was: "If I were the kind of person who used the expression 'This is when the wheels fell off,' I'd certainly describe flying wheels."

And there you are. The drama began in yesterday's match when, at 3-all in the first set, Clijsters rolled her left ankle. This was the bad ankle, and the defending champion was clearly in pain. She received some treatment, including a heavy wrap, and continued to play, but she looked undone by the incident. This is Clijsters' last Australian Open, she's the defending champion, and she had to feel like she had the worst luck in the world.

Li won the first set 6-4. In the second set, Clijsters had to resign herself to the fact that she couldn't really push off anymore to hit wide serves. Li went up 3-1 in the second, as Clijsters had trouble keeping the ball in the court. But one could also sense that anxious, tense Li Na--the one we saw in Melbourne last year and have seen so many times before--had emerged. Clijsters undoubtedly sensed it, too.

The set went to a tiebreak, and suddenly, Li had four match points. Clijsters saved three of them as the crowd went wild. Then, Clijsters surprised perhaps even herself by hitting a forehand drop shot. The speedy Li got there in plenty of time, but--for reasons that will remain a mystery--she hit the ball straight to Clijsters instead of whacking one of her famous crosscourt stingers to win the match. Clijsters returned with a lob, but Li was no longer speedy--she was frozen to the spot.

On to the third set. The defending champion quickly went up 4-0, as Li--still looking stunned by what had happened in the preceding set--couldn't do anything but make errors. At 4-1 Clijsters became a bundle of nerves and double-faulted, giving Li a break point. Li then picked up her game, and if you were watching, you had to wonder--is it really over for her? But it was. Clijsters took the last set 6-4 and won on her second match point.

The match was a microcosm of the two players' career problems: Clijsters tends to get injured, and Li tends to choke away matches. The challenge for Clijsters now is her ankle. It could get worse, and even if it doesn't, she'll probably still be restricted in her service game, which will certainly hurt her against quarterfinal opponent Caroline Wozniacki. For now, though, Aussie Kim is still in the mix.

Wozniacki reached the quarterfinals by defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-0, 7-5 . Also getting to the quarterfnals was Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2. Azarenka will play Agnieszka Radwanska, who easily defeated (6-1, 6-1) a lost-looking Julia Goerges.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-22T12:22:00.004-06:00

Would you like to change your game against a particular opponent like Kim, or do you think you'll continue with the same strategy and same type of game?
So what do you think? You think I should change? I mean, I played this way for 20 years already. I couldn't change for next two months.

Li Na

They have wacky matches.

Mary Joe Fernandez, speaking of Kim Clijsters and Li Na

...Most of all, you have someone you can blame....

Chanda Rubin, on the benefits of playing doubles

I gave it (a baby kangaroo) some milk, and it just spit it all over me. I was like, is this a thank you for just being nice and petting the kangaroo? I got milk all over myself. I guess I deserved that from the story last year.

Caroline Wozniacki

How in the world did you pull that match out?
I have no idea.

Kim Clijsters

Well, I know Vika for I think ten years. We played juniors together. We're the same age, so we played a lot of matches against each other. You know, I think it's always three sets, always tough ones.

Agnieszka Radwanska

Is she (Anna Kournikova) coming to the tournament?
Yeah, she came last year to watch me play. She said she ate about two packets of gum because she was so nervous.

Victoria Azarenka

Maybe 6‑2 up in the tiebreak I was a little bit shocking. Yeah.

Li Na

Russian team knocks out defending champions in Melbourne thriller

2012-01-21T21:48:00.001-06:00

It was impossible to tell, until the very end, who was going to win the 3rd round Australian Open match between defending champions Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta and Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva. Dulko and Pennetta won the first set 6-3, but their opponents made fewer errors in the second set, and took that set 6-3.

The entire match was tense and entertaining, but the third set was especially so. The defending champions were broken early, but caught up, then found themselves about to go out when the Russian team served for the match at 5-3. A spectacular 28-shot rally occurred in that game, with all four players moving to the far reaches of the court. Dulko and Pennetta broke. Down 0-30 at 5-6, the defending champions got some breathing room when Kuznetsova made two mis-hits in a row. They were broken, though, when Dulko double-faulted on break point.

Kuznetsova and Zvonareva served for the match a second time, but were broken on the first of two break points. The match then went to a tiebreak, but the Russian team was too strong, and advanced to the next round with a 7-4 tiebreak score.

This was a really high quality match that featured everything from body blows to an amusing cheering section to some really stunning shot-making. Dulko and Pennetta create so much drama on the court because they fight so hard and keep coming back, even when it appears they don't have a chance. Today, though, their opponents were too strong in closing, though, and Kuznetsova, in particular, should be credited for her skills--at the net and from the baseline.

Top seeds retire in Australian Open doubles

2012-01-21T15:33:00.002-06:00

Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik were the top-seeded doubles team at the Australian Open, but they retired during their second round match yesterday because Srebotnik sustained a back injury. The "real" upset occurred yesterday when Rika Fujiwara and Ayumi Morita defeated 10th seeds Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Also, Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Nisulescu took out 9th seeds Natalie Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova.

Getting the retirement from Peschke and Srebotnik were Alla Kudryavtseva and Ekaterina Makarova. Makarova upset Vera Zvonareva in singles yesterday, also.

Jelena Jankovic is playing mixed doubles with Bernard Tomic; they defeated an all-Australian team in the first round.

Bartoli out of Australian Open

2012-01-21T11:34:00.004-06:00

Imagine that you're playing a big match in front of a mirror--only your mirror image is wearing speed skates. That should give you an idea of what happened to Marion Bartoli yesterday in the third round of the Australian Open. Bartoli takes the ball very fast, Zheng Jie takes the ball very fast; Bartoli goes for the big angles; Zheng goes for the big angles. This was going to be a competitive match, no matter what. Zheng, though, moved so quickly, and her footwork was so deft, that she was able to overcome the 9th seed with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Bartoli hit only seven winners the entire match. Her usual aggression was stopped from the beginning by a bigger aggression on the side of the net. Zheng, who made it the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2010, had to withdraw from the event last year because of an injury.

Bartoli wasn't the only high seed to make an exit. 7th seed Vera Zvonareva was taken out 7-6, 6-1 by countrywoman Ekaterina Makarova. Makarova served for the first set at 5-4, but was broken. She remained calm, however, and went on to win the tiebreak 9-7. After that, the match was all about Makarova, who hit with finesse as Zvonareva struggled with her serve and made repeated errors.

Makarova reached the round of 16 in Melbourne last year, too. She was defeated by eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Her luck is no better this year; she plays Serena Williams in the next round.

I found it painful to watch Sorana Cirstea in the third round. She had some back pain, which was unfortunate, but she also had so many emotional outbursts, she looked as though she might just implode. The situation was made more dramatic by the fact that she was playing Italian backboard Sara Errani, who can grind for hours and rarely appear to be bothered. After Cirstea won the first set in a tiebreak, she became even more tense, and failed to win one game in the second set. The third set was better, though she won only two games in that one, as she had difficulty serving, and she continued to make unforced errors.

Did anyone really think Svetlana Kuznetsova wasn't going to choke away a 6-2, 3-1 lead? I didn't think so.

The Russian was all over Sabine Lisicki in the first set, and Lisicki appeared lost, unable to deliver the serve for which she's become known. But the German staged a comeback when things looked bad for her in the second set, and that was all it took for Kuznetsova to lose her way, and then fade, as Lisicki became more confident.

Serena Williams beat Greta Arn 6-1, 6-1 in just under and hour. Maria Sharapova beat U.S. Open semifinalist Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2, and Ana Ivanovic defeated Vania King 6-3, 6-4. Petra Kvitova played just a set and a game, as Maria Kirilenko had to retire with a thigh injury.

In the USA, Tennis Channel and ESPN are sharing the broadcast duties, with all the usual name mispronunciations and unnecessary banter. And while it pains me to say it (and this was evident during the U.S. Open, too), Chris Evert needs to go. There was a time when she was a good commentator, but now, she obviously doesn't know who the players are what their histories are. This was embarrassingly evident during Zvonareva's match, when Evert thought that Makarova was some new, young player on the tour with a "nothing to lose" attitude. Of course, Evert isn't the only WTA commentator who doesn't know much about the tour, but she seems to expose her knolwedge gaps more than the others.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-21T09:38:00.001-06:00

She played extremely well, first of all. I really thought that I was under pressure right away. I never get a grip on the match.

Marion Bartoli

Bartoli is one of the most entertaining players on the tour. I find myself always pulling for her.

Chris Evert

How much have you been paying attention to other players' results here so far?
Well, actually, I don't know who lost and who win....

Petra Kvitova

...Sometimes you're a bit of a passenger when Kvitova is on the zone.

Match commentator

Is it possible to enjoy your in between days at the slams?
Yeah, I enjoy my afternoon naps. I love them.

Maria Sharapova

Can you give us an idea of what areas of your game Nigel has helped you the most with?
One of the big areas was the serve. That needed some improvement. Throughout the end of last year it was improving. But now in offseason we really had time to work on it. It has improved a lot.

Ana Ivanovic

...the feeling that I got was really I couldn't hurt her. I mean, she was hurting me all the time with either her forehand crosscourt or the speed she was having on her legs moving side to side.

Marion Bartoli

I do the training too hard, so that's why I move so quick. But I know Bartoli, she play so aggressive. I play against her the many times before. So, yeah, my coach tell me make her move. So today I think I do good.

Zheng Jie

Passing shots

2012-01-20T14:06:00.001-06:00

Former world number 6 Chanda Rubin is being inducted into the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame. Rubin lives in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The Family Circle cup is calling for tournament volunteers and also for ball crew members.

2006 Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo was sitting in the stands with Victoria Azarenka's coach, Sam Sumyk, during Azarenka's third round match.

Stan Wawrinka's behavior in his match yesterday stands as proof (like I needed any) that if Victorira Azarenka were "Victor" Azarenka, the crowd wouldn't dislike her at all.

Andrea Petkovic reports that she is "slightly" over her depression over not being able to play in Melbourne.

Here's your chance to predict who you think will be in the top 10 at the end of 2012.

Barttoli likely to be left out of Olympic Games

2012-01-20T12:55:00.001-06:00

Marion Bartoli reports that her participation in the 2012 Olympic Games is unlikely. Players must have participated on their Fed Cup teams at least twice during the last four years in order to qualify to play at the Games, and Bartoli has not played. The French star wanted her coach, Walter Bartoli, to help coach her through Fed Cup participation, but the French Federation was against this, and Bartoli was not assigned to the team.

Bartoli says she does not have time to take her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. There is a small chance that the ITF will make an exception and let her participate. In the meantime, Bartoli describes the situation as "heartbreaking" for her. The Olympic Games will be held on grass courts, and Bartoli would be favored to win a medal.

Jankovic advances to Australian Open round of 16

2012-01-20T12:38:00.002-06:00

The USA's Christina McHale, who impressed with her Australian Open wins over Lucie Safarova and Marina Erakovic, was swept aside easily by Jelena Jankovic in the third round yesterday. Jankovic, looking "like herself" throughout the match, wasn't bothered by McHale's retrieval skills, and won the match 6-2, 6-0. The 13ath seed will have a much harder job in the next round: She will face top seed Caroline Wozniacki, who defeated the always-entertaining Monica Niculescu in straight sets. Jankovic is 4-3 against Wozniacki, but all three of Wozniacki's victories occurred last year.

Iveta Benesova's serve continued to work for her in the third round. When the Czech player's serve is "on," it can do a lot of damage, as it did yesterday. Benesova hit 22 winners and made only 12 unforced errors against qualifier Nina Brathikova, whom she beat 6-1, 6-3. I enjoyed watching Bratchikova play.

In the round of 16, Benesova will play 3rd seed Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Hobart champion Mona Barthel in straight sets in the third round. (Note to Martina Navratilova: Not being able to challenge that last call wasn't "all" Azarenka's fault; a chair umpire with reasonable vision and who was paying attention would certainly have overruled.)

Li Na received an early (3-0 in the first set) retirement from Anabel Medina Garrigues, defending champion Kim Clijsters defeated Daniela Hantuchova, and Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Galina Voskoboeva (or "Viskaboova," as she was designated by a commentator). The match I most enjoyed watching was the one played by Romina Oprandi and Julia Goerges. Goerges defeated Oprandi 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Oprandi kind of gave out in the final set, but the first two were quite competitive. Goerges hit 47 winners, including 8 aces.

Li and Clijsters, who played in last year's final, will meet in the round of 16, which means that one of the favorites to win the tournament will be eliminated soon. Unless someething goes wrong, this match should have the flavor of a final, and is certainly one of the most anticipated contests of the tournament.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-20T10:05:00.002-06:00

Next round is against Kim in a replay of last year's final. How does that prospect feel?
Someone make good draw. This only I can say.

Li Na

Do you think match play is overrated for veteran players? You and Maria and Serena all come in with very little and you're all winning.
I think when you're a little bit older you're capable of, in your mind, to set your mind to what it is like to play a match again. You have your routines. Again, I come back to routines, but they're so important. You have your game that you know that you're going to stick to.

I think when I was younger, I mean, I needed to play those matches to kind of get a feel for how I had to play and what my coach wanted of me and those kind of things. Now I know out there. Even after two years off, when I stepped out there, when I got out on the court, I knew what my game was, and I didn't need a lot of the matches to find that again.

Kim Clijsters

Sum up your progress in with Grand Slams so far? Are you happy with the progress you've made? Could you have done better?
Well, to think if I could have done better I think it's a little bit of a waste of time, because you can't really bring it back. What you can do is to learn from your experiences, mistakes, good, bad, and take it to the next one.

Victoria Azarenka

Other players start at 11:00 am; I start the match at 11:00 p.m.

Li Na

Friday cat blogging--nap time edition

2012-01-20T09:24:00.000-06:00

Brisbane champion among seeds to go out in Australian Open 2nd round

2012-01-19T10:54:00.001-06:00

Brisbane champion Kaia Kanepi, seeded 25th at the Australian Open, was defeated in straight sets yesterday in the second round by Ekaterina Makarova. In Brisbane, Kanepi knocked out seed after seed to win the trophy, but she was not able to handle Makarova, who is ranked number 56 in the world.

Kanepi wasn't the only seed to be taken out. 15th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was defeated 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 by a more consistent Vania King. After the first set, Pavlyuchenkova had so much trouble with her serve that King was able to take over the match.

In what was probably the most exciting match of the day, Greta Arn overcame 17th seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 3-6, 10-8. Arn's service game was big in every way; she hit 8 aces and double-faulted 12 times. Most of the time, though, her serve worked for her. She down 1-3 in the final set, and she broke Cibulkova when the 17th seed served for the match at 7-6. It was a tense 2-hour and 40-minute contest, and it really wasn't clear who was going to win until the very end. Arn's reward? She gets Serena Williams in the third round.

23rd seed Roberta Vinci was defeated by Zheng Jie, and 29th seed Nadia Petrova, who had some problems with her back, was defeated by Sara Errani. 18th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova squeaked by Sloane Stephens 7-6, 7-5, and 9th seed Marion Bartoli defeated Australia's Jelena Dokic in the night match.

Vera Zvonareva, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams all advanced. Williams won her first set against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0, but the second set was different. Zahlavova Strycova got in and made some headway, and Williams began to slow down and move awkwardly. At a later point, Williams fell down, but apparently wasn't harmed by the fall. She won the set 6-4, and the match victory gave her her 500th career match win.

A lot of attention was given to the 500th win, to Williams' upcoming mixed doubles play with Andy Roddick (now in doubt because of Roddick's hamstring injury), and to the fall, which landed Williams on what she called her "good ankle." But nothing was said about the second set lapse. Was Williams in pain? Was it a moment of uncertainty? Zahlavova Strycova is capable of confusing an opponent, but she wasn't doing anything in that particular match that would have caused Williams to lose her momentum.

Five-time Australian Open champion Williams plays Arn next, and--assuming she wins--she will probably then get Zvonareva in the round of 16.

Petra-fied

2012-01-19T10:17:00.001-06:00

Carla Suarez Navarro, with her heavy topspin and her impressive one-handed backhand, has been known to confound more than one top player. Yesterday, the Spaniard went after Australian Open 2nd seed Petra Kvitova, who proceeded to obviously (Chris Evert, she isn't) unravel before spectators' eyes. Kvitova easily won the first set 6-2, but then Suarez Navarro became more aggressive, her shot-making became rhythically accurate, and Kvitova became a mess.

When people are under stress, they tend to regress to older, less desirable, behavior. Kvitova is a case study in this type of regression: When she is in panic mode, she returns to the wild-swinging, "hit a winner at all costs" type of play that used to be her downfall. Her forehand tends to break down. And her feet either freeze or appear to be tangled on the court. The thing is, Kvitova can put spin on the ball, she can move as deftly as she needs to--but she stops doing these things when her fear takes over.

After taking the second set 6-2, Suarez Navarro proceeded to break Kvitova and go up 2-0. And just when it appeared she was about to go up 3-0--when Kvitova's facial expression was that of a woman with no answers--the Czech player began to use good sense. She stopped the wild swinging, slowed down her game, and calmed down enough to find her serve. When that happened, her confidence returned, too, and she won the set 6-4.

After the match, Kvitova acknowledged that, though her high-risk game means that she makes a lot of errors, "I made many, many mistakes." She said, in so many words, that she realized she had to lower her margin of error.

It's to her credit that Petra Kvitova found a way to get herself out of a second round crash. Her comeback was, in fact, impressive. The 2011 Player of the Year said just recently that winning as an "outsider" was much easier than winning as the world number 2. Sounds like it's time to book a coffee date with Billie Jean King.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-19T00:34:00.001-06:00

...She's not moving well. When she's playing her best tennis, she hits screaming winners on the run, and we haven't seen that yet.

Chris Evert, discussing Petra Kvitova

I actually used to break a lot of racquets on the court. I sometimes break them in practice, just not in a match anymore.

Serena Williams

After being down a set and a break, what adjustments did you make and how did you get your focus back?
Actually, I don't know.

Petra Kvitova

They say the world is going to end this year. What would you like to do or achieve before the world blows up?
Why do you have to ask the most ridiculous questions?

Maria Sharapova

McHale fights past Erakovic

2012-01-18T11:59:00.003-06:00

If you saw a more thrilling Australian Open match yesterday than the 2nd round contest between Christina McHale and Marina Erakovic, then it's one I wish I had seen, too. McHale's 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory over Erakovic and her sometimes ferocious forehand was a testament to the lessons McHale has learned about staying mentally steady in a long match. It also didn't hurt that McHale--after she found her footing--was hitting with crack precision much of the time.

Erakovic began the first set of the 2-hour and 47-minute match by holding her serve, then breaking McHale. She then saved two break points and held for 3-0. Serving at 5-3, the New Zealander saved a break point and took the first set. The second set was a different story, with McHale more able to handle Erakovic's service games. McHale went up 5-2, 40-15, but just when it looked like an easy turnaround, Erakovic fought back and eventually forced a tiebreak.

McHale won the tiebreak, and then won the third set when Erakovic--though still sometimes able to hit her estimable forehand--made too many errors to overtake her opponent.

McHale hit 31 winners and made 33 unforced errors; Erakovic hit 47 winners and made 49 unforced errors. At its best moments, this was a match that featured wonderful shot-making by both players. They painted the lines over and over, and used every inch of the court.

McHale will play 13th seed Jelena Jankovic in the third round.

20th seed Daniela Hantuchova had a fight on her hands, too, against the stunningly athletic Lesia Tsurenko. It was an entertaining match in which Tsurenko never gave up, but in the end, the more experienced Hantuchova advanced, with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Iveta Benesova skillfully put away 16th seed Peng Shuai in straight sets, and countrywoman Romina Oprandi upset 10th seed Francesca Schiavone in straight sets, also. Hobart champion Mona Barthel advanced to the next round with a win over Petra Cetkovska, and Victoria Azarenka, Li Na and Kim Clijsters had easy wins.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki, however, struggled somewhat against Anna Tatishvili. Wozniacki won the first set 6-1, but Tatishvili took her to a tiebreak in the second set. Wozniacki emerged the winner, and will play Monica Niculescu in the third round.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-17T23:26:00.000-06:00

Everything was coming just twice as harder than what I'm used to, twice as deep. She cleaned the lines. She played some really good tennis. I wasn't used to it.

Olivia Rogowska, who played Li Na

One game where you didn't have to move a lot was when you hit four aces in 60 seconds. Have you done that before?
I don't know. I feel like I have in some European country maybe. I don't know. But it's a great feeling. It's cool. Especially to do it at a Grand Slam, something you can't forget. That was the only good moment I had in the match, I feel.

Serena Williams

...I like this court a lot. I like to hit on this court also.

Li Na, referring to Rod Laver Arena

I think, if she can get past this match, Jankovic is very beatable.

Chris Evert, calling Christina McHale's match

Do you take much notice of rankings?
No.
Doesn't mean anything?
No.
Have you ever?
No....

Kim Clijsters

Stosur out of Australian Open in first round

2012-01-17T13:48:00.000-06:00

The Australian Open's 6th seed, Samantha Stosur, was defeated 7-5. 6-3 Tuesday in the first round of play, by Sorana Cirstea. Cirstea exploited Stosur's obviously flustered state, and consistently dictated play as the top Australian player made repeated unforced errors. Stosur went out in the opening rounds in both Brisbane and Sydney, causing some observers to guess that she would not get very far in Melbourne. It's unlikely, though, that even they thought she wouldn't get past the opening round. Cirstea, however, is not a player anyone especially wants to see on the other side of the net in a first round, and she has now advanced to the second, in which Urszula Radwanska will get a look at her.

Australia's number 2 player, Jarmila Gajdosova, was also defeated in straight sets. Maria Kirilenko beat Gajdosova 6-4, 6-2, and the Australian proceeded to have a bit of a meltdown in her press conference. Australian Anastasia Rodionova is out, too, but Casey Dellacqua and Jelena Dokic have both advanced to the second round.

19th seed Flavia Pennetta, alas, is also out of the picture. Pennetta was defeated on the first day of play by Nina Bratchikova. Also gone are 24th seed Lucie Safarova, 28th seed Yanina Wickmayer, Irina-Camelia Begu, and perennial crowd favorite, Kimiko Date-Krumm.

Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova each played their first round matches very efficiently, losing a total of three games between them. It wasn't so easy for Vera Zvonareva, though, who had to go against the tough, but inconsistent, Alexandra Dulgheru. Zvonareva won the first set in a tiebreak, and Dulgheru won the second set in a tiebreak. At that point, they had played for 2 hours and 17 minutes. Dulgheru called for a medical time-out in the third set in order to get her feet treated, presumably for blisters. She faltered after that, then came back to life, only to be broken and lose the set 3-6.

The match lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes; I was just an observer, and I was exhausted at the end. The pair made 119 unforced errors and hit 62 winners.

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-16T23:10:00.005-06:00

You don't see any reason to try to maybe become 10% more conservative in your play?
I got to 24 in the world for a reason. I didn't get there by making balls. If anybody actually ever played against me before, you would feel that I was playing about 50% usually of what I'm usually swinging at a ball. It's conservative--I mean, look at Clijsters. You think she play like that? No. She won a Grand Slam, yes. Look at Sharapova. Does she play like that? She won a Grand Slam, yes. Na Li, Kvitova, you put anyone. It's not to make balls. Only person who does it unbelievably is Wozniacki. She makes enough balls; she doesn't miss. She's a hell of a player for it.

Jarmila Gajdosova

Somebody told me that my life has changed, and I couldn't believe it.

Petra Kvitova, on her Wimbledon win

The whole country probably hates me right now.

Sorana Cirstea

Here, it's not very bad. I have a problem when it's really humid, not hot.

Petra Kvitova, commenting on her problem with asthma

And, you know, if everybody keeps questioning, then I'm going to question my game as well. Obviously that's how it looked out there, because people keep talking about unforced errors, and I'm going to make unforced errors. Of course. Then I stop swinging, and then you're going to miss anyway. It's not easy no matter what I'm going to do, I'm never going to do the right thing for anybody. So why to bother? You try and try, and everybody is going to say anything they want anyway.

Jarmila Gajdosova

Australian Open--what they said

2012-01-15T22:55:00.000-06:00

She doesn't peak mentally for the Grand Slams. That's a fact.

Chris Evert, referring to Caroline Wozniacki

I saw a picture of Serena....She is looking very fit; her stomach muscles were ridiculous.

Mary Joe Fernandez

Last year, after the French Open, I couldn't win anything; I kept going out in the first round. Now I think I'm back.

Li Na

I liked being normal. It was good.

Casey Dellacqua, on her lengthy time away from the tour

Australian Open championship predictions

2012-01-14T21:57:00.002-06:00

Peter Bodo--Petra Kvitova
Steve Tignor--Petra Kvitova
Brad Gilbert--Serena Williams
Darren Cahill--Victoria Azarenka
Jon Wertheim--Petra Kvitova
Richard Pagliaro--Petra Kvitova
Mary Joe Fernandez--Serena Williams
Cliff Drysdale--Petra Kvitova
Ed McGrogan--Li Na
Pam Shriver--Petra Kvitova
Greg Garber--Victoria Azarenka
Kamakshi Tandon--Kim Clijsters
Bruce Jenkins--Petra Kvitova
Simon Reed--Petra Kvitova
Ray Bowers--Petra Kvitova
Chris Evert--Li Na
Patrick McEnroe--Victoria Azarenka
Matt Wilanksky--Serena Williams

Passing shots

2012-01-14T15:17:00.003-06:00

Melanie Oudin may have lost her first round Australian Open qualifying match against Laura Robson, but she saved nine match points, which is worth mentioning.

Li Na is once again exhorting her countrywomen and -men to stop coaching her from the stands. "Maybe they think I'm stupid so they coach me," she said. Li has complained more than once about Chinese fans shouting at her from the stands.

I've mentioned Ingrid Neel before. Here is an update on the 13-year-old's training.

Time for the drinking game.

Vera Zvonareva has changed from K-Swiss to Fila.

Qualifiers set for Australian Open

2012-01-14T11:12:00.001-06:00

The following players have qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open:

Laura Robson
Irina Pavlovic
Andrea Hlavackova
Stephanie Voegele
Alison Riske
Maria Joao Koehler
Paula Ormaechea
Nina Bratchikova
Valeria Savinykh
Chang Kai-Chen
Varvara Lepchenko
Jamie Hampton

Barthel wins her first title in style

2012-01-14T10:28:00.001-06:00

To go through qualifying, then take out the 2nd, 4th and 5th seeds, then beat the top seed in the final with two aces at the end is the sort of thing that deserves to be called a "dream run." For Mona Barthel, the new Hobart champion, it was also the dramatic run to her first WTA title.

Barthel, seeded 2nd in the qualifying draw, had to win three rounds before she could enter the main draw. She then defeated qualifier Romina Oprandi, 2nd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, 5th seed Jarmila Gajdosova, and 4th seed Angelique Kerber, before taking out 1st seed Yanina Wickmayer 6-1, 6-2.

4th seeds Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu won the doubles title, defeating 3rd seeds Chuang Chia-Jung and Marina Erakovic 6-7, 7-6, 10-5.

Azarenka wins Sydney title

2012-01-13T09:38:00.002-06:00

3rd seed Victoria Azarenka has won the 2012 Apia International Sydney title. Azarenka defeated 4th seed Li Na 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in the final, making almost half the unforced errors made by her opponent. This is Azarenka's ninth title (her fifth premier title), and her first title using her new Wilson racquet.

Top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik took the doubles title, defeating 2nd seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond 6-1, 4-6, 13-11.

In Hobart, top seed Yanina Wickmayer advanced to the final with a 7-6, 6-3 win over Shahar Peer. Her opponent in the final will be Mona Barthel, who defeated Angelique Kerber 6-0, 7-6. Barthel is unseeded at the event.

Chuang Chia-Jung and Marina Erakovic advanced to the doubles final, and will play for the title against Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu.

Friday cat blogging--friendship edition

2012-01-13T09:20:00.001-06:00

Li defeats Kvitova and advances to Sydney final

2012-01-12T09:48:00.000-06:00

If you got mixed up yesterday, and thought Sydney was Paris, don't worry--Petra Kvitova probably did, too. Because, just like at the French Open, Kvitova let go of a third set lead against Li Na, and lost the match, only this time, it was a semifinal.

For a set and a half, the defending champion was at Kvitova's mercy, and there wasn't much of it. Kvitova could just about do no wrong, and Li--though she had the right ideas--made a lot of errors and squandered a lot of opportunities. But then the Czech's level came down a bit, and she appeared more flustered than concerned. Li saw that little crack, and she straightened herself out and drove right through it.

Kvitova had taken the first set 6-1 and Li took the second, 7-5. And while Kvitova continued to look unraveled in the third set, she, too, pulled herself together, and went up 3-1. But Li made her run--a lot--and pinned her to the corners. Movement isn't Kvitova's strong suit, and now, both her speed and footwork were being exploited by the force of Li's momentum. Throughout the second half of the match, we saw Kvitova throw her racquet twice. She won only two games in the final set. She looked disgusted. This was not the Cool Czech of recent tennis history.

What happened? Only Kvitova knows, and she may not be clear about it, herself. When Li gets switched on, however, she can do a lot of damage. Was the French Open match being viewed in Kvitova's head? Was the looming top ranking creating too much pressure? Or was it all of the above?

Li will try to win consecutive Sydney championships when she plays Victoria Azarenka in the final. Azarenka defeated Agnieszka Radwanska 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. I didn't see the match, but there seems to be agreement that Radwanska showed quite a bit of fatigue as the match wore on. Here's hoping she feels fresh for her Melbourne competition.

In the doubles semifinals, top seeds Kveta Peshke and Katarina Srebotnik ended the impressive run of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears, 6-7, 6-3, 10-5. Their opponents in the final will be 2nd seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond, who defeated Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova 7-6, 6-4.

Staggering toward Melbourne

2012-01-11T17:56:00.003-06:00

It would be nice if the first major of the season featured a draw of healthy players, but sadly, that isn't the reality of the situation. Andrea Petkovic (stress fracture in back) and Venus Williams (complications of Sjogren's Synrome) have withdrawn from the tournament, and other players--Serena Williams (ankle), Kim Clijsters (thigh muscle spasm), Maria Sharapova (ankle), Sabine Lisicki (back) Flavia Pennetta (back), and Caroline Wozniacki (wrist)--have already sustained injuries. Julia Goerges has been sick lately, Svetlana Kuznetsova was brought down by heat illness, and Petra Kvitova--because of her asthma--is vulnerable in humid conditions.

Williams and Sharapova are reported to be doing well. Sharapova, of course, could have used some more match play. Pennetta has been playing doubles, which could indicate that she's okay, too, or maybe she's overdoing it. Clijsters, the defending champion, says she's ready to play.

Now that the Australian Open court surfaces are safer, the players aren't quite as vulnerable as they used to be in Melbourne. The heat can be overwhelming, however, and adds another element of physical stress.

Not all of the fitness issues are physical. Sam Stosur, Australia's number 1 player, has already crashed out in her initial rounds of both Brisbane and Sydney. She lost to Iveta Benesova and to friendly nemesis Francesca Schiavone. And while there's no shame in losing to either of those players, this is the 2011 U.S. Open champion warming up for her country's big tournament--and it just doesn't look too good for her. Stosur, though, is nothing if not umpredictable, so we'll all have to wait and see how she does.

Quote of the week

2012-01-11T14:55:00.002-06:00

"...For the husband, he always doing good job. For a coach, yeah, sometimes I feeling he was doing good, but sometimes I feeling he was doing some stupid thing. But if I can't win the match, I have to listen to what he say."

Li Na

Semifinals set in Sydney

2012-01-11T12:37:00.001-06:00

2011 Sydney champion Li Na will play world 2nd seed Petra Kvitova in the Sydney semifinals on Friday. Li, seeded 4trh, defeated quarterfinal opponent Lucie Safarova in straight sets, and Kvitova defeated Daniela Hantuchova, also in straight sets.

In the other semifinal, 7th seed Agnieszka Radwanska will take on 3rd seed Victoria Azarenka. Radwanska defeated top seed Caroline Wozniacki, and Azarenka defeated 8th seed Marion Bartoli. Wozniacki has a wrist injury, and we should get more news about that soon.

In doubles, seeds 1, 2 and 4 are into the semifinals, as is the unseeded team of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears.

It's been raining a lot in Hobart, so play has been delayed several times. U.S. Open semifinalist Angelique Kerbe has reached the quarterfinals, as have top seed Yanina Wickmayer and Anna Chakvetadze. Chakvetadze will play Shahar Peer on Friday. 2nd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues was upset by Mona Barthel in the second round.

Passing shots

2012-01-10T22:38:00.000-06:00

Bojana Jovanovski was recently involved in a motor vehicle accident, but was not hurt. The courtesy car in which Jovanovski was riding to the Sydney International Airport was hit by a car whose driver ran a red light. Witnesses say the Serbian player was rather shaken by the accident, in which a man was trapped and later taken to a hospital.

Serena Williams is practicing in Melbourne, preparing for the Australian Open. Williams is one of several players on the tour to face injury or illness at the beginning of the season. She sprained her ankle, but appears to be fine.

I reported a couple of days ago that Sofia Arvidsson and Alexandra Dulgheru had to play each other twice in Sydney. Arvidsson beat Dulgheru in qualifying, but then Dulgheru got into the main draw as a lucky loser, and defeated Arvidsson in the first round. That wasn't the end of it, however: the two also had to play each other in doubles in the first round (Arvidsson and Jelena Dokic defeated Dulgheru and Michaella Krajicek. Though players have met twice in one tournament before, I wonder if there's another pair who met three times in one event!

Victoria Azarenka is no longer playing with a Head racquet. The world's number 3 player has changed to Wilson. She'll have a Juice 100 BLX in Melbourne.

Here is a photo of Agnieszka Radwanska, from a photo shoot for a Polish style website.

Mike Tierney writes about Grace Min.

Petkovic withdraws from Australian Open

2012-01-10T20:46:00.000-06:00

World number 10 Andrea Petkovic has withdrawn from the 2012 Australian Open. Petkovic has a stress fracture in her lower back, and her doctors say that it will take six to eight weeks for her to recover. She has been in pain since the season began, but says that she thought she could just play through the pain and be fine to compete in Melbourne.

Last year, the German star, seeded 30th, reached the quarterfinals, but was defeated by eventual runner-up Li Na.

Venus Williams withdraws from Australian Open

2012-01-09T19:33:00.001-06:00

"I regret to announce that I am withdrawing from the 2012 Australian Open.," Venus Williams announced today. "After several months of training and treatment," she said, "I am making steady progress to top competitive form. My diet and fitness regimen have allowed me to make great strides in terms of my health and I am very close to being ready to return to WTA competition."

Williams has Sjogren's Syndrome, and was only recently diagnosed. She is expected to return to the courts next month.

Passing shots

2012-01-08T12:22:00.000-06:00

The WTA has introduced a new website feature, "Slava's Shots." The monthly gallery will feature photography by Yaroslava Shvedova.

Kim Clijsters' Brisbane injury has been diagnosed as a thigh muscle spasm, and she should be fine for the Australian Open.

The Radwanska sisters will oppose each other in the first round in Sydney. Also featured in the first round are Vera Zvonareva vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sam Stosur vs. Francesca Schiavone, and Alexandra Dulgheru vs. Sofia Arvidsson (Arvidsson beat Dulgheru in the final round of qualifying). Whoever wins the last one plays Petra Kvitova in the second round.

Jelena Jankovic has a new sponsorship with Fila. For the past several years, she has worn Anta tennis outfits.

Scott Draper says there are similarities between Ashleigh Barty and Hana Mandlikova. We can only hope. Meanwhile, the great Mandlikova appears as number 1 on this list of ten WTA players who achieved very big things, but were never ranked number 1.

Kanepi follows Kvitova path--for now

2012-01-08T11:09:00.000-06:00

Last year, Petra Kvitova, ranked number 34 in the world, won Brisbane, the first tournament of the season. Her victory gave her a seeding of 25 at the Australian Open, where she made it all the way to the quarterfinals. This year, Kaia Kanepi, ranked number 34 in the world, won Brisbane, and will be the 26th seed in Melbourne. It doesn't necessarily "mean" anything, but the intersection of the two careers via these unusual statistics is at least worth noting.

It is probably more notable because of the memory fans have of the 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinal match played by the two women, in which Kvitova saved five match points and advanced, 4-6, 7-6 (10), 8-6 to the semifnals.

Zheng wins Auckland title

2012-01-07T21:46:00.000-06:00

Zheng Jie won the ASB Classic in Auckland today when opponent Flavia Pennetta retired during the final; the score was 2-6, 6-3, 2-0. Pennetta had to stop playing because of a lower back injury. This is great news for Zheng, who hasn't won a title in a long time. The bad news is that Pennetta now joins the ranks of the injured, with the Australian Open only days away.

The Czech team of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka won the doubles title yesterday. They defeated Pennetta and her partner, Julia Goerges, 6-7, 6-2, 10-7.

Kanepi ends impressive Brisbane run with championship win

2012-01-07T10:40:00.002-06:00

Unseeded Kaia Kanepi has won the 2012 title at the Brisbane International, making her the first player to win the tournament in its new premiere status. Kanepi easily defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-1 in the final. This was the fourth time the two had played each other, and the first loss for Hantuchvoa.

In the semifinal, Kaneip defeated 3rd seed Francesca Schiavone, allowing Schiavone only three games. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 2nd seed Andrea Petkovic in straight sets. And in the second round, Kanepi allowed only three games to 7th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Kanepi's first round win, over Alexandra Panova, was her only match to go three sets.

Throughout the week, Kanepi hit 31 aces, and she sustained mean first and second serve win percentages of 82 and 62. The Tall One from Tallinn will be seeded number 26 at the Australian Open. She made her best showing in Melbourne in 2009, when she reached the third round.

4th seeds Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja won the Brisbane doubles title. In the final, they defeated Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 7-6, 7-6.

Czech Republic wins Hopman Cup

2012-01-07T10:12:00.000-06:00

The top-seeded Czech Republic won the 2012 Hopman Cup on Saturday by defeating 2nd-seeded France in the final. Petra Kvitova defeated Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-1, and Tomas Berdych prevailed 7-6, 6-4 over Richard Gasquet. This is the second time that the Czech Republic has won the Hopman Cup. In 1994, Jana Novotna and Petr Korda defeated Germany to win the title.

Kvitova, despite having some struggles with asthma, won all of her Hopman Cup matches, defeating defending champion Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the USA, Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, world number 1 Cartoline Wozniacki of Denmark, and Bartoli.

Clijsters injured in Brisbane

2012-01-06T11:16:00.001-06:00

Daniela Hantuchova, who got to the Brisbane quarterfinals by receiving a walkover from an injured Serena Williams, played only a set and half against quarterfinal opponent Kim Clijsters because Clijsters injured her left hip. Hantuchova is now in the semifinals, in which she will play Kaia Kanepi. Kanepi upset 3rd seed Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-0. (She had already taken out 7th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and 2nd seed Andrea Petkovic.)

In doubles, Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears defeated the Australian team of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqu, and will play Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja in the final.

In Auckland, Flavia Pennetta reached both finals. She defeated Angelique Kerber in straight sets, then she and Julia Goerges defeated 2nd seeds Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina 2-6, 7-6, 11-9. In the other doubles semifinal, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka upset top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 6-4, 6-0.

Pennetta's opponent in the singles final will be Zheng Jie, who upset 3rd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals.

We are still in the first week of the new season, and already, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Sabine Lisicki have sustained injuries. Williams has a history of working through and around her injuries, but Clijsters and Lisicki appear vulnerable. However, when we factor in Williams' age, so does she.

Next week, there are tournaments in Sydney and Hobart; the top seed in Hobart is Yanina Wickmayer. The draw is so strong in Sydney that Maria Kirilenko has to go through qualifying. Aravane Rezai was in the qualifying draw, but had to retire in her first match because of a knee injury. Kaia Kanepi was also scheduled to play in the Sydney qualifying rounds, but she's busy upsetting big players in Brisbane.

Czech Republic to play France in Hopman Cup final

2012-01-06T10:41:00.000-06:00

The Czech Republic team of Petra Kvitova and Tomas Berdych has entered the final of the 2012 Hopman Cup. Kvitova defeated Caroline Wozniacki 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, and Berdych then won his singles match, which clinched the finalist spot for his country. Kvitova wasn't easy to watch, I should add. She made so many unforced errors and missed so many opportunities, and the match dragged on and on. This was the "old" Kvitova, but with a twist: When it came time to win huge points and make a difference, she just focused and took care of the task. Not a good career strategy, but at least she knows how to do it.

On the other hand, one could say that--with all the opportunities handed to her on a platter by Kvitova--Wozniacki still lost the match. For the first two sets, however, Wozniacki was quite impressive, sometimes taking the ball fast and returning with more aggression than we've come to expect from her.

Kvitova looked tired to me, and I have to wonder whether playing Sydney is a good idea. Wozniacki, however, looked like her indefatigable self throughout the match.

Friday cat blogging--sock monkey experience edition

2012-01-06T10:07:00.001-06:00

Examination

Contemplation

Critique

Charleston to host WTT finals again

2012-01-05T18:35:00.000-06:00

Charleston, South Caroline will again be the scene of the World Team Tennis finals, it was announced yesterday. The finals will be held at the Family Circle Tennis Center September 14-16, 2012. The WTT season ends in July, but the finals are being postponed so that those players who are eligible can compete in London at the Olympic Games. Last year, Charleston hosted the World Team Tennis finals for the first time.

Finals weekend will also include a national grassroots WTT Recreational League event.

Tickets for the WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO go on sale at the 2012 Family Circle Cup, March 31-April 8. Weekend package prices will range from $45 to $150, and single session ticket prices will range from $15 to $50.

"We are very excited to host the World TeamTennis Finals Weekend for a second consecutive year,” said Bob Moran, General Manager of the Family Circle Tennis Center. "Charleston is the perfect getaway destination for this world class tennis event. WTT fans from across the country will enjoy Lowcountry beaches, history and southern charm as they cheer their teams on to a League Championship in the Best Tennis Town in America."

Ilana Kloss, WTT CEO/Commissioner, said, in making the announcement, "The Family Circle Tennis Center were tremendous hosts last year and all of our teams are excited about the opportunity to play for the title in Charleston again. "Tennis fans in Charleston are very knowledgeable and quickly took to the WTT format last year.The additional time to promote the Finals will give fans from the participating team markets more time to make travel plans to be a part of this exciting weekend."

The WTT Marquee Player Draft will take place on February 14, and team rosters will be completed on March 13.

France advances to Hopman Cup final

2012-01-05T12:30:00.000-06:00

The team of Marion Bartoli and Richard Gasquet, representing France, has advanced to the final of the 2012 Hopman Cup competition. In play against Spain, Bartoli defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues in straight sets, and Gasquet defeated Fernando Verdasco with the same 6-2, 6-4 scoreline. That was enough to take France into its second Hopman Cup final.

The Australian team beat China 2-1; China's only win in this session was Li Na's victory over Jarmila Gajdosova.

If the top-seeded Czech Republic defeats Denmark in the next session, then the Czechs will go straight to the final. But if Denmark wins, then both Denmark and Bulgaria will also be contenders to face France in the final. Bulgaria will play the USA in th next session.

Top seed Stosur out of Brisbane in 2nd round

2012-01-05T12:21:00.000-06:00

Though Iveta Benesova has since been defeated by Kim Clijsters, the Czech player removed the top seed during her stay in Brisbane. Benesova beat Stosur in straight sets (when Benesova's serve is working, it's pretty dangerous).

Stosur wasn't the only one to go. Serena Williams gave Daniela Hantuchova a walkover in the quarterfinals after she sprained her ankle in her match against Bojana Jovanovski. Williams' health for the Australian Open is in question, but this isn't the first time that she has had physical issues prior to the commencement of play in Melbourne.

Number 2 seed Andrea Petkovic also failed to get past the quarterfinals. She was defeated 5-1, 7-6 by Kaia Kanepi. Kanepi hit 12 aces in the match.

3rd seed Francesca Schiavone is bringing the drama early this year. In a 2-hour, 56-minute match, the Italian saved two match points and defeated Jelena Jankovic 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.

Meanwhile, in Auckland, top Sabine Lisicki retired (surprise!) in her quarterfinal match against countrywoman Angelique Kerber; Lisicki has an abdominal injury. 2nd seed Peng Shuai was defeated in the second round by Lucie Hradecka.

Passing shots

2012-01-03T15:12:00.001-06:00

Sam Stosur is now wearing ACICS apparel, and has signed a multi-year contract with ACICS. I'll wait and see, but I never like seeing any player bid farewell to Lacoste.

Now that Tennis TV has removed the choice of ATP, WTA or a package of both, some of us (at least one of us) have grumpily gone about buying the whole package. It isn't that I don't watch ATP--I do, a lot--but I can generally watch ATP matches on actual television, and don't feel a need to watch it on Tennis TV. I'm not very happy that I'm being forced to buy the whole package.

Katarina Srebotnik took only two days off at the end of the season.

Vania King has a brand new website.

Monica Niculescu is blogging from Auckland.

Several bloggers and tennis writers have compiled the best quotes of the 2011 season, but really, did anyone (except perhaps Serena Williams) say anything that topped Flavia Pennetta's comments after she lost to Petra Kvitova at the Australian Open? You won the first set, then what happened after that? "She won the second and the third." (I can't fault you, though, if you picked "You're a hater, and you're just unattractive inside.")

Top seeds out of Brisbane in 1st round

2012-01-03T12:30:00.003-06:00

Natalie Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova, seeded 1st at the Brisbane International, were upset in the opening round yesterday by Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. Also out in the first round, but notable for making an appearance, is Janette Husarova, who appears to have taken her "retirement" cue from Renee Stubbs. Husarova made a few appearances last year, too.

In Auckland, Chrisina McHale advanced to the second round with a win over Alexandra Dulgheru, and Julia Goerges needed three sets to beat Greta Arn.

Meanwhile, in Hopman Cup play, Marion Bartoli disposed of Jarmila Gajdosova 6-0, 6-0. Petra Kvitova won her match against Tsvetana Pironkova, but the Czech Republic lost in mixed doubles, when the team from Bulgaria won a supertiebreak 11-9. Here are the scores at this point:

Group A
Denmark, 2-1
Czech Republic, 2-1
Bulgaria, 1-2
USA, 1-2

Group B
France, 5-1
Spain, 4-2
China, 2-4
Australia, 1-5

Coming up are sessions 7 and 8; Denmark plays Bulgaria, and the top-seeded Czech Republic plays the USA, which is seeded 4th.

Li starts Hopman Cup with win over Bartoli

2011-12-31T21:42:00.000-06:00

Li Na has defeated Marion Bartoli 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the first rubber of the Hopman Cup. Bartoli and partner Richard Gasquet easily won the doubles rubber against China, however. Gasquet also won his singles match, putting France 2-1 against China.

Australia will play Spain in session 2. The women's singles rubber will feature Jarmila Gajdosova and Anabel Medina Garrigues.

France is seeded 2nd and Spain is seeded 3rd.

What's in store for the top 10?

2011-12-30T19:02:00.003-06:00

The 2011 season may be over, but the top 10 lingers on--at least for a while. What are the prospects for the best-ranked players in the world?

10. Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is so witty, bright and creative, sometimes we forget to focus on her tennis. Her rise to the top 10 occurred somewhat under the radar, and her improvement has been incremental. Petkovic has talent, but her ball-striking was, for a long time, more accomplished than her mental strength. That changed in 2011, though she she's the first to say that she still has a way to go in terms of confidence. She has been called an "over-achiever" (I so dislike that term), but the fact remains that she's made it to the top 10, she works very hard to improve, and she has one of the best attitudes around. Petkovic has fun doing her job, and she's as good at injecting reality into an occasion as she is at injecting humor.

Dance Party, as the German is known on this blog, does have a bit of a knee problem, however. In 2008, she had to leave the tour for eight months because of it, and this past year, she had a knee injury. After it was treated, Petkovic said her main problem was guarding against a recurrence and thereby not moving as fully as she could have on the court.

Petkovic did win a title (her second) this year and she played in one of the best finals of the year. Agnieszka Radwanska defeated her in Beijing 7-5, 0-6, 6-4, but all was well when they did the Petko dance together for a very appreciative crowd. Petkovic also reached the quarterfinals of three majors, and that's a big accomplishment by any standard. If her knee doesn't give her any serious trouble, I look for the dance to go on.

9. Marion Bartoli
For those of us who have kept the faith with Bartoli for years, 2011 was kind of an "I told you so" moment. The Frenchwoman has never looked as deadly as she did this year, nor has she ever looked as physically healthy. With Bartoli, illness and injury are part of the package, but she fought through several bad moments this season, showing a kind of toughness that was most impressive. She reached the final in Indian Wells, losing to Caroline Wozniacki in three entertaining sets. At the French Open, where she had never before had any type of comfort level, she embraced the crowd's support and made it to the quarterfinals. Bartoli won Eastbourne, and in the Wimbledon third round, she won what may have been the match of her career against Flavia Pennetta.

Whether she's hopping up and down between points, painting landscapes, napping between Wimbledon upsets, or strapping tennis balls to her arches during a training session, Marion Bartoli is her own woman. She's been called "eccentric," but that's what we tend to call people who don't really care about how they're "supposed" to act and think. Actually, Bartoli is a charming and intelligent woman who happens to hit killer groundstrokes, and who can take the ball before you can say "Qu'est-ce que c'est?!" Can she win a major? Don't look for me to say "no" to that question. I think she has a shot until the day she retires, which I hope isn't any time soon.

8. Agnieszka Radwanska
For some time now, Radwanksa has been one of my very favorite players on the tour. I like to watch her as she dips, volleys, scurries, and finds little slices of angles near the net. Radwanska's game is always there to remind me why I started watching women's tennis in the first place. She can think, and she can think fast. But the clever and quick Radwanska has also faced significant problems in her career; specifically, a lack of aggression, a poor serve, and an abusive father/coach.

In 2011, the creative Polish player turned some of that around. She replaced her father with another coach, she developed a decent first serve, and she went eye-to-eye with opponents in big matches without blinking. Radwanska won the two big back-to-back Asian tournaments--Tokyo and Beijing--and she also won Carlsbad. And she accomplished much of her success while dealing with an injured shoulder. She still needs a useful second serve, and--unfortunately--she's already giving that only-too-familiar speech about the close tie between her and her father, despite the dramatic improvements she made when she worked with another coach.

But Radwanska doesn't seem like anyone's fool, either, and she should be entering the 2012 season with a big dose of confidence. She'll have her hands full, what with the return of the likes of Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams, but that doesn't make her any different from any other big player on the tour. Can she make another big strike, or did she peak in the latter part of 2011?

7. Vera Zvonareva
Did anyone really think that Zvonareva could repeat her 2010 success? I don't mean that as put-down at all--it's just that making the finals of two majors is a huge accomplishment for someone who isn't one of the above-mentioned players who might annoy Radwanska in 2012. But even as I write this, I know that Zvonareva has the ability to surprise us and make another big run because, when's she "on" mentally, she's quite dangerous. Commentators like to say that Zvonareva doesn't do any one thing really, really well, but she does everything better than most other players. She deserves better than--pun alert!--such a backhanded compliment, however. Zvonareva's speed and stinging backhand make her a very tough opponent, and when her serve is working well, she's even tougher.

6. Samantha Stosur
The continuing rise of Sam Stosur is one of the most peculiar phenomena in pro tennis. I mean that in a good way. She is the only player besides Jana Novotna (however, the Czech player's transition was less dramatic in terms of singles titles won and transitonal timeline) to go from being a huge doubles star to being a big singles star. She doesn't win many tournaments (she has only three titles) because she tends to lose finals. And just when it looked as though the 2010 French Open finalist had already seen her greatest singles moment, she went and won the 2011 U.S. Open--by beating Serena Williams in straight sets in the final. Who saw that coming?

Considering the fact that--unless you're Ana Ivanovic--lifting a huge, very shiny trophy gives you a whole lot of confidence, Stosur has a load of momentum going into the new season. You could also flip that idea around and ask: How is she going to handle being Australia's great hope when the 100th Australian Open is played in a few weeks? That's a lot of pressure, to be sure, and we have only to look at the U.S. Open results of both Li Na and Petra Kvitova to know what could happen.

But so what if it does? I don't think Stosur would be crushed if she went out early in Australia. I say that because she's already been crushed--twice--and she survived to talk about it. In other words, the Australian is tougher than she looks. While Stosur was in her post-French Open slump, coach David Taylor tried to tell us that she was very close to regaining her form, and he was right. Will she always be streaky? Probably. There are worse things.

5. Li Na
Here's the player who defines the word "streaky," but on her good days, watch out. She got to the final of this year's Australian Open, then surprised probably almost everybody by winning the French. She then went "poof" into thin air, going out in the first round of the U.S. Open, and sputtering and muttering her way to the end of the season. This has pretty much been the story of Li's career, but again--so what? When her head is on right, she can use that mighty forehand to wear down the best of them. Li, probably the rightful (though not actual) winner of this year's Diamond Aces award, is the ultimate tour ambassador. She has taken her breakthrough role very seriously, and it's hard not to cheer for the sharp-witted, sometimes hilarious Chinese star who always tells it just like it is. At the end of the season, she was publicly upset with herself, and I think we'll see more of the winning Li in 2012. Whether she can win another major is another matter, but I wouldn't count her completely out.

4. Maria Sharapova
Sharapova is a brave public figure, but one can't help but believe that losing the 2011 Wimbledon final had to have cut pretty deeply. After all, it had been seven years since the Russian's huge, breakthrough win over Serena Williams, and she had finally played her way into another Wimbledon final. Though it may have seemed that Sharapova was "supposed" to win Wimbledon this year, she was unable to handle the assault on her game made by Petra Kvitova. Actually, the "old" 'Pova would have had a big fight on her hands with Kvitova. The current not-quite-sure-of-herself Sharapova gave the Czech star the bit of space she needed to move in and take over.

Would things be different if Sharapova had never had to deal with a badly injured shoulder and an incompetent doctor? Undoubtedly. But there were always vulnerabilities present, as there are with all players; now, those vulnerabilities are easier to exploit. Sharapova is one tough cookie, though, and I don't think we should write her off. Her 2011 season was actually a very good one. She won titles in Rome and Cincinnati, made it to the semifinals of the French Open, and achieved her highest year-end ranking since 2007.

The bad news is that Sharapova is still dealing with an ankle injury, and will therefore make a late start in 2012. She has canceled her appearance in Brisbane, but says she'll play in the Australian Open. Four years ago, she won in Melbourne. How far will she go this time?

3, Victoria Azarenka
Finally, in 2011, Azarenka reached the semifinals of a major. Seeded 4th at Wimbledon, she lost to eventual champion Petra Kvitova, but was one of the last four women standing. Actually, in Azarenka's case, the "standing" part is good in and of itself. The talented Azarenka has hobbled, staggered and literally passed out of so many matches, her physical fragility (perhaps even greater than Marion Bartoli's?) has become as well-known as her tennis.

Azarenka hasn't had an easy time of it. She's fun to have at the top, though, because she's bright and candid and interesting--and she's a really good tennis player. This year, she made her nemesis, Kvitova, work harder for the victories, though the Czech now holds a 4-2 record against her, with all four wins achieved in the last two years. It's not a real rivalry yet, but it could become one.

Of all the players in the top 10, save Kvitova, Azarenka probably has the most potential to keep advancing. I do think it's all about her physical health. If she can just stay upright, the woman whose very name makes her a winner might do some big winning next year.

2. Petra Kvitova
A few years ago, I would watch Kvitova and wonder "Will she ever, ever think before she hits?" She seemed so close to doing something big, but the talent was just too raw, too out of control. And then she took control of it, and I saw the Kvitova I knew was always in there--the one who knows she's a champion and acts like it. Rather than throwing her off her course, losing that 2010 Wimbledon semifinal match to "the Serena" (a nervous Kvitova couldn't quite get "the semifinal against Serena" to come out of her mouth during a Wimbledon interview, and she wound up delivering what has become my favorite name for the younger Williams sister) obviously made Kvitova think about what she wanted to become.

She had the serve. She had the groundstrokes. What she needed was better movement, more variety and a steadier mind. Her movement can still improve and her mind could be steadier, though her 2011 trips to the net certainly gave her a big advantage in the "variety" department. Kvitova still "goes off," but she comes back. After her shocking first-round loss at the U.S. Open, she did something to pull herself together, and went on to win Linz and the WTA Championships, and to lead her team to the Fed Cup championship.

Kvitova's childhood idol was the great Martina Navratilova, who also suffered from over-thinking and -feeling on the court. Until she didn't. With her tricky left-handed serve and her sometimes scary returns, Kvitova--for all her fumbles and brief trips to space--is breathtakingly good. Behold The Rock.

1. Caroline Wozniacki
Wozniacki, who has comfortably ended the last two seasons with the top ranking, now faces a gap of only 115 points between her and Petra Kvitova. The Dane probably won't hold onto her ranking too much longer, and that should work to her advantage, since it removes the (according to her, nonexistent) pressure that's on her for being number 1 and not winning a major.

Does that mean Wozniacki will finally win a major? Her two best chances are at the Australian Open and the U.S. Open. She reached the semifinals of both of those events this year, and lost to Li Na and Serena Williams, respectively. Wozniacki lost her French Open third round match to Daniela Hantuchova, and her round of 16 Wimbledon match to Dominika Cibulkova.

On the "up" side, Wozniacki won six titles in 2011, tying Kvitova in quantity.

But I digress. Can the player known as Sunshine, the Great Dane and the Golden Retriever win a major in 2012? I don't consider her a big favorite to do so, but neither can I eliminate her from the field. We sometimes get so caught up in talking about Wozniacki's failing, we forget how truly good she is. She does almost everything very well, and is an athlete of enviable stamina and strength. Her shot-making accuracy is unsurpassed. But at big moments, she can't seem to will herself to bring the aggression that's needed.

Wozniacki, coached for years by her father, Piotr, has hired a new coach, Ricardo Sanchez, who was twice (once, just recently) the coach of Jelena Jankovic (and yes, it hurts that she's not on this list). I can't shake the feeling, however, that Sanchez is going to be more of a cardboard cut-out, propped up to make us believe that Wozniacki has made a big change. I say that because it's hard for me to imagine Piotr Wozniacki stepping back and allowing anyone--much less the contentious Sanchez--to take over. For all their bickering, Sanchez and Jankovic seemed like a natural pairing. Sanchez and Wozniacki--not so much.

Wozniacki hasn't appeared too comfortable in her own skin for a long time. And while she's hardly the first tennis pro to drag observers of the sport through an awkward self-identity-seeking mission, she's the one who most needs to keep her head down and focus on her tennis.

That does it for the top 10, but no discussion of this particular top 10 would be complete without mentioning numbers 13 and 12.

Kim Clijsters is ranked number 13 in the world, and is the defending Australian Open champion. Clijsters was struck down by multiple injuries in 2011, and 2012 will probably be her last year to play on the tour. She won't want to go quietly, though, and we can expect her to compete enthusiastically for a gold medal at the Olympic Games. We can also expect her to put up a fight to defend her Melbourne title, and to get one final U.S. Open championship. And of course, this isn't to say she won't be a contender at the French and at Wimbledon. Her body is fragile, though, and she plans to limit her tour appearances. But if she can stay reasonably healthy, Aussie Kim is still in the mix to take home at least one big trophy.

That brings us to world number 12, one Serena Williams, who has practically no points to defend for some time. Williams has won the Australian Open five times, Wimbledon four times, and the U.S. Open three times. She won the French Open once, in 2002. Williams returned to the tour late this year, after undergoing multiple health problems, and--though she lost the U.S. Open final--she managed to win two hard court titles. She has a couple of Olympic gold medals in doubles, but none in singles, so we can expect her to be highly competitive during the Games in London next summer.

Again, it's all about health. If both Clijsters and Williams can stay free of major injuries and/or illnesses, they will be looking to escort two of the aforementioned players out of the top 10 sooner than later. Both of them will focus on the majors and the Olympic Games, and neither of them is anyone a player wants to see opposite her name in a draw.

Friday cat blogging--holiday fun edition

2011-12-30T09:45:00.000-06:00

Passing shots

2011-12-29T18:45:00.002-06:00

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario is the new captain of Spain's Fed Cup team. Sanchez-Vicario--who played during the Graf-Seles era--won four majors in singles, and was also a very successful doubles player.

If you're on Facebook, you can enter the Tennis Express addidas barricade 7 Giveaway.

Anna Chakvetadze reports that she has made a complete recovery from the inner ear infection that caused her to experience so much dizziness this year. Good news.

New Zealand's Sacha Jones has decided to play for Australia. Jones' father is Australian.

Casey Dellacqua has been awarded wild cards into Brisbane, Hobart and the Australian Open. Dellacqua recently won six consecutive ITF tournaments in Australia. Her 30-match win streak included 27 straight-set wins.

Marlene Weingartner is now in her final year of medical school. The former world number 36 left the tour because of problems with her back.

Here are "The Intriguing 100" questions about the 2012 season.

Players to watch--Petra Kvitova

2011-12-27T10:29:00.000-06:00

I'm pleased to say that my contribution to On the Baseline's "Players to Watch" series is now online. You can read "All Eyes On Petra" here. But don't stop there--there's a rich variety of pieces in the 2011 series, for your reading pleasure.

Passing shots

2011-12-26T11:12:00.003-06:00

The women's championship trophy at the Brisbane International tournament has been renamed the Evonne Goolagong Cawley Trophy.

Mirjana Lucic recently married businessman Daniele Baroni.

Aravane Rezai has been given a wild card into the main draw of the Australian Open.

Up-and-coming Russian player Ksenia Pervak is now playing for Kazakhstan, a move that displeases Russian Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev and Fed Cup coach Vladimir Kamelzon. Tarpishchev speculates that Pervak made the move so that she can compete in the 2012 Olympic Games, but she would still have to negotiate a series of obstacles to wind up on Kazakhstan's Olympic team. "I just can't understand Pervak's decision, and I will never accept it," Kamelzon said. Pervak is ranked number 39 in the world.

Beginning in 2012, the BNP Paribas Open will award $1 million dollars in prize money to each of its singles champions. Prize money has been increased for all rounds of the tournament.

Here is Kamakshi Tandon's 2011 holiday quiz.

Sharapova withdraws from Brisbane

2011-12-26T10:13:00.001-06:00

World number 4 Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Brisbane International because of the ankle injury. Sharapova has been training and practicing, but says she is not yet ready to compete in a tournament. This would have been her first time to enter Brisbane, which now has premier status.

The event begins on January 1. Kim Clijsters is scheduled to play the first match, and Australian Sam Stosur is scheduled to play in the first night match.

Kvitova named Czech Athlete of the Year

2011-12-26T10:00:00.000-06:00

World number 2 Petra Kvitova has been named the Czech Republic's 2011 Athlete of the Year. Kvitova was also selected as the WTA's Player of the Year and was given the designation of ITF World Champion. She led the Czech Fed Cup team--named Czech Republic Team of the Year--to the 2011 championship, and won both Wimbledon and the WTA Championships, plus four other titles.

Kvitova has recently gone through off-season training in the mountains in the High Tatras mountain range, located between Poland and the Slovak Republic.

Friday cat blogging--waiting for Santa edition

2011-12-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

Passing shots

2011-12-19T20:38:00.000-06:00

Madison Keys has been awarded a wild card into the Australian Open main draw. 16-year-old Keys won the USTA's Australian Open wild card playoff tournament. Keys beat Gail Brodsky in straight sets in the final on Sunday.

Venus Williams has withdrawn from the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Williams is continuing to recover from the effects of Sjogren's Syndrome. The ASB Classic begins on January 7.

Trainer Scott Byrnes has left Ana Ivanovic's support team--again. This time around, Byrnes was Ivanovic's trainer for only five months.

Kim Clijsters has won Belgium's Sportswoman of the Year award for the eighth time. The award was presented to her by Justine Henin (photos available, if you dare).

All for now--I've gone caroling with friends.

Passing shots

2011-12-16T22:54:00.000-06:00

Here is an interview with Petra Kvitova about her off-season training and other activities.

And here is one with Jelena Jankovic.

"There were a lot of nights crying and things being thrown," Bethanie Mattek-Sands says about her Wimbledon injury, which took her out of play for the season.

Heather Watson has learned how to drive, and has passed her driving test.

Finally, here's the WTA's very entertaining look at 2011:

Friday cat blogging--eye to eye edition

2011-12-15T19:58:00.000-06:00

Quote of the day

2011-12-14T21:21:00.004-06:00

"I must say that the role of tennis players I like more than the role of models."

Petra Kvitova, after doing a photo shoot

Passing shots

2011-12-13T19:35:00.000-06:00

Ashleigh Barty is the winner of the Australian Open Wild Card Playoff tournament. Barty won all three of her matches in straight sets. She defeated top seed Casey Dellacqua, 6th seed Arina Rodionova and 2nd seed Olivia Rogowska. 15-year-old Barty, who is ranked number 3 in juniors, won the junior Wimbledon title this year.

Steve Tignor gives us his list of the ten best matches of 2011, starting with Agnieszka Radwanska's defeat of Vera Zvonareva in the Istanbul final.

Svetlana Kuznetsova has re-hired former WTA star Olga Morozova as her coach.

Daniela Hantuchova has hired Claudio Pistolesi to be her new coach.

New Zealand's Fed Cup team has been banned from 2012 competition. The New Zealand team withdrew from play right before the competition in February because its two top players were injured.

Kvitova named ITF World Champion

2011-12-13T19:15:00.001-06:00

Petra Kvitova, the WTA's Player of the Year, has been awarded the International Tennis Federation's World Champion designation for 2011. This award generally goes to the top-ranked player in the world, but Kvitova received more votes than world number 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Kvitova won six titles this year, including Wimbledon and the WTA Championships. She is ranked number 2 in the world.

Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik won the award for women's doubles.

The ITF World Champions dinner will be held in Paris on June 5.

Umpire problems at the Diamond Games

2011-12-11T11:04:00.001-06:00

(Via Beyond the Baseline)

Friday cat blogging--cozy nest edition

2011-12-08T20:59:00.001-06:00

Passing shots

2011-12-07T20:58:00.001-06:00

Judy Murray is expected to be named Britain's new Fed Cup captain. Murray would succeed Nigel Sears, who is now coaching Ana Ivanovic. Murray is the former national coach of Scotland, and is also the mother of ATP world number 4 Andy Murray.

Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva have been inducted into the Russian Tennis Hall of Fame.

Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone will play doubles together for the first half of 2012 so that they can qualify to play doubles together in the Olympic Games. One (at least this one) hopes that Pennetta and current partner Gisela Dulko will become a team again.

Sam Stosur has won the Newcombe Medal for the second year in a row.

Maria Sharapova has recovered from her ankle injury and is training again.

Wozniacki hires Ricardo Sanchez as coach

2011-12-02T12:45:00.001-06:00

Those of us who follow Jelena Jankovic closely were thrilled when JJ hired back her former coach, Ricardo Sanchez, for she has always played her best tennis under his watch. But the second Jankovic-Sanchez team has split, too. Sanchez has signed a one-year contract with Caroline Wozniacki.

There's more: Sanchez was not the "mystery coach" helping the world number 1 during the U.S. Open--the one whose name was supposed to have been revealed right after the Open. So the Mystery Coach remains a mystery, and the next question is: Who will coach JJ?

Friday cat blogging--view from the top edition

2011-12-02T08:57:00.001-06:00

Passing shots

2011-11-28T13:06:00.001-06:00

Tatiana Golovin adjusts to a life without tennis.

Roberta Vinci talks about her game.

The end of the WTA season doesn't mean the end of broadcast sexism. During the ATP World Tour Finals doubles championship match, commentators Leif Shiras and Jimmy Arias speculated that Max Mirnyi continues to do full training--even at his age--so he can get out of taking care of his children.

At last--little Flavia.

Women's Tennis Blog also gives us a peek at some Australian Open (and beyond) dresses.

Friday cat blogging---colorful life edition

2011-11-24T19:29:00.001-06:00

Passing shots

2011-11-22T19:35:00.001-06:00

They don't call it an "exhibition" match for nothing. Petko, she's not.

Speaking of exhibition matches, Venus and Serena Williams will play one in Colombia tomorrow.

Happy birthday, Billie Jean King!

"Master Doubles With Gigi" is a new program that features Gigi Fernandez.

The class yearbook is out!

Friday cat blogging--in your face edition

2011-11-18T08:32:00.001-06:00

Passing shots

2011-11-16T12:15:00.001-06:00

You probably already know who 2011's Ms Backspin is (how could you not?). Here is part 2 of the Backspin Awards, which include players, performances, matches, and much more.

World number 1 Caroline Wozniacki is the 2011 recipient of the WTA's Diamond Aces Award. The award is given each year to "the player who consistently goes above and beyond in promoting the sport of women's tennis to fans, media and local communities by performing off-court promotional and charitable activities."

According to one writer, Wozniacki and her friend, golfer Rory McIlroy, can will increase their endorsement incomes by 50% if they remain together.

Sam Stosur will soon have some new sponsors (via Beyond the Baseline).

Melanie Oudin, who recently went through a trial coaching period with Tom Gullickson, will remain with Gullickson--at least through the start of the 2012 season. In other words, it's still a trial.

Passing shots

2011-11-14T19:03:00.001-06:00

Here is part 2 of the WTA's year-end review.

Steffi Graf will now be the face of all of Germany's Wii Fit and Wii Sports programs.

Four women have been invited to play in the USA's Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs, with four more to be named soon. The players already named are Melanie Oudin, Jamie Hampton, Alison Riske, and Coco Vandeweghe.

Women's Tennis Blog continues publishing a delightful series of childhood photos, with Victoria Azarenka as the latest player to be featured.

Venus Williams did an interview at the Aspire4Sport Conference in Doha.

In January, Ana Ivanovic will play in Sydney for the first time since 2008.

Sania Mirza, who recently had another surgery on her wrist, has returned to the practice court.

Kvitova named WTA Player of the Year

2011-11-14T17:21:00.001-06:00

Petra Kvitova won the WTA Player of the Year award today, as well as the Most Improved Player of the Year award and the Karen Krantzcke Sports(wo)manship award. In the category of special awards selected by fans, Kvitova won in the Favorite Breakthrough Player category.

Kvitova, who was number 34 in the world at the beginning of the 2011 season, is now number 2. She won six titles, including Wimbledon, Madrid (a premier event) and the WTA Championships. Kvitova also led the Czech Republic's Fed Cup team to the 2011 championship, and she won all six of her Fed Cup rubbers this year. The Czech star also holds a 21-0 record for indoor matches in 2011.

Doubles Team of the Year honors go to Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, who, until recently, held the number 1 spot. Peschke and Srebotnik won six titles this year, including Wimbledon.

The Newcomer of the Year award went to Irina-Camelia Begu. Begu rose from a ranking of 214 to 38. Sabine Lisicki was named Comeback Player of the Year. Lisicki won two titles, and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon.

Here is a complete list of the award, the first five of which were voted on by several members of the sports media:

Player of the Year--Petra Kvitova
Doubles Team of the Year--Kveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik
Comeback Player of the Year--Sabine Lisicki
Most Improved Player of the Year--Petra Kvitova
Newcomer of the Year--Irina-Camelia Begu

Voted on by players:

Player Service--Francesca Schiavone
Karen Krantzcke Sports(wo)manship--Petra Kvitova
Favorite Premier Tournament--Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)
Favorite International Tournament--Abierto Mexicano TELCEL (Acapulco)

Voted on by fans:

Fan Favorite Singles Player--Agnieszka Radwanska
Fan Favorite Doubles Team--Victoria Azarenka & Maria Kirilenko
Fan Favorite Breakthrough Player--Petra Kvitova

Family Circle Cup presenting "VIP for a day" sweepstakes

2011-11-13T10:21:00.001-06:00

Tickets for the 2012 Family Circle Cup in Charleston go on sale Tuesday, November 15. This year, the tournament's 40th, there will be a Grand Prize VIP Experience for one lucky ticket-holder. The prize includes a behind-the-scenes tour of the clubhouse, media center, stadium, and the ESPN2 production trailers. The winner will also eat lunch in the players' dining room, receive an autographed T-shirt, get a box seat upgrade for a day, and participate in a coin toss. And there's even more: The Grand Prize VIP Expeience also incudes a pre-match photo opportunity with players, valet parking and Terrace Club access.

The first weekly winner will be announced on November 25, and there will be one winner announced every Friday through the end of December. Weekly prizes include participation in a pre-match coin toss and pre-match photo opportunities. The grand prize winner will be announced on Monday, January 2, 2012.

"Our VIP for a Day contest is the most exciting opportunity we’ve ever offered to our fans, providing unprecedented access to players and areas that are traditionally off-limits to spectators," said Margaret Shaw, Ticket Coordinatorfor the event.

Tickets are available 24 hours a day via FamilyCircleCup.com, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000 and at Ticketmaster.com. Fans can also buy tickets at any local Publix location offering Ticketmaster services, as well as in person at the event’s box office, located on the second floor of the Family Circle Tennis Center Clubhouse, and by phone from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m .at (800) 677-2293 or (843) 856-7900.

The Family Circle Cup, a WTA premier event, is the only tour tournament played on green clay. Last year, world number 1 Caroline Wozniacki won the Family Circle Cup, and the year before, the tournament once again proved its reputation as an event that launches the careers of major champions: The 2010 Charleston winner was Samantha Stosur, who recently won the U.S. Open. Stosur, in fact, has already committed to compete in the 2012 Family Circle Cup, which will take place March 31-April 8.

Passing shots

2011-11-11T22:14:00.001-06:00

Once an indoor specialist, always an indoor specialist.

Once an adorable poser, always, etc.

Guy Forget is about to step down as France's Davis Cup captain, and one of the individuals mentioned as a possible successor is Amelie Mauresmo.

In case you missed it, here is part 1 of an interview by Adam Lincoln with Billie Jean King. And here is part 2.

Here is part 1 of the WTA's year-end review.

Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki will participate in the BNP Paribas Showdown in Madison Square Garden on March 5. They will be joined by Roger Federer and Andy Roddick.

Friday cat blogging--dreamland edition

2011-11-11T08:46:00.001-06:00

2011--year of change, year of Czechs

2011-11-10T15:41:00.002-06:00

Every year, things change in professional tennis. But this year, change in the WTA tour was palpable, as the "new guard" made its move, not only joining its prodigy, Caroline Wozniacki, but sometimes surpassing her. At the same time, some of the "old guard" rose to the highest occasions. Nowhere would that phenomenon be seen more clearly than at the Australian Open, which Kim Clijsters--in her "second" career--won, and Li Na graced as a finalist.

2011 was a sad season in many ways. Alisa Kleybanova was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma and had to leave the tour--at least for now. Venus Williams revealed that she has been suffering significantly for years with Sjogren's Syndrome, but was unable to get a diagnosis (despite having a number of classic symptoms) until recently. And Serena Williams missed most of the season because of a pulmonary embolism, which occurred after she had to undergo two foot surgeries.

Five-time French Open champion Justine Henin retired again, after returning to the tour and sustaining serious injuries. Tatiana Garbin and Sybille Bammer retired, as did Renee Stubbs--but she kept coming back. Both Magdalena Maleeva and Jeanette Husarova came out of retirement briefly and made surprise appearances, but they were hardly noticed. Former world number 1 Dinara Safina had more trouble with her back and had to leave the tour. And despite her brother Marat's repeated announcements that she was retiring from professional tennis, Safina says that she has made no such decision.

The WTA made headlines in a bad way when both the French Open and Wimbledon champions were sent packing in the first round of the U.S. Open--a first in women's tennis history. And various parties campaigned to get players to stop "grunting" (they actually mean "screaming") when they hit the ball. The campaign wasn't new, but it developed a loud voice, so to speak, in England, where female tennis players are routinely denigrated by the news media. It then spread all the way to the top of the WTA, and Stacey Allaster--who had gone on record as saying the issue had little merit--called for the creation of a device that would measure women's voices. Shortly after she made that statement, she had to stand (I thought, rather awkwardly) next to two rather noisy (in different ways) players who had just placed first and second in the WTA Championships. It was no surprise when, right after that, Allaster reversed her opinion yet again.

But I have already used too much space to talk about this, so on to the real issues.

Several players made breakthroughs in 2011. Marion Bartoli, historically fearful of playing at the French Open, made it all the way to the semifinals, and did it in great style, embracing the crowd's support all the way. Maria Sharapova, whose status remains shaky despite her ranking, also--improbably--made it to the French Open semifinals, and then reached the final of Wimbledon. And 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone surprised a lot of people (but not this person) by going all the way to the French Open final, though she did not defend her title.

Dominika Cibulkova waited until the last possible moment, but she finally won a WTA title; Cibulkova was victorious at the Kremlin Cup. Roberta Vinci had the best year of her career, Sabine Lisicki took a wild card all the way to the Wimbledon semifinals, Angelique Kerber came out of nowhere and played in the U.S. Open semifinals, and Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta finally won a major. Their comeback in the Australian Open final was so dramatic, it almost made my top 10 list. Down a set and 1-4, and a point away from being down 1-5, Gisela Dulko simply went on a mad frenzy at the net, and she and Pennetta wound up winning 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 over Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko.

The unseeded Czech team of Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova won the French Open, and Czech players would go on to win every title at Wimbledon--singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Esther Vergeer won everything she entered, Christina McHale advanced to number 42 in the world, and pulled off gutsy upsets of both Caroline Wozniacki and Marion Bartoli. Liezel Huber and (the newly fit) Lisa Raymond became a team, and won both the Rogers Cup and the U.S. Open. They're at the top of the rankings now, but earlier in the season, Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik were the number 1 team in the world.

Melanie Oudin, of all people, won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title, in what may have been the surprise (in a good way) performance of the year.

In what had to be the most bizarre moment of the season, Tsvetana Pironkova upset five-time champion Venus Williams at Wimbledon for the second year in a row, and with the same scoreline, 6-2, 6-3.

Flavia Pennetta, one of an unforgettable pair of Fighting Italians, didn't have as good a year as she might have, but she showed up at the U.S. Open ready to go, and her run this year was memorable. First, she took out 2006 champion Maria Sharapova in a dramatic third round match. But the drama was only just starting because in her round of 16 match against Peng Shuai, Pennetta was ill, and spent a good deal of time attempting to vomit. Stumbling around with glazed eyes, the Italian star came back from a 0-5 deficit in the second set tiebreak, and won the match. Pennetta also played in one of the year's top matches--probably the second best one I saw--at Wimbledon, when she and Marion Bartoli engaged for over three hours in a thrilling, high-quality contest that Bartoli eventaully won.

It was a very big year for Victoria Azarenka. She finally made it to the semifinals of a major--Wimbledon-- but lost to eventual champion Petra Kvitova. Azarenka won three titles, including Miami, and she played consistently well throughout most of the season. She also finished as the runner-up in Madrid (lost to Kvitova) and the WTA Championships (lost to Kvitova). There is somewhat of a buzz about Azarenka and Kvitova becoming rivals. Currently, Azarenka has a 2-4 record against the Czech player, and the four losses have occurred in 2010 and 2011. Azarenka had to deal with a hand injury this year, but at least there was none of the illness, passing out or chronic thigh issues that had plagued her in the past.

Caroline Wozniacki finished the season as number 1 in the world for the second year in a row, but that statistic looks better on paper than it really is. Her margin over the number 2 player is only 115 points, and she still hasn't won a major. She lost to Li Na at the Australian Open for the second year in a row; this year, Wozniacki lost in the semifinals. At the French Open, the Dane was pretty much run over by Daniela Hantuchova in the third round, and at Wimbledon, she lost to Dominika Cibulkova in the round of 16. At the U.S. Open, where her chances are considered the best, the world number 1 lost to Serena Williams in the semifinals. Wozniacki finished round robin play with a 1-2 record at the WTA Championships in Istanbul.

On the "up" side, Wozniacki won six titles this year. She also announced that she would no longer be coached by her father, Piotr, but that the name of the new coach would not be revealed until after the U.S. Open. We're still waiting for that revelation, and--in the meantime--Piotr Wozniacki has continued to coach his daughter.

Tennis culture is nothing if not highly entertaining. Last year, my favorite moment caught on video was the sight of the Radwanska sisters, happily rocking along in the stands to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." This year, I had two favorite video moments, and Agnieszka Radwanska appeared in both of them, too! One occurred in Beijing, when champion Radwanksa did the Petko Dance with Petko herself. The other probably became an instant classic, and I can't look at it without cracking up.

Here are my personal top 10 occurences of the year, in ascending order:

10. Asian cooking
When Agnieszka Radwanska got rid of her abusive coach, who happened to be her father, she began to shine. She won the Carlsbad championship, then pulled off the back-to-back Tokyo-Beijing double win. In Tokyo, she defeated Vera Zvonareva in the final, and in Beijing, she beat Andrea Petkovic. Radwanska started the year in style, too, returning from foot surgery two months earlier than expected, and reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The clever and talented Radwanska, who is now executing a much better first serve, has returned to the top 10, and ends the season ranked number 8 in the world.

9. She's....back!
Serena Williams was out for almost a year because of health issues, but when she came back, she made sure her return was a major annoucement. Defending champion Williams made it to the round of 16 at Wimbledon, losing to Marion Bartoli. Then she defeated Bartoli in the Stanford final, and followed that up by winning the Rogers Cup. Williams also made a run all the way to the final of the U.S. Open. She lost that match, but her brief appearance in 2011 taught us--like we needed to be reminded--to never, ever count Serena out.

8. Farewell, widerluege
Patty Schnyder retired this year. The accomplished, one-of-a-kind Swiss player left the tour after playing professional tennis for 17 years. She was a superstar in Charleston, and she added excitement and humor to almost every event in which she appeared. There will never be another like her.

7. Pojd!
Czechoslovakia won Fed Cup five times, and this year, the Czech Republic re-claimed the trophy, beating Fed Cup powerfhouse Russia 3-2 in a thrilling final. Petra Kvitova won both her singles rubbers, and Lucie Safarova lost both of hers. It was the team of Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke who sealed the Czech deal, defeating Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina in the doubles rubber.

6. Aussie Kim for real
Back when Kim Clijsters was romantically involved with Lleyton Hewitt, she was affectionately known as "Aussie Kim." She took that name back this year when she won the Australian Open. Clijsters didn't drop a set until she reached the final, in which she beat Li Na 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. This win gave the Belgian her fourth major, and her first Australian Open title. Clijsters, who wore a green Evonne Goolagong tribute dress during the tournament, looked as though she were about to make a great 2011 run, but unfortunately, she was beset by multiple injuries for much of the season.

5. The Golden Flower of France
After Li Na became the first Chinese woman to reach the final of a major, in January, she did the only thing she could do to top that feat: She won the French Open. Li has historically disliked playing on clay, and has not had very good results on the surface. But tennis is nothing if not unpredictable, and the sharp-witted, hard-hitting, mischievous Chinese star known as Big Sister Na had a grand run in Paris, taking out Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, then besting defending champion Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 in the final. Li then became an even bigger star than she was after her Australian Open run, and--perhaps because of that--she has struggled since her big win.

4. The Czech Republic rules
This year, Czech players partied like it was....1985. The unseeded Czech team of Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova won the French Open, taking out four seeded teams on their way to the championship. Czech Kveta Peschke and her partner, Katarina Srebotnik, went to the top of the doubles rankings, and stayed there until September. Czech players won everything at Wimbledon: Petra Kvitova won the singles championship, Peschke and Srebotnik won the doubles championship, and Czech player Iveta Benesova, with partner Jurgen Melzer, won the mixed doubles title. Kvitova won six titles, including the WTA Championships, and the Czech Republic beat Russia to win the 2011 Fed Cup final.

3. Unheralded, undefeated
Samantha Stosur's performance throughout the U.S. Open was remarkable, yet it went almost unnoticed by commentators and sports writers, at least in the USA. In the third round, Stosur played the longest women's match in U.S. Open history. It went on for three hours and 16 minutes, and the Australian needed five match points to finally dispense of Nadia Petrova. In the next round, Stosur played Maria Kirilenko, and that match included the longest women's tiebreak in U.S. Open women's history. Kirilenko won that very thrilling (and very badly called) tiebreak 17-15, but it was Stosur who won the match. To top it all off, Stosur defeated Serena Williams in straight sets in the final, in a performance that was practically perfect.

2. The Rock rolls on
2011 was the Year of Petra Kvitova. The Czech star, who is now number 2 in the world, won six titles, including Wimbledon and the WTA Championships. Her Wimbledon victory was all the more impressive because she beat 2004 champion Maria Sharapova in the final. Kvitova went through Fed Cup with a 6-0 record, and led her team to the championship, and she ended the season with a 21-0 indoor record. She continued to struggle with asthma during the U.S. hard court season, and she also continued to struggle with nerves throughout the year. But these issues notwithstanding, Kvitova showed this year that she has just about everything a champion needs to have--a huge serve, powerful groundstrokes on both sides, aggression (with a newfound fondness for volleying), and the ability to mentally dust herself off and get on with things. As the months go by, Kvitova continues to improve, and the fact that she has yet to meet her potential surely strikes fear into the minds of opponents. The asthma problem and the problem with the nerves (sometimes Kvitova just "goes away" for a while or regresses into her younger self) are issues that need to be addressed, but based on her progress so far, there is reason to believe that the year's hottest player will find a way to at least partially resolve them.

The rise of Petra Kvitova would, in fact, be at the top of my list if it weren't for:

1. Schiavone def. Kuznetsova, 6-4, 1-6, 16-14
"Thank goodness the second set was 6-1," Pam Shriver remarked at some point during the longest women's match of the Open Era. Francesca Schiavone (who was also in my number 1 pick in 2010) and Svetlana Kuznetsova played for four hours and 44 minutes in the third round of the Australian Open, and both sustained an unusually high level of play throughout the ordeal. Kuznetsova's feet were covered with blisters, and she said that she sometimes lost track of the score and of whose turn it was to serve. Roger Federer dropped by to serve as a guest commentator, and predicted the match would end soon--only it didn't. In fact, the third set lasted exactly three hours.

Toward the end, Schiavone--who had, in fact, recently sustained a groin injury--called for the trainer because she was cramping. Both players looked, from time to time, as though they might be giving out, but neither did. Both fought and fought--through heat, cramping, blisters, fatigue, and sweat. The thrills were almost non-stop, and the match included 17 breaks of serve. It all came down to who would finally blink, and--not surprisingly--that was Kuznetsova. But really, there was so little to differentiate the players in this wonderful match. Schiavone, in fact, would go on to take a set off of top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the next round, but then her body gave her the message that her Australian Open run was over.

Passing shots

2011-11-08T15:41:00.004-06:00

To prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games, Maria Kirilenko will play doubles with Nadia Petrova next year. This means, of course, that Victoria Azarenka will have a new partner, also.

Shamil Tarpischev is protesting the Olympics tennis schedule. I doubt that he'll be alone in his protests.

Ana Ivanovic told the press in Bali that she believes she can be number 1 in the world again. The Bali champion ends the season ranked number 22.

Speaking of Ivanovic, I really like this photo of her in costume with her Bali trophy. There are some more here. And while I'm on the subject of clothing--I especially liked what I suppose would now be called "old school" outfits that Petra Kvitova and Lucie Safarova wore for the Fed Cup fnal.

Finally, with appropriate apologies to Burt Bacharach and the late Hal David:

Anyone who ever played can double fault
Sometimes over and over
Anyone who's on the tour can double fault
Look at Pavlyuchenkova
Knowing I want to....stop!

Anyone who tossed the ball
Could take it, throw it badly like I do
You couldn't really toss it right and strike it
Like you hit it to serve it right through
What am I to do?

Every time I toss the ball, I always say
This time it's good serve
Tossing it the way I do
I get upset, and then I'm all nerves
Knowing I want to....stop!

Anyone who tossed the ball
Could take it, throw it badly like I do
You couldn't really toss it right and strike it
Like you hit it to serve it right through
What am I to do?

Knowing I want to....stop!

Anyone who's on the tour
Could take it, make a bad toss, like I do
You couldn't really toss it right and strike it
Like you hit when you serve it right through
Lisicki and Sharapova do it too....

Czech Republic wins 2011 Fed Cup title

2011-11-06T13:59:00.000-06:00

The Czech Republic, led by world number 2 Petra Kvitova, has defeated Russia 3-2 to win the 2011 Fed Cup championship. The teams went into the second day of play tied 1-1, then Kvitova came back from a third set 0-3 deficit to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third rubber. Russia put the competition into a tie again when Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated Lucie Safarova 6-2, 6-4.

Kvitova's first-set service game was erratic and awkward and she was repeatedly broken. She pulled it together for the second set. But, she said of the final set , "When I had three-love down, I didn't think that I can still win. My captain told me, it's only one break, so go for it. It was very important game for me."

It all came down to doubles, and the Czech team of Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke defeated the Russians, Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina, 6-4, 6-2. Russia led 4-2 in the opening set, but the Czech team broke back and then held onto their momentum. All four players are known for their doubles skills. The winning players each won a major this year in doubles; Hradecka (with Andrea Hlavackova) won the French Open, and Peschke (with Katarina Srebotnik) won Wimbledon.

This is the first time that the Czech Republic has won Fed Cup, though team Czechoslovakia won the title five times. Kvitova is 6-0 for the year in Fed Cup play, and she ends the season with a 21-0 indoor record.

Petr Pala is the Czech team's captain.

Ivanovic wins second title in Bali

2011-11-06T09:16:00.001-06:00

Defending champion Ana Ivanovic, who entered the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions with a wild card, defended her 2010 championship today by defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-0.

Nadia Petrova finished third in the tournament by defeating Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-0 in a playoff match.

Passing shots

2011-11-05T16:43:00.004-05:00

Russian Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpischev has made a player substitution: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, not Maria Kirilenko, will play Lucie Safarova in the fourth rubber tomorrow.

Sorana Cirstea is appearing on the Romanian version of Dancing With the Stars. Here she is training for the event.

A 5.1 earthquake erupted in Bali on Friday, and the post-quarterfinal press conference had to be moved. The quake hit after the match had been played (as opposed to shaking the ground under JJ's feet).

Thank you, James Waterson.

Tom Perrotta gives top end-of-season marks to Petra Kvitova, Sam Stosur, Liezel Huber, and Lisa Raymond. Also getting pretty high marks are Caroline Wozniacki, Marion Bartoli and Victoria Azarenka.

Martina Hingis has joined the coaching staff at the Patrick Mouratoglu Academy in Paris. She will help oversee the training of Daria Gavrilova, Yulia Putintseva, Naomi Broady, and Sachia Vickery.