Srebotnik and Sugiyama win Family Circle Cup

Edina Gallovits and Olga Govortsova had never before played doubles together, and--ten minutes before the entry deadline expired-they decided, on a whim, to enter the Family Circle Cup. During the course of the tournament, they took out both the number 3 seeds, Peschke and Stubbs, and the number 1 seeds, Black and Huber. The number 2 seeds, Katerina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama, proved too much for them, however.

One hopes that the team of Gallovits and Govortsova is here to stay. Gallovits is good at the net, as is Govortsova, if she has time to set up. Govortsova has an impressive forehand down the line, and Gallovits thrills with her lobs. Against Srebotnik and Sugiyama, though, they were neither quick nor clever enough. It was a good final, whose scoreline does not reflect its quality; Gallovits and Govortsova, should they choose to stay together (and why wouldn't they?) have nowhere to go but up.

(Tournament director Robin Reynolds had no excuse for not knowing how to pronounce Govortsova's name, and she also should have known that Srebotnik is from Slovenia, not Slovakia.)

Srebotnik/Sugiyama def. Gallovits/Govortsova, 6-2, 6-2

Oh, good!--they're together again

The entertaining team of Gallovits and Govortsova heads to the court

I was worried, after Charleston, that Edina Gallovits and Olga Govortsova had decided not to play doubles together anymore, but here they are--reunited--in the Wimbledon draw. Their accidental and spontaneous teaming up at the Family Circle Cup was a real plus for fans. Gallovits and Govortsova played exceptionally well and wound up in the final. On their way there, they took out both Black and Huber and Peschke and Stubbs.

Gallovits and Govortsova play Sofia Arvidsson and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the first round.

"Poor Marion" gives it the Bartoli battle--advances to second round of French Open

Today, during Tennis Channel's coverage of the knock-down drag-out between Marion Bartoli and Olga Govortsova in Paris, Martina Navratilova went on and on (and on some more) about poor Marion, and how sorry she feels for poor Marion, what with father Walter's odd training regimen and Marion's constant movement during matches. Navratilova even went so far as to say that Caroline Wozniacki's father, Piotr--unlike Walter Bartoli--would be happy to step aside and let Caroline have anyone she wanted as a coach.

Earth to Martina! First, two so-called coaches have left the Wozniacki camp because Piotr wouldn't butt out. And comparing the two players just doesn't work for me. One is a 30-year-old maverick who doesn't seem to care (bless her) what anyone thinks, and who goes about things in her own strange and wonderful way. The other is--well, not Marion. I've never thought of Bartoli as being under any kind of spell; clearly, she does prefer to have her father coach her. And--despite all the fuss--he's done a pretty good job. As Bartoli herself is happy to point out--she's not a natural athlete, but she she turned into a pretty good, if unconventional, tennis player.

Today was one of those days when Bartoli was going to win even if she collapsed during the handshake. We saw this from her when she defeated Flavia Pennetta 5-7, 6-4, 9-7 in the third round of Wimbledon in 2011 (my favorite match of that tournament), and when she went crazy on Petra Kvitova in the 2012 U.S. Open round of 16. Today's Bartoli show lasted three hours and twelve minutes, and was, in Andrew Lilley's words, "a microcosm of her entire career to date."

There were several rain breaks in the 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 match, and those rain breaks made me think of Wimbledon in 2007, when Bartoli would take a nap while it rained, then wake up and go destroy whoever had been beating her before the storm began. Whether she did that today, I don't know, but I like to think she did.

Govortsova played really well, and had the match on her racket on more than one occasion. The third set was as exciting as anyone could hope to see. Bartoli, repeatedly making one-handed swings, saved two match points at 3-5. She then broke Govortsova and suddenly, it was the Frenchwoman who was serving for the match. The final game lasted fourteen minutes, and Bartoli won on her fifth match point.

Bartoli played from behind far more than she played from a leading position. But isn't that the way Bartoli likes to do it? She pumped her fist, she shadow-swung. At one point, toward the end, the Frenchwoman actually shook her entire body all over several times (and people can say what they want about that, but the full body shake is a good strategy because it provides both physical energy and mental calmness at the same time). She did the Bartoli Glare. It was Marion at her scary finest.

The down side (other than what had to be tremendous disappointment for Govortsova) is that the players double-faulted 21 times between them. That, too, we have come to expect.

Next up for Bartoli is Mariana Duque-Marino, who defeated Kristyna Pliskova 6-2, 6-0, and it took her just an hour to do it.

Chuang & Govortsova win Beijing title

Chuang Chia-Jung and Olga Govortsova, unseeded at the China Open, won the title today by defeating top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta 7-6, 1-6, 10-7. Chuang and Govortsova got off to a quick start and looked as though they might easily win the first set, but Dulko and Pennetta caught up and forced a tiebreak. Chuang and Govortsova won the tiebreak in the same quick fashion they had begun the match. However, they were able to win only one game in the second set. But they prevailed in the super-tiebreak, and denied Dulko and Pennetta a sixth title for the season.

Govortsova upsets Cibulkova and advances to Ponte Vedra Beach final

Olga Govortsova, unseeded at the MPS Group Championships, upset 3rd seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 7-5 in the semifinals today. Govortsova will play top seed and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in the final. Wozniacki defeated 4th seed Elena Vesnina 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the semifinals.

2nd seeds Chuang Chia-Jung and Peng Shuai will play number 1 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yan Zi in the final. 

Family Circle Cup day 6--semifinals and champions

The day began in an exciting way--Breakfast with Bud. This event was supposed to have featured Bud Collins, plus a number of former champions: Rosie Casals, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Iva Majoli, Mary Pierce, Conchita Martinez, and Jennifer Capriati. Capriati, Pierce and Majoli did not even make it to the tournaments, and Evert and Navratilova skipped the breakfast.

Joining Collins was Pam Shriver, who first had Rosie Casals come up and answer fan questions. After that, Sanchez Vicario came on, and she did not disappoint. Collins roamed the audience on the Grand Lawn so that people could ask questions, and suddenly, I realized he was standing right next to me. He had taken a position directly to my left, and he stayed there for the remainder of the interview. He and I both cracked up listening to Sanchez Vicario. When Collins said, referring to her place in the tour, "you were an accident," Sanchez Vicario said "No, my parents wanted me!" She then went on to tell a story about how her mother rode on a roller coaster, which "did something to her metabolism," and she wound up pregnant with Arantxa.

I got Sanchez Vicario's autograph right before she went up on the stage, and I also got lots of great photos of her.

Conchita Martinez was next, but I missed her. I thought that the breakfast event was over, so I left to get in the Chris Evert autograph line. I got Evert's autograph, and I got many nice photos, too. Chris Evert is my favorite tennis player of all time, and it meant a lot to me to see her eye to eye. (My enthusiam for Evert is restricted to the tennis court and to what she did for women's tennis, but it is strong and everlasting.)

Later in the morning, I stopped by a broadcast booth ESPN had set up in front of the stadium and got some photos of Mary Joe Fernandez and Cliff Drysdale.

The first match of the day was a doubles contest that ended with top seeds Black and Huber getting taken out by Govortsova and Gallovits. Having seen Govortsova and Gallovits play, we were not really surprised that they were able to do this. Match point was a thing to behold: Gallovits had just hit an impressive lob into the deuce court that moved her team toward a final victory. Then, right after that, she hit a second lob right over the heads of both Black and Huber and spot onto the baseline. Govortsova/Gallovits def. Black/Huber, 6-4, 4-6, 10-7

The match between Serena Williams and Alize Cornet was very entertaining, and Cornet received wild applause when she left the court.

Then came the other singles semifinal, featuring Vera Zvonareva and Elena Dementieva. Zvonareva took the first set handily, then both her serve and her backhand failed her, and Dementieva took the second by running over her opponent in a tiebreak. Down 0-3 in the third, Zvonareva suddenly made a strong comeback to take the set and the match, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

We saw most of the Srebotnik/Sugiyama v. Azarenka/Vesnina match, which Srebotnik/Sugiyama won, 6-1, 6-1.

Tennis outfit of the day: Elena Vesnina, in a turquoise and white dress with a balloon skirt.

Schiavone and Govortsova to meet in Kremlin Cup final

8th seed Francesca Schiavone, who just doesn't stop surprising us, will play Olga Govortsova in tomorrow's Kremlin Cup final. Schiavone defeated Alona Bondarenko, 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals today. Govortsova defeated Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 6-1.

Meanwhile, in Luxembourg, 6th seed Sabine Lisicki came back from being down 2-4 in the third set against Shahar Peer, and won her semifinal match 6-3, 4-6, 7-6. In the final, Lisicki will play Timea Bacsinzky, who upset 5th seed Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Why, I wonder...

Would Edina Gallovits and Olga Govortsova not play doubles together at Roland Garros? The impromptu team made it to the finals in Charleston and they were a joy to watch. Govortsova, playing with Ekaterina Dzehalevich, has already been eliminated.

Radwanska retires in New Haven

Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska, whose shoulder injury came back to haunt her a couple of weeks ago, retired today in New Haven against Olga Govortsova. Govortsova won the first set 6-0, and when she was ahead 2-1 in the second, her opponent retired. The U.S. Open begins in less than a week, which doesn't bode well for Radwansksa. On the other hand, she has done extremely well before while injured---and that includes her 2011 back-to-back Asian wins--so we'll just have to wait and see.

Sloane Stephens won nine games in a row against Marion Bartoli, putting her ahead 3-0 in the third set, but she lost. Bartoli defeated her 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.

In Dallas, 2nd seed Jelena Jankovic has made it to the third round, having defeated both Yaroslava Shvedova and Arantxa Rus.

Medina Garrigues and Govortsova upset in Istanbul

3rd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues was upset today in the Istanbul Cup quarterfinals by 5th seed Vera Dushevina. 7th seed Olga Govortsova was also upset, by Gastein Ladies champion Andrea Petkovic, who defeated her 6-3, 6-3.

Other quarterfinal winners were Timea Bacsinszsky (def. Urszula Radwanska) and 8th seed Lucie Hradecka (def. Marta Domachowska).

Wimbledon day 6: Jankovic and Kvitova upset defending champion

Glitter on the mattress

Glitter on the highway

Glitter on the front porch...

The whole shack shimmies!

from  The B-52s' "Love Shack"

She can't believe it! #Jankovic stuns defending champion #Kvitova 3-6 7-5 6-4 in the 3R of #Wimbledon. #ESPNTennis pic.twitter.com/neLRIpcZlz

— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) July 4, 2015

The whole shack, as in Wimbledon Centre Court, shimmied today when the Glitter Queen, aka Jelena Jankovic, aka JJ, aka Queen Chaos, masterfully defeated defending champion Petra Kvitova in the third round. Let me be quick to add that Jankovic had plenty of help from Petra's evil twin, who made her appearance halfway through the match and never left the court (though Petra certainly did, during that seven-minute disappearing act).

It was a shock--and it wasn't. When Jankovic shows up to play, strange things tend to happen: Shots are hit from a legs-up--ass-down position, fans are called on to repair a sports bra, an earthquake commences and the stands shake, you know how it goes. Today, during the opening set, Scary Petra was present, and JJ's minutes looked numbered. But then the Serb raised her level and began to sweetly hit her trademark backhand down the line to great advantage. She was also serving well.

And Scary Petra disappeared, to be replaced by she who is sometimes known as P3tra, but whom I prefer to call the Evil Twin. Having lost the first set 3-6 and having gone down 2-4 in the second set, Jankovic won that second set 7-5. It took a long time for the third set to begin because of the above-referenced very long break taken by Kvitova. During those seven minutes, JJ hit the ball and chatted with fans because--she's JJ.

Kvitova started the final set in shaky fashion but then got back some of her service mojo, and things looked better for her. But then, at 4-all, with Jankovic serving, the defending champion did something so shockingly mindless--and I hate to say this--that it made me think of her dear friend Li Na and the costly mental vacation she took when she played Kim Clijsters in the 2011 U.S. Open final. The Czech star stopped play to challenge a call at 15-30--even though the instinctive crosscourt backhand she hit was obviously a winner. She was close to breaking Jankovic, but then she challenged, lost the challenge, and saw Jankovic hold for 5-4. 

We will never know what was going through Kvitova's mind when she did that, but it arguably cost her the match. There was something really wrong with Petra during the second half of the match. On ESPN, Chris Evert was quick to point out a chronically-repeated piece of misinformation--that Kvitova is troubled by heat. No, she has asthma and is troubled by humidity. That wasn't a problem today at Wimbledon, though. But something was. I always wonder whether Kvitova's lapses are at least partly a consequence of her left-handedness. Whatever it was about, it was painful to watch.

But not to take anything away from JJ, who played the best match she's played in a long time, on her least favorite surface. It's been five years since the Serb has advanced beyond the second round at Wimbledon. Her next challenge will be to play Agnieszka Radwanska, who--after having a terrible first half of the season--has very much found her winning ways at her favorite major. Radwanska defeated Casey Dellacqua in straight sets in today's third round.

Madison Keys defeated Tatjana Maria, Caroline Wozniacki easily defeated a flustered Camila Giorgi, Monical Niculescu beat Kristyna Pliskova, and Olga Govortsova defeated Magdelena Rybarikova. Thats right--Olga Govortsova has advanced to the second week of Wimbledon competition.

Garbine Muguruza, who runs hot and cold with such rapidity that I can't keep up, upset 10th seed Angelique Kerber 7-6 (14-12), 1-6, 6-2. That one surprised me. The one that didn't surprise me was Timea Bacsinszky's straight set win over Sabine Lisicki. Magic grass or not, the Queen of Mexico is a better, smarter player. 

In doubles, 3rd seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova won their second round match against Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith, and 4th seeds Timea Babos and Kiki Mladenvic defeated Monica Niculescu and Olga Savchuk.

Lucie Safarova and Coco Vandeweghe are the only players left in both singles and doubles. Lucie is going at it old school, just like she did at the French Open. She's also the last Czech standing. On Monday, she plays Vandeweghe for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Stosur out in 1st round of China Open

Qualifier Anastasija Sevastova upset Beijing 4th seed Sam Stosur today. In a match in which Stosur held a match point, Sevastova prevailed, 2-6, 7-6, 7-5.

Stosur wasn't the only seed to exit in the first round. Qualifier Roberta Vinci upset defending champion and 10th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, Gisela Dulko defeated 14th seed Aravane Rezai, and Kaia Kanepi defeated 16th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Also defeated in the opening round were Flavia Pennetta, Yanina Wickmayer and Daniela Hantuchova. They  lost to Petra Kvitova, Dominika Cibulkova and Polona Hercog, respectively.

With first and second serve percentages of 26 and 8, the Bondarenko sisters won only one game against Chuang Chia-Jun and Olga Govortsova. It took Chuang and Govortsova only 45 minutes to win.

Both Radwanskas reach Stanford quarterfinals

A-Rad and U-Rad have both entered the Bank of the West quarterfinal draw. Agnieszka, as the top seed, had a bye in the first round, and defeated Francesca Schiavone in the second. Urszula beat Christina McHale in the first set, then yesterday, she defeated Daniela Hantuchova in straight tiebreak sets in the second round.

Olga Govortsova, who upset Sam Stosur in the second round, is also into the quarterfinals. And Vera Dushevina, who hadn't won a main draw match the entire year, won both of her qualifying rounds, then easily beat Marina Erakovic in the opening round. Yesterday the "other Russian" deftly handled Madison Keys in straight sets.

Dominika Cibulkova squeaked by Stefanie Voegele 7-5, 7-6 in the second round. Voegele hit ten aces--it's nice to see her playing consistently well these days.

Nicole Gibbs, making her pro debut with a wild card, took the second set off of Jamie Hampton, but did not survive the second round against her countrywoman.

Here is the quarterfinal draw:

Agnieszka Radwanska (1) vs. Varvara Lepchenko (6)
Jamie Hampton (4) vs. Vera Dushevina (Q)
Urszula Radwanska (7) vs. Dominika Cibulkova (3)
Sorana Cirstrea (5) vs. Olga Govortsova

Wozniacki sustains knee injury, but defeats Ivanovic at China Open

New world number 1 and top seed Caroline Wozniacki hurt her knee when she stretched to get a ball during her quarterfinal match against Ana Ivanovic in Beijing. Wozniacki was up 3-1 in the second set when the injury occurred. She received some treatment, and went on to win 7-6, 6-4.

2nd seed Vera Zvonareva rolled over Francesca Schiavone so successfully that she almost completed the match without making unforced errors. Schiavone, who was playing with a slight injury, also made very few unforced errors. She broke Zvonareva when the Russian served for the match at 6-0, 5-0. The final score was 6-0, 6-2.

9th seed Li Na defeated Anastasija Sevastova 7-6, 6-3, and 15th seed Shahar Peer defeated Timea Bacsinszky 7-6, 6-4.

In doubles, Chuang Chia-Jung and Olga Govortsova upset 4th seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova. Chuang and Govortsova will play the 1st seeds, Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, in the final. Dulko and Pennetta are seeking their sixth title together this year.

Zvonareva survives in Paris

I watched the 2nd round French Open match between 3rd seed Vera Zvonareva and Sabine Lisicki with a growing sense of dread because it seemed as though nothing too good could come of it. Zvonareva looked flustered and too defensive against Lisicki, but I was feeling something more than frustration over the 3rd seed's performance. Because I knew that Lisicki might choke away her opportunities, and I was right. It wasn't that I wanted an upset--it was just that watching one player under-perform and the other one lose her nerve was like watching some type of accident from which I wanted to turn away my sight.

Lisicki was two points away from winning the match in the second set, but she was simply not mentally up to the task. At that point, it was easy to believe that the German would just get discouraged and Zvonareva would take charge. But I still had that sinking feeling, which proved to be reliable. Lisicki led 5-2 in the third, and had a match point on Zvonareva's serve, but she didn't convert it. When Lisicki served for the match at 5-3, she was broken.

By this time, it was apparent that Lisicki wasn't feeling too good. She wound up seeing both a trainer and a doctor and getting ice packs and a lot of water; she was cramping. She was easily broken at 5-6, but then two of Zvonareva's match points faded away--one because of a massive, "last gasp" forehand from Lisicki, and one because Zvonareva made an error. Zvonareva finally won, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, and Lisicki managed to do the handshake, then collapsed into a heap of pain and was hauled away on a stretcher.

That was a lot of drama. The drama earlier in the day was more fun, however. 11th seed Marion Bartoli, fully pumped up and carried by the crowd, won a three-hour match against Olga Govortsova, who hit 46 winners. Bartoli defeated Govortsova 6-4, 6-7, 6-2. Bartoli outlasted her opponent, but one wonders what effect the length and intensity of the match will have on the ever-fragile Frenchwoman.

Meanwhile, the world number 1 advanced, as did the defending champion and the 2009 runner-up. Julia Goerges got the tough match from Lucie Safarova I expected her to get, and came from behind to win, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez went out, defeated by Rebecca Marino (I didn't see that coming), and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated countrywoman Varvara Lepchenko.

There was a significant upset in doubles. The Czech team of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka defeated the Czech team (and 8th seeds) of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. Benesova, by the way, is playing mixed doubles with Leander Paes (the injured Cara Black is his regular partner).

In other mixed doubles news, 2nd seeds Vania King and Daniel Nestor were defeated by Chan Yung-Jan and Eric Butorac.

Govortsova into Memphis final

Number 5 seed Olga Govortsova has reached her first tour final by defeating Memphis number 3 seed Shahar Peer, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Stosur gets past Vesnina in 1st round of U.S. Open

Elena Vesnina's first set against Sam Stosur in the opening round of the U.S. Open was very well played--and very well served. The second set went to a tiebreak, which Stosur won. By the third set, it was all about the 5th seed, as Vesnina's form slipped away, and Stosur took control, winning 3-6, 7-6, 6-1.

Venus Williams smacked ten aces against Roberta Vinci. There was a moment when Williams stretched for a volley and felt some obvious pain, but she recovered quickly. The 3rd seed looked in surprisingly good form (she hasn't played during the U.S. Open Series), and defeated Vinci 6-4, 6-1. Vinci is always fun to watch, and the first set was competitive. Williams' next opponent is Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino, who defeated Ksenia Pervak.

Defending champion Kim Clijsters went down 0-4 in her second set against Great Arn. She got through this bad patch, however, and won the match 6-0, 7-5. Melanie Oudin--who has obviously been working on her backhand--hit winners consistently against Olga Savchuk, whom she defeated 6-3, 6-0. Qualifier Savchuk made only two points in the second set. The match was played on Arthur Ashe Stadium, and Oudin was anxious at the beginning, but straightened herself out.

Olga Govortsova fell onto her wrist during her match against Elena Dementieva, who won in straight sets. Govortsova did not appear to recover very well from the fall. Christina McHale hurt her leg in her match, and--though she was heavily bandaged by a trainer--she could no longer push off to serve successfully. Vania King defeated her with the odd score of 6-3, 0-6, 6-1.

Daniela Hantuchova, looking confident at the net, defeated Dinara Safina in straight sets. Qualifier Mandy Minella had a surprise win over Polona Hercog, and Zheng Jie won two tiebreak sets (7-0 and 7-1) against Timea Bacsinszky.

Czech Republic 2-0 against Germany in Fed Cup play

"It wasn't still easy to be focused in the head."

Petra Kvitova

It wasn't. After losing the first set of the second Fed Cup rubber to Germany's Julia Goerges, Petra Kvitova won the second, but then had all kinds of trouble winning the match. Part of her problem was that Goerges was playing at a very high level. But--and this is often the case when the Czech star plays--as many thrilling moments as this match contained, it contained just as many when people all over the world were undoubtedly groaning "Oh, Petra."

At 4-3, 40-15 in the third set, Kvitova appeared to be rather close to a victory, but was then broken. Suddenly, she was serving at 4-5, 0-30, but managed to save herself. Kvitova served for the set at 6-5 and was broken again, and then Goerges held at love. The momentum swings in the set were dramatic. And after two hours and 22 minutes, Kvitova had a 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 victory. Officially, this gives the Czech 22 consecutive indoor match wins, but actually--because of Hopman Cup--it gives her 26. Oh, Petra.

Kvitova's teammate, Iveta Benesova, played first, and she took care of Germany's Sabine Lisicki, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Russia ended the day 2-0 against Spain, with both Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova winning in straight sets. Serbia's Jelena Jankovic defeated Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 7-5, and Yanina Wickmayer defeated Bojana Jovanovski, so Serbia and Belgium ended the day tied 1-1. In Italy, Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko had a big 6-1, 6-2 win over Francesca Schiavone. That tie is also 1-1 because, in the opening rubber, Sara Errani beat Kateryna Bondarenko. Errani is playing singles because Flavia Pennetta has a back injury.

In World Group II competition, the USA leads Belarus 2-0, Japan leads Slovenia 2-0, the Slovak Republic is tied 1-1 with France, and Switzerland is tied 1-1 with Australia.

Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka was scheduled to play Christina McHale today, but Azarenka had to drop out because of a lower back injury. McHale defeated Anastasia Yakimova 6-0,  6-4; Yakimova won ten straight games and led 4-0 in the second set. In the second rubber, Olga Govortsova played Serena Williams very competitively in the first set, but lost her focus and was broken at love at 5-6. Govortsova wouldn't win another game.

Azarenka will play tomorrow if she is feeling better and is deemed fit to play.

Safina advances to 2nd round in San Diego

Whoever thought that would be news?

It is, though, because the former world number 1 has had such a hard time of it since returning (twice) from a serious back injury. But last last night, she defeated Alona Bondarenko 6-1, 7-6 in the first round of the Mercury Insurance Open.

Also advancing was Alisa Kleybanova, who defeated Aravane Rezai 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

The battle of the day, however, was fought between Olga Govortsova and Sara Errani. The played for two hours and 45 mintues, broke each other twelve times, and wound up winning the same number of games in a down-to-the-wire determination of the winner.  Errani defeated Govortsova 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

Jamie Hampton lost her final qualifying round to Chanelle Scheepers, but became the lucky loser because of Victoria Azarenka's withdrawal. That means she will play Melanie Oudin tonight in the first round.

Family Circle Cup, day 2

Patty Schnyder and Liga Dekmeijere won their doubles match in straight sets

Top seed Elena Dementieva was in very fine form in the stadium Tuesday night

I saw parts of several matches today, and a couple of matches in their entirety. An early one I didn't want to miss was a 2nd round contest between Dominika Cibulkova and Tamira Paszek. The first set was close, with Cibulkova taking it 6-4 (there were three breaks in the set). Near the beginning of the second set, Paszek fell and hurt her hand. She received some treatment, then proceed to hit just fine. But she was never the same. Paszek's decline seems to have been merely coincidental in that it occurred after the fall. She became unsure of herself, lost her rhythm, and was dominated by a smooth-moving, accurately hitting Cibulkova, whose backhand was on fire. Paszek failed to win a game in the second set.

I also saw the first round match between Sesil Karatantcheva and Sania Mirza, two players who have been surrounded by controversy in the last couple of years. I had not seen Karatantcheva in so long, and her appearance has changed a lot; she is now a young woman, and taller and stronger. She wasn't quite strong enough to beat Mirza, however, mostly because of a lackluster serve. Mirza took the match, 6-4, 6-4.

I saw a lot of the 1st round match between Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Mariana Duque Marino. I had never before seen Duque Marino play, and was impressed by her clay court skills, especially her movement. She stayed close to Mattek-Sands throughout the first set, but was dominated in the tiebreak. After that, things got interesting. The first game of the second set contained so many deuces, I lost count--but it was perhaps the most I have ever encountered in one game; the second game contained a great number of deuces, also. We left after that game because we wanted to watch something else. Mattek-Sands won--7-6, 7-5.

At some point in the afternoon, we entered the stadium to see if we could get a glimpse of Nadia Petrova at the end of her 2nd round match. Instead, we got a glimpse of a 6-1, 2-6 scoreboard; Petrova had lost the second set to Patricia Mayr, an Austrian player I had never before seen. I don't know what happened to Petrova to make her lose her way, but Mayr looked like a woman on a mission, and was fighting hard for every point. Petrova was broken three times in the second set when her serve went to hell, but she managed to get that serve back, and won the final set 6-2.

I saw bits and pieces of a few other singles matches, and I saw the entire match between top seed Elena Dementieva and Julie Ditty. Ditty won two games. In the interview, however, Dementieva said that Ditty was injured. Following that match, I watched the doubles match between the team of Chan/Govortsova and Haynes/Osterloh. I wish that Olga Govortsova (who is looking quite fit and trim this year) had been able to play doubles with Edina Gallovits, but Gallovits is injured. However, she did well enough playing with Chan Chin-Wei. They defeated Angela Haynes and Lilia Osterloh in straight sets.

The most entertaining match I saw today was a doubles match between the teams of Dekmeijere/Schnyder and Czink/Zahlavova Strycova. Schnyder has been playing doubles with Anna-Lena Groenefeld, but Groenefeld did not come to Charleston, so Liga Dekmeijere was recruited, and she was as fine a substitute as Patty could have asked for. Dekmeijere was very aggressive throughout the match, and volleyed winner after winner for the team. Schnyder, for her part, tended to stay back and hit zinging passing shots. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova was also a very successful volleyer, and Melinda Czink--though she got off to a slow start and sometimes wobbled--served well, and made some memorable shots. Dekmeijere and Schnyder won the match, 7-5, 6-4.

There was one upset today. 15th-seeded Zahlavova Strycova lost in singles to qualifier Shenay Perry, 7-5, 6-1. With the exception of Petrova, the top seeds had an easy time of it, except for Venus Williams, who has yet to play her second round. You can find all the scores here and here.