Charleston miscellany

The weather was much calmer today. It was sunny and cool, and--for the most part--slightly breezy without the constant wind we had yesterday at the Family Circle Cup.

Althea Gibson Club Court has been changed a bit to provide stadium-type seating (without sacrificing any of the club court intimacy), and a new stage has been constructed on the Grand Lawn.

The tournament sells a lot of gear, of course, and this year's stand-out item is a T-shirt whose retro design celebrates the rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Both players will be here Saturday night for the Game, Set, Rock! Tennis. Amplified. event.

Yanina Wickmayer had an autograph session today, but not many people showed up for it. The Aussie cheering section did show up for defending champion Sam Stosur, but where were they when Jelena Dokic really needed them?

A couple of days ago, we saw Nadia Petrova practicing her serve by knocking down bottles; today, Shahar Peer thrashed a number of tennis ball cans.

Melanie Oudin and Anna Tatishvili don't look so much like kids anymore. Also, Tatishvili is free of her ankle brace. Today, she upset 9th seed Maria Kirilenko.

Family Circle Cup trivia: The oldest player to ever win a singles match in Charleston was Renee Richards, who was 46years and 8 months old when she won.

Irises growing on tournament grounds