Top seeds ready for Charleston play, but the weather may not cooperate

Daniel Island, where the Family Circle Cup is played, has unpredictable weather in April. The days can be hot, and the nights quite cold. A tornado can hit. But--most of the time--there isn't much rain during the event. A big storm is supposed to come through in the morning, however, so there is no telling how many matches can be played on the second day of the tournament.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki

The player party was held in Charleston last night, and the top seeds were on the tournament site today. Most of them talked about the adjustments they have to make when they begin the clay court season, or, as 7th seed Alisa Kleybanova put it: "Sometimes you just have that hard court game in your head." Marion Bartoli, the tournament's 4th seed, said that she has to put more spin on the ball and change the angles she uses on the court. 

Defending champion Samantha Stosur

I asked defending champion Sam Stosur (who said she looks at the draw "a little bit") whether she would be coming forward more, since that appears to be an element often missing from her game. "It's one of those things I want to keep working on," she said, and added "It's not part of my comfort zone."

I think we'll definitely see Jelena Jankovic coming forward more. "I have to gradually get comfortable," she said about her decision to work on coming to the net. Jankovic, the 3rd seed and the 2007 champion, said that she is giving herself time to work on some new techniques. The world number 8 seemed really relaxed, and was in her usual very good humor. Jankovic said that her new coach, Andri Pavel, is like her in that they are both perfectionists.

Shahar Peer is playing her first tournament with coach Harold Solomon, whom she hired on a trial basis after her loss in Miami. Peer, who said she needs to work on being more intense on the court, just missed getting into the top 10 when she went out in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open.