Stosur goes to first semifinal of the season in Stuttgart

The phrases "Vera Zvonareva" and "broken racquet" go together in the lexicon of women's professional tennis, but today in Stuttgart, it was a case of Vera Zvonareva and broken strings. The 2nd seed's strings broke repeatedly, sometimes more than once during a game. At one point, she had to use her coach's racquet. And for the sixth time in a row, Stosur beat her. The 5th seed--who is again showing signs that clay is the surface on which she is most comfortable--won 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, and will play Julia Goerges in the semifinals.

Goerges, who is the last German standing, broke countrywoman Sabine Lisicki at 4-all in both the first and second set, and walked away with a 6-4, 6-4 win. She and Andrea Petkovic lost in the doubles quarterfinals, however. They were defeated in straight sets by wild cards Stosur and Licsicki.

A lot of people probably expected Andrea Petkovic to be the last German standing. On paper, she should be. The "old Petkovic" used to choke away leads, and--just when we thought she had been banished--she showed up today in Stuttgart. Petkovic was up 4-1, 40-0 in the first set, and somehow managed to lose it 4-6. After that, top seed Caroline Wozniacki simply took over; Petkovic won one game in the second set.

Wozniacki's opponent in the semifinals will be Agnieszka Radwanska. I really wanted to watch Radwanska's match against Kristina Barrois because I so enjoy both of their games. In the middle of the first set, though, I had to leave. Radwanska won, 7-5, 6-3.

Hantuchova & Radwanska win Miami

Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska have won the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open doubles championship, defeating 3rd seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova. Hantuchova and Radwanska won the first set in a tiebreak, then Huber and Petrova quickly took the second set 6-2, but the winners prevailed 10-8 in the super-tiebreak.

Hantuchova will be playing doubles with Maria Kirilenko at the Family Circle Cup, which begins tomorrow. Huber will team with Lisa Raymond, and Petrova will be paired with Meghann Shaughnessy. Radwanska will not be in Charleston.

Clijsters upset by Azarenka in Miami

It was anything but an exciting match, but 8th seed and 2009 champion Victoria Azarenka probably doesn't care. Azarenka faced a completely flat Kim Clijsters in the Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinals tonight, and pulled off a 6-3, 6-3 victory without having to break much of a sweat. Not that Azarenka didn't have her own problems: She served really well, but she would frequently make unforced errors just when she had set up those good serves to produce winners. Still, the 2nd seed gave the impression that she wanted to be put out of her misery, and Azarenka obliged.

Clijsters has been having some problems with her shoulder ever since the Australian Open, and I don't know whether the injury factored into tonight's meltdown. "I just didn't feel good out there," she said after the match. We haves seen this type of thing before; when Clijsters goes off, she goes way off. But, after getting what looked like an impossible victory against Ana Ivanovic, it did seem odd that the defending champion would have so much difficulty in the quarterfinals.

Vera Zvonareva, the tournament's 3rd seed, was another story. She defeated 9th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 63, and will play Azarenka in the semifinals. Meanwhile, on the other end of the draw, Andrea Petkovic will play Maria Sharapova, assuming that Sharapova's ankle is stable enough for her to play.

In doubles, 3rd seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova defeated wild cards Sloane Stephens and Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets to advance to the semifinals.

Radwanska defeats Schiavone for the first time

Before today, Agnieszka Radwanska had never beaten Francesca Schiavone. The Italian led their head-to-head 4-0 (all matches on hard courts). Radwanska, who said after the match that she wanted to win at least one match against the 5th seed, got her wish. Radwanska, seeded 9th, hit sixteen winners and made only eight unforced errors, defeating Schiavone 6-0, 6-2. Schiavone's forehand betrayed her, and she made one error after another.

Joining Radwanska in the quarterfinals is 16th seed Maria Sharapova, who defeated 4th seed Sam Stosur 6-4, 6-1.

Out of competition in doubles are 7th seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sand and Meghann Shaughnessy. They were defeated by wild card Sloane Stephens (who has an outstanding junior doubles record) and Yanina Wickmayer.

Clijsters and Zvonareva advance to Australian Open semifinals

Vera Zvonareva, the Australian Open number 2 seed, played her fourth left-handed opponent (and her third left-handed Czech opponent) today in the quarterfinals. Zvonareva expertly defeated an unsteady Petra Kvitova (seeded 25th) 6-2, 6-4. The match wasn't without its drama. Australia Day cannons were firing, and a fan apparently fell and hurt herself on some steps in the stands. Sometimes I think Australian Open and U.S. Open officials compete to see who can distract the most players. Zvonareva was obviously bothered by all the goings-on, and she slipped and let Kvitova in in the second set. Kvitova took the opportunity, but she made too many careless errors to make much of an impact. Zvonareva made only twelve unforced errors in the match; Kvitova made 28. The young Czech player has big hitting talent, but she showed tonight that she isn't ready for a really big stage. She's definitely one to keep an eye on, though. A calmer, more cerebral Kvitova could be a force in the future; the good news is that she has already made refinements in her game in the past year.

3rd seed Kim Clijsters won the other semifinal. Clijsters defeated 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 7-6. The Belgian went off her game in the second set, and Radwanska used her court savvy to throw Clijsters off  her rhythm. But Radwanska's serve, which drags behind the rest of her game, holds her back from defeating someone like Clijsters, who is not only athletic and powerful, but can also pull out several different shots when she needs to.

Radwanska served for the second set at 5-4, 30-0, but was broken. She also made unforced in situations in which she had carefully set up winners. All the same, it was an entertaining second set--though not so much when the Australian Day planes buzzed over the court repeatedly. And Radwanska, having just returned from foot surgery, is to be commended for making it to the quarterfinals.

The percentages for Clijsters are worth examining. She hit 41 winners and made 37 unforced errors. That is officially a "good" statistic, but Clijsters has been making a very high number of unforced errors throughout the tournament.

Wednesday, as previously mentioned, was Australia Day, which means that the ESPN crew eats Vegemite and invites a player to do likewise. Vera Zvonareva tried the Australian staple (Kim Clijsters didn't), though she recalled that she didn't like it when she sampled it five years ago. It turns out that she still doesn't like it, but she made an effort. Meanwhile, the sight of Brad Gilbert chewing with his mouth open was revolting. The good news is that, as soon as the Australian zoo creatures were brought onto the set, Gilbert made an exit.

Clijsters advances to Australian Open quarterfinals

She had to get through a tiebreak to do it, but 3rd seed Kim Clijsters defeated Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets Monday in the Australian Open round of 16. Clijsters' 7-6, 6-2 win over Makarova now puts her in contention with 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals. If she defeats Radwanska (and, with Radwanska's weak serve, she probably will), she will play either Petra Kvitova or 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals.

Speaking of Radwanska (who has made an amazing comeback from surgery and rehab): Why does such a brilliant tennis player not drop everything until she has learned to hit a reasonably good second serve? Her first serve is better than it used to be, but even that failed her toward the end of her round of 16 match; her second serve is a disaster. Radwanska can outplay just about anyone on the tour, but she has this major flaw in her game, and I don't understand why someone doesn't do something about it.

Passing shots

A member of Aravane Rezai's family (one can reasonably assume that this is her father, since he has caused so much trouble throughout her career) has been banned from WTA events. The tour reports that its investigation is of a "serious safety matter" that affects the French player's "health and well being."

Thanks to Jon Wertheim, I came across this slide show, which provides an entertaining look (but not the look you might expect) at women's tennis fashions through the years.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands reports that the courts are so hot at the Australian Open, she had "a second degree burn on my thumb from crouching down in an 'I' formation in doubles!"
 
Here are 10 Burning Questions for Agniesza Radwanska.

Yaroslava Shvedova is back on the court, and reports that she is feeling good.

Clijsters goes all Petrova on Safina

3rd seed Kim Clijsters, the favorite to win the 2011 Australian Open, gave the crowd a taste of her focus during her first round on the second day of the event. Clijsters defeated 2009 finalist Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-0 in just 44 minutes.

Clijsters knows what it feels like. Last year, she was beaten down 6-0, 6-1 by Nadia Petrova in the third round of the Open.

Prior to the match, as some of us were discussing earlier today, the commentators on ESPN chatted for some time about Safina's history of mental collapses, and need to do something about her mental strength. And while that discussion is relevant, it is simply not the whole story. For one thing, the big collapses occurred only in major finals. Also, the commentators--led by Patrick McEnroe--failed to mention the former number 1's career-threatening back injury that took her off the tour twice, and caused her to miss months of play. (In contrast, the same commentators were telling us every five minutes that Juan Martin Del Potro may struggle because he was out for so long with a wrist injury.)

A memorable match was played between 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska (who Tennis Channel commentators forgot to mention--until the last mintue--has not played since September because of surgery for a stress fracture in her foot) and Kimiko Date Krumm. They each won a set, and the third set was a see-saw of momentum. It was impossible to predict who would win. Date Krumm went up 4-1, but then Radwanska had to take a medical break because her back was bothering her. After that break, Date Krumm was never the same, and it surely didn't help that the usually burning hot Melbourne court temperature was pleasantly cool. Still, it was hard to determine who would prevail, and toward the end, Radwanska inadvertently supplied some first-rate comic relief. Then she won the match, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Ekaterina Makarova upset 19th seed and 2008 finalist Ana Ivanovic, Alicia Molik won an entertaining match against Roberta Vinci, Ayumi Morita upset 27th seed Alexandra Dulgheru, and Jelena Jankovic hit ten aces. Among those saying goodbye were Australians Anastasia Rodionova, Sophie Ferguson and Sally Peers. Melanie Oudin, Patty Schnyder and Auckland champion Greta Arn were also among the defeated on day 2.

Melbourne miscellany

Tennis Australia's Louise Pleming is acting as Jelena Dokic's temporary coach at the Australian Open. I reported recently that Dokic had hired Glenn Schapp to be her coach, but apparently, that didn't work out. Dokic said she "didn't feel that click" with Schapp.

The Tennis Channel commentating team waited until Agnieszka Radwanska was down 1-4 in the third set of the first round before casually mentioning that she had had foot surgery in October and wasn't sure, until the last minute, that she would play in Melbourne. Radwanska hadn't played since September, and not discussing her injury and surgery felt like a major omission. (She did win the match, but that's another story.

One more time: Alla Kudryavtseva did not make a disparaging remark about Maria Sharapova's tennis dress when she upset her in the 2008 Wimbledon tournament. She made a sarcastic little joke as a response to what she thought was a less-than-intelligent question from a member of the sports media. It shocked her that dozens of journalists didn't get that she was being ironic. It didn't exactly shock me.

While I'm on the subject of the tennis media....ESPN's Australian Open commentators' discussion of the "great cloud" concerning Serena Williams' foot is beyond tiresome. A drunken, irresponsible person threw a bottle and cut Williams' foot. It was a significant injury. She had to have two surgeries. Great cloud.

Vania King is walking, shopping in Melbourne's Chinatown, singing, and preparing to play Australian Open number 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki.

This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen occur in a professional tennis match:

Peng upsets 9th seed Radwanska at U.S. Open

Commentators and writers usually talk about Agnieszka Radwanska's moving "under the radar" at a major tournament. She has advanced under the radar at this year's U.S. Open, too, but Peng Shuai managed to locate her and escort her to the exit. The unpredictable Peng, when she's playing at her top level, can have a go at the best of them, and tonight, she defeated 9th seed Radwanska 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Earlier in the day, Radwanska's sister, Urszula, was defeated by Lourdes Dominguez Lino.

I was pleased when a New York Times tennis writer suggested that fans watch the second round U.S. Open match featuring Patty Schnyder and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. I could watch both clever lefties play for hours, with their drops and spins and sometimes artistic strategies. 22nd seed Martinez Sanchez hasn't played much lately because of a knee injury, but she was nevertheless entertaining. Schnyder lost some opportunities to win the first set, but she won it via a tiebreak, and then won the second set 6-3. With her career winding down (I'm in some denial about that), it was great to see her get to the third round.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Chang Kai-Chen 6-0, 6-0, and Maria Sharapova defeated Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-2. The two are now very close to a round of 16 meeting, and all eyes will be on that match.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands lost a close match to Andre Petkovic. The German danced even more tonight. If she continues to win, she's going to need a deejay. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva and Maria Kirilenko all advanced, making it a strong day for the top Russians.

It was a very hot, very windy, very difficult day, but that didn't tempt either ESPN or U.S. Open website officials to let us get even a glimpse of a match that lasted three hours and thirteen minutes. In fact, Dominka Cibulkova and Kateryna Bondarenko spent an hour and 42 minutes just working out their third set. Cibulkova defeated Bondarenko 6-2, 5-7, 7-6. Is there a back or hip injury coming soon? I hope not, but Cibulkova has a significant history of back and hip problems.

A final note: Kaia Kanepi, Yanina Wickmayer, Chan Yung-Jan, and Alexandra Dulgheru all advanced to the third round.

She's....back! Kuznetsova wins San Diego

There were times, during the Mercury Insurance Open final, when both opponents played very well. But other times, one would take a turn at being an anxiety-ridden mess. Agnieszka Radwanska, the 4th seed, took the first turn, stepping onto the court with most of the magic of her quarterfinal and semifinal successes eluding her. She was obviously anxious, evidenced mostly by her lack of instinct and her indecisiveness about shot-making. It didn't take Svetlana Kuznetsova long to go up 4-1.

Radwanska straightend herself out a bit, but Kuznetsova took the set 6-4.

When the second set began, the 4th seed was a different player--the player we've watched for the last couple of days. She defended better, though she did go down 3-5. When Kusnetsova served for the match, she was broken. Radwanska easily held. The set ended up in a tiebreak, with Kuznetsova once again in charge. She went up 4-0, then 6-3, and the whole affair appeared to be about over--until Kuznetsova became so anxious, she double-faulted twice, and ended up losing four match points. Radwanska--by this time quite steady--won the tiebreak 9-7.

The third set was a good one, featuring some of the best shot-making of the match. But as the set wore on, it was Radwanska who faded, and Kuznetsova who rose to the occasion, hitting winners left and right. With a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 victory, the Russian was able to hold the trophy.

For Radwanska fans (count me as one), the loss was tough, but at least everyone got to see a lot of the 4th seed's best tennis throughout this tournament. For Kuznetsova, the win couldn't come at a better time. With the U.S. Open around the corner, the 2004 champion with the mighty forehand has declared herself a contender.

Kuznetsova was not the only one to make a comeback: Zheng Jie, whose doubles stardom has waned, won the San Diego tournament with partner Maria Kirilenko. The 4th seeds defeated 2nd seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 6-4, 6-4.

Radwanska & Kuznetsova to play for San Diego title

Two players I especially enjoy watching are Agnieszka Radwanska and Daniela Hantuchova, so it was a treat to see them compete against one another in the San Diego semifinals. Radwanska has a very clever all-court game, and Hantuchova has a rather elegant game. Both play no-nonsense tennis, and I watch them whenever I have a chance.

Tonight, both players were in fine form, but it was the often-overlooked athleticism of Radwanska that gave the 4th seed the edge, and kept her in the excellent form she displayed against Shahar Peer yesterday. She defeated Hantuchova 6-4, 6-1.

In her quarterfinal match, Radwanska made only nine unforced errors. In tonight's match, she also made nine, and seven of those were made in the first set. She executed a couple of successful over-the-shoulder backhands, a winning one-handed backhand, and a number of stunning volleys. Hantuchova raised her level and saved seven match points on her own serve at 1-5, and--after a ten-deuce game (in which both of Radwanska's second-set unforced errors occurred)--she held for 2-5. The 20-minute game provided some high drama, and showed Hantuchova at her very best. Radwanska, however, then served for the match and won it 6-4, 6-2 on her eighth match point.

The match was choice entertainment. Indeed, the 20-minute game was choice entertainment on its own.

In the other semifinal match, 5th seed Flavia Pennetta's glory was cut short by Svetlana Kuznetsova, who looked better than she has in a while. However, it was also cut short by Pennetta herself, whose serve sometimes goes completely to pieces. Today was one of those times. Kuznetsova played quite well, but--as the match wore on--Pennetta offered less and less resistance. Kuznetsova won 6-4, 6-0.

Radwanska puts on a tennis show in San Diego

Everything the talented Agnieszka Radwanska does well, she did even better tonight in San Diego. Going into her quarterfinal match against Shahar Peer, who had a 1-3 record against her, Radwanska brought her very best game. She served well (her first serve is significantly better than it used to be, but her second is still her weakness), she read the court with her usual cleverness, and she volleyed expertly.

The 4th seed used every trick in her repertoire tonight, and it was all just too much for Peer. Radwanska was all over the court, she made very few errors, and in just over an hour, she had a 6-2, 6-0 victory.

Top seed Stosur advances to Stanford semifinals

There were dramatic reversals of fortune in the Stanford quarterfinals today. In defending champion Marion Bartoli's match against Victoria Azarenka, Bartoli could do almost nothing wrong for a set and a half. Serving well and hitting the laser-like returns of serve for which she is known, the 4th seed dominated Azarenka for some time. With Bartoli, though, you never know whether one of two things is going to occur--she could become injured, or her serve could go to pieces. Today, it was the latter. Even so, Bartoli was up 3-1 in the final set, but she had so much difficulty with her serve that 8th-seeded Azarenka was able to overcome her and win the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Azarenka is now 4-0 against Bartoli.

Azarenka's opponent in the semifinals will be top seed Sam Stosur, who faced a tough challenge from 7th seed Yanina Wickmayer. Both players served at a very high level during the first two sets. Stosur took the first one, 7-5, and Wickmayer won the second, 6-3. Wickmayer got off to an early lead in the third set. In fact, she led 2-0, 40-15, and then--in the course of four breaks of serve--Stosur edged ahead, taking the final set 6-3.

3rd seed Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Kirilenko played a tight first set, which Radwanska won, 7-5. In the second set, though, Kirilenko served poorly and did not win one game.

Radwanska and Zvonareva out of French Open

8th seed Agnieszka Radwanska was upset in straight sets today by Yaroslava Shvedova today in the second round of the French Open. Radwanska was upset in more ways than one: Her father/coach, Robert Radwanski, the lead member in the current group of Tennis Fathers from Hell (Aravane Rezai's father seems to have put himself "on probation," and Maria Sharapova's father--after mellowing considerably, at least publicly--has disappeared altogether), sat in the box, verbally and visibly counting his daughter's errors. Eventually, she let him have it, telling him to take his numbers and get out, as well as some other, less printable, things that I would have cheered had I been there. From all I can gather, the officials pretended not to hear the outburst.

Shvedova hit 44 winners in her 7-5, 6-3 victory.

Also going out was 21st seed Vera Zvonareva, who had problems with her serve. She was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Anastasia Rodionova. And Aleksandra Wozniak defeated 31st seed Kateryna Bondarenko. Zvonareva, Wozniak and Bondarenko are all finding their way back after having sustained injuries and their aftermath.

4th seed Jelena Jankovic was taken to the edge by Kaia Kanepi, but found her way back to win, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Alisa Kleybanova, seeded 28th, defeated 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-0, and Kimiko Date Krumm--still in pain and still hobbling--lost to Jarmila Groth.

Also advancing were 5th seed Elena Dementieva, 11th seed Li Na, 17th seed Francesca Schiavone, 27th Alona Bondarenko, and Shahar Peer, who defeated lucky loser Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Williams and Bartoli go to Miami semifinals

It wasn't always attractive, but it doesn't have to be. Marion Bartoli and Yanina Wickmayer, meeting for the first time, played a topsy-turvy semifinal in Miami this evening. There were 12 breaks of serve, and Bartoli double-faulted 7 times. 12th seed Wickmayer, when all was said and done, wasn't up to the task of dealing with Bartoli's return of serve, which is her best shot. In fact, when she isn't injured or otherwise preoccupied, it's the shot that wins matches.

The first two games of the first set were long ones, and they were indicative of how the entire match would look. It took her a while, but Bartoli broke Wickmayer four times to take the first set 6-4. In the second set, Wickmayer began to hit with more confidence. Bartoli kept up the pressure, though, and never appeared to waver in confidence, even when things went wrong. For example, she was broken after leading 40-0 in one game, but she handled it calmly. Serving at 4-5, Bartoli went down 0-40, but eventually held. She then broke Wickmayer, and held for a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

The last game of the match was also a microcosm of the whole thing: Bartoli had three match points. She double-faulted the first one, and Wickmayer saved the second one when a netcord roller went her way. But on the third, the 13th seed won a place in the semifinals.

Earlier in the day, 3rd seed Venus Williams defeated 6th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-1. This match should have been more competitive, but Radwanksa has issues with her serve. Williams didn't: She had a first serve percentage of 77, and hit 8 aces.

Their hearts belong to Daddy, but is it time for a change?

Watching Agnieszka Radwanska today in Miami, I thought, for the hundredth time: How can such a talented player bear to have such a terrible second serve? I really enjoy watching Radwanska, but it is obvious that--despite her considerable skills--she is not going to win anything big until she either gets in 90% of her first serves or comes up with a decent second serve.

Radwanska is coached by her father, a man who already has a reputation as one of the more difficult tennis parents on the tour. Obviously, he did something right, or Radwanska would not be such a good player. But what kind of coach allows a top player to continue playing while she holds such a large liability?

I have written many times that I suspect that Marion Bartoli's physical fragility could be related to the fact that she does so much training, even right before a match. Maybe I'm wrong, but would it hurt for her to try someone else's approach? It isn't going to happen: Bartoli, you'll recall, would not play in Fed Cup because her father (who is her coach) was not allowed to accompany her.

Sabine Lisicki is also coached by her father. Lisicki, a real talent, is now a walking (figuratively speaking) injury. Again, how could it hurt to have someone else take over--at least for a while--who could get to the bottom of Lisicki's now common tendency to become injured during matches?

There may be some observers who think that it's time for Caroline Wozniacki to seek a fresh perspective, too. It's hard to argue with a number 2 ranking, or with the inherent toughness Wozniacki displays, but there is also concern that her reliance on defensive play will eventually hamper her success.

This is not to say that it is always a bad thing to be coached by one's parent. Melanie Molitor was a good coach, though she did accept her daughter's lack of desire to train, whereas, perhaps another person would have been tougher on Hingis. Ai Sugiyama was also very successfully coached by her mother. And there is no arguing that Richard Williams and Oracene Price produced two outstanding players. The Williams sisters, however, are in a class of their own. Not only are they outstanding athletes, but they were brought up, from day one, to believe, not that they could win, but that they would win.

Looking at players like Radwanska, Bartoli and Lisicki, though, I have to wonder--would another coach be able to fix what is wrong?

Wozniacki to play Jankovic in Indian Wells final

The BNP Paribas Open semifinal match between 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki and 5th seed Agnieszka Radwanska was my kind of match. There were very long rallies (one went 34 shots), both players carefully constructed points, and both consistently used their brains. Unfortunately, in this age of "hit opponents off the court and smack three dozen winners" (not that there's anything wrong with that), such a match does not appeal to all tennis fans. But it appealed to me. Radwanska, however, for all her lovely touch and strategy, saw her forehand deteriorate, and she missed many opportunities to take control of the match.

Wozniacki, on the other hand, played with keen precision, and also put enough spin on the ball to give Radwanska trouble. She emerged the winner, 6-2, 6-3, and will play 6th seed Jelena Jankovic in the final on Sunday. Jankovic defeated 8th seed Sam Stosur earlier today. Jankovic has a career head-to-head of 3-0 against Wozniacki.

In doubles, 3rd seeds Nadia Petrova and Samantha Stosur will play Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in the final. Petrova and Stosur defeated Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie in the semifinals, and Peschke and Srebotnik defeated 6th seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yan Zi.

Williams and Azarena to meet in Dubai final

Shahar Peer's wonderful Dubai run came to an end today when she could not stop defending champion Venus Williams from going to her second straight Dubai final. Williams defeated Peer 6-1, 6-4.

Williams' opponent in the final will be Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-4 in a match that contained some stunning rallies and was quite entertaining. Radwanska has it all--except for a good serve (haven't we heard that before?)--and until she improves that, she is likely to stay out of the elite circle of tennis. That would be a pity because the rest of her game is superior, and a pleasure to watch.

Azarenka continues to come to the net more, and said in her post-match interview that she has recently been inspired by the great Stefan Edberg.

Miscellany

Shahar Peer reports that she is satisfied with the security she has in Dubai, and is, in fact, enjoying some of the benefits.

Lindsey Vonn plays a lot of tennis to help with her hand-eye coordination and her movement. She says her backhand is good, but her forehand and volleys need work.

Dubai will never be the same.

If you live in Palm Beach, your feet may never be the same.

As of Monday, Agnieszka Radwanska will reach a career-high ranking of number 8 in the world. In honor of that achievement, here is my favorite off-court video of 2009: