Clijsters squeaks into Miami quarterfinals

Kim Clijsters won the first set 7-6. Ana Ivanovic won the second, 6-3, then went up 5-1 in the third. She held five match points, too, but it was the 2nd seed who walked away with the win when she prevailed 7-5 in a third set tiebreak. Clijsters double-faulted eleven times in the match, but has to be given credit for making an amazing comeback against the 19th seed.

There were some upsets today. Top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta were defeated by 8th seeds Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues. The Spanish team defeated Dulko and Pennetta 7-5, 6-4 in a match that featured twelve breaks of serve. In singles, 6th seed Jelena Jankovic lost her quarterfinal match to 21st seed Andrea Petkovic. Petkovic, who has always had talent but who used to fall short in the nerve department, seetms to have turned that situation around. She defeated Jankovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, giving her an excellent follow-up to her defeat of world number 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

And then there was the quarterfinal match between Alexandra Dulgheru and Maria Sharapova, which seemed like the Match That Wouldn't End. At 5-all in the third, serving at 30-15, Sharapova left the court to have the trainer look at her foot after she turned her ankle (she had called for the trainer earlier, but had changed her mind); she then received medical treatment. Dulgheru can be somewhat of a wall (talk about fitness), and she was happy to hang in and continually retrieve balls and wait for the 16th seed to make errors. They played almost three hours and 29 minutes, and broke each other 18 times. It went on for so long that Dulgheru did a costume change. Once she hurt her foot, Sharapova really started taking it to the 26th seed, with Dulgheru giving it right back, as she moved Sharapova around the court as much as possible.

Sharapova, who made 76 unforced errors (including 17 double faults), won the match 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. Dulgheru's relentless defense game almost paid off, but not quite. How Sharapova will fare in terms of foot strength and energy is unknown, but she put herself back into the top 10, no matter what. She also did a very good job of working around her injury and the feelings that obviously accompanied it.

Several years ago, I watched Nadia Petrova beat down Sharapova, and throughout the match, Petrova's name was mentioned only once. Commentators Mary Joe Fernandez and Cliff Drysdale could not stop talking about Sharapova, even as she was being hammered by her countrywoman. I thought of that tonight when I had Tennis Channel on (the picture is more stable than on Tennis TV, so sometimes I have them both running). To hear Lindsay Davenport go on, Dulgheru wasn't even there. Funny--I saw Dulgheru play her heart out, change the pace when she needed to, switch from defense to offense, and skillfully run down balls that would have created winners against other players. But Davenport would not give her any credit. Even when co-commentator Ted Robinson said "Dulgheru deserves a lot of respect," Davenport changed the subject.

I enjoy watching Sharapova as much as the next person, and--as anyone who reads this blog knows--I have not been part of the "Sharapova's career is over" trend. This isn't about Sharapova: It's about a commentator's ridiculous fawning over a player--which is problematic in itself--and her subsequent dismissal of the opponent. It took Sharapova three and a half error-strewn hours to overcome Dulgheru; maybe the 26th seed could be acknowledged as at least being part of the match?

(And while I'm on the subject of Tennis Channel: The Family Circle Cup in Charleston, a premier event, takes place next week, but according to Tennis Channel, it doesn't exist. The commentators have the women heading straight from Miami to Europe.)

Zvonareva into U.S. Open round of 16

Most of us have watched Alexandra Dulgheru give opponents trouble on clay courts. Tonight, on a fast hard court, she gave Vera Zvonareva some trouble, and the wind gave both of them plenty of trouble. 25th seed Dulgheru, for all her clever shot-making, couldn't keep a lead because she made so many unforced errors. Over and over, she set up winners, only to erase them by hitting balls into the net or outside the lines. The second set was quite entertaining, and Zvonareva won the match 6-2, 7-6. The 7th seed will play Andrea Petkovic in the next round.

11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova reversed a losing trend against 25th seed Maria Kirilenko, defeating her 6-3, 6-4. Kuznetsova took control of the match with a consistently good serve, and looked comfortable and confident. In the next round, she will play Dominika Cibulkova, who defeated Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0, 6-1.

In doubles, top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta advanced with a 6-0, 6-4 defeat of Sorana Cirstea and Lucie Safarova. In mixed doubles, Melania Oudin and Ryan Harrison took the first set off of Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan, but the top seeds won the match, 5-7, 6-1, 10-3.

Dulgheru advances to Budapest semifinals

2nd seed Alexandra Dulgheru defeated Anastasja Savastova 6-7, 6-2, 7-6  in the Budapest semifinals today in a match that lasted two hours and 41 minutes. Also advancing were Agnes Szavay, who defeated wild card Alize Cornet, and Zuzana Ondraskova, who defeated 4th seed Anabel  Medina Garrigues in a mactch that lasted almost two hours and 58 minutes.

Patty Schnyder took advantage of a shaky Polona Hercog, and defated her 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.

Madrid, where the upsets keep happening

Second round play continued in Madrid today, and why should today have been any different from the other days? 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki was sent packing by Alona Bondarenko, who put on a display of hitting that was most impressive. The longer the rallies went, the more angles Bondarenko found, and she overcame Wozniacki 6-2, 6-3.

6th seed Elena Dementieva played a 14-break three-setter against Alexandra Dulgheru, which Dulgheru won, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5. The match went on for almost 2 hours and 33 minutes, though the outcome look much better for Dementieva was she was up 4-1 in the third set, with two break points.

It has taken Dulgheru a long time to put herself back on the tour radar since she accomplished the unusual feat of winning the very first tour tournament she ever entered. After she won Warsaw (as a qualifier) last year, Dulgheru faded into the background. But this clay season, she has made quite a resurgence, getting to the semifinals in Barcelona, and the third round of the Italian Open, where she defeated both Sara Errani and Dinara Safina.

Patty Schnyder, playing 9th seed Agnieszka Radwanska for the second time on clay, had her second clay court victory against her today. Schnyder, who relied on her second serve, defeated the 9th seed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Schnyder's other clay win over Radwanska occurred a couple of years ago in Charleston, and was one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament.

Anabel Medina Garrigues perked up her season considerably by taking out 12th seed Marion Bartoli 6-2, 6-0. And Andrea Petkovic, who is also making herself known on the tour, upset 14th seed Flavia Pennetta 7-6, 6-3. She had to work hard, too, saving nine set points in the first set.

Patty Schnyder wasn't content with pulling off just one upset. She and partner Anastasia Rodionova went on to defeat 3rd seeds Nadia Petrova and Sam Stosur  4-6, 6-4, 10-6. Petrova and Stosur had a bye in the first round, so this was their first match.

Rome champion Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez held a set point in her first set against 8th seed and Charleston champion Sam Stosur, but did not convert it. Stosur went on to win, 7-6, 6-4.

Dulgheru defeats Safina and advances to 3rd round in Rome

Alexandra Dulgheru impressed me when she beat Sara Errani in the first round of the Italian Open. She backed up that good win today by taking out the defending champion and 3rd seed, Dinara Safina, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. Safina double-faulted nine times and her service stats overall could certainly have been better. Nevertheless, Dulgheru hung in for over 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Safina, who made 51 unforced errors, will probably have to play quite a few matches before she can find her form again. Of course, it's hard to play a lot of matches when you go out so early in a tournament, but really good players have found their way back many times.

Ana Ivanovic seems to have made a fresh start in Rome, defeating Elena Vesnina in the first round and 9th seed Victoria Azarenka in the second. Ivanovic's next challenge will be Elena Dementieva.

Top seed Serena Williams faced a challenge today from Timea Bacsinszky, but prevailed 7-6, 6-1. How often do we see that scoreline when a much lower-ranked player plays a close first set? Williams' sister, Venus, is now 10-0 against Patty Schnyder, and plays Shahar Peer in the third round.

As I expected, Yanina Wickmayer had to work long and hard to win her second round match against Aravane Rezai. The score was 6-3, 6-7, 7-5. Wickmayer will play Jelena Jankovic in the third round. Jankovic defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Kuznetsova upset in 2nd round of Italian Open

Maria Kirilenko sent Svetlana Kuznetsova (who hit 10 aces) out of Rome competition today with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over the 5th seed. Kuznetsova, the 2009 French Open champion, has not had a champion's year so far. She did make it to the quarterfinals of Miami, where she was the number 1 seed, but was upset by 13th seed Marion Bartoli. Kuznetsova reached the second round in Sydney, the fourth round at the Australian Open, the third round in Dubai (where she lost to a qualifier), and the second round in Indian Well (she had a bye in the first round). As defending champion in Stuttgart, she lost in the second round.

Four qualifiers, a wild card and a lucky loser (Pauline Parmentier, who became the lucky loser when 10th seed Sam Stosur withdrew from the tournament) went out in first round play today, and a couple of clay court experts took out a couple of big hitters. Italian veteran Roberta Vinci defeated Alisa Kleybanova 7-6, 7-6, and 13th seed Francesca Schiavone defeated Daniela Hantuchova.

There were also clay court experts who did not survive. In the "What do I know?" department, Sara Errani--whom I chose to be a dangerous floater in the tournament--lost to Alexandra Dulgheru. That is a bit of an interesting story: When Dulgheru, a qualifier, surprised everyone and won in Warsaw last year--in the first tour tournament she had ever entered--she defeated Errani in the second round.

The other clay specialist who did not survive today was Gisela Dulko, who did a lot of hard work in the third set, only to lose the match in a tiebreak. Dulko played fellow clay afficionado Patty Schnyder, who was up 5-0 in the third set, but, characteristically, had problems closing the match. Dulko broke her twice and held her own serve, also. Schnyder had a break point when Dulko served at 3-5, but could not convert it. Dulko then broke her again, and then again. Schnyder saved three match points at 5-6, then won the tiebreak 7-5. (Thrill Ride makes her 2010 Rome debut soon, and she will have to be really creative to top that.) The final score was 6-7, 6-2, 7-6.

11th seed Yanina Wickmayer barely survived. She defeated qualifier Karolina Sprem 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. Lucie Safarova hit 14 aces in her 6-2, 6-7 (9), 6-3 defeat of Olga Govortsova, and Ana Ivanovic, in her straight set win over Elena Vesnina, posted outstanding service win percentages of 81 and 69.

In the all-USA match, recent Fed Cup star Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated Melanie Oudin 6-1, 6-3. For her effort, she will play 7th seed Jelena Jankovic. Mattek-Sands is now 3-0 against Oudin in tour play.

In doubles, the all-Russian team of Maria Kirilenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 7-5.

Wickmayer squeaks past Dulgheru

Some time after I wrote my 2009 summary, I realized--with regret--that I'd forgotten to mention Alexandra Dulgheru. Dulgheru won Warsaw, her very first tournament on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, beating Sara Errani, Daniela Hantuchova and Alona Bondarenko. After pulling off this highly unusual feat, she won only one more match. One imagines it was too much too soon.

She came close, on Monday, to winning a big one. Dulgheru's Australian Open first round match against would-be 16th seed (but in reality, qualifier) Yanina Wickmayer was interrupted more than once by rain. I saw very little of it, but the stats indicate that it wasn't something we'll be seeing on TV in the future. Wickmayer wound up with 80 unforced errors and 26 winners, and Dulgheru's results weren't that much better.

In the next round, Wickymayer will play either world number 12 Flavia Pennetta or former world number 6 Anna Chakvetadze. She will need to clean up her game quite a bit if she plans to compete.

Dulgheru and Larcher de Brito both out of Birmingham qualifying

Alexandra Dulgheru, recent Warsaw champion, lost in the first round of AEGON Classic qualifying. The top qualifying seed was defeated in straight sets by Eleni Danilidou, who is more at home on grass than many players. Michelle Larcher de Brito was defeated in straight sets in the second round of qualifying by Chanelle Scheepers.

Quote of the day

"I didn't expect to win. I don't know what happened that I was playing so well."

Alexandra Dulgheru, on winning the Warsaw final

Dulgheru sure knows how to make an entrance

Alexsandra Dulgheru had never before played in a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event when she entered the Warsaw Open. She must have liked the experience, because she hung around to the very end, and today, she won the title.

Though it pains me to say it, the unseeded Dulgheru had a bit of luck, in that her opponent in the final--number 8 seed Alona Bondarenko, also the 2007 finalist--is given to fits and starts, and can easily plummet from the sublime to the ridiculous in the course of a match. Reading what spectators said--and seeing the scoreline--I can say with assurance that Bondarenko chose today to have one of her meltdowns.

It's a shame about Bondarenko, but--like Daniela Hantuchova and some other gifted tour players--she has not learned to control her emotions, and she often appears to lack belief. After she played her first round in Charleston, I spoke with her for a bit, and--as I left, I said to her, "Keep it up!" She looked at me knowingly, grinned, said "Yeah" and did a little "you know me" shrug. Sure enough, she lost her next round. In fairness, I should add that she lost to a very in-form Victoriya Kutuzova, but it was still a match Bondarenko should probably have won.

One of my readers informs me that Dulgheru had some more luck in this tournament: She missed her flight to Warsaw and assumed she would not be able to play in the qualifying rounds. Fortunately for her, it rained, and qualifying was postponed for a day.

In her journey to the final, Dulgheru defeated both Sara Errani and Hantuchova. Dulgheru entered the Warsaw Open as number 201 in the world, but on Monday, she will be ranked number 83. She will be 20 years old next Saturday.