Kvitova wins Brisbane

Petra Kvitova, who caused a stir last year at Wimbledon, got her 2011 season off to a roaring start today by winning the Brisbane International. Kvitova defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Both players were unseeded. On her way to the final, Kvitova upset 3rd seed Nadia Petrova and 5th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and also Dominika Cibulkova. This is Kvitova's second WTA Tour title.

Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska had a difficult season last year, often having to play with other partners in order to obtain points. In Brisbane, however, the Polish team took out both the 2nd and 3rd seeds, and made it to the final. That was the end of their run, however; the unseeded team of Alisa Kleybanova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated them 6-3, 7-5, and won the title. This was only the second time that Kleybanova and Pavlyuchenkova had played together in doubles.

Miscellany

Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Billie Jean King Cup event, which will be played on March 1. Williams, the defending champion, has withdrawn because of her leg injury. Ana Ivanovic has taken her place in the draw.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's "Looking Back at a Legend" series continues with a piece on Martina Navratilova.

And if you've ever wanted to know more about Jans and Rosolska (I know I have), here is a feature on them.

Sania Mirza reports that treatment for her wrist is going well, but we've heard that before, so it's hard to get one's hopes up about the healing of that on-going injury.

If you've been watching the Olympic Games in Vancouver, then you've witnessed absolute confirmation of why women, including sportswoman, are considered "mean" and "catty." The backbiting, the fake compliments, the hypocritical congratulatory statements, the vicious statements to the press...oh, wait...those are all men.

Update (see comments): Ana Ivanovic has hired Heinz Gunthardt, who coached Steffi Graf, to be her new coach.