Williams sparkles, Schiavone stuns

Last year, when Roger Federer hit his first famous 'tweener at the U.S. Open, WTA commentators started longing for the days of the "Sabatweeni." Every time they talked about Sabatini's between-the-legs shot, I would think, "Great--she was a favorite of mine--but what about Schiavone? She's playing tennis now." For though she doesn't use it a lot, the 'tweener is part of Schiavone's repertoire. Tennis commentators would know that, right? Right.

They know it now. Or, more likely, they just know that she hit one today, in her third round match against Alona Bondarenko. In what was, for me, the best set played so far in this Open, the 6th seed and French Open champion and the 29th seed put on quite a show in the second set. It took Bondarenko a while to find herself, though; the aggressive and stretchy Italian swept the first set 6-1. When Bondarenko finally challenged her, we got to see a beautiful display of shot-making from both players.

Schiavone, however, would not be denied a straight-sets win. She did it all--the 'tweener (which set up a winner), a backhand volley down the line, and the kind of serving that helped her win in Paris. She hit 29 winners for the match, and was successful with 20 of 24 net approaches.

3rd seed Venus Williams appears to be pain-free, which is good news. Dressed in a form-fitting black dress featuring an overall fireworks-display sequined pattern, Williams defeated qualifier Mandy Minella 6-2, 6-1 in conditions that were windy, but which Williams said "could be worse." I dimmed the lights so I could get the full effect of that shimmering eleVen outfit.

In the house, dressed in red, was none other than world number 1 Serena Williams, who sat at the ESPN desk and interviewed her sister. It was a light moment, and a treat for viewers. The sisters feed off of each other like two members of a long-term Vaudeville act. Later, Serena went into the booth to help call the men's match.

Ana Ivanovic had some trouble handling wild card Virginie Razzano for much of the first set, but she found her form soon enough to take that set. After that, she cruised to a 7-5, 6-0 win.

Shahar Peer pulled the upset of the day, defeating 19th seed Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-4. Though she is seeded only 19th, Pennetta is historically dangerous on hard courts, and was a quarterfinalist at last year's Open.

After Peer won the first set, she went up 4-0. Pennetta was able to break and to even things at 4-all. At 4-5, she saved two match points on her own serve, but the third match point did her in. Peer, who gives everything she has in every match she plays, was just too tough and too accurate tonight. Pennetta has a good head-to-head against Venus Williams, but the prospect of a Williams-Pennetta match is now just a passing thought.

Getting back to the subject of commentators: Today, I heard a commentator tell his colleague that he mispronounces a particular ATP player's name, and knows that he mispronounces it, and--in the same sentence--he went on to sarcastically put down commentators who mispronounce another ATP player's name. The value system here is way to complicated for me to grasp.

Oh, and the commentator and unsportsmanlike former champion who knows what's best for women's tennis--need I even have to say his name?--remarked tonight that the Williams sisters have never been coached by their mother. Fortunately, Serena Williams was sitting next to him, and set the record straight.

Miscellany

Serena Williams reports that her foot surgery was performed to repair a torn tendon which had caused her toe to droop. She had twelve stitches on one toe, and six on another. The world number one was injured by broken glass while she was in a restaurant in Munich. She had planned to return to the tour in Tokyo, but now she is doubtful for that tournament.

Once again, Nick Bollettieri's name is not included among nominees to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Regardless of whether you like the Bollettieri style, he does create champions.

I'm not sure how much longer I can cope with hearing, ad nauseum, the following phrases:
"Cinderella run"
"at the end of the day"
"close out" (as annoying as all extraneous adverb use, e.a., "print out," "head up," etc.)
"young lady"
"going to be a tough match"
"America's hope" (or even worse, "America's next hope"--what does even mean?)

I am completely taken with Alona Bondarenko's tennis dress.

The College Sports Council has jumped on the ridiculous "Blame Title IX" bandwagon. Fortunately, both the NCAA and the Women's Sports Foundation have come forward, utilizing those pesky facts that always get in the way of a good Title IX attack.

Oudin exits in U.S. Open second round

We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

I didn't want to see Alona Bondarenko or Melanie Oudin lose today. I have a soft spot for the Bondarenko sisters, and as for Melanie, well-- it's hard not to want the best for her. But the second-round crowd--both at the Open and at home--had to say "bye" to 2009's Miss American Pie, as Bondarenko played a steadier and cleaner match, and defeated Oudin 6-2, 7-5.

Oudin's backhand has improved quite a bit lately. In this match, however, she was often shaky with her well-known forehand, either hitting it too conservatively or losing control of it altogether. It simply didn't look like the forehand we saw at this tournament in 2009. Oudin failed to serve adequately, and she made 38 unforced errors. To me, she often looked pretty anxious, which is understandable, I suppose, given all the expectations placed on her.

Bondarenko hit only three winners the entire match, which is as much a description of what happened as anything. Bondarenko, who has been konwn to get shaky, herself, will face French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the third round.

Miscellany

The tour's "Looking Back at a Legend" series is now featuring one of my all-time favorite players--the great Evonne Goolagong.

Oracene Price says that her favorite player to watch (outside of Venus and Serena, of course) is Jelena Jankovic.

You can see some of Alona Bondarenko's wedding photos here.

Now that Pilot Pen has withdrawn its sponsorship, the New Haven tournament is looking for a sponsor.

Defending champion Kim Clijsters says she may have some strapping on her leg at the U.S. Open, but that she is fully fit.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is having trouble with her shoulder, as well as her hip. Pavlyuchenkova withdrew from New Haven competition.

Miscellany

Kim Clijsters defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 in the Brussels exhbition match that was supposed to have featured the "Best of Belgium," but was changed when Justine Henin had to withdraw because of an injury. I expected Yanina Wickmayer to be asked to step in, but instead, orgnanizers chose Williams. 35,681 spectators attended the match, the biggest crowd ever to attend a tennis event.

Dinara Safina is back on the court. She and Victoria Azarenka have been given wild cards into the Bank of the West Classic.

Not surprisingly, Maria Sharapova--who has long had a say in her own Nike dress designs--has decided to design tennis clothes for the rest of us.

Tennis Channel will broadcast the men's and women's finals of the U.S. Open National Playoffs. The men's final will be held on July 25, and the women's final will be held on August 1. The winners receive wild cards into U.S. Open qualifying.

The World Team Tennis finals will also take place on July 25.

Melanie Oudin will play in Stanford, San Diego and Cincinatti.

Alona Bondarenko married her coach, Nikolay Dyachok, on Thursday. The wedding reception was held today, and the couple is then off to a honeymoon in Crete.

Bondarenko out of Warsaw

Alona Bondarenko, 6th seed and last year's finalist, was defeated 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the Warsaw Open quarterfinals today by Greta Arn. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki retired, and defending champion Alexandra Dulgheru advanced to the semifinals.

In Strasbourg, play was interrupted by rain. Earlier in the day, 7th seed Anastasija Sevastova was defeated 6-1, 7-5 by Kristina Barrois.

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.

Fed Cup miscellany

Jelena Jankovic's journey to Belgrade during the volcanic ash episode was enough to wear out anyone. She took a flight from Tampa to Atlanta, waited seven hours, then got a flight to Tel Aviv. She then flew to Cypress, and finally, she flew to Belgrade. The worst part is that, because of her wrist injury, she isn't even certain that she'll play. The Serbian Fed Cup team is waiting for the doctors to examine Jankovic and make a report.

Alona Bondarenko's dog, Emily, attended the draw ceremony for Ukraine and Australia.

Clive White points out that the rain in Rome gives Italy even more of an advantage over the Czech Republic.

Tennis Channel will show the USA vs. Russia semifinal live both days.

Justine Henin broke her left little finger in training on Wednesday. She is now scheduled to play with partner Kirsten Flipkens in Belgium's Fed Cup doubles match against Estonia. Kim Clijsters and Yanina Wickmayer will play singles.

Bondarenko out in Ponte Vedra Beach

2nd seed Alona Bondarenko made a first round exit in Ponte Vedra Beach today. Bondarenko was defeated 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 by Olga Govortsova. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki advanced with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Patty Schnyder.

In Marbella, 6th seed Maria Kirilenko was upset 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 by Sorana Cirstea.

Henin goes to the quarterfinals

The much-anticipated match between the two Belgians, Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer, has resulted in a 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 victory for Henin, who now moves on to the Australian Open quarterfinals. The match, which contained seven breaks of serve, was widely regarded as a quality affair by those who saw it. (I was not one of those people. I couldn't stay up that late, though I tried. I think the high and bizarre drama of the Ladies National Figure Skating Championships did me in, too.)

Also advancing to the quarterfinals was Zheng Jie, who defeated Alona Bondarenko in a match that had its share of unforced errors (74 in all) and momentun swings. Zheng hit twice as many winners as her opponent, and--although Alona didn't exactly go Bondarenko on us in the second set--she did have an attitude slip that probably did her no favors. Bondarenko also performed poorly at the net. Zheng's 7-6, 6-4 victory gives her a quarterfinal meeting with Maria Kirilenko.

Bondarenko sends Jankovic out of Melbourne

There were times--especially in the second half of the second set--that Jelena Jankovic actually looked like herself in her Australian Open third round match against Hobart champion Alona Bondarenko. But most of the time, she was flat, slow and on the wrong foot. Meanwhile, Bondarenko--who isn't known for staying cool and collected on the court--was the picture of steadiness, serving well throughout, and repeatedly finding wicked angles just out of reach of the 8th seed's racquet.

This was a fine performance from Bondarenko, regardless of Jankovic's level of play. Though in nine other attempts, she had taken only one set off of Jankovic, this time, she got into a cross-court groove early, and stayed in it to win the match 6-2, 6-3. Bondarenko has reached the third round of a major several times, but this is her first time to reach the round of 16.

Medina Garrigues upset in Hobart

Number 1 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues is out of the Moorilla Hobart International. She was defeated in her semifinal match by Alona Bondarenko, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. In the final, Bondarenko will play 2nd seed Shahar Peer, who defeated Sara Errani 6-2, 6-0.

Also upset was the top-seeded doubles team of Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai, who lost to Chan Yung-Jan and Monica Niculescu. Chan and Niculescu will play Chuang Chia-Jung and Kveta Peschke in the final. Chuang (who used to be Chan's doubles partner) and Peschke defeated Errani and Roberta Vinci.

Schiavone, Bondarenko & Sharapova score upsets in Toronto

In the first day of Rogers Cup play, three seeded players were eliminated from competition. 15th seeded Amelie Mauresmo lost (again) to Francesca Schiavone, 13th seeded Marion Bartoli lost to Alona Bondarenko, and number 8 seed Nadia Petrova was defeated by Maria Sharapova.

Bartoli, who won the Stanford tournament--the first of the U.S. Open Series contests--lost to Kim Clijsters in the first round in Cincinnati last week.

Anabel Medina Garrigues, who has not done well at all in singles this season, also went out in the first round, to Patty Schnyder.

Bammer, Bondarenkos win in Prague

2nd seed Sybille Bammer defeated top seed Francesca Schiavone today, 7-6, 6-2, to take the 2009 ECM Prague Open title. Because of rain, both the semifinals and finals in singles had to be played today. In the semifinals, Schiavone stopped the run of Timea Bacsinszky, and Bammer defeated Iveta Benesova. This is Bammer's second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title.

The 2nd seeds also defeated the top seeds in doubles. Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko defeated Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1, 6-2 to take the Prague title.

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.

Bondarenko sends Sharapova out of Strasbourg

Even if Sharapova were not just coming back from a lengthy injury layoff--assuming Alona Bondarenko was having a switched-on day (so many of her days are not)--she would be favored to defeat the former world number 1 on red clay. That is what she did today, 6-2, 6-2, in Warsaw. However, Alona and her sister Kateryna did not fare as well in their doubles semifinal. The 4th seeds were defeated by 2nd seeds Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, 7-6, 6-3.

Also through to the singles semifinals are Anne Keothavong, Alexandra Dulgheru and Daniela Hantuchova.

In Strasbourg, Lucie Hradecka, Ayumi Morita, Victoriya Kutuzova, and Aravane Rezai advanced to the semifinals. Morita upset 3rd seed Peng Shuai.

Family Circle Cup, day 2--in and around the grounds

Sania Mirza's mother watches her match

Dominika Cibulkova signs autographs

Today was cool with just a few sprinkles of rain, kind of like yesterday. We spoke briefly with Dominika Cibulkova, who signed a photo for us, and we also had a photo signed by Patty Schnyder, who was in a good mood and ready to chat.

I watched Nadia Petrova practice for a while, and I also watched Alona Bondarenko practice, as well as a few others. Between the day and night matches, I went to the lawn bar, but didn't bother to take my camera with me when I went to buy a drink. Behind the bar was Sabine Lisicki, and she even relieved the pianist for a few moments and played for us.

Julius Irving was on the grounds today, watching his daughter, Alex Stevenson, play a match against Akgul Amanmuradova, which Stevenson lost. It was the first time Irving had ever seen his daughter play.

Tennis outfit of the day: Dominika Cibulkova, in a simple orange and white Lacoste ensemble.

One Bondarenko out of Ponte Vedra Beach

The Bondarenko sisters, Alona and Kateryna, had to play each other today in Ponte Vedra Beach. The match went to three sets, with one second set game containing thirteen deuces, and with Alona emerging the winner. The winning Bondarenko said "We have different styles....I have to play the long points and she doesn't." They are now 3 and 3 against each other.

Edina Gallovits and Olga Govortsova lost their doubles match to Peng Shuai and Yan Zi, but the good news is that they are playing together again! I hope they will play in Charleston, where they were last year's finalists.

Nadia Petrova said that Madison Keys "took me by surprise." Petrova, the top seed, said she was trying to blow Keys off the court, and that wasn't working, so she adjusted her game. Keys was pleased with the quality of the match, though Petrova beat her, 6-3, 6-2.

All kinds of sister news

The big sister news is that Urszula Radwanska (Radwanska the younger) defeated her sister, the 9th seeded Agnieszka, in straight sets today in the first round in Dubai.

But there was other sister news. The wildly inconsistent Bondarenko sisters, Alona and Kateryna, defeated 6th seeds Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, 6-3, 4-6, 11-9. Alona also won her first round singles match against Olga Govortsova, but Kateryna lost hers to Virginie Razzano.

Defending champions out in first round in Melbourne

Defending champions and 4th seeds Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko did not make it through the first round in this year's Australian Open. Gisela Dulko and Roberta Vinci defeated them 6-2, 7-5. There won't be any hilarious interviews this year.