King upsets Cibulkova at French Open

Though tennis commentators often seem to forget it, Dominika Cibulkova was a French Open semifinalist in 2009. She is a really fine clay court (and hard court) competitor who was seeded 22nd at this year's Open. She lost today in the first round, however, to Vania King. Cibulkova made twice as many unforced errors at King, who defeated her 6-7(10), 6-3, 6-2. The first set lasted an hour and 18 minutes.

Also going out in the first round was 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic, who has been suffering from wrist tendonitis. Ivanovic, the 20th seed, was defeated 7-6, 0-6, 6-2 by Johanna Larsson. Both ESPN commentators said they had never before seen Larsson play.

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova dragged 8th seed Li Na to three sets, but it was Li who advanced to the second round. Andrea Petkovic won a very competitive match (6-4, 7-6) against Bojana Jovanovski, and Charleston runner-up Elena Vesnina lost in three sets to Silvia Soler-Espinosa. Vesnina hit 53 winners to Soler-Espinosa's 35, but the Spaniard made only seven unforced errors in the match.

Passing shots

Ana Ivanovic has withdrawn from Marbella. She and Andrea Petkovic have also withdrawn from doubles in Miami.

Today is Sam Stosur's birthday. The defending champion was given a party in the Althea Gibson Clubhouse at the Family Circle Cup site. Also on the site is Patty Schnyder, who has begun practicing.

The Charleston qualifying field includes Sania Mirza, Heather Watson, Sloane Stephens, Coco Vandeweghe, Irina Falconi, Michelle Larcher De Brito, Jamie Hampton, and Alison Riske.

Greg Garber writes about Victoria Azarenka.

WTA Backspin looks back at some special players.

"I lost a match. It happens. If she had a plan, good for her," Caroline Wozniacki said of her loss to Andrea Petkovic in Miami.

It's time to get to know Noppawan Lertcheewakarn.

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.)

Bartoli and Wickmayer go to BNP Paribas Open semifinals

It wasn't easy for her, but Marion Bartoli became the first player to advance to the semifinals in Indian Wells today. Troubled by the heat, the 15th seed engaged with 19th seed Ana Ivanovic in a match that contained thirteen breaks serve, eight of which occurred in the second set. Bartoli said that the cooler weather in the first set definitely helped her, and in the second set, she just had to slow down and take her time. Bartoli is, of course, known for a certain degree of physical fragility; today, she fought through it and defeated Ivanovic 6-4, 7-6. Ivanovic, I should add, certainly wasn't the player she was in the previous round.

The second quarterfinal match was a more efficient affair. 23rd seed Yanina Wickmayer took control of the match right away, and never let go. She defeated 10th seed Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-3. Wickmayer had a solid 74/60 first and second serve win percentage.

In doubles quarterfinal play, 3rd seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova were defeated 6-4, 6-3 by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy. Also, 4th seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova were stunningly upset 6-1, 6-0 by Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska. (Last year, Daniela Hantuchova said that she was dropping doubles, but she has evidently changed her mind; you have to have a chart to keep up with who's who on the doubles teams.)

Ivanovic withdraws from Doha

Ana Ivanovic has withdrawn from the Qatar Ladies Open, which begins next week. Ivanovic is experiencing a recurrence of the abdominal muscle injury she sustained in Australia.

Ivanovic is currently without a coach, and reports that she doesn't want to rush into hiring one.

(Petra Kvitova is also experiencing an abdominal muscle problem which, one hopes, will be healed by rest. She is scheduled to play in Doha.)

Passing shots

Ana Ivanovic has already parted ways with new coach Antonio van Grichen. Ivanovic says her plan is to hire a full-time hitting partner while she shops for a coach. van Grichen, who formerly coached both Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva, had been working with Ivanovic only since the off-season.

Meanwhile, Galina Voskoboeva has returned to the tour and has a new coach--recently retired WTA player Alina Jidkova. Voskoboeva defeated Sania Mirza, the number 1 qualifying seed, in Pattaya City, and is into the second round with a defeat of Romina Oprandi.

Li Na has signed a deal with ice cream company Haagen-Dazs, and is set to sign one with Rolex.

Petra Kvitova is blogging from Paris.

Lisa Raymond is now writing a regular blog, Lisa's Spin, for the WTA Tour.

Passing shots

According to the Marion Bartoli Fan Blog (I know updating is inevitable, but I really miss "Looking For a Cult Hero?"!), Bartoli's calf tear, which she sustained in Melbourne, is pretty serious. There is a lot of interesting information on this page, about Bartoli's injury, the nature of calf tears, and some history and other miscellaneous information--all worth reading.

Beatrice Capra has signed a letter of intent to play for Duke University's tennis team.

Andrea Petkovic and Kevin Rolland--separated at birth?

Elena Dementieva recently participated in an exhibition in Moscow for the benefit of children's homes and orphanages. Former tour player Elena Likhovtseva participated, also.

I just realized something: Katarina Srebotnik, Nenad Zimonjic's usual mixed doubles partner, stepped aside at the Australian Open so that Zimonjic and Ana Ivanovic could play together in preparation for the Olympic Games. Srebotnik played instead with Daniel Nestor (who, until recently, was Zimonjic's men's doubles partner), but Zimonjic wound up playing mixed with Maria Kirilenko. Does anyone know what transpired?

Hopman Cup injury update

Ana Ivanovic has withdrawn from the Medibank International in Sydney because of a strained abdominal muscle. Ivanovic pulled the muscle when she played her match against Justine Henin during Hopman Cup competition. This also means that Serbia, scheduled to play in the Hopman Cup final, will be replaced by Belgium. Belgium's opponent will be team USA.

Also hurt during Hopman Cup play was Francesca Schiavone, who sustained a groin injury during her match against Kristina Mladenovic.

Yaroslava Shvedova, who injured her right knee in Perth, has already announced that she is out of the Australian Open.

Serbia expected to play in Hopman Cup final

Serbia's Hopman Cup team, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic, have gone undefeated so far in Hopman Cup competition. Serbia has won all three rubbers against both Australia and Kazakhstan, and will face the team from Belgium next. Belgium, however, would have to win all three rubbers in order to keep Group A team Serbia out of the final, and that isn't likely to happen.

Group B consists of Italy, France, Great Britain, and the USA. In women's singles, the USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands has defeated both Kristina Mladenovic of France and Italy's Francesca Schiavone. Mattek-Sands' defeat of Schiavone is her first top-10 win (though the Hopman Cup tournament is not part of the tour).

Kazakhstan waa originally represented by Yaroslava Shvedova, but she injured her right knee in the first rubber when she played Ivanovic, and she was replaced by Sesil Karatantcheva. Shvedova is currently in rehab for her knee injury.

Miscellany

Katarina Srebotnik will stand aside, and Ana Ivanovic will play mixed doubles with Nenad Zimonjic at the Australian Open. It is assumed that Ivanovic and Zimonjic will pair for the 2012 Olympic Games, and the Australian Open will give them a chance to compete as a team. According to Women's Tennis Blog, Zimonjic will resume playing with Srebotnik at the other three 2011 majors.

Jelena Jankovic underwent minor eye surgery on Thursday; her stitches will be removed in about a week.

"Your matches were never boring...." That's one (and perhaps my favorite) of the many things fans said to Elena Dementieva after she announced her retirement.

Anastasia Rodionova recently relaxed for a couple of days at Port Sea with Cara Black and her husband.

Daniela Hantuchova spent some time in Hungary, where she did a photo shoot for a calendar to support her work for House of the Smile, a hospital in Cambodia for children with HIV.

Ivanovic wins Bali championship

Ana Ivanovic won the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions today, defeating Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 7-6. With this result, Ivanovic will enter the top 20 again.

A match to determine third place was also played, and that distinction was earned by Kimiko Date Krumm, who defeated Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 7-5. Date Krumm now goes to the Asian Games, which begin November 12 in Guangzhou.

Ivanovic and Kleybanova to meet in Bali final

The two wild cards at the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions were sent packing today in the semifinals--both taken out by the only two unseeded players in the small tournament. Ana Ivanovic defeated Kimiko Date Krumm 7-5, 6-7, 6-2 in a contest that delighted spectators, and Alisa Kleybanova defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1.

Ivanovic (whose birthday is today) and Kleybanova are 3-3 against each other, with Ivanovic winning the last two times they met. Ivanovic, a former world number 1, is currently ranked number 24 in the world. Kleybanova is ranked number 27.

Seeds 1 and 3 out in Bali

Top seed Li Na went out in the quarterfinals of the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions today. Li was defeated 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 by wild card Kimiko Date Krumm. Also going out was 3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. It took Ana Ivanovic just over 56 minutes to defeat Pavlyuchenkova 6-0, 6-1.

Pavlyuchenkova, as is often the case, had problems with her serve. The talented young Russian's serve is inconsistent, and she will need to do something about it if she wants to continue to go up the rankings.

Ivanovic parts ways with Gunthardt

Ana Ivanovic says she needs a full-time coach, and will therefore stop working with Heinz Gunthardt, under whose guidance the 2008 French Open champion began to get her old form back. Gunthardt, who is also lead commentator for Swiss television, will work with Ivanovic through the China Open.

Gunthardt began working with Ivanovic in February of this year, but he has made it clear that he cannot travel with her on a full-time basis.

Ivanovic wins championship in Linz

Ana Ivanovic won her first title in two years today, defeating Patty Schnyder 6-1, 6-2 in the final of the Generali Ladies Linz. Finals, unfortunately, have been Schnyder's undoing for much of her career, and today was no different.

Ivanovic, who was seeded 7th, won the Linz title in 2008. Until recently, she has struggled with both her serve and her confidence. Before her problems began, Ivanovic won the 2008 French Open.

2nd seeds Renata Voracova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova won the doubles title. They defeated top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 7-5, 7-6.

Schnyder and Ivanovic to meet in Linz fnal

She did it the hard way (or, as one commentator said, "just another day at the office for Patty"), but Patty Schnyder reached her third Linz final today by defeating 6th seed Andra Petkovic in the semifinals. Schnyder won the first set, then went up a break in the second, but Petkovic suddenly found more of a comfort level in the match and caught up. She broke Schnyder again and took the second set. Carrying her momentum into the last set, Petkovic looked fresh, while Schnyder--whose signature drop shot failed her again and again--appeared to stumble.

Somehow, though, the Swiss veteran stayed in the match, though it was not as easy for her to hold her serve as it had been earlier. She looked like she was about to tumble out in the latter half of the set, but a break back followed by a very difficult hold kept her in. She saved two match points, then broke Petkovic at 5-6, and--while fans very likely were holding their collective breath, wondering if Patty could close--she surprised perhaps even herself by immediately going up 40-0. On her second match point, Schnyder won the whole thing 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

Schnyder's opponent in the final will be 7th seed Ana Ivanovic, who defeated Roberta Vinci 6-3, 7-5. Vinci probably could have done more to confound Ivanovic, but was a bit flat. Nevertheless, it was another occasion in which Ivanovic showed fans that her serve is definitely back. For emphasis, she hit eight aces.

Rules are part of the job

Recently, Caroline Wozniacki got into an extended argument with an umpire for the simple reason that the Danish player was not adequately familliar with the hindrance rules. Yesterday, Ana Ivanovic was surprised to have points docked when she was given a bathroom break after she served, and that break extended beyond the time allowed for leaving the court. Again, she was not familiar enough with the rules. In Ivanovic's case, I think she would have probably chosen to have the points docked, anyway, but the issue here is that she was so surprised to find that the score had changed.

There are a lot of rules in tennis, and--while the average player might be expected to experience confusion over some of them from time to time--it would seem that professional players would be able to recite them easily. (There are also fans who might consider checking the rules before they launch into diatribes about umpires. It is not an umpire's job to educate players on the rules of the game.)

The elders gather

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had an elbow problem during her U.S. Open round of 16 match, but she had an even bigger Italian problem: French Open champion Francesca Schiavone sliced, spun, and out-served the Russian, and won the match 6-3, 6-0 in just an hour and eight minutes. 19-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, the highest-ranking teenager on the tour, has had a variety of physical problems lately--her hip, shoulder and arm have all given her given her trouble. Today, she said, the arm pain spread to her elbow. The 30-year-old Schiavone, who is seeded 6th, used her signature one-handed backhand to keep 20th-seeded Pavlyuchenkova on the run, and set up a number of volleys, which she executed with style.

Schiavone will face another volleying 30-year-old in the quarterfinals. Venus Williams, the tournament's 3rd seed, faced one of the tour's biggest fighters, Shahar Peer, today. The first set was all about breaks of serve. Williams had trouble getting her first serve in, and Peer was keen to take advantage of this. They played some great rallies, and produced an outstanding game when Peer served at 5-6. Earlier in the set, she had come back to hold after being down 0-40, and she did it again in this crucial game. She double-faulted for the first time when she reached the 5th deuce, but hung on. On the 7th deuce point, Peer stretched out for a winning volley, and followed it with a winning forehand down the line. (It was Peer's forehand, in fact, that helped her compete with Williams throughout the match.)

Williams dominated the tiebreak, won it 7-3, then went up 2-0 right away in the second set. And though she was broken in the latter part of that set, she put on a display of volleying that left Peer behind. Williams, who won 20 of 26 net points, defeated Peer 7-6, 6-3, giving her a 6-0 record against the 16th seed. The 3rd seed did not appear to be troubled by her knee, but perhaps was troubled by the wind when she served. 

There was one other daytime round of 16 match, and it lasted only 59 minutes. Defending champion Kim Clijsters broke Ana Ivanovic six times and defeated her 6-2, 6-1. Ivanovic had trouble with her ball toss again, and held serve only once. She made 28 unforced errors, and did not display the improvement we've seen from her in the last few weeks. 

In the quarterfinals, Clijsters will play the winner of the Sam Stosur-Elena Dementieva match.

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

To enjoy the U.S. Open even more, you can enter the Match of the Day contest Tennis Now is sponsoring. Predict the score of the featured U.S. Open match, and compete to win a $50 gift card from Tennis Express. And while you're at Tennis Now, you can also enter to win three nights and two days in Miami while you attend the Sony Ericsson Open in March.

There is so much wrong with the ideas promoted in this article in the New York Times, I don't know where to begin. Fortunately, I don't have to, because After Atalanta has said just about everything I want to say. I'm pleased that Gigi Fernandez has children, but the oppressive tone of her comments (passively promoted by the writer) is worrisome. She also seems to have been "shocked" by discovering fairly standard biological realities, and her cautionary message is far more judgmental and needlessly guilt-oriented than it is helpful. (Update: Fernandez has responded to the After Atlalanta post, further explaining some of the difficulties involved in her goal to have children. I respect what she went through, but the tone of the article is nevertheless one that reflects the usual "warnings" our culture gives to female athletes who dare to compete at a top level for more than a few years.)

Just another reminder that Unmatched will premiere on ESPN's "30 for 30" on Tuesday, September 14 at 8 p.m. EST. The documentary covers the rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, which is the greatest sports rivalry of all time. (Make sure you read The Rivals, too.)

I'm liking Sam Stosur's front-pleat purple Lacoste dress with the white trim. I also like the Addidas dress that Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic are wearing.

I can handle only a small portion of Andrea Petkovic's frenzied, and sometimes tangential, prose. But if you enjoy it, you should know that she's blogging for ESPN.

Lindsay Davenport says that the courts are too fast and the wind too strong for top seed Caroline Wozniacki to win the U.S. Open this year.

Now is a good time to get to know Mandy Minella.