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.

Kirilenko out of Osaka with hip injury

 The injuries just don't stop occurring. Today, 4th seed Maria Kirilenko retired in the second round of the HP Open. Kirilenko sustained a hip injury during her match, so Chang Kai-Chen, moves to the third round. Top seeds Sam Stosur and Marion Bartoli advanced to the next round, and Tammy Tanasugarn took out Coco Vandeweghe. The match, which Tanasugarn won 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, lasted over three hours.

Not surprisingly, Anastasia Rodionova retired in her first round of play in Linz. Rodionova suffered a strain of the left adductor; she played in all three tennis events last week at the Commonwealth Games, and won two gold medals and one silver.

Rodionova wins gold in Commonwealth Games women's doubles

Anastasia Rodionova was seeded first in women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Games, and she will leave the Games with two gold medals and one silver. Rodionova, who had already won the gold medal for singles play, also won the gold--with partner Sally Peers--in women's doubles. Rodionova and Peers defeated countrywomen Olivia Rogowska and Jessica Moore 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

Sania Mirza and Rushmi Chakvorthy won the bronze medal in women's doubles. They defeated countrywomen Nirupama Sanjeev and Poojashree Venkates.

Rodionova and partner Paul Hanley won silver in mixed doubles. They were defeated 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 in the final by the Scottish team of Colin Fleming and Jocelyn Rae. Fleming and Rae were down 0-4 in the first set and saved two set points before winning the tiebreak. The Scottish team upset 4th seeds Anna Smith and Ross Hutchins in the semifinals. Sarah Borwell and Ken Skupski defeated Smith and Hutchins to win the bronze medal in mixed doubles.

Rodionova wins singles gold at Commonwealth Games

Anastasia Rodionova of Australia, the top-seeded player in the 2010 Commonweath Games, won the gold medal today after defeating 2nd seed Sania Mirza 6-3, 2-6, 7-6.

The match began with five breaks of serve. With each player taking a set, Mirza served at 2-1 in the third, but was broken. Rodionova served for the match at 5-3, but Mirza broke her. Mirza then saved a match point on her own serve. The set eventually went to a tiebreak, and Rodionova won on her fourth match point, when Mirza double-faulted.

Sally Peers defeated Olivia Rogowska 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 to win the bronze medal.

Rodionova had to play against the crowd, which not only cheered wildly for Mirza, but which also enthusiastically cheered Rodionova's errors, and did not applaud her winners. All of Mirza'a matches in Delhi have been very noisy affairs.

Rodionova advances to Commonwealth Games final

Top seed Anastasia Rodionova has defeated countrywoman Sally Peers 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games women's singles. Rodionova will play Sania Mirza for the gold medal, and Peers will play Olivia Rogowska for the bronze.

Rodionova, with partner Paul Hanley, has also advanced to the mixed doubles final.

Rodionova in semifinals at Commonwealth Games

Top seed Anastasia Rodionova defeated Heather Watson yesterday and advanced to the Commonwealth Games semifinals; Rodionova also made it to the semifinals in mixed doubles. Sania Mirza also advanced to the semifinals.

The Games, held in Delhi, have been problematic from the outset. Prior to the start of the event, a footbridge collapsed and 27 people died. Two major structures collapsed, then a roof collapsed in the weightlifting arena. Members of a cricket team were wounded when their bus was attacked. Monsoons damaged the shooting range, and rain seeped through into the swimming pools. A swimmer was injured by tripping over a loose grill.

When the Games began, two cobras that popped up--one in the players' quarters, and one in a drain in a public area. Then a ceiling tile fell on someone's head at the media headquarters. Now, 15 swimmers have a stomach virus after swimming in the warmup pool.

This is the first time that tennis has ever been played at the Commonwealth Games, and the main attraction for the tennis competition is Sania Mirza, who is seeded as number 2.

Rodionova survives stomach cramps to advance to Commonwealth Games quarterfinals

Anastasia Rodionova, the top seed in women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Games, had some trouble with stomach cramps in the second round of singles play, but easily defeated Larikah Russell, 6-1, 6-3. Sania Mirza, Olivia Rogowska, Marina Erakovic and Sally Peers also advanced to the quarterfinals, but Katie O'Brien--struggling with a shoulder injury and hardly able to practice--did not. Mirza has also reached the women's doubles quarterfinals.

Heather Watson won her second round match and will play Rodionova in the quarterfinals.

Sarah Borwell and her partner defeated Watson and her partner in mixed doubles.

Australians win on first day of Commonwealth Games

Olivia Rogowska won her first round match at the Commonwealth Games today, defeating Scottish player Mhairi Brown 6-1, 6-2. Top seeds Anastasia Rodionova and Paul Hanley defeated Nirupama Sanjeev and Rohan Bopanna 6-3, 3,-6, 6-3.

Rodionova top seed in Commonwealth Games

Anastasia Rodionova is the number 1 seed in the women's singles draw of the first-ever tennis competition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which are taking place October 4-10 in Delhi. Sania Mirza is the number 2 seed. Both players have byes in the first round.

Rodionova and Sally Peers are the top seeds in women's doubles, and Rodionova and Paul Hanley are the top seeds in mixed doubles. Mirza will play with Leander Paes in the mixed doubles competition. Mirza and Paes are the 2nd seeds.

Miscellany

The Williams sisters are scheduled to play for team USA in the Fed Cup final in November. Serena previously said that she usually "cannot walk" by November, and Venus's knee is giving her trouble, so those who cheer for the USA will have to wait and see if the pair are healthy enough to compete.

Here is Bobby Chintapalli's interview with Vera Zvonareva.

Lindsay Davenport deconstructs Sam Stosur's kick serve (thanks to Forty Deuce for finding this).

You can get to know Coco Vandeweghe.

The tour's "Looking Back at a Legend" series continues with a feature on Margaret Court.

Sam Stosur has withdrawn from the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Anastasia Rodionova announced yesterday that she will play on the Australian team.

Miscellany

Kamakshi Tandon takes a thoughtful look at the tour's injury problem.

Women's Tennis Blog reports that EleVen is returning soon.

Here is an interview with Johanna Larsson.

Ana Ivanovic has been given a wild card to play in the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven.

Sweat a lot when you play? You're not alone.

Anastasia Rodionova and Cara Black will be doubles partners in Cincinnati.

Pironkova out of Istanbul in 2nd round

Those of us who were hoping Tsvetana Pironkova's great Wimbledon run might help her turn a corner may have to wait. The 5th seed was defeated 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in Istanbul today by Anastasia Rodionnova.

Also advancing were 6th seed Andrea Petkovic (def. Ekaterina Makarova), Elena Vesnina (def. Stephanie Voegele) and Vera Dushevina (def. Anastasija Sevastova).

Meanwhile, in Stanford, top seed Samantha Stosur defeated qualifier Christina McHale 6-1, 7-5, and advanced to the third round.

Top seed upset in Prague qualifying

Anastasia Rodionova, the top qualifying seed at the ECM Prague Open, lost today in the second round of qualifying to Tamira Paszek. Paszek defeated Rodionova 6-2, 6-2.

After having hip surgery in 2008 and then sustaining an ankle injury and torn leg muscle in 2009, the Russian-turned-Australian had to work hard to get back into the top 100. Her upset performances in the 2009 U.S. Open, the 2010 French Open, and the 2010 Wimbledon tournament took her to the third round in all three of those majors. Rodionova is currently ranked number 71 in the world.

Things haven't gone as well for Paszek, who was once hailed as a prodigy, but who has had significantly more downs than ups in her career. Paszek is currently ranked number 225 in the world.

Kudryattseva & Rodionova win Unicef Open championship

3rd seeds Alla Kudryattseva and Anastasia Rodionova won the Unicef Open doubles championship in 's-Hertogenbosch today. Kudryattseva and Rodionova defeated 4th seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova 3-6, 6-3, 10-6. They also eliminated the number 1 seeds in the semifinals.

In singles semifinal action, top seed and wild card Justine Henin defeated 5th seed Alexandra Dulgheru 6-2, 6-2, and 7th seed Andrea Petkovic defeated Kirsten Flipkens 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.

Top seeds defeated in 's-Hertogenbosch doubles semifinals

Top seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Anabel Medina Garrigues were defeated 7-6, 6-7, 10-8 today in the Unicef Open semifinals by 3rd seeds Alla Kudryattseva and Anastasia Rodionova. In the other semifinal, 4th seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova defeated Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-3.

In singles, top seed and wild card Justine Henin defeated Kristina Barrois, 5th seed Alexandra Dulgheru defeated Yaroslava Shvedova, Kirsten Flipkens defeated Dominika Cibulkova, and 7th seed Andrea Petkovic was victorious over qualifier Sandra Zahlavova. In the semifinals, Henin will play Dulgheru, and Flipkens will play Petkovic.

Defending champion out in 1st round of Unicef Open

Tammy Tanasugarn, the two-time defending champion in 's-Hertogenbosch, was defeated 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the first round today by qualifier Anastasia Rodionova. The brief grass season is generally the time when Tanasugarn has her best results.

6th seed Sara Errani and 8th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues were both upset in the first round, and top seed and wild card Justine Henin advanced to the second round with a win over Angelique Kerber.

Miscellany

Longines Future Tennis Aces Tournament, which featured 16 12-and-under players, was held at Roland Garros during the French Open. The winner of the girls' competition was Aleksandra Pospelova of Russia. The USA's Lauren Fishbein made it to the semifinals (and is shown in the photo with her tennnis idol, Serena Williams). Pospelova also played in a mixed doubles match with partner Gustavo Kuerten. Longines is the official timekeeper of the French Open.

Amelie Mauresmo has been added to Michael Llodra's team as an advisor during the grass court season.

Chris Evert will be inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame on August 16.

Anastasia Rodionova recently did a fashion shoot for Muze. (And I don't usually pass on this type of information, but it's being talked about, and--considering the players--I thought it was too funny not to mention that Rodionova and Aravane Rezai, who played each other in Birmingham, may be the first pair of players on the tour to get into it with each other--and with the umpire--during the warmup.)

Sania Mirza says she never said she would retire in two years. She says her remarks were misinterpreted by the press. Imagine that.

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.

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.

Miscellany

Anastasia Rodionova will participate for the first time as an Australian during the Fed Cup playoff taking place later this month. Australia will play Ukraine in Kharkiv. Also on the Australian team are Sam Stosur, Alicia Molik and Rennae Stubbs. Rodionova was born in Russian and played for Russia for several years.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and Sony Ericsson have launched SuperFans, a social media channel that aggregates the social media of all participating players. This is the first project of its kind in professional sports.

Serena Williams has asked organizers of the Italian Open to hold a wild card spot open for her. This year, the event will be played in a new 10,500-seat stadium.

Kim Clijsters has accepted a wild card into the tournament in Marbella.

Laura Robson says her suitcase is this big.

I miss Dinara. A lot.