Li hits her way into Australian Open quarterfinals

9th seed Li Na, one of last year's Australian Open semifinalists, demonstrated on Sunday why she is one of the players to beat for the Melbourne championship. Hitting with steady authority on both sides, and taking thoughtful care in her shot selection, Sydney champion Li managed 8th seed Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. The 6-3, 6-3 win was one of the most impressive on the women's side, so far. Li has become more aggressive than she used to be, but she's also leaving more margin for error than she used to. That's a nice combination.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki also won her round of 16 match in straight sets. Wozniacki defeated Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-4. As always, the Great Dane let her opponent hit more winners--and make many more errors.

And now we come to Maria Sharapova, who looked like she was in comeback mode in her excellent match against Julia Goerges. But the 14th seed hardly looked that way against Andrea Petkovic. In fact, Petkovic served for the match at 6-2, 5-1, but was broken. Sharapova held, and there was reason to believe that she about to fight her way back into the match. After all, Petkovic has been known to melt away at a big moment. The 30th seed, however, was able to close the set at 6-4 and advance to the quarterfinals. Sharapova made thirty unforced errors to Petkovic's nine, and--though she kept her double faults down to five--simply did not look like she was on a comeback path.

Stosur out in 1st round of China Open

Qualifier Anastasija Sevastova upset Beijing 4th seed Sam Stosur today. In a match in which Stosur held a match point, Sevastova prevailed, 2-6, 7-6, 7-5.

Stosur wasn't the only seed to exit in the first round. Qualifier Roberta Vinci upset defending champion and 10th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, Gisela Dulko defeated 14th seed Aravane Rezai, and Kaia Kanepi defeated 16th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Also defeated in the opening round were Flavia Pennetta, Yanina Wickmayer and Daniela Hantuchova. They  lost to Petra Kvitova, Dominika Cibulkova and Polona Hercog, respectively.

With first and second serve percentages of 26 and 8, the Bondarenko sisters won only one game against Chuang Chia-Jun and Olga Govortsova. It took Chuang and Govortsova only 45 minutes to win.

Sevastova wins first tour title in Estroril

Anastasija Sevastova won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title today, defeating Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2, 7-5. Sevasova is currently ranked number 74 in the world, and will be ranked higher when the new numbers are published next week. She is having a breakthrough season this year.

The top-seeded doubles team, Sorana Cirstea and Anabel Medina Garrigues, won the doubles title. In the final, they defeated Vitalia Diatchenko and Aurelie Vedy 6-1, 7-5.

Top seed out of Estoril in 1st round

Today in Estoril, Anastasija Sevastova upset top seed Agnes Szavay 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

It wasn't the only upset. Julia Goerges defeated 3rd seed Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-1, and Kirsten Flipkens defeated 8th seed Sybille Bammer 6-1, 6-3.

Of interest was the three hour and twelve minute match between Petra Martic and Kimiko Date Krumm. Date Krumm won it, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6. Date's comeback doesn't get the publicity that the top name comebacks get, but it is quite an impressive accomplishment, nonetheless.

There was also an upset in doubles play. Wild cards Michelle Larcher De Brito and Arantxa Rus defeated 4th seeds Jill Craybas and Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-1.

Unseeded Sevastova goes to Monterrey semifinals

Anastasija Sevastova, who is unseeded, defeated Alize Cornet (also unseeded) in the quarterfinals of the Monterrey Open tonight. Sevastova's 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory gives her an opportunity to compete against 3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals. Pavlyuchenkova defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-2.

Daniela Hantuchova, a wild card who is seeded 2nd, defeated Vania King 2-6, 6-2, 6-1. Hantuchova will face countrywoman Dominika Cibulkova in the semifinals. 4th seed and wild card Cibulkova defeated 5th seed Agnes Szavay 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Earth to JJ: Come back

When Jelena Jankovic accepted a wild card entry into the Monterrey Open, it appeared she might have an opportunity to get a confidence boost right before competing in the BNP Paribas Open. But tonight the top seed went out in the first round to Anastasija Sevastova, who defeated her 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Not to take anything away from Sevastova, whose game has apparently improved quite a bit, but this type of loss is just more of the same for the player so many of us thought was so riveting not that long ago. Jankovic used to be able to get just about anything back, and to turn defense into brilliant offense. Her serve needed work, and the irony here is that she actually improved it somewhat, only to see the rest of her game decrease in quality.

Whatever is wrong, here's hoping Jankovic finds a way to fix it, and to regain her confidence. She had a tough 2009, during which she experienced her mother's serious illness and her grandmother's death. Let's hope that the rest of 2010 goes better.

Top seed out in Guangzhou

Anastasija Sevastova defeated number 1 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues today, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, at the Guangzhou International Women's Open. Meanwhile, 3rd seed Peng Shuai advanced to the third round. Zheng Jie was seeded 2nd in the tournament, but withdrew because of a left wrist injury.