Azarenka wins Marbella championship

Miami champion Victoria Azarenka, seeded number 1 at the Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella, won the championship today by defeating surprise finalist Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-2. Begu was a qualifier who upset the 6th and 2nd seeds on her way to the final.

Azarenka will enter the top 5 next week.

The doubles title was won by 3rd seeds Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja. They defeated top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.

Kuznetsova upset in Marbella

Today in Marbella, qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu upset 2nd seed (and wild card) Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the semifinals. Begu upset 6th seed Klara Zakopalova in straight sets in the quarterfinals. The Romanian 20-year-old is currently ranked number 138 in the world.

Also winning today was top seed Victoria Azarenka, who defeated 8th seed Sara Errani 6-2, 6-1.

Back injury forces Safina to retire in Marbella

The lower back problem that kept Dinara Safina off the tour for a long time returned today in Marbella. The former world number 1 had to retire against Victoria Azarenka in the first set of their quarterfinal match. Safina's back injury was originally suspected to be career-threatening, and she had to leave the tour twice because of it. She has since struggled to make a comeback, and was given a wild card to play in Marbella.

Italians sweep Marbella

Flavia Pennetta won her ninth Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title today in Marbella, defeating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Pennetta was seeded 2nd at the event.

The team of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci won the doubles championship. The 3rd-seeded Italians defeated Yaroslava Shvedova and Maria Kondratieva 6-4, 6-2.

Pennetta and Suarez Navarro to compete for Marbella championship

1st seed Flavia Pennetta defeated Sara Errani 6-1, 6-1 today in the semifinals in Marbella, and will play 8th seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the final. Suarez Navarro defeated 5th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.

In doubles, top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci will play Maria Kondratieva and Yaroslava Shvedova for the championship.

Semifinals set in Marbella and Ponte Vedra Beach

Top seed Victoria Azarenka retired in the Marbella semifinals today because of a left thigh strain. The beneficiary was 5th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Martinez Sanchez will play 8th seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the semifinals. In the other semifinal, Sara Errani will play 2nd seed Flavia Pennetta.

In Ponte Vedra Beach, 1st seed and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki is set to play 4th seed Elena Vesnina in the semifinals, and 3rd seed Dominika Cibulkova will play Olga Govortsova.

Clijsters upset in Marbella

Yesterday, in the first round, Marbella 3rd seed Kim Clijsters had a hard time defeating Alexandra Dulgheru. Today, she was upset 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 by Beatriz Garcia Vidagany. Clijsters had poor second serve results and double-faulted 8 times.

Also upset was 7th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, who was defeated 6-1, 7-6 by Sara Errani.

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.

Paszek and Larcher De Brito out of 1st round qualifying in Marbella and Ponte Vedra Beach

Seeded 4th in qualifying, Michelle Larcher De Brito made an early exit from Ponte Vedra Beach today when she was defeated in the first qualifying round by Anna Tatishvili. Tatishvili won no games in the first set, but won the second and third, 6-4 7-5.

The 3rd qualifying seed, Sharon Fichman, was defeated 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 by Sesil Karatantcheva.

Meanwhile, in Marbella, 4th-seeded Masa Zec Peskiric defeated Tamira Paszek 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of qualifying.

Jankovic wins Marbella, Wozniacki wins Ponte Vedra Beach

Jelena Jankovic has won her first tournament of the season. She defeated Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Jankovic was the second seed, but became the top participating seed when Serena Williams withdrew. The doubles title was won by 2nd seeds Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska. They defeated top seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-3, 6-3.

In Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Caroline Wozniacki--who suffered from illness during her semifinal match--defeated Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-2. The top doubles seeds lost in this final, too. Kveta Peschke and Lisa Raymond were defeated 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 by the unseeded team of Chuang Chia-Jung and Sania Mirza.

Serena upset in Marbella

I have no idea why Serena Williams went to Marbella, Spain to play in the Andalucia Tennis Experience. She had two injuries--her thigh and her ankle--yet she insisted on going. It wasn't worth the travel stress--she went out to Klara Zakopalova in the first round today, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

I now expect Williams to withdraw from Charleston, where she is the defending champion. Makes no sense. And on April 20, she will lose her number 1 ranking to Dinara Safina.

In other Marbella news, Roberta Vinci defeated Nicole Vaidisova in straight sets, and Anabel Medina Garrigues defeated her doubles partner--Virginia Ruano Pascual.

Jankovic gets past first clay court expert

Even when Jankovic is playing at her best, a 6-2, 6-1 scoreline against Francesca Schiavone on clay would seem a bit odd. But the wind was blowing in Marbella today, and few can play in wind as well as Jankovic. The second seed is on course to meet either Sara Errani or Anabel Medina Garrigues in the third round, and--given her recent problems--either of those players, and especially Medina Garrigues--could spell trouble for her.

All about the Andalucia Tennis Experience

The Andalucia Tennis Experience, Spain's new Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament, will premiere in April. You can read about this clay court tournament here, and get more information from and about tournament director Conchita Martinez here.