Petkovic talks about music

Bartoli retires, and Petkovic wins Strasbourg

Those who follow Marion Bartoli know that, as a tournament progresses, a retirement could come. It came today, in the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg. Top seed Bartoli had to stop playing because of a left thigh injury, and 2nd seed Andrea Petkovic won the match 6-4, 1-0. This is Petkovic's second WTA title. When the new rankings come out next week, she will be number 12 in the world.

4th seeds Akgul Amanmuradova and Chuang Chia-Jung won the doubles title by defeating 2nd seeds Natalie Grandin and Vladamira Uhlirova 6-4, 5-7, 10-2.

Bartoli and Petkovic to compete for Strasbourg title

Top seed Marion Bartoli advanced to the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg today by defeating three-time champion Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-2. Medina Garrigues' formerly slumping career has turned around recently, but she was stopped short in France by Bartoli. Medina Garrigues was seeded 7th in this year's tournament.

Bartoli will play 2nd seed Andrea Petkovic in the final. Petkovic defeated 6th seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted over two hours and 42 minutes.

Doubles 2nd seeds Natalie Grandin and Vladamira Uhlirova have also reached the Strasbourg final, in which they will play 4th seeds Akgul Amanmuradova and Chuang Chia-Jung.

Passing shots

Andrea Petkovic has hired Heinz Gunhardt on a part-time basis. Petar Popovic will continue to be her regular coach.

According to Matt Cronin, Caroline Wozniacki plans to hire Martina Navratilova as a consultant.

Hannah Wilks writes about Heather Watson.

Marion Bartoli has accepted a wild card into the Barcelona tournament, and is the top seed.

Victoria Azarenka, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury since before Fed Cup, reports that she hopes to be back on the court in Madrid.

Stosur goes to first semifinal of the season in Stuttgart

The phrases "Vera Zvonareva" and "broken racquet" go together in the lexicon of women's professional tennis, but today in Stuttgart, it was a case of Vera Zvonareva and broken strings. The 2nd seed's strings broke repeatedly, sometimes more than once during a game. At one point, she had to use her coach's racquet. And for the sixth time in a row, Stosur beat her. The 5th seed--who is again showing signs that clay is the surface on which she is most comfortable--won 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, and will play Julia Goerges in the semifinals.

Goerges, who is the last German standing, broke countrywoman Sabine Lisicki at 4-all in both the first and second set, and walked away with a 6-4, 6-4 win. She and Andrea Petkovic lost in the doubles quarterfinals, however. They were defeated in straight sets by wild cards Stosur and Licsicki.

A lot of people probably expected Andrea Petkovic to be the last German standing. On paper, she should be. The "old Petkovic" used to choke away leads, and--just when we thought she had been banished--she showed up today in Stuttgart. Petkovic was up 4-1, 40-0 in the first set, and somehow managed to lose it 4-6. After that, top seed Caroline Wozniacki simply took over; Petkovic won one game in the second set.

Wozniacki's opponent in the semifinals will be Agnieszka Radwanska. I really wanted to watch Radwanska's match against Kristina Barrois because I so enjoy both of their games. In the middle of the first set, though, I had to leave. Radwanska won, 7-5, 6-3.

Fed Cup miscellany

In order to determine the order of play against Ukraine in the Fed Cup World Cup play-offs, the Australian and Ukrainian teams enlisted the help of the Banks Rowing Club. Boats bearing the names of Ukrainian team members on their bows raced on the Yarra River in Melbourne. Olga Savchuk's boat won the race; hence, she played Jarmila Groth in the first rubber.

Erasmus Pelli, the vice-mayor of Lugano, hit some balls with Patty Schnyder during a "kidstennis" event held last week in observance of the Fed Cup play-offs.

Maria Sharapova has expressed interest in joining the Basketballers' Wives Club. The club was founded by Australian Fed Cup coach Nicole Bradtke, who actually said: "We're reasonably tall girls, so we need men with extra height. We can wear our high heels." Sorry, all you men who are under six feet tall--you're out of luck.

And, while we're on the subject of sexism, the Slovak Republic's Fed Cup team members were told by the master of ceremonies at the official dinner that they appeared to be part of a beauty contest as much as a tennis contest. The team members were then invited to parade in cat-walk fashion in front of all the guests. They declined.

As promised, Andrea Petkovic did not dance after she won her rubber against Christina McHale. The Petko Dance is really done.

Team USA has won the most Fed Cup titles--17--in history. However, if Melanie Oudin loses the first rubber on Sunday, the USA will be relegated to World Group II.

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.)

You make me feel like dancing

Today in Miami, Andrea Petkovic did what Daniela Hantuchova was not quite able to do--the 21st seed took number 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki out of the Sony Ericsson Open. Whereas Hantuchova (who has a history of problems closing big matches) couldn't hold her nerve, Petkovic had no problem in that area. She also had no problem hitting repeatedly to Wozniacki's forehand and moving way inside the baseline to take charge of Wozniacki's second serves.

The German player (known on this blog as Dance Party) said after the match that she went in with a solid plan, and she stuck with that plan, even after losing a set. Petkovic credits working out a game plan with her coach and staying on that plan as the reason she was able to defeat Wozniacki. The top seed held three set points on Petkovic's serve in the first set, but Petkovic saved them all, and went on to hold and break. This kind of mental resolve helped take the 21st seed to victory. "Most players think they can overpower Caroline," Petkovic said, "but that's the wrong approach. She brings every ball back. I mixed it up, and thankfully, it worked in the end."

After the match, Petkovic performed her customary boogie on the court, and she really had something to dance about; she is the first German player to reach the Miami quartefinals since Anke Huber did so ten years ago. Dance Party now faces 6th seed Jelena Jankovic, who defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-3 in the fourth round.

Passing shots

Andrea Petkovic, who is blogging from Indian Wells, recently had a 45-minute practice hit with Steffi Graf. Petkovic says she plans to "reinvent" herself.

You can now get to know Rebecca Marino.

News flash! Reuters has learned that Kim Clijsters balances motherhood with a career! Because women, like trained seals, have to "balance" everything.

Dinara Safina considered retiring from professional tennis after the Australian Open.

Getting a beating when you lose a set, getting slapped when you have a bad practice, seeing the father of one of your peers physically assaulted...some of the WTA's drama hasn't been the good kind.

Anna Chakvetadze, who passed out during her second round match in Dubai, retired today in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open because of dizziness.

World number 1 fights her way into Australian Open semifinals

It was obvious that Caroline Wozniacki got a lot more than she bargained for in her Melbourne quarterfinal match against 6th seed Francesca Schiavone. Schiavone wasn't expected to have any physical or mental energy left, but she came out blazing, and--using all of her beautiful signature slices and volleys--took the first set from a lackluster Wozniacki. Wozniacki, in fact, looked like she had an appointment somewhere else and needed to get away.

At the end of the first set, Wozniacki called for the trainer and came back with her thigh wrapped; later, between points, she would tear off all the tape. Schiavone, constantly moving forward and taking risks that usually paid off, went up 3-1, and then we knew that Wozniacki had to change something or she would be out of there in straight sets. She did. She became unusually aggressive, and began hitting winners with the precision for which she is known.

She had some help from her opponent, too. Serving at 4-3, Schiavone made all the right moves and did all the right things. She expertly set up four more winners, but instead, she produced four errors, and was broken at love. From that time on, Schiavone's ability to hit the lines was greatly reduced, as both her round of 16 match and a switched-on Wozniacki overtook her. Wozniacki won the second set, and broke Schiavone in the first game of the third set. The final set revealed a tired (no matter what she says) Schiavone who tried to end many of the points too soon, and got errors as a result.

Wozniacki served for the match at 5-2, but Schiavone went all out--just as she did against Svetlana Kuznetsova--and put on a performance that, for me, comprised the most memorable game in the match. She saved three match points and broke Wozniacki in a flurry of dazzling shot-making. It seemed too much to think that the Italian could go on much longer, though, and she couldn't: Wozniacki broke her in the next game, and claimed the match at 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 on her fourth match point.

It was a great set and a half for Schiavone, and a great set and a half for Wozniacki. Wozniacki really has to be pushed to play aggressively, but in this case, she was really up to the task.

The other quarterfinal was less dramatic. Andrea Petkovic went up 2-0 on Li Na, and then Li spun off six consecutive games. Petkovic, seeded number 30, broke early in the second match, too, but she ultimately could not stop the steady and accurate rhythm of Li's hitting; the 9th seed was just too good. Li defended her status as a semifinalist in 2010, and she made it look easy.

Li's semifinal opponent will be Wozniacki.

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.

Williams retires in 3rd round of Australian Open

She tried. Venus Williams came to Rod Laver Arena hoping, she said, "for some magic." "A lot of times when you play, you get that adrenalin and that blocks pain," Williams said to the press after her retirement at 0-1 in the third round in Melbourne. The 4th seed sustained a painful groin injury in the second round, but played through it. But after playing one game in which she was broken by Andrea Petkovic, Williams--while trying to return a serve--let out a cry of pain, and the match was over.

This is the first time in her long career that Williams has retired during a major. She came to the Australian Open after undergoing rehabilitation for her knee, and now--with only two matches played--she is out of competition again. Williams doesn't talk much about her injuries, but we can make a reasonable guess that this latest incident is going to require some special coping on her part.

It's also reasonable for fans to ask "How much longer?" Williams is 30, and she has always played a very physical game of tennis. She and her sister, Serena, have their eyes on the 2012 Olympic Games, which suddenly seem far away in time. Williams says she will not play again until she knows she is completely healthy. Williams is an accomplished person off of the courts, so she isn't going to slide into a state of boredom, which is a breeding ground for all kinds of bad things. I have no idea how much time will be involved in her recovery.

There were some "fans" in Melbourne who booed Williams when she retired. Jon Wertheim's reasonable guess is that these were the "party fans" who had no idea what had transpired in the second round; they didn't know that Williams was already injured. (He also points out that perhaps other players should have been given the night match.) Of course, I think the booing is inappropriate even if one didn't know about the second round occurrence. It is especially inappropriate when it is directed at a player who would rather go out bandaged from head to toe than retire from a match.

As for the rest of us--we'll just have to wait for the rehab reports. Andrea Petkovic will play Maria Sharapova in the next round. Petkovic got a walkover from Peng Shuai in the third round of the U.S. Open, but lost to eventual finalist Vera Zvonareva in the round of 16.

I don't feel like dancin'

No sir, no dancin' today

The Petkovic boogie is out, and the Zvonareva backhand is in. The 7th seed may have had a tiny bit of trouble with the wind, but she had practically no trouble with opponent Andrea Petkovic. Zvonareva broke Petkovic six times, hit eighteen winners, made ten of eleven volleys, and committed only fourteen unforced errors.

Petkovic, who possesses a big serve but doesn't always have it available for use, won on only 33% of her first serves. Toward the end of the match, she broke Zvonareva when the the 7th seed served for the match, but she was quickly broken back.

(In Zvonareva's post-match interview on ESPN, commentator Hannah Storm referred to Dominika Cibulkova as "inexperienced" in major tournaments. This statement, in one form or another, is just more of the usual. It's as if her semifinal run in last year's French Open never existed.)

After her first two wins, Petkovic put on an exhibition of dancing for the spectators. She was taken out 6-1, 6-2 tonight, so fans will have to wait to see what Petkovic's next moves will be.

Petkovic gets walkover to U.S. Open round of 16

Andrea Petkovic received a walkover in the third round of the U.S. Open today. Peng Shuai, who injured her wrist playing doubles, was not able to compete in the third round. Peng upset 9th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round. Peng, who is no stranger to injury, also missed quite a bit of time on the tour this season because of illness.

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.

Petrova out of U.S. Open

17th seed Nadia Petrova was defeated in the first round of the U.S. Open tonight by Andrea Petkovic. Petkovic is a streaky player whose fragile mentality often does her in, but she made it through a third set tiebreak in tonight's match. Petrova, who lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the New Haven final, called for the trainer several times during tonight's match.

The featured--and very late--night match on Tuesday was a pretty easy outing for top seed Caroline Wozniacki, who defeated wild card Chelsey Gullickson 6-1, 6-1. Gullickson, the 2010 NCAA singles champion,will probably make a decision soon about whether she will return to school (University of Georgia) or turn professional. (Darren Cahill's question, "Why would she return to college?" was more than I could take. Fortunately, Pam Shriver was as put off by it as I was.)

Pavlyuchenkova to play Vesnina in Istanbul final

3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated Jarmila Groth 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 in the Istanbul semifinals today, setting up a final against Elena Vesnina. Groth served for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but was broken.

The other semifinal, between Vesnina and Andrea Petkovic, has one of those strange scorelines you see from time to time: 1-6, 6-0, 7-6. Petkovic led 3-0 in the third set, but Vesnina caught up, and served for the match at 5-3. Petkovic broke her, and the match wound up in a tiebreak, which seemed just right, considering the odd course it had taken. Vesnina went up 5-0 before Petkovic even scored in the tiebreak, and eventually won it, 7-2.

The talented Vesnina has never won a tour title; Pavlyuchenkova has won one title.

Quote of the week

"Andrea Petkovic's father seems like a father type that we need to see more often on the tour. He's helping his daughter on and off court without forgetting that he should be there as a father first. I do like when parents are able to back off at times and let their 'little princesses' grow up by their own mistakes. So as a result, we see someone like Andrea Petkovic, who is not only a great tennis player but is also very intelligent and funny, and interested in different parts of life other than just tennis."

Ipek Senoglu

Petkovic upset in Bad Gastein

Top seed and defending champion Andrea Petkovic lost in the second round in Bad Gastein today. Petkovic was defeated 6-2, 7-5 by Alize Cornet, who was down 3-5 in the second set and saved three set points.

Also advancing were wild card Patricia May--who defeated 7th seed Tathiana Garbin--Julia Goerges, and Yvonne Meusburger.

The player party was held in Casino Bad Gastein; the photos are worth checking out.

Seeds upset in first round in both Slovenia and Bad Gastein

Top seed and defending champion Andrea Petkovic won her first round in Bad Gastein today, defeating Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-0, but 3rd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, 4th seed Klara Zakopalova, 5th seed Sybille Bammer, and 6th seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova were all upset.

Yesterday, in Bad Gastein, Mariya Koryttseva saved eight match points and defeated Tatjana Malek in a match that lasted almost three hours.

In Slovenia, hometown star Katarina Srebotnik got off to a good start by defeating Petra Martic 6-3, 6-1. Top seed Jelena Jankovic defeated countrywoman Bojana Jovanovski, but 2nd seed Petra Kvitova was upset by Stepanie Voegele. Also upset in the first round were 5th seed Dominika Cibulkova and 8th seed Sophia Arvidssson. Cibulkova lost in straight sets to Ksenia Pervak.

In first round play yesterday, Virginie Razzano made her post-injury return by defeating Zuzana Kucova.