Passing shots

Flavia Pennetta is now co-ranked number 1 in the world in doubles, sharing the spot with partner Gisela Dulko, and achieving yet another "first" for Italian players.

Dinara Safina has won her first match since September. She defeated Han Xinyun 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of the Malaysian Open. Safina's victory broke a six-match losing streak.

Iveta Benesova is blogging from Monterrey.

Can sportswriters and reporters please stop writing "comeback" when they mean "come back" (the verb)?

Qualifier Anne Kremer, who upset Kimiko Date Krumm in the first round of the Malaysian Open, has advanced to the third round.

Aravane Rezai and Julia Goerges were both upset in the opening round of the Monterrey Open.

Laura Robson reports that she's now bowling with her right arm because her lefty spin created too many gutter balls.

Note to Bill Macatee...

Anne Kremer's career-high ranking of number 18 in the world hardly makes Luxembourg a country with "no tennis heritage."

Azarenka wins phenom showdown

Victoria Azarenka defeated Agnieszka Radwanska, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of the FORTIS Championships in Luxembourg today. The only other time the two young stars met was on grass in 2006, when Radwanska won a straight-sets match in the first round at Wimbledon.

Perhaps the most tightly contested of first-round matches also took place today, between Shahar Peer and Lucie Safarova. Safarova is an extremely talented player who sometimes suffers from inconsistency, a problem I hope she resolves in the near future. Peer took the match, 6-3, 6-3.

Wild card and veteran Anne Kremer, whose glory days are long over but who is playing in her home country, took out talented but streaky Michaella Krajicek, 6-3, 7-6, with a decisive 7-3 score in the tiebreak.