Peng wins gold at Asian Games

Peng Shuai has won the gold medal in singles at the 2010 Asian Games. Peng defeated Akgul Amanmuradova 7-5, 6-2 in the final. China had already won the team gold medal.

The gold medal winners in doubles are Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung, who used to be a force on the tour before they began playing with other parnters. Chan and Chuang defeated Chang Kai-Chen and Hsieh Su-Wei 7-5, 6-3, meaning that both gold and silver belong to players from Chinese Taipei.

Chan, with partner Yang Tsung-Hua, also won the gold medal in mixed doubles. Chan and Yang defeated Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan 4-6, 6-1, 10-2. They were the second seeds.

Peng and Amanmuradova to play in Asian Games final

Akgul Amanmuradova and Sania Mirza played for 2 hours and 49 minutes in their Asian Games semifinal match, and Amanmuradova emerged the winner with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. The third seed will play Peng Shuai, who is seeded fourth, in the final. Peng defeated Kimiko Date Krumm 7-6, 3-6, 6-2. Date Krumm, who won the Games in 1994, had problems with her serve, and she was also somewhat tired, she said later; she credited the crowd with pushing her to the third set. The former gold medal winner hit 59 winners and made 73 unforced errors.

Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung, formerly a highly-ranked team on the WTA tour, got back together for the Asian Games, and have made it to the doubles final. Their opponents will be Chang Kai-Chen and Hsieh Su-Wei. Chan will also play in the mixed doubles final. She and Yang Tsung-Hua will compete against Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan.

Mirza advances to Asian Games semifinals

Sania Mirza has advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Games by upsetting 2nd seed Tammy Tanasugarn 6-2, 6-3. Her next opponent will be 3rd seed Akgul Amanmuradova. Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan also advanced to the mixed doubles semifinals.

Mirza won the silver medal in singles in the 2006 Asian Games; Zheng Jie won the gold. Mirza and Leander Paes won the 2006 gold medal in mixed doubles.

Miscellany

Matt Cronin says the Williams sisters are headed toward retirement.

Venus Williams says she is hoping to win some titles and has her mind on the Olympic Games. "Serena and I will have to be in the best shape of our lives for London. We have to be machines to play in three events. It's something like fourteen matches in eight days. We had better be ready."

Not surprisingly, Vera Zvonareva was recently presened with Russia's Female Tennis Player of the Year award.

James LaRosa says that Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic are still in the running to win majors, and that Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova are still in the running to attain career slams.

Sania Mirza has made it to both the singles quarterfinals and the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Asian Games. She defeated Zhang Shuai in the second round.

Edina Gallovits is getting married during the off-season.

Miscellany

Led by Li Na, the Chinese team has won the gold medal for team tennis competition at the Asian Games. Li, however, is not entered in the singles competition, and neither is Zheng Jie. The top seed is Kimiko Date Krumm, who won the competition in 1994.

Be sure to check out the final "Ms. Backspin" awards for 2010. Pour a cup of coffee and take your time--there's plenty to read, including stats you would probably never find on your own.

The Bondarenko sisters, at least for  now, have been removed--by mutual decision--from the roster of the Ukrainian Fed Cup team. Youngers players will compete for Ukraine, though Kateryna Bondarenko says that she and her sister may return to the team in the future.

Greg Garber and Pam Shriver say it's hard to pick the Player of the Year. Women Who Serve agrees.

"Tiger" Murphy will slice you.

"I just need to pack my racquets up and leave them alone somewhere, just not touch them for three weeks or something," says Vera Zvonareva, who reflects on her stellar season.