Davenport & Huber win Stanford

Wild cards Lindsay Davenport and Liezel Huber defeated 2nd seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie in a close final today in Stanford. The two-hour, seven-minute match ended with a 7-5, 6-7, 10-8 victory for the wild cards. Chan and Zheng led 7-5 at one point in the super-tiebreak.

Eleni Daniilidou and Jasmin Woehr won the doubles title in Istanbul, upsetting top seeds Maria Kondratieva and Vladimira Uhlirova 6-4, 1-6, 11-9.

Azarenka wins Stanford title

Hampered by both leg and hamstring injuries for much of this season, Victoria Azarenka showed this week that she is healthy once more. Today, she defeated an obviously tired Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the Bank of the West Classic.

Sharapova looked good in the first set, though she had a hard time getting a good second serve in. The pair traded fierce groundstrokes, and produced five breaks of serve. It looked as though the final could last a long time, but in the second set, it quickly became evident that Sharapova was running out of energy. She was broken three times by Azarenka, though there were moments when the 5th seed found her best serve and gave hope to fans that she might rally. It was Azarenka, though, who found inspiring serves when she most needed them.

Azarenka, playing with a wild card and seeded 8th, had a most impressive run in Stanford, defeating both defending champion Marion Bartoli and 1st seed Sam Stosur. She celebrated her 21st birthday yesterday, and after her win today, told ESPN "I can have cake now."

Sharapova goes to Stanford final

Tonight in Stanford, 5th seed Maria Sharapova defeated 3rd seed Agnieszka Radwanska 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. As always, Radwanska was like a gnat that Sharapova kept swatting, but that would not go away.

It always frustrates me to watch the Polish number 1 because she has a clever, top-level game--one of my very favorites to watch--that is neutralized by her almost total lack of a second serve. In tonight's match, Radwanska stayed steady and let Sharapova make a number of errors. But the 5th seed slowly found her groove, and--though it took her five match points--won the match after a two-hour fight. Sharapova hit 40 winners and made 40 unforced errors, which pretty much says it all.

In tomorrow's final, Sharapova will play Victoria Azarenka (whom she has suddenly begun emulating by screaming when she misses a shot), the tournament's 8th seed, who is playing with a wild card.

Stanford semifinals a piece of cake for the birthday girl

"I think I just have long arms and long legs," Victoria Azarenka told ESPN today, when asked how she is able to so routinely and successfully return the serve of Sam Stosur. Azarenka, who turns 21 today, gave herself the gift of a straight sets win against Stosur in today's Stanford semifinals. Her 6-2, 6-3 victory over the tournament's top seed makes her 4-0 against Stosur, against whom she has yet to drop a set.

Yesterday, Azarenka defeated defending champion Marion Bartoli, and is now 4-0 against her, too. Azarenka has yet to lose a set to the Frenchwoman.

Azarenka has struggled for much of the season with injuries to both her leg and her hamstring muscle, but she has looked wonderful in Stanford this week. Though Stosur's heavy topsin and high-kicking balls do damage to the majority of players, Azarenka handles them with ease. Stosur, unfortunately, has now established a pattern in which she waits too long to increase her aggression in a match. That happened today against Azarenka, whose momentum was hard to stop.

Azarenka, seeded 8th in Stanford, has not won a title this year, but she has played in two finals. In tomorrow's final, she will play either Maria Sharapova or Agnieszka Radwanska.

Top seed Stosur advances to Stanford semifinals

There were dramatic reversals of fortune in the Stanford quarterfinals today. In defending champion Marion Bartoli's match against Victoria Azarenka, Bartoli could do almost nothing wrong for a set and a half. Serving well and hitting the laser-like returns of serve for which she is known, the 4th seed dominated Azarenka for some time. With Bartoli, though, you never know whether one of two things is going to occur--she could become injured, or her serve could go to pieces. Today, it was the latter. Even so, Bartoli was up 3-1 in the final set, but she had so much difficulty with her serve that 8th-seeded Azarenka was able to overcome her and win the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Azarenka is now 4-0 against Bartoli.

Azarenka's opponent in the semifinals will be top seed Sam Stosur, who faced a tough challenge from 7th seed Yanina Wickmayer. Both players served at a very high level during the first two sets. Stosur took the first one, 7-5, and Wickmayer won the second, 6-3. Wickmayer got off to an early lead in the third set. In fact, she led 2-0, 40-15, and then--in the course of four breaks of serve--Stosur edged ahead, taking the final set 6-3.

3rd seed Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Kirilenko played a tight first set, which Radwanska won, 7-5. In the second set, though, Kirilenko served poorly and did not win one game.

Pironkova out of Istanbul in 2nd round

Those of us who were hoping Tsvetana Pironkova's great Wimbledon run might help her turn a corner may have to wait. The 5th seed was defeated 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in Istanbul today by Anastasia Rodionnova.

Also advancing were 6th seed Andrea Petkovic (def. Ekaterina Makarova), Elena Vesnina (def. Stephanie Voegele) and Vera Dushevina (def. Anastasija Sevastova).

Meanwhile, in Stanford, top seed Samantha Stosur defeated qualifier Christina McHale 6-1, 7-5, and advanced to the third round.

Raymond and Stubbs upset in Stanford

The top-seeded doubles team in Stanford, Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs, were upset yesterday in the first round by Raquel Kops-Jones and Sarah Borwell. Kops-Jones and Borwell defeated the 1st seeds 6-0, 4-6, 12-10.

5th seed Maria Sharapova won a close (6-4, 7-5) match against Zheng Jie, and Melanie Oudin defeated 2008 Stanford champion Aleksandria Wozniak 6-7, 7-5, 6-3. Oudin was down 1-5 in the second set, and saved a match point, and she was also down 1-3 in the third.

Date Krumm defeats Safina in first round of Stanford play

The situation wasn't as dramatic this time: It wasn't the French Open, and Kimiko Date Krumm wasn't wincing in pain and forced to move on one leg. The outcome was the same, however. Last night, in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic, Date Krumm defeated the former world number 1 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2.

Safina led 5-4 in the second set, and appeared to be on her way to winning the match. Neither player was serving especially well, but Kimiko Date broke through to force a third set, in which Safina did not hold serve one time.

Safina, who has had serious problems with her back for months, is currently ranked number 35 in the world.

Rain delays play in Istanbul

It rained in Istanbul today, but not before 4th seed Yaroslava Shvedova was defeated 6-4, 7-6 by Stephanie Voegele. Also advancing to the second round were 6th seed Andrea Petkovic and Vera Dushevina.

In Stanford, Jamie Hampton--who knocked Bethanie Mattek-Sands out of qualifying--got knocked out herself by countrywoman Christina McHale. 3rd seed Agnieszka Radwanska advanced to the second round, as did Dominika Cibulkova and Olga Govortsova. wild card Ana Ivanovic also moved to the second round, after defeating Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-2.

In Stanford doubles, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko defeated Yanina Wickmayer and Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 7-5.

Hampton takes Mattek-Sands out of Stanford qualifying

Jamie Hampton, who has been a dominant player on the ITF circuit this year, made it through the second round of Bank of the West qualifying today by defeating second qualifying seed Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 6-3.

Michelle Larcher De Brito and Alison Riske also lost in the second round. Larcher De Brito lost to the top seed, Chang Kai-Chen.

Also this weekend, Heather Watson won her second ITF title, a $25k tournament in Wrexham, Wales. Watson defeated Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-4.

1st rounds of interest in Stanford

The Bank of the West Classic, the first tournament in the U.S. Open Series, begins Monday, and there are a few first rounds of interest; indeed, there may be more once the qualifiers are placed. For now, here are some matches to watch:

Alisa Kleybanova vs. Ana Ivanovic: Ivanovic has a wild card for this event, and she didn't exactly get lucky, drawing Kleybanova in the first round. I have wondered before: How far could the Russian go if she were in a bit better shape and exercised more control over her shots? That question stands, but even at her current level, she can be a formidable opponent.

Melanie Oudin vs. Aleksandra Wozniak: They have played each other only once, in Charleston, and Oudin won decisively. Wozniack, a former Stanford champion, has regained some of her form, however, and this match could be close.

Shahar Peer (6)  vs. Daniela Hantuchova: This could be the "popcorn match" of the first round.

Kimiko Date Krumm vs. Dinara Safina: This is a match of interest because Date Krumm, in pain and with one functioning leg, took Safina out in the first round of the French Open.

Miscellany

Kim Clijsters defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 in the Brussels exhbition match that was supposed to have featured the "Best of Belgium," but was changed when Justine Henin had to withdraw because of an injury. I expected Yanina Wickmayer to be asked to step in, but instead, orgnanizers chose Williams. 35,681 spectators attended the match, the biggest crowd ever to attend a tennis event.

Dinara Safina is back on the court. She and Victoria Azarenka have been given wild cards into the Bank of the West Classic.

Not surprisingly, Maria Sharapova--who has long had a say in her own Nike dress designs--has decided to design tennis clothes for the rest of us.

Tennis Channel will broadcast the men's and women's finals of the U.S. Open National Playoffs. The men's final will be held on July 25, and the women's final will be held on August 1. The winners receive wild cards into U.S. Open qualifying.

The World Team Tennis finals will also take place on July 25.

Melanie Oudin will play in Stanford, San Diego and Cincinatti.

Alona Bondarenko married her coach, Nikolay Dyachok, on Thursday. The wedding reception was held today, and the couple is then off to a honeymoon in Crete.

Williams sisters win Stanford doubles title

Venus and Serena Williams won the Stanford doubles championship today, defeating unseeded Chan Yung-Jan and Monica Niculescu 6-4, 6-1. The Williams team was seeded number 2.

Bartoli avoids 6-0, 6-1--defeats Venus to win Stanford

Last night, after her semifinal victory over Samantha Stosur, Marion Bartoli--when asked what she planned for the final against Venus Williams--said her first goal was "to avoid 6-0, 6-1," the scoreline of Williams' semifinal match against Elena Dementieva. No worries. Bartoli played the kind of tennis of which she is capable, but which she does not always create. The 3-hour match was everything a final should be--exciting, exhausting, filled with brilliant shot-making, and filled with some odd detours.

One struggled with her serves, the other struggled with her nerves.

2nd seed Venus Williams, whose first serve is one of the best on the tour, had two problems: She was not getting her first serve in nearly as much as she needed to, and she was playing Bartoli, who really doesn't care how good her opponent's first serve is. To some extent, today's match was a repeat of Bartoli's semifinal match: The 8th seed was content to let her opponent hit a multitude of winners while she went about the business of running down every imaginable shot, over and over, until her opponent made an error. The error-prone Williams was happy to oblige--way too many times.

But Bartoli, who was last year's finalist, had her own problems. After handily winning the first set 6-2, it looked as though she might cruise through the second, but Williams would not let her do that. When Bartoli served for the match at 5-3 in the second, she was visibly a bundle of nerves (ESPN commentators said she had told her coach, during the break, that she was excessively anxious), and was easily broken. Williams brought it to 5-all, held easily, then broke the still-unnerved Bartoli when she served to force a tiebreak.

Perhaps to the surprise of some, Bartoli opened the third round by breaking Williams, and then the final round see-saw was in place, with momentum going back and forth. Williams broke Bartoli to even the score at 3-all, but Bartoli broke again. Once again, it looked as though Bartoli might be able to win the match by breaking Williams when she served at 3-5, but again she was forced to serve for the match. With nerves intact this time around, she used her solid and inventive serve to seal the 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory.

From my viewer's standpoint, it appeared that Bartoli could have gone out to celebrate a lot sooner if she had used her down-the-line shot more often. When she did use it, she was successful, but there were several times in this match when she could have used it to win valuable points. The rallies became shorter as the match went on, but in the first two sets, some of them were long and outstanding. Bartoli is an expert returner of serve, and her own serve can be very good, as it was today.

I wish Bartoli would utilize her father, Walter, as a coach only, and hire a trainer who could keep her in shape without over-training her. I have always suspected that some of her injuries and fatigue are direct results of excessive and inappropriate training. Getting the Stanford title, however, should do wonders for her confidence. I hope so. I'm one fan who has waited a long time for a Bartoli victory of this caliber, in a final against someone as formidable as Williams.

Stanford: Bartoli defeats Stosur, Venus runs over Dementieva

It was satisfying to hear a commentator say that Marion Bartoli's court movement is deceptively good, because it is. Her defense against semifinal opponent Sam Stosur--much of it done on the run--was very impressive tonight. Bartoli broke Stosur twice in the first set and won it handily, but in the second set, she lost control of her serve. To make matters worse for her, Stosur became more aggressive and totally dominated her.

Momentum can swing so much in a tennis match, and for reaons I cannot really explain, I had a feeling that the third set would once again be the Marion Bartoli Show, and I was right. Breaking Stosur immedinately, Bartoli again found her own serve, and dominated Stosur as she herself had been dominated in the previous set. Stosur had to have a medical break for her back, which certainly must have contributed to her third set downfall, but Bartoli made a solid contribution, also, defeating Stosur 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. It should be noted that Stosur hit 43 winners to Bartoli's 16, but Bartoli's defense was just too good, and when things got tense, it was she who held her nerve.

This is the second year in a row that Bartoli has reached the Stanford finals. Her first goal for the final, she told and interviewer, is to "avoid 6-0, 6-1." That would be a reference to the score of Venus Williams' semifinal match against Elena Dementieva. It was a bit scary to watch the formidable and talented Dementieva stand helpless as Williams completely dominated her. This looked like the Venus Williams of several years ago, and one cannot help but wonder what the queen of grass courts has up her ELEVEN sleeve for the U.S. Open Series this year. Bartoli is wise to set a goal of not being obliterated by her 2007 Wimbledon final opponent.

Black & Huber upset in Stanford

Top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, the number 1 doubles team in the world, were upset in the Stanford quarterfinals last night by Chan Yung-Jan and Monica Niculescu. Chan and Niculescu will play Venus and Serena Williams in the final. The Williams sisters defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova, the team who took them out of the French Open.

Top seed out in Stanford quarterfinals

Number 1 seed Serena Williams met her match today in Stanford when she faced unseeded Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals. Williams and Stosur are two of the very best servers on the tour, and their skills were certainly on display during this match. When Stosur came back from her long illness time-out, I wondered what she would be able to do in singles. What she did was to retain her great serve and her volleying skills, but she added something she didn't have before--some mental toughness. Stosur used to melt away at tough moments, especially when she was leading, but we haven't seen that from her lately.

She made some strong comebacks in this match, which she won, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Williams saved some match points, but then lost the match on a double fault. Williams also had problems with her second serve, which is not characteristic of her.

Elena Dementieva also advanced to the Bank of the West semifinals today when she defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-4. Joining her was Venus Williams, who defeated Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2. Managing long rallies has never been Sharapova's greatest strength, and it was a decided weakness tonight against an aggressive and hard-hitting Williams.

Williams and Dementieva will compete against one another in the semifinals, as will Stosur and Marion Bartoli.

Bartoli saves 2 match points, goes on to win Stanford quarterfinal

If you like drama--and what tennis fan doesn't?--then the Stanford quarterfinal featuring 4th seed Jelena Jankovic and 8th seed Marion Bartoli was for you. There was a high level of play throughout much of the match, which featured some truly stunning rallies.

Jankovic dominated the first set, which she won, 6-3. The second set was closer, and Bartoli served for it at 5-4, but Jankovic saved Bartoli's only set point. Jankovic then held two match points when she served at 6-5, but Bartoli saved them both and broke to set up a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Jankovic immediately got a minibreak, but then Bartoli reeled off six straight points and won the tiebreak on her second set point.

In the third set, Bartoli--playing with both legs fully bandaged--looked even sharper, while more errors came off of Jankovic's racquet. In the end, Jankovic had hit many more winners than Bartoli, but the unforced errors did her in. Bartoli, who was last year's finalist, won the match on her second match point--3-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Williams and Bartoli win, despite spirited competition

Top Stanford seed Serena Williams faced a tough competitor in Melinda Czink today in Stanford, but she prevailed (while hitting 10 aces), 6-3, 7-6. Qualifier Melanie Oudin faced Marion Bartoli for the first time since Baroli beat her in Charleston. Bartoli won, 7-5, 6-4; Oudin's dismal second serve stats tell part of that story.

Sabine Lisicki just can't stop double-faulting. This is a trend on the tour, but not one Lisicki should follow. She has been double-faulting a lot since her injury and illness break. Fortunately, she also hits quite a few aces, but those aces should be giving her an edge, not just helping her compensate. Today in Stanford, she committed 11 double faults and hit 7 aces against Jelena Jankovic.

In the third set of that match, Jankovic was up 4-2, 30-0, but was broken. She broke Lisicki, however, when Lisicki served at 4-5, defeating her 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Petrova upset in Stanford

Fifth seed Nadia Petrova won only three games today in her second round Bank of the West Classic match against Maria Sharapova. Sharapova had services percentage stats of 60/81/52, and she served six aces; perhaps things are looking up for her.

Also making an exit was 7th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who was defeated by Daniela Hantuchova, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1.

In Istambul, 4th seed Aravane Rezai was upset by the ever-unpredictable Marta Domachowska, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.