Mattek and Uhlirova win Amelia Island

Bethanie Mattek and Vladmira Uhlirova have won the doubles championship in Amelia Island, defeating Victoria Azarenka and Elena Vesnina, 6-3, 6-1.

Mattek, by the way, has a wild card into the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.

Sharavpova wins Amelia Island

Maria Sharapova won her first clay court tournament in Amelia Island today. It helped that her opponent, Dominika Cibulkova, served poorly and developed an injury mid-match. During the first set, Cibulkova compensated for her weak service game by playing outstanding defensive tennis. In the second set, however, she developed a thigh strain, and her movement was visibly hampered. She also began making more errors. Serving at 2-5 in the second and realizing she could no longer move as well as she had before--Cibulkova willed herself to serve better, and reeled off a series of excellent serves.

It was too late, though, and Sharapova won the match on her next serve.

Sharapova def. Cibulkova, 7-6, 6-3

Medina Garrigues takes Sharapova to the brink

Clay specialist Anabel Medina Garrigues took Maria Sharapova to a tight third set in Amelia Island today. Sharapova won, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, but it was a struggle.

Medina Garrigues is a tough competitor who always hangs in until the last point. Last year in Charleston, she took out Li Na, and--had she used better judgment--she most likely would have overcome Venus Williams, also. Medina Garrigues repeatedly set up winners against Williams, but then would make bad decisions and not follow through properly.

Sharapova's next opponent is Alona Bondarenko, who defeated Dinara Safina, 7-6, 0-6, 7-5.

Mauresmo fights past Radwanska--a good sign

I like this scoreline: 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6). Yes, it is close, but it also indicates that Amelie Mauresmo hung tough and stayed in the fight, which helped her to overcome a challenge by Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round at Amelia Island. Coming through this match cannot help but give Mauresmo some badly needed confidence.

Each player was broken five times.

And this was Mauresmo's 500th career win!

Black and Huber out in first round at Amelia Island

Tatiana Poutchek and Anastasia Rodionova have defeated number one seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the first round of the Bausch and Lomb Championships. 7-5, 6-2. Next, they will play Victoria Azarenka and Elena Vesnina.

Hantuchova out of Amelia Island

The frequently injured Karolina Sprem defeated Daniela Hantuchova today in Amelia Island

Once upon a time, Karolina Sprem looked to have a lot of promise, but she became a magnet for injuries, and her career took a sharp turn downward. At this point, one is surprised if she shows up on a draw list. She made her presence known today, however, by taking out third seed Daniela Hantuchova in Amelia Island, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Sprem is a big hitter, and she delivered nine aces in today's match.

The Dominikater strikes again!

After I saw Dominika Cibulkova play in Charleston last year, I knew I was seeing someone special--at least on clay. I was right. Her latest success was to take Victoria Azarenko out of Amelia Island today in a knock-down, drag-out match that had Cibulkova playing catch-up the first two sets. She fought from a break behind to take the first set, and came within a hair of taking the second. The third opened with Azarenka's failure to convert repeated break points, and after Cibulkova finally held, she proceeded to break Azarenka. Then she held and broke again, but was broken back in the fifth game. Azarenka held, and then saved 3 game points on Cibulkova's serve, but could not break her. Cibulkova then broke Azarenka to win the match.

Talk about a super-tiebreak!

Mattek/Uhlirova def. Craybas/Krajicek, 5-7, 6-4, 21-19

A Preview of Amelia Island

The Bausch and Lomb Championships begin tomorrow, with Maria Sharapova in the same quarter with Dinara Safina, Alona Bondarenko, Anabel Medina Garrigues, and Caroline Wozniacki. The Daniela Hantuchova quarter also includes Lindsay Davenport and Agnes Szavay. Sharing a quarter of the draw with Patty Schnyder and Marion Bartoli are Virginie Razzano, Sybille Bammer and Alize Cornet. The last--and most interesting--quarter features Agnieszka Radwanska, Anna Chakvetadze, Amelie Mauresmo, and Victoria Azarenko, in addition to some potentially dangerous young players: Dominika Cibulkova, Sara Errani and Sorana Cirstea.

Sharapova is the top seed, of course, and Davenport and Mauresmo are past champions--Davenport has won the tournament three times (one of the more interesting finals of recent years was the 2005 contest between Davenport and Silvia Farina Elia, whose use of an expert clay trick bag confounded Davenport to no end, yet Davenport still found a way to win).

Withdrawn from the tournament are defending champion Tatiana Golovin, defending finalist and 2006 champion Nadia Petrova, Venus Williams, Elena Dementieva, and Vera Zvonareva.

Williams and Zvonareva out of Amelia Island

Both Venus Williams and Vera Zvonareva have withdrawn from Amelia Island--I do not know why. Of course, this means they may also withdraw from Charleston. Charleston has already lost Sam Stosur, Tatiana Golovin and Nadia Petrova to illness and injury, and may also lose Elena Dementieva, who has also withdrawn from Amelia Island.

Dementieva out, Hantuchova in

Elena Dementieva has had to withdraw from next week's tournament in Amelia Island. She is replaced by Daniela Hantuchova.

Mauresmo to play in Amelia Island

Nadia Petrova, suffering with a torn quad muscle, has withdrawn from the Bausch and* Lomb Championships, and will be replaced by Amelie Mauresmo. Petrova has also withdrawn from the Family Circle Cup. Perhaps Mauresmo would like to play in Charleston, too? She was entered last year, but had to withdraw because of her illness. Petrova won the Family Circle Cup in 2006, but did not enter in 2007. She won in Amelie Island in 2006 and was the finalist in 2007.

*Blogger is suddenly forbidding the use of an ampersand.