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.

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.

Chuang & Govortsova win Beijing title

Chuang Chia-Jung and Olga Govortsova, unseeded at the China Open, won the title today by defeating top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta 7-6, 1-6, 10-7. Chuang and Govortsova got off to a quick start and looked as though they might easily win the first set, but Dulko and Pennetta caught up and forced a tiebreak. Chuang and Govortsova won the tiebreak in the same quick fashion they had begun the match. However, they were able to win only one game in the second set. But they prevailed in the super-tiebreak, and denied Dulko and Pennetta a sixth title for the season.

Govortsova upsets Cibulkova and advances to Ponte Vedra Beach final

Olga Govortsova, unseeded at the MPS Group Championships, upset 3rd seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 7-5 in the semifinals today. Govortsova will play top seed and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in the final. Wozniacki defeated 4th seed Elena Vesnina 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the semifinals.

2nd seeds Chuang Chia-Jung and Peng Shuai will play number 1 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yan Zi in the final. 

Bondarenko wins Hobart

Alona Bondarenko won her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title today in Hobart. Bondarenko, seeded 4th, defeated 2nd seed Shahar Peer 6-2, 6-4.

To reach the final, Bondarenko defeated Lucie Safarova (by retirement), Alize Cornet, 7th seed Zheng Jie, and number 1 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Bondarenko is currently ranked number 32 in the world.

Chuang Chia-Jung and Kveta Peschke won the doubles final, defeating Chan Yung-Jan and Monica Niculescu 3-6, 6-3, 10-7. Both teams were unseeded.

At long last, Stosur wins a tournament

3rd seed Samantha Stosur, who had previously lost five Sony Ericsson WTA Tour finals, did better today in Osaka. Stosur defeated Francesca Schiavone (who has her own history of problems with finals) 7-5, 6-1.

The doubles title went to top seeds Chuang Chia-Jung and Lisa Raymond, who defeated Chanelle Scheepers and Abigail Spears in straight sets.

Chuang & Yan win Los Angeles championship

The team of Chuang Chia-Jung and Yan Zi defeated Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska today in Los Angeles to win the LA Women's Tennis Championships doubles title. Chuang and Yan (whom most people know from their respective pairings with Chan and Zheng) won the match in a super-tiebreak, 6-0, 4-6, 10-7.

Neither team was seeded.

Chan and Chuang win East West Bank Classic

They were 2-6, 0-3 down, but Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung rallied back to win this year's Los Angeles doubles title. They defeated Eva Hrdinova and Vladimira Uhlirova, 2-6, 7-5, 10-4.

This is the team's third title for 2008.

French Open doubles--the upsets keep coming

Today it was number 4 seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung who made an exit in Paris. They were defeated by number 10 seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and former world number 1Virginia Ruano Pascual in a very close match--6-7, 7-5, 7-5.

Of the top four seeds, only number 1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber remain.

In the meantime, number 6 seeds Victoria Azarenka and Shahar Peer were also upset, by Casey Dellacqua and Francesca Schiavone, 7-6, 7-5.

Chan and Chuang win in Rome

Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung have taken the title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. They defeated Iveta Benesova and Janette Husarova, 7-6, 6-3.

Chan and Chuang have now won eight career titles. They were also the finalists in both the 2007 Australian Open and the 2007 U.S. Open. The Rome win is their first Tier I title.

Chan and Chuang upset in Indian Wells

The Pacific Life Open's number 2 seeds, Chan Jung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung, were upset today by Bethanie Mattek and Sania Mirza, who defeated them 7-5, 4-6, 11-9. Number 1 seeds, Peshke and Stubbs, have already been eliminated from competition.

Chan and Chuang upset in Australian Open

The talented team of Chan Jung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung, seeded number 3 at the Australian Open, lost, 6-2, 7-6, in the third round to Flavia Pennetta and Janette Husarova.

The number 2 seeds, Srebotnik and Sugiyama, made an exit in the first round when they were defeated by Venus and Serena Williams.

Madrid finals set

As expected, Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova are on their way to a final match at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Year-End Championships in Madrid. Sharapova had an easy time of it today, as her opponent, the ever-fragile Anna Chakvetadze, melted away in an mental meltdown--she has them from time to time--and offered inadequate resistance. Final score: Sharapova def. Chakvetadze, 6-2, 6-2

In the other semifinal, Ana Ivanovic gave Justine Henin an entertaining battle, but it wasn't enough to stop the world number one. There were multiple breaks, and for a moment, it looked like we would get a third set, but it was not to be. Final score: Henin def. Ivanovic, 6-4, 6-4

In doubles action, Srebotnik and Sugiyama defeated Chan and Chuang, 6-2, 6-2, and Black and Huber defeated Peschke and Stubbs, 7-6, 4-6, 10-6.

Chan and Chuang qualify for final 4

Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung have qualified in doubles competition for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Year-End Championships. Cara Black and Liezel Huber had already qualified, and there are two slots left. Defending champions Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur will not be there because Stosur is recovering from viral meningitis, and the highly-ranked Yan Zi and Zheng Jie have not been able to play for several months because of Zheng's ankle injury.