King upsets Cibulkova at French Open

Though tennis commentators often seem to forget it, Dominika Cibulkova was a French Open semifinalist in 2009. She is a really fine clay court (and hard court) competitor who was seeded 22nd at this year's Open. She lost today in the first round, however, to Vania King. Cibulkova made twice as many unforced errors at King, who defeated her 6-7(10), 6-3, 6-2. The first set lasted an hour and 18 minutes.

Also going out in the first round was 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic, who has been suffering from wrist tendonitis. Ivanovic, the 20th seed, was defeated 7-6, 0-6, 6-2 by Johanna Larsson. Both ESPN commentators said they had never before seen Larsson play.

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova dragged 8th seed Li Na to three sets, but it was Li who advanced to the second round. Andrea Petkovic won a very competitive match (6-4, 7-6) against Bojana Jovanovski, and Charleston runner-up Elena Vesnina lost in three sets to Silvia Soler-Espinosa. Vesnina hit 53 winners to Soler-Espinosa's 35, but the Spaniard made only seven unforced errors in the match.

Kuznetsova and Wickmayer out in 1st round in Madrid

Yesterday in Madrid, for the third consecutive time, Dominika Cibuulkova defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova. Cibulkova won 6-3, 6-2 over the 12th seed. Yanina Wickmayer, though unseeded, was undoubtedly expected by many to go deep in this tournament, but she, too, was defeated. Ekaterina Makarova beat Wickmayer 6-4, 6-4 in today's first round play.

Defending champion Aravane Rezai went out, too--6-3, 3-6, 6-4, to Sofia Arvidsson. Flavia Pennetta and Nadia Petrova were also beaten in the first round. Pennetta is just returning from rehab for a shoulder injury, and Petrova has been coping with an ongoing illness.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands lost the first set 6-0 to Ana Ivanovic, then went on to win the next two. And probably no one had to work as hard as Chanelle Scheepers, who served for the match at 5-3 in the third set served against Monica Niculescu, and then was broken twice. Scheepers broke back, which took the players to a tiebreak, and Scheepers prevailed. It took Scheepers two hours and 47 minutes to win at 4-6, 6-3, 7-6.

Of the three French Open champions playing in Madrid, only Francesca Schiavone survived the opening round. She defeated Peng Shuai 7-5, 7-6.

Passing shots

The Fed Cup tie between Japan and Argentina will be held in Kobe, Japan July 16-17. The event, scheduled to be played in Tokyo, had to be postponed because of the current crisis in Japan.

You can get to know Sloane Stephens. (One of her interview answers may surprise you.)

Yanina Wickmayer, Alisa Kleybanova, Peng Shuai, Jelena Dokic, Rebecca Marino, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and Maria Kirilenko will all be competing in the Family Circle Cup in Charleston next month. The field also includes three former champions--Nadia Petrova, Sabine Lisicki and Sam Stosur. And yes, Patty Schnyder will be there!

And speaking of the Family Circle Cup: Alyssa D’Orazio, a junior at the College of Charleston, has been awarded this year's $5,000 Family Circle Cup scholarship. 

Caroline Wozniacki issues a challenge.

Dominika Cibulkova talks about racquets, strings, Lacoste outfits, and her game.

Zvonareva upset by Cibulkova in Indian Wells

It took her over three hours, and she had to go through a lot of match points, but Dominika Cibulkova--a bundle of nerves as she tried to eliminate the 3rd seed Sunday night in the 3nd round of the BNP Paribas Open--finally defeated Vera Zvonareva 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. Cibulkova, the 25th seed, slowly built up momentum, and by the middle of the second set, she was hitting stinging groundstrokes off both sides, brushing the lines, and effectively catching Zvonareva off-guard over and over.

Zvonareva served at 15-40 at 1-3 in the third set, but Cibulkova could not break her. Again, at 2-4, the 3rd seed served at 15-40, and this time, she was broken at 30. But the Cibulkova's resolve collapsed, and she was quickly broken back when she served for the match. Zvonareva had an easy hold, hitting two consecutive aces, and Cibulkova served for the match again at 5-4. Up 40-0, Cibulkova saw the easy win melt away as she struggled to even develop her service motion. At that point, it appeared that nerves had so overtaken her that she would be broken again, but she prevailed.

Zvonareva, who won the event in 2009, wasn't the only one to go. Earlier in the week, in the 2nd round, 7th seed Li Na was dismissed by countrywoman Peng Shuai, two-time champion Daniela Hantuchova was defeated by Dinara Safina, and wild card Christina McHale upset 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6, 7-6.

In 3rd round play, 2nd seed Kim Clijsters, who's having a lingering problem with her shoulder, looked all out of sorts against Sara Errani, and was lucky to get out of three sets and move on. And--though she held two match points on her opponent's serve--17th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova lost to 10th seed Shahar Peer.

Defending champion and 6th seed Jelena Jankovic won her match against Julia Goerges in straight sets, and executed match point with her signature backhand down the line. Jankovic was expressive, often smiling, throughout the match, just like old times. Her next opponent will be Ana Ivanovic.

In doubles 2nd round play, 6th seeds Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko defeated Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur, and 5th seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie were upset by Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Pavlyuchenkova out of Kremlin Cup in 1st round

When she's healthy, Dominika Cibulkova can be a relentless opponent. Kremin Cup 4th seed AnastasiPavlyuchenkova learned about that today when Cibulkova defeated her, 7-6, 2-6, 6-0. Unfortunately, the two double-faulted a total of 21 times.

Kateryna Bondarenko defeated Petra Kvitova, 8th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez defeated wild card Alla Kudryavtseva, and  Alona Bondarenko defeated U.S. Open junior girls champion Daria Gavrilova, who also had a wild card into the main draw.

In doubles, 4th seeds Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko defeated Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova, and 1st seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta also advanced to the second round, as did Vitalia Diatchenko and Tatiana Poutchek.

Cibulkova upset in Linz

Qualifier Eleni Daniilidou upset Linz 4th seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-4 today in the first round of play. Also in the first round, Roberta Vinci defeated 3rd seed Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2.

Patty Schnyder brought her career record against Gisela Dulko to 5-0; Schnyder defeated Dulko 6-2, 6-3.

In Osaka, qualifier Laura Robson lost to 6th seed Kimiko Date Krumm. Date Krumm broke four times for a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Inherit the wind

The wind was bad enough when Vera Zvonareva and Kaia Kanepi played their quarterfinal match at the U.S. Open this afternoon, but it became worse when Caroline Wozniacki and Dominika Cibulkova showed up for their match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Debris occasionally flew onto the court ball tosses looked almost impossible, and top seed Wozniacki's hair whipped around furiously.

Not surprisingly, Wozniacki figured out a way to deal with the wind about halfway through the first set, which she won 6-2. In the second set, Cibulkova learned to manage the wind a bit better and played with relative aggression. But it was the ever-steady Wozniacki who patiently held on while her opponent made 43 unforced errors. (Because of the wind, most of the errors in this match could probably pass as "unforced"). Cibulkova put up a fight in the second set, and--for a while--looked as though she were staging a serious comeback, but she was broken at 5-all. The 1st seed held for 7-5, and she is now scheduled to play a semifinal match against Vera Zvonareva.

Wozniacki hit twelve winners to Cibulkova's twenty, but she made only eighteen unforced errors.

Unseeded Cibulkova upsets Kuznetsova at U.S. Open

There was talk among commentators this morning about what Cibulkova's ranking would be if she were not stuck with being five feet, three inches tall. One of the things I dislike most about the evolution of tennis into a "power game" is that short people are at such a disadvantage. Only last night, Martina Navratilova talked about what a great server Rosie Casals was, but one can only imagine what the diminutive Rosebud would have to go through if she played on the tour now.

Cibulkova suffers with almost chronic hip problems, and--not surprisingly--her share of back problems. Her thigh was wrapped in today's round of 16 match, and she did call for the trainer at one point. In the second round, she played a match that lasted 3 hours and 13 minutes, and I feared then for her physical health.

However, despite having a fragile thigh and being down in both sets, Cibulkova thoughtfully placed her sometimes-booming groundstrokes, holding her nerve while 11th seed and 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova made errors. Cibulkova won the first set 7-5, and served for the second set at 5-3. It was then that she showed her first sign of anxiety, and Kuznetsova saved two match points. The set ultimately went to a tiebreak, but--unlike some unseeded players who miss their chance and then fold--Cibulkova was again steady in her shot-making, and moved into the quarterfinals.

Cibulkova, who has been ranked as high as 19, is currently ranked number 45 in the world. Kuznetsova was considered by some to be a contender for this year's title, especially since she hired Amelie Mauresmo's former coach and fitness trainer, and looked good through the first three rounds of the U.S. Open. But she made 42 unforced errors in today's match, and double-faulted 10 times. It isn't the first time that Kuznetsova has wilted in an important match, and today she was unlucky enough to be playing a woman who doesn't give up easily.

Zvonareva into U.S. Open round of 16

Most of us have watched Alexandra Dulgheru give opponents trouble on clay courts. Tonight, on a fast hard court, she gave Vera Zvonareva some trouble, and the wind gave both of them plenty of trouble. 25th seed Dulgheru, for all her clever shot-making, couldn't keep a lead because she made so many unforced errors. Over and over, she set up winners, only to erase them by hitting balls into the net or outside the lines. The second set was quite entertaining, and Zvonareva won the match 6-2, 7-6. The 7th seed will play Andrea Petkovic in the next round.

11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova reversed a losing trend against 25th seed Maria Kirilenko, defeating her 6-3, 6-4. Kuznetsova took control of the match with a consistently good serve, and looked comfortable and confident. In the next round, she will play Dominika Cibulkova, who defeated Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0, 6-1.

In doubles, top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta advanced with a 6-0, 6-4 defeat of Sorana Cirstea and Lucie Safarova. In mixed doubles, Melania Oudin and Ryan Harrison took the first set off of Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan, but the top seeds won the match, 5-7, 6-1, 10-3.

U.S. Open miscellany

As Cole Porter said, brush up your Shakespeare! You've never before experienced this deconstruction of Hamlet.

During Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, both Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters were interviewed. Federer, the father of one-year-old twins, was asked about this year's Open compared with last year's; Clijsters was asked how she "balances" playing tennis and being a mother.

The U.S. Open promotional spot with the players on famous leaning New York skyscrapers is wonderful.

Geoff MacDonald suggests we watch Victoria Azarenka, Kaia Kanepi and Coco Vandeweghe.

There are great practice and training photos all over Forty Deuce.

Cibulkova--good for her--was the lone player to attend the Dunlop party, where she tended bar.

Pavlyuchenkova withdraws from Fed Cup semifinal

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has withdrawn from Russia's Fed Cup team, which plays the USA team in the semifinals this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. Pavlyuchenkova, ranked number 29 in the world, remains injured, after withdrawing from Charleston. Also too hurt to play in Fed Cup are Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova. Vera Zvonareva and Nadia Petrova turned down invitations to play in Birmingham. As of now, the Russian Fed Cup team will have only three members--Elena Dementieva, Ekaterina Makaorova and Alla Kudryattseva.

Dominika Cibulkova, also injured, has withdrawn from the Slovak Republic's Fed Cup World Group playoff competition against Serbia. Jelena Jankovic has an injured wrist, but will attempt to play for Serbia.

Cibulkova out of Charleston with hip strain

Dominika Cibulkova, a quarterfinalist in the 2009 Family Circle Cup, has withdrawn from the tournament because of a right hip strain. Last year, Cibulkova retired with a left adductor strain during her Charleston quarterfinal match against Caroline Wozniacki.

Cibulkova was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Monique Adamczak.

Unseeded Sevastova goes to Monterrey semifinals

Anastasija Sevastova, who is unseeded, defeated Alize Cornet (also unseeded) in the quarterfinals of the Monterrey Open tonight. Sevastova's 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory gives her an opportunity to compete against 3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals. Pavlyuchenkova defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-2.

Daniela Hantuchova, a wild card who is seeded 2nd, defeated Vania King 2-6, 6-2, 6-1. Hantuchova will face countrywoman Dominika Cibulkova in the semifinals. 4th seed and wild card Cibulkova defeated 5th seed Agnes Szavay 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Vania King, the opponent who wouldn't leave

Often, during a major tournament--on an outer court where there are no television cameras--dramatic upsets occur. Today in Melbourne, 23rd seed and French Open semifinalist Dominika Cibulkova was the victim of such an upset. She and Vania King played for just over three hours in a match that had so many odd momentum swings, it probably left people in the stands shaking their heads in disbelief.

King won the first set 6-3, which was in itself a surprise. Things got very serious for Cibulkova in the second set, when King--serving at 5-4--held a match point. Cibulkova saved that match point with a winning backhand, and went on to win the set in a tiebreak. She then went up 5-1 in the third, but King just would not give up. She saved four match points, and the next thing we knew, it was 5-all. King then held, and won the match on her opponent's next serve.

Cibulkova reached the round of 16 at last year's Australian Open, so this loss is going to hurt her ranking. King, who is ranked number 79 in the world, gets either Anna-Lena Groenefeld or Roberta Vinci in the next round.

Miscellany

Sorana Cirstea, with Victor Hanescu, will represent Romania in 2010 Hopman Cup competiton.

Mallory Cecil has signed a multi-year representation agreement with Lagardere. Cecil won the NCAA singles championship as a freshman, and was the first ACC player to ever win the NCAA Division 1 singles and the NCAA Division 1 team championships in the same year. She finished 2009 as the top-ranked collegiate player in the U.S., and won both the Honda Sports Award and the ITA Player of the Year award. Cecil was named Duke University Most Valuable Player, and ACC Rookie of the Year. This summer, she decided to leave school and play professional tennis.

The website, MarionBartoli.net, has been discontinued.

Serena Williams and her legal team have not yet decided whether Williams will personally make her case to the ITF regarding the incident which occurred during the U.S. Open.

One more time...Maleness is not synonymous with courage and positive aggression. It was bad enough last year when Serena Williams said she had to "man up." In Tokyo this week, Lindsay Davenport said that Maria Sharapova played "balls-out tennis." (For all the etymology experts out that--yes, it's possible that the term originally had a non-sexual meaning, but its meaning for a long, long time has been related to male anatomy and hormones.) To equate courage and positive aggression with only the male gender is inappropriate in any case, but to do so while talking about a women's sporting event is sexism of the most ridiculous nature.

Dominika Cibulkova has begun playing tennis again.

You can learn some things about Melinda Czink here.

Cibulkova withdraws from U.S. Open

World number 16 Dominika Cibulkova, has withdrawn from the 2009 U.S. Open because of a right rib injury. Cibulkova, who was a semifinalist at the French Open, would have been seeded at Flushing Meadows.

Alberta Briani now moves into the main draw, and Agnes Szavay becomes the 32nd seed.

In related news, Sabine Lisicki has confirmed that she will play in the Open.

Miscellany

Serena Williams' memoir, On the Line, is due to be released once the U.S. Open begins.

Anne Keothavong says she does not wish to train at the National Tennis Centre and that she does not wish to wear the LTA's AEGON sponsor's patch. She is in conflict with the LTA over her desire for her father to help coach her.

A thigh injury is keeping Dominika Cibulkova out of the Palermo tournament.

For those who live in the U.S.: Every Monday night from today on, Tennis Channel will show a classic U.S. Open match in the evening. Times vary, so check the schedule. On July 20, the 1995 Seles-Graf match will be shown. On August 3, it's the 1991 Navratilova-Seles match, and on August 17, the 1979 Austin-Evert match will be featured.

The New York Buzz, the WTT Albany team, consists only of players who are 18 and younger. Both Sloane Stephens and Lauren Embree play for the Buzz.

Dulko making good on her resolve

When the talented but under-achieving Gisela Dulko was interviewed after defeating Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon, she acknowledged she had had a bad year, and said her goal was to reach the top 20. In my opinion, she should have gotten herself there some time ago. My general impression of Dulko for some time now, is that belief is the main element she lacks. She has a really good (but inconsistent) serve, she is tough from the baseline, and she is able to make it up as she goes along.

Belief appears to be with her in Bastad. Yesterday, she saved match points to upset 5th seed Sorana Cirstea, and today she saved match points to upset number 2 seed Dominika Cibulkova. She has now reached the semifinals, in which she will play Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who upset 7th seed Carla Suarez Navarro. The other semifinal will be played by top seed Caroline Wozniacki and 3rd seed Flavia Pennetta. Wozniacki defeated Maria Kirilenko 7-5, 7-6.

Cibulkova upset in first round at Ordina Open

Top seed Dinara Safina needed just an hour to defeat Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-0, 6-3 in s'Hertogenbosch today. 2nd seed Dominika Cibulkova, however, lost in three sets to Nathalie Dechy--who, though she is not the singles player she used to be--can still put on a lovely display of tennis from time to time. Both were first round matches.

There were two other upsets in the second round. Yanina Wickmayer defeated 4th seed Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3, and Tammy Tanasugarn--always a threat on grass--defeated 7th seed Iveta Benesova.

We have our finalists!

Dominika Cibulkova was brutal to herself in her post-match press conference, but the reality was that she played rather well in her semifinal match against world number 1 Dinara Safina. The 6-3, 6-3 score looks a bit ordinary, but the match was enjoyable.

On the other hand, one can understand Cibulkova's frustration that she was unable to do more with Safina's somewhat shaky serve. Also, Cibulkova's serve was shaky, but that was the only visible sign of what she later described as the high anxiety she felt on the court. There were plenty of visible signs that Safina was angry and frustrated, and one British broadcaster felt compelled to apologize to his listening audience for Safina's language. No sympathy here--find a different way to position the microphones.

There are mitigating factors. Safina is ill, and has been for a couple of days. She looks pale and she sounds terrible. As for Cibulkova, she entered the French Open not having played matches since she retired in the Charleston quarterfinals.

(Photo courtesy of Angelica)

The Stosur-Kuznetsova match was a bit of a different story. Stosur, the queen of spin, did not disappoint. I saw only a set and a half, but Sam Stosur looked pretty good. In the end, she was--not surprisingly--outplayed by Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is top-notch on clay. Kuznetsova won, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, in a match that went on for almost two and a half hours.

Getting to the semifinals was an outstanding accomplishment for both Cibulkova and Stosur, neither of whom has ever won a tournament. One hopes that they will feel some pride in what they did at this French Open. And as for the finalists--whether you're cheering for Dinara or Sveta--let's hope Dinara is feeling healthy.

We have doubles finalists, too. 2008 champions and 3rd seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual will play 12th seeds Victoria Azarenka and Elena Vesnina for the championship.