Kanepi wins Palermo, Szavay wins Prague

Kaia Kanepi, seeded 5th at the Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo, won the championship today. Kanepi defeated top seed and defending champion (and wild card) Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-3. Kanepi is now 3-3 against Pennetta. This is Kanepi's first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title.

Agnes Szavay, who won the Budapest title last week, won the Prague title today, defeating Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 1-6, 6-2. Szavay and Zahlavova Strycova were seeded 7th and 8th, respectively. This was Zahlavova Strycova's first tour final.

Also repeating were the unseeded Timea Bacsinszy and Tathiana Garbin. They won the Budapest doubles title last week, and today, they won the Prague title, defeating Monica Niculescu and Szavay 7-5, 7-6.

Zahlavova Strycova & Szavay to play in Prague final

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and Agnes Szavay have reached the final of the Prague Open. 8th seed Zahlavova Strycova defeated Patty Schnyder 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals, and 7th seed Szavay defeated Lucie Hradecka 6-3, 6-4.

In the doubles final, the unseeded team of Timea Bacsinszky and Tathiana Garbin will play 3rd seeds Monica Niculescu and Szavay.

Top seed upset in Prague qualifying

Anastasia Rodionova, the top qualifying seed at the ECM Prague Open, lost today in the second round of qualifying to Tamira Paszek. Paszek defeated Rodionova 6-2, 6-2.

After having hip surgery in 2008 and then sustaining an ankle injury and torn leg muscle in 2009, the Russian-turned-Australian had to work hard to get back into the top 100. Her upset performances in the 2009 U.S. Open, the 2010 French Open, and the 2010 Wimbledon tournament took her to the third round in all three of those majors. Rodionova is currently ranked number 71 in the world.

Things haven't gone as well for Paszek, who was once hailed as a prodigy, but who has had significantly more downs than ups in her career. Paszek is currently ranked number 225 in the world.

Bammer, Bondarenkos win in Prague

2nd seed Sybille Bammer defeated top seed Francesca Schiavone today, 7-6, 6-2, to take the 2009 ECM Prague Open title. Because of rain, both the semifinals and finals in singles had to be played today. In the semifinals, Schiavone stopped the run of Timea Bacsinszky, and Bammer defeated Iveta Benesova. This is Bammer's second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title.

The 2nd seeds also defeated the top seeds in doubles. Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko defeated Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1, 6-2 to take the Prague title.

Bacsinszky advances to Prague semifinals

Today in Prague, qualifier Timea Bacsinszky upset 4th seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the ECM Prague Open. In the second round, Bacsinszky defeated Stefanie Voegele, and in the first round, she upset 6th seed Magdalena Rybarikova.

Bacsinszky, who is coached by Melanie Molitor, was the top qualifying seed. She has yet to drop a set in the tournament, though she may find her next job a bit harder: Bacsinszky plays top seed Francesca Schiavone in the next round.

2 seeds upset in Prague

5th seeded Alona Bondarenko was upset in the first round in Prague today, 6-1, 6-3, by her sister, Kateryna. Also upset was Magdalena Rybarikova, who lost to qualifier Timea Bacsinszy, 6-2, 7-6.

In Palermo, Swedish Open champion Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez upset 3rd seed Alize Cornet, 6-2, 6-2. Anna-Lena Groenefeld upset 8th seed Gisela Dulko 6-4, 6-1. In doubles, the top seeds--Groenefeld and Patty Schnyder--were upset 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 by Irina Begu and Marta Marrero.

Zvonareva wins Prague; Dulko wins Fes

2nd seed Gesela Dulko defeated top seed Anabel Medina Garrigues to win in Fes today

Top seed Vera Zvonareva defeated number 3 seed Victoria Azarenka in Prague today, 7-6, 6-2. This was Zvonareva's fourth final of the season, and her first win. She is now number 13 in the world, and I have a problem with her being permitted to play in a Tier IV event. For some time now, I have wanted the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour to place a restriction on higher ranked players that would keep them from playing in Tier IVs, but they do not seem to think such a restriction is necessary. While I appreciate the argument that having higher-ranked players at a lower-ranked event may bring up the overall level of play, I think that the disparity in levels renders an injustice to the lower-ranked players.

Meanwhile, Gisela Dulko won what looked to be a thriller against Anabel Medina Garrigues, 7-6, 7-6, in Fes.