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.

Daniilidou gets Auckland wild card

Eleni Daniilidou has been awarded a main draw wild card into the ASB Classic. Meanwhile, Kimiko Date-Krumm has also been awarded a main draw wild card, while Michaella Krajicek has been given a wild card for qualifying.

Bad news for Daniilidou

Eleni Daniilidou's retirement in Miami occurred because of a torn ACL in her right knee. She is going back to Greece to have surgery.

This and that...

Eleni Daniilidou has split from her coach--no word yet on who the new coach will be.


In Bangalore, number 1 qualifying seed Ayumi Morita has been defeated by Melanie South, 4-6, 6-0, 6-0. Looks like an injury issue, yes?


Tracy Austin likes Agnes Szavay's backhand.


Sharapova on the Doha awards event: "Let me just mention that the noise of the motorcycles during the ceremony scared the living crap out of me...."


The White Mile, Patty Schnyder's book, co-authored by her husband and coach, Rainer Hoffman, is due to be released in Europe this month. However, since the excerpts that were to have been published in September of last year never appeared on the website, I suspect that the book's publication may be delayed.

Daniilidou withdraws from Antwerp

I was looking forward to the first round match between Eleni Daniilidou and Agnes Szavay, but Daniilidou, suffering with a lung inflammation, has withdrawn from the Proximus Diamond Games. Szavay will play Alisa Kleybanova instead.

Henin wins Sydney; Daniilidou takes Hobart

Justine Henin was down 0-3 with a break point against her in the third set of the final in Sydney, and--of course--she won the match. That is often how Justine Henin does things. Her opponent, Svetlana Kuznetsova, however, played some of the better tennis I've seen her play in a long time. Final score: Henin def. Kuznetsova, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

In Hobart, Eleni Daniilidou had an easier time of it when she won the championship via a walkover. Opponent Vera Zvonareva suffered a left ankle injury.

Top seed out at Hobart

Alona Bondarenko, the number one seed at Moorilla Hobart International, has been defeated in the second round by Eleni Daniilidou, 6-3, 6-3. Daniilidou maintained a 75 first serve percentage and a 68 first serve win percentage.

Today, New Haven is Upset City

Eleni Daniilidou of Greece defeated number 7 seed Sybille Bammer today in New Haven

Agnes Szavay, who won her first WTA Tour tournament last month in Palermo, took out Pilot Pen Tennis number 2 seed Daniela Hantuchova today, 6-5, 6-3. I saw the first set on television, and Hantuchova's serve just was not there for her.

Number 7 seed Sybille Bammer, who has been playing really well lately, was defeated by Eleni Daniilidou, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2. Daniilidou is a talented player who has never come close to meeting her potential, but lately, she has been on an upswing, for some reason.

Next up for Szavay is Alona Bondarenko, a player whose career I follow, and who took out Sania Mirza today, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3. And next up for Daniilidou is 4th seed Dinara Safina.

It's hard to breathe in L.A.

Yesterday, Eleni Daniilidou, who was involved in a close and exciting contest against Maria Sharapova in the East West Bank Classic, retired because of respiratory problems. Daniilidou has been sick all week, and the match proved to be too much for her. Today, Daniela Hantuchova retired during the second set of her match against Elena Dementieva. The reason? Respiratory problems.