Vergeer makes great start in Australian Open

Esther Vergeer made a statement in her opening Australian Open match on Wednesday: The top seed defeated Sharon Walraven 6-0, 6-0. 2nd seed Daniela Di Toro also won her quarterfinal match, allowing her opponent to win only three games. Vergeer is on a 405-match winning streak, and she has a 610-25 career record.

Players and former players like to hit with Vergeer during majors. During the U.S. Open, Martina Navratilova hit with her. In Melbourne, Rohan Bopanna hit with Vergeer, and he did it while sitting in a wheelchair.

Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, seeded second in women's doubles, were upset in straight sets in the semifinals by 12th seeds Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko. Their opponents in the final will be Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, who served really well--and played really well--against 3rd seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova. The top seeds defeated Huber and Petrova 6-4, 7-5, and are now a match away from winning their first major.

The Australia Day crowd was quite noisy and spirited. As Pennetta attempted to serve for the first set, fans broke into song. When she tried to serve again, other fans broke into laughter because of the song. Later, a loud quacking sound could be heard in the stands. There was also a lot of very enthusiastic cheering; if you didn't know better, you would have thought it was a Fed Cup match.

Vergeer increases win streak to 400 matches

Esther Vergeer increased her winning streak to 400 matches today at the Wheelchair Masters event in Amsterdam. Vergeer won her semifinal match against Jiske Griffioen.

Vergeer in 2nd edition of ESPN's "The Body Issue"

Wheelchair tennis champion Esther Vergeer is featured in ESPN's 2010 "The Body Issue." Vergeer is one of nineteen featured athletes (and one entire team). The series began last year, when Serena Williams was on the cover of the first issue. You can view the all the 2010 photos online; Vergeer is number 13. "The Body Issue" features beautiful nude photos of athletes of varying ages and fields of competition.

Quote of the day

"It's gonna be a relief--sort of."

Esther Vergeer, commenting on the day her streak is broken

Vergeer wins 5th straight U.S. Open title

Esther Vergeer , the number 1 seed, won her fifth consecutive U.S. Open women's wheelchair singles championship today, defeating Daniela Di Toro 6-0, 6-0. The final was much easier for Vergeer than the semifinal was. In that match, she had to save a set point.

Vergeer and partner Sharon Walraven won the doubles title yesterday. In singles, Vergeer is now on a 396-match win streak.

Vergeer and Walraven win U.S. Open women's wheelchair doubles championship

2nd seeds Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven won the women's wheelchair doubles championship at the U.S. Open today. Vergeer and Walraven defeated Daniela Di Toro and Aniek Van Koot, the top seeds, 6-3, 6-3.

Vergeer, the top seed, will play Di Toro in the singles final.

In junior girls' competition, top seed Daria Gavrilova defeated 15th seed Sloane Stephens 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 in the semifinals. In the other semifinal, Yulia Putintseva defeated On Jabeur 6-4, 6-3. Both Gavrilova and Putintseva are from Russia.

In junior girls' doubles, Timea Babos and Sloane Stephens, the 3rd seeds, won the championship when they were given a walkover by An-Sophie Mestach and Silvia Njric.

Because you can't watch too much Esther Vergeer...

Vergeer explains wheelchair tennis:



Esther hits with Rafa:

King & Shvedova 1 match away from back-to-back championships

The surprise champions of the 2010 Wimbledon tournament, Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, advanced to the final of the U.S. Open today with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over 9th seeds Cara Black and Anastasia Rodionova. The third set was especially entertaining, as Rodionova brought up the level of her play and challenged the 6th seeds. Shvedova blew some volleys by being over-eager, but then steadied herself.

There was one amazing moment when a ball flew through the center of the court. King yelled "me!" but Shvedova, who probably didn't hear King, went for it. Standing side by side, each woman--one with a backhand and one with a forehand--was a mirror image of the other. Shvedova's racquet got the ball over the net. For just a moment, though, the synchronized swings created a really beautiful sight.

In the women's wheelchair singles quarterfinals, Esther Vergeer had to fight harder than usual to defeat Florence Alix-Gravellier 7-5, 7-5. Korie Homan is not playing in the U.S. Open (I'm not sure why--possibly continued wrist problems), so the Vergeer-Homan team will not be competing. Vergeer's partner will be Sharon Walraven. Vergeer was hitting today with Martina Navratilova.

Miscellany

Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession, entered the New York Times best-seller list as number 5 last week. Author Venus Williams came to win last night, and is in the semifinals of the 2010 U.S. Open.

Martina Hingis is--once again--contemplating a return to the tour as a doubles player.

The late-night U.S. Open quarterfinal played by Sam Stosur and Elena Dementieva took its toll on both of them. Stosur had trouble getting out of bed Monday morning, and was not able to hit for very long. Dementieva said that she felt "a bit sleepy" during the match.

I understand that U.S. commentators have neither the manners nor the motivation to learn how to pronounce "foreign" players' names, but maybe they can't help themselves, since some of them cannot pronounce "Huber" or "Evert," either. And how surprised am I than a multiple-major winner, long-time commentator and self-professed know-it-all cannot pronounce "athlete"?

Esther Vergeer, along with several other players, is featured in Vanity Fair. (Thanks to Forty Deuce for this link.)

Bethanie Mattek-Sands reports that: Lisa Raymond keeps taking Mattek-Sands' lucky number 23 locker, Maria Sharapova likes to play Scrabble on her iPad, Nadia Petrova drinks an "alien green" sports drink, and Timea Bacsinszky burned holes into her tennis skirt while ironing it at the last minute.

Vergeer & Walraven win Wimbledon women's wheelchair doubles

Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven won the women's wheelchair championship at Wimbledon today. The top seeds defeated Daniela De Toro and Lucy Shuker 6-2, 6-3.

Vegeer, who acknowledged that playing on grass is a challenge, says she hopes Wimbledon will add a wheelchair singles division: "I think they should give it a chance. If you don't try with a serious match, you will never know."

Vergeer defends her French Open singles title--again

The score, not surprisingly, was 6-0, 6-0. In the women's wheelchair division of the French Open, Esther Vergeer defeated Sharon Walraven in the final today, never permitting her opponent to win even one game. This is Vergeer's fourth French Open title, and it also marks her return to competitive tennis after a six-month break.

Vergeer is such an accomplished sportswoman, one doesn't quite know where to start when discussing her.  Her Wikipedia page provides a lot of information.

Vergeer's usual opponent in the final, Korie Homan, was not in Paris this year. Vergeer and Homan generally pair for doubles and win championships together (after Vergeer defeats Homan for the singles titles). At Roland Garros this year, however, Vergeer teamed with Walraven, and they were seeded 2nd. The doubles title was won by the top-seeded team, Daniela Di Toro and Aniek Van Koot. Di Toro and Van Koot won the match 3-6, 6-4, 10-4.

Homan wins Australian Open women's wheelchair championship

Korie Homan, the world's second-best woman in wheelchair tennis competition, has won the Australian Open, defeating 2nd seed Florence Gravellier 6-2, 6-2.

In the absence of her countrywoman and long-time doubles partner, Esther Vergeer, Homan was seeded first. Vergeer, whose win record is a story in itself, did not enter the Australian Open this year because she wanted to take some time off from competition.

Gravellier and Aniek Van Koot won the doubles title, defeating 2nd seeds Lucy Shuker and Daniela Di Toro 6-3, 7-6.

Australian Open miscellany

Esther Vergeer, I just realized, is not competing in this year's tournament. That means, of course, that Korie Homan is seeded first in women's wheelchair competition. If anyone knows what happened to Vergeer, please post in the comments section.

As usual, umpires are not enforcing the 20-second rule in serving. And James Martin wants to know when they are going to enforce the no-coaching rule. He talks about Justine Henin (who was routinely getting signals from her coach during her match against Petrova), but Henin is certainly not alone in getting coaching from the stands. In fact, in an interview a couple of years ago, coach Carlos Rodriguez said he coaches Henin from the stands because "everyone else does it."

I know it was Australia Day yesterday, but planes constantly buzzing the stadium during a major tournament (or any tournament) is just uncalled for.

Caroline Wozniacki and the Radwanska sisters took some time to go shopping and see a movie before Wozniacki packed to leave Melbourne.

Some members of the Australian crowd have been mocking Victoria Azarenka's screaming, which commentators insist on calling "grunting." (It isn't, though it certainly serves the same purpose.)

Miscellany

Aleksandra Wozniak is blogging from Quebec City.

You can see post-U.S. Open final photos of Kim (and Caroline) here.

Esther Vergeer, whose match win streak is historic, barely makes $40,000 a year.

Melanie Oudin appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today and now owns a tennis outfit inscribed with the words, "Laugh, Dance, Believe" on the skirt. Oudin will appear this evening on the Tonight Show.

Some new ranking numbers:
Caroline Wozniacki--6
Kim Clijsters--19
Yanina Wickmayer--22
Gisela Dulko--32
Kateryna Bondarenko--34
Melanie Oudin--44

Vergeer and Homan win U.S. Open women's wheelchair doubles championship

After defeating Korie Homan 6-0, 6-0 (in an odd turn, the men's championship match had the same score) to win the U.S. Open women's wheelchair singles championship, Vergeer teamed with Homan to win the doubles championship. The team from The Netherlands defeated Daniela DiToro and Florence Gravellier, 6-2, 6-2.

Vergeer wins U.S. Open with 6-0, 6-0 score

For years, Korie Homan has played in finals against her doubles partner, Esther Vergeer, and she has lost. Today, at the U.S. Open, Homan failed to win one game in the women's wheelchair championship match. Her first and second serve win percentages were 43 and 11, respectively, and she saved only one break point against her.

This is Vergeer's seventh U.S. Open singles championship. She has now won 374 straight matches.

One more time: Vergeer and Homan in women's wheelchair final

The U.S. Open women's wheelchair final, not surprisingly, will feature Esther Vergeer and her doubles partner, Korie Homan. In the semifinals, Vergeer defeated Aniek van Koot 6-0, 6-1. Homan won her match against Sharon Walraven when Walraven retired after the first set.

Vergeer and Homan win Wimbledon wheelchair doubles title

Wimbledon officials finally got around to adding a women's wheelchair event this year. There was no singles competition, but there was a doubles contest, and--no surprise--the title was won by the completely dominant pair of Esther Vergeer and Korie Homan. Vergeer and Homan won their semifinal match 6-0, 6-0. In the final, they defeated Lucy Shuker and Daniela Di Toro 6-1, 6-3.

Vergeer has never lost a doubles match at a major, and is currently on a 360-match winning streak in singles.

Medina Garrigues and Ruano Pascual defend French Open title

The 2008 French Open women's doubles champions have done it again. Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual defeated Victoria Azarenka and Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-1 today to win the 2009 French Open. This makes six French Open doubles titles for Ruano Pascual, who now holds a total of ten doubles titles in majors.

In wheelchair doubles, Esther Vergeer and Korie Homan are the 2009 champions. They defeated Annick Sevenans and Aniek van Koot 6-2, 6-3. Vergeer and Homan were the top seeds. Earlier today, Vergeer defeated Homan to win the singles championship.

Vergeer beats Homan again, wins French Open

Esther Vergeer has lost only one singles match since 2001. Since 2003, she has lost no singles matches. Today, she made it 360 straight matches by defeating her countrywoman, Korie Homan, 6-2, 7-5 in the wheelchair competition of the French Open. Vergeer and Homan were seeded 1 and 2. In the last couple of years, Homan has managed to take their matches to a third set a few times, and in Beijing, she pushed Homan to their first-ever third set tiebreak.

The French Open website, for some reason, does not include any of Vergeer's remarkable stats on her profile page.