Quote of the day

"I feel like I just won a Grand Slam. I think it was the most difficult final I've ever played."

Elena Dementieva on her match against Caroline Wozniacki

Dementieva takes Luxembourg title

For a long time--even when she was serving poorly--a three-set match against Elena Dementieva generally meant a Dementieva victory. But lately, even with an improved serve, a three-set match against Dementieva has meant a Dementieva loss. Dementieva turned that around today, defeating Caroline Wozniacki, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6, to win the 2008 FORTIS Championships in Luxembourg. 

In the doubles final, the team of Sorana Cirstea and Marina Erakovic defeated Vera Dushevina and Mariya Koryttseva, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Hantuchova upset in Luxembourg

Number 3 seed Daniela Hantuchova made a quarterfinal exit today in the FORTIS Championships. She was defeated by Sorana Cirstea, 7-6, 6-2.

Other seeds who won in Luxembourg are number 1 Elena Dementieva, number 4 Caroline Wozniacki and number 6 Li Na. They took out Amelie Mauresmo, number 7 Anabel Medina Garrigues and Iveta Benesova.

Quote of the day

"After the match, the tournament gave me a bottle of wine--this blog is working well for me now, because I was saying how much I liked Bordeaux wine and now they got me some! Maybe I should start saying how much I like Ferraris..."

Amelie Mauresmo

Linz defending champion impresses in Luxembourg

Daniela Hantuchova, last year's General Ladies Linz champion, is not playing in Linz this year. Rather, she is playing in Luxembourg, where she is the third seed. Hantuchova has had a hard time of it since she returned from a long injury layoff. Today, however, the 3rd seed made short work of her second-round opponent, Sabine Lisicki, by defeating her 6-0, 6-2, in under 59 minutes.

Not so lucky was the 2nd seed, Anna Chakvetadze, who has also struggled this year. Chakvetadze was defeated 6-2, 6-4, by Iveta Benesova.

Seeds winning so far in Linz and Luxembourg

While seeds are falling in the first rounds of the ATP tournamnents this week, so far, there have been no major upsets in Linz and Luxembourg. In Linz, Kataryna Bondarenko, not surprisingly, took a set off of Nadia Petrova, and Marion Bartoli had to fight through three sets to defeat Ai Sugiyama.

There was one upset of note, however: qualifier Nuria Llagostera Vives defeated Samantha Stosur. Meanwhile, in Luxembourg, Marta Domachowska lost to qualifier Catalina Castano, and wild card Laura Robson was also defeated.

Robson out in first round

The good news is that Laura Robson received a wild card to play in the FORTIS Championships in Luxembourg. The bad news (for Robson fans) is that she lost in the first round. She was defeated by Iveta Benesova, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Ivanovic wins in Luxembourg

Ana "I'm so happy to be here" Ivanovic didn't look too happy to be in Luxembourg today until she was a set and a half into her final against Daniela Hantuchova in the FORTIS Championships. Trailing a set and down 0-3, Ivanovic suddenly found her game, and with it, her aggression. During the first set and a half, she was sloppy and sluggish, and was easy pickings for a sharp Hantuchova. Ivanovic was missing a lot of first serves, and winning only 25% of her second serves, as Hantuchova demonstrated an impressive variety of shots and some very clever strategy.

When Ivanovic got back in, though, Hantuchova's play became shaky and error-prone. We have seen this from Hantuchova before, of course. Many times. In fairness to Hantuchova, when Ivanovic finally got into the match, she got in with a vengeance. Still, Hantuchova's level of play was so high that she should have been able to close, if not in straight sets, at least in three.

I was very impressed with Hantuchova's mental toughness against Patty Schnyder in their quarterfinal match. Schnyder saved three match points in the second set, and another three in the third set. As a rule, that kind of toughness causes Hantuchova to cave, but she hung in and won the match. Yesterday, she was stunning against Marion Bartoli in their semifinal. But once again, placed in the position of winning a tournament, she faded away when she most needed to come on strong.

Final score: Ivanovic def. Hantuchova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Chakvetadze out of Luxembourg; Schnyder has a bad day

Number one seed Anna Chakvetadze was taken out of the FORTIS Championships today by Marion Bartoli, who defeated her, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. It was the first time they had ever played each other, and I wish I could have seen it. For several weeks, Bartoli has told the press that her post-Wimbledon stress issues are behind her, but she did nothing to prove that until she got to Luxembourg. Having beaten Both Sybille Bammer and Chakvetadze in succession, she now goes to the semifinals, in which she will face Daniela Hantuchova.

Hantuchova played Patty Schnyder today. Schnyder saved three match points in the second set, and three in the third, but Hantuchova prevailed, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. Apparently, Schnyder had some problems with the umpiring, and things got a bit out of hand. I'm told she broke her racquet, gave Hantuchova a less-than-cordial handshake, and that her coach/husband, Rainer Hoffman, kicked some of Hantuchova's water bottles over after the match.

Schnyder has an undeserved reputation for poor sportswomanship. The fact is that her peers generally cite her as being a very good sport, and she is one of the few players I know who, as a rule, is very warm toward her opponents during the handshake, no matter how bad a loss she has suffered, and very gracious when she wins. But because of an incident involving Conchita Martinez several years ago at the Family Circle Cup, Schnyder has developed a reputation among some fans as being "rude."

Martinez, as many will recall, had a habit of insisting on using the same balls over and and over if she had won points with them (Henin has now developed this habit to some extent). During this particular match, she apparently slowed things down considerably because of her superstition, and Schnyder became very annoyed. When the match was over, Schnyder pulled her hand away as the handshake was about to take place. She later said, in an interview, that she pulled her hand away so that she could get Martinez's attention and say something to her. No one but Schnyder and Martinez knows what she said.

For her part, Hantuchova, though a charming and intelligent person, has also been known to annoy several opponents because of the way she stalls. Some think that tour umpires have been too kind to her. Schnyder, who is all business on the court, probably had her fill of the stall tactics, too.

My purpose here is not to defend Schnyder regarding today's activities; I'm sure she should have given Hantuchova a regular handshake. My purpose, rather, is to present facts in place of mythology. Yes, Schnyder possibly acted out of line; no, it is not usual behavior for her.

As for Hoffman, he is the latest of several coaches who misbehave; one never knows what to expect of him.

The rivalry no one talks about

Patty Schnyder faces her rival, Daniela Hantuchova, in the Luxembourg quarterfinals on Friday

If there is a true rivalry on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, it is one no one ever discusses. Patty Schnyder and Daniela Hantuchova have played each other fifteen times, and Hantuchova has stated that she would rather face anyone but Schnyder across the net. Schnyder has won eight of their contests, and Hantuchova has won seven. Hantuchova won the last two, in fact, which were played in 2006.

Tomorrow, they will meet again in Luxembourg, in the quarterfinals of the FORTIS Championships.

In other Luxembourg news, Marion Bartoli passed a tough test today by defeating Sybille Bammer 6-2, 7-5. Her next test will be even tougher--she faces Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals.

Defending champion Bondarenko out of Luxembourg in first round

Kateryna Bondarenko watches her sister, Alona, play. After Alona raised the level of her game, Kateryna soon showed a new level of talent, also, as did the Bondarenkos' countrywoman, Yuliana Fedak. But since then, all three have had problems with consistency, as has the other notable Ukrainian player, Julia Vakulenko.


Poor Alona Bondarenko. After having a really good 2006, she's had a lot of ups and downs this year. It has been a mixed year for Ukrainian tennis, in fact. Yuliana Fedak raised her game to a much higher level, and now has taken a step backwards. And Bondarenko's sister, Kateryna, also raised her game, but not with enough consistency.

Today, Alona Bondarenko, FORTIS Championships defending champion, was taken out in the first round by Marion Bartoli, 6-3, 6-2. This match-up was no fun for me--I'm a fan of both players and hated to see either of them make an early exit. It says a lot about Bondarenko's year, however, that she was not seeded high enough to get a first round bye.

In other Luxembourg first round play, phenom Tamira Paszek was removed from the tournament hastily by her countrywoman, Sybille Bammer. And Ukraine's other talented player, Julia Vakulenko, was defeated by Meilen Tu, one of the women no one likes to see across the net in an early round. Bammer, by the way, will play Bartoli in the second round, which should be a really good one.

To make things worse, both Ukrainian doubles also lost in the first round.

Azarenka wins phenom showdown

Victoria Azarenka defeated Agnieszka Radwanska, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of the FORTIS Championships in Luxembourg today. The only other time the two young stars met was on grass in 2006, when Radwanska won a straight-sets match in the first round at Wimbledon.

Perhaps the most tightly contested of first-round matches also took place today, between Shahar Peer and Lucie Safarova. Safarova is an extremely talented player who sometimes suffers from inconsistency, a problem I hope she resolves in the near future. Peer took the match, 6-3, 6-3.

Wild card and veteran Anne Kremer, whose glory days are long over but who is playing in her home country, took out talented but streaky Michaella Krajicek, 6-3, 7-6, with a decisive 7-3 score in the tiebreak.