Petkovic wins Gastein Ladies

Andrea Petkovic won the 2009 Gastein Ladies today, defeating Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-2, 6-3 in the final. Petkovic is currently ranked number 98 in the world, but that will change on Monday.

I'm sure we will be hearing more about Petkovic, but--in the meantime--here is a tour interview with Olaru.

Cornet advances to 3rd round in Bad Gastein

It shouldn't be news that the number 1 seed has made it to the third round of a tournament, but the way things have been going for Alize Cornet lately, it is indeed worth noting that she has gotten through two rounds.

Not so for 3rd and 4th seeds Sybille Bammer and Iveta Benesova. Bammer was upset by Ioana Raluca Olaru, and Benesova retired with a left thigh injury in her match against Andrea Petkovic. Benesova and her doubles partner, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova were forced to give their opponents a walkover because of Benesova's injury.

In Portoroz, Camille Pin upset 8th seed Petra Kvitova, and the number 1-seeded team of Vera Dushevina and Galina Voskoboeva were upset by Olga Govortsova and Sesil Karatantcheva.

A day of upsets

4th seed Roberta Vinci, 6th seed Lucie Safarova and 7th seed Vera Dushevina were all upset today at the Slovenia Open. They were defeated by Rossana de los Rios, Stephanie Voegele and Maria Elena Camerin, all of whom are unseeded. The 4th-seeded doubles team of Barrois and Garbin was also upset--by the team of Pin and Zakopalova.

In Bad Gastein, the only upset was of number 9 seed Shahar Peer, who was defeated by Yaroslava Shvedova.

Suarez Navarro upset in Bad Gastein

Carla Suarez Navarro, seeded 5th at the Gastain Ladies, was upset in the first round today by Tatjana Malek, who defeated her 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Marta Domachowska made another first round exit. She was defeated 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 by Iona Raluca Olaru.

Parmentier wins in Bad Gastein

Pauline Parmentier has defeated Lucie Hradecka, 6-4, 6-4 to win the 2008 Gastein Ladies. This is Parmentier's second Tour title.

Of interest: Sesil Karatantcheva and partner Natasa Zoric were the doubles runners-up at the tournament. The doubles title went to Hradecka and partner Andrea Hlavackova. Here's hoping we see a lot more of Karatantcheva.

Parmentier and Hradecka to play in Bad Gastein final

Because of the rain in Bad Gastein, players had to do catch-up today and play both quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Number 1 seed Agnes Szavay, who defeated Iveta Benesova in the quarterfinals, was then defeated in the semifinals by Pauline Parmentier, 6-4, 6-2. And Lucie Hradecka defeated Mariya Koryttseva, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.

Last year, Hradecka--with partner Renata Voracova--won the Bad Gastein doubles title.

Szavay survives major scare

Melanie Klaffner must have heard that everyone else has been kicking Agnes Szavay around, so she thought she'd have a shot at it, too. She almost succeeded. In what appears to have been a three hours-plus thriller, top seed Szavay eeked out a 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 win over the Austrian qualifier in the second round of the Gastein Ladies in Austria.

What is going on with Szavay? Her year has not been a total bust: She reached the final in Paris (indoors), the quarterfinals in Amelia Island, Charleston and Berlin, the third round at the French Open, and the round of 16 at Wimbledon. But look at the rest of her season so far:

Gold Coast, lost 1st round to Fedak
Australian Open, lost 1st round to Makarova
Antwerp, lost 1st round to Kleybanova
Doha, lost 1st round to Sugiyama
Dubai, lost 1st round to Morigami
Bangalore, lost 2nd round to Amanmuradova
Miami (1st round bye), lost 2nd round to Vesnina
Rome, lost 2nd round to Errani
Budapest (1st round bye), lost 2nd round to Klepac

The 9th time is the charm

Schiavone finally wins!

Francesca Schiavone had been in 8 finals in her career and had never lifted a trophy until today, when she defeated Yvonne Meusburger, 6-1, 6-4, in the Gastein Ladies in Bad Gastein, Austria. There is a little irony to Schiavone's win because it comes during a time when she has slipped down the rankings and has not had the match success she is accustomed to. Here's hoping this victory will get her entertaining game back on track.