Tanasugarn wins Osaka title

Tammy Tanasugarn won her tour title today in Osaka, defeating Kimiko Date Krumm 7-5, 6-7, 6-1. The first two sets were tense and unpredictable, but by the third, Date Krumm understandably began to fade. Her quarterfinal and semifinal matches had both gone three sets, with one lasting 2 and 1/2 hours, and the other lasting 3 hours. She received medical attention toward the end of the last set, after which she won her only game. The final lasted 3 hours and 7 minutes.

Between them, Tanasugarn and Date Krumm gave fans plenty of excitement this past week in Japan. The Osaka champion, who was unseeded, upset 2nd seed Marion Bartoli, and 6th seed Date Krumm upset 1st seed Sam Stosur and 3rd seed Shahar Peer.

Date Krumm was attempting to break two records. Had she won, she would have been the only woman to win the Osaka title five times, and she would also have been the oldest woman to win a tour title. As it is, that distinction still belongs to Billie Jean King, who won Birmingham when she was 39.

3rd seeds Chang Kai-Chen and Lilia Osterloh won the doubles title, defeating Shuko Aoyami and Rika Fujiwara.

Experience needed

Francesca Schiavone recently joked, after playing Kimiki Date Krumm, that the they had played the senior tour because--between them--they were 70 years old. Date Krumm and Tammy Tanasugarn took the math a step farther today in Osaka: Between them, they are 73, and they will play in tomorrow's HP Open final.

To get to the final, Tanasugarn upset 2nd seed Marion Bartoli 6-2, 7-5. The Thai veteran's serve was working well for her, and she was able to get the job done in an hour and 40 minutes.

For 6th seed Date Krumm, the semifinal match was, like her quarterfinal match, a long affair, lasting almost three hours. She defeated 3rd seed Shahar Peer 3-6, 7-6, 7-5.

Date Krumm and Tanasugarn are 1-1 against each other; each of their prior meetings went to three sets.

In doubles, top seeds Alberta Brianti and Magdalena Rybarikova were defeated 6-4, 6-3 by Chang Kai-Chen and Lilia Osterloh. The other semifinal match, played the day before, featured the upset of the 2nd seeds, Chan Yung-Jan and Natalie Grandin. They were defeated 6-3, 6-4 by Shuko Aoyami and Rika Fujiwara.

Schnyder to play Petkovic in Linz semifinals

Patty Schnyder beat her long-time rival, Daniela Hantuchova, for the first time in five years today at the Generali Ladies Linz. The unseeded Schnyder went down a break in the first set, but came back to take it 6-4. At 3-all in the second set, Hantuchova went down 0-40, but she managed to win the game. Schnyder broke at 4-all, however. In the second set, Schynder didn't seem as sure of herself, but after winning a very long game, she was able to pull some errors out of the 2nd seed and to break her at 4-all. When she served for the match, Schnyder--not atypically--became nervous, and she went down 0-30 right away. Once again, though, she steadied herself, and won the quarterfinal match 6-4, 6-4 on her first match point.

7th Ana Ivanovic won her quarterfinal match against Julia Goerges. The first set was close, and Ivanovic won it in a tiebreak. She then relied on her serve to take the second set 6-2. Of all the players who have had service problems, Ivanovic is the only one who has returned to form.

She may have her hands full in the semifinals, however. She will play Roberta Vinci, whose so-called "old school" (I call it clever and interesting tennis) game gave her a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win over countrywoman and doubles partner Sara Errani. Errani was seeded 9th.

Finally, 6th seed Andrea Petkovic defeated qualifier Eleni Daniilidou 6-3, 6-2. Petkovic will play Schnyder in the semifinals.

In Osaka, Kimiko Date Krumm upset 1st seed and defending champion Sam Stosur, and Tammy Tanasugarn defeated Chang Kai-Chen. 2nd seed Marion Bartoli defeated Jill Craybas 6-1, 6-2, and 3rd seed Shahar Peer defeated 7th seed Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-0.

Date Krumm takes defending champion Stosur out of Osaka

Whoever it was who said that Kimiko Date Krumm's comeback has been overrated really needs to re-think that opinion. She recently knocked off Tokyo defending champion Maria Sharapova, and today, she upset Osaka top seed and defending champion Sam Stosur. Date Krumm defeated Stosur 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 in the quarterfinals. The match lasted over 2 and 1/2 hours, and its length and intensity may harm Date Krumm's chances to win her semifinal contest against Shahar Peer. Of course, one is tempted to say she may struggle because she is 40 years old, but players younger than she frequently wear out after very intense matches.

I wish Date Krumm had not retired when she did, but the good news is that she is on the tour again. The athletic and creative Date Krumm is a breath of fresh air, and her presence on the other side of the net almost always means trouble for most players.

Schnyder advances to 3rd round in Linz

Linz has always been a good tournament for Patty Schnyder. She played in the final in 2005 but injured her hand in the middle of the match and couldn't do much after that (the winner was Nadia Petrova, collecting her first tour victory). Schnyder made it to the semifinals in 2006, but lost to Maria Sharapova (7-5, 7-5). She was a finalist again in 2007, when Daniela Hantuchova, Schnyder's long-time rival, took the title.

Today, Schnyder advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 6-0 win over 8th seed Klara Zakopalova. Hantuchova, who is seeded 2nd, also won her second round match. 5th seed Petra Kvitova, however, was upset 6-2, 6-1 by Julia Goerges.

In the next round, Schnyder and Hantuchova will play each other for the 19th time. Their victories are currently split at 10-8, with Hantuchova taking the lead. Hantuchova has, in fact, won the last five times they have played. Schnyder's last victory over Hantuchova took place in Linz in 2005.

In Osaka, the seeded players--Kimiko Date Krumm, Shahar Peer and Iveta Benesova--all won their second round matches today. Also, Jill Craybas defeated Olga Savchuk 6-1, 6-1.

Kirilenko out of Osaka with hip injury

 The injuries just don't stop occurring. Today, 4th seed Maria Kirilenko retired in the second round of the HP Open. Kirilenko sustained a hip injury during her match, so Chang Kai-Chen, moves to the third round. Top seeds Sam Stosur and Marion Bartoli advanced to the next round, and Tammy Tanasugarn took out Coco Vandeweghe. The match, which Tanasugarn won 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, lasted over three hours.

Not surprisingly, Anastasia Rodionova retired in her first round of play in Linz. Rodionova suffered a strain of the left adductor; she played in all three tennis events last week at the Commonwealth Games, and won two gold medals and one silver.

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.

Keothavong defeats Groth in Linz

Anne Keothavong hasn't had an easy time of it lately, and her lagging confidence must surely have gotten a boost when she defeated Jarmila Groth today in Linz. Keothavong advanced to the 2nd round with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 victory.

Also winning were 8th seed Klara Zakopalova, who defeated Elena Vesnina 7-5, 7-5, and 6th seed Andrea Petkovic, who defeated Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4.

In doubles, 3rd seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci defeated Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 6-1.

In Osaka, Coco Vandeweghe upset 5th seed Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-2.

At long last, Stosur wins a tournament

3rd seed Samantha Stosur, who had previously lost five Sony Ericsson WTA Tour finals, did better today in Osaka. Stosur defeated Francesca Schiavone (who has her own history of problems with finals) 7-5, 6-1.

The doubles title went to top seeds Chuang Chia-Jung and Lisa Raymond, who defeated Chanelle Scheepers and Abigail Spears in straight sets.

1 upset in Linz, 2 injuries in Osaka

One quarterfinal in Osaka today wound up with a retirement, and the other was a walkover. Marion Bartoli retired at 4-6, 0-2 against Sania Mirza because of a right shoulder injury, and Melinda Czink's right foot injury caused her to give Francesca Schiavone the walkover.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated 6th seed Aleksandra Wozniak (why do they keep playing each other?!) 6-2, 6-7, 6-2, and 3rd seed Samantha Stosur defeated Jill Craybas, 6-1, 6-3.

In Linz, the top three seeds--Flavia Pennetta, Agnieszka Radwanska and Yanina Wickmayer--won their quarterfinal matches, and 4th seed Carla Suarez Navarro was upset by Petra Kvitova, 7-5, 6-4.

Date Krumm out of HP Open

Wild card Kimiko Date Krumm was knocked out of the first round of the HP Open in Osaka today by Jill Craybas, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

Meanwhile, in Linz, 6th seed Sorana Cirstea was upset 6-3, 6-3 by qualifier Julia Goerges. Yesterday, 4th seed Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Katarina Srebotnik in straight sets. Srebotnik is not having an easy time of it, making a return from two serious injuries.