Miscellany

Sofia Arvidsson and Johanna Larsson won the doubles title in Quebec City today. They defeated top seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1, 2-6, 10-6.

Lu Jing-Jing upset qualifying top seed Ayumi Morita in the first round of qualifying in Seoul. (Lu was subsequently defeated by Hsieh Su-Wei.)

Zheng Jie could be out as long as six months because of her wrist surgery.

The Family Circle Cup has announced its partnership with the City of Charleston Department of Recreation's Courting Kids inner-city youth program. The tournament has committed over $50,000 in financial, material and promotional support to the program, in the form of equipment, clothing, parties, and Family Circle Cup seats. There will be two fund-raising events for Courting Kids at the 2011 Family Circle Cup tournament.

Vera Zvonareva did a photo shoot for Glamour.

Justine Henin has begun practicing again.

The ITF and BNP Paribas have agreed to sponsor Fed Cup for a new five-year period, beginning in 2012. 

Date Krumm wins in Seoul

Having defeated both the top seed and the defending champion, Kimiko Date Krumm took her Seoul victories a step farther today, defeating 2nd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-3 for the Hansol Korea Open title. This was Date Krumm's 8th career title, and her first in 13 years. Tomorrow is the Seoul champion's birthday: She will be 39.

Chan Yung-Jan and Abigail Spears won the doubles title.

Shvedova upset in Tashkent

Number 1 seed Yaroslava Shvedova was upset today at the Tashkent Open by Akgul Amanmuradova. Amanmuradova defeated Shvedova 6-4, 7-6, and will play 2nd seed Shahar Peer in the final. Peer defeated 4th seed Olga Govortsova, 7-5, 6-2.

At the Hansol Korea Open in Seoul, Kimiko Date Krumm continued her comeback campaign by winning her semifinal, defeating Maria Kirilenko, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. In the final, she will play 2nd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, who defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Hantuchova upset in Seoul

First seed Daniela Hantuchova lost in the quarterfinals of the Hansol Korea Open today. Hantuchova was defeated 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 by Kimiko Date Krumm. Other quarterfinal results include:

Maria Kirilenko def. 7th seed Vera Dushevina, 7-5, 7-6

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Chan Yung-Jan, 6-0, 2-6, 7-5

2nd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3, 6-3

Meanwhile, in Tashkent, the top seed, Yaroslava Shvedova, won her quarterfinal match against 6th seed Monica Niculescu, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2. Here are the remaining quarterfinal scores:

Akgul Amanmuradova def. 5th seed Stefanie Voegele, 6-1, 6-4

4th seed Olga Govortsova def. Darya Kustova, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2

2nd seed Shahar Peer def. qualifier Alexandra Panova, 6-4, 64

Pavlyuchenkova and Bammer upset in Seoul

Chan Yung-Jan defeated 6th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 today at the Hansol Korea Open. Also upset was 8th seed Sybille Bammer, who was defeated 6-1, 7-5 by Magdalena Rybarikova. Yesterday, 4th seed Sorana Cirstea was upset in three sets by Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

Stosur halts Craybas's run in Seoul

Jill Craybas may have taken out Shahar Peer in the quarterfinals of the Hansol Korea Open yesterday, but today, she was no match for Samantha Stosur, who defeated her in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-1. The whole thing was over in forty-five minutes.

Stosur has one of the very best serves on the tour, and her first serve win percentage for the match was 82; her second serve win percentage was 68. Stosur has pulled her way back up--almost to the top--in doubles, but is still working to restore her singles status after taking a very long sick leave last year.

Meanwhile, Kaia Kanepi was serving at 40-0 at 4-5 in the third set of her semifinal match against Maria Kirilenko, only to see Kirilenko make five straight points and win the match, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Top seed Kirilenko and Stosur have played three times before. Stosur had to retire in one of those matches, and they each won one of the others.

Craybas upsets Peer in Seoul

Number 2 seed Shahar Peer, whose season has been disappointing, had another disappointment today when she was defeated in the quarterfinals of the Hansol Korea Open by Jill Craybas, 6-2, 7-5. victorious in the quarterfinals were top seed Maria Kirilenko, Kaia Kanepi and Samantha Stosur.

Kirilenko def. Parmentier, 6-3, 6-2
Kanepi def. Wickmeyer, 6-1, 6-4
Stosur def. Makarova, 6-3, 6-4

Tanasugarn upsets Srebotnik in Beijing

Tammy Tanasugarn, down 1-5 today in the second set of her first-round China Open match against Katarina Srebotnik, came back to win in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.

Also of interest in Beijing: Francesca Schiavone defeated wild card Li Na, 6-1, 76. And Aleksandra Wozniak defeated Virginie Razzano, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, Ekaterina Makarova defeated Tamira Paszek, 6-1, 6-2. And if that looks like a runover (Makarova is very good, but what is it with Paszek?), the real damage was done by Jill Craybas, who beat (not so) lucky loser Yuan Meng, 6-0, 6-0. Ouch.

Williams wins Hansol Korea Open

Venus Williams defeated Maria Kirilenko, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, today to win the Hansol Korea Open in Seoul. Williams obviously entered the Tier IV affair to get needed points in the final run to the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships. For some time now, I have wondered why the tour does not do something to prevent top players from entering Tier IV tournaments to grab quick points. Yes, an argument can be made that having a Venus Williams in the tournament raises everyone's level of play, but it also spoils the competitive nature of the event. As a fan, I would not be happy to buy a ticket to a Tier IV event and know beforehand who was almost certainly going to win the title.

Williams was decked out in full Korean costume for the trophy presentation, and appeared to enjoy the experience.