Rybarikova defeats Kvitova to win Prague 100k tournament

Madrid champion Petra Kvitova skipped Rome in order to play the 100k ITF tournament in Prague. The bad news is that, during the week, she sustained a hip injury. She also lost the final to Memphis champion Magdalena Rybarikova, who defeated her 6-3, 6-4. Rybarikova was the 4th seed; Kvitova was the 1st.

Kvitova was to have played in the new Brussels tournament that starts tomorrow, but she is no longer in the draw.

Lisicki out in 1st round of $100k event in Torhout

Sabine Lisicki lost today in the first round of the $100k ITF tournament in Torhout, Belgium. Zuzana Kucova defeated the struggling German player 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Tamira Paszek, Johanna Larsson and 2nd seed Timea Bacsinszky also went out in the first round. Yanina Wickmayer is the top seed at the event.

Miscellany

Svetlana Kuznetsova is recovering from illness and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Jill Craybas defeated Jelena Dokic 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the $100k ITF tournament in Tokyo. Dokic, who double-faulted 13 times, was the second seed.

The tour site continues its history of the original nine activists and organizers with a feature on Judy Dalton.

Three men have been arrested for hurling a barrage of racial insults at Anne Keothavong outside a hotel in Barnstaple, England. The men were also charged with a shoplifting offense.

The Australian Open is increasing its prize money.

Heather Watson won her first round at the Commonwealth Games. She defeated Tara Lambert 6-0, 6-0. Watson is seeded 5th at the Games.

ITF updates

This weekend, Mirjana Lucic won the $75k ITF tournament in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She defeated 3rd seed Lindsay Lee-Waters 6-1, 6-4 in the final.

Rebecca Marino won the $50k tournament in Saguenay, Quebec. Marino defeated Alison Riske 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 in the final. Riske was the top seed.

The champion of the $100k tournament in Saint Malo, France is Romina Oprandi. Oprandi defeated 2nd seed Alize Cornet 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in the final of the clay court tournament.

Miscellany

Sabine Lisicki, the number 2 seed in this week's 75k Shrewsbury ITF tournament, was upset in the second round by Heather Watson. Watson lost to 8th seed Eva Birnerova in the quarterfinals.

Rosie Casals talks with Adam Lincoln.

And here is David Rosenberg's interview with Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs.

Dinara Safina recently had a coaching session with her brother, Marat.

The city of Opitter, Belgium, where Kim Clijsters grew up, has honored her with a fountain and sculpture.

Chanda Rubin and Katrina Adams have been nominated to serve on the USTA board of directors. Adams is already a director at large.

Chakvetadze wins Bronx challenger

Former world number 5 Anna Chakvetadze won the 100k ITF Bronx challenger today. Chakvetadze defeated 7th seed Sofia Arvidsson 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

4th seeds Kristina Barrois and Yvonne Meusburger won the doubles title. They defeated 1st seeds Natalie Grandin and Abigail Spears 1-6, 6-4, 15-13.

Chakvetadze plays Urszula Radwanska in the first round of the U.S. Open, and she is in the same part of the draw as 8th seed Li Na and 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Chakvetadze & Arvidsson to compete in Bronx final

Unseeded Anna Chakvetadze advanced to the final of the 100k ITF Bronx tournament today, with a semifinal defeat of 8th seed Ekaterina Madarova. Chakvetadze won the match 6-3, 6-3. In the other semifinal match, 7th seed Sofia Arvidsson defeated 2nd seed Klara Zakopalova 7-6, 6-3.

Lisicki out in 1st round of Bronx challenger

Sabine Lisicki has been knocked out of the 100k Bronx ITF tournament in the first round. She was defeated 6-3, 6-3 by countrywoman Kristina Barrois. Barrois will face yet another German, Angelique Kerber, in the second round.

Also going out in the first round were Iveta Benesova (def. by Kerber), Alize Cornet (def. by Tathiana Garbin) and Stefanie Voegele (def. by Barbora Zahlavova Strycova).

The top seed is Lucie Safarova, who advanced to the second round by defeating Gabriela Paz.

Miscellany

Caroline Wozniacki will be the number 1 seed at the U.S. Open; she is last year's runner-up.

Former top juniors (number 1 and 2, respectively) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Melanie Oudin will compete in the first round of Pilot Pen Tennis. Oudin defeated Pavlyuchenkova in the first round of the 2009 U.S. Open.

Longines and Steffi Graf will host the Center Court for Kids Tennis Clinic on September 2 at Central Park Tennis Center. Graf, a Longines Brand Ambassador, will be assisted by other tennis pros in providing instruction to fifty girls from the metro New York area.

Daria Gavrilova is the girls' singles champion of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.

The 100k ITF Bronx tournament begins on August 23. A lead-in to the U.S. Open, the tournament features a main draw of 32 players. This year's entry list includes Sabine Lisicki, Anna Chakvetadze, Ekaterina Makarova, Iveta Benesova, and Klara Zakopalova.

Broady advances to Hammond 25k quarterfinals

I spent part of the day at the Tangipahoa Tourism/Loeb Law Firm $25K Tennis Classic in Hammond, Louisiana today. We have had tropical storm-strength winds around here lately, as well as rain, so conditions have been tough for the players. Today was crisp and cold and very sunny, with intermittent--but not high--wind blowing on the courts.

I watched a really high quality 2nd round match between qualifier Naomi Broady and wild card Kimberly Couts. This match had a bit of everything, including some drama. At one point in the second set, Broady was so upset by the chair umpire's line calls (the chair umpire was in charge of calling the baseline and the service line) that she questioned whether her opponent was being given preferential treatment because she was American. The tournament supervisor came to the court and had a chat with both the chair umpire and Broady, and that appeared to settle things. In the second half of the match, however, it was Couts who argued continually with the chair umpire.

What everyone around me was talking about, though, was Broady's backhand, and with good reason. It's a one-hander, but it isn't "artistic," a la Henin or Mauresmo or Schiavone. Broady puts a very big burst of energy into the stroke, which she snaps, and it then cracks across the court with power and precision. If you saw the ball without seeing the stroke, you would assume it was delivered by a powerful two-handed backhand.

Broady won the first set, 6-3, and Couts--who played a very good match--won the second, 2-6. Broady went up 4-0 in the third, but Couts came back to make it 4-all. Broady broke again, though, then won the set (and the match) 6-4. I liked the authority she displayed when she served for the match. There was no messing around; indeed, there were two aces. Broady has a strong serve, and her preparation is reminiscent of Sharapova's.

Vaidisova loses in 1st round of Louisiana challenger

Qualifier Heather Watson defeated Nicole Vaidisova 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 today in the first round of the 25k ITF tournament in Hammond, La. High winds and rain caused the tournament to get off to a slow start, but the first round has been completed.

I'll be attending the event later in the week and will report more.

ITF lifts Wickmayer ban

Yanina Wickmayer had to wait only one day--though that was probably a very long day--to get her one-year suspension officially removed by the International Tennis Federation. Cleared by a Belgian court on Monday, Wickmayer then had to wait for the ITF to make its decision. The ITF consulted with the World Anti-Doping Agency, and today, announced that the Belgian player was free to compete.

Wickmayer has a wild card to play in Brisbane, and hopes to obtain a wild card to play in the Australian Open.

A little bit of good news: Dokic wins in Athens

Jelena Dokic won the 100k ITF tournament in Athens over the weekend, defeating Eleni Daniilidou in the final. Dokic did not drop a set during the tournament.

ITF to investigate Serena Williams incident

According to Yahoo! Sports, the International Tennis Federation plans to launch a formal investigation of Serena Williams' comments and behavior directed at a line judge in last night's U.S. Open women's semifinals. Members of the ITF will meet with members of the Grand Slam Committee and U.S. Open referee Brian Earley. Some representing the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will also be on hand for the investigation.

It is expected that Williams will have to pay a large fine because of the incident.

Navratilova receives Philippe Chatrier Award

The International Tennis Federation's highest honor, the Philippe Chatrier Award, was presented this week to Martina Navratilova. The award was presented at the World Champions Dinner in Paris. Champions' awards went to Jelena Jankovic, Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

Wickmayer defaulted in Clearwater

Yanina Wickmayer and Julie Coin reached the final of the 50k ITF tournament in Clearwater, Florida over the weekend. Wickmayer won the first set, 6-3, and at 1-all in the second set, something happened. Wickmayer hit a "linesman" (I am pretty sure, from what I've heard, that this "linesman" was actually a woman) on the shoulder with a ball during the course of play. According to Wickmayer, up until that point, there had been no official standing in that spot, and suddenly, one appeared.

I really cannot get a grasp on exactly what happened, but the result was that Wickmayer was defaulted for the match and lost all of her points and prize money for the tournament.

ITF names Jankovic 2008 World Champion

The International Tennis Federation has given its 2008 World Champion designation to world number 1 Jelena Jankovic.