Davenport & Huber win Stanford

Wild cards Lindsay Davenport and Liezel Huber defeated 2nd seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie in a close final today in Stanford. The two-hour, seven-minute match ended with a 7-5, 6-7, 10-8 victory for the wild cards. Chan and Zheng led 7-5 at one point in the super-tiebreak.

Eleni Daniilidou and Jasmin Woehr won the doubles title in Istanbul, upsetting top seeds Maria Kondratieva and Vladimira Uhlirova 6-4, 1-6, 11-9.

Pavlyuchenkova wins see-saw final in Istanbul

I hated watching Elena Vesnina cry on her birthday, but after almost three hours and eleven minutes of unpredictable--and very entertaining--tennis played in vicious heat in Istanbul today, she couldn't stop a few tears from forming. Vesnina--whose talent is undeniable, but whose mental fragility can get in her way--has never won a tour title. Unseeded, she made it to the Istanbul Cup final, taking out Stephanie Voegele, Anastasia Rodionova and 6th seed Andrea Petkovic along the way. And for a while, it looked as though she would walk away with the Istanbul title.

Vesnina's opponent, 3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, went up 5-2 in the first set, but then Vesnina caught up and took the set 7-5. Winning six games in a row, she then went up 4-0 in the second set. If this situation seemed too good to be true, it's because it was--Pavlyuchenova then went on a campaign that gave her a 7-5 score in the second set.

By the time the third set began, it was obvious that Vesnina was having problems with the heat. At one point in the set, she looked like she might be cramping, but she held on, icing herself during breaks, and then winning points with her spot-on volleys. A fine doubles player (she was a star during Wimbledon), Vesnina knows her way around the net, and she used her volleying skills repeatedly against Pavlyuchenkova.

But Pavlyuchenkova was obviously the fresher of the two, and she used her crack backhand down the line again and again to win points. Pavlyuchenkova had the momentum, yet Vesnina--even when she looked like she couldn't move--managed to stay with her until they reached 5-all. Pavlyuchenkova broke, then held easily to win her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title.

During the trophy ceremony, the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to Vesnina, and, in accepting her trophy, Pavlyuchenkova gave us a gem of broken English (which some may prefer to think of as a Freudian slip): "First of all, I'd like to thank the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for everything they've done to us."

Pavlyuchenkova to play Vesnina in Istanbul final

3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated Jarmila Groth 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 in the Istanbul semifinals today, setting up a final against Elena Vesnina. Groth served for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but was broken.

The other semifinal, between Vesnina and Andrea Petkovic, has one of those strange scorelines you see from time to time: 1-6, 6-0, 7-6. Petkovic led 3-0 in the third set, but Vesnina caught up, and served for the match at 5-3. Petkovic broke her, and the match wound up in a tiebreak, which seemed just right, considering the odd course it had taken. Vesnina went up 5-0 before Petkovic even scored in the tiebreak, and eventually won it, 7-2.

The talented Vesnina has never won a tour title; Pavlyuchenkova has won one title.

Semifinal draw set in Istanbul

3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-2 today in Istanbul, setting up a semifinal contest against Jarmila Groth. Groth defeated Vera Dushevina 7-5, 6-2.

The other semifinal will be played between 6th seed Andrea Petkovic and Elena Vesnina. Petkovic defeated Elena Baltacha 6-4, 6-0, and Vesnina defeated Anastasia Rodionova 7-5, 6-1.

Baltacha defeats Schiavone in Istanbul

Elena Baltacha defeated top seed Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-2 today in the second round of the Istanbul Cup. Also going out was Johanna Larsson, who has made a bit of a splash on the tour lately. Larsson was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Sorana Cirstea. 3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Jarmila Groth also advanced to the next round.

In Stanford, defending champion and 4th seed Marion Bartoli won her second round match against wild card Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. 5th seed Maria Sharapova defeated Olga Govortsova, 8th seed (and wild card) Victoria Azarenka defeated Melanie Oudin, and Maria Kirilenko upset Shahar Peer twice. In singles, she defeated 6th seed Peer, and in doubles, she and partner Azarenka defeated 3rd seeds Peer and Alisa Kleybanova.

Pironkova out of Istanbul in 2nd round

Those of us who were hoping Tsvetana Pironkova's great Wimbledon run might help her turn a corner may have to wait. The 5th seed was defeated 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in Istanbul today by Anastasia Rodionnova.

Also advancing were 6th seed Andrea Petkovic (def. Ekaterina Makarova), Elena Vesnina (def. Stephanie Voegele) and Vera Dushevina (def. Anastasija Sevastova).

Meanwhile, in Stanford, top seed Samantha Stosur defeated qualifier Christina McHale 6-1, 7-5, and advanced to the third round.

Dushevina wins Istanbul Cup

It took Vera Dushevina less than 42 minutes to defeat Lucie Hradecka in today's Istanbul Cup final. Dushevina, who was seeded 5th, defeated the the number 8 seed 6-0, 6-1. On her way to the title, the champion upset world number 21, Anabel Medina Garrigues.

This is Dushevina's first tour singles title; she has been a finalist in three other tournaments.

Hradecka and Dushevina to meet in Istanbul final

Lucie Hradecka--in a match that lasted almost three hours and included 18 breaks--defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 today in Istanbul to advance to the final of the Istanbul Cup. Also advancing was Vera Dushevina, who defeated Timea Bacsinszy 6-2, 6-4.

The doubles title was won today by 3rd-seeded Hradecka and her partner, Renata Voracova. They defeated the 2nd seeds, Julia Goerges and Patty Schnyder, 2-6, 6-3, 12-10.

Medina Garrigues and Govortsova upset in Istanbul

3rd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues was upset today in the Istanbul Cup quarterfinals by 5th seed Vera Dushevina. 7th seed Olga Govortsova was also upset, by Gastein Ladies champion Andrea Petkovic, who defeated her 6-3, 6-3.

Other quarterfinal winners were Timea Bacsinszsky (def. Urszula Radwanska) and 8th seed Lucie Hradecka (def. Marta Domachowska).

Seeds 1 and 2 out in first round in Istanbul

Top seed Vera Zvonareva was upset today in the first round of the Istanbul Cup. Mariya Koryttseva upset Zvonareva 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. The second seed, Patty Schnyder, fared no better; she was defeated 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 by Rossana De Los Rios. Neither Koryttseva nor De Los Rios is seeded.