Marino out in 1st round of Miami qualifying

Rebecca Marino, the number 2 qualifying seed at the Sony Ericsson Open, lost today in the first round of qualifying. Marino was defeated 6-1, 7-5 by Jamie Hampton. 3rd seed Magdalena Rybarikova also went out in the first round. Rybarikova lost to wild card Michelle Larcher De Brito.

Top qualifying seed Date Krumm out of San Diego qualifying

Kimiko Date Krumm, the top seed in the San Diego qualifying draw, was defeated today in the first round of qualifying. Jamie Hampton beat Date Krumm 6-2, 7-6. Also going out in the first round were Alison Riske, who lost to 2nd seed Alla Kudryattseva, 3rd seed Ayumi Morita, who lost to Olga Savchuk, and Michelle Larcher De Brito, who was defeated by Madison Brengle.

Hampton takes Mattek-Sands out of Stanford qualifying

Jamie Hampton, who has been a dominant player on the ITF circuit this year, made it through the second round of Bank of the West qualifying today by defeating second qualifying seed Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 6-3.

Michelle Larcher De Brito and Alison Riske also lost in the second round. Larcher De Brito lost to the top seed, Chang Kai-Chen.

Also this weekend, Heather Watson won her second ITF title, a $25k tournament in Wrexham, Wales. Watson defeated Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-4.

Miscellany

Serena Williams is the winner of the BET Sportswoman of the Year award.

Note to some members of the Wimbledon crowd at Court 2: Imitating the crowd at the French Open is not a positive step. If five-time champion Venus Williams is late for her arrival on court, there's a good reason for it--and you know it.

Jamie Hampton of the USA won the $50k ITF tournament in Boston last week.

Kaia Kanepi is probably the only tour player whose website main page features an illustration of her rather than a photo.

ESPN's "Homecoming with Rick Reilly" will feature Billie Jean King on the July 3 show at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The show will air again on July 9 at 7:30 p.m. The program tells the life stories of famous athletes in front of family members and friends they have known throughout their lives. Tracy Austin and Maria Sharapova will be featured, with Chris Evert making an appearance via satellite.

Zhang Shuai wins 13th ITF title in Hammond

Zhang Shuai, seeded 3rd, won the Tangipahoa Tourism/Loeb Law Firm 25k Tennis Classic in Hammond, Louisiana today, easily defeating Jamie Hampton, who was a different player today than she had been earlier in the week. Hampton's first serve, which has been a strength in this tournament, was off the mark in the final, and she made too many unforced errors to make the match as competitive as it could have been.

The match was somewhat of a letdown in more ways than one. The tournament director introduced Zhang as "Ching Chang," and--though he tried to make up for this gaffe at the awards presentation--he didn't do much better the second time.

Conditions were good today--pleasant temperatures and very little wind. Zhang went up 3-0 right away, with Hampton winning just a few games because she was making unforced errors. Serving at 1-4, deuce, Hampton held with the help of two high-kicking second serves. Zhang won the seventh game after Hampton rushed the net and the 3rd seed was able to get a backhand down the line past her. Zhang took the first set 6-2.

Hampton broke Zhang immediately when the second set began, and I probably wasn't the only one who thought we were going to get a competitive set. But Zhang broke her right back when Hampton once again had problems with her serve. The unforced errors continued to come off of Hampton's racquet, and Zhang won the second set 6-1.

Then an odd thing happened. Zhang shook hands with Hampton and then just sat down and put away her racquet; she never raised it so that she could hear the applause from the crowd. That wasn't the only strange thing about the end of the match. Hampton and Zhang were given their checks, each of them said a few words, and the ballboy holding Zhang's trophy was never asked to give it to her. He just stood there with it, and finally, he put it down. So there was no holding the trophy and hearing the applause from the crowd, either.

Zhang was kind enough to spend a little time with me after the match. I asked her what the hardest part of getting to the final and winning was, and she said that--in the last four matches--it was getting herself together and remaining calm, no matter what.

Zhang said she had hoped to go to Indian Wells, but she didn't get in, so she is going to the $25k tournament in Clearwater, Florida, after which she will play in the 25k tournament in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. And after that, Zhang heads to Miami. Her goal for the year, she said, is to get into the top 100. She is currently ranked number 145 in the world.

Finally, I asked today's champion which of her shots is her favorite, and she answered, "All of them!"

Zhang and Hampton to play in Hammond 25k final

Zhang Shuai won a hard-fought semifinal against Xu Yi-Fan

Jamie Hampton advanced to the final when Kurumi Nara retired because of illness

Zhang Shuai and Jamie Hampton will compete tomorrow for the championship of the 2010 25k challenger tournament in Hammond, Louisiana. Their playing styles are different, and their semifinal paths to the final were dramatically different.

Zhang, the 3rd seed, played her semifinal against the unseeded Xu Yi-Fan, who--with partner Zhou Yi-Maio--also won the doubles championship today. Xu, who plays left-handed, dominated in the first set, which she won 6-2, after going up 4-0. And, while the set was better than the scoreline indicates, Zhang took the second set 6-0. Xu made a number of unforced errors and lost most of the long rallies. Then the two players got down to business, and produced one of the best sets of tennis I've seen this year.

From the beginning of the set, it was obvious that both players had raised their levels, with Xu rushing the net from time to time, and hitting some good lobs. At 3-all, Xu was down 0-40, but brought the game to deuce. Zhang saved a game point with a forehand down the line, and went on to break Xu, but Xu broke her right back. It was during this game that the umpire called a ball in that was out, and Zhang became agitated and had trouble letting go of the issue.

Serving at 5-6, Zhang went down 0-40, and was broken at 15. But, true to the pattern of this match, she immediately broke back to set up a tiebreak. Xu went up a quick mini-break, and then it went to 2-all. Xu led at 4-2, then 5-2, then 5-3. That lead changed to 5-4, and then Zhanged squared it at 5-all. With Xu serving at 6-5, Zhang saved a match point with a wicked passing shot.

There was a long, outstanding rally, and at the end of it, Zhang was at match point, at 7-6. But Xu saved that match point. Then it was 7-all, then--when a moonball from Xu went long, Zhang had match point again at 8-7. Xu saved that one, too, creating even more excitement. However, Xu--seeing Zhang back on the baseline--attempted a drop shot that failed, giving Zhang her third match point. Xu saved that one, too, with a fast shot down-the-line. However, on her fourth match point, Zhang took the tiebreak--and the match--at 11-9.

Zhang will play Jamie Hampton in the final tomorrow. Hampton, who is unseeded, played 6th seed Kurumi Nara in the semifinals. During the first set, Nara--an especially good court mover-- was moving poorly, and simply did not look right. Hampton took the set easily, at 6-1, and 1-1 in the second set, Nara retired. She had become ill last night and tried to play through the illness, but she felt too sick to continue. This was a real letdown, not only to Nara, but to those of us who were watching.

Jamie Hampton advances to Hammond 25k semifinals

Naomi Broady brought more drama to the court today in her quarterfinal match against Jamie Hampton in Hammond, Louisiana. There were not many people watching the match, but the crowd included Hampton's coach and a woman I presume was her mother. They cheered for Hampton after almost every shot she made, which irritated Broady to the point that she asked the umpire if it was "necessary" that Hampton's supporters "say something after every shot." The umpire quickly pointed out that Hampton's small entourage had not said anything inappropriate ("Nice shot, Jamie!" was the extent of it), and that there was nothing wrong with their cheering for her.

This interruption occurred in the middle of the last game of the first set, which Hampton won, 6-1. Hampton served very well, hit some good passing shots, and--most important--was aggressive from the moment she stepped onto the court. Every chance she had, she went forward, handling Broady's estimable backhand, and either smashing the ball or passing Broady.

Broady went up a quick break in the second, and I settled in for what I thought could be a three-set match. But Hampton never let up on the pressure, hitting a succession of drive volleys on the run, and generally breaking down Broady's game. She had plenty of help from her opponent. After Broady missed a ball that was nicely placed by Hampton, Hampton's supporters again cheered for her. Broady, obviously upset, told the umpire "It's unnecessary and unsportsman."

Hampton won the match 6-1, 6-4, and will play Kurumi Nara in the semifinals.