Passing shots

Kim Clijsters, already off of the tour for a month because of shoulder and wrist injuries, now has an ankle injury, too. Clijsters hurt her ankle while attending her cousin's wedding. She is walking on crutches, and her French Open participation is now in question. Clijsters had already withdrawn from the Belgian Fed Cup team.

Withdrawing from the Australian Fed Cup team is Jelena Dokic, who cites exhaustion as the reason. Sam Stosur, Australia's lead player, had already announced that she would not play in the upcoming Fed Cup tie.

Irina-Camelia Begu was the runner-up in Marbella  this past week, so you may want to know more about her.

"I dream of being as consistent as Caroline Wozniacki for the whole season, not just clay courts or whatever," Svetlana Kuznetsova told Guy McCrae in Marbella.

Some good news: Dinara Safina's back problem in Marbella was strictly nerve-related, and not serious. Her stress fracture continues to heal nicely.

Francesca Schiavone won an exhibition set 6-4 against Caroline Wozniacki in Monte Carlo.

Venus and Serena Williams are opening a clothing store called "Courture" in Miami.

2009 champion Lisicki advances to 2nd round in Charleston

Sabine Lisicki serves in her 1st round match

There was a time, just a few years ago, when the names "Tamira Paszek" and "Sabine Lisicki" were synonymous with "future WTA star," then things turned kind of sour for both of them. Lisicki, the 2009 Family Circle Cup champion, needed three sets today to defeat Renata Voracova, but her 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory took her into the second round. Lisicki's opening round match was postponed for two hours because--and don't say I didn't warn you--a big storm came in, following a tornado watch. Because this is Charleston in April.

Paszek also advanced to the second round when she defeated Melanie Oudin 6-1, 7-5. I saw the second set, which was pretty high quality, with both players painting the lines, and with Oudin actually winning more points with her backhand.

While the names Lisicki and Paszek stir memories of unkept promises, another name--Jelena Dokic--stirs memories of everything from world-class hitting to heart-breaking personal crisis. Today, Dokic lost her first round to qualifier Anna Tastishvili. The former world number 4 double-faulted ten times, and appeared preoccupied with too many matters that were not really urgent. Dokic yelled in frustration, and struggled to keep from breaking her racquet. There were 17 breaks of serve in the match, which Tatishvili won, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Dokic wins Malaysian Open

Today in Kuala Lumpur, Jelena Dokic won her first WTA Tour title since 2002. Dokic defeated 5th seed Lucie Safarova 2-6, 7-6, 6-4, after Safarova served for the match in the second set. Dokic, thoughout the tournament, repeatedly came from behind to win, and mastered a series of tiebreaks. She won today's tiebreak 11-9, saving two match points along the way. She also served thirteen aces.

Before she left the tour, Dokic--who was once ranked number 4 in the world--won five titles, including championships in Rome, Tokyo and Moscow. In 2009, she made a dramatic and emotional run to the Australian Open quarterfinals, in which she lost to eventual runner-up Dinara Safina.

Safina, with partner Galina Voskoboeva, won the Malaysian Open doubles championship. Safina and Voskoboeva defeated Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and Jessica Moore 7-5, 2-6, 10-5. Safina has fallen on hard times since she injured her back, so a win for her in doubles--though not as dramatic as Dokic's victory--is nevertheless a small change in fortune. Today's victory is the Russian's first championship doubles win in three years.

Dokic to play Safarova in Kuala Lumpur final

Jelena Dokic has made a surprise run to the final of the Malaysian Open. She defeated Michaella Krajicek in straight sets in the semifinals, and will compete against 5th seed Lucie Safarova for the 2011 title. Safarova defeated 4th seed (and wild card) Jarmila Groth. Dokic, who was off the tour for several years, has not won a title since 2002.

In Monterrey, Gisela Dulko won her 8th straight Mexican clay match, defeating Ksenia Pervak 6-1, 6-0. Other quarterfinal winners were top seed Jelena Jankovic, 2nd seed and defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and 8th seed Polona Hercog.

Second seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King are in the final. Their opponents will be either the top-seeded team of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova or 3rd seeds, Julia Goerges and Polona Hercog.

Dokic reaches semifinals of Malaysian Open

Jelena Dokic upset 8th seed Bojana Jovanovski today in straight sets to reach the semifinals of the Malaysian Open. Also going out was 2nd seed Marion Bartoli, who lost in straight sets to 5th seed Lucie Safarova. The other semifinalists are Michaella Krajicek (def. Anne Kremer) and Jarmila Groth (def. 6th seed Ayumi Morita). Groth has a wild card and is also seeded fourth.

Meanwhile, in Monterrey, top seed Jelena Jankovic has advanced to the quarterfinals, as has Gisela Dulko, who has now won seven straight matches in Mexico.

Dokic upsets Schiavone at Malaysian Open

Very recently, world number 5 Francesca Schiavone told the tennis media that she probably needed to take some time off but felt that she couldn't. She entered the Malaysian Open as a wild card and became the top seed, but she lost today in the first round to Jelena Dokic. There was a rain delay in the match, and, in the third set, Schiavone injured her ankle. She said, after the match, that perhaps she made the injury worse by continuing to play, but she didn't want to retire.

Now the Italian star will probably get some time off. Dokic's 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 win included fifteen double faults, three of which were made consecutively. She also managed to hit eight aces (Schiavone hit eleven).

Marion Bartoli is seeded 2nd in Kuala Lumpur. The draw also includees Alisa Kleybanova, Jarmila Groth, Bojanai Jovanovski, Lucie Safarova, Kimiko Date Krumm, and Dinara Safina.

Melbourne miscellany

Tennis Australia's Louise Pleming is acting as Jelena Dokic's temporary coach at the Australian Open. I reported recently that Dokic had hired Glenn Schapp to be her coach, but apparently, that didn't work out. Dokic said she "didn't feel that click" with Schapp.

The Tennis Channel commentating team waited until Agnieszka Radwanska was down 1-4 in the third set of the first round before casually mentioning that she had had foot surgery in October and wasn't sure, until the last minute, that she would play in Melbourne. Radwanska hadn't played since September, and not discussing her injury and surgery felt like a major omission. (She did win the match, but that's another story.

One more time: Alla Kudryavtseva did not make a disparaging remark about Maria Sharapova's tennis dress when she upset her in the 2008 Wimbledon tournament. She made a sarcastic little joke as a response to what she thought was a less-than-intelligent question from a member of the sports media. It shocked her that dozens of journalists didn't get that she was being ironic. It didn't exactly shock me.

While I'm on the subject of the tennis media....ESPN's Australian Open commentators' discussion of the "great cloud" concerning Serena Williams' foot is beyond tiresome. A drunken, irresponsible person threw a bottle and cut Williams' foot. It was a significant injury. She had to have two surgeries. Great cloud.

Vania King is walking, shopping in Melbourne's Chinatown, singing, and preparing to play Australian Open number 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki.

This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen occur in a professional tennis match:

Dokic gets Australian Open wild card

Though she lost to Olivia Rogowska in the wild card playoffs, Jelena Dokic will not have to go through qualifying in Melbourne. Tennis Australia has awarded Dokic a wild card into the main draw.

In 2009, Dokic was awarded a wild card, and she made it all the way to the quarterfinals in an especially dramatic and emotional run.

Rogowska wins Australian Open wild card

Olivia Rogowska was down 1-6, 1-3 to Jelena Dokic in the Australian Open wild card playoffs. There was a rain delay, and--according to Rogowska--Dokic returned from it with a little less swing. But also, Rogowska, who had lost two other wild card playoff finals, said she felt she just shouldn't lose three. She saved two match points and defeated Dokic 1-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Dokic advances to wild card playoff final

Jelena Dokic has defeated Alicia Molik 6-3, 6-1 in the Australian Open wild card playoffs in Australia. She will play Olivia Rogowska in the final.

The USA playoffs semifinals take place today. In the meantime, France has awarded its Australian Open wild card to Virginie Razzano.

Dokic to play Molik in wild card playoff semifinal

Jelena Dokic has reached the semifinals of Australia's wild card playoffs for the Australian Open, and her semifinal opponent will be Alicia Molik. Both Dokic and Molik are former WTA top 10 player who left the tour, then returned. They have both had a hard time since coming back. Molik is 2-1 against Dokic; the last time they played was in 2003.

Miscellany

World number 1 Caroline Wozniacki is rumored to be making a racquet change in 2011. Her contract with Babolat expires at the end of this month, and there is speculation that she will switch to Yonex next year. Wozniacki played a recent exhibition match with a Yonex racquet whose brand name was blacked out.

Flavia Pennetta, who plays with a Wilson Blade racquet, will be using the new Wilson Blade 98 Pink BLX, which is described by Wilson as "aggressive yet feminine." Thank goodness.

Yaroslava Shvedova has a new website.

More than half of Martina Navratilova's fundraising goal for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation has been reached. Navratilova plans to raise $134,000 for the foundation as she climbs Mount Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro is over 19,000 feet high, and Navratilova has never climbed higher than 12,000 feet; she said she is not concerned about fitness, but about the lack of air at that height. Should she reach the top as planned, she will be hitting tennis balls. "With the air being that thin, they should go a long way."

Jelena Dokic has received a wild card into the main draw of the Brisbane International.

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.

Pre-U.S. Open Miscellany

Anastasia Pavlyuchenko began her stay in New York by doing a photo shoot for Babolat.

Laura Robson defeated Jelena Dokic 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of U.S. qualifying. Of note: Robson hit eleven aces.

"Even though she’s a mom, success still matters a great deal to her," says Matt Cronin of defending champion Kim Clijsters. (Because we all know that having a child wipes out all desire and ambition in women.)

Vera Zvonareva and Lisa Raymond are two of the players who have designated tomorrow as a shopping day in New York.

To prepare for the Open, Maria Sharapova has been training at the Bollettieri Academy.

Serena Williams was co-commentator for Nike's Prime Time Knockout last night at Pier 54 in Manhattan. Victoria Azarenka was one of the participants.

Dokic survives 1st day of Wimbledon qualifying

Jelena Dokic won her first round of qualifying for the main draw of Wimbledon today, defeating Melanie Klaffner. Others who advanced in qualifying include Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Michaella Krajicek, Simona Halep, Zhang Shuai, and Tamira Paszek. 2nd qualifying seed Johanna Jenny Larsson was defeated by Sesil Karatantcheva.

Dokic out in 2nd round of Monterrey qualifying

top qualifying seed Jelena Dokic failed to make it through the second qualifying round of the Monterrey Open today. She was defeated 6-2, 6-2 by Kristina Antoniychuk. 2nd qualifying seed Shenay Perry was defeated in the first round by Marie-Eve Pelletier.

Miscellany

Retired French player Nathalie Dechy gave birth to a boy on January 25. Dechy and her husband have named the baby Lucas.

Jelena Dokic has withdrawn from the Pattaya Open.

Kim Clijsters says she's flattered that Mattel made a Barbie of her. Only they didn't, Kim....

Li Na and Zheng Jie were given the full treatment when they returned to China after reaching the Australian Open semifinals. Li said she expected to make a quiet entry, but was greeted by flowers, banners, and a bevy of reporters and camerapeople at the airport.

Justine Henin has been given a wild card into the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Victoria Azarenka says she retired in her Fed Cup match because of illness. She said she thinks she may not ever have felt this bad, which is saying something, considering the 2009 food poisoning incident.

Australian season has special drama this year

The Australian season is always thrilling because it opens the tour's calendar year, and provides fans with a major tournament early in the season. This year, however, there is some extra drama:

2004 Australian Open champion Justine Henin has returned to the tour (perhaps the tour site could put her back into the main player index now?), and says that she expects to be better than she was before her retirement. Surely all eyes will be on her when she plays in Melbourne, especially if she does well in the preceding tournaments.

Kim Clijsters has returned to the tour, and began her comeback by winning the U.S. Open. Aussie Kim now has her nemesis, Henin, to face again, and having the two of them back will definitely liven things up at the Australian Open.

Yanina Wickmayer dodged a two-year suspension, and--though she says she was shaken from her experience with the Belgian anti-doping commission--she appears to be doing just fine in Brisbane. She is unlikely to get a wild card into the Australian Open, but should make it through qualifying. (If she does make it through qualifying, she should be seeded, according to ITF rules.)

Jelena Dokic probably has more pressure on her than anyone. Dokic made a dramatic run to the quarterfinals last year. She then went on to play Fed Cup matches, and to compete at Indian Wells, after which she said she was exhausted. Dokic was eventually diagnosed with sports fatigue syndrome and had to take a long rest, the rest of her season was disappointing.

Alicia Molik has returned to the tour, as has Casey Dellacqua, which gives Australia more to look forward to in terms of Aussie players competing in the Open.

Samantha Stosur enters the 2010 season as a 2009 French Open semifinalist. She has been working on her slice backhand for several weeks, and tennis fans are eager to see how far she can go in Melbourne.

Miscellany

Players saved at least one match point and went on to win the tournament seven times this season.

Victoria Azarenka is no longer being coached by Antonio van Grichen.

Jelena Dokic has become the latest player to join the Moratoglou Academy in Paris. She joins Aravane Rezai and Sorana Cirstea. Dokic's principal coach will still be Borna Bikic.

Serena Williams and Andy Roddick have responded to the addition of mixed doubles to the Olympic Games by announcing their desire to compete as a team. There is also speculation that Venus Williams will team with Bob Bryan.

Sam Stosur has been working on her slice backhand.

Dokic wins 100k tournament in France

Jelena Dokic defeated Sofia Arvidsson 6-4, 6-4 today in Poitiers to win the 100k tournament there. Also entered were Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva and Michaella Krajicek.