Schiavone advances to French Open quarterfinals

On the one hand, it was a great match to watch--filled with tension, swinging momentum and wonderful shot-making. On the other, it was a tough one for me to watch because I couldn't bear to see either Jelena Jankovic or defending champion Francesca Schiavone lose. One of them had to, however, and 10th seed Jankovic lost more than the match: She will now go out of the top 10 for the first time in over four years.

Schiavone, seeded 5th, defeated Jankovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. There was a time when you could all but guarantee that Jankovic would win any match that went to three sets; these days, the opposite seems to be the case. The stylish Italian struggled with some things during the match, but she kept her serve strong, and she brought the emotional energy that she's kept bottled up for a long time. The match lasted two hours and 38 minutes, and it would have made a great final. Schiavone and Jankovic going at each other is somewhat different than the drama of Schiavone and Kuznetsova going at each other (and we may get to see that again), but quite entertaining, nonetheless.

Some of us thought Jankovic would one day win the French Open, but--well, that's a discussion for another day.

Kuznetsova, a former French Open champion, also advanced to the quarterfinals. She defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, and will play Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals. Bartoli's opponent, Gisela Dulko, retired shortly after the second set began. Dulko took a medical timeout at 3-4 in the first set, had her thigh worked on and wrapped, and returned to holdthen and break for 5-all. Bartoli broke and won the set 7-5, and after only one game was played in the second set, she had to stop. Almost any player benefits from a retirement at this point in a big tournament, but Bartoli--who has a history of physical fragility--may be especially fortunate.

In the other round of 16 match played today, 14th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reached her first major quarterfinal by upsetting 3rd seed and countrywoman Vera Zvonareva. Zvonareva just hasn't looked too comfortable in Paris, so her upset isn't altogether a surprise. Pavlyuchenkova defeated her 7-6, 2-6, 6-2. The young Russian will play Schiavone in the next round.

Two-time French Open doubles champion Anabel Medina Garrigues and her partner, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, seeded 11th, were defeated today in the third round by 7th seeds Elena Vesnina and Sania Mirza.

Jankovic upset in Brussels tournament

Jelena Jankovic just can't stop the bleeding. Today, in the 2nd round of the Brussels Open, she was defeated 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 by Sofia Arvidsson. Jankovic was seeded 4th at the new WTA International event.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki was challenged by Varvara Lepchenko, but won her 2nd round match, 6-4, 7-6.

5th seed Shahar Peer was defeated by Casey Dellacqua in the first round.

In Strasbourg, both Kimiko Date-Krumm and Sania Mirza went out in the first round. Date-Krumm was defeated by top seed Marion Bartoli, who will play Lucie Hradecka in the second round.

Jankovic and Schiavone out of Italian Open

Blogger has been down for maintenance for a couple of days, so I haven't been able to post anything. The tournament in Rome has really captured my attention, however. It's now close to being in the semifinals, so--before we forget--there are a couple of players who made noteworthy runs, even though they've been beaten.

Polona Hercog, who went out in the first round of qualifying in Madrid, upset 15th seed Andrea Petkovic in straight sets in the second round in Rome. Hercog, who had to go through qualifying, also defeated Alexandra Dulgheru, who is known for her clay court savvy. Hercog lost to 6th seed Sam Stosur in the third round.

Greta Arn had a good run, too. Arn upset 12th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 in a first round match that lasted three hours and 22 minutes. Arn then defeated wild card Alberta Brianti, and she defeated (an injured) Elena Vesnina in the third round (also, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6). Finally, Arn met her match in 4th seed Li Na.

Rome is, of course, generally where Jelena Jankovic "finds herself." She lost the final last year, but her run was nevertheless top form--she defeated both Williams sisters. Today, however, she was beaten in three sets by top seed Caroline Wozniacki. Jankovic made an abundance of unforced errors, helping Wozniacki to send her out of her beloved Rome.  The top seed will play Li in the quarterfinals.

Also making it to the semifinals was Sam Stosur, who took out home favorite and 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in straight sets. Stosur will face wither Victoria Azarenka or Maria Sharapova next.

Fed Cup semifinals to be played this weekend

Lucie Safarova has withdrawn from the Fed Cup semifinals because of a thigh injury. Replacing her on the Czech Republic team is Lucie Hradecka, who will join teammates Petra Kvitova, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and Iveta Benesova. The Czech Republic plays Belgium, represented by Yanina Wickmayer, Kirsten Flipkens, An-Sophie Mestach, and Alison Van Uytvanck. The semifinal will be played on an indoor hard court in Charteroi, Belgium.

Russia plays Italy on an indoor hard court in Moscow in the other semifinal. The withdrawal of both Flavia Pennetta (aka Queen of Fed Cup) and Francesca Schiavone makes Russia a clear favorite. Italy's championship doubles teamm Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, will have to rely on Alberta Brianti and Maria-Elena Camerin to help subdue a strong Russian team comprised of Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Ekaterina Makarova.

Jelena Jankovic says it's a nice feeling to play on a team, and to play for her country. The Serbian team will play the Slovak Republic this weekend in the Fed Cup World Group play-offs. Joining Jankovic will be Ana Ivanovic, Bojana Jovanovski, and Aleksandra Krunic. The opposing team will be comprised of Dominika Cibulkova, Daniela Hantuchova, Magdelena Rybarikova, and Jana Cepelova. The matches will take place on an indoor clay court in Bratislava.

Other World Group play-offs include:

Germany vs. USA
Spain vs. France
Australia vs. Ukraine

World Group II play-offs:

Belarus vs. Estonia
Japan vs. Argentina
Slovenia vs. Canada
Switzerland vs. Sweden

Fed Cup play takes place April 16-18. Italy is the defending champion.

Top seed Wozniacki advances to Charleston final

The buzz around the tournament was that 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic was all set to win her second Family Circle Cup championship, but today, top seed Caroline Wozniacki had another take on the issue. Wozniacki defeated Jankovic 6-4, 6-4 in a semifinal match that should have had everything, but that was really not very satisfying.

Wozniacki was broken at the start of the match. Jankovic began coming forward, as she has been practicing, and went up an early break, though it took her a while. Wozniacki then held, and when the wind picked up, both players were broken at love. At 4-all, Wozniacki held at love. Serving at 4-5, 30-40, Jankovic kicked in a big serve which set her up for a winning volley, but she hit the ball into the net and was broken on the next point.

Jankovic, who used to be known for her expert movement and her ability to find wicked angles--especially with her backhand down the line--has not been herself since she suffered an ankle injury. She is serving much better (though not so much in today's match), but she doesn't have the transition game she used to have. Today, she made so many errors, it was hard to believe that this was the same player who handled the wind (a lot more wind, in fact) so expertly in the 2007 final. The 3rd seed did try to mix things up, but the strategy didn't work too well for her; her drop shots, for example, only drew passing shots from Wozniacki.

There were eight breaks of serve in the match, which lasted close to an hour and 48 minutes. Jankovic said later that "...sometimes I come to the net and I construct the points and I do all the things and then I'm just about to finish it and then I either make a  mistake or she does a great passing shot." That about sums it up.

Jankovic said of Wozniacki: "She makes very few errors. She doesn't go for winners. She doesn't even make mistakes, so you really have to beat her if you're going to win the match against her."

That sums it up pretty well, too.

Top seeds ready for Charleston play, but the weather may not cooperate

Daniel Island, where the Family Circle Cup is played, has unpredictable weather in April. The days can be hot, and the nights quite cold. A tornado can hit. But--most of the time--there isn't much rain during the event. A big storm is supposed to come through in the morning, however, so there is no telling how many matches can be played on the second day of the tournament.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki

The player party was held in Charleston last night, and the top seeds were on the tournament site today. Most of them talked about the adjustments they have to make when they begin the clay court season, or, as 7th seed Alisa Kleybanova put it: "Sometimes you just have that hard court game in your head." Marion Bartoli, the tournament's 4th seed, said that she has to put more spin on the ball and change the angles she uses on the court. 

Defending champion Samantha Stosur

I asked defending champion Sam Stosur (who said she looks at the draw "a little bit") whether she would be coming forward more, since that appears to be an element often missing from her game. "It's one of those things I want to keep working on," she said, and added "It's not part of my comfort zone."

I think we'll definitely see Jelena Jankovic coming forward more. "I have to gradually get comfortable," she said about her decision to work on coming to the net. Jankovic, the 3rd seed and the 2007 champion, said that she is giving herself time to work on some new techniques. The world number 8 seemed really relaxed, and was in her usual very good humor. Jankovic said that her new coach, Andri Pavel, is like her in that they are both perfectionists.

Shahar Peer is playing her first tournament with coach Harold Solomon, whom she hired on a trial basis after her loss in Miami. Peer, who said she needs to work on being more intense on the court, just missed getting into the top 10 when she went out in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Charleston qualifying--day 2

It was warmer today on Daniel Island, and the wind was almost non-existent. We watched Heather Watson and Lenka Weinerova play their qualifying match. Wienerova uses a backhand slice a lot to defend. She also hit a number of good forehand passing shots, but in the end, she wasn't as stable as Watson, who won the match 6-1, 7-6. The second set was tight, and Weinerova was up a break for a while, but after Watson made her shots a little safer, she was able to break back and prevail, largely because of her impressive backhand.

The other qualifiers are: Alex Stevenson (who upset top qualifying seed Coco Vandeweghe), Sania Mirza, Sloane Stephens, Anna Tatishvili, Irina Falconi, Eva Birnerova, and Monica Puig.

Rebecca Marino practiced her serve against Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Bethanie Mattek-Sands had a hit with Rebecca Marino this afternoon, and Yanina Wickmayer hit with Patty Schnyder. These two were last seen together (at least by me) playing each other in a third round thriller at the 2010 U.S. Open (Wickmayer won, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6).

Even some matches aren't as entertaining as a Jankovic practice session. The 2007 champion was in vintage form today as she practiced in the stadium. She talked almost non-stop--with her coach, with her hitting partner, and with herself. Her coach, Andrei Pavel, had her working on return of serve and hitting volleys and half volleys, and she looked quite sharp out there. It was a difficult workout, and at one point, Jankovic yelled "You'll break my back!"

"Don't talk, just drink," JJ's coach told her

Pavlyuchenkova defends Monterrey title

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, seeded second at the Monterrey Open, defended her 2010 title today by defeating top seed Jelena Jankovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. This is Pavlyuchenkova's third WTA title. She is currently ranked number 19 in the world.

The entertaining Czech pair, Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, won the doubles championship. Seeded 1st, Benesova and Zahlavova Strycova defeated 2nd seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King 6-7, 6-2, 10-6. Today's victory is the team's seventh title. Benesova holds a total of eleven doubles titles, and Zahlavova Strycova holds a total of twelve.

Jankovic and Pavlyuchenkova to compete in Monterrey final

Defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenko stopped Gisela Dulko's Mexican streak today, defeating her 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals of the Monterrey Open. Dulko, the champion in Acapulco, had won eight straight matches. Pavlyuchenkova, who is seeded 4th in Monterrey, will play top seed Jelena Jankovic in the final. Jankovic defeated Polona Hercog 6-3, 6-2 today.

Top seeds Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova won the second semifinal match today, defeating 3rd seeds Julia Goerges and Polona Hercog 6-4, 6-3. They will compete for the title against 2nd seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King.

Wozniacki and Zvonareva go to Doha final

Marion Bartoli, who played exceptionally well this week in Doha, broke that pattern (sound familiar?) today when she played top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. Wozniacki defeated the error-prone Bartoli 6-1, 6-1. Her opponent in the final will be 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva, who defeated 5th seed Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in a rather interesting match.

Jankovic injured her knee yesterday, and seemed to be moving a bit gingerly on it at first. However, she got into the groove of the match and put her signature backhand down-the-line shot on display over and over to dominate in the second set. At 4-all in the third, Zvonareva served at 0-40, but Jankovic was not able to break her. Instead, Jankovic was broken in her next game. This was, in general, a good week for the Serbian player, and one hopes her knee problem is minor. (She also got stuck on the surface and hurt her ankle slightly and momentarily, but it wouldn't be a JJ match without some type of spill.)

Zvonareva hit nine aces in the match. She will need to keep serving well because she has her work cut out for her in the final. Wozniacki is now shifting from outstanding defense to aggression when she needs to, and it's getting harder and harder to beat her. The Great Dane's timing and accuracy have become laser-like this season.

The doubles final will also feature the top two seeds: Number 1 seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik will compete against number 2 seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova. Peschke and Srebotnik defeated 4th seeds Nuria Llagostera Vives and Anastasia Rodionova in the semifinals. Huber and Petrova defeated 3rd seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie.

4 left standing in Dubai

One of my fantasies about women's pro tennis is that before Flavia Pennetta goes out to play, someone puts her in a trance and convinces her she is actually at Fed Cup. Today in Dubai, it was as though someone did just that. It isn't that Pennetta is not a top player--she is--but she can waver and be inconsistent. Today, though, she controlled every point in her quarterfinal match against Alisa Kleybanova. Pennetta won the match, 6-2, 6-0, held at love in the final game, and closed with an ace. Her service win percentages for the match were 76 and 80. It doesn't get any better.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki also moved to the semifinals, with a win over Shahar Peer, and Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Agnieszka Radwanska in a match that was quite well-played. Jelena Jankovic took out 4th seed Sam Stosur, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, in a match that went on over 2 hours and 50 minutes, and which contained ten breaks of serve. Getting consecutive wins over Kaia Kanepi and Stosur has to give Jankovic a badly-needed confidence boost. The smile on her face after today's match looked the smile we used to see most of the time.

With today's victory, Wozniacki is again the number 1 player in the world. She will face Jankovic in the semifinals.

In doubles, top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik are still in the competition, as are wild cards Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva.

Jankovic enters Family Circle Cup

2007 Charleston champion Jelena Jankovic has entered the 2011 Family Circle Cup. Jankovic, who is currently number 8 in the world, won the 2007 championship in a dramatic final played against Dinara Safina in very high wind. Prior to that final, tornadoes had stuck the area. Last year, Jankovic lost in the quarterfinals to Daniela Hantuchova, in what was one of the best matches of the tournament.

This year's Family Circle Cup will take place April 2-10. Already entered are Melanie Oudin, Maria Sharapova and 2010 champion Samantha Stosur.

Jankovic beaten in straight sets

The way that seeds are dropping at the Australian Open, one wouldn't be surprised to find a garden blooming--perhaps a garden featuring Golden Flowers. In the 2nd round, the Peng Shuai pulled off the biggest upset yet: She defeated 7th seed Jelena Jankovic 7-6, 6-3. Jankovic was up 5-2 in the first set, and served for the set at 5-4. Formerly the picture of consistency, she looked sluggish and off-rhythm throughout most of the match. Peng not only played well, but remained steady, and readily took advantage of Jankovic's lack of strategy. I'm a bit tired of asking "What has happened to JJ?" so I'll skip that question for now.

18th seed Maria Kirilenko fell in straight sets to Iveta Benesova, who had one of her brilliant streaks. Why can't Benesova do this in singles matches more often? She served (and she does have a really good serve) at 78 and 53%, and hit 24 winners. Her forehand was more than Kirilenko could handle. Benesova defeated Kirilenko 6-3, 6-1.

The increasingly dangerous Simona Halep took out 24th seed Alisa Kleybanova 6-4, 7-6. Kleybanova hit a lot more winners than Halep, but she also made 46 unforced errors. Halep put on quite a show, running down balls and hitting with confidence and precision.

Alize Cornet upset 26th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, a player who has an unusually good serve--except when she doesn't. Martinez Sanchez sometimes just loses the feel of her serve and goes for too much; in the 2nd round, she double-faulted eight times and lost the point on most of her second serves. She did lead 5-3 in the first, but was broken when she served for the set. Still, she had several opportunities to get the set back, but she wasn't up to the task. Cornet then ran away with the second set, and defeated the 26th seed 7-6, 6-1.

3rd seed Kim Clijsters, 5th seed Sam Stosur, 10th seed Shahar Peer, 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, and 16th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova all advanced in straight sets, as did 13th seed Nadia Petrova and 22nd seed Flavia Pennetta. Brisbane champion and 25th seed Petra Kivitova quietly moved into the third round with a straight-sets defeat of Anna Chakvetadze.

2nd seed Vera Zvonareva had to really work for her 2nd round victory. Bojana Jovanovski, the young Serbian player whose down-the-line shots on both sides are already her signature, dictated play against Zvonareva, and took the first set 6-2. Zvonareva, whose movement and speed were on lengthy display, remained patient, and forced Jovanovski to hit more balls than she might have wanted to. Jovanovski is a superb hitter, but she doesn't do much of anything else, so the unforced errors eventually came, and then more of them came. One hopes that the just-turned-19 Jovanovski will learn some variety and give herself some breathing room because she is one fine hitter. The experienced 2nd seed defeated her 2-6, 6-3, 6-1, and they were both fun to watch.

Miscellany

The Australian Open wild card playoffs for U.S. players will be held December 17-19 at the Racquet Club of the South in Atlanta.

Elena Dementieva has been offered the position of vice president of the Russian Tennis Federation.

Jelena Jankovic has a new puppy named Stella.

Leslie Nielsen, who died Sunday, once played the role of sportswriter Nelson Fisher, in the 1978 television movie, "Little Mo." It was Nelson who gave Maureen Connolly her now-famous nickname.

Sabine  Lisicki and Melanie Oudin hit together this week at the Bollettieri Academy.

Miscellany

Matt Cronin says the Williams sisters are headed toward retirement.

Venus Williams says she is hoping to win some titles and has her mind on the Olympic Games. "Serena and I will have to be in the best shape of our lives for London. We have to be machines to play in three events. It's something like fourteen matches in eight days. We had better be ready."

Not surprisingly, Vera Zvonareva was recently presened with Russia's Female Tennis Player of the Year award.

James LaRosa says that Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic are still in the running to win majors, and that Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova are still in the running to attain career slams.

Sania Mirza has made it to both the singles quarterfinals and the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Asian Games. She defeated Zhang Shuai in the second round.

Edina Gallovits is getting married during the off-season.

Miscellany

Katarina Srebotnik will stand aside, and Ana Ivanovic will play mixed doubles with Nenad Zimonjic at the Australian Open. It is assumed that Ivanovic and Zimonjic will pair for the 2012 Olympic Games, and the Australian Open will give them a chance to compete as a team. According to Women's Tennis Blog, Zimonjic will resume playing with Srebotnik at the other three 2011 majors.

Jelena Jankovic underwent minor eye surgery on Thursday; her stitches will be removed in about a week.

"Your matches were never boring...." That's one (and perhaps my favorite) of the many things fans said to Elena Dementieva after she announced her retirement.

Anastasia Rodionova recently relaxed for a couple of days at Port Sea with Cara Black and her husband.

Daniela Hantuchova spent some time in Hungary, where she did a photo shoot for a calendar to support her work for House of the Smile, a hospital in Cambodia for children with HIV.

Wozniacki, Stosur and Zvonareva win on 1st day of Doha play

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki had no trouble defeating Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-1 on the first day of play in theWTA Championships in Doha today. Dementieva, who was recently bothered by an inflamed foot, said that the heat and humidity made it difficult for her to play in Doha, and that she was "going for the wrong shots all the time." Also winning in the maroon group on day 1 was Sam Stosur, who defeated Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4. Schiavone defeated Stosur on clay in the French Open final earlier this year.

In the white group, Vera Zvonareva (who is now number 2 in the world) defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-0. Jankovic had problems with her movement--generally one of her greatest strengths--and she had repeated problems with her serve. Jankovic has been ill for several days, and she said she felt dizzy and felt some tingling during the match, and that she had difficulty breathing. These were the symptoms she experienced in Moscow last week. Jankovic received IV treatment following the match, and said that she plans to remain in the tournament.

Jankovic has a history of respiratory problems, and--though she had nasal surgery a few years ago--she continues to have problems breathing when she is active.

Jankovic & Dementieva qualify for Doha

Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva are the seventh and eighth players to qualify for the WTA Championships, which will begin October 26 in Doha. This will be the tenth time that Dementieva has played in the Championships.

The other women who have qualified to play in the round-robin event are: Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur, and Francesca Schiavone.

Four doubles teams have qualified.

Jankovic and Radwanska out of Beijing

3rd seed Jelena Jankovic was defeated today in the second round of the China Open by countrywoman Bojana Jovanovski. Jovanovski defeated Jankovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

6th seed Agnieszka Radwanska didn't make it to the second round; she was defeated 5-7, 7-6, 7-5 in the opening round by Angelique Kerber. 11th seed Marion Bartoli also went out in the first round; she was defeated by Ana Ivanovic.

13th seed Nadia Petrova advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Alona Bondarenko.

They call the wind Maria

Conditions were so windy at the U.S. Open today that players had to tone down their best shots, stay away from the lines, and deal with both with-the-wind and against-the-wind pressure. This seemed to do Jelena Jankovic in; however, I once saw Jankovic play expertly in post-tornado winds that were worse than what we saw in Flushing Meadows today. Granted, that court was slower, but that was also another Jankovic.

Today, Jankovic had to handle not only the wind, but also her opponent, Kaia Kanepi. The Tall One from Tallinn manged the wind, if not expertly, with considerably more control than Jankovic, and ran over her in a second set tiebreak. Kanepi, who was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon, defeated the 4th seed 6-2, 7-6. To say that Jankovic has been "out of sorts" in this tournament would be to teeter on the brink of understatement. She's been rolling her eyes, yelling at the people in her box, and--more unusual (we are talking about JJ)--missing shots, even in good weather conditions, that are usually her keys to victory.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki had an easy time of it--again--today, defeating Chan Yung-Jan 6-1, 6-0. Dominika Cibulkova  also had an easy match, defeating Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0, 6-1.

And then there was Maria Sharapova, who blew Beatrice Capra over, 6-0, 6-0. The wind was really strong, of course, making the occasion especially difficult for Capra. Sharapova's next task is to play Wozniacki. Neither player has had any real difficulty so far; Sharapova's first match became easy when Jarmila Groth self-destructed.

Sharapova is seeded 16th, but the number--in this case--is not relevant. The 2006 champion appears to have overcome both her shoulder injury and her consequent service issues. Of course, under pressure, she could have problems again, and we won't know about that until she is standing across the net from Wozniacki. The two have played each other twice, and Sharapova won both matches in straight sets. However, these matches were played in 2008, and in tennis time, that's very old news. One thing is practically certain--the Sharapova-Wozniacki clash is going to be an exciting one.