Kanepi is top qualifying seed in Cincinnati

I was thinking about Kaia Kanepi today, wondering what she was up to in the U.S. Open Series, and I just learned that she is the top qualifying seed in Cincinnati. Kanepi will face Hsieh-Su-Wei in the first round of qualifying. If she wins that, she will play the winner of the match between Nuria Llagostera Vives and Shenay Perry.

Helping at the main draw ceremony will be Sabine Lisicki, who is returning to the tour after a long injury layoff. Maria Sharapova will play on the opening night of the tournament.

Qualifying takes place this weekend.

Kanepi upset in Portoroz

Third seed Kaia Kanepi made a first round exit at the Slovenia Open today. She was defeated by Olga Govortsova, 6-1, 6-2. Kanepi continues to have problems in a year in which she should be moving up in the rankings.

Both the first and second qualifying seeds--Kristina Kucova and Angelique Kerber--were eliminated in the last round of qualifying in Portoroz today.