Kvitova wins Brisbane

Petra Kvitova, who caused a stir last year at Wimbledon, got her 2011 season off to a roaring start today by winning the Brisbane International. Kvitova defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Both players were unseeded. On her way to the final, Kvitova upset 3rd seed Nadia Petrova and 5th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and also Dominika Cibulkova. This is Kvitova's second WTA Tour title.

Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska had a difficult season last year, often having to play with other partners in order to obtain points. In Brisbane, however, the Polish team took out both the 2nd and 3rd seeds, and made it to the final. That was the end of their run, however; the unseeded team of Alisa Kleybanova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated them 6-3, 7-5, and won the title. This was only the second time that Kleybanova and Pavlyuchenkova had played together in doubles.

Miscellany

Lagardere has signed Kristina Mladenovic as a client.

Venus Williams says she has learned to better manage her pain and has gotten rid of the "huge horrible strap." You can see a photographic retrospective of "Venus's Best Moments" here.

Klaudia Jans has successfully defended her master's thesis at the Academy of Physical Education and Sports of Gdańsk, in northern Poland. Jans wrote an analysis of the Jans/Rosolska vs. Morita/Sugiyama doubles rubber in the 2009 Fed Cup competition between Poland and Japan. Jans now has a master's degree in physical education.

Serena Williams has opened a second school in Matooni, Kenya.

James LaRosa makes a case for cheering for the player, not the country.

Miscellany

Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Billie Jean King Cup event, which will be played on March 1. Williams, the defending champion, has withdrawn because of her leg injury. Ana Ivanovic has taken her place in the draw.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's "Looking Back at a Legend" series continues with a piece on Martina Navratilova.

And if you've ever wanted to know more about Jans and Rosolska (I know I have), here is a feature on them.

Sania Mirza reports that treatment for her wrist is going well, but we've heard that before, so it's hard to get one's hopes up about the healing of that on-going injury.

If you've been watching the Olympic Games in Vancouver, then you've witnessed absolute confirmation of why women, including sportswoman, are considered "mean" and "catty." The backbiting, the fake compliments, the hypocritical congratulatory statements, the vicious statements to the press...oh, wait...those are all men.

Update (see comments): Ana Ivanovic has hired Heinz Gunthardt, who coached Steffi Graf, to be her new coach.

It was a nice run, but it's over

Klaudia Jans and Mervana Jugic-Salkic, a last-minute substitute team at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, were defeated today by the also-unseeded team of Iveta Benesova and Janette Husarova, 5-7, 6-3, 10-2. Jans and Jugic-Salkic defeated the teams of Chakvetadze and Vaidisova, number 2 seeds Srebotnik and Sugiyama, and Medina Garrigues and Ruano Pascual.

Benesova and Husarova will play Chan and Chuang in the final. Benesova has also revived her singles game of late.