Azarenka and Vinci win Moscow & Luxembourg titles

There was no report yesterday on the Moscow and Luxembourg matches because I was traveling and did not have Internet access. As everyone knows by now, 6th seed Maria Kirilenko defeated Vera Dushevina in the Kremlin Cup semifinals, and 2nd seed Victoria Azarenka defeated 8th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

Today, Azarenka won the Kremlin Cup by defeating Kirilenko 6-3, 6-4. Top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta won the doubles title, defeating 3rd seeds Sara Errani and Martinez Sanchez 6-3, 2-6, 10-6.

Roberta Vinci won the Luxembourg Open, defeating 8th seed Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-4. In the semifinals, Vinci defeated Anne Keothavong, and Goerges defeated Angelique Kerber. The doubles title was won by 2nd seeds Timea Bacsinzky and Tathiana Garbin. They defeated top seeds Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-4.

Semifinal draws set in Moscow & Luxembourg

Two Russian players remain in the draw in Moscow, and they will play against each other in the semifinals. 6th seed Maria Kirilenko, who defeated qualifier Zarina Diyas in the quarterfinals, will play Vera Dushevina, who defeated countrywoman Anna Chakvetadze.

In the other semifinal match, 8th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez--who appears to be back in her groove following an injury layoff--will play 2nd seed Victoria Azarenka. Martinez Sanchez defeated Dominika Cibulkova today, and Azarenka defeated 7th seed (and also Russian) Alisa Kleybanova.

Kirilenko and Azarenko, seeded 4th in doubles, were beaten today by number 1 seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta. Martinez Sanchez, playing with Sara Errani in Moscow, defeated Akgul Amanmuradova and Darya Kustova. Errani and Martinez Sanchez are seeded 3rd.

In Luxembourg, 8th seed Julia Goerges--who has been getting some good results lately--upset 4th seed Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. She will play Angelique Kerber in the semifinals; Kerber defeated Polona Hercog. In the second semifinal, Anne Keothavong will play Roberta Vinci. Keothavong defeated Iveta Benesova 6-7, 6-2, 6-4. Keothavong hit seven aces. Vinci defeated Kirsten Flipkens.

Benesova and partner Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, who are seeded 1st, have already reached the final. The second semifinal will be played tomorrow.

Inflamed foot forces Dementieva out of Luxembourg Open

In any tennis season, some players are unfortunate enough to suffer ankle sprains, stress fractures in the foot, and other sports-related foot injuries and issues. This season, we have also seen some more unusual foot problems. The most famous case is the unfortunate tendon cut suffered by Serena Williams when a drunk World Cup enthusiast broke a bottle in a restaurant in Munich. Earlier in the year, Kim Clijsters had to deal with an infection on her foot after she had a mole removed. And now, Elena Dementieva has an inflamed foot.

Because of the right foot inflammation, Dementieva--top seed at the Luxembourg Open--had to retire today in her match against Palona Hercog. Dementieva has qualified for the WTA Championships, which begin in six days in Doha. Both Serena and Venus Williams had to give up their places in the top eight, Jelena Jankovic is ill, Vera Zvonareva withdrew from the Kremlin Cup because of physical issues, and now Dementieva has an inflamed foot. Of course, the chance is high that Jankovic, Zvonareva and Dementieva will be fine by the time the Championships begin, but there is a lot of physical stress among the top players as they head to Doha.

Jankovic out of Kremlin Cup

Jelena Jankovic has been sick--again--and showed up way under form for her second round match in Moscow. She was easily defeated 6-1, 6-2 by qualifier Zarina Diyas. The number 1 seed had nasal surgery a few years ago to help her with breathing problems, but when she becomes ill, she continues to have respiratory issues. Can someone please put her on an immune-building program right away?

In the meantime, Diyas moves to the quarterfinals, in which she will play 6th seed Maria Kirilenko. Kirilenko dispatched of Kateryna Bondarenko 6-0, 6-0 today. Also, Anna Chakvetadze defeated qualifier Marya Koryttseva, and Vera Dushevina defeated Elena Vesnina.

In Luxembourg, Patty Schnyder--who beat Yanina Wickmayer in the first round--went out to Anne Keothavong in the second round. Ana Ivanovic and Roberta Vinci both won, and 5th seed Daniela Hantuchova was upset by Angelique Kerber.

This time, it's Schnyder

In the third round of the U.S. Open, Yanina Wickmayer defeated Patty Schnyder 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 in an all-out thriller. Today in the first round in Luxembourg, Schnyder beat 3rd-seeded Wickmayer 6-4, 6-4.

The third seed wasn't the only one to make an exit. In the second round, 2nd seed Aravane Rezai was run over 6-0, 6-1 by Kirsten Flipkens, and Iveta Benesova defeated 7th seed Jarmila Groth 6-4, 7-5.

In Moscow, doubles 2nd seeds (and ad hoc team) Elena Vesnina and Liezel Huber were defeated 6-7, 6-4, 12-10 by Olga Govortsova and Alla Kudryavtseva. In singles, all the seeds who played today--Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Alisa Kleybanova and Victoria Azarenka--advanced to the third round. Also, Dominika Cibulkova defeated Tsvetana Pironkova.

Lisicki out in 2nd round of Luxembourg qualifying

Sabine Lisicki lost today to Eleni Daniilidou in the second round of Luxembourg qualifying. Daniilidou, who double-faulted 14 times, defeated Lisicki 7-5, 6-4. (A couple of years ago, when I said  the "Lisicki watch" had begun, this isn't what I had in mind.)

Also going out in the second round of qualifying was Timara Paszek, who lost to Lucie Hradecka. Hradecka hit nine ace , and is--as far as I know--the only big-ace hitter (she has hit as many as eighteen in one match) on the tour who does not have a high ranking.

In Moscow, top qualifying seed Elena Baltacha was beaten in the second round of qualifying by Mariya Koryttseva in a match that lasted over 2 hours and 43 minutes. Koryttseva won 6-4, 2-6, 7-