She's....back! Kuznetsova wins San Diego

There were times, during the Mercury Insurance Open final, when both opponents played very well. But other times, one would take a turn at being an anxiety-ridden mess. Agnieszka Radwanska, the 4th seed, took the first turn, stepping onto the court with most of the magic of her quarterfinal and semifinal successes eluding her. She was obviously anxious, evidenced mostly by her lack of instinct and her indecisiveness about shot-making. It didn't take Svetlana Kuznetsova long to go up 4-1.

Radwanska straightend herself out a bit, but Kuznetsova took the set 6-4.

When the second set began, the 4th seed was a different player--the player we've watched for the last couple of days. She defended better, though she did go down 3-5. When Kusnetsova served for the match, she was broken. Radwanska easily held. The set ended up in a tiebreak, with Kuznetsova once again in charge. She went up 4-0, then 6-3, and the whole affair appeared to be about over--until Kuznetsova became so anxious, she double-faulted twice, and ended up losing four match points. Radwanska--by this time quite steady--won the tiebreak 9-7.

The third set was a good one, featuring some of the best shot-making of the match. But as the set wore on, it was Radwanska who faded, and Kuznetsova who rose to the occasion, hitting winners left and right. With a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 victory, the Russian was able to hold the trophy.

For Radwanska fans (count me as one), the loss was tough, but at least everyone got to see a lot of the 4th seed's best tennis throughout this tournament. For Kuznetsova, the win couldn't come at a better time. With the U.S. Open around the corner, the 2004 champion with the mighty forehand has declared herself a contender.

Kuznetsova was not the only one to make a comeback: Zheng Jie, whose doubles stardom has waned, won the San Diego tournament with partner Maria Kirilenko. The 4th seeds defeated 2nd seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 6-4, 6-4.

Radwanska & Kuznetsova to play for San Diego title

Two players I especially enjoy watching are Agnieszka Radwanska and Daniela Hantuchova, so it was a treat to see them compete against one another in the San Diego semifinals. Radwanska has a very clever all-court game, and Hantuchova has a rather elegant game. Both play no-nonsense tennis, and I watch them whenever I have a chance.

Tonight, both players were in fine form, but it was the often-overlooked athleticism of Radwanska that gave the 4th seed the edge, and kept her in the excellent form she displayed against Shahar Peer yesterday. She defeated Hantuchova 6-4, 6-1.

In her quarterfinal match, Radwanska made only nine unforced errors. In tonight's match, she also made nine, and seven of those were made in the first set. She executed a couple of successful over-the-shoulder backhands, a winning one-handed backhand, and a number of stunning volleys. Hantuchova raised her level and saved seven match points on her own serve at 1-5, and--after a ten-deuce game (in which both of Radwanska's second-set unforced errors occurred)--she held for 2-5. The 20-minute game provided some high drama, and showed Hantuchova at her very best. Radwanska, however, then served for the match and won it 6-4, 6-2 on her eighth match point.

The match was choice entertainment. Indeed, the 20-minute game was choice entertainment on its own.

In the other semifinal match, 5th seed Flavia Pennetta's glory was cut short by Svetlana Kuznetsova, who looked better than she has in a while. However, it was also cut short by Pennetta herself, whose serve sometimes goes completely to pieces. Today was one of those times. Kuznetsova played quite well, but--as the match wore on--Pennetta offered less and less resistance. Kuznetsova won 6-4, 6-0.

Radwanska puts on a tennis show in San Diego

Everything the talented Agnieszka Radwanska does well, she did even better tonight in San Diego. Going into her quarterfinal match against Shahar Peer, who had a 1-3 record against her, Radwanska brought her very best game. She served well (her first serve is significantly better than it used to be, but her second is still her weakness), she read the court with her usual cleverness, and she volleyed expertly.

The 4th seed used every trick in her repertoire tonight, and it was all just too much for Peer. Radwanska was all over the court, she made very few errors, and in just over an hour, she had a 6-2, 6-0 victory.

Pennetta moves smoothly to San Diego semifinals

Flavia Pennetta, seeded 5th in San Diego, played Samantha Stosur for the third time today, and for the third time, she won in straight sets. Pennetta, serving cleverly and playing a clean match, defeated the 2nd seed 6-4, 6-3. Stosur had only one break opportunity, on which she capitalized. Pennetta, on the other had, had thirteen break opportunities, and converted four of them. The Italian made 14 unforced errors, compared with Stosur's 37.

In the other early quarterfinal, Svetalana Kuznetsova found herself down 2-5 against Coco Vandeweghe in their first set, but she came back to win that set 7-5. She then easily won the second set 6-2. Vandeweghe, who has a formidable forehand, made a lot of backhand errors, and became more careless as the match went on. She concluded the match with 24 winners and 44 unforced errors.

In the third quarterfinal of the day, Daniela Hantuchova defeated Alisa Kleybanova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Hantuchova was 0-3 down in the second set, but came back with a better serve for the latter half of that set and the rest of the match. Kleybanova made the final set close, but Hantuchova prevailed.

Vandeweghe knocks Zvonareva out of San Diego competition

Coco Vandewegh, winner of the 2008 junior girls U.S. Open title, beat both Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sloane Stephens in order to qualify for the main draw in San Diego. In the first round of main draw play, she had some luck when Gisela Dulko retired with a sprained ankle. Last night, though, she made it through the second round by upsetting the 3rd seed, and she did it from being a break down in both the second and third sets. Vandeweghe defeated Vera Zvonareva 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Daniela Hantuchova defeated Zheng Jie, Svetlana Kuznetsova fought through a tough match against Sara Errani (the Italian has a way of making matches very tough), and 5th seed Flavia Pennettta defeated Maria Kirilenko.

In doubles, the wild card team of Liezel Huber and Lindsay Davenport lost in the quarterfinals. They were defeated 7-6, 6-4 by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yan Zi.

Top seed Jankovic upset in San Diego

1st seed Jelena Jankovic, playing in San Diego after a short break to rest a sprained ankle, led 4-0 last night in her first set against Alisa Kleybanova. But despite having set points, Jankovic lost both that set and the next one. Kleybanova's 7-56-2 upset of Jankovic puts her into the quarterfinals.

Dinara Safina's first round win gave fans hope, but yesterday, she, too, went out in the second round. 4th seed Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Safina 6-1, 6-3.

7th seed Shahar Peer fought off a challenge from Yaroslava Shvedova and defeated her 7-5, 6-4, and 2nd seed Sam Stosur defeated Melanie Oudin 6-4, 6-4.

Bartoli & Wickmayer out of San Diego tournament in 1st round

Yesterday, Daniela Hantuchova upset San Diego 6th seed Marion Bartoli 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the first round. Also going out was 8th seed Yanina Wickmayer, who was defeated 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 by Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Yaroslava Shvedova defeated Nadia Petrova, 7th seed Shahar Peer defeated Ana Ivanovic, and Melanie Oudin defeated lucky loser Jamie Hampton.

In doubles, the 3rd seeds, Alisa Kleybanova and Nadia Petrova, were upset 6-1, 6-3 by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yan Zi.

Dulko out with ankle injury

Gisela Dulko retired in her match against Coco Vandewegh in San Diego today. She has a sprained right ankle. No word yet on how serious the injury is.

In Copenhagen, 3rd seed Petra Kvitova was defeated 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 by Sorana Cirstea, and top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Petra Martic 6-3, 6-2.

Both British players, Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha, won their first round matches, defeating Sofia Arvidsson and Marina Erakovic, respectively.

Safina advances to 2nd round in San Diego

Whoever thought that would be news?

It is, though, because the former world number 1 has had such a hard time of it since returning (twice) from a serious back injury. But last last night, she defeated Alona Bondarenko 6-1, 7-6 in the first round of the Mercury Insurance Open.

Also advancing was Alisa Kleybanova, who defeated Aravane Rezai 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

The battle of the day, however, was fought between Olga Govortsova and Sara Errani. The played for two hours and 45 mintues, broke each other twelve times, and wound up winning the same number of games in a down-to-the-wire determination of the winner.  Errani defeated Govortsova 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

Jamie Hampton lost her final qualifying round to Chanelle Scheepers, but became the lucky loser because of Victoria Azarenka's withdrawal. That means she will play Melanie Oudin tonight in the first round.

Dulko & Pennetta upset in 1st round in San Diego

Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, seeded number 1 at the Mercury Insurance Open, were upset this evening in the opening round by Natalie Grandin and Abigail Spears. Grandin and Spears defeated the top team 6-2, 6-4. The Dulko/Pennetta team had second serve difficulties throughout the match, while Grandin and Spears maintained first and second serve win percentages of 72 and 54, respectively.

Azarenka withdraws from San Diego

Citing a problem with her shoulder, Stanford champion Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from the Mercury Insurance Open. Melanie Oudin was scheduled to play Azarenka in the first round, but will now play a qualifier. Oudin lost to Azarenka in Stanford.

Many tough first rounds coming up in San Diego

The 32-player field in San Diego, led by top seed Jelena Jankovic, is packed with good players. Here are some of the first round contests worth watching:

Alisa Kleybanova vs. Aravane Rezai
Daniela Hantuchova vs. Marion Bartoli (6)
Alona Bondarenko vs. Dinara Safina
Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Nadia Petrova
Ana Ivanovic vs. Shahar Peer (7)
Yanina Wickmayer (8) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova

Only Jankovic and 2nd seed Sam Stosur have byes in the first round. Ivanovic, Gisela Dulko and Dominika Cibulkova have wild cards.

Top qualifying seed Date Krumm out of San Diego qualifying

Kimiko Date Krumm, the top seed in the San Diego qualifying draw, was defeated today in the first round of qualifying. Jamie Hampton beat Date Krumm 6-2, 7-6. Also going out in the first round were Alison Riske, who lost to 2nd seed Alla Kudryattseva, 3rd seed Ayumi Morita, who lost to Olga Savchuk, and Michelle Larcher De Brito, who was defeated by Madison Brengle.