Krajicek upsets Kleybanova in Kuala Lumpur

Michaella Krajicek, once heralded as a future star of the WTA Tour, has had so many injuries and slumps that she is one of the tour's forgotten women. Today in Kuala Lumpur, however, Krajicek put her talent on display by upsetting 3rd seed Alisa Kleybanova 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Krajicek served well, hitting thirteen aces, and she broke Kleybanova four times. Kleybanova, for her part, hasn't gotten off to a very good start this season.

Krajicek's next opponent will be tour veteran Anne Kremer. If she gets past Kremer (who upset Kimiko Date Krumm in the first round), she will play either Jelena Dokic or Bojana Jovanovski.

Lucie Safarova also won today. She defeated Dinara Safina 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Huber & Petrova win 2010 Family Circle Cup doubles championship

For the second year in a row, Nadia Petrova held a trophy after the championship doubles match in Charleston. Last year, Petrova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands saved three match points and won the championship. Today's match was not thrilling like that one was, but it still a good final. Petrova and Liezel Huber--who had never before played together--defeated Vania King and Michaella Krajicek 6-3, 6-4.

Petrova had not planned to play doubles at the tournament, since her partner, Sam Stosur, decided to play singles only. But Tony Huber, Liezel Huber's coach and husband, asked Petrova if she would be Huber's partner. "How could I say 'no'?" Petrova said, and I'm sure she's glad she didn't.

Since Petrova won the Charleston singles title in 2006, and the doubles title two years running, she was asked what was left for her to do at the Family Circle Cup, and she quickly suggested adding a mixed doubles competition.

Huber & Petrova to play King & Krajicek in Charleston final

The ad hoc team of Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova totally dominated Ekaterina Makarova and Marie-Eve Pelletier in today's semifinals in Charleston. Huber and Petrova, seeded number 1, defeated Makarova and Pelletier 6-2, 6-2.

In the other semifinal, Vania King and Michaella Krajicek defeated Nathalie Grandin and Abigail Spears 6-4, 7-6. This was the first match of the day, and was well-played and entertaining. King and Krajicek won the tiebreak 7-4.

Number 1 qualifying seed upset in Miami

Elena Vesnina has had a really good season so far--her first good season, in fact. She was seeded number 1 among qualifiers, but lost today in the first round to wild card Michaella Krajicek. When she is at her best, Krajicek is very good, but she just hasn't had any momentum for a while. Today, however, she moved to the second round of qualifying with a score of 7-6, 6-4. Her next opponent will be Camille Pin.

Also losing in the first round were Michelle Larcher de Brito, Julie Coin (in a very close one) and Sesil Karatantcheva.

Why isn't she ranked higher?

We have probably all asked that question about certain gifted players who appear to be stuck in the rankings, usually because of inconsistency. And inconsistency can be caused by several things, but I think it is usually caused by a lack of mental strength, chronic injury, or--in some cases--both, because having injuries causes players to lose confidence.

The players on my own list include Gisela Dulko, Michaella Krajicek and Marta Domachowska. Other players who probably pop up on such lists are Carla Suarez Navarro and Kirsten Flipkens.

Who is on your list?

Krajicek into Monterrey main draw

Michaella Krajicek has made it through qualifying and is into the main draw of the Monterrey Open. Krajicek, a wild card in the qualifying rounds, defeated Chanelle Scheepers, Rossana De Los Rios and Mara Santangelo.

Joining Krajicek as qualifiers are Lenka Wienerova, Vania King, and former junior world number 1 Arantxa Rus.

Krajicek through first round of Monterrey qualifying

Michaella Krajicek, a player with abundant talent and equally abundant bad fortune, was given a wild card for Monterrey Open qualifying, and has gotten through to the second round of qualifying. Krajicek defeated Chanelle Scheepers 6-3, 6-2

Daniilidou gets Auckland wild card

Eleni Daniilidou has been awarded a main draw wild card into the ASB Classic. Meanwhile, Kimiko Date-Krumm has also been awarded a main draw wild card, while Michaella Krajicek has been given a wild card for qualifying.

Krajicek and Lisicki at the Bollettieri Academy

Peter Bodo has been watching them. From his description, Krajicek may have gotten taller and put on some weight.

Krajicek injured again--her knee this time

Add Michaella Krajicek to the 2008 list of extremely unlucky players, along with Li Na and Tatiana Golovin. Krajicek's wrist finally healed, she was working her way back in, and now she has been diagnosed with a meniscus injury and will have to have surgery.

Krajicek out in first round of Wimbledon

Michaella Krajicek was not seeded at Wimbledon, but her elimination in the first round today feels like the elimination of a seed. Krajicek was defeated 7-6, 7-6 by her Wimbledon doubles partner, Marina Erakovic. The pair had just won the doubles championship at the Ordina Open.

Of all the young talents, Krajicek is the one whose career has been frustratingly stalled so many times. She suffered a bad wrist injury in January, and only recently won her first match of 2008, which broke a 12-match losing streak. She was not match-tough, and it took her a long time to finally gain enough confidence to win again.

But even prior to this unfortunate injury, Krajicek had issues. She missed Wimbledon in 2005 because of surgery for a knee injury. And she has always been inconsistent. Grass is her best surface, but I have seen her play on green clay several times, and she handles it very well; I expect she is good on all the in-between surfaces, too. Krajicek is a good hitter and a good mover, but something happens--I suspect is it something psychological--that keeps her from moving up in the rankings. Her win loss record--110-72--simply does not reflect her talent.

Krajicek recently hired a new coach. If she stays healthy and gets the right help, she could still go far.

Black and Huber win Eastbourne

Cara Black and Liezel Huber defeated Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs in Eastbourne today, 2-6, 6-0, 10-8, to win the championship.

Meanwhile, at the Ordina Open, Marina Erakovic and Michaella Krajicek defeated Liga Dekmeijere and Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-2, to take that title. Erakovic and Krajicek did not drop a set throughout the tournament.

Top qualifying seed out in Eastbourne

Kaia Kanepi, the top-seeded player in qualifying at the International Women's Open, was defeated today in the final qualifying round by Ekaterina Makarova, 7-6. 6-3.

Meanwhile, at the Ordina Open, Michaella Krajicek has won her second match of the year, defeating Ai Sugiyama, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6.

About that Krajicek curse...

It was broken, yes, but unfortunately, Krajicek lost today in the third round of the DFS Classic in Birmingham. Krajicek was defeated by Yanina Wickmeyer, 6-3, 6-4. Krajicek is actually a much better player than her record indicates, but of course--without the record--the talent does not mean much.

The curse is broken

Michaella Krajicek won her first match of the year today, and in doing so, also broke a 12-match losing streak. Krajicek defeated Tatiana Poutchek, 6-2, 6-1 in Birmingham. Krajicek's first serve percentage was no big deal, but her win percentage was huge. She also did well with her second serve, and she broke Poutchek five times.

Krajicek out in first round--again

Once again, Michaella Krajicek has crashed out in the first round of a tournament, this one a Tier IV. She hired a new coach recently, so perhaps something will change for her, but it doesn't look good. Krajicek is undeniably talented, but she is rather badly stuck, in terms of her career. Today, she was defeated 6-4, 6-4 in Prague by Akgul Amanmuradova.

Last week, Krajicek went out in the first round in Charleston, but I'll cut her some slack because her opponent, Alize Cornet, was to the Family Circle Cup this year what Krajicek herself was to it in 2007--the most exciting player there. When Cornet was finished with Krajicek, she took care of Sara Errani, Sorana Cirstea and Agnes Szavay, and was finally stopped by Serena Williams.

But I digress...this year, Krajicek lost in the first round of Auckland to Errani, and in the first round of the Australian Open to Akiko Morigami. She then dropped out for a while because of a wrist injury, and when she returned, she lost in the second round (she had a first round bye) at Indian Wells to qualifier Galina Voskoboeva, and in the second round in Miami (again, with a first round bye) to wild card Marina Erakovic. After that, she went to Amelia Island, where she lost in the first round to Cornet.

Something needs to change, and soon.

Family Circle Cup first round matches of interest

Michaella Krajicek signs autographs after her 2007 victory over Nicole Vaidisova

At least of two of the first round matches in Charleston have grabbed my interest:

Radwanska v. Domachowska: Marta Domachowska was off the tour for quite a while, and returned with a flourish during the Australian Open, when she got to the round of 16 and made things difficult for Venus Williams. However, despite being the top qualifying seed, Domachowska failed to qualify in Vina del Mar. She then made it to the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open, but was defeated there by Williams.

Domachowska will play her countrywoman, Agnieszka Radwanska, in the first round of the Family Circle Cup. And while Radwanska is clearly the favorite, Domachowska is capable of performing an upset.

The other first round of interest features last year's Charleston wild card star Michaella Krajicek and young French star Alize Cornet. Krajicek stormed through Daniel Island last year, taking out both Nicole Vaidisova and Sybille Bammer before falling to her own anxiety and an in-form Vera Zvonareva. Of all the young talented players, none is more inconsistent than Krajicek, and it is impossible to guess who will win the contest against Cornet.

Good news for Krajicek fans

The talented but woefully under-achieving Michaella Krajicek has hired Alistair McCaw to coach her for at least the first six months of the 2008 season.

Azarenka wins phenom showdown

Victoria Azarenka defeated Agnieszka Radwanska, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of the FORTIS Championships in Luxembourg today. The only other time the two young stars met was on grass in 2006, when Radwanska won a straight-sets match in the first round at Wimbledon.

Perhaps the most tightly contested of first-round matches also took place today, between Shahar Peer and Lucie Safarova. Safarova is an extremely talented player who sometimes suffers from inconsistency, a problem I hope she resolves in the near future. Peer took the match, 6-3, 6-3.

Wild card and veteran Anne Kremer, whose glory days are long over but who is playing in her home country, took out talented but streaky Michaella Krajicek, 6-3, 7-6, with a decisive 7-3 score in the tiebreak.

Krajicek crashes out of first round at Palermo

Number one seed Michaella Krajicek was defeated in straight sets today by Eva Birnerova at the Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo in Italy. Some of her fans say that Krajicek, a grass expert, should avoid clay courts. However, Krajicek was the virtual star of the Family Circle Cup in April; that is, she was until she went to pieces during her quarterfinal match. Granted, the green clay of Charleston, where Krajicek took out top seed Nicole Vaidisova, is not as slow as Italian red clay, but it is clay, nevertheless. Krajicek's problem is not the court surface--it is her head.