Wozniacki wins inaugural event in Brussels

Caroline Wozniacki won her 16th title today, at the new WTA Brussels Open. This win is special, however, since it is the world number 1's first time to win a championship on red clay.

It wasn't an easy win. A 12-deuce game early in the second set gave spectators a taste of how tough both players were. Each player experienced ups and downs in quality and energy, but in the end, it was Peng whose game became error-strewn, and Wozniacki who was able to take advantage of those errors. The world number 1 continued her new trend of playing more offensively and hitting more winners. After two hours and 35  minutes, she defeated Peng 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to become the first Brussels champion.

The doubles champions are Andrea Hlavackova and Galina Voskoboeva, who defeated 2nd seeds Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska 3-6, 6-0, 10-5.

Patty Schnyder blogged during the tournament, and on Thursday, she described her visit to the Atomium. Schnyder also writes about her own tennis, and about her anticipation of the French Open.

It's not how you play the game, but whether you win or lose

Anyone looking for a handy lesson on how to beat Caroline Wozniacki on red clay certainly could have gotten one from Francesca Schiavone today in Brussels. Only most of the tour's players don't possess Schiavone's amazing variety of shots. Oh, and Schiavone lost. As is too often the case with the Italian, her cleverness and athleticism were neutralized by her propensity to make a high volume of unforced errors.

Schiavone, the 3rd seed in Brussels, hit 44 winners in the 2-hour and 33-minute semifinal match, but she also made 53 unforced errors. Many of those errors were made right after Schiavone set up winners against her opponent. And speaking of winners--Wozniacki hit 20, which is quite a high number for the world number 1. There were nine breaks of serve in the match, which Wozniacki won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Wozniacki's opponent in the final will be 8th seed Peng Shuai. This is the first time that Peng has reached a Premier level final, and the way she has been playing lately, such a development seemed inevitable. Peng upset 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3 today. She played a remarkably clean match and served extremely well, giving Zvonareva few opportunities to take an offensive stance.

Peng has never won a tournament, a fact that stands out as one of the oddities of the WTA. She reached the semifinals in Charleston last month, but was hampered by fatigue and a very in-form Elena Vesnina. Now she faces the world number 1, and this could be a very good final.

In doubles, 2nd seeds Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska defeated Sofia Arvidsson and Andrea Klepac 6-4, 6-4. in the semifinals today. In yesterday's semifinal match, Andrea Hlavackova and Galina Voskoboeva defeated Elena Bovina and Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 6-1.

Sharapova (yes, you're reading it right) wins Rome

Back in what people consider her "great" days--when she was blowing opponents off of hard courts without dropping a set--Maria Sharapova was not expected to win red clay titles. During the past couple of seasons, after she went through botched diagnosis, rotator cuff surgery, and two rehabs--Sharapova was described as "finished," "under-confident" and "will never be the same again." She did struggle mightily, especially with her service game, but today, we got "old" Sharapova with a twist: She won a premier red clay tournament in Rome. The 7th seed and three-time major champion defeated 6th seed Stosur 6-2, 6-4 after the players waited three hours to play because of a rain delay.

To get to the final, Sharapova had to beat world number 1 Caroline Wozniacki, and to get the title, she had to beat 2010 French Open runner-up Sam Stosur. She beat them both in straight sets, and will be number 7 in the world when the rankings are published tomorrow. Sharapova is now 8-0 against Stosur.

Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie won the doubles title, upsettingh 3rd seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 6-3.

Stosur and Sharapova to meet in Rome final

Never known for her acumen on clay courts, and considered by many to be "finished" because of injury and confidence issues--Maria Sharapova, the self-proclaimed clay court Cow on Ice--has made it to the final of the Italian Open. Sharapova defeated top seed Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals, hitting 36 winners along the way. Of course, this isn't the first time that Sharapova has "failed to meet expectations" on clay. Last year, she played a gritty third round French Open match against Justine Henin, and took Henin to three sets.

The world number 1 has never won a red clay tournament. During this year's red clay season, she has fallen to Julia Goerges twice, and now to Sharapova. Wozniacki did win this year's Family Circle Cup, which is played on green clay.

Sharapova's opponent in the final will be 2010 French Open runner-up Sam Stosur, who defeated Li Na 7-6, 6-0 in the semifinals. Stosur has looked kind of flat lately, but her game has come to life in Rome, and the final will probably be a good one.

In the doubles semifinals, 3rd seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova defeated 2nd seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 7-6, 62, and Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie defeated Alexandra Dulgheru and Jarmila Gadjosova 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.

Vesnina beats Peng twice in one day and advances to both Charleston finals

Elena Vesnina won both of her matches again

Elena Vesnina has been a very busy woman in Charleston this week. Yesterday, she won both her singles and doubles matches, and today, in the semifinals, she repeated that accomplishment. In doing so, however, she had to defeat Peng Shuai twice.

In her singles semifinal, Vesnina defeated 11th seed Peng 7-6, 6-3. Unlike the earlier semifinal between Wozniacki and Jankovic, this match featured no break opportunities until Peng had a break point when Vesnina served at 4-5 in the first set. Vesnina held, then the players exchanged breaks. After Peng was broken, however, she began to walk with a slight limp. Her knee, which was taped, was bothering her, and she was tired, she would later reveal. After breaking her opponent, Peng held a set point, but did not convert it. The set went to a tiebreak, which Vesinina won.

Peng looked as though she might fade, but she immediately broke Vesnina in the second set, and then opened her own service game with an ace. Despite getting to 40-15, however, Peng was broken back. She remained competitive in the second set, but the momentum was with Vesnina, who used her serve--as she has all week--to get herself out of trouble. The Russian saved two break points at 3-all, then converted a second break point when Peng served at 3-4. Vesnina held to win the match.

Peng Shuai

Both Vesnina and Peng handled the wind well, and both displayed primarily error-free net play. This match had a bit of everything, including sharp volleys and well-executed drop shots. It was, in every way, the better ssemifinal match of the day, and quite entertaining.

After getting some rest, Vesnina and partner Sania Mirza played a semifinal doubles match against Peng and her partner, Zheng Jie. Mirza and Vesnina took the first set 6-2, and then endured a more competitive second set, which they won 7-5.

 "...today is a Chinese day for me," Vesnina told the press.

Shaughnessy and Mattek-Sands consult

Earlier in the day, 4th seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy defeated top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 6-4.

Peng and Vesnina each win--then win again--in Charleston

Peng Shuai and Elena Vesnina have confounded any attempt to create an orderly schedule at the Family Circle Cup because they both keep winning singles and doubles. Today, Peng defeated qualifier Sania Mirza 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the singles quarterfinals. She and partner Zheng Jie then defeated Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears in straight sets in doubles. Peng, who is seeded 11th, has now won more singles matches this season than anyone else on the tour.

"Honestly, I don't want to think now because just off the singles, doubles, and I'm really tired and I want to get some treatment, dinner and rest, and then this is tomorrow, so I think tomorrow," Peng said when she was asked to talk about her upcoming singles semifinal. Peng credited her coach for her 2011 breakthrough, which came after a year in which the Chinese player had a lengthy illness and was injured.

Elena Vesnina backed up her upset of defending champion Sam Stosur by upsetting 12th seed Julia Goerges in the quarterfinals. It took Vesnina a set to steady herself, but then she began serving with real conviction, and hitting winners off of both sides. Vesnina defeated Goerges 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, then--about an hour later--she and partner Sania Mirza defeated the team of Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova 3-6, 6-2, 10-8. Mirza and Vesnina were down 4-7 in the super-tiebreak, but made a comeback and won on their first match point. By the time the match was over, it was no longer Friday in Charleston.

What all this means is that both Peng and Vesnina will each play twice tomorrow, and both times, they will play against each other. Peng will play Vesnina in the singles semifinals, and she and Zheng will play Mirza and Vesnina in the doubles semifinals. This is an unusual situation, it probably goes without saying. The winner of the singles match will play either 1st seed Caroline Wozniacki or 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic in the final. Neither of those players is entered in doubles competition. Peng, by the way, has a 4-1 record against Vesnina; that record includes a defeat of the Russian last year in Charleston.

The winner of the doubles match will play either top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik or 4th seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy.

Stretching time

Peng defeats Kuznetsova in Miami

Peng Shuai continued her 2011 success today by upsetting 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-1 at the Sony Ericsson Open. Peng, who has yet to drop a set, advances to the Miami quarterfinals for the first time. Kuznetsova won the tournament in 2006.

In second round play yesterday, seeds Kaia Kanepi, Alisa Kleybanova and Tsvetana Pironkova were all defeated. Wild card Dinara Safina took a set off of 3rd seed Vera Zvonareva, but Zvonareva prevailed. Yaroslava Shvedova strained a muscle near her knee--the one in which she sustained the injury--and had to retire against Jarmila Groth. Shvedova reports that she needs to do even more leg strengthening.

In doubles, recently retired Rennae Stubbs showed up, but she and partner Jill Craybas were defeated. Top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta advanced to the second round.

Combined (as in, the WTA and the ATP are both playing on the same days) tournaments are supposed to be good for the WTA. They certainly aren't good for me, as a fan.Tennis TV, the only venue I like to watch with the sound on, is showing 42 ATP matches in Miami, and 12 WTA matches.

Two things you can count on

Caroline Wozniacki will get at least one walkover or retirement during a tournament.

Victoria Azarenka will wind up lying on the court, limping off of it, or both.

In today's BNP Paribas Open quarterfinal, we got it all. Top seed Wozniacki played her friend Azarenka, and after only three games, Azarenka sustained a left hip flexor strain, and--after being advised by her coach--retired from the match.

Azarenka has struggled repeatedly with hip and thigh injuries. She went through a famous food poisoning (still wrongly labeled "heat illness" by the press) incident, and an even more famous incident in which she passed out on the court after getting a concussion before the match. As for Wozniacki, she is so often the recipient of retirements and walkovers, I've come to expect one every tournament.

In the last of the quarterfinal matches, Maria Sharapova and Peng Shuai went three sets, and Sharapova prevailed, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. And though it still sounds odd to say it, Sharapova is seeded 16th.

Radwanska and Peng--together again as you always wanted to see them

Agnieszka Radwanska and Peng Shuai are incapable of stepping onto a tennis court together and quickly getting off. Every time they play one another, it's a knock-down, drag-out affair, with no shortage of entertainment for spectators. Old habits die hard: You can expect Peng to work extra hard to overcome her lack of a strong serve, you can expect Radwanska to have a very poor second serve, and you can look for Peng to most likely let match points slip by.

That was the case in the Australian Open round of 16 match which Radwanska won 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, but only after two hours and 44 minutes of tough, and often frustrating, competition. Radwanska, who became error-prone and passive in the second set, went up 3-1, 40-0 in the third. There was a questionable line call, and maybe that threw her off her rhythm, or maybe it was just inevitable that she and Peng drag the set out as long as possible. At any rate, Radwanska was broken in that game. Peng served for the match at 5-4, and Radwanska saved two match points. Finally, Radwanska won, on her second match point.

Radwanska wasn't even supposed to be in Melbourne. After having surgery in October for a stress fracture in her foot, she was told she could return to the tour in March, and that there was a one per cent chance she could play in the Australian Open. The straight-faced player from Poland provided the biggest laugh of the first week (and probably of the tournament) in an earlier round, when her racquet head flew off in the middle of a rally. After her fourth round match against Peng, Radwanska can probably be declared an official safety hazard: During the match, she hit a return which smacked a ballboy right in the head. Radwanska stopped play, checked on the ballboy, and shook his hand. Apparently, there was no real harm done.

Other round of 16 matches weren't as eventful, but they were certainly worth watching. 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva gradually worked her way into her match against Iveta Benesova, and eventually built up enough momentum to completely dominate the Czech player. Benesova, who had taken out two other Russian seeds, lost control of her serve, most likely because she was done in by the occasion. Zvonareva defeated her 6-4, 6-1.

And then there was Petra Kvitova, who defeated Flavia Pennetta 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Pennetta served extremely well in the first set, and looked as though she might make short work of the rising Czech player. But in the second set, Pennetta did not serve as well, and Kvitova's confidence shot up. The longer they played, the more deadly Kvitova's shot-making became, and she wore Pennetta down. Kvitova made 43 unforced errors, compared with Pennetta's 33. However, she also hit 46 winners, compared with Pennetta's 16. (You might call her the anti-Woz.)

A notable upset occurred in the junior girls' competition on Monday. Kanami Tsuji of Japan defeated top seed Daria Gavrilova 6-4, 6-3. Gavrilova won the U.S. Open in juniors, and also won a gold medal at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.

Jankovic beaten in straight sets

The way that seeds are dropping at the Australian Open, one wouldn't be surprised to find a garden blooming--perhaps a garden featuring Golden Flowers. In the 2nd round, the Peng Shuai pulled off the biggest upset yet: She defeated 7th seed Jelena Jankovic 7-6, 6-3. Jankovic was up 5-2 in the first set, and served for the set at 5-4. Formerly the picture of consistency, she looked sluggish and off-rhythm throughout most of the match. Peng not only played well, but remained steady, and readily took advantage of Jankovic's lack of strategy. I'm a bit tired of asking "What has happened to JJ?" so I'll skip that question for now.

18th seed Maria Kirilenko fell in straight sets to Iveta Benesova, who had one of her brilliant streaks. Why can't Benesova do this in singles matches more often? She served (and she does have a really good serve) at 78 and 53%, and hit 24 winners. Her forehand was more than Kirilenko could handle. Benesova defeated Kirilenko 6-3, 6-1.

The increasingly dangerous Simona Halep took out 24th seed Alisa Kleybanova 6-4, 7-6. Kleybanova hit a lot more winners than Halep, but she also made 46 unforced errors. Halep put on quite a show, running down balls and hitting with confidence and precision.

Alize Cornet upset 26th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, a player who has an unusually good serve--except when she doesn't. Martinez Sanchez sometimes just loses the feel of her serve and goes for too much; in the 2nd round, she double-faulted eight times and lost the point on most of her second serves. She did lead 5-3 in the first, but was broken when she served for the set. Still, she had several opportunities to get the set back, but she wasn't up to the task. Cornet then ran away with the second set, and defeated the 26th seed 7-6, 6-1.

3rd seed Kim Clijsters, 5th seed Sam Stosur, 10th seed Shahar Peer, 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, and 16th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova all advanced in straight sets, as did 13th seed Nadia Petrova and 22nd seed Flavia Pennetta. Brisbane champion and 25th seed Petra Kivitova quietly moved into the third round with a straight-sets defeat of Anna Chakvetadze.

2nd seed Vera Zvonareva had to really work for her 2nd round victory. Bojana Jovanovski, the young Serbian player whose down-the-line shots on both sides are already her signature, dictated play against Zvonareva, and took the first set 6-2. Zvonareva, whose movement and speed were on lengthy display, remained patient, and forced Jovanovski to hit more balls than she might have wanted to. Jovanovski is a superb hitter, but she doesn't do much of anything else, so the unforced errors eventually came, and then more of them came. One hopes that the just-turned-19 Jovanovski will learn some variety and give herself some breathing room because she is one fine hitter. The experienced 2nd seed defeated her 2-6, 6-3, 6-1, and they were both fun to watch.

Peng wins gold at Asian Games

Peng Shuai has won the gold medal in singles at the 2010 Asian Games. Peng defeated Akgul Amanmuradova 7-5, 6-2 in the final. China had already won the team gold medal.

The gold medal winners in doubles are Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung, who used to be a force on the tour before they began playing with other parnters. Chan and Chuang defeated Chang Kai-Chen and Hsieh Su-Wei 7-5, 6-3, meaning that both gold and silver belong to players from Chinese Taipei.

Chan, with partner Yang Tsung-Hua, also won the gold medal in mixed doubles. Chan and Yang defeated Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan 4-6, 6-1, 10-2. They were the second seeds.

Peng and Amanmuradova to play in Asian Games final

Akgul Amanmuradova and Sania Mirza played for 2 hours and 49 minutes in their Asian Games semifinal match, and Amanmuradova emerged the winner with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. The third seed will play Peng Shuai, who is seeded fourth, in the final. Peng defeated Kimiko Date Krumm 7-6, 3-6, 6-2. Date Krumm, who won the Games in 1994, had problems with her serve, and she was also somewhat tired, she said later; she credited the crowd with pushing her to the third set. The former gold medal winner hit 59 winners and made 73 unforced errors.

Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung, formerly a highly-ranked team on the WTA tour, got back together for the Asian Games, and have made it to the doubles final. Their opponents will be Chang Kai-Chen and Hsieh Su-Wei. Chan will also play in the mixed doubles final. She and Yang Tsung-Hua will compete against Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan.

Wozniacki & Dementieva to play in Tokyo final

Tokyo top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated 8th seed Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 today in the Tokyo semifinals. Wozniacki's opponent in the final will be 7th seed Elena Dementieva, who defeated 5th seed  Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-5.

In doubles, Shahar Peer and Peng Shuai defeated 3rd seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Liezel Huber 6-4, 5-7, 10-5. In the other semifinal, Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova defeated Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 7-6, 6-2.

Petkovic gets walkover to U.S. Open round of 16

Andrea Petkovic received a walkover in the third round of the U.S. Open today. Peng Shuai, who injured her wrist playing doubles, was not able to compete in the third round. Peng upset 9th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round. Peng, who is no stranger to injury, also missed quite a bit of time on the tour this season because of illness.

Peng upsets 9th seed Radwanska at U.S. Open

Commentators and writers usually talk about Agnieszka Radwanska's moving "under the radar" at a major tournament. She has advanced under the radar at this year's U.S. Open, too, but Peng Shuai managed to locate her and escort her to the exit. The unpredictable Peng, when she's playing at her top level, can have a go at the best of them, and tonight, she defeated 9th seed Radwanska 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Earlier in the day, Radwanska's sister, Urszula, was defeated by Lourdes Dominguez Lino.

I was pleased when a New York Times tennis writer suggested that fans watch the second round U.S. Open match featuring Patty Schnyder and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. I could watch both clever lefties play for hours, with their drops and spins and sometimes artistic strategies. 22nd seed Martinez Sanchez hasn't played much lately because of a knee injury, but she was nevertheless entertaining. Schnyder lost some opportunities to win the first set, but she won it via a tiebreak, and then won the second set 6-3. With her career winding down (I'm in some denial about that), it was great to see her get to the third round.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Chang Kai-Chen 6-0, 6-0, and Maria Sharapova defeated Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-2. The two are now very close to a round of 16 meeting, and all eyes will be on that match.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands lost a close match to Andre Petkovic. The German danced even more tonight. If she continues to win, she's going to need a deejay. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva and Maria Kirilenko all advanced, making it a strong day for the top Russians.

It was a very hot, very windy, very difficult day, but that didn't tempt either ESPN or U.S. Open website officials to let us get even a glimpse of a match that lasted three hours and thirteen minutes. In fact, Dominka Cibulkova and Kateryna Bondarenko spent an hour and 42 minutes just working out their third set. Cibulkova defeated Bondarenko 6-2, 5-7, 7-6. Is there a back or hip injury coming soon? I hope not, but Cibulkova has a significant history of back and hip problems.

A final note: Kaia Kanepi, Yanina Wickmayer, Chan Yung-Jan, and Alexandra Dulgheru all advanced to the third round.

Injuries and illness

Serena Williams has to have stitches because of a cut on the bottom of one of her feet, and--as a result--will miss the entire 2010 season of World Team Tennis. Williams plays for the Washington Kastles.

Peng Shuai, who has missed a lot of this season because of an extended illness, withdrew from Palermo today because of a sprained right ankle.

Finally, Tamira Paszek retired in her final qualifying round in Prague today because of heat illness.

Miscellany

Ravi Ubha comments briefly on all of the Wimbledon seeds.

Serena Williams' Wimbledon Ball dress beautifully matched the gold and silver of the Venus Rosewater dish.

Vera Zvonareva is back in the top 10; the Wimbledon runner-up is now number 9 in the world. 

Peng Shuai, out for a considerable time with illness, has returned to the tour.

Over the weekend, Martina Hingis played doubles with Sarah Borwell in World Team Tennis competition. Hingis plays for the New York Buzz.

Kanepi out in 1st round of Swedish Open

Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi was defeated 7-5, 6-4 today by 5th seed Arantxa Parra Santonja in Bastad, Sweden. The tournament is played on red clay. Also losing was Anastasia Rodionova, who was defeated by Tatjana Malek.

Meanwhile, in Budapest, 5th seed Peng Shuai--who has been out a lot with illness lately--won her first round. The GDF Suez Grand Prix is also played on red clay.

Seeds advance at Roland Garros

All the seeds who played in Paris today advanced. Top seed Serena Williams had her work cut out for with Stefanie Voegele, who took the first set to a tiebreak. In the second set, however, Williams utilized her serve to take control and post a 7-6, 6-2 victory. She is now 42-0 in first rounds in the four major tournaments.

Sara Errani suffered yet another loss, going out in straight sets to Yaroslava Shvedova. Warsaw champion Alexandra Dulgheru went to three sets against Lucie Hradecka, but advanced to the second round. 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Alla Kudryattseva 6-0, 6-3. And 4th seed Jelena Jankovic, dressed in sunny yellow, defeated Alicia Molik 6-0, 6-4.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who rolled her ankle when she was up a break in the third set of her third qualifying round, is now a lucky loser. Mattek-Sands was second in line to be a lucky loser; and the first in line wasn't feeling too well, so Mattek-Sands was given a place in the main draw when Peng Shuai withdrew from the tournament. She has received treatment for her ankle and will play Vania King. Peng withdrew from Stuttgart because of illness, but I don't know whether that is why she withdrew from the Open.