Zvonareva wins Doha championship

Vera Zvonareva, known for her command of windy conditions, put that command on display today in the Qatar Ladies Open final in Doha. Never wavering in the presence of top seed Caroline Wozniacki's relentless ball retrieval and accuracy, Zvonareva eventually wore Wozniacki down. Zvonareva broke Wozniacki four times to achieve a 6-4, 6-4 victory, her first tournament win since February of 2010.

Zvonareva, seeded 2nd at the tournament, was clearly delighted with her victory, and hit balls into the stands for an unusually long time. The Doha win was not easy. In the quarterfinals, the Russian had to play for over three hours and nine minutes to defeat Daniela Hantuchova, and in a very competitive semifinal match against Jelena Jankovic, she won a game in which she served at 4-all, 0-40 in the final set.

Top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik won the doubles title, defeating 2nd seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova  7-5, 6-7, 10-8.

Wozniacki and Zvonareva go to Doha final

Marion Bartoli, who played exceptionally well this week in Doha, broke that pattern (sound familiar?) today when she played top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. Wozniacki defeated the error-prone Bartoli 6-1, 6-1. Her opponent in the final will be 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva, who defeated 5th seed Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in a rather interesting match.

Jankovic injured her knee yesterday, and seemed to be moving a bit gingerly on it at first. However, she got into the groove of the match and put her signature backhand down-the-line shot on display over and over to dominate in the second set. At 4-all in the third, Zvonareva served at 0-40, but Jankovic was not able to break her. Instead, Jankovic was broken in her next game. This was, in general, a good week for the Serbian player, and one hopes her knee problem is minor. (She also got stuck on the surface and hurt her ankle slightly and momentarily, but it wouldn't be a JJ match without some type of spill.)

Zvonareva hit nine aces in the match. She will need to keep serving well because she has her work cut out for her in the final. Wozniacki is now shifting from outstanding defense to aggression when she needs to, and it's getting harder and harder to beat her. The Great Dane's timing and accuracy have become laser-like this season.

The doubles final will also feature the top two seeds: Number 1 seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik will compete against number 2 seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova. Peschke and Srebotnik defeated 4th seeds Nuria Llagostera Vives and Anastasia Rodionova in the semifinals. Huber and Petrova defeated 3rd seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie.

Schiavone and Li both upset in Doha 2nd round

Lucky loser Klara Zakopalova reached the quarterfinals of the Qatar Ladies Open today when she upset 4th seed Li Na 6-2, 6-1. 3rd seed Francesca Schiavone was also defeated in the first round, by qualifier Peng Shuai. Peng will play Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals, so fans will have an opportunity to see a pair of two-handers compete against one another. Bartoli defeated 8th seed Shahar Peer, who won only one game, and who never saw one break opportunity in the match.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki will play her quarterfinal match against Flavia Pennetta, who defeated Lucie Safarova for the first time today in the second round. She is now 1-3 against Safarova.

In Acapulco, the number 1 seed, Julia Goerges, was upset today by Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Ivanovic withdraws from Doha

Ana Ivanovic has withdrawn from the Qatar Ladies Open, which begins next week. Ivanovic is experiencing a recurrence of the abdominal muscle injury she sustained in Australia.

Ivanovic is currently without a coach, and reports that she doesn't want to rush into hiring one.

(Petra Kvitova is also experiencing an abdominal muscle problem which, one hopes, will be healed by rest. She is scheduled to play in Doha.)