Davenport wins everything in Memphis

Lindsay Davenport won the Regions Morgan Keenan Tennis Championships in Memphis without dropping a set, defeating Olga Govortsova, 6-2, 6-1 tonight in the final. She rested for an hour, and then--with partner Lisa Raymond--won the doubles championship, also. Davenport and Raymond defeated Angela Haynes and Mashona Washington, 6-3, 6-1.

Govortsova into Memphis final

Number 5 seed Olga Govortsova has reached her first tour final by defeating Memphis number 3 seed Shahar Peer, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Kvitova stopped in Memphis

As is often the case in professional tennis, a giant-killer has been vanquished. Petra Kvitova, who took Venus Williams out of competition in the Regions Morgan Keenan Tennis Championships, was defeated tonight--6-7, 7-5, 6-1--by Alla Kudryavtseva.

Meanwhile, in Acapulco, Italy's rising star, Sara Errani, was defeated in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL by Mariya Koryttseva, 7-5, 6-1.

As I mentioned in a comment on this blog earlier today, how suddenly odd it is to see almost all big names in the quarterfinals of a tournament. The Dubai quarterfinals is a line-up of top players--Henin, Ivanovic, Jankovic, Chakvetadze, Mauresmo, Kuznetsova, and Dementieva. Also included is talented veteran Francesca Schiavone, whom you can never really rule out (or count in, for that matter).

Venus Williams taken out of Memphis by Czech qualifier

The big-hitting Petra Kvitova defeated Venus Williams in the second round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Tennis Championships tonight, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Williams, the tournament's number 1 seed, was up a break at the beginning of the third set, but Kvitova fought back and turned the match around.

The number 2 seed, Tatiana Golovin, was eliminated earlier today by Bethanie Mattek.

Golovin out of Memphis

Second-seeded Tatiana Golovin, returning from an injury time-out, was defeated today in Memphis by Bethanie Mattek. Apparently, Golovin had some problems serving; she was broken five times. Is she still having back trouble? Serving is one of the things Mattek does well, by the way.

Mattek def. Golovin, 6-4, 6-4

Shahar Peer blogs

From Memphis.

Davenport gets it right this time

Lindsay Davenport defeated the spirited Sabine Lisicki--who beat her in Fed Cup competition--7-5, 6-3 tonight in Memphis. After the pair exchanged breaks in the first set, Davenport broke Lisicki at 5-all and went on to win the first set with an ace. She broke Lisicki early in the second set, then broke her again, but Lisicki broke her back when she served for the match at 5-2.

Davenport hit ten aces in the match, and the big-hitting Lisicki hit seven. When I saw Lisicki play in Fed Cup, I saw a player who worked too quickly and took too many unnecessary chances. Such a game can be tamed, however, with maturity, and if an older and wiser Lisicki becomes more strategic and less impulsive, she could be a real factor on the tour.

Larcher de Brito in Memphis

Michelle Larcher de Brito, the 15-year-old who unexpectedly won the Orange Bowl in December, and who plays World Team Tennis for the Sacramento Capitals, is into the second round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis. Her opponent, Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, retired shortly after the beginning of the second set, sending Larcher de Brito into a contest with either Milagros Sequera (nice to see her back!) or Caroline Wozniacki.

Should Larcher de Brito manage to defeat either of those players, she would have to face Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals...that is, assuming Davenport gets past Sabine Lisicki in the first round.

Top qualifying seed out in Memphis

Sandra Kloessel, the number 1 qualifying seed at the Regions Morgan Keenan Tennis Championships, was defeated today in the second round of qualifying by Brenda Shultz-McCarthy, 6-4, 7-5.

Yesterday, wild card Sesil Karatantcheva was taken out of the first round of qualifying by Hana Sromova, 7-6, 6-4.