GOOD day, Sunshine!

2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki won the Rogers Cup today. Because of the constant rain in Montreal, Wozniacki had to play her semifinal match this morning, and then play the final this afternoon. She easily defeated a rather flat 11th seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals.

8th seed Vera Zvonareva won her semifinal match 7-6, 1-0 when 10th seed Victoria Azarenka retired because of a left foot blister. When Azarenka retired, all I knew was that she had a problem with her foot, and I thought "Oh, no--there goes another ankle." But a blister, though most unfortunate for Azarenka, is something that will heal in plenty of time for the U.S. Open.

In the final, Wozniacki defeated Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2. Wozniacki now heads to New Haven, where she is the defending champion. Lucky for her, that tournament is running behind because of rain, also.

Rain wipes out Rogers Cup again

Caroline Wozanicki and Svetlana Kuznetsova resumed their semifinal match today, but the respite from rain lasted only long enough for Kuznetsova to score one point. When the match was delayed on Saturday, Wozniacki led 2-0, and now the score is 2-0, 0-15. Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva have yet to play one point in their semifinal match.

The doubles semifinals and final were moved indoors.

In the meantime, Pilot Pen first round play was postponed because it rained in New Haven.

Dulko & Pennetta win Rogers Cup championship

Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta have done it again. The hottest doubles team of the year has won the Rogers Cup championship, defeating Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 7-5, 3-6, 12-10 in Montreal today.

The semifinals and the final were all played indoors today because of the unrelenting Montreal rain. 2nd seeds Dulko and Pennetta defeated Monica Niculescu and Shahar Peer in the semifinals, and Peschke and Srebotnik defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yan Zi.

Rain halts play in Montreal

The singles and doubles semifinals were supposed to have been played today in Montreal, but after continuous rain delays, the "action" involved only two games in the match between 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki and 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

When it became obvious that the evening's light rain was only going to get worse, the players entertained the crowd a while with some silly exhibition tennis. Kuznetsova hit a tweener, which brought up a question that's always in the back of my mind: Why don't WTA players hit them on a regular basis? (And where is Gabriela Sabatini when you really need her?) Kuznetsova also used the handle of her racquet to pop a few returns, and when she and Wozniacki got bored with that, out came a soccer ball. After they showed off their football skills, they sat together and waited to hear whether they would be instructed to....wait some more.

They didn't have to. Play was canceled for the day. What happens tomorrow, of course, is completely dependent on the weather, but if it doesn't rain, there will be matches played simultaneously. Wozniacki was up 2-0 in the first set when the rain came, and Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva haven't even seen a court yet.

In doubles, Monica Niculescu and Shahar Peer are slated to play 2nd seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, and Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yan Zi will play 3rd seeds Kveta Peschke and Katerina Srebotnik.

Dementieva upset by Zheng in Montreal

Zheng Jie defeated 4th seed Elena Dementieva 7-6, 6-4 today in the third round of the Rogers Cup. Zheng made it all the way to the semifinals of this year's Australian Open. She is the only unseeded player remaining in Montreal.

Also going out in the third round was 7th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who was defeated 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 by 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who recently won the title in San Diego.

Iveta Benesova's run was ended abruptly by 17th seed Marion Bartoli; Benesova won one game. 10th seed Victoria Azarenka defeated 9th seed Li Na, and 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki wore down 15th seed Flavia Pennetta by engaging her in a series of very long rallies. Pennetta seemed more mentally tired than anything; Wozniacki really likes these long rallies, and appears to have almost endless mental and physical energy.

Here is the quarterfinal draw:

Marion Bartoli (17) vs. Victoria Azarenka (10)
Kim Clijsters (5) vs. Vera Zvonareva (8)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (11) vs. Zheng Jie
Francesca Schiavone (6) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (2)

Benesova knocks out top seed two days in a row

Yesterday, Iveta Benesova stunned Montreal spectators by taking out Rogers Cup top seed Jelena Jankovic. She liked the experience so much, she repeated it today. She and partner Barbora Zahlavova Strycova upset top doubles seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova 7-6, 1-6, 11-9.

Benesova's next opponent in singles will be the winner of the 2nd round match between lucky loser Kimiko Date Krumm and 17th seed Marion Bartoli. Benesova and Zahlavova Strycova will face Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yan Zi.

Clijsters overcomes tough challenge from Mattek-Sands

Tonight, for a set and a half, qualifier Bethanie Mattek Sands threw everything she had--and she had a lot--at 5th seed Kim Clijsters in the second round of Rogers Cup play. Mattek-Sands looked like she was putting on a clinic on how to beat the sometimes error-prone Clijsters, using serve-and-volley and all of her other doubles skills to overtake the Cincinnati champion. Mattek-Sands won the first set 6-4 and went up 3-0--saving two break points to do it--in the second.

It was when Clijsters served at 1-4 in the second set that things started going wrong for Mattek-Sands. She had two break points, and had she converted either of them, she would have gone up 5-1. But Clijsters saved them both, and from that point on, the match turned around. The Mattek-Sands serve, which was beautiful for the first half of the match, began to fade. At 4-2, Mattek-Sands was broken at love, and Clijsters went on to win the set 6-4.

The 5th seed went up 2-0 right away, but then Mattek-Sands found a way to break back. Clijsters was on a roll by this time, though, and she broke Mattek-Sands again--and then again--to take the third set 6-3. Her opponent was so close--and yet ultimately so far--from pulling off a huge upset. It was an enjoyable match, however, and one which kept spectators enthralled for almost two hours and fifteen minutes.

Lucky loser Patty Schnyder provided spectators with a lot of entertaining tennis, too, but was not quite consistent enough to get past 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki, who defeated her 7-5, 7-5. Agnes Szavay upset 13th seed Yanina Wickmayer, and Dinara Safina upset 18th seed Nadia Petrova, who hit fifteen aces.

In second round doubles play, Wimbledon champions and 4th seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova were knocked out by Monica Niculescu and Shahar Peer.

Pennetta defeats Hantuchova in Montreal

The big news today in Montreal was, of course, the upset of top seed Jelena Jankovic. However, there was another quite notable match played by 15th seed Flavia Pennetta and Daniela Hantuchova. It was notable because Pennetta was at her best, managing Hantuchova from the baseline, and displaying the type of clever tactics that make her such a good hard court player.

Pennetta won the first set 6-0, and--as one would expect--the second set was more competitive. In fact, Hantuchova served for it at 5-3, and when the score reached 30-all, there was an especially thrilling rally which Pennetta won. She followed that with a perfect drop shot, brought the score to 4-5, and never looked back.

What I've observed about Pennetta is that when her serve is on, her confidence stays high, and she is a major threat. But it does go off, and then she gets into trouble, not only for obvious reasons, but--or so it appears--because she loses her mental drive. Today, she played at a high level, and Hantuchova was simply not able to move well enough to keep up.

All the seeds, except for Jankovic, advanced. Lucky loser Kimiko Date Krumm defeated qualifier Monica Niculescu, and Agnes Szavay defeated Gisela Dulko 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 in a tightly contested match; Dulko did herself in with nine double faults. 18th seed Nadia Petrova had to fend off a three-set challenge from Lucie Safarova, and 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova won a three-set match when her opponent, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, once again wound down in the third set.

In doubles, 5th seeds Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova were upset 4-6, 7-6, 10-8 by Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yan Zi.

Benesova upsets Jankovic in Montreal

There are certain players on the tour who sometimes rise to the occasion, meet their potential, and play truly great matches. One of those players is Iveta Benesova, whose lefty serve is never something to take lightly. Tonight in Montreal, she was simply all over 1st seed Jelena Jankovic, maintaining her aggression and refusing to give Jankovic any type of rhythm. In fact, the way Benesova defended was positively Jankovician, to borrow a term from the WTA Backspinner.

Fans who really know women's tennis know that Benesova can crack mentally, and that Jankovic is very good at coming from behind. After the Czech player stayed tough enough to win the first set in a tiebreak, she immediately held, and then broke Jankovic. Then she held again, but when Jankovic brought the second set score to 1-3, I thought "okay, it's coming." Soon, it was 3-all, and this would be the time in the match when the momentum would turn--only it didn't. Well, maybe for a moment, when Benesova had trouble holding to go to 4-3. And still, I thought the momentum would turn.

But Benesova broke Jankovic again, and then--in a scenario I could never have predicted, even after watching the entire match--Benesova held at love to win the whole thing 7-6, 6-3. This was a skillful, gutsy performance from the world number 75. After she waved to the crowd, the qualifier (who has now played five matches) held her hand up to her mouth, as if to say "I can't believe I just did that."

But she did.

Jankovic, who hit 25 winners but made 30 unforced errors, may still be suffering the effects of a sprained ankle, but there is really nothing that can take away from her opponent's performance. As for the world number 3, she needs to get herself together for the U.S. Open.

Rogers Cup play begins

Three qualifiers and a lucky loser advanced to the second round of Rogers Cup competition in Montreal today. Jarmila Groth defeated Alona Bondarenko 7-6, 6-2, Iveta Benesova defeated Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2, Vania King beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, and Patty Schnyder had a 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 win over wild card Virginie Razzano.

Kaia Kanepi upset 14th seed Shahar Peer, Dinara Safina had a straight-set victory over Andrea Petkovic, and 16th seed Aravane Rezai defeated Petra Kvitova 6-7, 7-5, 6-3, which is about the scoreline I expected.

Canadian wild cards Aleksandra Wozniak and Stephanie Dubois lost to Timea Bacsinszky and Klara Zakopalova; the latter match went to three sets.

Sharapova out of Montreal

Maria Sharapova, citing the pain she felt in her left foot during the Cincinnati final, has withdrawn from Rogers Cup competition. Patty Schnyder got the lucky loser designation and has already advanced to the second round with a win over Virginie Razzano.

Venus Williams had already withdrawn from the tournament because of continuing problems with her knee.

1st round Rogers Cup matches I wish I could see

The Rogers Cup draw is full of juicy first rounds, and it's going to get even better once the qualifiers are assigned. In the meantime, here are some first round matches I wish I could see:

Kaia Kanepi vs. Shahar Peer: If Kanepi's game is on, she could make Peer work hard, and this could turn into another knock-down-drag-out Peer special.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova: Pavlyuchenkova bumps into yet another countrywoman in the very first round.

Aravane Rezai vs. Petra Kvitova: Rezai is a bit more consistent than Kvitova (which is saying something), but if Kvitova has one of her good days, this could be quite interesting.

Andrea Petkovic vs. Dinara Safina: One has a problem winning, and the other, is, well....Dinara. Each is capable of serving very well on a given day, but will it be this day?

Flavia Pennetta vs. Daniela Hantuchova: Pennetta generally shines this time of year, and Hantuchova will have to stay very consistent to stop her. Both women have games that are enjoyable to watch.

Ivanovic says "thanks, but no thanks," to Rogers Cup offer

Ana Ivanovic, as most readers know, wanted a wild card into the Rogers Cup tournament. The former Rogers Cup champion was turned down because tournament officials were holding the wild cards for Canadian player Stephanie Dubois, in case she needed it. That's what Ivanovic says tournament director Eugene Lapierre told her management.

But that isn't exactly what Lapierre told the press. "...the fact is that she hasn't demonstrated that she deserves a wild card," is what he said. Ivanovic says that not only do these remarks contradict what her management told her Lapierre said, but she also found the remarks "unnecessary."

This week, Ivanovic was offered a Rogers Cup wild card, and she turned it down. The 2006 champion says she has no problem qualifying to play in the tournament, but that she now feels unwelcome in Montreal, and she is obviously not happy with the way things were handled.

Miscellany

The Kansas City Explorers are the 2010 World Team Tennis champions. It is the first championship for the team. Jarmila Groth was named the final's Most Valuable Player. Groth, who won all three of her sets, played doubles with Kveta Peschke.

Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia are the three finalists of the ten cities nominated by the USTA as the 2010 Best Tennis Town. The winning city, to be announced next month, will get $100,000 worth of tennis equipment to be used in its tennis community. 2010 Family Circle Cup champion Sam Stosur said: "Charleston certainly felt like the Best Tennis Town in America when I won the title in April, and it's definitely one of my favorite events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour because the city is so beautiful, and the fans are very knowledgeable and supportive of the sport."

Ana Ivanovic says she is "a little hurt and disappointed" that she did not receive a wild card into Rogers Cup competition. Ivanovic will have to qualify to get into the main draw.

Sarah Unke writes about the struggles of Anna Chakvetadze.

Vera Zvonareva withdrew from the Bank of the West Classic because of a minor leg injury, but she plans to play in San Diego.

Here is an interview with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Miscellany

Ana Ivanovic, who won the Rogers Cup in 2006, will have to qualify to get into the main draw this year.

Former world number 10 Nicole Vaidisova has married ATP star Radek Stepanek. Vaidisova retired from professional tennis earlier this year.

Serena Williams' agent describes her client as "a fast healer," and says that Williams is hoping to play in the U.S. Open.

Martina Navratilova will receive the Eugene L. Scott Award during the 2010 U.S. Open. The award, sponsored by the International Tennis Hall of Fame, "honors an individual who consistently embodies Gene’s commitment to communicating honestly and critically about the game, and who has had a significant impact on the world of tennis." Scott was the founder and publisher of Tennis Week.

Steve Flink did an interview with Nancy Richey that is well worth reading.

Miscellany

After two years of going out of their way to ignore Tzipi Obziler's motherhood, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour finally mentioned it, just as Obziler was walking out the door.

Mary Pierce says that she is coming back next year.

I keep forgetting to mention that I really like Maria Sharapova's U.S. Open Series outfit.

The last three times the Rogers Cup was held in Toronto, the winner went on to win the U.S. Open.

Tennis Channel is showing classic U.S. Open matches all this week, as well as its "Only At the Open" series.

If you haven't read The Open Book, published for the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Open, I urge you to do so. Having the book is worth it for the photographs alone, but there is also a lot of great information and historical press coverage.

Spanish team wins Rogers Cup

Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, seeded 6th in Toronto, upset 4th seeds Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs today to win the Rogers Cup. Llagostera Vives and Martinez Sanchez defeated the Australian team 2-6, 7-5, 11-9.

This is the fifth title of the season for the Llagostera Vives and Martinez Sanchez.

Dementieva wins Rogers Cup

Maria Sharapova may not yet be ready for prime time, but she's certainly showing all the old Sharapova spirit. Looking tired and sometimes puzzled during today's Rogers Cup final, she nevertheless willed herself to make a number of small comebacks in a match dominated by 4th seed Elena Dementieva. The two players combined to hit 17 double faults, and there were some frustrating moments, especially for Dementieva, who went about her business the hard way. But some of the rallies were superb, with both players demonstrating outstanding defensive play.

Sharapova, however, made twice as many unforced errors as her opponent, and Dementieva won the title, 6-4, 6-3, in just over two hours.

Today's victory is Dementieva's 14th Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title, and her 50th match win of the season. Dementieva is now 14-14 in tour singles finals.

Stosur & Stubbs upset Black & Huber to reach Rogers Cup final

3rd seeds Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs upset tops seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber in Toronto tonight, 3-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Stosur and Stubbs will play 6th seeds Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the final. The Spanish team upset 4th seeds Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-4.

Sharapova & Dementieva to play in Rogers Cup final

Elena Dementieva had a fairly easy time of it against Serena Williams in Toronto today, once she got the opening set tiebreak out of the way. Dementieva dominated that tiebreak, and never looked back. Williams just went away, and Dementieva got a ticket to the final with a 7-6, 6-1 victory.

Much more entertaining was the second semifinal, featuring Maria Sharapova and Alisa Kleybanova. During the first set, Kleybanova looked as flat and tired as one might expect, given last night's 3-hour+ thriller. Sharapova took that set 6-2, but Kleybanova came out fighting in the next set; more important, her serve returned. She went up 3-0, then 4-1, but Sharapova caught up, and even had an opportunity to break at 4-all. But Kleybanova held, then broke to take the set. Her level dropped in the last set, however, and Sharapova's rose. Kleybanova's game fell apart at 4-all this time, and Sharapova walked away with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory.

Some observations about this match:

Kleybanova moves around the court far better than one would think. I was reminded of Marion Bartoli, who moves deceptively well.

Sharapova knows how to play some fine defensive tennis.

Double-faulting is still the order of the day (a total of 21 in this match).

Kleybanova is one tough cookie.

I enjoyed this match a lot, though not as much as the Kleybanova-Jankovic contest, which I found enthralling, despite the fact that JJ lost.