Mirza & Vesnina win Charleston doubles title

"Hello again," Elena Vesnina said to the crowd when she made a speech at the Family Circle Cup for the second time in one day. This speech, however, represented an even nicer occasion for the unseeded singles runner-up. She and partner Sania Mirza defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 6-4, 6-4 to win the doubles championship.  Mirza and Vesnina, also unseeded, broke the 4th seeds five times.

The winning team served for the first set at 5-3, but were broken. Shaughnessy then served two consecutive aces, and she and Mattek-Sands held at love, but they were unable to break Mirza and Vesnina when they served a second time for the set.


Mirza and Vesnina went up 2-0 in the second set, and a big forehand from Mirza set the team up to get a second break. They went up 3-0 when, suddenly, a ballboy collapsed. Play was suspended while a trainer came out to treat the ballboy, who was then carried off of the court (he recovered quite nicely, and returned to the match). Mattek-Sands and Shaughnessy held for 1-4, then broke Mirza and Vesnina on their second break point. They then held for 3-4.

The next game went to deuce, and Mirza and Vesnina were broken when Mirza double-faulted on the deciding point. Mattek-Sands and Shaughnessy were broken in the next game, however, and Vesnina--serving for the match--hit a forehand down the line for match point.

After the match, Mirza said that she and Vesnina get along so well off the court that it helps them stay calm on the court. Vesnina added that she thought Mirza had the best forehand on the tour. It's a really formidable forehand, and I should add  that Vesnina is now very strong on both sides.

Both Mirza and Vesnina were models of fitness during the tournament. Mirza had to qualify for singles, and made it all the way to the quarterfinals, and Vesnina played in both finals. Both players have had issues in the past with wrist injuries, and Vesnina has had problems with her left thigh. This week, Mirza played with a slight groin/thigh injury, but persevered. She and Vesnina, having won Indian Wells, now have another impressive doubles title.

Sania Mirza's smoking forehand had a devastating effect

Mirza & Vesnina win Indian Wells

Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina, seeded 8th at the BNP Paribas Open, won the doubles title today by defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 6-0, 7-5. To arrive at the final, Mirza and Vesnina defeated the teams of Hlavackova/Hradecka, Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (7), Jans/Rosolska, and Hantuchova/Radwanska.

According to Matt Cronin, the winning team almost didn't play because of Vesnina's wrist injury, but Mirza, who knows a lot about wrist injuries, reportedly helped her new partner to cope. Vesnina became available to play on a new team when her regular partner, Vera Zvonareva, decided to concentrate on singles only.

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.

Mirza advances to Asian Games semifinals

Sania Mirza has advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Games by upsetting 2nd seed Tammy Tanasugarn 6-2, 6-3. Her next opponent will be 3rd seed Akgul Amanmuradova. Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan also advanced to the mixed doubles semifinals.

Mirza won the silver medal in singles in the 2006 Asian Games; Zheng Jie won the gold. Mirza and Leander Paes won the 2006 gold medal in mixed doubles.

Miscellany

Matt Cronin says the Williams sisters are headed toward retirement.

Venus Williams says she is hoping to win some titles and has her mind on the Olympic Games. "Serena and I will have to be in the best shape of our lives for London. We have to be machines to play in three events. It's something like fourteen matches in eight days. We had better be ready."

Not surprisingly, Vera Zvonareva was recently presened with Russia's Female Tennis Player of the Year award.

James LaRosa says that Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic are still in the running to win majors, and that Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova are still in the running to attain career slams.

Sania Mirza has made it to both the singles quarterfinals and the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Asian Games. She defeated Zhang Shuai in the second round.

Edina Gallovits is getting married during the off-season.

Rodionova wins singles gold at Commonwealth Games

Anastasia Rodionova of Australia, the top-seeded player in the 2010 Commonweath Games, won the gold medal today after defeating 2nd seed Sania Mirza 6-3, 2-6, 7-6.

The match began with five breaks of serve. With each player taking a set, Mirza served at 2-1 in the third, but was broken. Rodionova served for the match at 5-3, but Mirza broke her. Mirza then saved a match point on her own serve. The set eventually went to a tiebreak, and Rodionova won on her fourth match point, when Mirza double-faulted.

Sally Peers defeated Olivia Rogowska 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 to win the bronze medal.

Rodionova had to play against the crowd, which not only cheered wildly for Mirza, but which also enthusiastically cheered Rodionova's errors, and did not applaud her winners. All of Mirza'a matches in Delhi have been very noisy affairs.

Mirza makes comeback in Commonwealh Games semifinals

Down 1-6, 1-3 in the singles semifinals at the Commonwealth Games, 2nd seed Sania Mirza staged a comeback against Olivia Rogowska and won the match, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. Rogowska will play the loser of the other semifinal to determine who wins the bronze medal. The other semifinalists are Sally Peers and top seed Anastasia Rodionova.

"She was just swinging and just hitting everything," Miza said of Rogowska. "I had to hang in there. I knew, at some point, she was going to crack."

Doubles upsets at Commonwealth Games

Sania Mirza and Leander Paes, seeded 2nd in mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Games, were upset 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals by Scotland's team of Jocelyn Rae and Colin Fleming. The match was played less than an hour after Paes finished his men's doubles match.

In women's doubles, 2nd seeds Sarah Borwell and Anna Smith were also upset 7-5, 6-4, by Poojashree Venkatesha and Nirupama Sanjeev of India.

Rodionova in semifinals at Commonwealth Games

Top seed Anastasia Rodionova defeated Heather Watson yesterday and advanced to the Commonwealth Games semifinals; Rodionova also made it to the semifinals in mixed doubles. Sania Mirza also advanced to the semifinals.

The Games, held in Delhi, have been problematic from the outset. Prior to the start of the event, a footbridge collapsed and 27 people died. Two major structures collapsed, then a roof collapsed in the weightlifting arena. Members of a cricket team were wounded when their bus was attacked. Monsoons damaged the shooting range, and rain seeped through into the swimming pools. A swimmer was injured by tripping over a loose grill.

When the Games began, two cobras that popped up--one in the players' quarters, and one in a drain in a public area. Then a ceiling tile fell on someone's head at the media headquarters. Now, 15 swimmers have a stomach virus after swimming in the warmup pool.

This is the first time that tennis has ever been played at the Commonwealth Games, and the main attraction for the tennis competition is Sania Mirza, who is seeded as number 2.

Rodionova survives stomach cramps to advance to Commonwealth Games quarterfinals

Anastasia Rodionova, the top seed in women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Games, had some trouble with stomach cramps in the second round of singles play, but easily defeated Larikah Russell, 6-1, 6-3. Sania Mirza, Olivia Rogowska, Marina Erakovic and Sally Peers also advanced to the quarterfinals, but Katie O'Brien--struggling with a shoulder injury and hardly able to practice--did not. Mirza has also reached the women's doubles quarterfinals.

Heather Watson won her second round match and will play Rodionova in the quarterfinals.

Sarah Borwell and her partner defeated Watson and her partner in mixed doubles.

Rodionova top seed in Commonwealth Games

Anastasia Rodionova is the number 1 seed in the women's singles draw of the first-ever tennis competition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which are taking place October 4-10 in Delhi. Sania Mirza is the number 2 seed. Both players have byes in the first round.

Rodionova and Sally Peers are the top seeds in women's doubles, and Rodionova and Paul Hanley are the top seeds in mixed doubles. Mirza will play with Leander Paes in the mixed doubles competition. Mirza and Paes are the 2nd seeds.

Miscellany

Kim Clijsters has withdrawn from the China Open.

Serena Williams says she may play in Moscow. She has withdrawn frm the China Open.

The popular tournament in New Haven (formerly Pilot Pen Tennis) tournament is still searching for a sponsor.

The Commonwealth Games will commence on October 3. And of course, Sania Mirza's interviewer just had to use the "b" word.

Julia Goerges' upset of Sam Stosur was her first-ever top-10 win.

Kerry Melville Reid talks about her career and her place in history.

Happy Birthday to Kimiko Date Krumm!

Groth wins Guangzhou title

Jarmila Groth won her first tour title today. Groth defeated Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-4 to claim the Guangzhou International Women's Open championship. Groth was the top seed at the tournament.

Edina Gallovits and Sania Mirza won the doubles championship. They defeated Han Xin Yun and Liu Wanting 7-5, 6-3.

Mirza out of Guangzhou

Sania Mirza's comeback was cut short today by Zhang Shuai, who defeated her 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the Guangzhou quarterfinals. Meanwhile, top seed Jarmila Groth advanced to the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Maria Elena Camerin.

In the Quebec City quarterfinals, Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated wild card Rebecca Marino 6-4, 7-5. Christina Mchale defeated qualifier Alexa Glatch, and qualifier Tamira Paszek defeated Sophie Arvidsson. Number 3 seed Lucie Safarova had to content with a challenge from Melanie Oudin, but Safarova came back from a 0-3 score in the final set to win the match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

U.S. Open miscellany

Today, I heard a commentator call for on-court coaching all the time. He said that if a player didn't have a coach, the USTA could appoint one (I know---it sounds like a Miranda warning). I'm not sure how that would work for the hundreds of players who do not play for the United States. In more ways than one, the commentator needed to think this dreadful idea through a bit more.

Sania Mirza says that she is managing her wrist pain, and is glad to be resuming her career. Mirza, who was out for several months, has an impressive forehand.

When I saw a photo of Maria Sharapova's daytime dress, I wasn't sure if I liked it. Now that I've seen it on her, I like it very much. The night dress is beautiful, even by itself, in a photo.

I can't bring myself to dislike Nadia Petrova's unusual outfit as much as I think I'm supposed to. (Speaking of Petrova, what was that with Petkovic's dance, after a first-round win?) Aravane Rezai's outfit is another matter.

In the U.S. Open preview issue of Tennis magazine, Steve Tignor writes yet another tribute to Flavia Pennetta--and it's another good read.

Beatrice Capra is the U.S. Open's Player of the Day.

Mirza qualifies for U.S. Open

After three rounds of play, we now have sixteen qualifiers who will enter the main draw of the U.S. Open. Notable among them is Sania Mirza, who has had so much difficulty with multiple injuries to her wrist. Also qualifying are top qualifying seed Akgul Amanmuradova, and former early-teen sensation Michelle Larcher De Brito.

Laura Robson's big serve was not enough to save her from a third round loss to doubles expert Nuria Llagostera Vives, who defeated her 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Here is a complete list of U.S. Open qualifiers:

Akgul Amanmuradova
Nuria Llagostera Vives
Monica Niculescu
Mirjana Lucic
Sally Peers
Tamira Paszek
Mandy Minella
Lourdes Dominguez Lino
Rebecca Marino
Irina Falconi
Maria Elena Camerin
Zuzana Kucova
Zuzana Ondraskova
Olga Savchuk
Sania Mirza
Michelle Larcher De Brito

Miscellany

Longines Future Tennis Aces Tournament, which featured 16 12-and-under players, was held at Roland Garros during the French Open. The winner of the girls' competition was Aleksandra Pospelova of Russia. The USA's Lauren Fishbein made it to the semifinals (and is shown in the photo with her tennnis idol, Serena Williams). Pospelova also played in a mixed doubles match with partner Gustavo Kuerten. Longines is the official timekeeper of the French Open.

Amelie Mauresmo has been added to Michael Llodra's team as an advisor during the grass court season.

Chris Evert will be inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame on August 16.

Anastasia Rodionova recently did a fashion shoot for Muze. (And I don't usually pass on this type of information, but it's being talked about, and--considering the players--I thought it was too funny not to mention that Rodionova and Aravane Rezai, who played each other in Birmingham, may be the first pair of players on the tour to get into it with each other--and with the umpire--during the warmup.)

Sania Mirza says she never said she would retire in two years. She says her remarks were misinterpreted by the press. Imagine that.

Miscellany

Sania Mirza says she will retire in two years so that she can concentrate on family life. Stay tuned because--you know--it's Sania Mirza.

Anne Keothavong has had to give up rock climbing and bouldering because of her knee injuries.

I became so involved in blogging about the French Open that I didn't get around to blogging about the University of Southern California's Center for Feminist Research report on media coverage of women's sports. The news is even worse than it was five years ago, except that there has been a decline in blatantly sexist remarks made by the sports media. The study also confrims somthing we already knew--that women athletes tend to get decent coverage when something "controversial" occurs in an athletic event (the controversial behavior or action, of course, is often something that would get no attention at all if men did it).

As of this week, Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion, is ranked number 6 in the world. This is the highest ranking ever achieved by an Italian woman. Flavia Pennetta, the first Italian woman to ever rank in the top 10, has returned to that list, with a current ranking of 10. There is now only one Russian, Elena Dementieva, in the top 10.

Elena Baltacha is blogging from Birmingham.

Peng Shuai withdrew from the French Open because of illness; she has now withdrawn from Wimbledon.

Miscellany

Kim Clijsters has confirmed that she is out of the French Open.

Here is a look back at the Barcelona Bumblebee.

Sania Mirza will return to the tour in June, when she plays in Birmingham.

Have fun looking at this retrospective of Bethanie Mattek-Sands' tennis outfits.

Four clay courts are being installed at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Bad news for fans: Editor-in-Chief James Martin is leaving Tennis to cover soccer for ESPN.com. I'll miss his thoughtful and intelligent writing, especially on Tennis.com.

Miscellany

Dinara Safina says that she has no back pain when she plays, but in her conditioning regimen, she is no longer permitted to do anything that puts pressure on her spine.

Venus and Serena were referenced in last night's episode of Brothers & Sisters, which included a lot of tennis. Go Kevrah!

Rome matches are being streamed all this week on both Tennis TV.

Sania Mirza is hitting again and reports that she has no wrist pain.

Anne Keothavong says that she and Rome doubles partner Andrea Petkovic kept themselves amused during the rain delays yesterday by doing impersonations. Unfortunately, she doesn't say whom they were impersonating.

Victoria Azarenka has redesignd her website.