Bien hecho!

Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez had never before been to the Sony Ericsson Championships. It was only this year, in fact, that they began playing together exclusively. Yesterday, they defeated Serena and Venus Williams in the semifinals, and their opponents in today's final were Cara Black and Liezel Huber, who make up the number 1 team in the world.

Llagostera Vives and Martinez Sanchez won, 7-6, 5-7, 10-7, and the first set tiebreak score was 7-0. This very big title is the seventh of the season for the Spanish team. It would have been impressive enough to have defeated either the Williams sisters or Black and Huber: Llagostera Vives and Martinez Sanchez defeated them both, making for a memorable championship.

Serena wins Sony Ericsson Championships

The world number 1 put some impressive icing on the cake today when she defeated her sister, Venus, also the defending champion, in the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha. Serena won in straight sets--6-2, 7-6--to take her second SEC title.

It took Serena just over half an hour to win the first set, but the second set was very competitive. Serena had a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak, Venus took it to 4-5, but Serena was able to win with a three-point lead.

Serena Williams had already regained her number 1 ranking, but winning in Doha certainly puts some emphasis on her status on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

Spanish team goes to Doha final

The team of Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez did today what few thought they could do: They defeated the Williams sisters in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships. They will play Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the final tomorrow.

Llagostera Vives and Martinez Sanchez, the "other" Spanish team, have had a great season. In their first year to play together exclusively, they won six titles, and were finalists in two other tournaments. Black and Huber, the number 1 team in the world, won five titles this year, and were finalists at the U.S. Open. They are 6-0 head-to-head against Llagostera Vives and Martinez Sanchez.

Venus and Serena in Doha final

Defending champion Venus Williams will meet her sister in the final of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships tomorrow in Doha; Venus defeated Jelena Jankovic, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals. Serena won her semifinal when opponent Caroline Wozniacki retired, with Serena leading 6-4, 0-1. Wozniacki has struggled all weak with cramping, and retired today with an abdominal injury.

Doha: All fall down

I'm on vacation, but I'm following (and watching a bit) the events in Doha, and I can't shake an image I have of Flavia Pennetta, sitting in her house, shaking a bottle of Peroni at the television and muttering. Pennetta has had her share of physical vulnerability at season's end this year, but--judging from the Fed Cup final schedule--she can still stand up, which might have made her a worthy contender in Doha. She lost her chance, though, and the opportunity to wither in the heat and fall down in pain went to other players.

As it is, Caroline Wozniacki is having serious issues with cramping, though she has steadfastly continued to play, losing today to Jelena Jankovic. Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka retired with cramps today in the third set of her match against 2nd alternate Agnieska Radwanska. Radwanska was playing because 1st alternate Vera Zvonareva had to withdraw when she sustained an ankle injury. And Zvonareva was playing because Dinara Safina retired in her first match with a lower back injury.

Azarenka's retirement puts Wozniacki into the semifinals, but can Wozniacki play? If she cannot, the rules say that Azarenka may play if she believes she is able to and she has the permission of the tournament physician. And--in the strangest scenario ever--if she couldn't play, then Radwanska--who is about to undergo hand surgery--would wind up in the semifinals.

With me so far?

Enter Jelena Jankovic, who lost her first match to Azarenka, won her second match at 1-1 when Safina retired, and defeated Wozniacki in straight sets today. In 2007, Jankovic played herself into the ground, but Wozniacki must not have been paying attention because this year, she played more matches than anyone else on the tour.

The semifinal schedule for tomorrow involves a match between Jankovic and defending champion Venus Williams, and one between Serena Williams and Wozniacki. Venus Williams made it to the semifinals when Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Elena Dementieva today.

Doubles play begins tomorrow, too. Cara Black and Liezel Huber play Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs; Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez play Serena and Venus Williams.

Serena 3-0 in Doha

Serena Williams, having defeated Elena Dementieva in straight sets today, is now 3-0 at the Sony Ericsson Championships. Also winning in the maroon group was Venus Williams, who defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova.

In the white group, Caroline Wozniacki defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-7, 7-6. Zvonareva entered the competition as an alternate when Dinara Safina retired with a lower back injury yesterday. Now, Zvonareva has withdrawn from Doha because of a right ankle injury. For her part, Wozniacki developed a leg cramp at 3-1 in the third set, and was in considerable pain by the end of the two-hour and 48-minute match. At one point, she collapsed on the court.

Tomorrow, in the white group, Wozniacki (2-0 so far) will play Jelena Jankovic (1-1), and 2nd alternate Agnieszka Radwanska will play Victoria Azarenka (1-1). In the maroon group, Kuznetsova (0-2) will play Elena Dementieva (1-1).

Sony Ericsson Championships--day 1

Day 1 in Doha produced victory for Victoria Azarenka in the white group, and for Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva in the maroon group. Azarenka defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-3. Azarenka will play Caroline Wozniacki next, and Jankovic will play Dinara Safina.

In the maroon group, Serena Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6, 7-5, and Elena Dementieva defeated Venus Williams 3-6, 7-6, 6-2. Serena Williams' next opponent will be Venus Williams.

Radwanska out of contention for Doha

Agnieszka Radwanska, until today, had a chance to be the eighth woman to compete at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, but her fate was sealed today when she lost in straight sets to Maria Kirilenko in the first round of the Kremlin Cup. Kirilenko is now 2-1 against the world number 10.

Flavia Pennetta retired in the first round in Moscow today because of a left knee injury. She was a contender to be an alternate in Doha, but today's events removed that chance. Rather, Radwanska will be an alternate, and now it is down to either Vera Zvonareva or Jelena Jankovic to take the final spot in the competition.

There were a couple of upsets today in Moscow, also. Qualifier Evgeniya Rodina defeated 6th seed Elena Vesnina in the first round, and Alona Bondarenko defeated 5th seed Nadia Petrova in the second round.

Meanwhile, in Luxembourg, qualifier Kirsten Flipkens upset 3rd seed Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Miscellany

Who will take the last slot at the Sony Ericsson Championships? Women's Tennis Blog breaks it down for us.

WTA Backspin's ongoing feature on the 25 best players of the last decade presents players 16-20.

Sam Stosur is now number 13 in the world in singles, and number 8 in doubles.

The people of Birmingham, Alabama are hoping their city will become a Fed Cup venue. Chances are good, based on the great Davis Cup event that was held there when the USA played Switzerland. Also, Birmingham is a delightful place to visit (contrary to the many snide comments made about the Davis Cup announcement by scores of ignorant people who had never even been there).

Sabine Lisicki is blogging this week from Luxembourg.

Williams and Azarenka qualify for Sony Ericsson Championships

Venus Williams and Victoria Azarenka have qualified to compete in Doha later this month in the Sony Ericsson Championships.

There is only one more position open in singles for the Doha event.

Kuznetsova qualifies for Sony Ericsson Championships

World number 6 and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has qualified to play in the 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships. This will be Kuznetsova's fifth appearance at the championships.

Also qualifying this week is the doubles team of Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. The team has more tournaments than any other team this season.

Dementieva and Wozniacki qualify for Sony Ericsson Championships

Elena Dementieva and U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki have qualified to compete in the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha. They join Dinara Safina and Serena Williams, who have already qualified. There are four remaining slots.

Four doubles teams will also compete; Cara Black and Liezel Huber have already qualified.

Miscellany

World number 1 Dinara Safina has qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.

Charles Bricker lays into the ESPN commentators for being too lazy to pronounce Marion Bartoli's name correctly--imagine how delighted I was to see this--and goes on to write humorously, but affectionately, about Bartoli.

Bricker again--this time, glad to have some real stats on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour site, but not so happy about having to search for them.

Dinara Safina is the number 1 seed at the upcoming Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati. Kim Clijsters has a wild card into the tournament.

James LaRosa asks whether women on the tour can make friends with their peers. The answer--duh--appears to be "yes."

Not surprisingly, Li Na has withdrawn from both the Cincinnati and Toronto tournaments.

Venus wins Sony Ericsson Championships

In a sometimes roller-coaster ride of a final, Venus Williams and Vera Zvonareva--both 4-0 coming into the match--provided some unusual sports entertainment in Doha today. This match had everything, including some things we could have done without.

In the first set, Williams' serve was obviously off, and Zvonareva's confidence was obviously high. But strange things happened. Serving for the first set at 5-2, Zvonareva was broken. Serving for it again at 5-4, 40-0, she saw two set points saved by Williams, after which Zvonareva had a dramatic, sure-thing volley to take the set. Her hand wavered, though, and the ball went into the net; all Zvonareva could do was smile. On her fourth set point, she hit a wild ball out wide. And then she was broken.

From down 2-5, Williams evened the match to 5-all. A tiebreak ensued, and Zvonareva found herself down 1-5. At that point, she turned on some special switch, and rolled on fabulously, with a final tiebreak score of 7-5.

But Zvonareva was barely there in the second set, and Williams' serve improved significantly. Williams also played this set with more of her characteristic aggression, and won it 6-0. My best guess is that Zvonareva was mentally exhausted after the thrills and chills of the first set.

The third set featured a dominant Williams, while Zvonareva continued having trouble holding her serve. When she finally held it, serving at 1-4, it was the first time she had held it since 5-6 in the first set. Zvonareva also broke Williams, and for a moment, it looked like the match might again be a real contest. But Williams would not let that happen. During one lost point, Zvonareva fell to the ground, a la Jankovic, in frustration. During the next one--when the writing was on the wall--she fell down again, this time crying and smashing her racquet. Zvonareva doesn't do that type of thing too much anymore, but if ever there were a time to do it, it was at that moment.

The first set of this match was must-see tennis, strange as it was. It was sad to see Zvonareva fade away, but even with that, she produced some terrific shots, and she had a wonderful week in Doha. She was also quite mentally tough most of the time. Williams had a wonderful week, too, playing very strong tennis, and recovering easily from the times when she struggled with her serve.

It is worth noting that, during the final, Serena Williams--once again--sat in the stands with a flat affect. I'm used to that, but I was a bit surprised that that flat affect was barely altered when her victorious sister came to the stands to greet her box after she won the title.

Williams def. Zvonareva, 6-7, 6-0, 6-2

Black & Huber win Sony Ericsson Championships

Cara Black and Liezel Huber, the world's number one doubles team and defending champions, have won the Sony Ericsson Championships, defeating Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs, 6-1, 7-5. This is the seventh time Black has won the tour championships. Huber has now won the championships three times. All three of Huber's victories have occurred while she was playing with Black; Black has won with Huber, Rennae Stubbs and Elena Likhovtseva.

Venus goes to the Doha final

During the first set of the Sony Ericsson Championships semifinal between Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams, Jankovic didn't really appear to be there. I suspected she might be hampered by her back or hip (always a good guess with her, and she experienced a hip dislocation during her stay in Doha). Venus Williams easily took the set, 6-2.

But in the second set, Jankovic was moving and swinging much more freely, while Williams looked uncertain, and began making errors. Tennis Channel commentator Corina Morariu's theory sounded just right to me: that Jankovic's back stiffness had decreased simply because of a set's worth of movement. Jankovic took that set, 6-2.

The third set, as expected, was a total battle, with nerves of steel suddenly going soft, and neither 40-0 nor 0-40 having the significance they generally have. The sixth game almost deserved its own umpire and scoreboard, it lasted so long. Jankovic and Williams always have great matches, and this one--though a bit strange because of the first set--was no exception. In the end, it was Williams who prevailed, steeling herself toward the end of the last set, and breaking Jankovic to win the match, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

This is Williams' first Sony Ericsson Championships final.

8th seed Zvonareva goes to the final

Today's first Sony Ericsson Championships semifinal turned out to be the grueling, drawn-out contest I assumed it would be (though I wasn't expecting to hear prayers in the background). After numerous breaks of serve (they might as well have been playing on red clay), Vera Zvonareva let a 5-1 tiebreak lead slip away, but wound up winning the tiebreak, 8-6. In the second set, the momentum shifted, and Elena Dementieva played some of her best tennis. It looked as though that momentum was solidly with her, but Zvonareva went up an early break in the third set, and became more and more focused as the set went on.

This was an entertaining match. Zvonareva and Dementieva have similar strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes their shots were mirror images. There were some spectacular rallies, some amazing volleys, and some silly mistakes. As a bonus, there was one hilarious moment when the two were practically on top of each other at the net.

Dementieva's mental toughness is overrated, as I have said before. It was Zvonareva who remained tough in this match, and it was she who prevailed, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.

Note to Barry McKay...

Elena Dementieva cannot possibly be Vera Zvonareva's "countryman." She is a woman.

And, by the way, "fellow countryman" is redundant.

(And what is going on that half of the things out of McKay's mouth are inaccurate?)

Note to Lindsay Davenport: A 27-year-old female is not a girl.

It's the 21st Century, for god's sake, and this is all supposed to be about equality, but language is our most significant cultural tool: Calling women men and calling adult females children is inexcusable.

Doha doubles play begins tomorrow

Since only four teams can qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships, there is no round-robin play, but rather, one knock-out contest. Here is the draw for tomorrow's play:

No. 1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber vs. no. 4 seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual

No. 3 seeds Kveta Peshke and Rennae Stubbs vs. no. 2 seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama

Sony Ericsson Championships standings

Round-robin play has concluded, and here are the current standings:

WHITE GROUP:
Jelena Jankovic, 2-1
Ana Ivanovic, 0-2 (withdrew)
Svetlana Kuznetsova, 0-3
Vera Zvonareva, 3-0
Agnieszka Radwanska (alternate), 1-0 (1 match played)

MAROON GROUP:
Dinara Safina, 0-3
Serena Williams, 1-1 (withdrew)
Elena Dementieva, 2-1
Venus Williams, 3-0
Nadia Petrova (alternate), 0-1 (1 match played)

In the semifinals, 8th seed Zvonareva will play 5th seed Dementieva, and 1st seed Jankovic will play seed 7th seed Williams.