2009 champion Lisicki advances to 2nd round in Charleston

Sabine Lisicki serves in her 1st round match

There was a time, just a few years ago, when the names "Tamira Paszek" and "Sabine Lisicki" were synonymous with "future WTA star," then things turned kind of sour for both of them. Lisicki, the 2009 Family Circle Cup champion, needed three sets today to defeat Renata Voracova, but her 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory took her into the second round. Lisicki's opening round match was postponed for two hours because--and don't say I didn't warn you--a big storm came in, following a tornado watch. Because this is Charleston in April.

Paszek also advanced to the second round when she defeated Melanie Oudin 6-1, 7-5. I saw the second set, which was pretty high quality, with both players painting the lines, and with Oudin actually winning more points with her backhand.

While the names Lisicki and Paszek stir memories of unkept promises, another name--Jelena Dokic--stirs memories of everything from world-class hitting to heart-breaking personal crisis. Today, Dokic lost her first round to qualifier Anna Tastishvili. The former world number 4 double-faulted ten times, and appeared preoccupied with too many matters that were not really urgent. Dokic yelled in frustration, and struggled to keep from breaking her racquet. There were 17 breaks of serve in the match, which Tatishvili won, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Paszek wins Bell Challenge

Bethanie Mattek-Sands led qualifier Tamira Paszek throughout the first set in their Quebec City final today. Paszek forced a tiebreak, however, in which Mattek-Sands held two set points. Paszek, however, went on to win the tiebreak. Mattek-Sands took the second set, 6-2, and went up an early break in the third. Paszek eventually went up 6-5, and broke Mattek-Sands when she served to stay in the match. The match lasted over 2 hours and 47 minutes, so spectators were treated to a lot of tennis.

This is Tamira Paszek's second WTA title. Once considered a star on the rise, Paszek has had to contend with many odd twists and turns--all of which have been troublesome--in her brief career. She is currently ranked number 151 in the world.

Injuries and illness

Serena Williams has to have stitches because of a cut on the bottom of one of her feet, and--as a result--will miss the entire 2010 season of World Team Tennis. Williams plays for the Washington Kastles.

Peng Shuai, who has missed a lot of this season because of an extended illness, withdrew from Palermo today because of a sprained right ankle.

Finally, Tamira Paszek retired in her final qualifying round in Prague today because of heat illness.

Top seed upset in Prague qualifying

Anastasia Rodionova, the top qualifying seed at the ECM Prague Open, lost today in the second round of qualifying to Tamira Paszek. Paszek defeated Rodionova 6-2, 6-2.

After having hip surgery in 2008 and then sustaining an ankle injury and torn leg muscle in 2009, the Russian-turned-Australian had to work hard to get back into the top 100. Her upset performances in the 2009 U.S. Open, the 2010 French Open, and the 2010 Wimbledon tournament took her to the third round in all three of those majors. Rodionova is currently ranked number 71 in the world.

Things haven't gone as well for Paszek, who was once hailed as a prodigy, but who has had significantly more downs than ups in her career. Paszek is currently ranked number 225 in the world.

Paszek and Larcher De Brito out of 1st round qualifying in Marbella and Ponte Vedra Beach

Seeded 4th in qualifying, Michelle Larcher De Brito made an early exit from Ponte Vedra Beach today when she was defeated in the first qualifying round by Anna Tatishvili. Tatishvili won no games in the first set, but won the second and third, 6-4 7-5.

The 3rd qualifying seed, Sharon Fichman, was defeated 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 by Sesil Karatantcheva.

Meanwhile, in Marbella, 4th-seeded Masa Zec Peskiric defeated Tamira Paszek 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of qualifying.

Seeds advance in Hobart

Advancing today in Hobart were top seed Anabel Medina Garrigues (def. qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva), 4th seed Alona Bondarenko (def. Alize Cornet), 7th seed Zheng Jie (def. Peng Shuai), and 8th seed Gisela Dulko (def. Tamira Paszek).

The Dulko-Paszek match, played in very windy conditions, produced the odd score of 6-1, 0-6, 7-6, and Paszek double-faulted 19 times. "It was a point today, it was impossible to play tennis," Dulko said after the match. "At the end of the second set, and almost all of the third set it was so tough-- you can't play like this. I don't think I've played tennis in worse conditions than this today."

Official had to weigh down the scoreboard and points had to be interrupted because debris was flying onto the court. According to Dulko, the match should have been stopped.

I saw such a match in 2007 in Charleston, right after several tornadoes came down near the Family Circle Cup Stadium. The final was difficult to play, though 2007 champion Jelena Jankovic handled the wind quite well. It was the doubles final, however, that appeared almost impossible to play, though officials did not stop it, and it did go on until the end. Stuff was flying all over the place, the flower stands came down, and--though I understand the need to finish a tournament--I also fully understand Dulko's objection.

Miscellany

Aleksandra Wozniak has been named Canada's Female Athlete of the Year by the Canadian press.

Here is an excellent breakdown (via After Atalanta) of some of the truly frightening trends in women's sports these day. The pink issue is getting worse every day.

In the "here we go again" department: Tamira Paszek retired today during the second round of qualifying in Auckland.

Maria Sharapova defeated Venus Williams in straight sets in an exhibition in Hua Hin, Thailand yesterday.

Anastasia Myskina says she does not think her partner of 3 1/2 years has ever watched a tennis match.

Paszek cleared by Austrian anti-doping agency

The disciplinary committee of Austria's anti-doping agency has concluded that Tamira Paszek's treatment for a back injury was illegal, but that Paszek had no blame in the incident. The Austrian player received a homeopathic treatment which involved enriching and replacing her blood. The re-injection of blood is illegal, but Paszek said she did not know this at the time the procedure was performed.

Paszek was given a temporary ban, but an actual ban will not be imposed. She is not currently playing, however, because of her back problem.

Paszek out for the season

Tamira Paszek, who is under investigation for doping, has requested a protected ranking while she takes six months off to let her back heal. Paszek is accused of violating a doping rule by having her blood enriched and replaced. The procedure involved enriching her blood with a homeopathic treatment.

Paszek to play for now

Tamira Paszek has been given permission to continue playing on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour until a decision is made about her possible ban for allegedly violating anti-doping rules. Paszek's attorney says that the homeopathic enrichment of her blood did not violate the rules. A decision will be made in about seven weeks. If the ban is upheld, it is not expected to be a very long one.

Update on Paszek

The Austrian anti-doping agency has requested that its disciplinary committee sanction Tamira Paszek with a temporary ban because of a treatment she received involving extracting, enriching and replacing her blood. Paszek's defense was that she did not know she had broken any rule by having the treatment. She now has seven days to respond to the committee.

Paszek subject of doping investigation

Though Tamira Paszek has a long way to go before she ignites as much controversy as Sania Mirza, she does also seem to be a magnet for drama. The latest issue for the 18-year-old former phenom is an investigation by Austrian anti-doping authorities.

Paszek has had significant back problems for a while, and now her back is giving her a new kind of problem: During one of her treatments, her blood was extracted, enriched and injected. Paszek says she did not know that this procedure had legal ramifications until she was so informed by a news reporter.

Paszek out in first round of Madrid qualifying

There was a time, not that long ago, when many people thought Tamira Paszek would be the next big thing. But so often, the Next Big Thing is steadily improving and quietly working her way through the rankings, unaffected by the pressure of expectation, whereas all eyes have been on Paszek.

A talented baseliner, Paszek has had her share of instability. She apparently was very attached to her coach, Larri Passos, and had to deal with interference from her father, who sent Passos away and wanted his daughter to get a different coach. My understanding is that Paszek's mother intervened, and Paszek reunited with Passos. But not for long. For whatever reason, she left him again, and is now training at the Sanchez Academy in Spain.

While she was with Passos, Paszek's ranking jumped from 365 to 35. Her current ranking is 60. Paszek won Portoroz in 2006, and made it to the round of 16 at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2007, but since then, she has been inconsistent. I saw her play Cibulkova in the second round in Charleston last month, but she hurt her hand during the match, and was unable to perform well after that.

Today, Paszek lost in the first Madrid qualifying round, to Varvara Lepchenko, who handled her easily, winning 6-1, 6-2.

Paszek is only 18, and the Sanchez Academy is a good place for her to train. I think that she will straighten out whatever is wrong and start climbing up the rankings again--I hope.

Family Circle Cup, day 1--in and around the grounds

We expected rain on this first day of the tournament, and we got some, but not enough to delay or interrupt any matches. There is a tornado watch right now in the Charleston area, and it just wouldn't be Family Circle Cup without a tornado, or at least a few watches or warnings.

There was a Venus sighting this morning, but not by me. I saw a lot of players, but not Venus. We did get to see Elena Dementieva do some practice hitting, and she signed a tennis ball for us.

When we got to the tournament site, we decided to watch the match between Tamira Paszek and Julia Schruff. We stood waiting for entry, and I looked next to me: There was Dominika Cibulkova, who had come to check out Paszek, her probable second round opponent. She and her coach were there, but Cibulkova did not stay too long. Paszek was not exactly impressive, so Cibulkova probably felt she had other things to do.

I spoke with Kateryna Bondarenko, who was in the stands, watching her sister, Alona. She said her wrist injury wasn't too bad, and the doctor told her she could begin practicing again in a week. Both Bondarenko sisters signed some photos for us. It is very disappointing for us that we will not get to see them play doubles together. Instead, Alona will be playing doubles with Anastasia Rodionova. One of the "fighting Bondarenkos," as I call them, once said that the best possible situation is for them to have a third person along, "so we can fight with that person!" Given her history, Rodionova is a pretty good pick.

Tennis outfit of the day: Marta Domachowska, in a bright yellow tank and a khaki/olive split-pleat skirt. Today was the only day to see it, though--the ever under-achieving Domachowska is already out of the tournament, knocked out by qualifier Anastasija Sevastova.

Top seed Paszek out of Monterrey qualifying

Tamira Paszek, top qualifying seed at the Monterrey Open and mystery phenom of the Sony Ericsson WTA, was defeated today in the second round of qualifying by Betina Jozami. Jozami did the job impressively, too, recording a score of 6-1, 6-1. Paszek's first serve was successful only 46% of the time, and her second serve was successful only 21% of the time. She was broken five times, and failed to convert any of the twelve break chances she had.

It has been one thing after another with Paszek--coaching changes of a dramatic nature, problems with her father (involving the coaching changes, and--one surmises--other isues, too), injuries, etc. At one time, all eyes were on her, but as she continues to struggle, she is fading from view.

Phenom flashback

What's next for Victoria Azarenka?

Not that many years ago, all eyes were on a fifteen-year-old named Nicole Vaidisova. She could hit the ball hard and she had some talent. Many people expected great things from her, but now her name is barely mentioned; she is number 65 in the world. We were also watching the very talented Lucie Safarova, who turned out to be streakier than a kindergarten drawing, and is now number 50 in the world.

A couple of years ago, we watched some more players with great interest: Tamira Paszek, Agnieszka Radwanska and Agnes Szavay. Some of us also had our eyes on Caroline Wozniacki and Alize Cornet. Paszek has had her share of problems, and is currently ranked number 70. Szavay has been going out in the first round at most tournaments for several months now; her current ranking of 29 may soon look good if she doesn't change something soon.

The others have done better. Cornet, perhaps the most watchable of all of them, is number 11 in the world, but shows signs of significant mental weakness. She is still young, and can overcome that. If she does, I think she can have a very nice career. World number 12 Wozniacki, like Cornet, is a fiery player who has impressed many of us. She, too, should have a very nice career.

World number 10 Radwanska is a little harder to read. Radwanska is a very fine court thinker who can hit deadly accurate groundstrokes. But she tends to fold when she faces players who give her a lot of variety, such as Patty Schnyder and Amelie Mauresmo. Radwanska will have to learn how to handle these players (though--sadly--there are not many of them) if she is to improve.

That leaves Azarenka. For a time, Azarenka got into finals and lost them. She did that four times, in fact. Then she won Brisbane, and now she seems like a different player; now she has belief. Her performance at the Australian Open, unfortunately terminated by illness, was excellent. She just won Memphis, and did so by handily defeating Wozniacki.

Any of the above-named women could still break through in a big way, and it wouldn't surprise me. Players do things in their own time. But right now, the one who looks more and more like the real thing every day is Azarenka.

First round exits--business as usual

Nicole Vaidisova was defeated in the first round in Paris today by Emelie Loit, 6-1, 6-4. Yesterday, Agnes Szavay was defeated 7-6, 6-2 by Li Na. There is certainly no shame in being defeated by Li, but it was Li's return to the tour, which might have given Szavay a bit of an edge. (On the other hand, Li returned last year from months off and won a tournament right away.)

I have always thought that Vaidisova was mentally fragile, like so many other talented players on the tour, and I can't say that her lack of success surprises me that much. There is a lot of pressure on a so-called phenom, anyway. Look at Tamira Paszek, for example. Oh, wait--you can't look at her--she went out in the first round in Pattaya City, defeated 6-3, 6-4 by World Team Tennis star Yaroslava Shvedova.

On a brighter note, Karolina Sprem, who fought pretty hard to become a qualifier in Paris, won her first round in straight sets against the talented Petra Kvitova.

Paszek parts with Passos again

Somehow, in the end-of-season frenzy, I missed this story: Tamira Paszek has once again parted ways with coach Larri Passos. You'll recall that Paszek did some serious work with Passos for a couple of years, and then ended their relationship when her father became insistent that she do so. She then returned to Passos (one presumes she either stood up to her father or her father backed down) for six months, but recently ended the relationship again.

Paszek is now being coached by Angel Gimenez, who was one of Daniela Hantuchova's more recent coaches.

Tanasugarn upsets Srebotnik in Beijing

Tammy Tanasugarn, down 1-5 today in the second set of her first-round China Open match against Katarina Srebotnik, came back to win in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.

Also of interest in Beijing: Francesca Schiavone defeated wild card Li Na, 6-1, 76. And Aleksandra Wozniak defeated Virginie Razzano, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, Ekaterina Makarova defeated Tamira Paszek, 6-1, 6-2. And if that looks like a runover (Makarova is very good, but what is it with Paszek?), the real damage was done by Jill Craybas, who beat (not so) lucky loser Yuan Meng, 6-0, 6-0. Ouch.

Schnyder wins Bali--the curse is broken

After Patty Schnyder won in Cincinnati in 2005, she went to seven finals and lost them all. Most of them were big contests--Nadia Petrova beat her in Charleston (after Schnyder had defeated Justine Henin in the semifinals), old rival Daniela Hantuchova beat her in Zurich, and Serena Williams beat her in San Diego.

As a fan, I was proud that she made the finals of the top tournaments, rather than playing in smaller ones. In fact, her consistency was excellent. But I was also frustrated that she did not win even one of these finals.

Schnyder's run at the 2008 U.S. Open seems to have filled her with confidence, and she went to Bali in very fine form, defeating her friend Tamira Paszek today to take the title. To get to the final, Patty defeated Yuan Meng, Marta Domachowska and Nadia Petrova. Paszek's path to the final was impressive, especially for an unseeded player: She defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta, and top seed Daniela Hantuchova.

Schnyder's victory was also her 500th career match win. Her back was bothering her in Bali, so she has withdrawn from the tournament in Guangzhou. She now goes into the European indoor season, which has always favored her. In fact, she was close to a win in Linz in 2005, but injured her hand during the final. Playing one-handed for the remainder of the match, she lost to Nadia Petrova. That was Petrova's first tournament win. And last year, of course, Schnyder lost to Hantuchova on an indoor court in Zurich.

You can read Patty's Bali blog here.

Schnyder def. Paszek, 6-3, 6-0