Wozniacki & Dementieva to play in Tokyo final

Tokyo top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated 8th seed Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 today in the Tokyo semifinals. Wozniacki's opponent in the final will be 7th seed Elena Dementieva, who defeated 5th seed  Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-5.

In doubles, Shahar Peer and Peng Shuai defeated 3rd seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Liezel Huber 6-4, 5-7, 10-5. In the other semifinal, Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova defeated Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 7-6, 6-2.

Dementieva moves to semifinals in Tokyo

Elena Dementieva, the 7th seed in Tokyo, defeated 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-2 today in the quarterfinals. Also advancing were 5th seed Francesca Schiavone, who defeated Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 (the match lasted over three hours), and 8th seed Victoria Azarenka, who defeated qualifier Coco Vandeweghe 6-2, 6-1. 6th seed Agnieszka Radwanska had to retire against top seed Caroline Wozniacki because of a left foot injury.

In doubles, the two top-seeded teams were upset. Shahar Peer and Peng Shuai defeated number 1 seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta. Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova defeated number 2 seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik. Two other teams won because of walkovers.

Vandeweghe advances to Tokyo quarterfinals

World number 172 Coco Vandeweghe hit her way into the quarterfinals in Tokyo today when she defeated Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-0 in the third round. Vandeweghe is the only qualifier remaining in the tournament. Kaia Kanepi upset 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-4, and top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated 16th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 6-2. Wozniaki has also become the first player designated to compete in the WTA Championships in Doha.

Also winning today were 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva (def. qualifier Roberta Vinci), 5th seed Francesca Schiavone (def. wild card Kimiko Date Krumm), 6th seed Agnieszka Radwanska (def. Andrea Petkovic), 7th seed Elena Dementieva (def. Flavia Pennetta), and 8th seed Victoria Azarenka (def. Marion Bartoli, who retired because of a viral illness).

In doubles, tops seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta moved to the second round. Wimbledon and U.S. Open champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, however, were defeated 7-6, 6-2 by Tathiana Garbin and Francesca Schiavone.

Here is the singles quarterfinal draw:

Wozniacki vs. Radwanska
Vandeweghe vs. Azarenka
Schiavone vs. Kanepi
Dementieva vs. Zvonareva

Stosur upset in 2nd round in Tokyo

Julia Goerges, who defeated Dinara Safina in the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, took out 4th seed Sam Stosur today. Goerges upset Stosur 7-5, 6-3.

Stosur wasn't the only seed to exit. 10th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was upset by Andrea Petkovic, 13th seed Shahar Peer lost to Kaia Kanepi, and 14th seed Aravane Rezai lost to qualifier Coco Vandeweghe. Flavia Pennetta defeated Maria Kirilenko, and Daniela Hantuchova had to retire against Kimiko Date Krumm in the third set; Hantuchova injured her right shoulder.

In doubles, the team of Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez--one of 2009's biggest success stories on the tour--lost in the first round to Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. Llagostera Vives and Martinez Sanchez were set back considerably this year because of an injury sustained by Martinez Sanchez.

Date Krumm defeats Sharapova in Tokyo

Wild card Kimiko Date Krumm, playing in the first round of the Pan Toray Pacific Open, defeated 12th seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova today. Date Krumm, who will celebrate her 40th birthday tomorrow, defeated Sharapova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. She will play Daniela Hantuchova in the second round.

Also going out was 15th seed Nadia Petrova, who lost to qualifier Roberta Vinci. Julia Goerges defeated Dinara Safina, Anna Ivanovic defeated Seoul champion Alisa Kleybanova, and qualifier Coco Vandeweghe defeated Seoul runner-up Klara Zakopalova.

In the second round of play, 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic defeated Alona Bondarenko 6-4, 6-1, and 6th seed Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-3.

Tokyo play begins

Number 1 qualifying seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez did not get through qualifying, but she became the Toray Pan Pacific Open lucky loser when Li Na withdrew from the tournament because of a gastro-intestinal illness. Martinez Sanchez lost in the first round, however, to Maria Kirilenko. Kirilenko defeated her 6-3, 6-7, 6-1.

The only qualifier to win today was Greta Arn, who defeated qualifier Laura Robson. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, seeded 16th, defeated Dominika Cibulkova, and Andrea Petkovic defeated Gisela Dulko.

Number 2 qualifying seed Jarmila Groth went out in the final round to qualifying, as did Anastasia Rodionova.

The tournament's top four seeds are Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva, Jelena Jankovic, and Sam Stosur.

In case you missed it

The shot of the day on the final day of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. It's worth seeing.

Kleybanova & Schiavone win Toray Pan Pacific Open

Despite the almost universal wish for Ai Sugiyama to win the final doubles tournament of her career, it was another veteran, Fran Schiavone, who--with partner Alisa Kleybanova--took the Tokyo title this year. Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchova went up 4-1 in the first set, but were overtaken by Kleybanova and Schiavone, 6-4, 6-2.

Schiavone continues to surprise us. Just when it looks as though her career is winding down, she wins both of her singles matches against Russia in Fed Cup play, gets to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, defeats Victoria Azarenka and makes it to the round of 16 at the U.S. Open, and then wins the Tokyo doubles title.

Jankovic retires, Sharapova wins Tokyo

I sat down tonight to watch what I thought would be three knock-down, drag-out sets of tennis in the Toray Pan Pacific Open final. Instead, I saw Jelena Jankovic go from serving very well to hardly serving, and then retiring with a wrist injury at 2-5 in the first set. It's possible that this injury is related to the arm injury Jankovic experienced in her semifinal match; she had her arme bandaged during the final. It is, of course, unknown whether the defending champion will be able to play next week in Beijing, but it certainly doesn't look good for her.

Sharapova has now won in Tokyo four times, and this latest victory is her 20th tour title. Sharapova's serve is looking much better now that she has dropped the abbreviated motion, and a big win like this one is bound to do her a world of good in the confidence department. She still isn't cranking out aces, and her second serve is far from what it was, but she can make those adjustments. I'm impressed by some of the finesse I see in her game these days.

For those of us (and especially those who are JJ fans) who were anticipating an exciting final, Tokyo was a disappointment. But it was still nice to see two struggling players continue their return to form. During the ceremony, Sharapova was as poised as always in her speaking, but she shuffled back and forth the entire time, as though she were standing on hot coals. A year and five months is a long time, and she may have been a bit out of practice.

Black & Huber upset in Tokyo

The unseeded team of Alisa Kleybanova and Francesca Schiavone defeated the world number 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 7-6, 6-3, in the Tokyo semifinals yesterday. Their opponents in the final will be Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama, who defeated Gisela Dulko and Nadia Petrova, 7-6, 7-5, in the semifinals.

The Toray Pan Pacific Open doubles final will be Sugiyama's last match as a professional tennis player.

Jankovic and Sharapova to meet in Tokyo final

Jelena Jankovic had problems with her arm in the second set of her Toray Pan Pacific Open semifinal match against Li Na. Li had problems of her own, though, repeatedly setting up winning shots--mostly of a cross-court variety--and then failing to execute them. She missed so many of these that it was eventually surprising when she made one. Jankovic won the match 6-4, 6-3, and will play Maria Sharapova in the final.

Sharapova, who played Agnieszka Radwanska, won the match 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. There were 17 breaks of serve in this match, which had quite a few momemtum swings. Some time ago, Sharapova said that she intended to return to her full service motion; her coach, however, said that she would continue to use the abbreviated motion. Sharapova got her way: In Tokyo, she has employed a service motion similar to the pre-injury one that had served her so well for so long. In this match, she hit only one ace, but she also limited her double faults to six.

Sharapova has won the Toray Pan Pacific Open three times.

Down to 4 in Tokyo

It took three hours, but Li Na emerged the winner in her semifinal match against Victoria Azarenka. Li upset Azarenka 6-7, 7-6, 7-6.

Jelena Jankovic reversed her recent losing record against Marion Bartoli, defeating her 6-4, 6-3 in a match that featured seven breaks of serve.

In the other quarterfinal matches, Maria Sharapova defeated Iveta Benesova 6-4, 7-5, and Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-1.

In doubles, the team of Alisa Kleybanova and Francesca Schiavone received a walkover from Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina because of Vesnina's thigh strain. And Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama upset the 2nd seeds, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual.

Jankovic highest seed in Tokyo quarterfinals

Seeded 7th, Jelena Jankovic is the highest seed left at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Jankovic advanced to the quarterfinals when her opponent, Elena Vesnina, retired with a left thigh strain. Here is the quarterfinal lineup:

Iveta Benesova vs. Maria Sharapova
Magdalena Rybarikova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
Victoria Azarenka vs. Li Na
Jelena Jankovic vs. Marion Bartoli

Bartoli and Jankovic have played one another eight times, and Bartoli has won five of those matches, including the last four.

5 more seeds out in Tokyo 2nd round

The continuation of second round play yesterday resulted in another five seeded players leaving the Toray Pan Pacific Open. 3rd seed Elena Dementieva lost to U.S. Open quarterfinalist Kateryna Bondarenko, 4th seed Caroline Wozniacki had to retire against Aleksandra Wozniak because of a viral illness, and 6th seed Vera Zvonareva was upset by Alisa Kleybanova.

Magdelena Rybarikova upset 13th seed Nadia Petrova in straight sets. It can be argued, however, that the most interesting result was the upset of 12th seed Sam Stosur, who was defeated 6-0, 6-1 by Maria Sharapova. Sharapova held two match points to achieve a 6-0, 6-0 score, but Stosur was able to stop her. It should also be noted that Sharapova, serving with an 87 first serve win percentage, hit seven aces--and only one double fault. Fans waiting for a turning point may have just found it.

Qualifiers gone wild

Qualifiers had a time of it in Tokyo today, knocking three top-seeded players out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. There were only three second round matches played, but they all involved qualifiers and upsets. Top seed and wild card Dinara Safina lost to Chang Kai-Chen, who was already someone worth keeping an eye on. Chang defeated Safina 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 in a two hour and 44-minute match. Chang double-faulted nine times (Safina had eight double faults), but she also hit seven aces.

2nd seed Venus Williams fell, too--at the hands of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who won their match 7-6, 7-5. And Andrea Petkovic defeated 5th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. (When Yaroslava Shvedova said "We're coming!" she wasn't kidding.)

There were notable goings-on in the first round, too: Ai Sugiyama had to retire in the last singles match of her career. She became ill with g.i. problems during her match against Nadia Petrova. I don't know whether she'll be able to play doubles, but I certainly hope so. 16th seed Virginie Razzano was upset by Iveta Benesova (the third set score was 6-0); wild card and Hansol Korea Open champion Kimiko Date Krumm was defeated in three close sets by Aleksandra Wozniak (Date Krumm, by the way, is back in the top 100); and Hansol Korea Open finalist Anabel Medina Garrigues was defeated by Peng Shuai.

Other notable players who went out today in the first round were Francesca Schiavone, Alona Bondarenko and Sorana Cirstea.

Pennetta and Ivanovic upset in Tokyo

9th seed Flavia Pennetta and 10th seed Ana Ivanovic were upset in the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open today. They were defeated by Roberta Vinci and Lucie Safarova, respectively.

Three qualifiers--Chang Kai-Chen, Andrea Petkovic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova--moved on to the second round.

Qualifiers set for Tokyo

The following players have qualified to play in the main draw in Tokyo:

Kateryna Bondarenko
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Jill Craybas
Alexa Glatch
Andrea Petkovic
Urszula Radwanska
Sania Mirza
Chang Kai-Chen

Bondarenko and Pavlyuchenkova were the two top qualifying seeds. 3rd seed Melanie Oudin was defeated by Jill Craybas in the second round of qualifying.

Williams withdraws from Pan Pacific Open

Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Pan Pacific Open, which takes place in Tokyo next week. Williams is reported to have knee and toe injuries.

2008 Tokyo champion Dinara Safina, who was not originally scheduled to play in the tournament, will be on hand to try to defend her title.

King and Petrova win Tokyo

Vania King and Nadia Petrova have won the Toray Pan Pacific Open doubles title. The unseeded team defeated the second seeds--Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur--6-1, 6-4 in the final.

"I'm a steamroller baby..."

The formidable Nadia Petrova took only one game off of Dinara Safina in the semifinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and the equally formidable Svetalana Kuznetsova took only one game off her her in the first set of today's final. The second set was much more competitive, with many games going to deuce. Though Safina's first serve stats were lower in quality in the second set, her second serve stats increased significantly in quality, so she was covered in that area. In an hour and eighteen minutes, it was over, and Kuznetsova had won only four games.

It is now clear that when Safina's serve is working, she is pretty hard to beat. The Tokyo title is her fourth this year, and she has been in three other finals, including Roland Garros and the Olympic gold medal match. With Safina's emergence, Jankovic's progress, Dementieva's progress, and Serena's return to the top, we should have an interesting autumn indeed.

Safina def. Kuznetsova, 6-1, 6-3