Passing shots

Venus and Serena Williams have both withdrawn from the French Open. This is not unexpected, given the health problems they have experienced in the past several months.

Kim Clijsters has not yet decided whether to play in the French Open, but her participation is looking more likely than some thought.

The latest Backspin Time Capsule is all about Monica Seles. It brings back a lot of memories.

Mary Carillo will join the broadcast team for Tennis Channel for both the French Open and the U.S. Open. In Paris, Carillo will host Tennis Channel's live network desk, do interviews, provide analysis, and do some selected play-by-play commentating.

Here is a brief preview of Adidas fashion for the French Open.

Passing shots

Dinara Safina is ill, and had to withdraw from the semifinals in Fes. Alberta Brianti received a walkover, and will play last year's runner-up, Simona Halep, in the final. Safina had not reached a semifinal since August of 2009.

Irina Falconi has won the USTA French Open wild card playoffs. Falconi defeated Julia Boserup 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the final, which was held in Boca Raton, Florida. The other competing players were Beatrice Capra, Lauren Davis, Madison Keys, and Grace Min.

Vikings player Bryant McKinnie, who is trying to drop 20 pounds before returning to the football field, has opted to take tennis lessons from Venus Williams. "She tires you out," the offensive tackle said of his teacher.

Chris Evert expects Caroline Woznaicki to win the 2011 French Open.

Kim Clijsters has been named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People for 2011. Time's staff apparently discovered that Clijsters had a baby and returned to work. She "juggles" a  career and a family. (Roger Federer is not known to "juggle" his career and family, which makes him, I suppose, a not very extraordinary woman.)

Steve Tignor has begun a series on books about tennis.

Passing shots

Kim Clijsters, already off of the tour for a month because of shoulder and wrist injuries, now has an ankle injury, too. Clijsters hurt her ankle while attending her cousin's wedding. She is walking on crutches, and her French Open participation is now in question. Clijsters had already withdrawn from the Belgian Fed Cup team.

Withdrawing from the Australian Fed Cup team is Jelena Dokic, who cites exhaustion as the reason. Sam Stosur, Australia's lead player, had already announced that she would not play in the upcoming Fed Cup tie.

Irina-Camelia Begu was the runner-up in Marbella  this past week, so you may want to know more about her.

"I dream of being as consistent as Caroline Wozniacki for the whole season, not just clay courts or whatever," Svetlana Kuznetsova told Guy McCrae in Marbella.

Some good news: Dinara Safina's back problem in Marbella was strictly nerve-related, and not serious. Her stress fracture continues to heal nicely.

Francesca Schiavone won an exhibition set 6-4 against Caroline Wozniacki in Monte Carlo.

Venus and Serena Williams are opening a clothing store called "Courture" in Miami.

Venus Williams withdraws from Sony Ericsson Open

Venus Williams withdrew from the Sony Ericsson Open today because of the abdominal injury she sustained during the Australian Open. Williams is a three-time champion at the Miami tournament, and she was the runner-up last year. The tournament begins on March 22.

Passing shots

The use of Hawk-Eye has been extended at Fed Cup.

I don't call her Thrill Ride for nothing.

The BBC is considering taking Wimbledon off of its broadcasting schedule. Any such change would not occur until 2014.

Thank goodness for Tennis TV, which is now easier than ever to use, and which keeps me from having to watch Tennis Channel with the sound off.

Venus Williams will return to the tour at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

You can get to know Christina McHale here.

Passing shots

The WTA site, in recognition of International Women's Day, has posted a gallery of black and white photos of former tennis stars. The first one is of great interest because it is a portrait of Suzanne Lenglen, and we are so accustomed to seeing her in action shots. Also, be sure to check out Frankie Durr and Topspin.

Venus Williams recently joined the 311 cruise and added to her karaoke routine.

Sony has purchased Hawk-Eye. (Good luck to the ITF if they ever need to get a part replaced.)

You can get to know Zhang Shaui.

En route to Indian Wells, Caroline Wozniacki visited Serena Williams at Williams' house, and reports that the former number 1 is in good spirits as she recuperates from illness and surgery.

Main draw play begins tomorrow in Indian Wells. Defending champion Jelena Jankovic is in the same quarter as Petra Kvitova, Marion Bartoli and Kim Clijsters. Andrea Petkovic and Jarmila Groth are in that quarter, too.

Passing shots

Here is an interview with Venus Williams from the recent Women of Influence luncheon in Toronto. Williams was one of the speakers.

Not surprisingly, Christopher Clarey gives us a reasoned and educational glimpse into what the future may hold for Serena Williams.

Pardon the noise--but I just won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open!

Remember when Yanina Wickmayer recently wore knee socks while playing, and we joked that she looked like Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and maybe she wanted to cover up her leg after a wall fell on her? This happened weeks ago, but I thought it was worth mentioning: Those were Mattek-Sands' socks, and yes, according to Mattek-Sands, Wickmayer's leg "looked like a Hollywood war casualty prop."

The BNP Paribas Open Pre-Qualifier begins today in Indian Wells. The winner will receive the remaining wild card into the main draw.

Williams retires in 3rd round of Australian Open

She tried. Venus Williams came to Rod Laver Arena hoping, she said, "for some magic." "A lot of times when you play, you get that adrenalin and that blocks pain," Williams said to the press after her retirement at 0-1 in the third round in Melbourne. The 4th seed sustained a painful groin injury in the second round, but played through it. But after playing one game in which she was broken by Andrea Petkovic, Williams--while trying to return a serve--let out a cry of pain, and the match was over.

This is the first time in her long career that Williams has retired during a major. She came to the Australian Open after undergoing rehabilitation for her knee, and now--with only two matches played--she is out of competition again. Williams doesn't talk much about her injuries, but we can make a reasonable guess that this latest incident is going to require some special coping on her part.

It's also reasonable for fans to ask "How much longer?" Williams is 30, and she has always played a very physical game of tennis. She and her sister, Serena, have their eyes on the 2012 Olympic Games, which suddenly seem far away in time. Williams says she will not play again until she knows she is completely healthy. Williams is an accomplished person off of the courts, so she isn't going to slide into a state of boredom, which is a breeding ground for all kinds of bad things. I have no idea how much time will be involved in her recovery.

There were some "fans" in Melbourne who booed Williams when she retired. Jon Wertheim's reasonable guess is that these were the "party fans" who had no idea what had transpired in the second round; they didn't know that Williams was already injured. (He also points out that perhaps other players should have been given the night match.) Of course, I think the booing is inappropriate even if one didn't know about the second round occurrence. It is especially inappropriate when it is directed at a player who would rather go out bandaged from head to toe than retire from a match.

As for the rest of us--we'll just have to wait for the rehab reports. Andrea Petkovic will play Maria Sharapova in the next round. Petkovic got a walkover from Peng Shuai in the third round of the U.S. Open, but lost to eventual finalist Vera Zvonareva in the round of 16.

The match that had everything

When I say "everything," I mean piercing screams, injury, tenion, a bagel, a near-upset, and one bizarre tennis dress. Sandra Zahlavova and Venus Williams put on an Australian Open 2nd round show that, at times, was so strange, I had to just shake my head.

Williams, dressed in a different outfit than the one she wore in the first round, looked off in her first set against Zahlavova, who--by the way--looked especially "on." The set went to a tiebreak, and right before Zahlavova hit set point, Williams cringed and yelled in a way that was about  pain, not hard hitting. The 4th seed experienced a painful groin injury, and left the court to get treatment.

When Williams returned, there was expectation that she would cross over and shake hands with her opponent. Instead, she took a new racquet out of its bag. There was then expectation that she would have difficulty playing the second set. Instead, she won it 6-0. Zahlavova's level decreased in that she stopped being aggressive like she was in the first set.

As the third set began, the logical assumption was that--if she could stay relatively pain-free--Williams would cruise against a demoralized opponent. But once again, things did not go as expected. Zahlavova came roaring back, and that set produced some really exciting tennis. As the set advanced toward a conclusion, Zahlavova made a terrible shot selection that prevented her from getting break points against Williams. When Williams double-faulted on match point, there was a moment of hope for Zahlavova, but Williams closed the set 6-4.

It should be noted that even the bagel set lasted 48 minutes; Zahlavova played a great match, and used a stinging backhand to her advantage again and again. The mach lasted over three hours, and for over an hour and forty minutes, Williams was bandanged and in pain. She has never retired from a match during a major, and she wasn't going to start at age 30. Both women deserve credit for fighting through difficult circumstances. Just as Williams could have (honorably) retired, Zahlavova could have mentally caved in. Instead, they gave the spectators what they had come to see, and then some. And since Williams had full use of her experience, she found a way to walk off the court a winner.

The bad news is that the injury appears to be a bad one, and now we just have to wait and see what happens next for the 4th seed, who is scheduled to play Andrea Petkovic in the third round.

Miscellany

The USTA has filed a suit against Olympus, the sponsor of the U.S. Open Series. The contract between Olympus and the USTA, which runs through 2013, stipulates that the camera company can opt out of the last two years if wishes to, but Olympus officials decided to opt out in 2011, which is a year early. The USTA is calling this action a breach of contract, but Olympus maintains that the USTA already breached the contract by permitting Panasonic to infringe on Olympus's sponsorship rights. USTA officials have referred to this opinion as being "without merit."

Don't miss WTA Backspin's WTA Yearbook.

A number of tennis and sports websites are reporting that Kimiko Date Krumm will retire next year. When she lost in the Asian Games, she said that she was very tired and maybe would have to quit next year, then she almost immediately felt better and talked about her future tennis plans. Though she certainly could stop after next year, the statement that she absolutely "will retire" was taken out of context by the Asian press and has been carelessly reprinted.

Laura Robson, who split with her coach in September, is reported to be looking for a new one.

Here are some early, and really cute, photos of the Williams sisters.

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.

MIscellany

Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur have qualified to play in the WTA Championships in Doha, which means there are only two spots left. Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva, Serena Williams, and Kim Clijsters are already in.

Here's a well-deserved shout-out for Schiavone.

And, in case you  missed it, here is the non-diva, great sportswomen, too-cool photo of the season.

Maria Sharapova is out for the rest of the season.

You can now get to know Bojana Jovanovski.

Venus Williams has a new computer game, and you can win a copy of it.

Miscellany

Venus Williams has withdrawn from the China Open because of her knee injury.

Retired WTA star Maggie Maleeva recently won the women's singles division of the Bulgarian National Tennis Championships. Maleeva first won the event when she was 13; she is now 35.

Justine Henin will play in the Diamond Games exhibition match in Antwerp in December. She will be joined by Kim Clijsters, Yanina Wickmayer and Francesca Schiavone.

Vera Zvonareva has qualified to play in the WTA Championships in Doha.

Anastasia Pivovarova has an elbow injury and will miss the rest of the 2010 season.

The following players and partners will participate on Hopman Cup teams in January: Alicia Molik (Lleyton Hewitt), Justine Henin (Steve Darcis), Kristina Mladenovic (Gael Monfils), Francesca Schiavone (Potito Starace), Ana Ivanovic (Novak Djokovic), Serena Williams (John Isner), Yaroslava Shvedova (Andrey Golubev). One more team will be announced at a later date.

Defending champion Clijsters to play in U.S.Open final

The stats for today's second women's semifinal match at the U.S. Open tell a lot: Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters made a combined 93 unforced errors and hit a combined total of 53 winners. They broke each other four times apiece. The wind blew, and the momentum of the match swung, sometimes surprisingly. It took two hours and 23 minutes to sort it all out, but in the end, it was defending champion and 2nd seed Kim Clijsters who walked off the court a winner.

Venus Williams, seeded 3rd, took the first set 6-4, after breaking Clijsters in the seventh game. The wind began to blow with more force when the second set started, and it became harder to serve, though Williams did hit three consecutive aces early in the set. After a furious exchange of breaks, Clijsters took the lead at 5-4, then suddenly suffered a service collapse, easily giving Williams yet another break. The set would go to a tiebreak--the first the pair had ever played against one another. The 3rd seed double-faulted her way to a 0-3 deficit, and never recovered. In almost no time, Clijsters had six set points, and she took the set on her second one.

Williams began the final set with more service errors, and Clijsters got an early break. But then the 2nd seed made back-to-back double faults and lost her focus again, resulting in a break for Williams. Clijsters was to break back, however, with a backhand lob that turned out to be the shot of the match. With a 5-4 lead, she held easily.

The defending champion's 4-6, 6-7, 6-4 win gives her a 20-match streak at the U.S. Open. She won the Open in 2005, with a decisive victory over Mary Pierce. Clijsters retired from the tour, and didn't play in Flushing Meadows again until 2009, shortly after her return to professional tennis. In that tournament, she defeated both Venus and Serena Williams, and then beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

Venus Williams won the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001. She last reached the semifinals in 2007, when she was defeated by eventual champion Justine Henin. Williams did not play in this year's U.S. Open Series because of problems with her knee.

Miscellany

Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession, entered the New York Times best-seller list as number 5 last week. Author Venus Williams came to win last night, and is in the semifinals of the 2010 U.S. Open.

Martina Hingis is--once again--contemplating a return to the tour as a doubles player.

The late-night U.S. Open quarterfinal played by Sam Stosur and Elena Dementieva took its toll on both of them. Stosur had trouble getting out of bed Monday morning, and was not able to hit for very long. Dementieva said that she felt "a bit sleepy" during the match.

I understand that U.S. commentators have neither the manners nor the motivation to learn how to pronounce "foreign" players' names, but maybe they can't help themselves, since some of them cannot pronounce "Huber" or "Evert," either. And how surprised am I than a multiple-major winner, long-time commentator and self-professed know-it-all cannot pronounce "athlete"?

Esther Vergeer, along with several other players, is featured in Vanity Fair. (Thanks to Forty Deuce for this link.)

Bethanie Mattek-Sands reports that: Lisa Raymond keeps taking Mattek-Sands' lucky number 23 locker, Maria Sharapova likes to play Scrabble on her iPad, Nadia Petrova drinks an "alien green" sports drink, and Timea Bacsinszky burned holes into her tennis skirt while ironing it at the last minute.

Defending champion Clijsters to play Venus Williams in U.S. Open semifinals

It wasn't pretty, but defending champion Kim Clijsters prevailed tonight in a wind-swept, error-filled 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 quarterfinal match against Sam Stosur at the U.S. Open. Clijsters, the tournament's 2nd seed, had a lot of trouble with her serve, double-faulting eight times. For half of the match, Stosur was unable to hit a volley. There were fifteen breaks of serve, including all of Stosur's games in the final set. Clijsters made 36 unforced errors, and Stosur made 43.

Stosur's second set revival seemed to come out of nowhere, and she fought her way through the same way she did against Elena Dementieva in the round of 16. In that match, however, she was able to sustain a higher level of play, and she also had some help from a flustered Dementieva in the tiebreak. Tonight, she was able to break Clijsters in the third set, even though she couldn't hold her own serve. Clijsters, however, in her second career, has become better at closing big matches, and she was able to put a favorable end (with an ace) to an unfavorable contest.

This is the first time that 5th seed Stosur has advanced beyond the second round of the U.S. Open. Clijsters is now on a 19-match U.S. Open winning streak. She own the U.S. Open in 2005 and 2009, with the latter win coming shortly after she came back from retirement from pro tennis.

In the meantime, two-time champion Venus Williams, who--prior to arriving in Flushing Meadows--had not played since Wimbledon, made her way to the semifinals with a 7-6, 6-4 win over French Open champion Francesca Schiavone. The first set was very competitive, with Schiavone coming back from a 0-4 deficit in the tiebreak. Both sets were fun to watch because both women are such great movers and volleyers. But they, too, had to deal with the wind, and Williams committed nine double faults. There were mis-hit volleys and flying tennis balls. Schiavone hit with her signature spin, but the wind pulled even some of those shots outside the court. She threw in plenty of slices, but Williams was ready for her, and utilized her aggression to outplay the 6th seed.

Williams, who is seeded 3rd at the tournament, will play Clijsters in the semfinals. Last year, they met in the round of 16, and Clijsters won, with the odd score of 6-0, 0-6, 6-4. There is some indication that the wind may let up by Friday. Williams and Clijsters will play on Arthur Ashe Court, however, which is somewhat windy, even under normal conditions.

The elders gather

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had an elbow problem during her U.S. Open round of 16 match, but she had an even bigger Italian problem: French Open champion Francesca Schiavone sliced, spun, and out-served the Russian, and won the match 6-3, 6-0 in just an hour and eight minutes. 19-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, the highest-ranking teenager on the tour, has had a variety of physical problems lately--her hip, shoulder and arm have all given her given her trouble. Today, she said, the arm pain spread to her elbow. The 30-year-old Schiavone, who is seeded 6th, used her signature one-handed backhand to keep 20th-seeded Pavlyuchenkova on the run, and set up a number of volleys, which she executed with style.

Schiavone will face another volleying 30-year-old in the quarterfinals. Venus Williams, the tournament's 3rd seed, faced one of the tour's biggest fighters, Shahar Peer, today. The first set was all about breaks of serve. Williams had trouble getting her first serve in, and Peer was keen to take advantage of this. They played some great rallies, and produced an outstanding game when Peer served at 5-6. Earlier in the set, she had come back to hold after being down 0-40, and she did it again in this crucial game. She double-faulted for the first time when she reached the 5th deuce, but hung on. On the 7th deuce point, Peer stretched out for a winning volley, and followed it with a winning forehand down the line. (It was Peer's forehand, in fact, that helped her compete with Williams throughout the match.)

Williams dominated the tiebreak, won it 7-3, then went up 2-0 right away in the second set. And though she was broken in the latter part of that set, she put on a display of volleying that left Peer behind. Williams, who won 20 of 26 net points, defeated Peer 7-6, 6-3, giving her a 6-0 record against the 16th seed. The 3rd seed did not appear to be troubled by her knee, but perhaps was troubled by the wind when she served. 

There was one other daytime round of 16 match, and it lasted only 59 minutes. Defending champion Kim Clijsters broke Ana Ivanovic six times and defeated her 6-2, 6-1. Ivanovic had trouble with her ball toss again, and held serve only once. She made 28 unforced errors, and did not display the improvement we've seen from her in the last few weeks. 

In the quarterfinals, Clijsters will play the winner of the Sam Stosur-Elena Dementieva match.

Williams sparkles, Schiavone stuns

Last year, when Roger Federer hit his first famous 'tweener at the U.S. Open, WTA commentators started longing for the days of the "Sabatweeni." Every time they talked about Sabatini's between-the-legs shot, I would think, "Great--she was a favorite of mine--but what about Schiavone? She's playing tennis now." For though she doesn't use it a lot, the 'tweener is part of Schiavone's repertoire. Tennis commentators would know that, right? Right.

They know it now. Or, more likely, they just know that she hit one today, in her third round match against Alona Bondarenko. In what was, for me, the best set played so far in this Open, the 6th seed and French Open champion and the 29th seed put on quite a show in the second set. It took Bondarenko a while to find herself, though; the aggressive and stretchy Italian swept the first set 6-1. When Bondarenko finally challenged her, we got to see a beautiful display of shot-making from both players.

Schiavone, however, would not be denied a straight-sets win. She did it all--the 'tweener (which set up a winner), a backhand volley down the line, and the kind of serving that helped her win in Paris. She hit 29 winners for the match, and was successful with 20 of 24 net approaches.

3rd seed Venus Williams appears to be pain-free, which is good news. Dressed in a form-fitting black dress featuring an overall fireworks-display sequined pattern, Williams defeated qualifier Mandy Minella 6-2, 6-1 in conditions that were windy, but which Williams said "could be worse." I dimmed the lights so I could get the full effect of that shimmering eleVen outfit.

In the house, dressed in red, was none other than world number 1 Serena Williams, who sat at the ESPN desk and interviewed her sister. It was a light moment, and a treat for viewers. The sisters feed off of each other like two members of a long-term Vaudeville act. Later, Serena went into the booth to help call the men's match.

Ana Ivanovic had some trouble handling wild card Virginie Razzano for much of the first set, but she found her form soon enough to take that set. After that, she cruised to a 7-5, 6-0 win.

Shahar Peer pulled the upset of the day, defeating 19th seed Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-4. Though she is seeded only 19th, Pennetta is historically dangerous on hard courts, and was a quarterfinalist at last year's Open.

After Peer won the first set, she went up 4-0. Pennetta was able to break and to even things at 4-all. At 4-5, she saved two match points on her own serve, but the third match point did her in. Peer, who gives everything she has in every match she plays, was just too tough and too accurate tonight. Pennetta has a good head-to-head against Venus Williams, but the prospect of a Williams-Pennetta match is now just a passing thought.

Getting back to the subject of commentators: Today, I heard a commentator tell his colleague that he mispronounces a particular ATP player's name, and knows that he mispronounces it, and--in the same sentence--he went on to sarcastically put down commentators who mispronounce another ATP player's name. The value system here is way to complicated for me to grasp.

Oh, and the commentator and unsportsmanlike former champion who knows what's best for women's tennis--need I even have to say his name?--remarked tonight that the Williams sisters have never been coached by their mother. Fortunately, Serena Williams was sitting next to him, and set the record straight.

Top seeds advance to 3rd round at U.S. Open

For Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, Sam Stosur, and Francesca Schiavone, the second round of the U.S. Open was a straight-set affair. Clijsters, the second seed and defending champion, defeated Sally Peers in the night match, and 5th seed Stosur--who I thought would have more trouble dealing with her countrywoman--defeated Anastasia Rodionova. Schiavone defeated Maria Elena Camerin.

Venus Williams' match was interesting. For many of us, it was a first look at Rebecca Marino, the Canadian qualifier who had never before competed against a top-50 player. Marino is six feet tall with long legs, and she can fire a forehand in a most impressive way. Her serve looked good, too. She hit eight aces, and her kick serve was high enough to reach Williams' head on at least one occasion. Also, Marino's demeanor was calm and composed throughout the match; even when she became a little upset, she got past it quickly.

The match, not surprisingly, presented a scenario we have seen many times before: Marino was good enough to force a first-set tiebreak, but when she failed to win it, a straight-set loss was practically an inevitability. In fact, it was hard to imagine her winning the tiebreak because of the speed, efficiency and experience of her opponent. Williams knew how to win the tiebreak, reeling off six points in a row, and she knew how to get through the second set pretty quickly. I wouldn't say that Marino wilted--"wilted" just doesn't seem to fit her persona--but she became less sure-footed after she lost the first set.

She did have a bit of a comeback, though, getting a break point when Williams served for the match at 5-3 in the second set. Marino hit a wild forehand, though, and that was the end of her break chance. Marino hit 27 winners and made 23 unforced errors, compared with Williams' twelve.

Williams won, 7-6, 6-3, and moves to the third round, in which she will not play Tsvetana Pironkova. It can't hurt the 3rd seed's mood that Pironkova, a nemesis on the court, was taken out (and served a New York bagel) by qualifier Mandy Minella. Minella defeated Polona Hercog in the opening round, so she's having a nice run. As for Marino--I hope I get to see her again soon. She played well, and she had a great attitude.

Elena Dementieva, Flavia Pennetta and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also advanced in straight sets. Pavlyuchenkova was troubled by an elbow injury (it's always something, lately), but it didn't appear to be very serious.

Wild card Virginie Razzano upset 13th seed Marion Bartoli, and Sara Errani upset 28th seed Alisa Kleybanova. Ana Ivanovic ran over 21st seed Zheng Jie, 6-3, 6-0...and then there was Daniela Hantuvhova. She and Vania King went at it for two hours and 51 minutes, with King taking the first set 7-5. I enjoy watching both of these players because they throw in a little bit of everything. Hantuchova, the 23rd seed, won the second set 6-3, and served for the match at 5-2 in the third, but was broken. She eventually won the set 6-4, and hit a lovely drop shot for match point. Hantuchova served nine aces and hit 50 winners.

Stosur gets past Vesnina in 1st round of U.S. Open

Elena Vesnina's first set against Sam Stosur in the opening round of the U.S. Open was very well played--and very well served. The second set went to a tiebreak, which Stosur won. By the third set, it was all about the 5th seed, as Vesnina's form slipped away, and Stosur took control, winning 3-6, 7-6, 6-1.

Venus Williams smacked ten aces against Roberta Vinci. There was a moment when Williams stretched for a volley and felt some obvious pain, but she recovered quickly. The 3rd seed looked in surprisingly good form (she hasn't played during the U.S. Open Series), and defeated Vinci 6-4, 6-1. Vinci is always fun to watch, and the first set was competitive. Williams' next opponent is Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino, who defeated Ksenia Pervak.

Defending champion Kim Clijsters went down 0-4 in her second set against Great Arn. She got through this bad patch, however, and won the match 6-0, 7-5. Melanie Oudin--who has obviously been working on her backhand--hit winners consistently against Olga Savchuk, whom she defeated 6-3, 6-0. Qualifier Savchuk made only two points in the second set. The match was played on Arthur Ashe Stadium, and Oudin was anxious at the beginning, but straightened herself out.

Olga Govortsova fell onto her wrist during her match against Elena Dementieva, who won in straight sets. Govortsova did not appear to recover very well from the fall. Christina McHale hurt her leg in her match, and--though she was heavily bandaged by a trainer--she could no longer push off to serve successfully. Vania King defeated her with the odd score of 6-3, 0-6, 6-1.

Daniela Hantuchova, looking confident at the net, defeated Dinara Safina in straight sets. Qualifier Mandy Minella had a surprise win over Polona Hercog, and Zheng Jie won two tiebreak sets (7-0 and 7-1) against Timea Bacsinszky.