Wozniacki wins inaugural event in Brussels

Caroline Wozniacki won her 16th title today, at the new WTA Brussels Open. This win is special, however, since it is the world number 1's first time to win a championship on red clay.

It wasn't an easy win. A 12-deuce game early in the second set gave spectators a taste of how tough both players were. Each player experienced ups and downs in quality and energy, but in the end, it was Peng whose game became error-strewn, and Wozniacki who was able to take advantage of those errors. The world number 1 continued her new trend of playing more offensively and hitting more winners. After two hours and 35  minutes, she defeated Peng 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to become the first Brussels champion.

The doubles champions are Andrea Hlavackova and Galina Voskoboeva, who defeated 2nd seeds Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska 3-6, 6-0, 10-5.

Patty Schnyder blogged during the tournament, and on Thursday, she described her visit to the Atomium. Schnyder also writes about her own tennis, and about her anticipation of the French Open.

It's not how you play the game, but whether you win or lose

Anyone looking for a handy lesson on how to beat Caroline Wozniacki on red clay certainly could have gotten one from Francesca Schiavone today in Brussels. Only most of the tour's players don't possess Schiavone's amazing variety of shots. Oh, and Schiavone lost. As is too often the case with the Italian, her cleverness and athleticism were neutralized by her propensity to make a high volume of unforced errors.

Schiavone, the 3rd seed in Brussels, hit 44 winners in the 2-hour and 33-minute semifinal match, but she also made 53 unforced errors. Many of those errors were made right after Schiavone set up winners against her opponent. And speaking of winners--Wozniacki hit 20, which is quite a high number for the world number 1. There were nine breaks of serve in the match, which Wozniacki won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Wozniacki's opponent in the final will be 8th seed Peng Shuai. This is the first time that Peng has reached a Premier level final, and the way she has been playing lately, such a development seemed inevitable. Peng upset 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3 today. She played a remarkably clean match and served extremely well, giving Zvonareva few opportunities to take an offensive stance.

Peng has never won a tournament, a fact that stands out as one of the oddities of the WTA. She reached the semifinals in Charleston last month, but was hampered by fatigue and a very in-form Elena Vesnina. Now she faces the world number 1, and this could be a very good final.

In doubles, 2nd seeds Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska defeated Sofia Arvidsson and Andrea Klepac 6-4, 6-4. in the semifinals today. In yesterday's semifinal match, Andrea Hlavackova and Galina Voskoboeva defeated Elena Bovina and Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 6-1.