Quote of the day

"I didn't expect to win. I don't know what happened that I was playing so well."

Alexandra Dulgheru, on winning the Warsaw final

Dulgheru sure knows how to make an entrance

Alexsandra Dulgheru had never before played in a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event when she entered the Warsaw Open. She must have liked the experience, because she hung around to the very end, and today, she won the title.

Though it pains me to say it, the unseeded Dulgheru had a bit of luck, in that her opponent in the final--number 8 seed Alona Bondarenko, also the 2007 finalist--is given to fits and starts, and can easily plummet from the sublime to the ridiculous in the course of a match. Reading what spectators said--and seeing the scoreline--I can say with assurance that Bondarenko chose today to have one of her meltdowns.

It's a shame about Bondarenko, but--like Daniela Hantuchova and some other gifted tour players--she has not learned to control her emotions, and she often appears to lack belief. After she played her first round in Charleston, I spoke with her for a bit, and--as I left, I said to her, "Keep it up!" She looked at me knowingly, grinned, said "Yeah" and did a little "you know me" shrug. Sure enough, she lost her next round. In fairness, I should add that she lost to a very in-form Victoriya Kutuzova, but it was still a match Bondarenko should probably have won.

One of my readers informs me that Dulgheru had some more luck in this tournament: She missed her flight to Warsaw and assumed she would not be able to play in the qualifying rounds. Fortunately for her, it rained, and qualifying was postponed for a day.

In her journey to the final, Dulgheru defeated both Sara Errani and Hantuchova. Dulgheru entered the Warsaw Open as number 201 in the world, but on Monday, she will be ranked number 83. She will be 20 years old next Saturday.

Bondarenko and Dulgheru to meet in Warsaw final

Alexandra Dulgheru chose the Warsaw Open as her first tour tournament, and it was a good choice. Today, the Romanian newcomer, ranked number 201 in the world, defeated 6th seed Daniela Hantuchova in the semifinals, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. Her opponent will be 8th-seeded Alona Bondarenko, who defeated Anne Keothavong, 6-2, 7-5.

Bondarenko sends Sharapova out of Strasbourg

Even if Sharapova were not just coming back from a lengthy injury layoff--assuming Alona Bondarenko was having a switched-on day (so many of her days are not)--she would be favored to defeat the former world number 1 on red clay. That is what she did today, 6-2, 6-2, in Warsaw. However, Alona and her sister Kateryna did not fare as well in their doubles semifinal. The 4th seeds were defeated by 2nd seeds Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, 7-6, 6-3.

Also through to the singles semifinals are Anne Keothavong, Alexandra Dulgheru and Daniela Hantuchova.

In Strasbourg, Lucie Hradecka, Ayumi Morita, Victoriya Kutuzova, and Aravane Rezai advanced to the semifinals. Morita upset 3rd seed Peng Shuai.

Zheng and Errani upset in Warsaw

Klara Zakopalova took 3rd seed Zheng Jie out of the Warsaw Open in the second round today. Zakopalova defeated Zheng 6-0, 6-4. Also going out was 5th seed Sara Errani, who lost to qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru. Seeds 4, 7 and 9--Aleksandra Wozniak, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Tsvetana Pironkova--all went out yesterday in the first round.

Maria Sharapova is through to the quarterfinals, in which she will meet Alona Bondarenko.

As expected, Warsaw is the new Berlin

Now that the German Open is no more, as expected, the Warsaw Open has been upgraded to premier event status. It's going to take a while for some of us to talk about the Warsaw Open/Italian Open duo instead of the German Open/Italian Open pair.

There are more tour changes, which you can read about here.