Retirement benefits for several players

I was sad to see Annabel Medina Garrigues retire in her first round match in Hobart against wild card Casey Dellacqua. Medina Garriagues had to stop playing in the first set because of a sacroiliac joint sprain, with Dellacqua leading, 5-4.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, Nathalie Dechy retired with a left quads strain in the final qualifying round, giving Yuliana Fedak the victory with a score of 5-2 in the first set. Karin Knapp retired from heat illness in her final qualifying round, giving a win to Kaia Kanepi, at 3-6, 6-3, 3-3. And Sofia Arvidsson won her final qualifying round, 6-0, 4-0, when Tzipora Obziler retired with heat illness.

Update: Dechy has recovered and has entered the main draw as a lucky loser.

Szavay says goodbye after first round

Yuliana Fedak took Agnes Szavay out in the first round at Gold Coast

Agnes Szavay, considered one of the brightest up-and-coming stars on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, failed to shine bright enough to beat an in-form Yuliana Fedak, who defeated her 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round at Gold Coast. Fedak has inconsistency problems, but when she's on, she can be a threat. In the last year--like her countrywomen, Julia Vakulenko and Kateryna Bondarenko--Fedak has raised the level of her game considerably. Unfortunately, at the same time, Ukraine's top player, Alona Bondarenko, has struggled.

I think the injury-plagued Vakulenko has the most potential, but Kateryna Bondarenko is also looking quite promising.

What is going on with Yuliana Fedak?

She raised the level of her game significantly this year, producing some really good wins, and today, she lost to number 168 in the world, Olivia Sanchez, in the first round of qualifying for the U.S. Open. To be fair, it was close--7-6, 6-3--but close isn't good enough.