Clueless in Charleston...

Miscellany

Former tour player Mirka Vavrinec was married Saturday in Basel, Switzerland to long-time partner, Roger Federer.

Sarah Gronert has passed her gender test and has been declared eligible to play on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Big surprise--Gronert has been a female since she was a baby. The tour may have had a right to test Gronert, but it did not have a reason. Given the bigotry to which she has been exposed, it is a wonder she has chosen to go on at all. The 22-year-old German has jumped 200 places in the rankings since the end of the 2008 season.

Sloan Stephens won both the singles and doubles titles of the International Spring Championships, and she won them both on the same court.

Anabel Medina Garrigues has withdrawn from the Barcelona Ladies Open because of an abdominal strain. I was pretty upset that she didn't come to Charleston this year, but it turns out she couldn't have played, anyway. Those tennis gods are working overtime in Spain.

And speaking of withdrawals, I didn't figure out until today that Sybille Bammer had withdrawn from the Family Circle Cup. I don't know the reason.

Finally, something that has bothered me for a long time...Why do the scoreboard stats omit winners and unforced errors, two of the stats we most want to see?

Family Circle Cup, day 1

Alona Bondarenko was in good form for her first round match in Charleston today

We were able to see at least parts of several round 1 matches today in Charleston. We saw much of the Alexa Glatch-Lenka Wienerova match and the Alona Bondarenko-Anne Kremer match. Kremer played well--it is always nice to see her--but lost to Bondarenko, 6-4, 6-0. Kremer took a fall in the second set, and shrugged it off at first, but then had to have some treatment for it. She was never the same after her tumble. Bondarenko, for her part, looked good today, and displayed a lot of excellent court movement, along with a some really good reaching.

I saw part of the match between Galina Voskoboeva and Varvara Lepchenko. Voskoboeva, as usual, did a running commentary to herself--much of it negative--while Lepchenko quietly got the job done, 6-1, 6-3. I also saw a little bit of the Madison Brengle-Anastasia Rodionova match, which ended with a loss for Brengle.

Olga Savchuk had the misfortune of having her back go out on her during her match against Melanie Oudin. She had to have treatment more than once, and she carried on, coming back to life from time to time. She was in too much pain, however, to do much damage after the first set, which she lost 4-6. She failed to win any games in the second set. During that second set, Oudin looked so awkward serving that I suspected she, too, had sustained some sort of injury. It was hard to tell what was going on; she was getting her serves in, but she was putting hardly anything into them. Once again, however, her forehand was on fine display throughout the match.

Tamira Paszek defeated Julia Schruff 7-5, 6-2. She was uninspired in the first set, though she cleaned up her game in the second. Paszek had problems with her serve throughout the match, but also managed to break Schruff six times. Shruff had two opponents, in that she argued with the chair umpire a good deal of the time. Paszek, by the way, is now training at the Sanchez Academy in Spain; Angel Giminez is coaching her in Charleston.

It rained a little during the day's final match between Jill Craybas and Melinda Czink, but not quite enough to stop play. Czink ate most of Craybas's second serves and broke her four times, finally defeating her, 6-2, 6-4. It should be noted, however, that Craybas made some crack shots throughout the match, which included some high-quality play from both women. It was a better match than one might expect in somewhat windy and rainy conditions.

The tennis gods move in mysterious ways

I think I speak for many when I say how disappointed I was that Alize Cornet, last year's exciting Charleston semifinalist, decided to skip the Family Circle Cup this year and play in Barcelona. Her Spanish experience didn't last long: Cornet, the top seed, went out today in the first round to countrywoman Stephanie Cohen-Aloro. Cohen-Alora defeated Cornet 6-0, 6-3.

Look out, Slovakian tennis---here comes Wienerova!

On Saturday, I wrote about how impressed I was with Lenka Wienerova's athleticism and grace. I didn't get to see her win her second qualifying match, but I did see her play most of her first round match against Alexa Glatch, another player I enjoy watching. Wienerova took the first set 6-4, but went down 2-5 in the second. I expected a third set, but Wienerova suddenly reeled off five games in a row, and did so with such finesse that it was a sheer delight to watch her do it. Serving well, defending well, slicing the ball, and exhibiting some very nice hands along with her athletic skills--the young Slovakian put on quite a show.

One thing that made this match very unusual: I'm not sure I've ever seen as many drop shots--not to mention successful drop shots--hit in one match. And by both players. It was just drop shot after drop shot, with one or two drop volleys tossed in. Glatch herself is a player with a variety of skills, but she couldn't keep up with the spirited Wienerova.

When the match was over, Wienerova was mobbed by autograph seekers, and as she left the club court, we initiated some applause for her. It quickly spread throughout the stands, and Wienerova left Althea Gibson with a big smile on her face.

Now where did I put that olgasavchuk?

I have always liked Olga Savchuk's name. It rolls off the tongue nicely, and has elements of both music and authority. And since one tends to say it all as one word--"OlgaSavchuk," we entertained ourselves today by finding new uses for it:

"They came down the hill with their Kliment Voroshilov, but we mowed them down with our Olgasavhuk."

"He became disenchanted with Communism, and is now a loyal Olgasavchuk."

"There's ice on the highway--quick, crank up the Olgasavhuk!"

"This olgasavchuk could use a little more paprika."

Quote of the day

"Ahhh!...Enough with the ahhh, Madison! Make it, Maddie!"

Madison Brengle, after missing a crucial point in her match against Anastasia Rodionova