Quarterfinals set in Monterrey

Here is the quarterfinal draw for the Monterrey Open:

Anastasija Sevastova vs. Alize Cornet

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Klara Zakopalova

Agnes Szavay vs. Dominka Cibulkova

Vania King vs. Daniela Hantuchova

Sevastova, Cornet, Zakopalova, and King are all unseeded.

Friday cat blogging--tennis gear edition

Watson keeps going in Hammond

Qualifier Heather Watson, who was on the court for a very long time yesterday in her first round match against former world number 7 Nicole Vaidisova (her 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 score included one 11-9 tiebreak), returned today and took her second round match 6-4, 6-4. Watson played 5th seed Monique Adamczak at the 24k challenger in Hammond, Louisiana. I had forgotten that Adamczak plays with a one-handed backhand, and it was nice to see two such backhands in two consecutive matches.

Adamczak used her backhand well, too, occasionally confounding Watson by setting up drive volleys with it, or by hitting outright winners. Watson, however, remained patient, and took advantage when the unforced errors started coming off of her opponent's racquet.

I also saw a bit of the match between 2nd seed Darya Kustova and Zhou Yi-Miao, which Zhou won, 7-6, 5-7, 6-0. Zhou's next opponent will be 6th seed Karumi Nara. Watson will play Zhang Shuai.

The tournament's top seed, Anastasiya Yakimova, was upset in the second round by the unseeded Xu Yi-Fan.

Naomi Broady and Watson are playing doubles together and have reached the semifinals.

Broady advances to Hammond 25k quarterfinals

I spent part of the day at the Tangipahoa Tourism/Loeb Law Firm $25K Tennis Classic in Hammond, Louisiana today. We have had tropical storm-strength winds around here lately, as well as rain, so conditions have been tough for the players. Today was crisp and cold and very sunny, with intermittent--but not high--wind blowing on the courts.

I watched a really high quality 2nd round match between qualifier Naomi Broady and wild card Kimberly Couts. This match had a bit of everything, including some drama. At one point in the second set, Broady was so upset by the chair umpire's line calls (the chair umpire was in charge of calling the baseline and the service line) that she questioned whether her opponent was being given preferential treatment because she was American. The tournament supervisor came to the court and had a chat with both the chair umpire and Broady, and that appeared to settle things. In the second half of the match, however, it was Couts who argued continually with the chair umpire.

What everyone around me was talking about, though, was Broady's backhand, and with good reason. It's a one-hander, but it isn't "artistic," a la Henin or Mauresmo or Schiavone. Broady puts a very big burst of energy into the stroke, which she snaps, and it then cracks across the court with power and precision. If you saw the ball without seeing the stroke, you would assume it was delivered by a powerful two-handed backhand.

Broady won the first set, 6-3, and Couts--who played a very good match--won the second, 2-6. Broady went up 4-0 in the third, but Couts came back to make it 4-all. Broady broke again, though, then won the set (and the match) 6-4. I liked the authority she displayed when she served for the match. There was no messing around; indeed, there were two aces. Broady has a strong serve, and her preparation is reminiscent of Sharapova's.

Venus Williams wins BNP Paribas Showdown for Billie Jean King Cup

This is a rather late posting, but I have had no Internet connection, and I thought better now than not at all: On Monday night in Madison Square Garden, Venus Williams defeated Kim Clijsters 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to win the second annual Billie Jean King Cup.

In one-set, no-ad scoring, Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinal, and Clijsters defeated Ana Ivanovic. Williams was awarded $400,000 for winning the exhibition tournament.

Vaidisova loses in 1st round of Louisiana challenger

Qualifier Heather Watson defeated Nicole Vaidisova 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 today in the first round of the 25k ITF tournament in Hammond, La. High winds and rain caused the tournament to get off to a slow start, but the first round has been completed.

I'll be attending the event later in the week and will report more.

Earth to JJ: Come back

When Jelena Jankovic accepted a wild card entry into the Monterrey Open, it appeared she might have an opportunity to get a confidence boost right before competing in the BNP Paribas Open. But tonight the top seed went out in the first round to Anastasija Sevastova, who defeated her 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Not to take anything away from Sevastova, whose game has apparently improved quite a bit, but this type of loss is just more of the same for the player so many of us thought was so riveting not that long ago. Jankovic used to be able to get just about anything back, and to turn defense into brilliant offense. Her serve needed work, and the irony here is that she actually improved it somewhat, only to see the rest of her game decrease in quality.

Whatever is wrong, here's hoping Jankovic finds a way to fix it, and to regain her confidence. She had a tough 2009, during which she experienced her mother's serious illness and her grandmother's death. Let's hope that the rest of 2010 goes better.