Ivanovic knocks Zvonareva out of China Open

Ana Ivanovic defeated 3rd seed Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1 today in the third round of the China Open. Also out is Marion Bartoli, who was defeated by Andrea Petkovic. 2nd seed Victoria Azarenka won a close second round match against Polona Hercog. In doubles, Azarenka and her partner, Maria Kirlenko--the 5th seeds--were defeated by Anabel Medina Garrigues and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Kirilenko beats Stosur again

For the second week in a row, Maria Kirilenko and Sam Stosur met in the second round of a big tournament, and for the second time in a row, Kirilenko won. Kirilenko defeated the 6h seed 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 today in Beijing. This is the third time in just a few weeks that the two have played one another, with Stosur winning their U.S. Open match after Kirilenko won their historic second round tiebreak.

Daniela Hantuchova, Roberta Vinci and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez all lost in the second round--to Flavia Pennetta, Virginie Razzano and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, respectively.

In doubles, Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears upset 6th seeds Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Kvitova out of China Open in 2nd round

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who has had a significant slump since her win in London, was upset today in the second round of the China Open by Sofia Arvidsson. Arvidsson defeated the 5th seed 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. 7th seed Francesca Schiavone also made a second round exit; she was defeated by Dominika Cibulkova.

Going out in the first round were 12th seed Peng Shuai, Nadia Petrova, Julia Goerges, and wild card Gisela Dulko.

Four qualifiers advance to 2nd round in Beijing

Monica Niculescu was not the only qualifier to make it out of the first round of the China Open. Joining her were Chanelle Scheepers (def. Hu Yue-Yue), Christina McHale (def. Ayumi Morita) and Carla Suarez Navarro (def. Ekaterina Makarova). The Scheepers-Hu scoreline is worth noting: 6-0, 5-7, 6-0.

There have also been two retirements. Alexandra Dulgheru (knee injury) retired against Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Irina-Camelia Begu (right shoulder injury) retired against Sabine Lisicki. In doubles, Natalie Grandin retired because of illness.

Li Na's "gender" problems continue in Beijing

Last month, Li Na declared that her streaky performances this season have occurred because of her gender. "The female players are not as harsh or as tough as male players, they want to take some time to re-adjust themselves after a big victory in a big event," she said. Can you imagine, if someone had said she was losing because she was Chinese? That would have been equally ridiculous, and perhaps even Li would have realized that it would have been equally offensive.

But rather than discuss the internalized sexism of the WTA in general and Li Na in particular, I'll mention that the Chinese star has been a streaky player throughout her career, so nothing has really changed. It's just that--now that she's the French Open champion--her ups and downs (mostly downs lately) are in much tighter focus. Today, Li lost in the first round of the China Open, and worse--she won only four games against a qualifier. Monica Niculescu defeated her 6-4, 6-0.

Li, while in the apparently lengthy process of "re-adjusting" herself, recently signed on with two additional sponsors. She also stopped working with her coach.

Last year, Li reached the semifinals in Beijing, so she loses a lot of points this week. The China Open is not only Li's home tournament; it's also the last big tournament of the season. The off-season probably can't come soon enough for the French Open champion.

Passing shots

Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova have qualified to play in the WTA Championships, which begin October 25 in Istanbul. Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova have already qualified, so there are four open slots. Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond have joined Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in qualifying for the Championships in doubles. There are two more teams to qualify.

10th seed Jelena Jankovic was knocked out of the China Open in the first round today by Tamira Paszek. Paszek defeated Jankovic 7-5, 6-4. Jankovic won the tournament in 2008.

Serena Williams is missing the China Open for the second year in a row. She was scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Friday, but there was a change in plans. Maria Sharapova withdrew from the tournament because of her recent ankle injury.

Williams was recently appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Li Na has two new sponsorship deals: Crown, Australia's leading integrated entertainment and resort operator--and Kunlunshan, China's first mineral water brand.

Martina Navratilova, Amelie Mauresmo, Coco Vandeweghe, and Lauren Davis will participate in the third annual World Team Tennis Smash Hits in Cleveland. The charity event is sponsored by Billie Jean King and Sir Elton John.

Dinara Safina's brother, Marat Safin, says that her career is over because of her long-term back injury, but Safina has yet to make an announcement. For some of us, Thrill Ride's absence from the tour has been a really sad occurrence. I miss her candid, irony-infused press conferences as much as I miss her on-court performances.

Radwanska wins Tokyo

Agnieszka Radwanska, the 9th seed in Tokyo, won the 2011 title today by defeating 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Earlier this year, Radwanska won the Carlsbad championship by defeating Zvonareva in straight sets in the final. She is 3-1 against the Russian so far in 2011.

Zvonareva got off to a good start, breaking Radwanska right away, but just when it looked like Radwanska was going to go down 0-3 in the first set, she won eight straight games, and--despite a wobble here and there--was able to take control of the match.

To get to the final, Radwanska had to beat Angelique Kerber, who defeated her in the second round of the U.S. Open, as well as Jelena Jankovic and Victoria Azarenka. This is Radwanska's sixth WTA singles title.

U.S. Open champions Liezal Huber and Lisa Raymond, seeded 1st at the tournament, won the doubles title. They defeated 2nd seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta 7-6, 0-6, 10-6.