Miscellany

Victoria Azarenka has qualified as the final woman to play in the WTA Championships, which begin on Doha on October 27. (Not to put too fine a point on it, but the alternate should be practicing seriously.)

The New Haven tournament has been saved, but in the future, it will be a women's only event. Unlike many, I consider this a good thing. Now that Pilot Pen is gone, there will be no main sponsor; the sponsorship will be shared by several entities, including Yale University, Aetna and American Express. The tournament has been re-named the New Haven Open.

Yanina Wickmayer has received a Fed Cup Heart Award.

Rebecca Marino and Alison Riske have been grabbing ITF titles right and left. Marino is now Canada's number  1 player.

As previously mentioned by a reader of this blog, Svetlana Kuznetsova's relationship with coach Loic Courteau has ended after only two months. Courteau did not want to go to Moscow to train with Kuznetsova during the off-season. Don't you sort these things out before your hire someone?

This time, it's Schnyder

In the third round of the U.S. Open, Yanina Wickmayer defeated Patty Schnyder 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 in an all-out thriller. Today in the first round in Luxembourg, Schnyder beat 3rd-seeded Wickmayer 6-4, 6-4.

The third seed wasn't the only one to make an exit. In the second round, 2nd seed Aravane Rezai was run over 6-0, 6-1 by Kirsten Flipkens, and Iveta Benesova defeated 7th seed Jarmila Groth 6-4, 7-5.

In Moscow, doubles 2nd seeds (and ad hoc team) Elena Vesnina and Liezel Huber were defeated 6-7, 6-4, 12-10 by Olga Govortsova and Alla Kudryavtseva. In singles, all the seeds who played today--Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Alisa Kleybanova and Victoria Azarenka--advanced to the third round. Also, Dominika Cibulkova defeated Tsvetana Pironkova.

Li and Pennetta beaten in Moscow 1st round

Li Na, whose WTA Championships status hangs in the balance, didn't help her cause today by losing in the first round of the Kremlin Cup. Li was defeated 6-4, 6-2 by Anna Chakvetadze, who said she thought Li might have been a bit stressed about the Championships, and Li agreed. Li is still in the running to go to Doha, but her first round loss today lowers her chance. She had a wild card into Moscow, and was also seeded third.

Moscow is traditionally a place with a big home court advantage, and it wasn't just Chakvetadze who came through. The quite talented, but sometimes shaky, Elena Vesnina upset 5th seed Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

The other victory of note was the defeat of Gisela Dulko by qualifier Zarina Diyas. I have seen Diyas play on clay, and though I've tried, I can't think of a more aggressive tour player. Diyas runs to the net and hits every type of volley in circumstances when other players would wait for the bounce. I was impressed when I saw her play because of her willingness to keep going forward.

In doubles, the streaky Bondarenko sisters were defeated 6-4, 3-6, 10-4 by Algul Amanmuradova and Darya Kustova.

In Luxembourg, all the seeds advanced today. Top seed and wild card Elena Dementieva defeated Peng Shuai 7-5, 7-6.

Pavlyuchenkova out of Kremlin Cup in 1st round

When she's healthy, Dominika Cibulkova can be a relentless opponent. Kremin Cup 4th seed AnastasiPavlyuchenkova learned about that today when Cibulkova defeated her, 7-6, 2-6, 6-0. Unfortunately, the two double-faulted a total of 21 times.

Kateryna Bondarenko defeated Petra Kvitova, 8th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez defeated wild card Alla Kudryavtseva, and  Alona Bondarenko defeated U.S. Open junior girls champion Daria Gavrilova, who also had a wild card into the main draw.

In doubles, 4th seeds Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko defeated Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova, and 1st seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta also advanced to the second round, as did Vitalia Diatchenko and Tatiana Poutchek.

Lisicki out in 2nd round of Luxembourg qualifying

Sabine Lisicki lost today to Eleni Daniilidou in the second round of Luxembourg qualifying. Daniilidou, who double-faulted 14 times, defeated Lisicki 7-5, 6-4. (A couple of years ago, when I said  the "Lisicki watch" had begun, this isn't what I had in mind.)

Also going out in the second round of qualifying was Timara Paszek, who lost to Lucie Hradecka. Hradecka hit nine ace , and is--as far as I know--the only big-ace hitter (she has hit as many as eighteen in one match) on the tour who does not have a high ranking.

In Moscow, top qualifying seed Elena Baltacha was beaten in the second round of qualifying by Mariya Koryttseva in a match that lasted over 2 hours and 43 minutes. Koryttseva won 6-4, 2-6, 7-

Ivanovic wins championship in Linz

Ana Ivanovic won her first title in two years today, defeating Patty Schnyder 6-1, 6-2 in the final of the Generali Ladies Linz. Finals, unfortunately, have been Schnyder's undoing for much of her career, and today was no different.

Ivanovic, who was seeded 7th, won the Linz title in 2008. Until recently, she has struggled with both her serve and her confidence. Before her problems began, Ivanovic won the 2008 French Open.

2nd seeds Renata Voracova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova won the doubles title. They defeated top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 7-5, 7-6.

Tanasugarn wins Osaka title

Tammy Tanasugarn won her tour title today in Osaka, defeating Kimiko Date Krumm 7-5, 6-7, 6-1. The first two sets were tense and unpredictable, but by the third, Date Krumm understandably began to fade. Her quarterfinal and semifinal matches had both gone three sets, with one lasting 2 and 1/2 hours, and the other lasting 3 hours. She received medical attention toward the end of the last set, after which she won her only game. The final lasted 3 hours and 7 minutes.

Between them, Tanasugarn and Date Krumm gave fans plenty of excitement this past week in Japan. The Osaka champion, who was unseeded, upset 2nd seed Marion Bartoli, and 6th seed Date Krumm upset 1st seed Sam Stosur and 3rd seed Shahar Peer.

Date Krumm was attempting to break two records. Had she won, she would have been the only woman to win the Osaka title five times, and she would also have been the oldest woman to win a tour title. As it is, that distinction still belongs to Billie Jean King, who won Birmingham when she was 39.

3rd seeds Chang Kai-Chen and Lilia Osterloh won the doubles title, defeating Shuko Aoyami and Rika Fujiwara.