All About Tennis

Serena Williams’ Philanthropic Efforts to Provide Education to Children

2012-01-31T00:58:00.000-08:00

UNICEF launched a program known as "Schools for Asia" this month. The program is a world-wide fundraising program aimed to improve the quality and accessibility of education to children living in Asia and the Pacific. The program aims to educate children who would likely be excluded from educational opportunities.

Serena Williams' introduction to UNICEF

In 2006, Williams traveled to Ghana during the African country's biggest health campaign ever. Volunteers helped provide immunizations to children and provided families with nets to be hung over beds to protect from mosquitoes that could transmit malaria. The trip was eye opening for Williams, and she continued to work with UNICEF.

Williams supports Schools for Asia

In 2008, tennis star Serena Williams traveled to Africa to help launch "The Serena Williams Secondary School". The tennis champion saw a need and took action to help provide youth in Asia with educational opportunities. Williams has been named as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

When asked about her hopes for the program, Williams explained, "Schools for Asia [will] provide quality education to millions of children. Millions of children around the world don't have [access to education]. They're too poor or live too far away. Maybe they need to work to help support their family. Or it's because of conflict or discrimination."

Will Williams continue charity work?

Williams recently lost her match against Ekaterina Makarova at the Australian Open. Just a couple weeks prior, Williams suffered a fall during a match at the Brisbane International.

I can't help but wonder if perhaps Serena Williams' reign on the world of tennis may be coming to an end. Should she retire, Williams is an amazing and giving woman and her charity work should be continued. The school she helped launch is already making an immeasurable difference in the lives of children in Asia. It would be a shame if she were to stop that work.

Sania mirza breaks into Top 10 in doubles rankings

2012-01-30T06:22:00.000-08:00

Sania Mirza staged yet another magnificent comeback from near-wilderness in the international circuit. This 25-year-old Hyderabadi by entering the semi-finals in both the mixed doubles and women’s doubles of the Australian Open has now achieved what no other Indian women's tennis player has ever done before – break into the world top 10 in women’s doubles. To be precise, Sania is now ranked World No. 7.

“I used to be excited when I figured in the top students of my class. To be ranked at No. 7 in the world is an unbelievable feeling,” Sania Mirza informed 'The Hindu' on Monday even as she joined the Indian Fed Cup squad in China.

Clearly enjoying life after marriage with former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, Sania’s message is loud and clear – ‘Watch out! I am still going strong and chasing the dream of an Olympic medal’.

“Yes, we are thrilled at her achievement given the fact that she was out of action for four months after the US Open when she needed another surgery (her third in four years). It is no joke to break into the top 10 rankings in the world in any category,” says Imran Mirza, Sania’s mentor and father.

For the record, Sania has won so far 12 WTA titles besides four ITF titles and in 2011 entered the French Open doubles final, besides being semi-finalist in women’s doubles in Wimbledon and making it to the semi-finals in two events in 2012 Australian Open.

What has clearly delighted the Mirza family is the fact that by her magnificent performance in the Australian Open, Sania has ensured that she stayed in the race for an entry into the 2012 London Olympics.

“Well, if Sania stays in the top 10 by June 2012, she will have the privilege to choose a partner from India to compete in the women’s doubles in London Games. And she can play in Olympics mixed doubles if she qualifies for singles or doubles,” explains Imran.

Apparently, Sania is in the mood to sustain her excellent Australian Open form by taking part in the Pattaya, Doha, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur Open tournaments where she is also hoping to pick some valuable points and to stay in the top 10 rankings. “Her schedule includes the US circuit too,” Imran pointed out.

“Definitely, Sania’s confidence is on a new high and the focus of attention in our preparation should be to ensure peak fitness level before the Olympics,” Imran said.

For her part, Sania, who is the only Indian woman tennis player to win a Grand Slam (the 2009 Australia Open mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi), is pleased that she once again proved why she is still the best women’s tennis player from India and with also the fact that she has silenced quite a few critics who had again written her off.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/sport/tennis/article2845225.ece

Ana Ivanovic eyes return to the top

2012-01-19T03:29:00.000-08:00

Boasting Adam Scott in her corner and a less complicated game plan, Serbian starlet Ana Ivanovic believes she's on her way "back to the top".

The former world No.1 is into the third round of the Australian Open for the loss of just eight games after powering past Michaella Krajicek 6-2 6-3 today.

"I feel like I'm getting into the tournament. It's nice to get some wins and be in contention to play against top players," Ivanovic said after burying Krajicek in barely an hour at Hisense Arena.

"I enjoy playing here. The last couple matches have been really lots of fun. It's been good to also apply things I worked on in off-season.

"I really tried to pick the right ball to come in and be aggressive. That's something I worked a lot on.

"Also on my spin on my forehand, so I don't play as flat as I used to.

"It's working really well. I can sort of push opponents around the court."

The 24-year-old said new coach Nigel Sears, who linked with the 2008 runner-up and ex-French Open champion after Wimbledon last July, had given her newfound clarity and calmness on court.

Source: http://tvnz.co.nz/tennis-news/ana-ivanovic-eyes-return-top-4693687

Sydney wobble for Wozniacki

2012-01-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki escaped a major scare to scrape into the quarter-finals of the Sydney International after a 7-5 2-6 6-4 win over Dominika Cibulkova.

The world number one was 4-0 down in the deciding set but fought back to win six games in a row and complete a battling victory in a match that lasted almost two-and-a-half hours.

Wozniacki had earlier edged a first set that contained several breaks of serve, but her game started to fall apart in the second and early stages of the third.

The unseeded Slovakian evened things up and seemed set for a shock win when she secured two early breaks of serve in the decider.

It was then Cibulkova's turn to run in to trouble, however, as a resurgent Wozniacki managed to eke out a victory and set-up a last eight clash with Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Andrea Petkovic 7-5 6-4.

"I thought I had lost the match. I decided to play free, not care about the score anymore, and it worked out," Wozniacki said.

Second seed Petra Kvitova also dropped a set but eventually progressed to the quarter-finals with a 7-5 3-6 6-4 win over Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania.

Source: http://www1.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/7421037/Sydney-wobble-for-Wozniacki

Zheng Jie captures Auckland title

2012-01-09T02:41:00.000-08:00

Unseeded Zheng Jie claimed her fourth career singles title and her first since 2006 when Flavia Pennetta was forced to retire injured in the third set of Sunday's ASB Classic final.

The 28-year-old Zheng was leading 2-6, 6-3, 2-0 when fourth-seeded Pennetta, who required courtside treatment to a back injury, indicated she was unable to continue.

It was Zheng's first title since 2006 at Estoril and the Chinese now has four titles from six final appearances.

Italy's Pennetta, who was bidding for a 10th career singles title, finished runner-up in Auckland for the second time, having also reached the final in 2010.

Pennetta had not dropped a set in reaching the final and looked in similarly commanding form Sunday when she took the first frame in 46 minutes.

Both players saved breakpoints in their opening service games but Pennetta took charge when she broke Zheng to love in the third game, then rallied from 0-40 on her own serve to lead 3-1. She broke again for 5-2 and served out the set at her first opportunity.

Pennetta broke Zheng in the opening game of the second set and seemed on course for a convincing win. But she began to look uncomfortable, particularly when serving, and was forced three times to call for medical treatment.

Zheng recognized her opportunity and began to play more aggressively, stepping into the court to take the serve earlier and making use of her strong, whippy forehand.

She broke back in the fourth game of the second set and gained a decisive break in the sixth game, and took the set in 42 minutes.

Pennetta dropped serve in the opening game of the third set and, after battling through the second game, elected to retire. The world No. 20 now heads to Melbourne for the Australian Open which starts Jan. 16.

"I'm still quite happy. It's been a good week for me and a good way to start the year," Pennetta said.

The singles final, scheduled for Saturday, was postponed until Sunday then moved indoors because of rain.

Li Na beats Bartoli

2011-12-30T23:29:00.000-08:00

Li Na beats Bartoli in opening match at Hopman Cup

French Open champion Li Na recovered from a service break down in the final set to beat Marion Bartoli 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 and give China a 1-0 lead over France after Saturday’s opening match of the Hopman Cup mixed teams tournament.

Bartoli broke Li’s serve in the fifth game of the final set to take a 3-2 lead, but Li broke back in the eighth game to even the set at 4-4 and took the match by breaking Bartoli in the final game.

Wu Di will play Richard Gasquet in the men’s singles ahead of a mixed doubles match.

It was the only match Saturday. Australia plays Spain on Sunday, while Czech Republic plays Bulgaria and the United States takes on Denmark on Monday.

Ana Ivanovic: I want to have three kids

2011-12-19T05:14:00.000-08:00

Serbian female tennis player Ana Ivanovic said earlier today she would love to have at least three children, but expand her family only after her tennis career had ended.

As she states at her official web page (anaivanovic.com), she said earlier for Russian sports page Sport.ru that she would one day love to have a large family, but not anytime soon.

- It will be after I’ve finished my tennis career, said Ivanovic.

Being asked if she already felt like a veteran player and who she got on with on the WTA tour, the 24-year-old Serb responded:

- I don’t feel like a veteran at all. It’s true I am somewhere between those young upcoming players and the older generation. My best friends on tour are of my age and those a little younger than me.

Ivanovic then explained she hung out most while on tour with Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson.

- I wouldn’t say there is a huge generation gap and division between generations. For example, Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams are good friends. Although there are typically no great friendships, we communicate and chat no matter the age, said Ana.

Ivanovic receives Bali wild card

2011-10-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic of Serbia will return to Bali in November to defend her Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions title after receiving the first wild card for the event on Thursday.

Last year Ivanovic emerged victorious in the eight-player field, which brings together the best performers of the season from the International series of WTA tournaments.

"It almost goes without saying Bali is one of the most beautiful places on the tennis circuit - probably the best, in fact," said Ivanovic, who is currently playing the China Open in Beijing.

"I had a wonderful time there last year. Off the court I was able to relax on the beach, but on the court I played some of my best tennis and was so happy to win the title.

"It's a great thrill for me to come back and try and win the tournament again," the 24-year-old Serb added. "I remember last year we had an exciting atmosphere at each match and I'm sure it's going to be another great event."

She is in the quarterfinals at the China Open and will take the court again on Friday.

The third annual Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions is scheduled for November 3 to 6 at the Bali International Convention Centre.

Featuring top WTA players and next generation champions competing in an eight woman, single elimination singles format, it offers prize money of 600,000 U.S. dollars.

Serena Williams pulls out of China Open

2011-09-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

World No. 2 Maria Sharapova of Russia and American Serena Williams pulled out of the China Open Friday, a day before the beginning of the WTA premier event.

Sharapova twisted her ankle while serving Thursday and quit her Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals in Tokyo against Petra Kvitova.

The 24-year-old Russian said on her website: "Good news is that the MRI showed no big damage in the ankle. Will do my best to recover in time for Istanbul (the season-ending championships)."

"It is to better recover soon because I can become quite the annoying patient! I will keep everyone posted with my progress."

Williams also missed the tournament due to injury. The American was out of tennis for almost a year with a series of injuries, but hit her form quickly after coming back, reaching her fifth US Open final earlier this month.

According to the official website of the China Open, Serena should have arrived in Beijing Friday. However, she didn't appear in the women's singles draw, meaning she would be absent for the second consecutive year.

With the season nearing its end, a bunch of players have deleted the China trip from their schedule.

World No. 1 men's player Novak Djokovic quit the event due to a negative report from his latest physical check. Others absentees include Richard Gasquet, Robin Soderling and Venus Williams.

Sania Mirza on a holiday in Pakistan

2011-09-27T00:58:00.000-07:00

With a knee injury keeping her off court, tennis star Sania Mirza is on holiday in Pakistan with cricketer husband Shoaib Malik, who will be competing in the upcoming National Twenty20 Championships.

Mirza got a warm welcome when she reached Karachi two days ago with Malik, but refrained from speaking to the media. Sania has been diagnosed with a ruptured left knee miniscus and was advised six weeks rest by a specialist.

Dressed in a red salwar kameez, Sania was cheered by people at Karachi airport when she arrived with Malik in the evening.

This is the first time Sania is visiting Pakistan's biggest city since she went there to play in an international junior tennis tournament in the 90s. Malik said he hoped bilateral cricket relations with India would resume soon.

"I don't think the media should create so much hype around us and our marriage, but yes, I do hope our marriage helps people in both countries to realise we can co-exist peacefully. I hope our marriage helps in improving relations between the two countries," the former Pakistan captain told us.

Sania, who married Malik in April 2010, is in Pakistan visiting her in-laws in Malik's hometown of Sialkot, besides travelling to Lahore on a private visit.

Sources said Malik arranged for special permission for his wife to be in Karachi for the duration of the tournament, in which he is captaining the Sialkot Stallions.

"I am here to play cricket and my wife is with me on holiday, but obviously her presence is good for me and I hope to do well in the national tournament," he told us.

Source:

Marina Erakovic on brink of world tennis top 50

2011-09-20T01:55:00.000-07:00

New Zealand tennis No 1 Marina Erakovic has risen 22 spots to 63 in the world rankings after a runner-up finish at the US$220,000 (NZ$266,000) WTA event in Quebec City, Canada, yesterday.

The 23-year-old, who was beaten 4-6 6-1 6-0 by Czech sixth seed Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova in the final, started the year ranked 324 in singles after struggling with serious hip and wrist injuries in 2009 and 2010.

But a consistent run of good form has her approaching her career-high ranking of 49, achieved in 2008 on the back of two WTA semifinal appearances, an ITF title, and good performances at the grand slam events including a third round appearance at Wimbledon.

''I'm feeling more comfortable with my game with every match, I'm learning more about my strengths and areas I need to work on in certain match situations,'' she said yesterday from Quebec.

''I'm feeling much more comfortable at this level with these players, and I think I have a game which can win me a lot of matches. So I feel like I'm going in the right direction.''

Erakovic has bolted to the brink of the top 50 after three ITF titles and several top performances in WTA tournaments, including a career-best win over world No 4 Victoria Azarenka in reaching the quarterfinals at Stanford.

Her run in Quebec saw her reach a WTA final for the first time, and boosted her season earnings to more than $US200,000.

The Aucklander will play three tournaments in Europe before returning home in November for a break.

Source:

Sam Stosur harbours no ill feeling towards Serena Williams

2011-09-19T05:32:00.000-07:00

SAMANTHA Stosur neither expects nor wants an apology from Serena Williams after the former world No 1's outburst during the second set of their US Open final.

Stosur arrived home on Saturday smiling broadly as she relived the greatest moment of her career followed by the busiest week of her life.

The 27-year-old has hardly stopped smiling or posing for photographs, signing autographs or being asked questions about her sterling 6-3 6-2 win. It was the Australian's first grand slam singles title. Williams has 13.

Williams, however, was fined $US2000 ($1900) after delivering a broadside at umpire Eva Asderaki, loudly accusing her of being a "hater" and "unattractive inside".

Williams became incensed after being docked a point by Asderaki for yelling out during a rally before Stosur had the chance to play at the ball. It was two years ago that Williams launched another outburst at a lineswoman during a US Open semi-final defeat to Kim Clijsters.

But Stosur told The Australian at Brisbane airport on Saturday, that she harboured no ill feeling towards Williams.

"It happened. It was the heat of the moment and she didn't verbally say anything at me or towards me," Stosur said. "It was all at the umpire.

"So I'm not expecting one (an apology) and don't want one. She was pretty gracious to me to come over and sit beside me and chat before the trophy presentation.

"That doesn't happen often. I don't think I've ever seen that happen. There's no hard feelings. It was just part of the match. I know I've moved on and I'm sure she will too."

Williams missed last January's Australian Open through injury, but is likely to arrive in Melbourne in the new year.

Williams defeated Stosur in the fourth round of the Australian Open last year, before going on to defeat Justine Henin in the final.

The Australian Open is the next grand slam on the calendar (January 16-29) and Stosur knows the pressure will be more on her than Williams.

"Winning a grand slam is wonderful, but if that was ever to be the Australian Open then that'd be something else," Stosur said.

"It's the most special grand slam I could ever possibly win. If that does happen then that would absolutely be the top of my career for me."

Ana Ivanovic rising through tennis ranks again

2011-09-17T01:49:00.000-07:00

With all of the drama surrounding the Williams sisters, from the resurgence of Serena to the strange, debilitating illness that forced Venus to withdraw here, it's easy for the rest of the women's tennis field to feel overshadowed at the U.S. Open.

But the Williamses are not the only ones who have been through turmoil lately. Ana Ivanovic, the No. 16 seed who will face Serena Williams in the fourth round Monday, has had her own share of misfortune, as well as triumph.

There was the loss of her grandfather, Milovan Ivanovic, who died the weekend before the Open began. And the apparent reconciliation with Australian golfer Adam Scott, who was seen in the player's box for Ivanovic's opening-round match last Tuesday. "We're just happy," she told The Associated Press last week.

Through it all, there has been the seeming return of Ivanovic's stellar tennis game. She has reached the fourth round here after beating top American prospect Sloane Stephens on Saturday night, marking the Serbian's best performance in a Grand Slam in 2011 after first-round exits at the Australian and French Opens and a third-round departure at Wimbledon.

The player who was ranked No. 1 in the world after winning the French Open as a 20-year-old in 2008 may not have vaulted back to the top just yet. But at least Ivanovic, ranked 19th, appears on her way again.

"Well, I think with all the work I've done, you do gain confidence," Ivanovic, 23, said after beating Stephens 6-3, 6-4 in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday. "Obviously when you win, you have more confidence, you enjoy competing much more. That's something that I gain back. … It makes a big difference because you don't doubt so much when you step on the court and you can play a lot freer."

In her rise to No. 1 in 2008, Ivanovic captivated as much with her appearances as her on-court performances. What followed was a mystifying rapid plummet; at her lowest, Ivanovic's ranking dropped below 60 in the summer of 2010.

"For me, it was one of the strangest things because she won the French Open playing so well, became No. 1 in the world, and I don't know if it was the weight of the pressure, the expectations of now being at that level," said 15-year pro and two-time doubles Grand Slam champion Mary Joe Fernandez, now a tennis commentator. "Majors have been tough for her. So for her already to come through this far, I think that's already going to give her a big boost and belief.

"There's no reason why she shouldn't be in the top 10. She's got the ingredients.''

Part of the credit for bringing those pieces back together goes to new coach Nigel Sears, the former head of women's coaching for the British Lawn Tennis Association who became Ivanovic's coach in July. Sears has worked on Ivanovic's powerful forehand and serve.

"He has helped me a lot," Ivanovic said. "I think our relationship, it's really good. I can pick up things fast from his coaching. We have the same views, and that's very important as well, because then you can absorb things better.

"We have big goals and we look at the big picture. But the results are already there, which is very encouraging."

Ivanovic also has not been severely tested at the Open thus far. She beat Ksenia Pervak of Russia 6-4, 6-2 in the first round and had a second-round walkover against Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, who beat her in the third round at Wimbledon. Ivanovic then took advantage of a young Stephens, 18, who was so overwhelmed to play in Ashe Stadium for the first time that she battled nerves as much as her opponent.

But the path ahead can't be any more difficult for Ivanovic now. She faces Williams in Ashe Stadium on Monday. Williams has not surrendered a set through the first three rounds. She has lost just 10 games overall.

"When you play Serena, Serena controls the match," Fernandez said. "It's up to Serena. If she continues to play the way she's playing, I don't think anybody can beat her. But for Ana, it's going to be key to serve well. She's going to have to serve well to be in it."

For her part, Williams knows Ivanovic is improved from earlier in the season.

"Well, she's playing well," Williams said. "She's incredibly fit right now. She was No. 1, right, at one point, so …"

So Ivanovic is not a player to be taken lightly at this moment.

Still, Ivanovic knows what's coming. But if she is intimidated, it doesn't show.

"It's exciting, at least for me," Ivanovic said. "I think she [Serena Williams] is the hottest player out there at the moment. She's been playing so well lately. It is going to be a good challenge.

"I know I can give her a tough match. She beat me in the past, but maybe I can go for revenge on Monday."

Ivanovic has nothing to lose. Even if she doesn't beat Williams, she already knows she's on her way back to the upper echelon of women's tennis.

Maria Sharapova moves up to two in the latest world rankings

2011-09-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

Maria Sharapova has climbed back up to No. 2 in the world rankings.

Sharapova’s results this season have sent her flying up the world rankings, and she currently sits behind just one player, Caroline Wozniacki.

After falling to No. 126 in May 2009, Sharapova has steadily made up ground on the rest of the World’s best after an excellent 2011.

An appearance in the final of Wimbledon aided her cause earlier this season, as did her run to the semi-finals of the French Open. On top of this, she won titles in Rome and Cincinnati as well as reaching the final in Miami and Indian Wells.

It may be a little too early to talk about her taking the top spot off of Wozniacki at this moment in time, however, as the Dane leads the field by over 3000 rankings points, despite the fact that she’s still yet to win a Grand Slam title.

That said, Sharapova has been less active on the WTA Tour than almost everybody in the top twenty this season, and she could be a rankings topper if she manages to play in more tournaments next year, which is a real possibility if her shoulder injury doesn’t come back to haunt her.

Sania suffers knee injury, may be out of rest of the season

2011-09-09T05:02:00.001-07:00

Sania Mirza may not be able to play in the rest of the season in the WTA circuit as the Indian tennis star has been advised rest for six weeks after suffering a knee injury during the women's doubles third round defeat at the US Open.

Sania has been diagnosed with a ruptured left knee miniscus and has been initially advised a minimum six weeks rest by a specialist, who examined her in New York, according to information received here.

The Hyderabadi has been struggling with injuries in the last few seasons. She made a good comeback last year after a career-threatening wrist injury.

She zoomed up to 64 in the singles ranking after starting the 2011 season at 166. In the doubles list, she is at her career-best 11.

The latest injury means that Sania's place in the prestigious year-end Championships is also doubtful. Sania and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina are front runners in the race for the top-four doubles teams.

They are placed third in the race so far with 4508 points, followed by Argentine Gisela Dulko and Italian Flavia Pennetta, who have 4106.

There are still eight different WTA events, yet to be played in the 2011 season after the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year.

Sania's campaign ended at the US Open when she and Vesnina lost 6-7 (4) 6-7 (5) to the Czech pair of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

She had also lost in the first round of the singles and mixed doubles event with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi.

Sania is expected in Hyderabad shortly to consult with Orthropaedic specialists, who will consider a surgical intervention after further intensive tests.

The Indian tennis player had undergone an arthroscopy to repair the ACL on her right knee a few years back.

Sania Mirza crashes out of Texas Tennis Open

2011-08-25T02:43:00.000-07:00

India's Sania Mirza was outplayed by Germany's Sabine Lisicki 3-6, 0-6 to crash out of women's singles first round of the Texas Tennis Open here on Monday.

Playing in hot conditions, the 23rd-ranked German needed only an hour and five minutes go past Sania.

Lisicki, with her big serve and powerful groundstrokes, opened a 3-0 lead in the first set before 63rd-ranked Sania broke back to bridge the gap, 3-2. The German, however, came back and did not let up.

Before this match, the two were 1-1 head-to-head with Lisicki beating Sania in Auckland in March and the Indian returning the favour with a win at Charleston in April.

"It was definitely hot. But it is the same for both players. You just have to battle on," said fifth-seeded Lisicki, who reached the Wimbledon semifinal this year.

"You have to play from start to finish and you can never letdown her," Lisicki said. "I've played her twice and the last two times were a little bit of a roller coaster. I knew that as soon as I would take anything off, she'd be right back in there. I just wanted to end it as soon as possible."

Serena aims for rare feat at U.S. Open

2011-08-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

Serena Williams was seemingly back on top of her game, having won seven matches in eight days and consecutive WTA tournaments.

But a troublesome right big toe forced Williams out of the Western & Southern draw Wednesday in Cincinnati and cast some doubts about whether she'll be fit enough to celebrate a significant anniversary at the U.S. Open.

"I don't think this is a good time for me to take a chance," Williams said after pulling out of a second-round match against Samantha Stosur to begin resting up for the Open, which starts the week after next. She cut the toe when she stepped on a piece of glass after winning Wimbledon last year and has had two operations to repair the damage.

Williams claimed the first of her 13 Grand Slam titles at Flushing Meadow in 1999, a couple weeks shy of her 18th birthday. Only two players in the Open Era have won the same major championship a dozen years apart. Pete Sampras collected the first of his then-record 14 Slams at the Open in 1990 and took his last one there in 2002. Martina Navratilova's run of 18 majors began at Wimbledon in 1978 and ended on Centre Court in 1990.

Also, it was a decade ago when Williams and big sister Venus squared off in the 2001 Open final, the first ever played in prime time and the first to pit two African-Americans - never mind siblings - against each other with one of tennis' four biggest titles on the line. Adding to the magic, of course, was the venue - Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"People of color weren't allowed to play in a sanctioned tournament until the '50s," WTA founder Billie Jean King reminds us.

Previously, the women's final had been sandwiched between the two men's semis and, as a result, often got lost in the "Super Saturday" shuffle. But the women stole the show that weekend in 2001.

Despite hitting just seven winners, Venus won 6-2, 6-4 in 69 minutes to defend her championship and give the Williams family three titles in a row. (Serena extended the streak to four in 2002.) The next afternoon, Lleyton Hewitt stunned the heavily favored Sampras in straight sets to take the men's title.

Then, two days later ...

Somber anniversary

The U.S. Open men's final falls on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and the USTA intends to mark the occasion "in a dignified and respectful manner," chairman of the board and president Jon Vegosen said. "We are one of this nation's global stages, and we have a special responsibility to honor those fallen and those who responded heroically on that fateful day."

For both the women's final the previous evening and the men's match, the court will be inscribed with "9-11-01." The usopen.org logo ringing the stadium will be replaced with the 9/11 memorial logo.

Cyndi Lauper will perform on Saturday night and Queen Latifah on Sunday. Both ceremonies, to be televised live by CBS, will include a moment of silence and the unfurling of a giant American flag over the court by a Marine Corps color guard.

The men's finalists will enter the stadium through an honor guard including members of New York's police and fire departments and the Port Authority police. A military flyover will follow.

Sania-Shvedova win, heartbreak for Som

2011-08-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Sania Mirza won her third WTA doubles title of the season and 12th overall as she and Yaroslava Shvedova pipped Olga Govortsova of Belarus and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia in the final of the Citi Open here.

Defending their top billing, the Indo-Kazakh pair overcame their second seed opponents 6-3 6-3 after one hour and five minutes struggle.

Sania paired up with Yaroslava for this tournament since her regular Tour partner Elena Vesnina decided to skip the event.

She had triumphed at Indian Wells and Charleston with Vesnina and fell in the final of the French Open.

Sania and Yaroslova provided umpteen opportunities to their rivals but prevented damage by saving eight break chances in the second set. The winners shared $11,000 and earned 280 ranking points each.

Meanwhile, Somdev Devvarman will have to wait for his first career ATP title as he and Treat Conrad Huey lost the fiercely fought summit clash of the Farmer's Classic to Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Xavier Malisse of Belgium in Los Angeles.

The unseeded Indo-Philippine pair fought their hearts out but eventually lost the final 6-7 (3) 6-7 (10) to the third seed Bahams-Belgium pair in the $ 619,50 tournament.

It was for the first time that Somdev had reached the final of an ATP doubles event. He has made two singles final so far.

He reached final of Chennai Open, his home event, in 2009 and in Johannesburg early this year.

Somdev and Huey pushed their experienced opponents to limit but could not get past them in the tie-breakers. Things could have been different had not squandered two break chances in the second set.

They split $18,000 (Rs 7. 92 lakh) in prize money and earned 150 ranking points for their efforts in this tourney. Somdev had earlier lost in the men's singles first round.

Gulbis stuns Fish to win LA International
Los Angeles: Latvia's Ernests Gulbis survived a few anxious moments in the final set but held his nerve to upset top-seed Mardy Fish 5-7 6-4 6-4 and win the Los Angeles International on Sunday.

Serving for the match at 5-2, Gulbis was broken by American Fish and then trailed 30-40 on serve at 5-4 before sealing victory. The Latvian set up match point with a delicate forehand drop shot before clinching his second ATP title with a rasping forehand winner down the line.

"It means a lot to me. It's my second title," Gulbis told reporters. "It gives me a huge boost in confidence."

Serena overpowers Bartoli in Stanford
Stanford: Comeback queen Serena Williams won her first tournament in more than a year when she overpowered third seed Marion Bartoli of France 7-5 6-1 in the Stanford Classic final.

American Williams came from 2-4 down in the opening set and then dominated the rest of the match with booming serves and hard groundstrokes to claim her first title since Wimbledon last year.

The 13-time Grand Slam champion, who returned to the tour in June after taking almost a year off due to injury and illness, triumphed for the first time on home soil since her victory at the 2008 US Open.

"I haven't won a tournament in forever that wasn't a Grand Slam so it's cool,'' said Williams, whose last non-major title was the 2009 WTA Championships in Doha.

"I put a lot of work into this week. I want to take this whole (hardcourt) swing serious. It's a good time for me."

Sharapova not returning to Auckland

2011-07-12T02:21:00.000-07:00

Maria Sharapova will not be returning to New Zealand next year, after opting to warm-up for the 2012 Australian Open in Brisbane.

The Russian star was pivotal in pulling big crowds to this year's ASB Classic in Auckland, before crashing out in the quarterfinals to Greta Arn.

She was the best-paid player of Auckland's annual tennis event, reportedly pocketing an appearance fee of just over US$100,000 ($130,000) and US$5340 in prizemoney.

The recent Wimbledon runner-up today confirmed that she will play at the Brisbane International tournament.

"I have never been to Brisbane before and coming into the Australian Open I felt like Brisbane would be a good place for me to start the year," the world No 5 said.

"It is the first tournament of the year and it's kind of where you see where your game is and how good your off-season has been and so you try and get in as many matches as you can before the Australian Open."

The Brisbane International has been running since 2009, with superstars including Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling, Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic and Justine Henin attending over the past three years.

Next year's event has been upgraded by the WTA to premier status, meaning there are now no restrictions on how many top-10 players can feature.

Organisers hope Sharapova will be one of many of the world's top female players contesting the event.

"It is a great first signing for Brisbane International 2012," tournament director Cameron Pearson said.

Prizemoney for the combined ATP/WTA tour event will rise by 63 per cent to $US1.1 million ($NZ1.42 million) in 2012.

This year, prizemoney for Auckland's ASB Classic was $US220,000.

Ana Ivanovic to clash with Melanie Oudin

2011-06-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

Ana Ivanovic to clash with Melanie Oudin in Wimbledon 2011.

The Serbian, former world No.1, Ana Ivanovic will be facing the American Player, Melanie Oudin in the first round of the 2011 Wimbledon tournament.

Ana Ivanovic will be clashing with the American world No.87, Melanie Oudin in the first round of the 2011 Wimbledon tournament on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 21:00 GMT, the match between both the players will be played at the All England Club in London, England.

The head to head against each other have played one match against each other, as the Serbian former world No.1 has thrashed out the American in a three set thriller with a score line of 2-6 6-1 and 6-1. Both the players will be clashing in their on Tuesday for the second time in their career to enter into the second round of the third grand slam tournament, Wimbledon 2011.

The Serbian last week has played the warm-up tournament of Wimbledon, AEGON international, where, she has defeated the in-form player, Julia Georges in the second round. However, in the thirds round, Ivanovic has been thrashed out against the come back, Venus Williams in the third round of the 2011 AEGON International.

The American world No.87, Melanie Oudin best performance came in the US open, entering into the quarter finals of the tournament. However, she is still waiting for her first WTA title in her career. Oudin’s best so far has come in the Fed Cup circuit where she helped USA reach the finals of the prestigious team event two times.

As per the stats, it would be the Serbian straight sets victory against the American.

Weston Sophomore Sweeps to Open Title

2011-06-10T02:18:00.000-07:00

Weston sophomore Kimmy Guerin made it look easy. Again. Guerin won her second straight Connecticut State Interscholastic Athletic Association girls tennis crown Wednesday with a 6-0, 6-1 win over seventh-seeded Hannah Dahlem. Guerin, the top seed, breezed through the tournament without dropping a set.

In her first three matches, Guerin advanced without dropping a game. She rolled past Lauren Schmidt of South Windsor, Joan Li of East Lyme and Bianka Horvath of Newington. She took out Danbury's Lindsey Post, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Guerin swept New Canaan's Courtney Gallagher, 6-0, 6-1.

Guerin also led Weston to the Class S team championship. Westhill's Vanessa Petrini (2008-2009) won back-to-back Open titles, as did Trinity Catholic's Chaz Saricas (2001-2002). Guerin could match former Immaculate of Danbury star Patti Murren, who won four straight Open titles from 1989-92.

According to the website tennisrecruiting.net, Guerin is ranked second in New England and 41st in the nation. She trains out of the Intensity Club in Norwalk.

What do you think about Kimmy Guerin's run to a second straight tennis title? Start the discussion below!

Serena Williams Returning to Tour

2011-06-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

After nearly a year away from competitive tennis, Serena Williams has confirmed that she plans to return to the circuit next week at the Aegon International Tournament in Eastbourne and then compete at Wimbledon, where she is the defending champion.

Williams, 29, was the sport’s dominant player a year ago when she won her 13th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon. Four days later, according to Williams, she severed a tendon in her right foot after stepping on broken glass when leaving a restaurant in Munich, Germany.

She has since had two operations and in February was hospitalized in Los Angeles because of a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in her lungs.

“I am so excited to be healthy enough to compete again,” she said in a statement released by her agent, Jill Smoller. “These past 12 months have been extremely tough and character building.

“I have so much to be grateful for. I’m thankful to my family, friends, and fans for all of their support. Serena’s back!”

Williams resumed practicing in April but later withdrew from the French Open. Williams has won Wimbledon four times, and her older sister Venus Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion who has not competed since January because of a hip-flexor problem, is also expected to return for the grass-court season and attempt to play at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams, who could not be immediately reached for comment, remains the highest-ranked American woman at No. 25 in the world.

Ivanovic and Bartoli join an already impressive field

2011-06-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

The Bank of the West Classic player field got even more impressive on Tuesday when former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic and 2011 French Open semifinalist Marion Bartoli entered the 2011 event that will be held this summer at Stanford University.

At just 23 years of age, Ivanovic already has put together an impressive resume recording a 279-117 career singles record, winning 10 career WTA singles titles, capturing her first Grand Slam singles title at the 2008 French Open, and ascending to the world No. 1 ranking in June 2008.

Off the court, Ivanovic's striking good looks and warm personality have made her one of the world's most glamorous and marketable athletes. She has been featured in numerous fashion and lifestyle publications including Vogue, Vanity Fair, ELLE, Cosmopolitan and Time Magazine. In addition she was featured in last year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and in 2009 was ranked 11th on FHM's Sexiest Women in the World list.

Bartoli, the 2009 Bank of the West Classic champion, advanced to her first French Open semifinal on Tuesday with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. She becomes only the fourth French woman in the Open Era to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros joining Francoise Durr, Brigitte Simon and Mary Pierce. The French No. 1 will face defending French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the semifinals.

Bartoli already has put together a solid 2011 season reaching two Tour finals at Indian Wells and Strasbourg, as well as semifinal berths at Brisbane and Doha. She is currently ranked No. 11 in the world but ascended to a career-high No. 9 world ranking in 2007 following her final's appearance that year at Wimbledon.

The addition of Ivanovic and Bartoli adds to what is already a strong player field. The event already has commitments from three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova, 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and current World No. 6 Samantha Stosur.

Tickets for the event, which will be held July 25-31 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the campus of Stanford University, can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.

Single-session tickets for the tournament's opening round start at just $26. Fans also may pre-purchase parking passes for the event for just $10.

Sharapova storms into the last four

2011-06-02T03:47:00.000-07:00

Former world No.1 Maria Sharapova is through to the French Open semi-finals after a straight-sets defeat of 15th seed Andrea Petkovic 6-0, 6-3 on Wednesday.

The seventh seed, who has not played in a grand slam final since winning the 2008 Australian Open, broke in the opening game and never looked back. A toilet break failed to change momentum, though Petkovic held to love to put herself on the board in the ninth game of the match.

The German, who showed a lot of heart, broke to level the set twice at 2-2 and 3-3 before the in-form Russian raced away to claim the match as a Petkovic forehand sailed into the net.

Sharapova will next meet sixth seed Li Na after the Chinese woman beat the highest-ranked remaining player, Victoria Azarenka, 7-5, 6-2.

Li, who defeated Azarenka in straight sets in the round of 16 at the Australian Open this year en route to the final, exchanged breaks with the fourth seed before breaking Azarenka to love at 6-5, claiming set point with a backhand winner.

On her third match point, Li broke to claim victory as the Belarusian hit an unforced error off her backhand.

Sharapova has a 5-2 head-to-head record against Li, which includes a three-set victory in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open. Li has won the pair’s two most recent meetings – in 2009 and 2010 on grass in Birmingham.

Meanwhile, the first Italian woman to win a grand slam is two wins away from doubling her collection of silverware. Francesca Schiavone – the reigning Roland Garros champion – credits her age and subsequent experience for getting her to the final four.

The fifth seed, who faces 11th seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in a semi-final on Thursday, says clay is the most forgiving surface and allows opponents back into a duel. The 30-year-old acknowledged her on-court emotions, saying it is a part of who she is.

"I live and I love tennis when I can express myself. I am transparent so you can understand how I play and how I feel."

Jana Juricova breaks through

2011-05-31T02:14:00.000-07:00

Juricova breaks through to capture NCAA Singles crown

Two-set sweep in title match clinches the program's second ever NCAA singles title

For all its championship banners and record win streaks, Stanford’s Taube Tennis Center may have a soft spot for Cal women’s tennis.

On Monday, Jana Juricova hoisted the NCAA Singles Championships trophy — on the very same courts where the Bears’ Susie Babos lifted hers in 2006.

The top-seeded Juricova defeated Cardinal sophomore Stacey Tan, 6-0, 7-6 (2), at a match that looked more like the Big Slam between Cal and Stanford than an NCAA title game. When Juricova won the match, a roar of Bears fans in the stands nearly drowned her victorious yell.

“It was so great that we had the tournament at Stanford because we had so many fans that could just drive over and support the team,” Cal coach Amanda Augustus said.

Playing in her second NCAA singles final, Juricova came out firing against the slow-starting Tan and took command of the entire first set. In the second set, Tan’s aggressive approach worked well as the two traded points until the set went to a tie-break.

Within sight of the title, Juricova shifted to another gear, blazing past Tan to a 5-0 lead and eventually the winning the tie-break, 8-2.

“Through my experiences, I can pick up the style and tempo of the match, and in the first set, I saw that Tan was starting a bit slow,” Juricova said. “But in the second set, she had nothing to lose, so she came out swinging, but I expected she will do that and I was ready.”

Coming into both the singles and doubles tournament as the top player in the nation, Juricova faced high expectations. She certainly lived up to them in singles play, cruising to two-set wins in each of the first
three rounds.

In Saturday’s quarterfinals, Juricova blew away Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson — who won last year’s NCAA singles final against Juricova — with a convincing 6-3, 6-0 victory.

The next day, Juricova faced her first real test of the tournament against the Cardinal’s 18th-ranked Nicole Gibbs. In a dogfight of a match, Juricova was able to control late in the third set — an appropriate timing to win her the tie-break and the match, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (2).

“Beating Chelsey Gullickson stood out as memorable because I have never beaten her before. I just had to trust my game and believe I can beat anyone,” Juricova said. “The semi-final match was just crazy because it was so close that it really could have gone either way.”

Juricova, alongside senior Mari Andersson, also came into the doubles tournament as the No. 1 seed, but fell short in the semi-finals on Sunday against the Cardinal’s Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette.

After losing the first set, 6-1, Juricova and Andersson had no solutions against Barte and Burdette — falling into a 5-0 hole in the second set. Despite showing life to rally back to 5-4, it was too little, too late.

As the lone senior for the Bears in the tournament, Andersson also made a huge push in singles play, pulling a major upset against the No. 2-seeded Maria Sanchez and reaching the quarterfinals before succumbing to Florida’s Lauren Embree.

“Throughout my college career, I was always noticed as a doubles player. In this last tournament at Stanford, I proved to myself that I am also a good singles player, too,” Andersson said. “It was a very satisfying experience for me to realize that in my college career.”

Florida wins national title in women's tennis

2011-05-27T01:49:00.000-07:00

Florida's Lauren Embree knew better than to try and hit with Stanford's Mallory Burdette so she just kept playing a steady volley game.

Embree survived a grueling third set tiebreaker to beat Burdette 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) and clinch the NCAA title for Florida.

"Mallory hits the ball so hard I knew I couldn't hit with her," Embree said. "I had to grind it out. I just wanted to fight as long as I could."

Hilary Barte gave Stanford (28-1) its first point at No. 1 singles, beating Allie Will 6-2, 6-4. Nicole Gibbs gave the Cardinal the lead 2-1 with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Sofie Oyen at No. 3 singles.

"I had my game plan and I executed it pretty well for the most part," Burdette said. "I'm proud of the way I played. It just came down to two points and I came up short."

Stacey Tan recovered from a first set loss to beat Joanna Mather 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 singles and give Stanford a 3-1 edge, but Alex Cercone returned the favor at No. 5 singles, beating Veronica Li 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 as Florida (31-1) closed to 3-2.

Olivi Janowicz's 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1 win over Carolyn McVeigh at No. 6 singles tied it.

Florida took the doubles point in convincing fashion.

"That was the most electric atmosphere I have ever experienced in my college career," Stanford coach Lele Forood said. "It was a great day. We just came up a little short."

Embree improved to 6-0 in tournament championship matches through her first two years, and finished the year on a 24-match winning streak.

"Lauren is one of those players you can depend on," Cercone said. "You don't want to put any pressure on anybody but when it came down to that match, I knew Lauren could pull it out. I know the heart she has and I'm just glad to be on the same team."

The Gators ended Stanford's 184-match home winning streak, which spanned 12 years and included two victories over Florida in the NCAA tournament.

"We knew it's not going to keep going into infinity," Forood said. "We'll just start over again. The streak doesn't mean a whole lot to us. It's interesting but it's trivia."

The Gators also learned why winning at Stanford proved so hard.

"We played at phenomenal levels to set the tone, but this match only proves how difficult it is to win here," Florida coach Roland Thornqvist said. "I don't know what it looked like on TV, but I can tell it felt like it took about 10 years off my life."

Embree, who went through two wrist surgeries since last year, played No. 1 singles last year for Florida while Will was at No. 2.

"When it came down to Lauren I knew we got the one we wanted at the end," Thornqvist said.

Tsvetana Pironkova out of Rome tournament

2011-05-25T02:15:00.000-07:00

Bulgaria's top-ranked tennis player Tsvetana Pironkova has been defeated in the first round of the Masters tournament in Rome, losing to former world number five Daniela Hantuchova from Slovakia in two sets (4-6, 2-6).

Pironkova, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year, has extended her losing streak to five consecutive matches, notching her 15 defeat at of the season so far.

With a very subdued and passive performance, Pironkova was trailing 1-5 in the first set, but her attempt at a comeback was shortlived and Hantuchova closed out the first set without too much difficulty.

The first set appeared to have sapped Pironkova's strength completely and she put up only a modest fight in the second set, committing too many unforced errors and showing little ability to find an answer to Hantuchova's aggressive play.

Cornet beats Sania

2011-05-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Sania Mirza, the world No.74, suffered a first-round defeat at the Strasbourg International on Tuesday, falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to Aliza Cornet, ranked No.80.

After dropping the first set, Sania roared back to win the second.

However, she lost steam in the third set, in which she dropped her serve thrice.

The results:

At Nice (Nice Open): First round: Ernests Gulbis bt Fabio Fognini 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Sergiy Stakhovsky bt Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-6(5), 6-3; Robin Haase bt Yen-hsun Lu 6-3, 6-4; Carlos Berlocq bt Andreas Haider Maurer 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.

At Strasbourg (Strasbourg International): First round: Marion Bartoli bt Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-2, 6-1.

Elena Baltacha bt Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 0-0 retired; Andrea Petkovic bt Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 6-1; Stephanie Foretz-Gacon bt Alonya Bondarenko 6-4, 6-1; Lucie Hradecka bt Ahsa Rolle 6-3, 6-4; Mirjana Lucic bt Christina McHale 7-5, 7-6(7); Alize Cornet bt Sania Mirza 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; Shuai Zhang bt Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-4.

At Dusseldorf (World Team cup): Round robin: Red group: USA tied with Kazakhstan (Mardy Fish bt Andrey Golubev 6-4, 6-2; Sam Querrey lost to Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 5-7, 5-7).

Argentina leads Sweden 1-0 (Juan-Ignacio Chela bt Christian Lindell 6-1, 6-1).

Blue Group: Serbia bt Russia 2-0 (Viktor Troicki bt Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-1).

[Dusan Lajovic bt Igor Andreev 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4].

Germany leads Spain 1-0 (Florian Mayer bt Marcel Granollers 4-6, 6-4, 6-2).

Injured Ana Ivanovic out of Strasbourg

2011-05-23T03:01:00.000-07:00

Former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic withdrew Tuesday from the WTA Strasbourg event with inflammation in her left wrist, her website said.

The Serb said that as the injury is not on her racquet hand, she expect to be fit for the start of the French Open on Sunday. The 2008 Roland Garros winner and former number one last played in a second-round loss a week ago in Rome.

“It’s always extra disappointing to have to withdraw while on-site at a tournament, because you’ve felt the excitement, and you’re looking forward to being part of it all,” she told her website.

“I’ve had this pain for a while now, despite physical therapy. My doctor has told me to rest it completely for a few days, and I’m having treatment twice a day.

“Considering that it is not my racquet hand, I can still practise, but backhands are out of the question for the next few days. I expect to be fit for Roland Garros.”

Sharapova, Clijsters among French Open favourites

2011-05-19T01:57:00.000-07:00

The French Open may be shorn of some of the big names in the women's game, and Caroline Wozniacki hardly inspires awe as top seed, but this year's tournament does have some intriguing sub-plots. First of all can Maria Sharapova prove everyone wrong by winning the French Open to complete her career G
rand Slam set?

The 24-year-old Russian last won a Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open after which she was wracked by a succession of injuries that left her wondering if her career would come to an abrupt end.

But she has stuck with it and has been gradually climbing back up the rankings with her first claycourt title win in Rome last week lifting her up to seventh, her best placing since she stood at sixth in November 2008.

The French Open has always been the hardest one to play for the gangly Sharapova who once described her movement on the slow, sliding surface as being like a cow on ice.

But with this year's tournament looking wide open, she is starting to fancy her chances of actually pulling off an upset win.

"Although I might not be the best mover on clay or the best slider or strongest player with the strongest legs, there is a lot more than these things in tennis and that is the reason why I won," she said after Rome.

"I'm moving better and I feel better and better with every year. I am stronger and this is one of the most important things that has helped me in that I recover a lot better. I feel stronger."

Clay has never been a problem for Belgium's Kim Clijsters who was brought up playing on the surface and who has twice reached the final in Paris.

But whether she will be fit enough to mount a serious challenge remains in doubt having been sidelined for six weeks after twisting ankle ligaments while at a cousin's wedding.

She has also been having wrist and shoulder pain and freely admits that she will not be 100 percent fit going into Paris where she hopes to make it three Grand Slam wins in a row after last year's US Open and the Australian Open in January.

"The past two weeks of playing tennis have made it clear," she said on her website. "Playing tennis is going wonderfully, I hit the ball very well.

"I dare and take more risks now. I am not totally without pain, but the strong tape around the ankle gives me sufficient security."

With Belgium compatriot and four-times former winner Justine Henin now definitively retired, there is also room for such accomplished claycourt performers as last year's surprise winner Francesca Schiavone of Italy and the woman she beat in the final, Samantha Stosur of Australia

Also worth a look will be powerful Belarusian Victoria Azarenka who is up to a career-best fourth in the world after tournament wins at Miami and Marbella.

Wozniacki meanwhile will once again be assailed with questions over how she can accept being the number one ranked player in the world despite having never won a Grand Slam title.

The 20-year-old Dane has consolidated her top ranking this year with tournament wins at Dubai, Indian Wells and Charleston but she has still to prove she has the big game to win a Grand Slam title.

Latest indications are that Wozniacki might be considering taking on as coach the legendary Martina Navratilova in a bid to harness her mastery of attacking skills to go with her own defensive prowess.

That partnership could work well according to tennis analyst Mary Carillo, a former US Tour player and a mixed doubles champion in Paris in 1977 with John McEnroe.

"Caroline's a lover of the long point, and she doesn't have to be," she said.

"There are many times when you're thinking, 'Just pull the trigger, already.'

"She's heard from any number of people that she needs to add aggression to her game - maybe it would take somebody like Martina to have it kick in."

It will be an emotional tournament for French fans with Virginie Razzano opting to play on despite the death on Monday of her fiance and former coach Stephane Vidal after a long battle with a brain tumour.

Venus, Serena Williams to help celebrate D.C. tennis center

2011-05-17T01:49:00.000-07:00

The tennis stars are helping Washington, D.C.'s Southeast Tennis and Learning Center mark its 10th anniversary this week. The center helps motivate kids in Washington through its academic and athletic programs.

"Lots of these kids, people have written off in the past," said Cora Masters Barry, CEO of the Recreation Wish List Committee, which along with the city's Department of Parks and Recreation, created the tennis center in 2001.

The Williams sisters will offer a tennis clinic at the center on Thursday and be the guests of honor at a dinner celebration Thursday night.

Since its founding, about 4,000 kids have participated in the center's programs, Barry said, and 30 have received tennis scholarships from schools including Penn State, Howard and Morgan State.

"Education goes hand in hand" with athletics, Venus Williams said. She added that her family has known Barry for about 10 years.

"They wanted to be a part of it," Barry said of the Williams sisters. The program's mission mirrored their youth in Compton, Calif. "They've been totally committed."

"It's been a great 10 years for the young people," Williams said.

The center offers programs for students age 7-17 during the week and a weekend program for children age 3-6, Barry said.

Children attending the center must have a 2.0 grade-point average in school to participate in the tennis program.

"Tennis is the hook, education is the key," Barry said.

"We encourage people to come out to the learning center to see what it's all about," Williams said.

Ana Ivanovic enjoy the city

2011-05-16T04:10:00.000-07:00

Ana Ivanovic enjoys sightseeing in Madrid

So after an early exit from the Mutua Open in Madrid, Ana Ivanovic stayed a little while longer in town. Just like she says on her official Facebook page:

Losing early at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open hurts. But there is one small consolation: the opportunity to see more of the city. This week I visited the botanical gardens at Park Retiro – so beautiful!

Ofcourse it’s a small consolation because a lot of us would have loved to see Ana Ivanovic reach far into the tournament. And perhaps even, dare I say, win it? Or would that be too far off? Well if it wasn’t for that then at least have her match up versus Dominika Cibulkova. Y’know, just to show Cibulkova who is boss and take her revenge for the Fed Cup misery.

At least my photographer, Ralf Reinecke, feels my pain of the early loss of Ana and did me a HUGE favor by shooting a stunning photo of Ana Ivanovic.

Sania Mirza born again?

2011-05-11T05:02:00.000-07:00

Jet-setting across the globe in pursuit of Grand Slams is a dream unique in itself. But trying to balance a marriage and excel on the WTA tour is a really tough challenge.

In India, very few women have attempted breaking traditions by pursuing their sporting careers even after marriage, but their careers have never taken off. Sania Mirza might once again prove to be the path breaker.

On the WTA tour, many women have dared to scale new heights after marriage. Kim Clijsters has obviously taken it to the next level by winning Grand Slam titles even after having a baby. As a married woman, Liezel Huber rose to world No 1 in doubles and still continues to be a force on the tour. But it will be more challenging for Sania because she has cultural and traditional issues to deal with in pursuing her dream. Having said that, I know Sania handles pressure much better than anyone I have seen.

Sania’s marriage to Shoaib Malik can be the best thing for her tennis, in my opinion. Being a top cricketer himself, Shoaib is in sync with the level of focus and hard work that any game demands. During the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, I saw that Sania was more at peace and on solid ground, with the support she receives from everyone around her.

Her primary goal, back in November, was to get into the main draw of Grand Slams in singles. She has achieved her target by rising to 73 in the singles rankings, which will ensure her spot in French Open and Wimbledon. After watching her tame Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, I hinted to her that her form reminded me of 2007 when she slammed her way into the final of the Stanford WTA event, beating top 20 players en route. Sania agreed and said that her confidence was also back on track.

In recent years, Indians have fared way better in doubles than in singles. Leander Paes’s best singles ranking was 73, but it’s his doubles game that propelled his ranking to No 1 in the world and gave him myriad Grand Slam titles. Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, too have been successful in doubles. This could be attributed to the fact that Indians are more adept at volleys and the angles that doubles demands. Also one cannot overlook the fitness level that’s required for singles. I can assure you that the singles court dimensions suddenly seem wider and bigger when you are a doubles specialist!

Sania has won 14 doubles tour titles but her priority has always been singles. Her best doubles ranking was 18 back in 2007 when she won back to back titles before the US Open. She has two Grand Slam doubles titles to her credit, one in juniors and the other in 2009, when she won the Aus Open mixed doubles with Mahesh.

In the beginning of this year, Sania had limited success with
Czech partner Voracova at the Australian Open, but after Doha, Elena Vesnina and Sania seem to have found that niche. Indian Wells was a break-through event for them, where they claimed the title without dropping a set.

Sania has the capability to play on the deuce court or the ad court. That kind of adaptability is rare. Her colossal forehand is one of the best in the game and it’s her racquet-head speed that helps her pound the ball. I can vouch that it’s a tad scary to be staring down the barrel of her forehand when your partner serves a loopy second serve. The reason why this pair is so deadly is because Elena packs a serious punch off her backhand shot. Thus, this combination of high-powered forehand by Sania and Elena’s backhand make them a force to reckon with.

Sania’s volleys have never been a major strength, but that is mainly due lack of opportunities. While her technique is sound, her comfort zone has always been on the baseline. But with so many top level doubles wins under her belt, her confidence in coming to the net is bound to increase.

The other factor that sticks out in the statistics of her recent matches are the tie-breaks, where Sania and Elena have succeeded each time. In general, tie breaks involve some amount of luck too. But the consistency with which the tie breaks have gone Sania’s way are surely disproving that theory. I have seen Sania during these crunch moments in CWG and during the Asian games. Her ability to raise the level of her game a few notches at crucial times is what separates her from others. It’s the choices you make — to go for broke or play safe or play with controlled aggression. Sania chooses the last of the three options predominantly and comes out in flying colours.

While she might have expected more of herself in singles in the US hard court season, her doubles ventures have not been in vain. She has climbed to a commendable ranking of 29 within a three-month period. If Sania will choose to focus on both singles and doubles this year, she will need to select tournaments wisely in order to have enough recovery time between events. Looking at her current form, I won’t put a women’s doubles Grand Slam title past her in the next year.

Sania-Elena in second round of Madrid Open

2011-05-06T05:32:00.000-07:00

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her partner Elena Vesnina of Russia registered an upset victory over eighth-seeded Czech pair of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova to move into the second round of the women's doubles euro 3,500,000 Madrid Masters tennis.

Sania and Elena came back from one set down to notch a 3-6, 6-1, 10-2 victory on red clay.

The duo will now take on Nadia Petrova of Russia and Australian Anastasia Rodionova for a berth in the last eight stage of the tournament.

Serena Williams and Venus Williams

2011-05-03T03:48:00.000-07:00

Serena Williams and Venus Williams’s unsure about French Open 2011.

The American world No.1 sisters, Serena Williams and Venus Williams are un-confident about their participation in the Up-coming Grand slam Open, French Open, which is scheduled to being form next month.

Serena Williams, the world No.10 player and a winner of 13-grand slam titles was out of tennis from July 2010, after winning the Wimbledon title. She was out, due to an foot injury which was occurred in broken glass, Germany and later she has been suffered with a pulmonary embolism in February, which has led to an Urgent operation.

Serena has said that, it was really frightening. However, she said that she is doing much better now and said that, she is going back onto the court and taking it slow. Sometimes it’s slower than, what she has would like. But it will all work out.

Venus Williams, the seven time grand slam winner was out of tennis, since the Australian Open Grand slam 201, due to an abdominal pain and a sore right hip.

Venus has stated that, the Ronald Garros is a great tournament and fun event and said that, both she along with her sister, Serena would definitely want to be there and it would be decided Sooner or later.

Ana Ivanovic leads casualties in Madrid

2011-05-02T06:01:00.000-07:00

Ana Ivanovic was the biggest name to fall on the first day of the Madrid Open on Monday, losing to Bethanie Mattek-Sands in three sets.

The Serbian and former world no.1 won the first set 6-0 but dropped the next two 6-4 to lose in one hour and 43 minutes.

Estonian Kaia Kanepi, the 14th seed, was also knocked out after a 6-7 (3) 6-1 6-4 loss to Germany's Julia Goerges.
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But world no.1 Caroline Wozniacki was too strong for Japan's Ayumi Morita, winning 6-2 6-3.

Fellow seed Marion Bartoli overcame Romanian Simona Halep 6-4 6-1 and Serb Jelena Jankovic was even more clinical in her 6-2 6-0 thrashing of Spain's Laura Pous-Tio.

Third seed Italian Francesca Schiavone was forced to work hard for her 7-5 7-6 (2) win over China's Shuai Peng, as was Maria Sharapova of Russia, who came from a set down to record a 2-6 6-3 6-2 win over Arantxa Rus of Holland.

Serb Bojana Jovanovski was forced into three sets to beat Greta Arn 6-4 2-6 6-3.

Swede Sofia Arvidsson recorded a 6-3 3-6 6-4 triumph over Aravane Rezai, while qualifier Chanelle Scheepers took two hours and 47 minutes for her marathon 4-6 6-3 7-6 (3) win against Monica Niculescu.

Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova breezed past Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-3 6-3, and Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja sprung a surprise 6-3 7-5 win over Italy's Flavia Pennetta.

United States qualifier Vania King did similar in her 6-1 7-6 (5) victory over more-fancied Russian opponent Nadia Petrova.

Italy's Sara Errani struggled early before overcoming Czech Klara Zakopalova 7-6 (6) 6-4.

Russian Ekaterina Makarova was impressive in disposing of Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-4 6-4 and Elena Vesnina was in form for her 6-4 6-3 win over India's Sania Mirza.

On the first day on the men's side of the draw, Swiss 14th seed Stanislas Wawrinka was a first-round loser to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4 5-7 6-4 in a two hour and 45-minute marathon.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga strolled past Spain's Nicolas Almagro 6-1 6-3.

Argentine Juan Monaco worked his way past Andrey Golubev 2-6 6-2 6-2, while Colombian Santiago Giraldo was too good for Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1 7-5.

Venus Williams and Serena Williams lead clinic

2011-04-29T04:12:00.000-07:00

Venus and Serena Williams lead clinic at Southeast tennis center

“The center is so important because, for us, it brings us full circle, growing up in Compton, California,” said Venus Williams, center (in black). “Coming back [to Ward 8] is similar because we see young people who really are us.”

Nearly every parent brought a camera, and every reporter wielded a tape recorder.

But the 150 children who descended on the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center on Thursday weren’t awestruck by the 20 Grand Slam titles or superstar status of their guest instructors.

And they weren’t concerned about whether Venus and Serena Williams plan to return to competition at next month’s French Open or at Wimbledon in June.

They just wanted to become better tennis players. And the near hour-long clinic with the Williams sisters gave them a chance to do just that.

“Serena is an excellent teacher!” proclaimed Tierra Holloway, 14, among those who hit with the four-time and current defending Wimbledon champion. “Every time she gave me advice, when I went back on court I hit better. She gave me many compliments on my tennis. And she told me my hair was pretty.”

The clinic, set to blaring music and emceed by the Washington Kastles’ exuberant coach, Murphy Jensen, was followed by an evening gala that also featured the sisters — all to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the tennis center.

With help from the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, the $5.1 million center has provided a safe place to play, learn and study for more than 2,000 children since 2001, using free tennis lessons as the lure.

Almost from the moment Cora Masters Barry envisioned the state-of-the-art complex in Ward 8, the Williams family — led by Oracene Price, Venus and Serena’s mother and a friend of Washington’s former first lady — has been a spirited supporter.

Said Venus Thursday: “The center is so important because, for us, it brings us full circle, growing up in Compton, California. Coming back [to Ward 8] is similar because we see young people who really are us. And it’s a great opportunity for us to really stay grounded and continue to do what’s important and to give back.”

The Williams sisters’ ascendance to the top of professional tennis is among the more remarkable stories in sports. Coached by their parents in a crime-ridden suburb of Los Angeles, they learned as young girls to hit with remarkable power and compete with ferocious will. And in 2002, they reached No. 1 in the world in turn.

But each has been sidelined by injury over the past year. And women’s tennis has suffered for it, as has the standing of American tennis. The last American to win a Grand Slam who was not named Williams was Andy Roddick, in 2003.

Serena hasn’t competed since winning Wimbledon, her 13th Grand Slam, last July 3. After cutting her right foot on in a freak accident four days later, she underwent two surgeries. Then in early March she was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital with a blood clot in one of her lungs and had a hematoma removed.

She resumed practicing just last week, triggering an Internet sensation after posting a photo of herself from the workout wearing a hot-pink bodysuit, later explaining that the form-fitting design provided compression that was helpful to her recovery.

Venus, 30, withdrew from the Australian Open with a hip injury in the third round. She hasn’t competed since, sidelined further by an abdominal injury.

Neither put a timetable on her return Thursday.

“I’m feeling better,” Serena said. “Just starting training a little later than I suspected. But it’s going slow and steady.”

Added Venus: “Of course our goal is [to return to competition] sooner rather than later. The one thing we learned from being away from the game is how much we love it. [Not competing] gives us opportunities to be out here, where normally we wouldn’t be able to. So we made the best of our time to do positive things.”

Thursday’s on-court vibes were positive, indeed, as boys and girls lined up to trade shots with Venus and Serena. Then the sisters moved to adjacent courts to work more closely with advanced students, who smacked the ball straight back at the champions without a trace of intimidation.

On one court, Venus, wearing black leggings and top, patiently demonstrated proper follow-through of a forehand for a tiny girl, taking her right hand in hers to complete the stroke in tandem.

“She’s not a yelling teacher,” Kayla Williams, 12, said about Venus. “She’s like a quiet teacher. She actually shows you instead of yelling at you!”

Serena, meantime, organized her charges into doubles teams, stood back and studied their skills.

“You guys are doing excellent!” said Serena, in green-and-white tie-dyed style capris and coordinated top. “But I want you to work on your consistency. If you have to hit it softer, hit it softer.”

Then she proceeded to rip a forehand to one corner of the court.

“She’s making her comeback right here at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center!” Jensen bellowed into his microphone. “She’s BACK!”

Serena Williams – Tennis Star and Rapper?

2011-04-27T01:58:00.000-07:00

Over the years, Serena Williams has extended her resume far beyond the tennis courts and shown a knack for getting people talking.

It looks like she will continue to do both, if recent reports are to be believed, for she has supposedly set her sights on rapping as she continues her recovery from her recent surgery.

TMZ is reporting that Williams has been spending time with producer DJ Clue in the studio of B Major Music Group, the record label of Minnesota Vikings standout Bryant McKinnie. According to those reports, Williams has recorded multiple tracks, although the purpose of the recordings is unclear. Some have speculated that the recordings may be the start of a music career, part of a charity project, or simply a fun diversion while she eases back into training.

Williams made recent headlines for appearing in a hot pink bodysuit during a practice session over a week ago, creating a media frenzy around her latest fashion statement, although she later explained that the bodysuit was necessary for keeping her stomach warm after last month’s surgery. Williams has been recovering from a blood clot in her lungs, for which she underwent the emergency surgery, and from a foot injury, which she suffered last year when she cut her foot on some glass.

Williams is currently ranked No. 10 in the world, despite having not competed for several months. She has not yet confirmed her plans for returning to competition, but rapper or not, we hope to see her reach fighting form again soon.

For any other 29-year-old recovering from multiple injuries and a significant break in training, not to mention juggling work in fashion and now possibly music, the road back to the top might seem near impossible. But this winner of five Australian Open titles, four Wimbledon titles, three U.S. Open titles, and two French Open titles has proven before that she is more than capable of bouncing back from a lengthy break in playing. After all, in 2004, she reached the French Open quarterfinals and the Wimbledon final after an eight-month hiatus from the sport. Many are crossing their fingers that she may be able to participate in this year’s Wimbledon.

While we don’t know yet if the recent reports are true, we are curious about your thoughts. Would you listen to Serena’s tracks? And how long before she will be ready to compete again? Do you think she has a chance of returning to the top?

Ana Ivanovic recalls Roland Garros memories

2011-04-26T01:53:00.000-07:00

Currently without a full-time coach Serbian Star, Ana Ivanovic has been taking women’s tennis to a whole new level.

2011 has been a productive year for the Serbian player Ana Ivanovic. After a jerky start at the Australian Open, she managed to reach the quarterfinal at Pattaya City and Indian Wells. She is currently ranked at number 18 among the WTA rankings.

Ivanovic was seen fishing out memories of her Grand Slam victory and the number one stance in a short interview for Adidas. The Serbian had reached the finals of two Grand Slams, the Australian Open and the French Open in 2007 and 2008. She was in prime form beating her rivals Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova in order to do so.

She took charge of the world tour and won her only Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. She revealed that she had an amazing time winning the title in 2008 and loves to recall those memories often. Ivanovic also mentioned a little about the Adidas. She explained about the comfort levels and the role that a comfortable dress plays in winning the title.

Ana Ivanovic will be giving her best at this year’s Clay court season. The Serbian will be expecting a few victories and a sturdy performance at the French Open this year.

Wozniacki still tops women’s rankings

2011-04-25T02:33:00.000-07:00

Even though she lost the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Germany on the weekend, Caroline Wozniacki continues to lead the WTA women's tennis rankings released Monday.

The Dane, who was beaten by local favourite Julia Goerges in straight sets in the final in Stuttgart, leads ahead of Kim Clijsters of Belgium and Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

The only change in the top ten was the swapping of places between Australian Samantha Stosur and China's Li Na, with Stosur moving back into sixth.

WTA top 10 as of April 25 (previous ranking in parenthesis):

1. (1) Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 9,970 points

2. (2) Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 8,115

3. (3) Vera Zvonareva, Russia, 7,615

4. (4) Francesca Schiavone, Italy, 4,892

5. (5) Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 4,630

6. (7) Samantha Stosur, Australia, 4,336

7. (6) Li Na, China, 4,300

8. (8) Jelena Jankovic, Serbia, 4,235

9. (9) Maria Sharapova, Russia, 3,726

10. (10) Serena Williams, United States, 3,035 – Sapa-dpa

Caroline Wozniacki continues to lead women’s rankings

2011-04-22T04:22:00.000-07:00

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark continues to lead the WTA women’s tennis rankings ahead of Kim Clijsters of Belgium and Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

Going into the tournament in Stuttgart, at which seven of the top ten will be participating, Wozniacki is on 9,930 points to give her a commanding 1,815 point lead from Clijsters in the rankings released on Monday.

WTA top 10 as of April 18 (previous ranking in parenthesis): 1. (1) Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 9,930 points 2. (2) Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 8,115 3. (3) Vera Zvonareva, Russia, 7,555 4. (4) Francesca Schiavone, Italy, 4,892 5. (5) Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 4,630 6. (7) Li Na, China, 4,300 7. (6) Samantha Stosur, Australia, 4,256 8. (8) Jelena Jankovic, Serbia, 4,235 9. (9) Maria Sharapova, Russia, 3,726 10. (10) Serena Williams, United States, 3,035.

Serena Williams gets her beach wiggle on

2011-04-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

Serena Williams looks in great spirits as she confidently shimmies down the beach in a mismatched bikini.

The the 29-year-old Wimbledon tennis champion put on a little dance as she relaxed with friends in Miami today. However, she came close to a double fault as her strapless bikini top clearly struggled to contain her ample bosom.

Williams has been recuperating in Miami following emergency surgery two months ago; an operation to remove a blood clot 'the size of a grapefruit' found in her lung in February. She developed a haematoma from a pulmonary embolism, stemming from an incident when she cut her foot on broken glass in a Munich restaurant last July.

She admitted to being very down recently, having being sidelined from her sport since claiming her 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last July. "I definitely have not been happy," she said. "Especially when I had that second (foot) surgery, I was definitely depressed. I cried all the time. I was miserable to be around."

Williams, who has slipped to world number 11 in her absence from the WTA Tour, is unlikely to return before the summer and admitted that the time spent on the sidelines had taken an emotional toll. A part of her lung had 'died' from the pulmonary embolism and she has remained on blood-thinning medication. While she hasn't been able to play tennis, she has managed to keep up with her lucrative sponsorship contracts.

A television advertisement featuring her curvy figure was recently released to promote Top Spin 4, a tennis game made for the Wii console. However, it is unlikely to be seen by many as the game's maker 2K Sports rejected it because it was deemed too raunchy.

Ana Ivanovic vs. Daniela Hantuchova-2011 Fed Cup Match Preview

2011-04-18T01:43:00.000-07:00

Serbian star Ana Ivanovic takes on Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova in the first of the Fed Cup rubbers between Serbia and Slovakia.

Ivanovic shot to super stardom in her dream season in 2008 with a Grand Slam, No.1 ranking and several other fabulous runs at various events to rise high in terms of popularity quotient in the international tennis arena.

Ivanovic picked up two titles last year in Linz and Bali and made an impressive start to the 2011 season with various confidence boosting wins in Pattaya and Indian Wells where she beat arch nemesis Jelena Jankovic in the pre-quarterfinals. Ivanovic came close to beating Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters in Miami but lost a three set nail-biter despite holding a series of match points.

Ivanovic's opponent, Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova recently returned to winner's circle with a win in the final of PTT Pattaya Open. Hantuchova also picked up some confidence boosting wins over some of tour's hottest players before the start of the American spring hardcourt season. Hantuchova is a two time Indian Wells champion and knows what it takes to beat the best in the business.

Both players have contested four matches before with Ivanovic leading the head-to-head 3-1. The Serbian won the pair's previous meeting in Melbourne after trailing 6-0, 2-0. Ivanovic is surely a favourite in this match and is likely to win it in two closely contested sets.

TennisEarth.com's Pick - Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.

Maria Sharapova To Battle Samantha Stosur In Miami

2011-04-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

Monday morning in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open at Miami, Florida, the glamour girl Maria Sharapova of Russia continues her comeback from a shoulder injury as she attempts to upset the fourth seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia.

However on paper, a win for Sharapova could not necessarily be considered an upset as the Russian leads the Australian head to head 6-0. In the duos last meeting at Tokyo in 2009, Sharapova steamrolled 6-0, 6-1.

In 2004 at age 17, Sharapova took her lone Wimbledon singles title in a breakthrough performance. Then one year later, the Russian would top the WTA Tour singles rankings.

A win for Sharapova could not necessarily be considered an upset as the Russian leads the Australian head to head 6-0.

In 2008, Sharapova reclaimed the world’s number one singles ranking before a shoulder surgery would keep her off the WTA Tour for nine months.

The 23 year old Sharapova since has struggled with her serve and shoulder at times. But the Russian nevertheless remains the world’s top female athlete money earner for several years running.

Sharapova’s overwhelmingly powerful baseline game could continue to prove troublesome for the athletic all-court game of Stosur as could the windy Miami conditions.

The 26 year old Stosur, possibly best known for her finalist finish at last year’s French Open and for her attacking volleys and piercing serve, will look to minimize her errors and rush Sharapova into difficult positions on the court.

Today’s winner could face the unseeded Shuai Peng of China in the quarterfinals and the top ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the semifinals.

At her prior WTA Tour tournament earlier this month at Indian Wells, Sharapova defeated Peng in 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the quarterfinals before turning in an error-filled semifinal performance to lose to the incredibly consistent Wozniacki 6-1, 6-2.

Sania Mirza claims doubles crown

2011-04-15T01:57:00.000-07:00

Sania Mirza, partnering Russia's Elena Vesnina, lifted her second WTA title with a straight set win over the American pair of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy in Charleston on Sunday.

The Indo-Russian pair, unseeded at the Family Circle Cup, beat the fourth seeds 6-4, 6-4. Three weeks ago, Mirza and Vesnina had beaten the same opponents to lift the trophy at Indian Wells.

Mirza and Vesnina, though won in straight sets, were made to stretch a little after they let slip a comfortable lead in both sets.
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After racing away to a 5-1 lead in the first, the Americans won three games in a row to make it 5-4 but Mirza and Vesnina managed to close out the set in the nick of time.

In the second, the Americans clawed their way back from a 0-4 deficit to even the set but Vesnina upped her game to secure the victory.

This is Mirza and Vesnina's fifth tournament together and the duo have been performing consistently since they joined hands. This was Mirza's 11th doubles title while Vesnina won her fifth.

"It helps we get along so well. If either of us isn't playing well, you don't get angry at your friends. We've known each other for really long. We play better every day and understand each other's games better. When the other one isn't playing as well, the other picks it up," Sania said.

"I think Sania has the best forehand on the tour. I see the eyes of the net player who's guarding the ball from her forehand. They're thinking, 'Oh my God, no, the Mirza forehand!'" added Vesnina.

Mirza also lauded her partner, who lost the singles final to Caroline Wozniacki.

"Elena has a lethal backhand and the forehand is my strong shot. Opponents run out of ideas what to do, considering they have only half the court to play in," Sania said.

"I think we've improved our volleys and are more confident too. With confidence you start to poach more and do stuff normal doubles players do. And since we're so heavy off the ground, it's easier for the player at net," she added.

Tennis star’s mum raises thorny issue

2011-04-14T03:17:00.000-07:00

SCOTTISH sporting hopes appear to be drowning “in a diet of chip fat”, according to the mother of Scottish tennis star Andy Murray.

The Scots diet and, in particular, the bad habits passed on to, or acquired by, the nation’s young people have prompted concern among politicians and health bodies for years, but perhaps people will sit up and take notice of Judy Murray.

There have been many initiatives to persuade people to eat, and drink, more sensibly, but they often appear to be dancing around the periphery of the real problems.

It has to be said that parents leave a lot to be desired in many cases. Whether it be bad behaviour in schools, teenage drinking or bad eating, poor parental control must be a major contributory factor.

Youngsters in households where alcohol abuse or poor eating habits are present grow up knowing nothing better. They simply end up emulating the example they have been set. They are influenced heavily, of course, by peer pressure and other outside influences, but parents also have a lot to answer for.

Judy Murray said extra PE lessons in school would help, but this again would require parental support rather than apathy. She was right to raise this issue, but the problem runs so deep one wonders if it is too late to reverse the damaging trend.

Serena Williams returns to tennis court

2011-04-13T01:41:00.000-07:00

Serena Williams grabbed her racket and got out on a tennis court Tuesday, which she said was her "first day back" after a series of health problems, including blood clots in her lung.

The 13-time Grand Slam singles champion and former No. 1-ranked player has not played an official match since she won the title at Wimbledon in July.

Shortly after claiming her fourth singles championship at the All England Club last year, Williams cut her foot on glass at a restaurant, an injury that led to two operations. The second surgery was in October, and she said she spent 10 weeks in a cast and 10 weeks in a walking boot.

The 29-year-old American was diagnosed in February with blood clots in her lung. After that, she said she needed treatment for a hematoma — a gathering of blood under the skin — on her stomach.

Williams has not said when she might return to competition.

Roger Federer started his clay-court season Tuesday by dispatching Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 6-2, 6-1, with precise shot-making at the Monte Carlo Masters.

In other matches, Ivan Ljubicic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, 7-6 (2), 6-4, and Milos Raonic downed Ernests Gulbis, 6-4, 7-5. Tomas Berdych defeated Olivier Rochus, 6-2, 6-3, to set up a match against Ljubicic.

Barcelona, Manchester United advance to Champions League semifinals

Lionel Messi scored his record 48th goal of the season Tuesday to give Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine as the Spanish club advanced to the semifinals of soccer's European Champions League for the fourth successive season.

Barcelona, a three-time European champion, had won the first leg of the quarterfinal series, 5-1, at home and took the series, 6-1 on aggregate, after the win in Donetsk.

Manchester United, another three-time champion, also reached the semifinals by completing a 3-1 aggregate win over Chelsea. Goals by Mexico's Javier Hernandez and South Korea's Park Ji-Sung gave Manchester a 2-1 win in Manchester, where Didier Drogba scored Chelsea's lone goal. Manchester had won the first game, 1-0, in London on a Wayne Rooney goal.

The quarterfinals conclude Wednesday with home games for Tottenham Hotspur, which trails nine-time champion Real Madrid, 4-0, and Schalke '04 of Germany, which leads defending European champion Inter Milan, 5-2.

Serena Williams reveals flaw in WTA rankings

2011-04-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

From the Department of No, Really, I bring you the following dispatch: Tennis star Serena Williams just moved up to No. 10 in the WTA rankings.

Yes, that would be the same Serena Williams who hasn't played a match -- not a single one -- since winning last year's Wimbledon. Who has suffered a frightening pulmonary embolism and endured two operations on an injured foot in the interim. Who has no idea if or when she'll return to the court. Who recently tweeted "umm ... why am I watching Sponge Bob?"

The same Serena who somehow jumped two spots in the rankings to become the only American, male or female, ranked in tennis' top 10. To borrow from Prince: Something in the water does not compute.

Look, I get it: The WTA rankings are based on a rolling, 52-week cumulative point system. Williams amassed a ton of points before she was sidelined. Players ahead of her in the rankings -- sister Venus and Marion Bartoli -- have lost points. The rankings are complex and nuanced and designed to reward sustained excellence without unduly punishing injured players ... blah blah blah. I really do get it.

I just don't care.

As a tennis fan with working eyes, I know that Serena is the best player in the world when healthy. And motivated. Right now, at least one of those things is missing. So a No. 10 ranking seems reasonable. What doesn't seem reasonable is moving up in the rankings without touching a racket for more than half a year. No matter how the system supposedly works.

It's one thing for, say, Ohio State to move up in the AP football poll because the Buckeyes had an off week and the teams ahead of them lost; it's another thing entirely for the Buckeyes to get a bump after sitting out the first five games of the year. Sports rankings shouldn't appreciate through passivity, rewarding a sit-and-hold strategy. If they function that way, then what's the point of playing games and keeping score in the first place?

Getting ahead by doing absolutely nothing is best left to the idle rich. Not athletes. Heck, even Max Bialystock had to go to the trouble of putting on a horrendous musical to turn a profit. Nothing against Williams -- or the WTA -- but when you can get closer to the peak without leaving base camp, it's the kind of thing that can't be understood. No matter how much it makes sense.

Sania Mirza in quarterfinals of Family Circle Cup

2011-04-08T04:05:00.000-07:00

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza advanced to the quarterfinals of the Family Circle Cup WTA tournament at Charleston with a straight-set victory over Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

Sania, who made it to the main draw through the qualifying rounds, beat the German wild card entrant 6-4 6-4 in the second round singles match of the $721,000 prize money clay court event.

She will now meet 11th seed Shuai Peng of China in the quarterfinals. Peng had upset seventh seed Russian Nadia Petrova 6-3 5-7 6-2 in another second round match.

Sania has also reached the quarterfinals in the doubles with her partner Elena Vesnina of Russia.

The unseeded Indo-Russian duo had pulled off a big upset by ousting second seeds and strong contenders Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymonds with a straight-set win in the first round.

In the doubles quarter-finals, they will take on the Russian-Australian combination of Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova.

Caroline Wozniacki wins Family Circle Cup

2011-04-07T02:55:00.000-07:00

World number one Caroline Wozniacki eased through her first match in the Family Circle Cup in Charleston with a 6-1 6-1 demolition of Irina Falconi.

Wozniacki, 20, took a 5-0 lead before rattling off six unanswered games to seal her American opponent's fate.

"I'm feeling good on clay, so it's exciting," said Wozniacki.

Second seed Samantha Stosur followed Wozniacki into the third round with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Germany's Patricia Mayr-Achleitner.

French fourth seed Marion Bartoli made an early exit, beaten 6-2 6-3 by 2009 Charleston champion Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

Maria Kirilenko, seeded ninth, fell victim to Anna Tatishvili as the Georgian qualifier recovered from the loss of the first set to triumph 5-7 7-5 6-3.

Wozniacki was forced to retire during last year's semi-final match against Russia's Vera Zvonareva when she hurt her ankle sliding on the green clay court.

"You think about it sometimes a little bit, especially when you go after drop shots," said the Dane.

"But on the other hand, this is a tournament that I've always enjoyed playing and centre court is so cosy."

Wozniacki, winner of titles this year in Dubai and Indian Wells, encountered little resistance from the 128th-ranked Falconi, who had never before faced a number one player.

"She was playing good, but I felt like I could put that extra step into the ball," added Wozniacki. "I made winners on the right chances."

World number five Stosur said her status as defending champion had given her a boost.

"I think it definitely lifts your shoulders up a little bit and puts a smile on your face," said the Australian.

World number eight Jelena Jankovic, the third seed and winner in 2007, also advanced, beating Austrian Tamira Paszek 6-2 6-3.

Russia's Nadia Petrova and Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, seventh and 10th seeds respectively, also cruised through without any trouble.

Petrova saw off Romania Edina Gallovits 6-1 6-1, while Hantuchova eased past Evgeniya Rodina of Russia 6-0 6-1.

Rezai falls, Kuznetsova advances in Marbella tennis

2011-04-06T03:05:00.000-07:00

France's Aravane Rezai fell at the first hurdle at the WTA Andalucia Tennis Experience tournament on Tuesday, suffering a straight sets defeat in the first round to Spanish wildcard Estrella Cabeza.

"I was expecting to hit more winners and it wasn't happening because this is clay. But I knew that if I kept fighting things might go my way, and I'm happy that I was able to do it."

Meanwhile, Rezai's serve was broken five times as the Frenchwoman could only convert one of her nine break point chances.

"Although she was one of the seeds and that she hits the ball well, I knew that she hadn't been in great form," said 24-year-old Cabeza after the biggest win of her career. "I tried to take advantage of that."

Russia's Dinara Safina avoided a similar fate as she advanced despite dropping her opening set before seeing off Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

"It's good to finally win one," said Safina, who had been 0-3 in three set matches this year. "Everything she hit was landing in, on the line. But I hung in there and the moment she thought that she could win she got tight and started to miss shots. So I think at the crucial moment my experience played a big part and helped me to win."

Fifth seed Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria eased into the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Spaniard Maria Teresa Torro with home hopes Lourdes Dominguez and Lara Arruabarrena also advancing to the next round.

Hungary's Agnes Szavay continued her return from injury with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Swede Johanna Larsson, and next meets Kuznetsova, with top seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus playing her first round tie Wednesday against Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja.

Serena Williams to launch range of nail polish

2011-04-05T02:14:00.000-07:00

Tennis ace Serena Williams is all set to release her own collection of nail polish in collaboration with O.P.I..

Williams plans to release the Glam Slam! France collection - which comprises two shades, Spark de Triomphe in glittery silver and Rally Pretty Pink - in time for May's French Open competition.

'Whether I'm on or off the court, style is important. In addition to watching the runways for the latest trends, I think it's important to add my own unique elements,' contactmusic.com quoted Williams as saying.

'With the new White and Red Shatter, I can customise my nails for a high-fashion take on the classically elegant silver and sunset shades in the Glam Slam! France collection.'

In 2009, Williams made debut in fashion industry by launching her own clothing collection on television channel HSN.

'First of all, everything in the collection is under $100. And everything you get from me is great quality. I think for those prices and this quality, it is a no-brainer,' she said.

She created her first collection of nail polishes last year.

Djokovic stockpiling more souvenirs

2011-04-04T04:25:00.000-07:00

Among all the things you could say about Novak Djokovic's grueling, 3-hour, 21-minute win over Rafael Nadal in the final of Sunday's Miami Masters event, this is perhaps the most unexpected: On a day when the South Florida heat and humidity were withering, Djokovic went toe-to-toe with a guy who's an absolute beast and accustomed to feasting on players who don't have comparable, bullish stamina, and ended up the last man standing.

Not that it was apparent until the very end. In fact, when Nadal pulled the trigger on a trademark running backhand winner to put Djokovic down, 5-6, 15-30 (and serving) in the third set, you could be forgiven for thinking that Djokovic was finished. Instead, he found a second -- OK, fourth or fifth -- wind and served his way into the tiebreaker. Then he flat-out pulled away from an increasingly discouraged, spent Nadal.

This was unexpected, and it wiped away any doubt that might still have existed about Djokovic's current status as the best player in the world. Djokovic just finished a perfect first segment of 2011 (I like to think of it as the Australian Open/early hard-court quarter of the year), going 24-0. He bagged one Grand Slam and two Masters 1000 titles. Most important, though, he compiled a 5-0 record against his two main rivals -- the men who have dominated tennis since around 2004.

Djokovic was 3-0 against Federer during this run. But his 2-0 record against Nadal is in some ways more impressive. After all, Djokovic's style matches up better against Federer than Nadal. That was obvious at the last major of 2010, where Djokovic beat Federer but couldn't crack the Nadal code. Has he figured out Nadal? That's questionable.

The tour now moves to Nadal's stronghold, red clay. It was on that European clay-court segment that Djokovic faltered last year, while Nadal utterly dominated it. He reminded us of that in his news conference here in Miami Sunday. "Yeah, that's one time in [my] life [I] win every tournament on clay," Nadal said. "Nobody does in the history, only myself, last year. So it's difficult to imagine two years in a row I can repeat that. [But] normally when I play well on clay I have a little bit more advantage, so let's see what's going on in one week in Monte Carlo."

Did I mention that Nadal has never lost at Monte Carlo, winning the past six titles on offer there?

Clay-court tennis requires a different brand of stamina than hard courts. It also requires more patience. On hard courts these days, the best players swing from the heels at the first opportunity and swing even harder if the ball comes back. Somehow, this style really suits Djokovic. Although he developed his game on clay, the modulation, patience and physical stamina it requires don't seem to come as easily to him.

It may be different now on at least one of those fronts. The Novak Djokovic whom we once saw grimacing and gasping for breath or interrupting matches because of the problems he had breathing has morphed into a mentally strong and physically flexible but durable specimen.

Djokovic is on a kind of high that can make a man do things that are thought to be beyond him. As Nadal told us after the match, "Well, he's playing with confidence, that's for sure. He has a perfect performance physically. I think he's healthy. He can run to every ball. Seems like he's less tired than before when he has to run a lot. He can [now] play long points and still run. So he's good. In general, the easiest thing to say is he's very good tennis player."

But as the clay season approaches, keep in mind that old saw: You can run, but you can't hide. Nadal will be waiting.

Maria Sharapova at Miami tennis

2011-04-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Sharapova reaches final of Miami tennis tournament

Russia's Maria Sharapova broke into the final of the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament with $4.5 million up for grabs in prize money after defeating Germany's Andrea Petkovic.

Sharapova (16-seed), playing for the first time in Miami since 2007, began her semifinal encounter on Thursday with a first set defeat, but rebounded quickly in the following two breathtaking sets to clinch a confident victory over Petkovic (21-seed) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.

"I'm almost lucky to be here. I had a tough one the other night and another three-setter today," WTA Website quoted Sharapova as saying, who had a grinding quarterfinal victory on Tuesday over Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5).

Petkovic was also firm on her way for the title in Miami and earlier knocked out the World's No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark from the tournament.

"Andrea has been playing the best tennis of her career and beat some good players here, so I was really happy I was able to change things around after losing the first set," Sharapova added.

Sharapova's contender for the title in Miami will be the winner between other semifinalists, who are 3-seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia and 8-seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Maria Sharapova Is Getting Her Groove Back

2011-03-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

Maria Sharapova, a former World No. 1 Russian professional tennis player, is regaining her champion status.

Recently, at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Maria Sharapova, the No. 16 seed, was victorious over the No. 4 seed, Samantha Stosur.

Sharapova, who holds a perfect 7-0 lifetime record over Stosur, moves on to the quarterfinals to face No. 26-ranked Alexandra Dulgheru, according to Long Island Tennis Magazine. Sharapova last won the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in 2004.

To view photos of Sharapova at the Ericsson open, click here.

Despite a shoulder injury in 2008, Sharapova is stepping up her game in tennis and proving she still wins battles.

Sharapova has won 22 Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles titles, three WTA doubles titles and three Grand Slam singles titles, consisting of the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 U.S. Open and 2008 Australian Open. She was also runner-up at the 2007 Australian Open. Since her shoulder injury in 2008, she has not recovered her championship form.

Sharapova became engaged to her boyfriend, NBA basketball player Sasha Vujaèiæ, after they had been dating for nearly a year. The two live in Los Angeles together and have often been seen in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Maria Sharapova's Olympic dream

2011-03-28T02:23:00.000-07:00

Three-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova says that the London 2012 Olympics is a huge target for her as she looks for a long-awaited run without injuries.

"The Olympics is one of my biggest goals, as an athlete growing up in Russia the Olympics was a huge part of our culture so I can't wait to be an Olympian.

"Hopefully I'll see my flag go up when I'm up on stage hopefully getting a medal so it'll be a really exciting part of my career."

After another spell out injured, Sharapova was delighted with her comeback performance in California, and she hopes to build on that in Miami in the next Masters event coming up next week.

"It was my first tournament since coming back, after Australia I missed a few events in Paris and then in Doha and Dubai. To be out of competition was tough so I'm really happy that I did so well in Palm Springs."

Sharapova also stated that another aim was to win the French Open - the only grand slam title to so far evade her grasp and on a surface that has not seemed to suit her game over the years.

With Justine Henin retired again and the Williams sisters struggling with injury and loss of form, Sharapova says a new era of player could be coming up to form the sort of rivalries she, Serena and Henin used to battle out.

Current world number one Carolina Wozniacki has come under fire for not winning a grand slam despite topping the rankings, so this year Sharapova believes the Dane will be going all out to win one of the big ones.

Serena sizzles in sexy tennis ad

2011-03-25T04:04:00.000-07:00

It’s billed as the battle between the world’s sexiest tennis player and the world’s sexiest tennis gamer.

And, on the evidence of the promotional video for the Top Spin 4 videogame, champion Serena Williams is playing for keeps.

The tennis star gives viewers a taste of the heated exchanges to come, wearing a revealing outfit as she replicates her crushing strokes on the PlayStation 3’s Play controller. She wears a high cut body suit that shows off most of her famously curvy behind, as well as a pair of thigh-high laced-up black boots.

Her opponent, actress Rileah Vanderbilt, isn’t sticking to the Wimbledon dress code either, working up a sweat in fishnet stockings, sexy high heels.

According to the Daily Mail, the video has been deemed to sexy for TV, with video game developer 2K Sports saying: “As part of the process for creating marketing campaigns to support our titles, we pursue a variety of creative avenues. This video is not part of the title's final marketing campaign and its distribution was unauthorised.”

It isn’t hard to see why. The advert is decidedly raunchy, featuring as many shots of derriere and sweat dripping down cleavage as it does of the actual tennis game. Williams and her opponent, however, seemed particularly pleased with the final product.

This week, Vanderbilt tweeted a link to the video.

“Check out my newest commercial with @serenawilliams! Directed by : @waltercmay http://tinyurl.com/4shvgue” she posted.

On the same day, Serena tweeted: “Stay tuned for a (sic) awesomely sexy video I am tweeting later..... Stay tuned......” The video, however, never appeared.

Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina

2011-03-24T01:49:00.000-07:00

Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina: Resurgence at Indian Wells 2011

Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina have posed, for women's tennis, as the couplet of failure for the last three years. Indian Wells, however, has been blessed thus far in 2011, in that it has witnessed some sort of resurgence.

Some sort of resurgence. Safina and Ivanovic, at this point in writing, have of course both been bounced out of the tournament by Maria Sharapova and Marion Bartoli respectively, players with no humble credentials themselves.

The most surprising thing about the stories of Ivanovic and Safina has certainly been the depths to which they have had to stoop in this process of career-realisation. Mind you, it was pretty hard to imagine anything going wrong with their upwards-trendy careers back in 2008—Ivanovic won the French after a year or so of movement towards the top, while Safina, the defeated finalist, hoped for great things herself.

Indeed, the Russian proved so for the next few months, and played the role currently held by Wozniacki, being a world number one without a slam title. Safina's chances were there, nonetheless, at the Australian Open and French Open finals in 2009. On both occasions she proved woefully out of her depth. Since then, Safina has failed to reach anything near the second week of a grand slam, yet alone maintain her name in the top 10.

Ivanovic, however, began to unravel quite quickly after her French Open title, and since winning her maiden major has been unable to reach the last eight of a grand slam. Indeed her swift success at the highest levels seems to have been costly—scarcely has she imposed her dominating game on any match since. Why Safina and Ivanovic, not to mention some of the other WTA women, fell so quickly is still something of a mystery.

Success, for some people, unleashes the pressure of expectation, and releases the floodgates, as it were. For the Russian and Serb, however, the pressures of expectation have proven too much.

It was nice, then, to see some sort of a revival at the Indian Wells tennis garden this week. Their performances were not classic comebacks—Ivanovic has lost, of course, which evidently ends any chance of seeing her lift the trophy. Neither is this the first moment in a long while that both have demonstrated something of their former selves. Their runs, nonetheless, are significant in their career development.

It is the first time Safina has won any string of matches in a long while, ending a series of consecutive losses. While this may seem elementary, every return is made with small steps. Safina's problems have been almost entirely psychological, and every bit of that winning feeling adds to the reserves of confidence she needs to build up.

For Ivanovic, on the other hand, we are seeing perhaps a glimmer of her former dominant self. Her victory over Jankovic, especially, is one of the first few times in the last few years she has earned a win over a top player. Jankovic used to be one of her rivals for the number one spot in 2008, and defeating her surely must have injected some confidence into her game.

At any rate, Safina and Ivanovic still have a way to go, but we have seen in their runs at Indian Wells this year something fundamental to tennis—confidence comes in winning.

Tennis stars to play football for Japan

2011-03-23T01:41:00.000-07:00

ATP players are once again jumping enthusiastically into charity work, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic among two who will play a benefit football match Wednesday prior to their starts at the Miami Masters.

The match to raise finds for earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan will be played against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, a minor- league pro team, with the contest held at a local high school to be followed by a benefit dinner with proceeds going to the Red Cross.

Others expected on the pitch will include Britain’s Andy Murray and Japan’s top pro Kei Nishikori, Frenchman Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez of Spain, Viktor Troicki of Serbia, Austrian Jurgen Melzer and Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.

“I’m very concerned for the people of Japan and think it is only right that we do whatever we can to help those in need,” Djokovic said. “I would love to see all of Miami support both events.”

Tennis has held several benefits over the last two years in aid of the Haiti and Chilean earthquakes and January’s Australian floods in Queensland.

Relentless consistency makes Wozniacki a strong World No.1

2011-03-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

The casual tennis fan finds the lull between the Australian Open and the Parisian clay an exercise in thumb twiddling.

The more observant one on the other hand, salivates the moment the Indian Wells tennis tournament gets underway, for it rarely fails to draw the top ranked players from both the men's and women's game.

For all the disappointment surrounding her loss to Li Na in the Australian Open, Caroline Wozniacki has continued to do what she does best. Just go out and play! Even her biggest critic could not possibly argue against her twin strengths of fitness and consistency. Her opponent in today's final, Marion Bartoli had been playing for the past two years without any success, so the match represented her chance to remind the tennis fan of that glorious fortnight at SW19 in 2007, where she used all her French bravardo to get to the final.

As it played out, the match gave us some very high quality tennis,with the defence of Wozniacki refusing to break down in the face of an extremely brave comeback from Bartoli. Wozniacki eventually prevailed 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.

From the very start Wozniacki kept hitting the ball deep, absorbing the power off the Bartoli groundstrokes. In the very first game, with Bartoli serving, a cross court backhand winner after running her opponent ragged from side to side, gave Caroline the early lead. It was also an indication of how the first set would go.

Even though Bartoli would break back immediately, it proved to be the only game she would win in the entire set. She kept being forced into errors as Wozniacki expertly moved her around the court. The Dane didn't hit too many winners, but ensured that the point was always long enough for Bartoli to make the mistake.

It also did not help that Bartoli struggled mightily on her serve. She faced break points in every single game and one single statistic is enough evidence in this case to prove just how dominant Wozniacki was in the return game. Bartoli won but 3 points on her own serve!

The first set seemed indicative of a quick match and the restless crowd did not seem overly keen to encourage a fightback. After all, there was the mouth watering prospect of the Nadal - Djokovic match on the men's side and most of them must have thought of the women's final as some kind of unknown opening act, before the supergroup took the stage.

Bartoli though evoked the spirit of her most famous win. In the Wimbledon semi-final against the now retired Justine Henin, she had lost the first set 1-6 and had fought back to win the match. From the recesses of her brain, those happy moments rose to the fore with a simply delightful display of agressive tennis. She won her first service game with a thumping ace and then proceeded to attack the Wozniacki serve.

The second game of the second set proved to be pivotal as Wozniacki was taken to deuce and the points became longer and longer but this time Bartoli was finding all the lines and all the angles. A scorching backhand cross court return set up the break point and Bartoli was rewarded for her efforts in the form of a 2-0 lead. She held her serve easily and in the face of this assault, the Dane seemed to need some paternal guidance and Piotr stepped out to the court to offer some advice to his ward.

Wozniacki finally managed to hold serve and get on the board for the second set and then fought her way to deuce on the Bartoli serve, but the Frenchwoman was undeterred by this brief semblance of a comeback, as she maintained her composure and took a 4-1 lead.

Bartoli's serve continued to move from strength to strength and the Danish number 1 had no answer, especially from the backhand wing and with another break of serve, the Indian Wells final moved to the final set, with the Frenchwoman in the ascendancy and the Dane wondering how a match she so singularly dominated had turned on its head so quickly.

The third set began with Bartoli serving and the rallies were long and of high quality. The opening game went to deuce. Wozniacki managed to win one of the longest points in the match and got her foot in the door with a break point. A sweet backhand pass down the line gave Caroline another break point. Bartoli was breathing heavily now, a sign that her inferior fitness might be tested soon.

Wozniacki broke and took the early lead as both players rushed for their towels after that exhausting game. Wozniacki held serve and then had a chance to take a commanding lead when Bartoli's next service game presented her with a 0-40 opportunity , however the Frenchwoman fought back gamely and Wozniacki's backhand inexplicably lost its range on three straight points. Bartoli had kept the bleeding to a minimum but she still had to recover from the early break.

On her next service game though, Bartoli served 2 double faults, in what was her worst service game of the match and got broken to love. Wozniacki was 4-1 up and the writing was on the wall. The Frenchwoman did manage to break back once and thus get back to 4-3, but the double break was just too much to overcome and in the end Caroline Wozniacki proved why at the end of the day, her relentless consistency is what makes her number 1 in the world.

Hantuchova Radwanska to get a beating

2011-03-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

Slovak tennis player Daniela Hantuchova with polka Agnieszka Radwanska failed in the doubles semifinals at the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, California (grant 4.5 million U.S. dollars).

Indo-Russian pair of Sania Mirza, Elena Vesnina succumbed for 69 minutes in straight sets 0:6 and 4:6.

The involvement of the elite quartet will take away a common premium $ 51,000 and 450 points in the world rankings deblového.

Hantuchova is twice winner of the singles in Indian Wells from the years 2002 and 2007.

Sania Mirza, Elena Vesnina (IND / Rus) - Daniela Hantuchova, Agnieszka Radwanska (SR / Pol.) 6:0, 6:4

Tennis: Ana Ivanovic knocked out

2011-03-17T01:54:00.000-07:00

Bartoli, Wickmayer reach semis in Indian Wells.

Marion Bartoli and Yanina Wickmayer grabbed the opportunity presented in the wide open bottom half with contrasting victories to reach the semi-finals. Bartoli made the best of her new found consistency to upend former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic’s dream of a grand return to top flight tennis with a laborious 64 76(4) victory and become the first player to reach the last four of the $4.5mn BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Yanina Wickmayer removed the highest remaining seed in the bottom half, when she thrashed the 10^th seeded Shahar Peer 63 63 in just 62 minutes.

In the first match of the day, Ivanovic failed to produce the tennis she brought to bear on defending champion Jelena Jankovic in the earlier round. Bartoli fired a thumping forehand down the line return winner to earn a breakpoint in the first game. For the third time in the game, Ivanovic drove into the net to offer an early break to the Frenchwoman.

With neither player serving well enough, the first three games went against serve before Bartoli held in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. But this was a contest in which the breaks came in a flurry and Ivanovic clawed her way back to even the score by the sixth game.

A sweetly timed lob at 30-30 in the ninth game allowed Bartoli to sniff yet another break and when Ivanovic dumped her forehand in the net, the 15^th seed served out the set with an elegantly smashed winner off a weak return.The second set was a see saw battle that contained an astonishing eight service breaks. While there was a lot to be desired about the quality of tennis being produced, the constant breaks of serve were providing for an intense phase that swung one way then the other. Ivanovic began the tie-break much the same way she had the first two sets, gifting Bartoli a mini-break with an untimely double fault.

With Bartoli serving at 5-4, Ivanovic rushed to the net only to dump the volley in the net. The Frenchwoman sealed the match with a big serve and an overhead smash to claim victory in two hours and 7 minutes. The match was characterised by the thirteen breaks of serve, corroborated by the fact that neither player managed to win even half the points on serve.

In the other match, the Belgian 23^rd seed was more than Peer could handle on the day. Wickmayer sprayed winners from all parts of the court to completely dominate the Israeli from the sixth game in the first set. At one point, Peer managed to win just a solitary game during a stretch of nine games.The 10^th seed offered a token of resistance towards the end by breaking the Belgian in the eighth game of the second set to get to 5-3. But in the very next game, Wickmayer took her first match point with a powerful forehand return that forced an error from Peer to close out the match.

Wickmayer will play Bartoli in the semi-finals on Friday, taking a 0-2 career deficit into the match against the Frenchwoman. Thursday’s action will see the top half contest their two quarter-finals. In what promises to be a cracking encounter, world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki will take on the in form Victoria Azarenka. The Dane has a slender 3-2 career edge against the world No. 9 Belarusian. In the other match, Maria Sharapova will take on the Chinese star Shuai Peng.

Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova enter Quarters in Indian Wells

2011-03-16T03:36:00.000-07:00

Ivanovic, Sharapova enter Quarters in Indian Wells

Ana Ivanovic was the brighter star as she lit up Stadium 2 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with some clever tennis and clinical execution to defeat the defending champion in straight sets. Ivanovic’s victory further defined the week as the place where former world no.1 players started to stitch together their comeback stories.

She was joined in the last eight by Maria Sharapova, who prevailed in another battle of ex-world no.1s, coasting past Dinara Safina in just over an hour to indicate that the Moscovite still has plenty of hard miles to put in before she can reclaim her former glory. The current world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki was made to sweat and toil to earn a hard fought come from behind 26 63 61 victory over Alisa Kleybanova.

Her main rival Kim Clijsters was laid low by an injured shoulder leaving the Dane safely perched on the top of the rankings, at least for the next two weeks. Clijsters was leading Marion Bartoli 61 13 when she decided it was enough, mostly to prevent aggravating her strained muscle.

The first match of the day featured the much awaited contest between the two Serbian former world No.1 players. While the match did not produce the drama expected of it, the contest more than made up for it in terms of superior planning and execution from the bubbly Ivanovic.

Ivanovic appeared to be the better organised of the two, building up her points to create an opportunity to kill them on her stronger forehand side. While Ivanovic was steady off her weaker backhand flank, she was very successful in avoiding being punished by the fearsome backhand power of Jankovic.The world No.21 made a strong start, breaking Jankovic with a backhand down the line winner to set the tone for a dominant performance. With Ivanovic playing steady tennis from the back of the court, Jankovic needed to win more than the 51% points she won on serve. The defending champion could save only 3 of the 7 break points she faced, as Ivanovic eclipsed her 64 62 in an hour and 24 minutes.

“I'm really happy about that, because she's tough opponent and she's been playing well lately,” Ivanovic said. “So I really tried to stick with the plan and to be aggressive, and take the ball early. That worked really well. Even when I was making mistakes, I didn't let myself get down for it. I just tried to be persistent and do the same thing over and over again.”

The prospect of a revitalised Ivanovic taking on Clijsters left us trembling with excitement for a while and when the Belgian won the first set against Bartoli in a flurry, a blockbuster quarter-final was taking shape faster than was expected. But then the world No.2 conceded an early break in the second set to fall behind 1-3, before walking up to the net to offer the match to the Frenchwoman.

"With those higher shots against the opponent today, I just feel it pinching a little bit more when I have to do that kick serve and when I have to reach that right arm up higher with the forehand," said Clijsters who won here in ‘03 and ‘05.

Wozniacki upheld a tenet of tennis at the very top – that of finding a way to win matches even while not playing at one's best. She recovered from a dismal first set loss to gradually gain ascendancy by wearing down her Russian opponent, who just ran out of legs towards the end of the match. Wozniacki ended the match on a strong note, breaking Kleybanova three times in the deciding set.

Maria Sharapova was ruthless in her destruction of 24-year old Dinara Safina, who had over the course of the last week given indications that there might be a resurgence in both her form and confidence. That might just have taken a bit of a beating on Tuesday with Sharapova crushing Safina 62 60 in a shade under 62 minutes.

Victoria Azarenka played the longest match of the day, needing just over three hours for a 46 63 76(3) victory over Agnieszka Radwanska. In a match riddled with error the two players traded service breaks as if they were selling power company futures in the aftermath of the nuclear threat in Japan. There were 17 breaks of serve in all before Azarenka came back from match point down to hand the Radwanska family a second defeat in two days.

The 10^th seeded Shahar Peer also needed three sets to eliminate reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone. After they split the first two sets, the players traded a break each in the final set before Peer clinched the match in the tie breaker to close out a satisfying 64 36 76(3) victory in two hours and 47 minutes. In another upset, the in-form Chinese star Shuai Peng, ranked 36 in the world, outlasted Nadia Petrova in another 2 hour plus slugfest 64 57 63.

Yanina Wickmayer blew the wick on Dominika Cibulkova’s brightly burning aspirations by clinching a closely contested 75 75 victory that took a little more than two hours.

Wednesday has a slightly lopsided schedule, with only two of the women's quarter-finals squeezed in between a host of men's fourth round matches. Ana Ivanovic will take on Marion Bartoli in a 1pm start on Stadium 1 Court, while Shahar Peer will have to wait for 7pm and the scenic surroundings of Stadium 2 for her match with Yanina Wickmayer. Caroline Wozniacki will battle with Victoria Azarenka on Thursday as will Maria Sharapova and Shuai Peng.

Indian Wells tennis: Jelena Jankovic, Kim Clijsters advance

2011-03-15T05:15:00.000-07:00

Former champions Jelena Jankovic and Kim Clijsters cruised into the third round by posting straight-set victories at the WTA and ATP Masters 1000 event.

World No. 2 Clijsters, who won in 2005 and 2003, swept past Russian Alla Kudryavtseva with a dominating 6-2, 6-0 victory in the second round of the hardcourt tournament.

Defending champion Jankovic also showed plenty of firepower, crushing Coco Vandeweghe of the United States in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.

"I was happy to be playing out on centre court," Clijsters said. "For a first match, I'm at a stage now where I haven't played for a while, and when I was playing, my last few tournaments were indoors.

"So I kind of just have to get back into playing outdoors again and big arenas, and just get a feel for it all over again."

There were three former women's champions in action Friday, including Serbia's Ana Ivanovic who defeated Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-4, 6-2 in Friday's evening session. Ivanovic won here three years ago.

The women's draw also includes world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark who lost in the final last year to Jankovic 6-2, 6-4.

Second seed Clijsters needed just 52 minutes to beat Kudryavtseva and advance to play Sara Errani. Italy's Errani defeated Jarmila Groth 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

Belgium's Clijsters clinched her match when the Russian's forehand return sailed wide left.

Clijsters could surpass Wozniacki with a strong performance in Indian Wells. Clijsters was ranked 133rd in the world when she won in 2005.

She hit three aces, won six of nine break-point chances and won 65 percent of the total points against Kudryavtseva. Clijsters won the second set in a blistering 21 minutes.

Jankovic began her title defence in equally dominating fashion, hitting four aces and winning 80 percent (20 of 25) first-serve points.

She is trying to become the first woman since Martina Navratilova in 1990-91 to win back-to-back Indian Wells titles.

"The last couple of weeks I have been starting to feel confident in my game," Jankovic said.

"She made a lot of mistakes. I didn't really know what to expect because I only played her once before at the US Open. But I knew she had a big serve."

Jankovic moves on to the third round where she will play Julia Goerges of Germany who beat Austrian Sybille Bammer 6-1, 6-3 on Friday.

In other key women's matches, reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy dominated Czech Zuzana Ondraskova 6-2, 6-0 and 12th seeded Petra Kvitova lost 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 to fellow Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Wozniacki, two-time Indian Wells champ Daniela Hantuchova and former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova of Russia play their first matches on Saturday.

In the men's draw, Milos Raonic of Canada hammered 10 aces and used his thundering forehand to overpower Turkey's Marsel Ilhan 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) in his opening match.

"I feel good. I feel like I played a lot better today," Raonic said. "My goal is to keep getting better and improving."

Raonic unleashed a 148-mph (238-kmh) ace in the second game of the second set against Ilhan in front of a crowd of 5,000 on an outer court.

He also had 140-mph and 138-mph serves in the final game of the first set but said he wasn't entirely happy with the way he was serving Friday.

"I didn't feel like I served all that well today," he said. "I have been working on improving my second serve."

Raonic hit one second serve early in the match that kicked up so high Ilhan had to use an overhead smash to get it back.

Raonic advances to the second round, where he will face American Mardy Fish, whom Raonic beat last month in the ATP Memphis semi-finals before going on to lose to Andy Roddick in the final.

"I look forward to it," Raonic said of meeting Fish again. "I feel like I am playing well from the back. If I keep this up good things will come."

In other men's matches, Igor Andreev of Russia defeated Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, Australia's Bernard Tomic outlasted Rohan Bopannna 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 and Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun defeated Australian Lleyton Hewitt 6-2, 6-3.

The men's draw heats up Saturday with world No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain facing South Africa's Rick De Voest and defending champion Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia taking on Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the second round.

Serena makes plans for July return

2011-03-11T02:07:00.001-08:00

Serena Williams, recovering from the removal of a blood clot in her lung as well as a nagging foot injury, plans to play tennis in July for the Washington Kastles of World TeamTennis.

The nine-team US league, which will stage a 36th season from July 4-24, announced on Thursday that Williams is scheduled to play in Washington on July 7 against the Boston Lobsters and when the Kastles visit Sacramento on July 9.

The reigning Wimbledon champion had said after her surgery for a blood clot that travelled from a leg into her lungs that she was hopeful of a summer return, but was unsure exactly when she might be back on the court.

The former world number one, a 13-time Grand Slam champion, would need to be ready by June 20 to defend her Wimbledon title. The women's final is set for July 2.

Williams has not played a top-level match since last year's Wimbledon final after cutting her right foot on broken glass at a restaurant last July.

Williams suffered a pulmonary embolism and underwent an emergency operation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles last week, a health scare she called "the scariest moment in my life".

"Luckily enough, I was able to catch it soon enough that my career won't be affected," Williams told NBC on Wednesday. "I love tennis and now more than anything I have so much to look forward to just playing.

"I really just want to come back and do well."

Venus Williams, Serena's elder sister and a five-time Wimbledon winner who has seven Grand Slam titles overall, plans to play for the Kastles on July 5 against visiting Kansas City despite being sidelined currently with an injury.

Venus Williams withdrew from the Australian Open with a right hip injury and has not played since, unable to defend her only titles from 2010 last month at Dubai and Acapulco.

Vera Zvonareva through as Ivanovic bows out

2011-03-10T01:10:00.000-08:00

Defending champion Vera Zvonareva moved into the semi-finals of the Pattaya Open in Thailand but second seed Ana Ivanovic was beaten by Roberta Vinci.

Zvonareva, seeking her third successive Pattaya Open title, defeated Peng Shuai 6-4 4-6 6-4 in two hours 27 minutes for her 13th consecutive win at the event.

In the last four she will face Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia after the fourth seed beat Akgul Amanmuradova 6-2 6-0.

Ivanovic lost 7-5 6-3 to fifth seed Vinci of Italy, the world number 38.

Zvonareva secured a break in the ninth game to gain the upper hand at 5-4 in the first set, and captured an early break in the second set to lead 3-1.

Her Chinese opponent, ranked 40th in the world, broke back in the next game to stay in the match and built a 5-4 lead, levelling the contest after the Russian served a double fault on set point.

In the decisive set, Zvonareva broke at the first opportunity and led 3-1 but handed it back in the fifth game. At 4-3, Peng had two break points on the Russian's serve but Zvonareva was able to hold the crucial game.

The top seed regained her composure to break for 5-4 and then saved two more break points to complete victory.

"I'd told myself come on, go for it, and luck was on my side," Zvonareva said. "It was just a few points that was there and there. I could have lost the match. I'm happy that I could turn it around."

Eighth seed Sara Errani of Italy rallied to beat Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva 2-6 6-3 6-2 in one hour 56 minutes and the world number 44 will now play compatriot Vinci in the last four.

Alisa Kleybanova, Marion Bartoli win in style

2011-03-09T02:36:00.000-08:00

Kleybanova, Bartoli win in style to keep glamour alive

Defending champion Alisa Kleybanova and second seed Marion Bartoli restored order and respect by winning their first-round matches in fine style in the BMW Malaysian Open tennis tournament at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort here last night.

The US$220,000 tournament lost its highest ranked player in French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy when she was knocked out by Australian Jelena Dokic on Monday. And the organisers heaved a sigh of relief yesterday as Kleybanova and Bartoli remained in control throughout the proceedings.

Kleybanova needed just an hour to defeat China’s Lu Jingjing 6-1, 6-1, who came through from the qualifying rounds.

The lanky 22-year-old Russian, who defeated the now retired Elena Dementieva to win her first WTA title last year, will be up against Michaella Krajicek of Holland tomorrow.

Krajicek defeated Tatjana Malek of Germany 6-3, 6-2 to set up a date with the defending champion, who is playing as the third seed this time.

“Really there was no game plan as far as this match was concerned,” said Kleybanova, who had defeated Jingjing in their only previous meeting last year in Beijing.

“I went out there and played tennis to the best of my ability. Defending the title requires me to take one hurdle at a time and I will do just that as the players in this tournament are no pushovers.

“I have played against Krajicek several times. It will be no different tomorrow as she is also familiar with my game. I will just go out there and try to make it to the next round.”

French player Bartoli also enjoyed an easy day on centre court as she brushed aside Maria Elena Camerin of Italy 6-0, 6-1.

Bartoli, who will take on Ekaterina Ivanova of Russia in the second round tomorrow, hammered away relentlessly in the second set and later expressed her satisfaction with the opening round show.

“I did not have to try too hard as it was not difficult. I was confident going into the match. I knew what I needed to do,” said the world No. 18.

It was also curtains down for another Asian player, Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugaran. She was blown away earlier by a rampant Bojana Jovanoski.

The Serbian won 6-0, 6-1 and will take on Urszula Radwaska of Poland in the second round.

Wildcard recipient Jarmila Groth of Australia defeated Sun Shengnan of China 7-6, 6-3 to move into the second round. Also winning her opening round match was Kurumi Nara of Japan, who got the better of Elena Bovina of Russia 6-3, 6-3.

Jelena Dokic beats Lucie Safarova

2011-03-07T02:12:00.000-08:00

Jelena Dokic beats Lucie Safarova to lift BMW Malaysian Open 2011 title.

Former world number four Jelena Dokic of Australia ended her nine-year title drought by defeating the fifth seed Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic in the final of the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

The 27-year-old veteran won her sixth Women’s Tennis Association title in a three-set thriller, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in 2 hours and 41 minutes. The Australian showed her vintage fight to bounce back from being one set down in the final.

Dokic was on the brink of defeat in the second set tiebreaker when she had to face two championship points. She showed her exemplary skills and sheer determination to fight her opponent and take the match away from her. “Lucie beat so many good players to reach the final this week,” said the Aussie winner in her post match reviews.

“I don't know where I pulled it out from today but I did. I even surprised myself.” Playing her first WTA final since 2003, Dokic was sluggish to start. Safarova took the initiative and capitalised upon the weakness of her opponent. The Czech failed to sustain the momentum she got at the start, resulting in a loss of championship later.

The 24-year-old Czech outperformed her Aussie opponent in most segments of the game, yet she failed to win. Her serve per cent was 64 for the match, including 6 aces and 9 double faults. Although Dokic cracked 13 aces, yet she spilled 11 double faults in the contest. She won 110 points in the match with Safarova bagging 116.

Safarova met Dokic’s sloppy start with aggression. The fifth seed broke early in the opener, leading 3-1. She won 75 per cent of her serve points to pressurise her opponent. The Czech successfully saved two break opportunities in the opening set and stung another break point to seal the first set at 6-2.

Taking the opener convincingly, Safarova carried her momentum in the following set. Dokic belted nine aces in the set but coughed five expensive double faults. Taking advantage of Dokic’s relatively poor serve, the Czech raced away to a 5-3 lead in the second set.

It appeared as if there was nothing left for Dokic in the game but an abrupt momentum swing in the ninth game changed the course of the game. The Aussie broke her competitor’s serve to level the match at 6-6, enforcing a tiebreaker. Safarova looked strong in the tiebreaker as well and got championship points at 6-5 and then at 8-7.

A forehand miss denied her on both occasions and Dokic stung a mini-break to take the second set at 7-6. With both women winning one set a piece, the decider was bound to be a thriller. Safarova gathered her pace to lead 3-1 in the third set as well. Dokic bounced back amazingly to win four of the next five games to lead 5-4.

The Aussie concluded the contest on her third match point with a powerful service winner. Dokic is projected to enter the top 60 players’ list this week with her triumph.

Marion Bartoli eases through

2011-03-05T00:50:00.000-08:00

Second seed Marion Bartoli breezed through the first round of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur with a straight-sets victory over Maria Elena Camerin.

The Frenchwoman saw off her Italian opponent - who served seven double faults - 6-0 6-1 in one hour and 12 minutes in the Malaysian capital. Bartoli now faces Ekatarina Ivanova after the Russian outduelled her compatriot Nina Bratchikiova 6-3 4-6 6-4.

Third seed and defending champion Alisa Kleybanova also cruised through 6-1 6-1 against Lu Jing Jing from China but number seven seed Kimiko Date-Krumm was upset by qualifier Anne Kremer, the Luxembourg player prevailing 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7/5).

Jarmila Groth beat Sun Shengnan 7-6 (7/2) 6-3, Bojana Jovanovski saw off Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-0 6-1, while there were also wins for Dinara Safina, Michaella Krajicek, Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara.

Serena Williams' pulmonary embolism: should you worry?

2011-03-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

Tennis star Serena Williams went through a scary health experience earlier this week -- a blood clot in her lung, or pulmonary embolism, that could have killed her. According to news reports, the condition developed after Williams had routine foot surgery in New York, then hopped on a plane back to Los Angeles where she lives.

The formation of dangerous blood clots is always a risk, but after foot surgery in a 29-year-old athlete? "It can happen, despite the fact that she's a fit, young woman," says Dr. Michael Jaff, medical director for the Massachusetts General Hospital Vascular Center.

Jaff says the fact that Williams traveled on a long plane trip with an immobilized foot following surgery raised her risk of developing clots. Sitting for prolonged periods where blood can pool in the feet can cause increased clotting especially if the blood is unable to circulate easily due to a bandage or cast. Those clots can then break free and travel to the lungs, where they can be fatal.

"I tell patients to try not to go on long plane trips or car rides in a leg cast," Jaff says. "If it can't be avoided, I'll prescribe blood thinners before the trip."

It's not known whether Williams was taking a blood thinner. Nor is it known whether she was predisposed to a higher risk of blood clots due to having a gene mutation, found in 15 to 20 percent of the population. If she was also taking birth control pills, that would have increased her risk even further.

Some 6 million people develop blood clots every year, and about 600,000 wind up with a pulmonary embolism. "But research shows that women who take oral contraceptives have three times the risk, and those with a gene mutation have five times the risk; if you combine the two, though, a person has 17 times the risk," says Jaff.

While the average person doesn't need to worry about developing a pulmonary embolism after, say, a nose job or gallbladder surgery, those having hip, knee, or pelvic surgery are more at risk and are usually given mechanical pumps or compression stockings to wear on their legs during surgery to keep the blood circulating, Jaff says. Plus, they might get blood thinners afterward.

Increased age can also be a factor, as well as the amount of time spent in bed recuperating from a procedure. "I'd be worried about the blood-clot risk in a 70-year-old cancer patient having hip surgery," Jaff says.

Since the gene mutation test is expensive, doctors don't perform it routinely, but those with close family members who've had blood clots might want to consider it to know, say, whether to avoid birth control pills or hormone therapy for menopausal hot flashes, which can also raise the risk of clots.

Those experiencing symptoms of a pulmonary embolism -- sudden severe chest discomfort, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat -- should seek emergency medical attention immediately.

Samantha Stosur climbs to world number four

2011-03-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

Another disconcerting defeat has not stopped Samantha Stosur from becoming Australia's highest-ranked women's tennis player in a quarter of a century.

Stosur climbed one position to number four in the world on Monday, despite squandering another winning lead in her 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) loss to Serbian Jelena Jankovic in the quarter-finals of the WTA event in Dubai.

No Australian-born player has reached fourth in the WTA standings since Wendy Turnbull in 1985.

But rather than celebrate her lofty position, Stosur will be intent on reversing a run of tight losses to avoid a rankings freefall over the coming months.

The 26-year-old French Open runner-up led Jankovic 3-0, 4-1 and 5-3 in the deciding set in Dubai before once again failing to close out the contest.

Stosur also wasted winning chances against Italians Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta in Australia's Fed Cup quarter-final defeat in Hobart this month and also lost close encounters last month to Svetlana Kuznetsova in Sydney and to Petra Kvitova at the Australian Open.

The pressure is now on Stosur to raise her game and defend a mountain of rankings points accrued during last year's claycourt season.

Sania Mirza suffers crushing defeat to Jankovic in Doha

2011-03-01T03:52:00.000-08:00

It was always going to be a tough match for Indian tennis star Sania Mirza against 5th Jelena Jankovic, but she would have definitely hoped to put on a better showing as she was soundly hammered 6-0, 6-1 in the second round of the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha.

Sania’s poor serving in the second set of her first round encounter yesterday seemed to spill over into today as she managed to land only 26% of her first serves in the opening set. While she did get away with it against her young, inexperienced opponent yesterday, Jankovic proved to be a vastly different kettle of fish and did not let the opportunity go by winning 13 of 19 points on the Mirza serve to break thrice and win the first set to love in just 28 minutes.

The second set started off similar to the first with Mirza being broken in her first service game and with her down 0-3 15-40, a double-bagel scoreline looked on the cards. Fortunately for the Indian, she did manage to win four consecutive points to avoid the embarrassment, although that mattered little as she was broken in her next service game as well to allow Jankovic to serve for the match. The former world no.1 duly completed the assignment at hand, wrapping up the win in just over an hour.

Jankovic will now play Klara Zakopalova in the quarterfinals. Zakopalova scored an upset 6-2, 6-1 win over Australian Open finalist, Li Na.

Sania Mirza and her doubles partner Elena Vesnina, with whom she reached the quarterfinals in Dubai last week, will open their campaign later tonight against the Spanish-Romanian pair of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Monica Niculescu.

Ana Ivanovic visits Wild Wadi Water Park in Dubai

2011-02-28T01:39:00.000-08:00

Former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic may not be on her on-court BEST, but off it, she finds plenty of places to forget the pressures of competitive tennis and relax, this time it was the famous Wild Wadi Water Park in Dubai near the iconic Burj Al- arab.

Ivanovic, who was in Dubai last week for the premier WTA event, took time out to enjoy the visit to the Water Park without getting drenched in some of the most amazing slides and rides that the Park has to offer.

"I am really thrilled to be back here (in Dubai). I actally feel very welcome here,"said the Serbian star.

Ivanovic had an injury hampered 2009 season which saw her withdraw from a series of top level matches after which she decided to take a break and nurse the injuries. The Serbian then returned to winner's circle after two years and won a title in Linz, followed by a season ending Commonwealth Bank of Champions title in Bali.

Ivanovic has a Grand Slam title and a runner up finish from French Open and Australian Open respectively, both of which helped her in rising to the top spot in WTA rankings in 2008.

Easy win for Davis Cup star in Games clash

2011-02-24T00:41:00.000-08:00

The promise remained just that a promise! The men's tennis final at the 34th National Games didn't become the contest it was supposed to be, Karan Rastogi getting past Tamil Nadu's Mithun Murali with surprising ease even as the women's title-clash produced a shock if you weren't following Ratnika Batra over the past couple of days.

The Delhi girl, who had accounted for second seed C Nidhi of Andhra Pradesh in the quarter-final and No. 3 Prerna Bhambri in the semi-final, swept past top seed Zainab Ali Sajjad 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday to clinch gold.

In table tennis, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra lifted the team titles, Sharath Kamal powering the former to tight victories in the semi-final and the title clash while Maharashtra shocked Bengal 3-1 in the women's final. The Maharashtra men tamed Gujarat 3-1 for gold.

With Poulami Ghatak missing from their ranks, Bengal depended a great deal on Mouma Das but the two-time national singles champion lost both her matches. In contrast, Maharashtra's Madhurika Patkar won both her matches, against Nandita Saha and Mouma and Mamta Prabhu chipped in by defeating Mouma. Ankita Das won the only match for Bengal when she tamed Pooja Sahasrabudhe.

The men's semi-final between defending champions Bengal and Tamil Nadu made for an absorbing tussle, Sharath Kamal winning his two matches to take TN to the decider, where Bengal's Sourav Saha didn't have the patience or the game to tackle the relentless returns of R. Abishek, who must be the only defensive player in the country's table tennis

Rastogi, who will be flying out on Sunday to join his Davis Cup teamamtes in Serbia, won 6-3, 6-2, Murali never quite getting into the match to put the Maharashtra player under pressure. The man from Coimbatore was broken in the fourth game of the first set, the third and seventh games of the second set and was under severe pressure in a few others without being able to take Rastogi to break-point even once.

For most part of the match, it was a baseline duel with the two often just waiting for the other to make the mistake. Rastogi did set up a few points that he finished at the net but Murali just stayed pegged to the baseline.

Delhi girl Ratnika, broken in the very first game, bounced back to open a 4-1 lead before closing out the opening set. She again ran away to a 4-1 lead in the second set before Zainab needed attention for cramps in her right upper arm. Not quite herself, the Andhra girl could only watch Ratnika seal it without too much effort.

Bhavani Devi beat Reesha Puthusser in the all-Kerala final of the women's sabre at the fencing hall. The men's epee gold and silver went to Manipur with S Jayenta Singh getting the better of statemate N Sandhiraj S 15-12 in the final.

Sania Mirza booms past Jovanovski

2011-02-23T01:47:00.001-08:00

Wildcard Sania Mirza used her booming forehand to quell the challenge of Serbian Bojana Jovanovski and storm into the second round of the Qatar Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday.

The Indian star won 6-2, 7-5 but not before surviving a mid-match crisis of confidence when she was a break down on two occasions before her ferocious groundstrokes bailed her out and put her into the path of another Serbian, the fifth seeded Jelena Jankovic. “I have fond memories of Doha, where India won several medals in the Asian Games in 2006, including a few in tennis,” Mirza said after her victory.

“But I also remember I twisted my ankle the last time I was here for the Qatar Open,” she added for good measure. Mirza’s forehand was always one of the best in the business, but over the years she has failed to develop other aspects of her game, resulting in poor results. A knee and wrist injury also didn’t help.
And yesterday too, Mirza’s absolute reliance on attack was more than evident from the start as she secured three breaks as against Jovanovski’s one to take the first set easily.

In the second set, she went a break down after the fifth game, but fought back gallantly to return the compliment to level at 3-3. The Indian, however, was broken in the seventh game as the Serbian again went ahead.

Mirza then squandered a couple of break points in the next game and fell 5-3 behind before securing two more breaks to close out the match.

Kanepi pulls out

Doha: Estonia’s top tennis player Kaia Kanepi has pulled out of the Qatar Ladies Open because of a fever. Kanepi, who currently stands at number 16 in the WTA rankings, was to play Shuai Peng of China in the tournament’s first round yesterday, but made the decision to pull out due to a high fever, according to an announcement on her website.

The 25-year-old Estonian had been performing well in recent tournaments, just missing a shot at the quarterfinals in Dubai. She will be making her next appearance in early March at the BNP Paribas Open.

Caroline Wozniacki on her way to becoming an 'it' girl

2011-02-22T01:28:00.000-08:00

The victory by Caroline Wozniacki in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships sets up a fascinating storyline for the 2011 season, and the women's game almost certainly will benefit from it.

Perhaps more than any other sport, tennis thrives on star power, and Wozniacki is beginning to have that "it" look.

Reclaiming the world No 1 ranking while on the grounds of the Aviation Club last week would seem to stamp her as a player unlikely to fade back into the pack, and just in time to give Kim Clijsters a real rival.

The women's game is a bit battered at the moment. Several of the most glamorous players are hurt (Serena and Venus Williams) or struggling (Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic) or newly disappeared (Justine Henin), but Wozniacki seems to be ready to step up as an enduring addition to the game's elite.

The fear was almost palpable that her run at the top might be as fleeting as those of Jelena Jankovic or Ivanovic, leaving Clijsters as a figure overshadowing the game, at least for now.

But by marching through the field at Dubai, Wozniacki demonstrated a strength of mind as well as a game strong enough to indicate that Clijsters has at least one rival to concern her, here and now. After all, the Dane is the one who just took the world No 1 ranking back from her.

The final in Dubai may have been disappointing, with Svetlana Kuznetsova's blizzard of unforced errors getting as much attention as Wozniacki's victory, but taken as a body of work, Wozniacki had a fine tournament.

She dismissed lesser opponents, she fought back from three set points to blunt a strong challenge from Jankovic and her very presence on the other side of the net seemed to unhinge both Shahar Peer and Kuznetsova.

The film director Woody Allen famously said "80 per cent of success is showing up" and Wozniacki seems to have digested that bit of wisdom. She does not have to play beyond her capabilities to win, and just by "showing up" she turned Peer and Kuznetsova into jelly.

Wozniacki also showed a bit of edge when she made clear, at least on her Twitter account, that No 1 matters to her. Tennis will never rival, say, boxing for chest-beating, but the electronic exchange between Wozniacki ("got my number one ranking back") and Clijsters ("Congrats :-) ha ha") practically constitutes trash talk in their more refined world.

The game now has "Caroline versus Kim" as a starting point for all further discussion and a focal point for all further examination. History indicates that a "who is No 1?" rivalry can practically carry this sport, and Wozniacki just demonstrated her readiness to be part of the discussion.

Ana Ivanovic to go it alone

2011-02-21T01:36:00.000-08:00

Former No 1 Ana Ivanovic will play the Dubai Championships this week after sacking her latest coach, with the Serb determined not to rush any future choice of a replacement mentor.

The 2008 French Open champion who has rescued her WTA ranking back to 19th, parted company only days ago after a trial period with Antonio van Grichen, an arrangement which only began before the 2011 season.

Ivanovic, who won two of her last three 2010 tournaments, appears to be following the examples on the men's side from Andy Murray and Roger Federer. Murray is still without a coach since last summer while Federer went for years basically on his own until hooking up last summer after Wimbledon with Paul Annacone.

Ivanovic, who split with Swiss Heinz Gunthardt in 2010 after a trial run, said that she intends to go it alone for some months, She believes life will be less complicated as she heads into a first-round match at the Aviation club with Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.

The 23-year-old who has been to the top of tennis and back, told Gulf media that she's a grown-up player who can direct her own life on court.

“When you're 14 or 15 and getting into the routine, then you need someone to push you and point you in the right direction,” she said.

“I'm at the stage of my career when I know what my goals are and when I know I have to work hard in order to succeed. There is no need for someone to repeat it into my ear every day.”

The best showings for Ivanovic in Dubai were quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009, her last appearance.

The Dubai field has been hit by defections, with two-time holder Venus Williams declining to return to aim for a trophy hat-trick due to injury. Maria Sharapova, losing finalist in her only previous appearance five years ago, withdrew with a virus.

The field is headed by former No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who was replaced at the top spot Monday by Australian Open winner Kim Clijsters, who is taking a break this week after losing a Paris indoor final at the weekend.

Ivanovic remains convinced that she can find the way to win matches on her own.

“If I play at my best, regardless of anything else, I will win. That is why I don't worry much over tactical variations,” she said.

But she said a coach can bring advantages. “They are really good at tactics but I sometimes pay too much attention to the technical aspect of my game that I forget what I am really doing.

“I over-analyse everything, that's why I've decided to give it a rest. I'm not looking for a new coach and we'll see how it goes.”

Sania takes guard for India in Fed Cup

2011-02-20T22:12:00.000-08:00

The Indian Fed Cup team is up against a mountain as it were in the Asia-Oceania Group I competition to be held in Nonthaburi, Thailand from February 2 to 5.

India's front runner Sania Mirza, who hit the National Tennis Centre early on Sunday in order to prepare and acclimatize, strained her hamstring and is down with fever, adding to the team's woes. The 24-year-old Hyderabadi, however, will not shirk from national duty as she battles to be fit for the tournament.

India is grouped in Pool A along with the Na Li-led China, Akgul Amanmuradova's Uzbekistan and Tamarine Tanasugarn's Thailand. Pool B is comparatively lighter with Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei. The format of the competition with the number two players clashing first, followed by the number ones, is not going to make things easier for the Indians.

Sania, 24, who has climbed to No. 135 in the rankings this week, was candid about India's chances. "It is going to be extremely tough for us since we are grouped with top teams like China, Uzbekistan and Thailand."

The fact that India doesn't have a solid enough second singles player unlike China and Thailand were both -- Jing-Jing Lu and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn -- are ranked in the top-200, could work against them. India No.2 Poojashree Venkatesh, 20-years of age, is ranked 534 while the other two members -- Rushmi Chakravarthi and Ashvarya Shrivastava -- are ranked 574 and 806 respectively.

If Li, the new world no.7 and Australian Open finalist, weighed down by her campaign in Melbourne, pulls out of the competition, it may open up the field.

Sania said, "My wrist is feeling fine, but I've had a few niggles, my hamstring is bothering me. Also, I have a slight fever, but hopefully I should be fine by the time the matches get under way on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to the competition."

Sania, who tested former World No.1 Justine Henin in the first round in Melbourne after coming through the qualifiers, put down the gains of the first Grand Slam of the season to 'confidence'. The Hyderabadi said, "It was a good tournament for me. I gained the confidence of winning three good matches on the trot and also the knowledge that I can still compete with the likes of Henin."

After the Fed Cup the Indian will train her sights on the Tour where she is scheduled to play in Pattaya, Dubai, Doha and Kuala Lumpur. Sania has sacrificed a great number of weeks on the Tour to do national duty -- Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and now Fed Cup -- which significantly doubles her workload in the coming weeks.

Tennis teams face different weekend tests

2011-02-18T00:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend will present important tests for both Terrapin tennis teams, but for entirely different reasons.

Fresh off two upsets against ranked teams, the women's team will look to continue its soaring start Sunday against ACC foe Virginia Tech. The No. 57 Terps haven't won an ACC game in almost three years, and the weekend slate offers a prime opportunity to snap that streak.

The No. 63 men's squad, meanwhile, will look to follow a 5-2 loss at home against No. 30 Virginia Tech with bounce-back successes against two unranked teams this weekend. Coach Kyle Spencer hopes that matches against UNC-Wilmington and Radford will lead them back to their winning ways.

"They're both very good programs that have a history of making it to the NCAAs," Spencer said. "We have to get out on a positive note from the start and stay disciplined and have a lot of energy throughout the matches."

To be successful this weekend, the Terps will count on sophomore Tommy Laine. The Finn has been very consistent for the Terps, prevailing in every singles match this season (5-1) besides his battle with Justin Shane of No. 1 Virginia.

"Tommy has done great for us so far," Spencer said. "He's a super-hard worker in practice. Even if he doesn't have his best stuff one day, he'll always give us 100 percent effort. He also is a real, positive force of energy that affects the team."

The women's team, meanwhile, continues to soar. As soon as the Terps leaped into the ITA Rankings for the first time in four years after their win over Brown two weeks ago, they proved their recent success was no fluke with a win against No. 55 Harvard last weekend.

"It's definitely a good thing," coach Howard Joffe said of the team's position. "It's an emblem of what we've been doing at a grand level. Teams sometimes get seduced to being content with the rankings and lose sight of what we've set out to do, which is to be a strong team that competes nationally for a long time."

The Hokies' unranked standing has handed the Terps (5-1) what might seem like an unusual challenge. As a rare favorite in an ACC matchup, the Terps could have a target on their backs for the first time in a while. Joffe, however, believes there is still much to be done to be a consistent threat.

"In my mind, we're not a favorite," Joffe said. "Virginia Tech has a very good team, and we still haven't won an ACC match in a while. But our real, long-term goal isn't to beat Virginia Tech, but to become a top-10 team nationally and perform well every time we go out there."

Li Na visits exclusive Ottoman inspired Jumeirah Zabeel

2011-02-16T00:44:00.000-08:00

Chinese star Li Na took some time out from her training schedule ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to visit the Ottoman inspired Jumeirah Zabeel Saray.

This spectacular beachside resort is located on the west crescent of the exclusive Palm Jumeirah, and offers exhilarating views of the Arabian Gulf and Dubai’s impressive skyline. The hotel is lavishly decorated in exquisite style reminiscent of the magnificent era of the Ottoman Empire.

During her visit Li was given a sneak peek at the soon to open, and what is destined to be one of the largest and most opulent spas in the world (covering an area of 8000 square metres) and ventured into the traditional hammam. Throughout the centuries, the hammam was not only a place for bathing; it was a cultural tradition revered as a focal point for relaxing, meeting friends, associates and celebrating special events.

One special event Li will certainly be looking forward to is her start in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. As one of the top seeds, the 28-year-old from China has been handed a bye in the first round and will then come up against the winner of Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer and wild card Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia in the second.

“It is a great pleasure to have Li Na back in Dubai,” said Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of tournament owners and organisers Dubai Duty Free. “She was in spectacular form at the Australian Open recently where she progressed all the way to the final and we are looking forward to seeing some of that form on display here at the Dubai Tennis Stadium in the coming days,” he added.

“Dubai has much to offer visitors and it is great to be able to see some of the sights before the tournament starts,” said Na. “It has been a good year so far and I am hoping that this will be a good tournament for me.”

Notes: The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Play begins on February 14th with the WTA Tour event and continues with the ATP tournament from February 21st that includes Australian Open and reigning Dubai champion Novak Djokovic, four-time Dubai winner Roger Federer and Australian Open finalist Andy Murray.

Tennis: Justine Henin reveals pain of retirement

2011-02-15T00:45:00.000-08:00

Justine Henin has revealed she is in mourning because of her retirement from tennis due to a persistent elbow injury.

The seven time Grand Slam winner quit after losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the at the Australian Open and said that at the age of 29, it was time to hang up the racquet for good.

Despite quitting the game for the first time in 2008 due to the grind of the tennis circuit, Henin admits she is going to struggle with life away from the court. "I regard ending my career more like a sentence that's been handed down than a decision I've made. The will is there, but physically I can't [carry on]. Now I have to mourn the end of my career.

She added: "I'm going to miss all the great feelings you have as a professional tennis player. I hope I'll pick the racquet up again one day, but more than anything I want to live a normal life."

Henin first injured her elbow at Wimbledon in June 2010 and needed an operation but says the injury was still causing her problems six months later in Melbourne.

The Belgian star consulted with doctors after the tournament but came to the decision that she couldn’t carry on at the top level anymore.

She added: "It got to the point that I needed 10 minutes in the morning just to get my elbow functional.”

Sania Mirza to participate in Qatar Ladies Open 2011

2011-02-14T00:44:00.000-08:00

Indian tennis player Sania MIrza will participate in the 2011 edition of Qatar Open to be organised by Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) from February 21 to 26.

The was announced by QTF yesterday. The 24-year-old player is aiming to retain her good form and register positive results in Doha after her disappointing performance in the last seasons, a QTF press release said.

In April 2003, Mirza made her debut in the India Fed Cup team, winning all three singles matches. She also won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls’ Doubles title, teaming up with Alisa Kleybanova of Russia. Later in 2005, Mirza reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams.

On February 12, 2005, she became the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title, defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the Hyderabad Open Finals. As of September 2006, Mirza has notched up three top 10 wins; against Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Martina Hingis Sania won the silver in the women’s singles category and the gold in the mixed doubles partnering Leander Paes in the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

She was also part of the Indian women’s team that won the silver in the team event. Mirza started her year with the ASB Classic Open in Auckland. She needed one more win to qualify for the tournament, but lost in three sets against Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.

She then competed at the 2011 Australian Open – Women’s Singles Qualifying where she won three straight matches to qualify for the main draw. In the first round she went down fighting to former world No. 1 Justine Henin.

The tickets for the 2011 Qatar Ladies can be purchased through the official website of Qatar Tennis Federation www.qatartennis.org . Fans also can get their tickets from Villaggio, City Center and Landmark as well as Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.

Ana Ivanovic: Unseen Pictures

2011-02-11T02:55:00.000-08:00

Ana Ivanovic is a Dance Machine

So anyone else got teary eyed when they looked at the WTA rankings to find Ana Ivanovic back in the top 20? I would like to say “Atta girl” but somehow I managed to set off a real tearjerker speech in my head.

I would love to write it down and share it with you dear readers but alas, the best I can do is a tribute to that wonderful epiphany. Since a photo is a thousand words I will upload 25 photos but that is not even close to the amount of words I had in my head.

Last month at the Australian Open Ana was very open about her personal life. She told that breaking up with golfer Adam Scott was one of the reasons for her downfall on the WTA rankings. Which is totally understandable. I mean who hasn’t had his life turned upside down after a break up?

“It’s tough,” the 2008 French Open champion said. “I think it’s better not to mix professional life and personal life, although that’s hard.

“If you’re happy in your private life that will affect your tennis and that will help you, actually.

“While you want to pursue your career 100 per cent, I think it is very hard to give 100 per cent in something else.”

She still believes she can win another major but that is what I have been saying for years now. And even though she got her form back in the latter part of 2010 and despite the early loss this year at the Australian Open, I believe that she can come back and the take the world by storm starting with a spot in the top 20.

But next to being a true winner, Ana also has dance moves. Not just dance moves but THE moves:

Tennis: Maria Sharapova has unfinished business

2011-02-10T01:33:00.000-08:00

If there is one player tennis fans are looking forward to watching at this year's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premier event which starts on February 14, it has to be the glamorous Russian, Maria Sharapova.

Besides being the richest sportswoman in the world, she is also a great crowd-puller for her exploits on the court which have seen her win three Grand Slam titles. She's back to play in Dubai, having reached the final in 2006 and having been forced to pull out in 2008.

In a recent interview to XPRESS, she said: "I believe that if I play my best it's difficult for a lot of players to beat me. It's important also to be 100 per cent healthy which I have been for some time and that has been my biggest opponent in the last few years."

The 23-year-old Russian had dropped out of the world's top 100 after a serious shoulder injury took her off the WTA tour for nine frustrating months through 2008-09. But although she has struggled a bit since returning to the game, she is happy to be playing at all.

"Like I said my own health has been my biggest opponent. There's a lot of very talented players out there who can win the big events and I've got to keep on working hard to put myself in the best possible position to win those," she said.

Sharapova revealed that winning in Dubai is one of her goals, having lost to Justine Henin in the 2006 final, the last time she played here. The other and an even bigger goal, she said, would be winning an Olympic medal. "Oh for sure. The Olympic Games and representing Russia there is a big goal of mine. It's a unique event and an opportunity to play for your country once every four years."

Last season was a successful one for the world No 13, as she won titles in Memphis and Strasbourg and reached the final of three further events in Birmingham, Stanford and Cincinnati. Now she is ready to take a further step back to where she knows she belongs.

"My body feels the best it has in a long time and I am confident that my results will keep improving," said Sharapova.

Kim Clijsters wants World No1 spot back

2011-02-09T00:48:00.000-08:00

Kim Clijsters hopes to regain the head of the WTA tennis rankings this week and the Belgian needs to make the semi-finals of the Paris-Coubertin tournamemt to overtake Denmark's incumbent Caroline Wozniacki.

"I won't say this does not interest me, it would be great to manage it again during this my second career," said Clijsters, who was top for 12 weeks in 2003 and seven in 2006 before her retirement and subsequent return to the game two years later.

"When I first took top spot, I was in the same position as Caroline Wozniacki because I had not yet won a Grand Slam," said Clijsters who now has four - the US Open in 2005, 2009 and 2010 and the 2011 Australian Open.

Wozniacki is yet to win a Grand Slam and Clijsters added fuel to the fire Tuesday adding that taking the World No 1 spot "does not have the same impact as winning a big tournament, it doesnt change your life, so if it doesn't happen this week I won't be too upset."

The 27-year-old won the tournament during her only other appearance here in 2004 and starts her current campaign against Germany's Kristina Barrois.

Status on SA Tennis Open 2012

2011-02-08T01:21:00.000-08:00

Will Kevin Anderson be the last to lift the SA Tennis Open?

Following the monumental success of the SA Tennis Open, and Montecasino playing host to the tournament for three consecutive years, the ATP does not have the SA Tennis Open in their 2012 calendar.

South African Tennis Association has known since November last year that the SA Tennis Open has been removed from the 2012 ATP calendar and they have been keeping mum.

“We are not on the 2012 calendar and it will be a sad day if we don’t put the tournament back on, but I don’t think it will be the end of tennis in this country. We did not have it for a while and tennis continued,” said Ian Smith, South African Tennis Association CEO and tournament director.

“We have other initiatives going on like Soweto Open and development programmes around the country," said Smith.

Explaining the problem, he said it arose "because we had a contract with South African Airways and ATP for three years and it was up at the end of this event".

He added: "There are other tournaments that have been moved around.

“I am in discussions with the ATP to keep us on the calendar.”

The ATP had to reduce the number of weeks of competing on an international level. The players felt that the calendar was too long. The ATP had already taken a decision to reduce 2012 calendar by a few weeks starting on November 5.

Women’s tennis gears up for match against Florida

2011-02-07T00:55:00.000-08:00

North Carolina women’s tennis will try to avenge last season’s loss to Florida in the NCAA Tournament final four in a top five matchup at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center on Saturday.

Coming off a win against No. 12 Notre Dame on Saturday, the No. 5 Tar Heels will now face No. 2 Florida. Both teams are undefeated.

The Tar Heels improved to 5-0 Saturday on the season after beating their second top 25 opponent, the Fighting Irish. The Tar Heels also beat No. 15 ranked Georgia last weekend in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

New NCAA rankings come out on Feb. 8, and the top five will likely remain the same. Defending national champion Stanford sits atop the polls and is also 4-0. Baylor and UCLA round out the top five at number three and four, respectively.

Florida stands at 7-0 on the season after taking care of Winthrop 7-0 on Jan. 30th. The Gators ended the Tar Heels season last year in the national semifinals 4-0. That was the second time that Florida beat the Tar Heels in 2010.

The Tar Heels also lost in Gainesville last March 6-1. In a postgame interview at the Notre Dame match, head coach Brian Kalbas didn’t hesitate to bring up two of the Tar Heels five losses of the 2010 season at the hands of Florida.

“We’re just going to keep working this week. Keep getting a little better and practice hard,” Kalbas said.

At this point, Kalbas said there is no solidification of the lineup.

“We have such a deep team. We really go nine deep,” Kalbas said. “And we have confidence that anybody can step in at any time. It’s important that our players keep pushing to get in the lineup and keep pushing to get better.”

The Gators feature four players in the top 30 Intercollegiate Tennis Association women’s national singles rankings, including sophomore Allie Will who is ranked at No. 7.

The Tar Heels highest ranked singles player is Zoe De Bruycker at No. 13.

Will and Sofie Oyen make up the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the nation according to the ITA.

Junior Shinann Featherston and sophomore Lauren McHale will likely face Will and Oyen in doubles on Saturday.

Junior Haley Hemm, who is undefeated in singles dual matches on the season, said she will do this week what she and the team does every week in practice.

In a stretch that started with Georgia on Jan. 30 and ends with a match at Northwestern, the Tar Heels will have played at least four teams in the top 25 and probably more depending on what happens in the ITA weekend indoor championships in Virginia on Feb. 18-21.

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Anderson surges over Sela in Johannesburg

2011-02-04T02:45:00.000-08:00

Kevin Anderson from South Africa marched into the Quarter finals of the SA tennis Open on Thursday as he dismantled Dudi Sela from Isreal 6-2, 6-4 at the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tennis tournament in South Africa. Anderson slammed a total of 13 aces and managed to convert five break points to take the win in 1 hour eight minutes.

The Johannesburg native has been doing great this year as he kicked off the season with a semi final appearance at the Brisbane International. Anderson made the fact of three Africans in the draw of an ATP event possible after it was a fact in the year 1996 almost 14 years ago. Karol Beck from Slovakia will be Anderson’s next opponent. Beck beat Go Soeda of Japan in three tough sets 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 to register his place in the quarterfinals

Adrian Mannarino came from being a set down to defeat Denis Gremelmayr, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 in 128 minutes. His next opponent will be Canadian Frank Dancevic who ended hopes of local qualifier Frits Wolmarans with a straight set victory 7-6(4), 6-3 and marched ahead in the tournament.

Sania takes guard for India in Fed Cup

2011-02-03T01:01:00.000-08:00

The Indian Fed Cup team is up against a mountain as it were in the Asia-Oceania Group I competition to be held in Nonthaburi, Thailand from February 2 to 5.

India's front runner Sania Mirza, who hit the National Tennis Centre early on Sunday in order to prepare and acclimatize, strained her hamstring and is down with fever, adding to the team's woes. The 24-year-old Hyderabadi, however, will not shirk from national duty as she battles to be fit for the tournament.

India is grouped in Pool A along with the Na Li-led China, Akgul Amanmuradova's Uzbekistan and Tamarine Tanasugarn's Thailand. Pool B is comparatively lighter with Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei. The format of the competition with the number two players clashing first, followed by the number ones, is not going to make things easier for the Indians.

Sania, 24, who has climbed to No. 135 in the rankings this week, was candid about India's chances. "It is going to be extremely tough for us since we are grouped with top teams like China, Uzbekistan and Thailand."

The fact that India doesn't have a solid enough second singles player unlike China and Thailand were both -- Jing-Jing Lu and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn -- are ranked in the top-200, could work against them. India No.2 Poojashree Venkatesh, 20-years of age, is ranked 534 while the other two members -- Rushmi Chakravarthi and Ashvarya Shrivastava -- are ranked 574 and 806 respectively.

If Li, the new world no.7 and Australian Open finalist, weighed down by her campaign in Melbourne, pulls out of the competition, it may open up the field.

Sania said, "My wrist is feeling fine, but I've had a few niggles, my hamstring is bothering me. Also, I have a slight fever, but hopefully I should be fine by the time the matches get under way on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to the competition."

Sania, who tested former World No.1 Justine Henin in the first round in Melbourne after coming through the qualifiers, put down the gains of the first Grand Slam of the season to 'confidence'. The Hyderabadi said, "It was a good tournament for me. I gained the confidence of winning three good matches on the trot and also the knowledge that I can still compete with the likes of Henin."

After the Fed Cup the Indian will train her sights on the Tour where she is scheduled to play in Pattaya, Dubai, Doha and Kuala Lumpur. Sania has sacrificed a great number of weeks on the Tour to do national duty -- Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and now Fed Cup -- which significantly doubles her workload in the coming weeks.

Li Na final rallies tennis fans in China

2011-02-01T02:05:00.000-08:00

Last weekend's Australian Open Women's final was an extra special moment in tennis for China.

The nation was mesmerised by Li Na, the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam singles final.

So it's not surprising that nearly 15 million viewers watched the match, where Li Na played World Number Two, Kim Clijsters.

Clijsters won, but Li was far from down.

Her achievement is expected to encourage more young players in China to pick up a racquet.

Marino, Raonic rocket up tennis rankings

2011-02-01T01:59:00.000-08:00

Rebecca Marino has cracked the WTA Top 100 world rankings for the first time in her career — jumping 20 places to claim the No. 84 spot.

The hard-serving, 20-year-old Vancouver native reached the second round of the Australian Open before dropping a 6-3, 5-7, 9-7 decision to French Open champion Francesca Schiavone. Marino, who is in Serbia now to represent Canada in Fed Cup competition this weekend, was pleased with her new ranking.

“Cool! 84th ranking, that’s a nice surprise for today!” she tweeted Monday.

Marino lost a hard-fought 7-6, 6-3 contest to U.S. superstar Venus Williams in the second round of the U.S. Open last year before winning three straight ITF tournament singles titles.

Her surge up the world rankings came as 20-year-old Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., cracked the ATP Top 100 on the men’s side — moving up 58 spots to No. 94 after an impressive Australian Open performance. The powerful, six-foot-five Raonic made it to the fourth round of the Grand Slam tournament before dropping a four-set decision 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to David Ferrer of Spain.

Women’stenniswinsITAKick-OffClassicfirstround

2011-01-31T01:18:00.000-08:00

The second-ranked University of Florida women’s tennis team defeated College of Charleston, 6-0, Saturday morning in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Classic played at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.

The win extend the Gators’ regular-season home-winning streak to 93, including 82 consecutive overall home victories.

“I thought we played pretty well,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We had moments in doubles where we weren’t as focused, but we got off the court quickly when we were supposed to in singles.”

With today’s win, Thornqvist improved his record to 294-79 in 15 years of collegiate coaching, including a 219-29 mark in 10 seasons with the Gators.

Florida (2-0) earned its first point against College of Charleston (0-1) with wins at the No. 2 and 3 doubles spots. Lauren Embree (Marco Island) and Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) won the first doubles match with an 8-1 victory and Alex Cercone (Seminole) and Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay) clinched the doubles point with their 8-0 win.

In singles play, Janowicz earned the first singles point with her 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Kelly Kambourelis at the No. 5 position. Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) was not far behind in her victory over Irene Viana, 6-1, 6-0.

Freshman Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) clinched the match with her 6-1, 6-3 win over Charleston’s Kinsey Casey at the No. 3 spot, but Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Embree still had time to record wins at the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively.

“I felt a lot better than I had in doubles play,” Embree said. “I felt more confident in singles too, but not quite as good, but I still played well throughout the match and tried to keep my focus.”

Florida awaits the winner of the other first-round ITA Kick-Off Classic match played in Gainesville between Winthrop and William & Mary. The second-round championship match will be played Sunday at 1 p.m., following the consolation match that begins at 10 a.m.

The winner of the second-round advances to the round of 16 for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships held in Madison, Wis., February 18-21.

Women’s College Tennis

No. 69 College of Charleston at No. 2 Florida
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Final Score: Florida 6, CofC 0

Doubles

1. (1) Sofie Oyen/Allie Will, UF v. Emma Hayman/Irene Viana, CofC, 5-3
2. Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather, UF d. Christin Newman/Kelly Kambourelis, CofC, 8-1
3. Alex Cercone/Olivia Janowicz, UF d. Caroline Newman/Katie Lee, CofC, 8-0*

Singles

1. (7) Allie Will, UF d. Christin Newman, CofC, 6-0, 6-0
2. Lauren Embree, UF d. Emma Hayman, CofC, 6-2, 6-2
3. (96) Sofie Oyen, UF d. Kinsey Casey, CofC, 6-1, 6-3*
4. (30) Joanna Mather, UF vs. Caroline Newman, CofC, 7-5, 2-1, DNF
5. (22) Olivia Janowicz, UF d. Kelly Kambourelis, CofC, 6-0, 6-2
6. Caroline Hitimana, UF d. Irene Viana, CofC, 6-1, 6-0

Order of Finish: Doubles: 2, 3*; Singles: 5, 6, 3*, 2, 1

*indicates clinching doubles point and dual match victory

Read more:

Tennis: India's reunited duo storm into final

2011-01-27T01:57:00.000-08:00

Reunited Indian stars Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes came through a tight Australian Open semi Thursday to set up a final with hattrick-chasing American twins Bob and Mike Bryan.

The Indians, seeded third and making their Grand Slam comeback after splitting in 2002, beat Belarusian Max Mirnyi and Canadian Daniel Nestor 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3 to reach their second Australian Open final.

Bhupathi and Paes's previous final appearance was way back in 1999, when they lost to Swede Jonas Bjorkman and Australian Pat Rafter. The last of their three major titles came at the 2001 French Open.

"We felt the only trophy missing from our collection was the Australian Open," Bhupathi said.

"We both felt we had a shot at winning it if we play together. We've tried and come very close in the past and a lot of people thought we were crazy but now we are two sets away from winning."

Paes said the tempestuous pair had to talked about reuniting in the past but the timing had never suited.

"I've asked Mahesh a few times before but he was doing well with his partner and he's asked me a few times before but I was doing well with my partner," he said.

"So there are times we've tried to come together before but the timing's not been right. It's pretty amazing that first Slam back, we're in with a chance of winning it."

Meanwhile the Bryans beat the unseeded duo of American Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer from the Netherlands Antilles 6-3, 6-2.

The American pair have won nine Grand Slam titles together, including four of the last five Australian Opens, and are aiming for a third straight win in Melbourne in Saturday's final.

The Indian pair were earlier involved in a heated clash with Juan Monaco and Feliciano Lopez which brought their match to a halt as they argued at the net, and needed to be broken up by officials.

"We're really happy to be playing the Bryans in the final," Paes said. "We both enjoy playing the Bryans so we're looking forward to that. We enjoy their fast pace and their style of play.

"They have a particular style of play and we have a particular style of play so it makes for a great final."

Argentine-Italian duo Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta will contest the women's doubles final against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Russia's Maria Kirilenko on Friday.

Roger Federer's friendly rivalry with Rafael Nadal

2011-01-25T00:40:00.000-08:00

Roger Federer says his respectful and friendly rivalry with Rafael Nadal has had a beneficial effect on the cut-throat world of men's tennis.

In a world sport peculiarity, Federer and Nadal get on surprisingly well with each other at the top of men's tennis, in contrast with other great rivalries.

Federer, who moved into an eighth straight Australian Open semifinal on Tuesday, is edging towards what many expect will be a showdown with world number one Nadal in Sunday's final.

"I think he's always been quite respectful," the 16-time major winner said of his Spanish rival. "Obviously, he's younger than me, maybe he looked up to me at the very beginning.

"So I think he was always very respectful. I've always been the same to any opponent really.

"From the start he didn't speak much at the very beginning, he was shy, but as time went by, we had to spend more time together, and we played more against each other.

"I don't want to say that we hang out more together, but we saw each other more and started to speak more together.

"It was always friendly and it was always very nice. So from this standpoint, we never really had any issues together."

Federer said it was their convivial relationship that helped make for more friendliness between other players on the men's tour.

"I always thought it was actually good to be nice to younger generations coming in instead of making them feel like this is going to be hell for you," he said.

"I just think it's nice to respect each other and be friendly to each other. I'm sure it rubbed off on Rafa (Nadal).

"I think when they see the two of us being the biggest rivals in the sport actually to speak to each other and be somewhat friendly, I think that rubs off on the other players as well.

"Tennis is a fierce, tough sport, but at the end of the day it's only a sport. There's so much more to life. I think maybe that's a little bit what I've been able to show many other athletes."

Tennis: Li Na says tennis career shaped by father's death

2011-01-24T00:51:00.000-08:00

Chinese tennis star Li Na said the early passing of her father taught her a significant lesson about the value of hard work that has held her in good stead in her playing career.

Writing in The Age newspaper, she also said some young professionals aren't reaching their potential because they are being spoilt by over-indulgent mentors.

The world number 11 advanced to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday, with a straight sets win over 21-year-old Belarusian Victoria Azarenka.

A semi-finalist here last year, when Li and countrywoman Zheng Jie created history by becoming the first Chinese players to reach that stage of a Grand Slam, she is playing some of the best tennis of her career at the age of 29.

But Li questioned whether some of her younger rivals shared her hunger for success, which she puts down to some painful early experiences.

"My father died when I was 14," she wrote. "Some young players nowadays do not appreciate that they are given whatever they want.

"They don't even need to work hard and they still get whatever they want.

"When my father died, mum had to take care of everything, so I couldn't tell her what I wanted because it was hard for her.

"So I think I have always believed in hard work."

Li also credited her husband, Jiang Shan, with helping her become a more focused player by being a calming influence.

"He has taught me to calm down, to think about what I do," she said.

"He can understand what I do on the court."

Li also revealed that her mother refuses to watch her games because she gets too nervous, and even shunned seeing her at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"I asked mum to come and watch me play but she said: 'No, no, no, I don't want to go'," Li said.

"She came to Beijing but she didn't come to the court to watch me. She's not a sportsperson and she has always been nervous about watching me play."

Kim Clijsters winning at Australian Open

2011-01-21T02:01:00.000-08:00

Kim Clijsters just wants everyone to know she's not pregnant again.

She brought up the subject herself — right there on the Australian Open stadium court before an interviewer Thursday — and swatted down the misguided chatter.

Clijsters has already quit tennis once to get married and have a child, only to return after 2 ½ years and win the 2009 U.S. Open. She comes into the Australian Open after capturing the U.S. Open again last year and is fast emerging as the favorite in a draw missing injured defending champion Serena Williams.

She's dropped only four games in two rounds.

Clijsters made the most of her chance with on-court interviewer Todd Woodbridge. The doubles great had sent a text message to fellow Australian Rennae Stubbs saying in not-so-subtle terms that Clijsters was acting and looking as if she's pregnant.

Problem was, Stubbs showed Clijsters. Lucky all three are friends.

"You thought I was pregnant?" she chided Woodbridge, laughing and patting him on the shoulder. "No, I'm not."

Results

• No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic advanced to the fourth round after playing just one set against Serbian Davis Cup teammate Viktor Troicki. Troicki retired due to a stomach problem.

• Andy Roddick overcame a slow start before powering home with 32 aces to beat Robin Haase 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2.

• Defending champion Roger Federer beat Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to earn his 57th career win at the Australian Open, surpassing Stefan Edberg's Open Era record.

• Justine Henin was eliminated, losing 6-4, 7-6 (8) to Svetlana Kuznetsova just a year after reaching the final in her comeback to Grand Slam tennis.

Tennis: Morita into third round at Australian Open

2011-01-20T01:25:00.000-08:00

Japan's Ayumi Morita reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time Thursday thanks to a straight sets victory over French teenager Caroline Garcia in the women's singles at the Australian Open.

Morita, 20, was always in control despite a spirited effort from Garcia, at 17 the youngest player in the tournament, prevailing 6-4, 6-4 to set up a meeting with China's Peng Shua.

"I was able to maintain my composure from start to finish today and that proved to be the key to victory," said Morita. "It was a tough game and I am happy I came through."

"The more I continue winning the stronger I will become mentally. I will give it my best shot in my next match too," she said.

Peng pulled off a massive upset when she downed former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.

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Top tennis women’s players still hunger for major titles

2011-01-19T01:43:00.000-08:00

Many a top women tennis player have held the No. 1 ranking but have not won any Grand Slam tournament.

Take the case of 20-year-old Caroline Wozniacki who entered the Australian Open as the top-ranked woman tennis player after winning six tournament last year. Wozniacki entered the Grandslam only once in 2009 only to lose against Serena Williams in the U.S. Open.

Her story is not an isolation. World's women No. 2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia reached her first two Grand Slam finals in 2010 but she has yet to win the elusive trophy. Her compatriot Dinara Safina was No. 1 in 2009 and Serbia's Jelena Jankovic ascended to the top in 2008. Both has yet to win any major title.

Safina made it in the 2009 Australian Open match, along with two other major finals. But on Tuesday night, she lost 6-0, 6-0 to U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters in the first round of the Australian Open.

Clijster herself lost three Grand Slam finals before finally winning a major tournament at the U.S. Open in 2005, offered some consolation to Sarina. She told reporters in an interview after the match, "She [Safina] didn't get to No. 1 just by luck, so that game is still there. She needs to win a few matches to build up her confidence."

For her part, Wozniacki is feeling confident in the ongoing Australian Open. And Jankovic says being ranked No. 2 does not pose any pressure on her part.

Speaking to the media after her first round victory Tuesday at Melbourne Park, Jankovic stated,

"Always the same questions! I mean, what kind of pressure?

"It's a Grand Slam and everybody wants to win it," she said. "I think every player has extra motivation when they're playing a Grand Slam because they want to really win it. Doesn't matter if you're No. 1 or not."

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Tennis soothed personal traumas, says Henin

2011-01-18T02:11:00.000-08:00

Former world number one Justine Henin on Monday said tennis had helped her recover from difficult times in her personal life, including the loss of her mother at an early age.

Speaking after a hard-fought 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 battle against India's Sania Mirza, the seven time Grand Slam champion said tennis had provided her with the emotional means to recover from the dark moments in her life.

"It's helped me a lot in my life," she said. "It's very difficult all the time to find a good balance, because sometimes you have to be so focused that everything that happens in your personal life you keep it away a little bit.

Henin was just 12 years old when her mother died of cancer. She split from husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne in 2007 - the same year her brother was seriously injured in a car crash.

She then shocked the tennis world by retiring in 2008 before returning to the sport early last year.

"(Sport) gave me so much strength after I lost my mom and everything," she said.

"I got the fire when I was on the tennis court. It helped me a lot not to forget about the hard times but to find a sense to my life. That's what tennis brought me."

Henin said playing sport at a high level constantly pushed a person to their limits.

"It's very good, but it's very hard in a lot of ways because it's a lot of pressure that you have to deal with," the 28-year-old said.

"It's a beautiful life - it's not an easy life, but I think we are all very lucky.

"It's just very important to never forget that we are people before we are athletes and if you find this balance, well, that's the best."

Henin, the 2004 Australian Open champion, had needed all her legendary fighting qualities to subdue an inspired Mirza in 2hr 12mins.

The 11th seed looked on track for a straightforward win when she served for the first set at 5-4, only to allow Mirza to come back and win the next three games to clinch a pulsating opener in 60 minutes.

Henin came out firing at the start of the second, breaking Mirza immediately and opening a 2-0 lead.

Mirza broke back to level the set, but Henin came again, breaking the Indian's serve twice more to wrap up the second set and get the match back on terms.

An increasingly confident Henin stormed away with the third set to take the match and move into a second round clash against British hope Elena Baltacha.

"I think I needed this kind of match to really get into the tournament," Henin said. "I have the experience, but I need matches, I need rhythm, and I need fight, like tonight.

"And I remain confident, not only about the tournament but for the future."

Clijsters to play Li in Sydney tennis final

2011-01-13T02:52:00.000-08:00

Two-time champion Kim Clijsters will play China's Li Na in the final of the Sydney International after a marathon three-set victory on Thursday.

Clijsters struggled early in the heat before storming home in a final set tiebreaker to overcome unseeded Russian Alisa Kleybanova, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) in 2hr 39min.

The Belgian third seed will now take on Li, who earlier wore down Serbian qualifier Bojana Jovanovski 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in 1hr 40min.

Clijsters, 27, who won here in 2003 and 2007, will be bidding for her 41st career singles title in Friday's final, while Li is after her fourth WTA title.

Kleybanova, who got past Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in Wednesday's quarter-final, began well, twice breaking Clijsters' serve to claim the opening set.

Clijsters jumped to a 3-0 lead early in the second set, but despite losing her service in the seventh game, she broke again to level the match.

Kleybanova, who needed two medical timeouts for back and foot troubles, kept the pressure on Clijsters and they traded two service breaks before the Belgian kicked away in the decisive tiebreaker.

Li, 28, who will be defending her rankings points from last year's semi-final appearance at next week's Australian Open, was looking forward to her showdown with the world number three.

"I have nothing to lose because I have played her also many times," said Li, who trails 1-4 in their meetings.

"She's a great player, so I just have to show my best tennis on the court."

The Chinese number one trailed in her match after a service break in the third game.

But she traded four service breaks with Jovanovski before breaking the Serb's serve again in the 12th game to force a tiebreaker.

She won the tiebreaker 7-5 to take the set and controlled the last set with three more service breaks to wrap up victory.

"It wasn't easy," Li said. "I mean, she's young, she's playing well.

"At the beginning of the match I didn't know how she played because I have never seen her practice or play a match.

"It was like, 'What's going on?', I was asking my team.

"Yeah, I was lucky I can finally win the match."

Li is in winning form ahead of the season's opening Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne after eliminating two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the quarter-finals, and Australian Anastasia Rodionova and French qualifier Virginie Razzano in the earlier rounds.

Li became the first Chinese player to break into the world top 10 rankings after reaching the semi-finals of last year's Australian Open.

She is making her fourth appearance at the Sydney International and reached the 2007 semi-finals in which she lost to Clijsters in three sets.

"Australia is always the beginning of the season," Li said. "So sometimes I do well at the Gold Coast and sometimes I do well in Melbourne and sometimes I do well in Sydney.

"I always do well in Australia. I don't know why. Maybe because of my winter training back home. So maybe I should move here," she laughed.