Bartoli, Venus advance in Miami

Venus Williams became the first woman into the final four of the $4.5-million Sony Ericsson Open, routing Agnieszka Radwanska, 63 61.

The match was tight early on, with the pair locked at 3-all and the No.6-seeded Radwanska actually holding break points; but the No.3-seeded Williams kicked it up about five notches from that moment, winning 11 of the next 13 points to take the first set, then barely looking back in a 33-minute second set.

"We had some interesting times in the first set, but it was straightforward," Williams said. "I was eager to clean up my act today. We had some good rallies and some good points, but I just see myself coming out on top."

Williams pounded eight aces in the match, including three in her last service game in the second set. Highlights: V.Williams vs. A.Radwanska

"Obviously I have a huge advantage with my serve. It has always kind of been that way," Williams said. "There were some I hit that came pretty fast, and it was pretty sunny out there, so there was glare coming off the court. I guess with those two things combined it may have been tough for her to return them."

Less than 24 hours earlier, Williams won her fourth round match against Daniela Hantuchova in a squeaker, 16 75 64, after being down, 61 20.

"Getting through a match like that gives me confidence. To beat a player like Daniela when she is playing so well and I'm not at my best helps a lot with my confidence moving forward in the tournament."

Awaiting Williams in the semifinals is No.13 seed Marion Bartoli, who, at night, edged No.12 seed Yanina Wickmayer, 64 75. Playing each other for the first time, the two players matched each other in the power department but it was the more experienced Bartoli who came out on top in the big moments, holding serve after six straight breaks to take the first set, then clawing her way out of triple set point at 4-5 in the second set (she was down 0-40) en route to taking the second set and the match.


Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Singles - Quarterfinals
(3) V Williams (USA) d. (6) A Radwanska (POL) 63 61
(13) M Bartoli (FRA) d. (12) Y Wickmayer (BEL) 64 75

Venus survives after first set loss; Justine, Kim advance after straight sets wins in Miami

It was very nearly derailed, but the Venus Williams winning streak kept on growing at the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday, as the No.3 seed and three-time former champion won her season-leading 13th match in a row with a 16 75 64 comeback victory against Daniela Hantuchova.

Williams, who is looking for her third straight Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title after triumphing in Dubai and Acapulco, had never lost in nine previous meetings with Hantuchova, but it was beginning to look like 10th time unlucky as the No.19-seeded Slovak used her pinpoint groundies to build a daunting 61 20 lead.

Never one to surrender, Williams fought through Hantuchova's relentless attack with her own offense, winning seven of the next 10 games to take the second set and edging her in the third as well. The American served the match out at love thanks to some huge serving - one of her serves into the body actually hit Hantuchova, but there were no hurt feelings.

"I haven't seen her play so well in a long time," Williams said. "She was really executing her game. Of course, I'd like to win in a more straightforward way, but when it counts and when times get tough, I always feel confident I'm going to find a way to win the point. When I hit it hard she got it back, when I hit it high she got it back. So, just a real testimony to how well she was playing today."

And that final game? "I'd like to play every game like that," she said. "I found a little extra something in myself. It was a perfect game to end it."

Williams narrowly avoided the upset, but some others weren't so lucky. No.1 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova fell to No.13 seed Marion Bartoli, 63 60; No.4 seed and defending champion Victoria Azarenka fell to No.14 seed Kim Clijsters, 64 60; and, in a minor upset, No.7 seed Jelena Jankovic lost to No.9 seed Samantha Stosur, 61 76(9). Jankovic, who had beaten Stosur just last week, held two set points in the second set tie-break before falling.

Holding form were No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who eased past No.22 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 62 62; No.6 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Yaroslava Shvedova, 61 64; and No.12 seed Yanina Wickmayer, who rolled past Timea Bacsinszky in a 55-minute demolition, 60 61.

At night, Justine Henin - a wildcard into the draw - beat No.11 seed Vera Zvonareva, 61 64. It was her sixth straight set win in six career meetings with the Russian. Henin, ranked No.33, will return to the Top 30 after this event.


Monday, March 29, 2010

Singles - Fourth Round
(13) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (1) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 63 60
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (22) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 62 62
(3) Venus Williams (USA) d. (19) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 16 75 64
(14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 64 60
(6) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 61 64
(9) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 61 76(9)
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (11) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 61 64
(12) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) 60 61

Azarenka advances; Clijsters, Henin cruise in Miami

Two of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's brightest young stars and two of its most accomplished were among the third round winners at the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday, but it wasn't easy for all of them.

Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, both Grand Slam champions and former No.1s, were among the players who moved into the round of 16 earlier in the day. Clijsters, the No.14 seed, was the first of the Belgian power pair to move through, crushing No.17 seed Shahar Peer in just 50 minutes, 60 61; Henin, a wildcard, got past No.26 seed Dominika Cibulkova in a tougher test, 64 64.

"Shahar isn't a player who is going to hit you off the court. She usually doesn't make a lot of errors, but I felt I was in control of a lot of the points," Clijsters said of Peer. "I was able to move her from side to side until I felt I could take a couple steps in and go for the winner."

"I was in trouble in the beginning of both sets, but I ended up doing what I had to do," Henin said of her match against Cibulkova. "Dominika plays with a good rhythm and played very well. She runs a lot, has a very good backhand and is a real fighter - she has a strong personality. It wasn't easy today."

Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka, the No.2 and No.4 seeds and the two youngest players in the Top 10 at 19 and 20 years old, respectively, won later in the day. Azarenka, who is also the defending champion here, eased past Lucie Safarova, 64 62; Wozniacki had a bigger battle on her hands from Maria Kirilenko but wound up edging the No.32 seed in the end, 16 61 64.


Sunday, March 28, 2010

Singles - Third Round
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (32) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 16 61 64
(4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Lucie Safarova (CZE) 64 62
(9) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Virginie Razzano (FRA) 46 75 61
(11) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 62 63
(14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (17) Shahar Peer (ISR) 60 61
(22) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (15) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 75 63
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (26) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 64 64

Venus bests Cirstea to advance in Miami

Venus Williams extended her winning streak to 11 matches on Thursday night at the Sony Ericsson Open, defeating Sorana Cirstea in straight sets in her first match of the $4.5-million tournament, 64 63.

Williams, seeded No.3 and wearing a design made by a fan in a contest by Tide, was down a break to the Romanian in both sets but fought back each time, eventually winning their first duel in 78 minutes. She fired six aces during the night-time encounter. Although she isn't the top seed, Williams is largely considered the best pick for the Miami title this year. She has won it three times before - two more than anyone else in the draw - and has the fifth-best winning percentage of all time here too (84%).

"I hadn't played in a few weeks, so it took some time to get some rhythm going," Williams said. "She played extremely aggressively - when her shots were going in, it was good stuff. Toward the end my game got better and better."

The true top seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, had a much more difficult time in her first match of the tournament, edging Peng Shuai in just under two hours, 62 36 64. Kuznetsova was two points away from losing serve at 4-all third set but held, then broke the Chinese at 15 to seal the deal in her opening match.

"I stopped moving my feet in the second set and lost a game, and then it all started to go wrong," Kuznetsova said. "I started talking to myself a bit better and stopped being so negative, and then cut down on my errors. Now I'm just going to try to get through my next round and go from there."

There were mixed results for the other Top 10 seeds in action. No.6 seed Agnieszka Radwanska advanced but the other two weren't so lucky, No.8 seed Li Na falling to Timea Bacsinszky, 64 46 76(3), and No.10 seed Flavia Pennetta falling to Andrea Petkovic after a 23-minute third set, 63 36 60.

No.12 seed Yanina Wickmayer, No.13 seed Marion Bartoli, No.16 seed Nadia Petrova and No.19 seed Daniela Hantuchova were also winners.

Earlier on, former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic - the No.25 seed here - got back on the winning track, beating qualifier Pauline Parmentier, 64 63.

"It was good to have a win," said Ivanovic, who came into this tournament on a four-match losing streak - and an eight-set losing streak. "I feel I am improving again. Obviously working with a new coach, Heinz Gunthardt, I can see the improvements on a daily basis. It's very encouraging for me going forward.

"I feel I've been playing better for a while now, so it was disappointing to lose so early at Indian Wells. But I'm just working hard and trying to do my best out there. I played well today. I stuck with what I've been working on."

Since I, the writer of this blog, live in Miami, I was there personally!


Thursday, March 25, 2010

Singles - Second Round
(1) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. Peng Shuai (CHN) 62 36 64
(3) Venus Williams (USA) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 64 63
(6) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 75 60
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) d. (8) Li Na (CHN) 64 46 76(3)
Andrea Petkovic (GER) d. (10) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 63 36 60
(12) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. (Q) Elena Baltacha (GBR) 61 63
(13) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 62 64
(16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) 63 76(7)
(WC) Petra Martic (CRO) d. (18) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 75 57 64
(19) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. Patty Schnyder (SUI) 61 64
Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. (21) Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 75 62
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) d. (23) Sabine Lisicki (GER) 63 01 ret. (left ankle injury)
(25) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. (Q) Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 64 63
(27) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. (WC) Alicia Molik (AUS) 60 60
Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. (30) Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 64 76(5)
Polona Hercog (SLO) d. (31) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 76(5) 63

Jankovic captures IW after straight sets win to Wozniacki

The year hadn't been so great for her coming into Indian Wells and the woes almost continued as she was two points away from another early exit; but she made it through that one, and now Jelena Jankovic owns a clean dozen Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles.

Jankovic, seeded No.6 at the $4.5-million tournament, was two points away from losing to Sara Errani in the third round but she rallied her way past the Italian and never looked back, winning the rest of her matches in straight sets - 62 62 over Shahar Peer, 64 64 over Alisa Kleybanova, 62 64 over Samantha Stosur and - in Sunday's final - 62 64 over Caroline Wozniacki.

Playing the No.2-seeded Wozniacki, and for that matter all of those straight set wins, Jankovic was back at her aggressive best, the same aggression that once saw her rise to No.1 in the world. She came out strong in the first set, losing just seven points en route to a 4-0 lead, then came out quickly again in the second set, breaking in the first game and holding onto that break until the end.

Check out photos from Indian Wells finals weekend right now!

"I was ready from the start. I had a game plan," Jankovic said. "I wanted to be really aggressive but at the same time patient, and choose the right times."

"Jelena played a good match today. I made a few too many errors on the important points," Wozniacki said. "I had a good 10 days here. Now I'm ready and confident going into Miami. I just need to hit the practice courts now."

The BNP Paribas Open is Jankovic's 12th career singles title on the Tour and her eighth at the Premier tournament level. She is now 12-11 in finals.

"I had a wake-up call against Errani. I had to fight hard," Jankovic said. "I learned my lessons, what I should and shouldn't do, and I kept going on and on. I cut down on those errors, cleaning up some of the things in my game. I got more and more confident with each match, and, you know, took the title."

Wozniacki also had an escape early on, rallying from 4-1 down in the third set to beat Vania King in her opener; she went on a five game streak to get out of that one and never really came close to losing again, until the final of course.

By virtue of reaching the final, Wozniacki rises to No.2 in the world on the rankings, a new career-high for the Dane; also making a big move based on her results in the Californian desert is Sam Stosur, who cracks the Top 10 after reaching the semis (where she lost to eventual champion Jankovic).

"I'm always hungry to get that first spot. That's what everyone is dreaming about," said Wozniacki when asked if she had No.1 aspirations. "Hopefully it will happen one day. Serena is a great player. I'm just taking it one match at a time and doing my best, and we'll see what the future brings."


Sunday, March 21, 2010

Singles - Final
(6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 62 64

Jankovic to meet Stosur in semis after straight sets win to Kleybanova in IW

Jelena Jankovic and Samantha Stosur won their quarterfinal matches in straight sets on Thursday to set up an all-star semifinal clash at the $4.5-million BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Jankovic, the No.6 seed, was the first to advance, pulling off a 64 64 win over nemesis Alisa Kleybanova. Kleybanova, the No.23 seed, had taken out Kim Clijsters en route to the quarterfinals, and having won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title in Kuala Lumpur was riding an eight-match winning streak; but Jankovic was too tough, breaking early en route to taking the first set and rallying from 2-4 to dust it off.

"Kleybanova is a tough opponent. You never know what you're going to get from her. Sometimes I have her on the run and she comes up with some unbelievable shots," Jankovic said. "I tried to stay focused and play the best I could, and I was able to get through this match. I'm really, really pleased."

Jankovic hadn't been to a quarterfinal in 2010, let alone a semi; also, she was nearly bundled out of the third round here. But after escaping Sara Errani she has only gotten much better, now losing a total of only 12 games in her last two wins, against Shahar Peer in the fourth round and now Kleybanova.

"The more matches I play, the better I'm getting," said the Serb, whose good form has taken her to the No.1 ranking in the past. "That match against Errani was kind of a wake-up call. I was two points from losing the match. It wasn't my day. But I fought one point at a time and made it through. Then I was very aggressive against Peer. Today I did my best again and got through."

Stosur, seeded No.8, followed Jankovic into the semis with a 63 76(7) win over No.28 seed María José Martínez Sánchez. Stosur had to battle back several times in the second set - she was down 4-1 at one point, and even faced set point down 7-6 in the tie-break. But she managed to get through in straights, just like Jankovic.

"We had played a few times recently, and she's a player who just doesn't give you very much rhythm. She plays a little differently, as do I. She serves and volleys," Stosur said. "I just tried to give myself as many opportunities as possible, and when I got them I tried to take them, and towards the end of the second set I started to serve better and better. I think I handled it pretty well."


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Singles - Quarterfinals
(6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (23) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 64 64
(8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (28) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP)
63 76(7)

Jankovic to clash with Wozniacki for Indian Wells title

A matter of days ago she was nearly bundled out of the tournament but she made it through, and ever since she has just gotten better and better. Jelena Jankovic stormed into the final of Indian Wells on Friday with a commanding 62 64 victory over Samantha Stosur.

Jankovic, seeded No.6, was two points away from losing her third round match with Sara Errani, but she made it through; since that one she has only gotten better, cruising past Shahar Peer and Alisa Kleybanova in straight sets and in the semifinals beating Stosur handily, breaking her serve four times - none of the No.8 seed's previous four opponents had broken her more than once.

"The key to today's match was my return," Jelena said. "Samantha has an unbelievable serve, one of the best in the women's game, and I was able to return a lot of her first serves. I put a lot of pressure on her second serve, too. I was able to break her quite a few times and it made everything easier for me. I think she felt a little bit uncomfortable, because she really relies on that shot. It's her biggest weapon."

Jankovic will be playing the 23rd Sony Ericsson WTA Tour final of her career, going 11-11 in her first 22. Last year she was 2-1 in finals, winning in Marbella and Cincinnati.

"I'm feeling good and I'm happy to be in the finals. It's my first time in the finals here," Jankovic added. "I have had some tough matches here and some good wins. I'm going to try my best and see what happens. Maybe I can win another title. I'm looking forward to playing my first final of the year on Sunday."

Stosur may have lost but the No.11-ranked Australian will make her Top 10 debut on the new rankings, just the third Australian in the last 25 years to do so, and after a semifinal showing at a Premier tournament, too.

"It has been a great week," Stosur said. "I played four really good matches. Today was a bit disappointing, but it's still my best result in a tournament like this. There's a lot to build on. I have to look at the positives."

In the night session's semi, No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki beat No.5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 62 63.

"I thought I played a really good match," Wozniacki said. "We know each other so well. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Agnieszka is a great fighter and doesn't give up."

Jankovic is a perfect 3-0 in her career head-to-head series with Wozniacki.

"I haven't won against Jelena yet. She's a former No.1," Wozniacki said. "She has had a good tournament here and it's going to be a tough match."


Friday, March 19, 2010

Singles - Semifinals
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (5) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 62 63
(6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 62 64

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Dementieva wins in IW

The tournament favorites had been dropping like flies in the last few days but it was a good day for the top seeds for a change, as Caroline Wozniacki, Elena Dementieva, Agnieszka Radwanska and Jelena Jankovic all moved into the quarterfinals without too much trouble.

Dementieva and Radwanska were the first win. Dementieva, the No.4 seed, beat No.19 seed Aravane Rezai, 63 63; Radwanska, the No.5 seed, beat No.11 seed Marion Bartoli, 63 62. Dementieva and Radwanska maintained perfect records against those opponents.

"I'm improving a little bit with each match here. I hope to improve some more before my next match against Agnieszka," said Dementieva, who has lost three of her five previous meetings with Radwanska; they will meet in the quarters. "It's going to be a completely different match next. It's about my game. I need to create something, go for the winner. I can't just go on the court and be patient, because there's nothing to wait for. Agnieszka doesn't make any mistakes."

Wozniacki and Jankovic followed their fellow Top 10 players into the quarters later in the day. Seeded No.2, Wozniacki recovered from a second set slump and charged through a 30-minute third set to beat No.16 seed Nadia Petrova, 63 36 60; Jankovic, the No.6 seed, beat No.17 seed Shahar Peer, 62 62.

"I had a tough match last night and I didn't know how I would hold up physically. And Shahar is a really dangerous opponent," Jankovic said. "I just had to hold my ground and go for my shots. I'm really happy with my performance. I never backed up. I just kept going for my shots, served well and returned well."

Wozniacki is the highest seed left, but doesn't necessarily look beyond the next match: "I believe in myself, but I never actually look at the draw. I take it one match at a time, because there are a lot of great players out there. I could have been out in my first match."

Although it wasn't an upset on paper, No.8 seed Samantha Stosur's 62 75 win over No.12 seed Vera Zvonareva did mean one thing - there will be a new Indian Wells champion this year. Zvonareva was one of six players in this year's draw who had won the Premier title before, but the only one in the round of 16.

In other day session matches, No.18 seed Zheng Jie beat wildcard Alicia Molik, 63 46 76(1), winning 11 of the last 12 points of the match; No.28 seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez beat No.13 seed Yanina Wickmayer, 64 64.

"Last time I played Zheng I lost to her," said Wozniacki, who hasn't taken a set off of Zheng in their two previous meetings; they will play in the quarters. "She's a great player. She has had a great start to the year, playing aggressively and taking the balls early - I need to be ready and focused."

In a very late match, No.23 seed Alisa Kleybanova, a day after upsetting No.14 seed Kim Clijsters, rallied from 62 41 down to beat Carla Suarez Navarro, 26 76(2) 64. The Spaniard had taken out No.1 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova earlier in the tournament; she also served for the match at 62 54.

Jankovic ousted in three tough sets by Latvian on Day 2 in Monterrey

Jelena Jankovic became the first big casualty at the Monterrey Open on Monday night, succumbing to Latvian upstart Anastasija Sevastova in a topsy-turvy three-setter, 57 64 64.

Jankovic, the No.1 seed in the last leg of the Latin American swing, saved set point down 5-4 to win the first set but was on the other end of momentum shifts in the next two, losing a 3-1 lead in the second set and 4-2 in the third.

Sevastova - at No.72 Latvia's highest-ranked player, in fact their only player in the Top 500 - earned her first Top 10 win by beating the world No.9. She had played Top 10 players twice before but had lost, to Svetlana Kuznetsova at last year's US Open and to Agnieszka Radwanska at Dubai a few weeks ago.

In the second night match, No.4 seed Dominika Cibulkova reversed the upset trend with a 64 63 win over tricky Italian player Roberta Vinci.

No.3 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and No.5 seed Agnes Szavay were among the winners in the day session. Among the unseeded winners in the day session was Polona Hercog, who is coming off her very first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles final - and her first Tour title of any kind, in doubles - at last week's Abierto Mexicano TELCEL presentado por HSBC in Acapulco.

"I feel a bit tired because I played singles and doubles last week, which is why I'm not playing doubles here in Monterrey," Hercog said. "It is a funny feeling being back on hardcourts but I'm getting used to it. I'm not worried about my first matches because I'm getting used to the surface. I hope to keep playing well."


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Singles - First Round
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) d. (1/WC) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 57 64 64
(3) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (Q) Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 61 62
(4/WC) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 64 63
(5) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 63 36 63
Sara Errani (ITA) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 62 63
Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 36 62 61
Polona Hercog (SLO) d. (Q) Corinna Dentoni (ITA) 62 64
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) d. Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 62 64
Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 63 61
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 76(5) 64
Patricia Mayr (AUT) d. (Q) Olga Savchuk (UKR) 76(5) 60

Two seeds out, one seed through on Day 1 in Monterrey

It was a mixed bag for the seeds on Day 1 of the Monterrey Open, with two falling and one advancing via retirement.

Anabel Medina Garrigues and Lucie Safarova, the No.6 and No.8 seeds, respectively, were both bundled out of the tournament by their first round opponents. Safarova was the first to go, falling to Julie Coin, 57 64 64; Medina Garrigues fell in the feature night match to Klara Zakopalova, 75 75.

"It was a great game and I was fortunate to win," commented Coin, who hit an impressive 10 aces during her win over Safarova. "I served well, but she returned very well. I am happy. I hope I can keep winning."

A day after the Winter Olympics in Vancouver came to a close, Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak, the No.7 seed, moved into the second round when her opponent, Laura Granville, was forced to retire at 3-all in the first set due to a left wrist injury.

In the only other main draw match of the day, Vania King rallied from 64 53 down to beat Sandra Zahlavova in an all-unseeded battle, 46 75 63.

Lourdes Domínguez Lino, Olga Savchuk, Anna Tatishvili and Corinna Dentoni all secured berths in the main draw with qualifying victories.

Jelena Jankovic is the top seed this week and plays her first round Tuesday.


Monday, March 1, 2010

Singles - First Round
Klara Zakopalova (CZE) d. (6) Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 75 75
(7) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. Laura Granville (USA) 33 ret. (left wrist injury)
Julie Coin (FRA) d. (8) Lucie Safarova (CZE) 57 64 64
Vania King (USA) d. Sandra Zahlavova (CZE) 46 75 63

Venus captures title in Acapulco

Ten-hour time difference, her first tournament of the year on clay, opponents she had never seen before... Venus Williams had some serious hurdles in the way but she jumped them all in Acapulco this week, capturing her second straight Abierto Mexicano TELCEL title.

Having flown in from Dubai from a successful title defense at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Williams went straight back to work as the No.1 seed in Acapulco, her first tournament on clay since the French last year. She won her first two rounds in straight sets, but from there on it was anything but easy for the seven-time Grand Slam champion and former No.1.

Facing Spanish qualifier Laura Pous Tio in the quarterfinals, Williams had to pull off one of the biggest comebacks of her career to survive: down 5-1 in the third set, she won six straight games to win, 46 63 75. She had another blip in the second set of her semifinal against Romania's Edina Gallovits but regrouped better in the third set to prevail, 64 26 62, and move into the final.

Williams' final opponent was first-time finalist Polona Hercog - ranked No.60, seeded No.8 - and after a very slow start, losing the first set, 6-2, she saw the finish line and went into overdrive, powering through the next two sets to win her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title of the year - and the 43rd of her career - by a 26 62 63 scoreline, one minute past the two hour mark.

"I don't want to stop here - hopefully next year I can win this one three times," Williams said. "I definitely expected her to play tough. She didn't miss too many shots and I have to give her credit, not just for today but for her whole week. Even though she was playing well, I had to find a way to make my game better."

"The public was great, they really lifted me up today," Hercog said. "I went on the court today to win. I did my best and I'm really happy with this week. Today and this whole week was a great experience for me. I hope to take it and move forward from it, and hopefully I continue with this intensity going forward."

Williams already led all active players in career titles coming into this week but is now two ahead of her closest rival (Justine Henin has 41). She is now No.10 on the all-time list (tied with Martina Hingis). This is her ninth career title on clay, second among active players to Henin (who has 12 clay court titles).

"It's not enough," Williams said about those titles. "Hopefully I'll win more and more this year. I love winning titles, I love seeing that number go up. It feels good. There is no limit. Who wants to have a limit on titles? Not me."