Sharapova, Henin ousted in opening matches in Madrid; Venus sails to next round

It was not a good day in Madrid for former No.1s Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin, as both were ousted in their opening matches at the $4.5-million Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open.

Sharapova was the first to go, falling to Lucie Safarova, 64 63. The No.11-seeded Sharapova lost the first four games of the match before kicking into gear, evening things at 4-all; but Safarova, who had scored Top 10 wins in her last two tournaments in Stuttgart and Rome, closed out the set and wound up breaking serve late in the second set before serving out the victory.

"I started slowly. I got myself back in it and had the window, but just didn't take it," Sharapova said. "I can't look back and think of losing though, I can only learn from it and move forward. I need matches to get my instincts back. It was only a few points here and there today that could have turned things around."

"She was injured after Indian Wells and I knew it was her first tournament on clay," Safarova said. "I thought it would be a tough match but I've done really well the last few weeks, so I was really looking forward to it."

Henin had a similar slow start against Aravane Rezai, falling behind 4-1 right out of the gates; she rebounded better, winning five straight games to take the first set and getting within two games of victory at 5-all in the second set, but that's when Rezai caught fire, reeling off eight straight games for a 46 75 60 win.

"I wasn't feeling my best today. I was ill after Stuttgart. I didn't have the energy I needed," Henin said. "Aravane was playing at a very good level though. It wasn't an easy day for me. I really wanted to win this tournament."

"I was preparing to play against her. I had the right tactics and fought as hard as I could," Rezai said. "I knew I could win. It wasn't Mission Impossible. She's a great player, but I went on the court quite positive and just played my game."

At night, as No.4 seed Venus Williams beat qualifier Stefanie Voegele, 64 62. Williams was coming off the worst loss of her professional career in Rome, falling to Jelena Jankovic, 60 61 - her previous worst loss was a 61 61 defeat to Martina Hingis in the 2001 Australian Open semifinals.

The only other seed in action was victorious, with No.15 seed Francesca Schiavone cruising past Alizé Cornet, a qualifier, 62 62.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Dominika Cibulkova, Alexandra Dulgheru, Vera Dushevina and Olga Govortsova also recorded first round wins.


Sunday, May 9, 2010

Singles - First Round
(4) Venus Williams (USA) d. (Q) Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 64 62
(9) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 62 62
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. (11) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 64 63
(15) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. (Q) Alizé Cornet (FRA) 62 62
Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. Justine Henin (BEL) 46 75 60
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. (Q) Iveta Benesova (CZE) 62 62
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 64 76(2)
Olga Govortsova (BLR) d. (LL) Tathiana Garbin (ITA) 75 62
Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) d. Melinda Czink (HUN) 61 ret. (left shoulder injury)
Vera Dushevina (RUS) d. (Q) Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 62 61

Spaniard beats Serb in straight sets to capture Rome crown

Playing her very own - and very vintage - brand of tennis, María José Martínez Sánchez captured her third and by far biggest career singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on Saturday, defeating Jelena Jankovic in a tight two-setter for the Internazionali BNL d'Italia crown.

Martínez Sánchez has been known to come out strong but sometimes lose her way against the top players, and against Jankovic she almost went there again, but she wouldn't fold this time. With her mix of power, precision and spins, she crafted a 76(5) 75 victory, despite squandering a 5-2 first set lead (with set point at 5-3) and a 5-3 second set lead. And just to show how much variety she has, she clinched both sets with serve-and-volley plays.

Martínez Sánchez had two titles before this one, both on clay, but they were at the International level - Bogotá and Bastad last year. Rome, a Premier-level title, is her biggest yet on the singles court, and she is the first Spaniard to win here since her semi-namesake Conchita Martínez in 1996. This is also the biggest title a Spaniard has won on the Tour since Martínez won Berlin in 2000.

"This is a very important moment. I worked so hard to get here, and even if this goes down in history, it hasn't sunken in yet," Martínez Sánchez said. "In the first round I was losing. The key is to fight, fight, fight to the end. You don't have to set a limit for yourself."

Martínez Sánchez's victims en route to the final also included No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki (she is now 3-0 lifetime against the Danish teenager).

"María José is very different from most girls. She makes a lot of drop shots and volleys, and she's also left-handed, which makes it a little bit tricky to play her," Jankovic said. "I tried my best. I came back in both sets and at those times I prayed to hold my serve. I didn't manage it today. She won and credit to her."

"My game isn't typical, not even to the other Spanish players, but that's the key. I like doing a lot of different things, coming to the net, playing drop shots," Martínez Sánchez said. "When I was small, Martina Navratilova was still on the TV, and since I was young I have always liked coming to the net. When I was seven or eight I always hit the ball then went straight into the net.


Saturday, May 8, 2010

Singles - Final
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) d. (7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 76(5) 75

Jankovic upsets Serena to reach final; Ivanovic ousted in semis in Rome

Jelena Jankovic pulled off a rare come-from-behind win over Serena Williams to reach the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and is now one win away from her third career title at the Premier-level clay court tournament.

After splitting sets in their very first meeting on clay, the pair embarked on what would become an epic decider, with Williams taking a 5-3 lead - with match point at 5-4 - and, after Jankovic brought it to a tie-break, Williams built a 5-2 lead. But Williams just couldn't close it out, and former No.1 Jankovic reeled off five points in a row to claim a 46 63 76(5) victory over the the reigning No.1.

"I just fought her hard. I was down quite a bit in the third set," Jankovic said. "She was serving at match point and was up in the tie-break too, but I tried to stay as positive as I could. I really did my best. A lot of matches throughout my career I have saved match points and then won the match. I know you just have to believe in yourself and know the match is not over until it is over."

With Jankovic beating Venus Williams in the quarters, this is the eighth time a player has beaten both sisters at the same event, and the first time on clay. Others to have done it are Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters (twice), Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin.

"Beating two Williams sisters in two days is amazing. I'm very proud of myself."

Jankovic will be going for her third Rome title, having won here in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008. Both Williams sisters had also won this title before, Venus doing it in 1999 and Serena achieving the feat in 2002.

"I really should have won the match. It was like I hadn't played since January 1942," Williams said. "I can't beat myself up over it though. I just came back after not playing a match since this January. I don't know it that's match toughness or not. I am looking forward to Madrid, that much I do know."

María José Martínez Sánchez continued her own dream run in the second semifinal, beating Ana Ivanovic, 64 62, to reach her first Premier-level final. Ivanovic had her best run of the year to get to the semifinals, upsetting Victoria Azarenka and Elena Dementieva along the way; but Martínez Sánchez, who had taken out Caroline Wozniacki along the way, raced out to double-break leads in both sets, winning handily in the pair's first career meeting.


Friday, May 7, 2010

Singles - Semifinals
(7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (1/WC) Serena Williams (USA) 46 63 76(5)
María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 64 62

Henin ousts Stosur in three sets to claim title in Stuttgart

She was fierce on hardcourts, but everyone knew once it got to the European clay court season she'd be deadly. Justine Henin picked up the first title of her Sony Ericsson WTA Tour comeback at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, snapping the 11-match winning streak of Samantha Stosur with a three set win in the final, 64 26 61.

Henin, who retired in May 2008 but returned to the Tour at the start of 2010, had recorded some incredible results right off the bat, reaching finals at Brisbane and the Australian Open and the semis in Miami - her only letdown was a second round loss in Indian Wells to the always tricky Gisela Dulko.

It was fifth time lucky in Stuttgart however. Unseeded, she took out three seeds en route to the title - No.8 seed Yanina Wickmayer in the second round, No.4 seed Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals and No.7 seed Stosur in the final. After losing five games in a row to lose the second set and go down 1-0 in the third Henin caught fire, reeling off six games in a row of her own - losing just seven points in that stretch - and rushing the net at every opportunity.

"I never thought I'd be back in Stuttgart a year ago. And especially for it to be on clay now, it means a lot to me," Henin said. "When I saw Roger Federer winning the French Open... it brought back the fire that wasn't there anymore before. It has been a lot of work but I'm ready for it. It's great to be back and share these emotions with all of you guys. I had a fantastic week. Everything was perfect."

Henin collected her second career Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title, also winning in 2007. This was the Belgian's 42nd career singles title on the Tour, placing her at No.2 among active players (Venus Williams has 43).

"Justine was just too good today," Stosur said. "In the third set she just got really aggressive, made some really good returns and put me under a lot of pressure. I think that was the key to the match. She broke me three times in a row. It was nice to come back here after a few years of not playing here."


Sunday, May 2, 2010

Singles - Final
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (7/WC) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 64 26 61