Women Who Serve

For almost 2 hours and 45 minutes this afternoon in Indian Wells, Maria Sharapova and Zheng Jie played a tough second round match of topsy-turvy tennis, filled with momentum changes and frustration. 10th seed Sharapova had repeated problems with her serve, double-faulting 14 times; segments of the match that were...

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I recently had the opportunity to chat briefly with junior girls U.S. Open champion Heather Watson, and the results of that interview will appear here shortly....

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BNP Paribas Open top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova played her first match of the tournament in Indian Wells yesterday, and was defeated by Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Kuznetsova's error-filled performance became worse as the match wore on, and toward the end, she she seemed to not be there at...

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Daniela Hantuchova has been relaxing by playing golf in Indian Wells.On Tuesday, March 23, in Miami, Maria Sharapova and Jay Sean will play Mel B. and Novak Djokovic in a doubles match at the Sony Ericsson Open."You'd think that the women of the WTA would feel resentment toward Clijsters because...

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The women's doubles part of the Hit for Haiti fundraiser in Indian Wells last night was a very entertaining, and sometimes surprising, event. Steffi Graf's microphone pack kept falling off and dangling by its cord onto the court. Finally, it had to be taped to her back. Martina Navratilova provided...

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Gisela Dulko is a very fine tennis player who possesses a wide variety of shots, and who hits the ball much harder than her small frame would indiate. When her serve is on, it's excellent. Dulko's career, however--like her serve--has been plagued by inconsistency, so one is never quite sure...

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Melanie Oudin was defeated 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 by Roberta Vinci in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open today.Andrea Petkovic and Lucie Safarova were also defeated, by Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and Julia Goerges, respectively.In doubles, 4th seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs were upset by Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka...

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Serena Williams has received the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award for 2010. Williams also won the award in 2003. Kim Clijsters received the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award for winning the U.S. Open after being away from the tour for two years.Williams won the Comeback award...

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Apparently, a lot of incorrect information leaked about Melanie Oudin's new deal with Virgin Mobile USA. Her contract, it turns out, is for one year, and there have been no official financial disclosures.Virgin has agreed to donate $1 million to homeless youth if Oudin wins the U.S. Open. The potential...

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Monterrey Open champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will compete in the 2010 Family Circle Cup, which takes place in Charleston April 10-18. Also competing will be Pavlyuchenkova's countrywoman, Alisa Kleybanova. The two rising Russians join a field that includes world number 1 Serena Williams, defending champion Sabine Lisicki, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka,...

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Dunlop Sports Group, manufacturer of the official tennis ball and the official racquet of the Family Circle Cup, is doing a couple of special things this year in connection with the tournament. All of the tennis balls used in Charleston will have the Family Circle Cup logo on them, and...

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The BNP Paribas Open will be broadcast on Tennis Channel this year, rather than being not broadcast on the Fox Sports Network. For the past couple of years, many local FSN affiliates (including my own) opted to show very little of the tournament, and what they did show tended to...

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Caroline Wozniacki has been training for Indian Wells in a boxing gym in Copenhagen.It's worth Getting To Know Polona Hercog.Melanie Oudin has signed a one-year endorsement deal with Virgin Mobile.Sabine Lisicki, who has been training in Las Vegas, recently got in some hitting with Steffi Graf.USA Fed Cup captain Mary...

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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had to play two matches today in Monterrey. Her semifinal match was postponed yesterday because of rain, so today, she played her semifinal opponent, Anastasija Sevastova, whom she defeated 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. This evening, the 3rd seed faced 2nd seed and wild card Daniela Hantuchova (who defeated Dominika...

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Earlier today, a reader turned me on to the latest development in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour sponsorship negotiations. Given the problems that Sony Ericcson is having, I assumed the company would drop the tour at the end of its contract, but instead, a creative solution has been reached.The final...

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Hammond, Louisiana--where the local strawberries are some of the best in the world, and the ball tosses are never funky.I spent the last four days in Hammond, attending the Tangipahoa/Loeb Law Firm $25k Tennis Classic, and not once did I see a truly errant ball toss. Only twice did I...

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Zhang Shuai, seeded 3rd, won the Tangipahoa Tourism/Loeb Law Firm 25k Tennis Classic in Hammond, Louisiana today, easily defeating Jamie Hampton, who was a different player today than she had been earlier in the week. Hampton's first serve, which has been a strength in this tournament, was off the mark...

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Daniela Hantuchova defeated Dominika Cibulkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinals in Monterrey today. However, rain prevented the second semifinal from being played. That match will be contested by Anastaija Sevastova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.Rain also prevented the doubles semifinal match featuring top seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King against Sara...

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Zhang Shuai won a hard-fought semifinal against Xu Yi-FanJamie Hampton advanced to the final when Kurumi Nara retired because of illnessZhang Shuai and Jamie Hampton will compete tomorrow for the championship of the 2010 25k challenger tournament in Hammond, Louisiana. Their playing styles are different, and their semifinal paths to...

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Xu Yi-Fan and Zhou Yi-Miao won the doubles championship today at the Tangipahoa Tourism/Loeb Law Firm $25K Tennis Classic in Hammond, Louisiana. Xu and Zhou defeated Christina Fusano and Courtney Nagle 6-2, 6-2 in the final....

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Anastasija Sevastova, who is unseeded, defeated Alize Cornet (also unseeded) in the quarterfinals of the Monterrey Open tonight. Sevastova's 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory gives her an opportunity to compete against 3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals. Pavlyuchenkova defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-2.Daniela Hantuchova, a wild card who is seeded...

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Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, who comprised one of the tour's greatest doubles teams, will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July.Fernandez and Zvereva won 38 titles together, including 14 majors. Fernandez won a total of 68 doubles titles, including 17 majors, three of which she...

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Wild cards into the main draw of Indian Wells have gone to the following players: Justine Henin, Alicia Molik, Eleni Daniilidou, Tamira Paszek, Alja Tomljanovic, Christina McHale, Alexa Glatch, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.Martina Hingis is getting married to Andreas Bieri, an attorney from Zurich. Hingis used to be engaged to ATP...

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A calm and serious Zhang Shuai packs her racquet after defeating Heather Watson in straight setsI returned to Hammond today, to the Tangipahoa Tourism/Loeb Law Firm $25K Tennis Classic, to watch some of the quarterfinal matches. One I was quite interested in was the match between 3rd seed Zhang...

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