image: TSN

Safina took on Roberta Vinci and ended up taking a 6-4, 6-4 victory while Williams beat Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 6-4.

Williams will next face unseeded Ekaterina Makarova with Safina battling local favorite, Shuai Zhang.  The first round will conclude tomorrow while the second round begins.

Third-seeded Venus Williams is expected to play in the second round against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The 2009 Beijing champion will take home $775,500.

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Serena and Safina Advance at China Open

While Maria Sharapova, who went into the event unseeded, managed to make it to the next round, big names like top-seeded defending champion Dinara Safina, second-seeded Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova were sent packing.

image: Zuma Press

Safina lost her match against qualifier Kai-Chen Chang (pictured celebrating above) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-5 which lasted 2 hours and 44 minutes.  Wow!

Meanwhile, Williams couldn’t get past yet another qualifier, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and lost 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 in just under two hours.

A third qualifier, Andrea Petkovic, took down fifth-seeded Kuznetsova 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

Wow.  What a day!  It will be interesting to see who emerges from the event with the title!

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Major Upsets at the 2009 Tokyo Open

Safina was eliminated by Aravane Rezai after committing 17 double faults.  She lost with a final score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.  The Rogers Cup has been interesting for the top-seeded players this year since Venus Williams was eliminated yesterday by Kateryna Bondarenko but, also, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were both knocked out when they played in Montreal last week (okay, Nadal was a little more predictable considering his knee injury).

The 23-year-old Russian phenom was so angry that she was reduced to tears as she spoke after the match.  “It’s my brain,” she said Safina. “I know exactly what I have to do, but if I’m not using my brain, I’m not doing the things my coach is telling me . . . (I’m) too disappointed with myself.”

Yeah, she was disappointed enough to go down the list of her faults adding “Ball toss disaster. I don’t move my legs, I’m jumping backwards instead of jumping forwards, I’m kicking it too much instead of hitting it more, I drop my head, I don’t hold the left arm.  It’s so much. I know this all, and I’m still so stupid that I’m continuing to do it.”

She was so upset about losing a match for the first time since February that she slammed her racket on the ground and then could barely even acknowledge Rezai when they met at the net after the match.  The 22-year-old from France was sympathetic and understanding and said “I’m very sorry for her because I don’t like a player who’s not confident.  I prefer to beat a player in good shape. I’m a player that feels when I lose, it’s the worst moment in my life.”

Safina plans to rest for a few days before getting ready for the U.S. Open, which begins on August 31, 2009.

Things were much better for Maria Sharapova, however, who has advanced to the third round after eliminating Sybille Bammer.  Even though it wasn’t a great performance, the win is helping to bolster the confidence of Sharapova, who has been steadily improving since taking some more time off to recover from her shoulder injury.  “I’m actually having a competition with myself to see how many errors and double-faults I can make and still win the match in two sets,” Sharapova joked. “The fact that I served that way and still won the match in two sets is certainly going to give me a lot of confidence when my arm is where it needs to be and when my serve gets to where it has to be.”

The following seeded players also advanced to the third round:

• No. 4 Elena Dementieva
• No. 5 Jelena Jankovic
• No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, who downed Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-3

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Dinara Safina Eliminated From Rogers Cup

Things weren’t as smooth for top-seeded Dinara Safina who seemed to struggle to get control over her game early in the match against unseeded Roberta Vinci.  I don’t know if this had anything to do with the cut to the left hand that Safina suffered opening a coconut last week in Los Angeles but she was uncharacteristically sloppy.  Eventually, she was able to rally and pull off a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 win.

image: Zuma Press

“It was just a day when everything was going all over the place, except for the tennis court,” Safina said. “He’s like, ‘You realize you can put the ball inside (the lines).’ I said, ‘Yes, that’s what I’m realizing.’  He said, ‘Don’t do anything. Just go deep through the court and let her do something.’ I guess she was not ready to beat me.”

Other results:

• Svetlana Kuznetsova outlasted Lucia Safarova 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4).
• Agnieszka Radwanska advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Ai Sugiyama
• Flavia Pennetta moved on with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Ayumi Morita
• Yanina Wickmayer upset Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-4
• Alona Bondarenko upset Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-3
• Shuai Peng advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Dominika Cibulkova
• Agnes Szavay beat Urszula Radwanska 7-5, 7-5
• Sorana Cirstea eliminated wild-card Meghann Shaughnessy 7-5, 7-5
• Daniela Hantuchova outlasted Sara Errani 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
• Maria Jose Martina Sanchez beat Vera Dushevina 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
• Alisa Kleybanova topped Aravane Rezai 6-3, 6-3
• Sybille Bammer beat Jie Zheng 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
• Maria Kirilenko defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 6-4, 6-1

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Safina, Williams Advance at Cincinnati

image: Zuma Press

Venus took down Dinara Safina in a predictable semifinal match. Venus Williams has won 35 straight sets for an incredible record – she hasn’t lost on Centre Court since 2004.  That’s unbelievable!  Meanwhile, 23-year-old Safina incurred 16 unforced errors in the lopsided 6-1, 6-0 loss. At least it was over quickly – Venus destroyed the world No.1 in just 51 minutes!

The battle between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva was a lot more interesting.  While the pair traded breaks in the first couple games and then went head-to-head for the rest of the thrilling match.  Right down to the final set, the intensity was incredible and it looked like Dementieva might take it after Williams double faulted but in the end, Williams walked away with a 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 8-6 victory over the Olympic gold medalist.

The Williams sisters, who will meet for the 21st time, have dominated the finals at Wimbledon for seven of the last nine years.  I’m sure it will be an amazing match!

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Venus vs. Serena at Wimbledon Finals

Despite her dislike for playing on the grass, top-ranked Russian, Dinara Safina, beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court which marks the first time she has advanced to the Wimbledon semifinal.

Safina was the runner-up at the French Open and the Australian Open and she played like a true champion on the hot day in London, although she did lose her cool at one point –she slammed her racquet down after committing her seventh double-fault.  Still, she managed to compose herself, regain her focus and beat Lisicki, who had to have her trainer ice her legs as she lay down on the court during the seventh set.

The Williams sisters have both made it to the semifinals which has led me to wonder if we are going to see a repeat of last year’s results with Venus winning over Serena in the finals.

Venus Williams easily secured her spot in the semifinals by beating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 in just 68 minutes.  It’s not surprising considering the American’s incredible record.  She has won 33 straight sets at Wimbledon since 2007.  That’s almost inhuman!  She’s now 67-9 all-time on grass

Meanwhile, Serena Williams played a clean match against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and walked away with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Centre Court in 1 hour, 13 minutes.  This marks the sixth time that she has made it to the Wimbledon semifinal.  Serena is a two-time champion at the All England Club.  She battled her sister for both victories in 2002 and 2003.

Russia’s Elena Dementieva routed Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 in just 66 minutes.  It wasn’t the cleanest match for the reigning Olympic gold medalist who incurred nine double faults but she managed to finish strong with a victory.

The semifinals take place on Thursday, July 2, 2009 with the following pairings:

• Dinara Safina vs. Venus Williams (Venus is 2-1 in the three times they have met before)
• Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva (Elena is 3-1 in the four times they have met but Serena won their most recent battle at the Australian Open)

The women’s semifinals are definitely going to be interesting.

images: Zuma Press

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Williams Sisters, Safina Make Semis

Instead, she beat a shaky-looking Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 Saturday and won the French Open.  You would have thought that Safina was the underdog by the way she played – she double-faulted seven times and seemed to struggle through the match.

While Safina faltered (and eventually slammed her racket down on the court), Kuznetsova soared and played a varied game and ultimately came out victorious. 

The French Open action continues tomorrow as Roger Federer and Robin Soderling face off in the Roland Garros final. 

image: TSN

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Kuznetsova Beats Safina, Wins French Open

image: Zuma Press

Safina defeated 20th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova yesterday 6-3, 6-3.  This is the second consecutive time that she has made it to the French Open final but, if she is victorious on Saturday, it would be her first Grand Slam title since she lost last year to Ana Ivanovic in last year’s tournament.

Meanwhile, Kuznetsova had to really fight for her win, beating 30th-seeded Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 .  This is also her second French Open title match (she was the runner-up in 2006).  Last year, Kuznetsova faced Safina in the semifinals and lost in straight sets.

It is interesting to note that Safina has a 20-1 record on the clay this year but her lone loss came at the hands of her fellow Russian, Kuznetsova, against who she has played 13 times in their careers.

I think Saturday’s match up could be extremely intense if both women are on their games.  It will be exciting to see who wins it!

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Safina vs. Kuznetsova at 2009 French Open

image: TSN

The Russian star said “I take one point at a time.  I don’t waste my energy. Every point is important. No free points. No stupid mistakes. Just point by point I’m playing.”

Unfortunately, fans will not get to see the much-anticipated rematch between Safina and defending champion Ana Ivanovic since she was eliminated by Victoria Azarenka (who will now head to her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal).

Monday’s action will feature the following match-ups:

• Serena Williams (USA) vs. Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada)
• Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) vs. Sorana Cirstea (Romania)
• Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russian) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
• Samantha Stosur (Australia) vs. Virginie Razzano (France)

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Safina Continues French Open Domination

Since becoming number one over Serena Williams on April 14th, she has posted a 14-1 record and was very dominate at Madrid.

"I was getting a bit tired by the end," said Safina. "But I dominated at the crucial times. I was very dominant in the first set.

"In the second I had a chance at a double-break."

 

Dinara has now won 11 career titles and probably won’t be taking any more criticism over her number one ranking. At the time she received that coveted number one spot, she had not won a title in 2009. That’s all changed now. I can’t wait to see what happens at the French Open.

Image Credit: Newscom

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Dinara Safina Wins at Madrid Open