I have to admit that, although Maria Sharapova has struggled this past year with her shoulder injury, I had predicted that she would beat Elena Dementieva during yesterday’s Rogers Cup final in Toronto but I was wrong.  The women have met 10 times before and Sharapova emerged the victor 80% of the time so I thought the odds were stacked in her favor but she really struggled and ultimately lost.

Both women were using the event as a warm-up to the U.S. Open which begins next week and I would say that Dementieva should feel very confident after beating Sharapova 6-4, …read more

Maria Sharapova will face Elena Dementieva in the 2009 Rogers Cup final, making it an all-Russian event.  I hope you got to catch the semifinals because they were extremely interesting, especially the match between Dementieva and Serena Williams.
Williams just couldn’t get it together and grew increasingly frustrated with every error she made.  Meanwhile, Dementieva was the picture of composure, which allowed her to overcome a 5-3 deficit in the first set.  After losing to Williams in the semis at Wimbledon, I wasn’t surprised at all by the Russian’s focus.  “I was really waiting for this match after Wimbledon,” Dementieva said.  …read more

It will be a one-two finish for the Williams sisters as Venus Williams and Serena Williams square off in the ladies final at Wimbledon for the fourth time on Saturday.  It feels like a repeat of last years finals.  Venus won 7-5, 6-4 so I’m wondering if kid sister, Serena, will top her this year.

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 …read more

The four top-seeded women have made the semifinals at Wimbledon which will feature a Russian versus an American player in both matches.
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, …read more

Second-seeded Serena Williams has advance to the fourth round at Wimbledon after posting a straight victory over Italy’s Roberta Vinci at the All England Club.  She easily won the match 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 7 minutes.
Williams, who is a two-time Wimbledon champion, will go on to face Daniela Hantuchova (who beat Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour, 36 minutes) in the fourth round.  Williams has won six of the seven matchups with Hantuchova including two battles at Wimbledon in 2002 and 2007 (Williams won both times).

Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Olympic gold medalist, Elena Dementieva also advanced to the …read more

The Olympic tennis events concluded on Sunday. Sisters Venus and Serena Williams of the United States defeated Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual for the Gold Medal in the women’s doubles competition.
Yan Zi and Zheng Jie of China defeated Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko of Russia to earn the Bronze Medal.
Venus and Serena Williams won the Gold Medal in the women’s doubles tennis competition at the Sydney Games in 2000.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal continued his winning ways for the men’s singles Olympic Gold Medal, defeating Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in three sets: 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3. Nadal gives Spain its first ever …read more

It was a day of upsets in tennis at the Beijing Olympics on Thursday. First top-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland was defeated by James Blake of the United States. Then both Venus and Serena Williams of the United States lost their respective matches.
Serena, seeded #4 in the women’s singles competition, was defeated by Russia’s Elena Dementieva (pictured above), the #5 seed, in three sets.

Venus played China’s Li Na, losing in two close sets, 5-7, 5-7.
Venus and Serena Williams are partners and still in the women’s double competition. They won the Gold Medal in doubles at the 2000 Games in Sydney.