Venus took on Italy’s Flavia Pennetta and she made 38 unforced errors and just looked wild.  She kept dumping balls into the net and ended up losing 7-6 (2), 6-4.

image: Zuma Press

If you thought that was bad, you’ll be shocked to learn that Serena actually fared worse.  On the very same court just hours later, a second Williams sister was eliminated after making 44 unforced errors and ended up losing to Austria’s Sybille Bammer with a final score of 7-5. 6-4.

Both ladies, who are normally pretty reserved, had some things to say about their losses.

“I wasn’t able to get control of my ball today,” Venus said. “After a while, it was obvious to see she was just keeping the ball in play and waiting for me to self-destruct.”

“I saw her after the match, and she just said she had made a lot of errors,” Serena said. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ I didn’t think I would do the same thing… I never played worse in my life.  It was really a bad match.  We don’t lose too much in the same day, so usually I’m so pumped.  And I was pumped today. I just couldn’t get it together.  I just hope I don’t have another day like this for another several years.”

Yeah, I hope so too, Serena…

Post from: EveryJoe

Both Williams Sisters Lose in Cincinnati

image: Zuma Press

Bartoli didn’t gloat over the victory which has resulted in her being bumped up two spots in the rankings to 12th.  After the match she said: “it was great to play Venus again.  I have a lot of good memories from Wimbledon.”

This was the seventh time Williams played in the finals at Stanford but her experience didn’t help her in the end.  “I had a great tournament,” she said. “But Marion was just too good today.”

Bartoli collected $107,000 for winning the event.

Post from: EveryJoe

Bartoli Beats Williams, Wins Stanford

image: TSN

The American tennis stars beat Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-4 to clinch their fourth Wimbledon title together.  “There’s nothing like winning a title with your sister,” said Serena. “It’s really a good feeling. I’m really excited to have doubles titles.  I rack ‘em up.”

“One out of two’s not bad,” Venus said. “I really wanted to win the singles, but they’re two separate events. If I won the singles and not the doubles, it’s still not the same.  I wanted my name on the trophy so one out of two’s not bad.”

I know that some people might complain about the domination of the Williams sisters but I think it brings excitement to the sport.   Congratulations on all your success at Wimbledon this weekend, Venus and Serena!

Post from: EveryJoe

Williams Sisters Win Doubles at Wimbledon

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).

image: Zuma Press

Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Olympic gold medalist, Elena Dementieva also advanced to the fourth round after beating her her fellow Russian, Regina Kulikova 6-1, 6-2 in just 59 minutes.  It was Kulikova’s first-ever Grand Slam tournament.

Dementieva will go on to battle another Russian, Elena Vesnina.  If history repeats itself, Dementieva will take the match since she has beat Vesnina both times the women have met.

image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

Serena Williams Advances To Fourth Round

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

Post from: EveryJoe

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!

Post from: EveryJoe

Safina vs. Kuznetsova at 2009 French Open

image: Zuma Press

“You really want to win badly and there’s so many things going on,” said Wozniak. “It was my first time on Philippe Chatrier court. Emotions get involved and you just get tight and you can’t play really your game, so it’s tough.”

I can imagine that the 21-year-old’s nerves got the best of her but I hope she goes home to Blainville, Ontario with a deep sense of pride for what she accomplished personally and for her country.

Williams, on the other hand, has extended her Grand Slam winning streak to 18 matches and referred to the win as her “most focused match so far.”  In the pursuit of her 11th major title, Williams will next play seventh seeded Russian, Svetlana Kuznetsova, who won the 2004 U.S. Open.  “I feel like I have nothing to lose,” Williams said. “This is when everything counts, you know. I have to pick up my level and play again a really good, strong match, especially playing somebody like Svetlana who is a great clay-court player and who moves extremely well and doesn’t do anything bad.”

Post from: EveryJoe

Williams Eliminates Wozniak at French Open

Both Safina and Kuznetsova have been runners up in the finals at Rome, but have never taken the title.

The match between Safina and Williams lasted for 3 hours and 10 minutes! “She pushed me to play my best,” Safina said. “Sometimes you need this kind of match … It gives me a lot of confidence to beat such a big player like her, such a champion.”

Williams, who is currently number 5, will jump to number 3 by reaching the Rome semi-finals. This is her highest ranking in 6 years. Williams isn’t really concerned with the ranking, it’s the titles she concentrates on.

“The ranking will come when it comes. I like to keep my titles and have my trophies at home,” she said.

Stay tuned for results from the Women’s Italian Open, which takes place today (May 9).

Source

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Safina and Kuznetsova in Rome Final

Next opponent for Kuznetsova is Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Kaia Kanepi 7-6 (5), 6-3. The match is being called sloppy and not a good one for either player.

"It was a pretty bad match from both of us. I’m just happy I managed to stay calm in the second set and pull it off," said Azarenka.

"Definitely I need to step it up and be tough tomorrow."

In other women’s tennis news, Dinara Safina defeated Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 and Venus Williams easily won against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 6-2.

Source: AP

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Kuznetsova Defeats Jankovic at Italian Open

1. (1) Dinara Safina, Russia, 9,071 points

2. (2) Serena Williams, United States, 8,272

3. (3) Elena Dementieva, Russia, 7,391

4. (4) Jelena Jankovic, Serbia, 7,350

5. (5) Venus Williams, United States, 7,102

6. (6) Vera Zvonareva, Russia, 6,040

7. (7) Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, 5,174

8. (9) Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 4,776

9. (8) Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 4,546

10. (10) Nadia Petrova, Russia, 3,840

I read an interesting article about the how the ranking system is a failed one. You can read it here and I would love to hear your thoughts on how the world or tennis determines who is number one.

Image Credit: SXC

Post from: EveryJoe

Women’s ATP Rankings for May 3, 2009