Venus Williams has one more proof that she's physically fit and ready to climb rankings again. It didn't take her long to defeat Aravane Rezai of France 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the Bausch and Lomb Championships in Florida. Williams used her powerful serve to ensure her place in the second round where her opponent will be fourth seed Patty Schnyder. So far, Williams has eight consecutive wins over Schnyder.
Tennis admirers, I simply have to share my amazement with Ana Ivanovic's website with you. I have never seen a website of a tennis player that is more beautiful, more professional and more informative than this one. It is regularly updated, and it has all sorts of things – latest news and photos (plenty of beautiful photos), Ana's diary (both video and written), you can ask Ana questions, you can read interviews she gave for various magazines, you can watch Ana's live matches – it has everything you can think of. But no, that's not the end – they are always introducing some new things – the latest one is a podcast! Wow! However, what I like most about the site is that it is magnificently organized, it can't get any better than that. Keep up the good work!
Nadia Petrova is one step closer to defending her title at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida. After having a bye in round one, she reaches the third round by beating Estonia's Kaia Kanepi in straight sets 6-4, 6-0. Her next opponent will be Zheng Jie of China.
(source: BBC Sport)
Venus Williams says that she feels good and that she is satisfied with her performance in Memphis and Miami. We will see her at the Bausch & Lomb Champinship today when her opponent in the first round will be Aravane Rezai of France. Let me just remind you that Williams won this tournament in 2002 when she was world's No. 2 female tennis player. At present she is No. 32, but here's what she has to say about her future plans:
"I'm very eager to get my ranking up but realize I have to wait and quite possibly have to play more tournaments, or I have to stay in there and win the big tournaments like (sister) Serena.
"I just have to be patient … but I want it tomorrow," she said.
I have already mentioned that Justine Henin won't play until April 30 (Warsaw – J&S Cup) due to her breathing problems. Amelie Mauresmo is still recovering from her appendectomy. And, Maria Sharapova, who was supposed to make her debut this year at the Fed Cup, announced that she will miss both the Fed Cup and the Family Circle Cup because of her shoulder injury and problems with the left hamstring. We'll see her on court again after 5-6 weeks.
Svetlana Kuznetsova's poor play in Miami cost her to go down two spots in WTA Tour Singles Rankings (from 3rd to 5th). Two players own her a favor for their higher ranking – Amelie Mauresmo returns to the top three, while Kim Clijsters jumps to the 4th place. Russia still has a representative in the 10th place, but this time a different one – Anna Chakvetadze replaced Elena Dementieva. There's one person who seems to have an enormous determination to return to the prestigious top ten and that is Serena Williams. This week she has jumped from number 18 to number 11.
In 2009 WTA will introduce the most significant changes since its formation in 1970. Their aim is to make top players compete more often, to make the season easier to follow and to minimize the number of injuries. The changes will include:
(via Ana Ivanovic's site)
New WTA rules which take effect in 2009 oblige players to take part in a number of tournaments, among which is Indian Wells. Those who refuse to compete will be subjects to sanctions (suspension from the next two premium tournaments) and big fines.
Despite all this, Serena says that chances of her returning to Indian Wells are slim to none. She is boycotting this tournament because of her bad experience in 2001, when she was booed and subjected to racial taunts. WTA announced that they are not going to adjust the rules for individual players, while the father of Williams sisters threatens the WTA Tour that he will take legal action if it tries to force his daughters to play in this tournament.
In my opinion, Serena should move on, leave that painful experience behind, and let us enjoy her talent in as many matches as possible. She should think of all those people who support her, and not waste her energy on those who certainly don't deserve it. (photo: Wire Image)
Bausch & Lomb Championships starts on April 2, in Amelia Island, Florida. It is played outdoors, on green clay surface. The only two players from the top 10 who will take part in this tournament are Nadia Petrova (last year's winner) and Jelena Jankovic. Let me just remind you that players with the best results in Bausch & Lomb were Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf who all won this tournament 3 times.
After losing to Serena Williams in Miami final, Henin announced that she won't play in Charleston (which starts on April 9). She wants to go home and rest in order to prepare for the clay-season. She needs some treatment to fight her respiratory problems. Warsaw (April 30) will be her next tournament.
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