Jelena Jankovic has been amazing this year – she reached a career-high No. 3 in the singles rankings, and collected titles from Auckland (hardcourt), Charleston (clay), Rome (clay), adding to them today’s Birmingham trophy (grass). Moreover, this year she has earned more points than any other WTA player.

I was definitely wrong when I said that she should have skipped the tournament in Strasbourg in order to relax a bit. I thought she was playing too much and that it would affect her game – but Jankovic proved me wrong. After Strasbourg, she reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros and now she defeated the 2004 Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova to win the DFS Classic in Birmingham. Her form is simply amazing. Read more »

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Maria Sharapova, the No. 1 seed and a two-time champion in Birmingham, beat Marion Bartoli of France 7-5, 6-0 in a semifinal on Sunday. Bartoli, who completed her suspended quarterfinal earlier Sunday, defeated third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

The match between Sharapova and Bartoli was temporarily delayed when two spectators needed medical assistance – a woman was left unconscious after falling down a staircase, and a man in another part of the stadium fainted. The helicopter had to be sent to take the woman to the hospital.

Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic reached the final by defeating Italy’s Mara Santangelo 6-1, 7-5.

The final will take place also on Sunday; I’ll keep you posted! (via ESPN)

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Two preview photos of Ana's new Adidas outfits have been published on her official website.

The white one she’ll be wearing at Wimbledon, the purple one at the US Open. At the moment I prefer the purple outfit, I find the model more interesting. However, I’m sure they'll both look perfect when Ana puts them in action on the court. Which one do you prefer?

Before Wimbledon, world No. 6 Ivanovic will be playing at Ordina Open in the Netherlands. This grass-court tournament starts on Sunday, June 17th. Ana is seeded second, which is her highest ever seeding in a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event. She has a bye in the first round, so her opening match will take place on Tuesday or Wednesday, where her opponent will be either Eleni Daniilidou of Greece or Frenchwoman Severine Bremond.

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Top-seeded Maria Sharapova (BTW, currently the highest-paid female athlete) had to win two matches on Saturday to reach the last four of the rain-hit DFS Classic. She beat Austria’s Tamira Paszek 6-3 4-6 6-2 in a much-delayed third-round match. Sharapova had an easier time against Elena Likhovtseva, seeing off her fellow Russian 6-2 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.

"Mentally, you have to be ready for a very long day. You have to be ready no matter how many stops there are,” Maria, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, commented on the rain which constantly interrupted the tournament.

Sharapova missed two months earlier this year due to a right shoulder injury and hopes her crowded schedule doesn't make it worse. Read more »

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We haven’t seen Martina on court for more than a month now. Being injured, the former world number one hasn’t played since Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, where she lost to Patty Schnyder in the third round. We were hoping that she’ll make a comeback at the 18-24 June Ordina Open in the Netherlands, but that won’t be the case.

However, it is certain that Martina will compete in Wimbledon, the third grand slam of the year. (via Martinaworld)

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