It is only January and Elena Dementieva has already won two WTA singles titles in 2009.

After winning in Auckland, beating Elena Vesnina in an all-Russian final, Dementieva reached one more final right away, and won that one too, beating another compatriot, Dinara Safina, 6-3 2-6 6-1.

The world No.4 Dementieva will head into next week's Australian Open riding on a wave of 10 straight wins. The Beijing Olympics gold medalist Dementieva has now won 13 career WTA singles titles, but there are still no Grand Slam trophies in her biography.

Dementieva and Safina are now tied at 5-5 in career meetings, with Dementieva having won all those played on hardcourts.

Oh her way to the title the third-seeded Dementieva defeated Ekaterina Makarova, Jarmila Gajdosova, sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, top seed Serena Williams, and finally second seed Dinara Safina. (photo via Sydney International)

Czech Petra Kvitova made her first WTA final a winning one, beating countrywoman Iveta Benesova 7-5 6-1 at the Moorilla Hobart International.

The 18-year-old Kvitova and the 25-year-old Benesova are close friends, Fed Cup teammates, they have the same coach, and they even shared a room during the Hobart tournament.

The world No.49 Kvitova broke Benesova's serve twice to win the first set, before powering away from her more experienced rival in the second set.

The 2009 Hobart International final was the first all-Czech WTA final since 2005. (sources: CBS Sports, photo via Moorilla Hobart International)

Seeds for Australian Open 2009 have been announced and world number one Jelena Jankovic of Serbia tops the women’s list.

The draw will be strong, as 29 of the top 32 ranked players will be competing. Those three to be missed include Maria Sharapova (right shoulder injury), Katarina Srebotnik (left Achilles injury) and Li Na (right knee injury).

Singles seedings list for the 2009 Australian Open:

1. Jankovic, Jelena (SRB)
2. Williams, Serena (USA)
3. Safina, Dinara (RUS)
4. Dementieva, Elena (RUS)
5. Ivanovic, Ana (SRB)
6. Williams, Venus (USA) Read more »

American Bethanie Mattek married JPS Insurance President Justin Sands on Saturday, November 29, 2008 at Edgewater Beach Resort in Naples, FL. The world No.37 will take a break and skip the Australian Open.

Jelena Jankovic is a player that makes me laugh by far the most frequently, but at one level the Serb is beaten, and that is the level of the on-court fashion. Bethanie’s outfits you may not like, but you will certainly notice them, and probably find, hm, interesting. Here are just two examples, my favorites.

Of course, Bethanie’s wedding was not ordinary either. She wore a black wedding dress. (via Down the Line)

Even though Ana Ivanovic ended partnership with adidas’ coach Sven Groenefeld, and she even declared being ready to be on her own at the 2009 Australian Open, we can see the two still haven’t completely parted ways.

Ivanovic was spotted training at Melbourne Park under the watchful eye of Groenefeld. The coach who helped her reach the No.1 spot in the rankings and win the French Open will be helping her at the Australian Open.

"I don't have a full time coach but Sven still helps me on the court and he gives me some tips and will be there (in Melbourne)," said the Serb. (via Down the Line)

Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva scored her ninth successive win, beating top seed Serena Williams in the semifinals of the Medibank International Sydney. In the final, the in-form Russian will meet another Russian, Dinara Safina, who advanced with a victory over Ai Sugiyama.

Safina, the second seed, was the first of the two to advance to the final, seeing off the Japanese veteran 6-4 7-6(3). This first semifinal was more competitive than the following one, as Safina won a tight opening set and had to come back from a break down in the second set to make it past Sugiyama.

The third-seeded Dementieva, who has already won one title in 2009, beat Williams 6-3 6-1 in just 68 minutes. After losing their first four encounters in straight sets, Dementieva has now won three in a row.  Just a small addition, remember that Williams had saved multiple match points in two of her matches earlier in the week.

Dementieva and Safina have played nine times so far, with Safina leading the series 5-4. However, all five of her wins have come on clay or grass, while all four of Dementieva's have come on hardcourt, the surface of the Medibank International Sydney. (source and photo: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Ana Ivanovic is not among those who believe that Jelena Jankovic hasn't rightfully occupied the top of the rankings.

Here’s what one Serbia’s tennis star says about the other:

Jelena is obviously a great player. Whoever gets to number one deserves it. It was a very, very close race for the number one position. I think she was tough and the most consistent of all of us and she deserved that position.

I like it when tennis players respect each other’s work, and talk nice about each other.

Ivanovic’s readiness for the Australian Open

You remember Ivanovic had a stomach illness. Fortunately, now she feels healthy and fitter than ever.

Being without coach Sven Groeneveld is supposedly not a problem for Ana either:

I already do know a lot about tennis and about other players (and) I think I'm very young and maybe a full-time coach could still be very helpful. (But) at this moment, I think I can handle it the way it is.

Hehe, maybe that’s why Ana was singing Beyonce’s song "Single Ladies" in her head during matches, to encourage herself to be good enough on her own. (photo: ivanovic-ana.com)

Jelena Jankovic has updated her blog from Melbourne, and has answered some of our questions, like the one that the clothes she wore at the JB Group Classic were simply her own. However, the world No.1 still can’t reveal who her official new clothing sponsor will be.

Look what she said:

Some people have been wondering what clothes I'll be wearing this year because in Hong Kong last week I was wearing clothes with my initials, JJ on them. Those were my own clothes, though. I can't tell you all what I'll be wearing in Australia, because I haven't signed any contracts yet. I can't say anything until it's made official. I hope you all like it though!

Also, Jankovic’s contract with Prince has expired, and she still hasn’t decided to which brand she will switch, but the change will probably happen soon. However, JJ will continue to use Prince for some time, as it takes time to get used to a new racquet and the Australian Open is very close.

Svetlana Kuznetsova withdrew from her quarterfinal clash with Ai Sugiyama at the Medibank International Sydney, which leaves her appearance at the Australian Open in doubt.

The Russian world No.8 suffered an abdominal strain in her second round win over Kaia Kanepi on Tuesday.

"I felt it a little bit before, but I thought, well, it's just tight muscle. Now, every time I start to pull, it feels worse and worse. Yesterday I could manage to finish and win the match [but] I went to warm-up today and it was worse," said Kuznetsova, disappointed she sustained an injury so close to the Australian Open.

Kuznetsova will try to slowly recover and hopefully be ready for Melbourne. She had the similar injury before, having played the 2006 French Open with the same problem. (source: Australian Open, photo by our reader Jacob)

In the quarterfinals of the Medibank International Sydney, top seed Serena Williams was pushed to the limit by Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, who had three match points but failed to convert them.

The world No.12 Wozniacki was on a good way to beat Williams, when she broke the American to lead 6-5 in the final set. However, Wozniacki failed to serve out, wasting three match points in the process and Williams eventually won the match 6-7 6-3 7-6.

Remember, Williams also saved four match points in her first-round encounter with Australia’s Samantha Stosur.

In the other quarterfinals, Svetlana Kuznetsova pulled out of the match with Ai Sugiyama with a stomach problem, Elena Dementieva scored her eighth straight win this season beating Agniezska Radwanska 6-2 5-7 6-4, while Dinara Safina, who will meet Sugiyama in the semis, defeated Alize Cornet 6-3 6-4. (source: Reuters, photo by our reader Jacob)