Top seed and last year’s runner-up Caroline Wozniacki was confidently progressing at the US Open, losing just 17 games en route to the semifinals, but her first Top 10 opponent at the tournament, seventh seed Vera Zvonareva, defeated her 6-4 6-3 and ended her 13-match winning streak.

The loss may have cost Wozniacki the number one ranking, a million-dollar US Open series bonus and of course a first Grand Slam title.

And that’s not all, Wozniacki will probably have to deal with proving herself again. It’s true that she displayed stunning form in her first five matches, but all the opponents were unseeded except for Maria Sharapova, who is not in her prime time.

"Most things were going in. I had chances, and I don't know, I made some mistakes today that I usually don't do," said the 20-year-old Wozniacki, who significantly increased her number of unforced errors, to 31, compared to previous matches.

"Yeah, it was a tough day for me in the office."

Zvonareva has reached the title match of a second straight Grand Slam, having played the Wimbledon final against Serena Williams. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

The United States Backgammon Federation has honored tennis star Ana Ivanovic by giving her honorary lifetime membership for her contribution to the promotion of the game. Ivanovic frequently mentioned the game in media interviews and blogs.

"Ana’s enthusiasm for backgammon will be beneficial to the advancement of the game. We are excited to welcome her to the Federation as an honorary member," said USBGF President Perry Gartner.

"I’m flattered and grateful to receive this honorary membership," the former world No.1 Ivanovic said after welcoming the honor. "I don’t play so much these days, but when I was younger I used to play a lot with my old coach in player lounges around the world. It was a good way to pass time while waiting for my matches, especially at Wimbledon, when it rained!" (source: On the Baseline, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

You know I enjoy awarding my readers with nice prizes, and this time I have Best of The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 2010 Zagat® Guide signed by world No.6 and French Open finalist Samantha Stosur. I obtained it thanks to Andi, my new collaborator from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

How to get a chance to win? Simply answer the following question below in the comments section: What was Samantha Stosur's best result at the US Open in singles prior to 2010? The Australian recorded her best US Open result this year, by reaching the quarterfinals where she lost to defending champion Kim Clijsters.

The winner will be chosen randomly, from those providing the right answer. The contest ends on September 14th at 5 pm CET and I will announce the winner shortly after. When leaving the comment, make sure to give your correct email address, as I will use it to contact you if you win the prize.

Best of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 2010 Zagat® Guide features players’ recommended restaurants and shopping places in the cities where WTA tournaments are played. The guide also includes the list of the players’ most frequented spots as well as an index so fans can easily find their favorite players’ dining and shopping recommendations.

Good luck and thank you for participating! (photo of Stosur by John Bolan)

Yonex has announced a new multi-year partnership with Martina Hingis, their longtime endorser. The news contributes to the recent hints that Hingis could come back from retirement to play doubles, as she will now, according to the announcement, "serve as a featured member of the Yonex advisory staff, play the new EZONE 100 racquet and continue to use the brand's tennis bags, strings and other accessories".

Hingis has been playing exhibitions and today she will play another one, at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The new EZONE series of racquets was launched at the start of the 2010 US Open. (via: Women Who Serve, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Neither Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova nor the windy conditions at Flushing Meadows could stop top seed Caroline Wozniacki, and the Dane is well on her way to her first Grand Slam title.

Last year’s runner-up Wozniacki defeated unseeded first-time US Open quarterfinalist Cibulkova 6-2 7-5 in the match that "felt like playing in a hurricane", as Wozniacki later said, and in which it was an achievement simply to keep the ball in play.

Wozniacki made only 18 unforced errors, compared to Cibulkova’s 43. The quarterfinal between Vera Zvonareva and Kaia Kanepi that took place earlier featured as much as 88 unforced errors.

Wozniacki is now on a 13-match winning streak, having won Monteral and New Haven prior to coming to the US Open. In the Montreal final she defeated Vera Zvonareva, her next opponent at the US Open. (source: BBC, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Jim from KEF Media that arranged me two interviews with Lindsay Davenport and one with Chris Evert, provided me with another high-profile interview, with tennis great Tracy Austin.

The two-time US Open champion (1979, 1981) and former world No.1 answered a couple of my questions that are of course related to the current Grand Slam event and there is also the third question that I have to note was inserted by them, basically so that Tracy would advertise a product she is using for her injuries. Oh well, I’m fine with it.

My questions:

1. Can you name three players, in order, that you think are most likely to win the US Open women’s title?

2. Ivanovic has shown good form so far, what do you think her chances are?

All in all, Tracy was right with her predictions (the interview took place September 3). Actually, this US Open turned out not to be so difficult to predict, no earth-shaking surprises have occurred.

More or less irrelevant note: I want to say one more thing, I didn’t get to talk on the phone with the person I was interviewing yet again, because I was at work at the time the interview was scheduled for. Next time…

Vera Zvonareva has joined Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the US Open with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Kaia Kanepi in the round of eight. Both Zvonareva and Kanepi were making their first appearance at that stage of the US Open.

The seventh-seeded Zvonareva attributed the win in the windy conditions in Arthur Ashe Stadium to her ability to find the right balance between "keeping the ball in play and going for your shots", as she said. Kanepi was apparently far from that balance, as she made 60 unforced.

In the beginning of the match the players traded breaks to make it 1-1, and in those first two games they made 12 unforced errors and only one winner. The final statistics of the match show a total of 88 unforced errors and only 28 winners, 18 scored by seed No.31 Kanepi.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki or Dominika Cibulkova will be Zvonareva’s opponent in the semifinals. (source: ESPN, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Venus Williams battled past French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 7-6(5) 6-4 in a late-running daytime quarterfinal, while defending champion Kim Clijsters prevailed against French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur 6-4 5-7 6-3 at night.

After two breaks apiece it came down to a tie-break in the first set of the Williams vs. Schiavone encounter, played in windy conditions. The Italian, seeded sixth, recovered from a 0-4 deficit in the tiebreak, but two forehand errors at 5-5 handed Venus the set. The American third seed took control early in the second set but she twice let breaks slip before dismantling Schiavone’s serve once again to win the match. Williams has now defeated Schiavone in all of their eight meetings.

In the other quarterfinal of the day, Clijsters extended her US Open winning streak to 19 matches, which includes her titles in 2005 and 2009 (before and after her retirement). The fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur made the better start but Clijsters fought back to take the first set. Stosur revived in the second set and Clijsters was in trouble in the decider as she was broken three times in a row. In that same set, however, Stosur did not hold serve once. The scrappy match featured a total of 15 breaks.

Williams and Clijsters will face each other in the semifinals and both are chasing their third titles at the US Open.  The two met last year in the fourth round when Clijsters won with an interesting score 6-0 0-6 6-4. (sources: BBC, Women Who Serve, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

The word is out that Ana Ivanovic ended a year and a half long relationship with Australian golfer Adam Scott. The break up is still not fully confirmed, but the couple hasn’t been seen together in a while and the Daily Mail is reporting:

Ana Ivanovic has dropped her boyfriend, Australian golf star Adam Scott, and fallen in love with tennis again.

Let's remind ourselves of the good old times: Adam supporting Ana at Wimbledon, then Ana accompanying Adam at the Scottish Open, the couple holding hands in New York, and spending leisure time in Mallorca.

Ana and Adam started their relationship early in 2009, after the Serbian tennis star broke up with her Spanish colleague Fernando Verdasco. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Dominika Cibulkova reached her second US Open quarterfinal in two years by upsetting eleventh seed and 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round. Later, top seed Caroline Wozniacki recorded one of the most significant victories of her career by defeating Maria Sharapova for the first time and by building on the momentum gained in the previous three rounds of the US Open in which the Dane lost a total of just three games. The two winners will face each other in the quarterfinals.

Despite a fragile thigh and being down in both sets, the world No.45 Cibulkova defeated Kuznetsova in straight sets, 7-5 7-6(4). The Slovakian could have finished the match earlier, as she served for the second set at 5-3, but Kuznetsova saved two match points and the set went to a tiebreak. The Slovakian didn’t let her opportunity slip away and won that tiebreak to deny Kuznetsova her 101th Grand Slam victory. During the match Kuznetsova made 42 unforced errors and double-faulted 10 times.

Here’s what Cibulkova said afterwards:

I was really pumped for this. I knew I could make it and that I could beat everybody in this tournament. I still feel like that.

The fourth round match between last year’s US Open runner-up Wozniacki and 2006 US Open champion Sharapova was highly anticipated, partly because it was a big test for Wozniacki’s great form but also a big test for more established Sharapova, and the two didn’t disappoint, providing tennis fans with big-hitting contest.

Both Wozniacki and Sharapova had very low break point conversion percentages – Wozniacki just 25% (converting 3 of 12 break points), and Sharapova just 11% (making use of only 1 out of 9 break points). Sharapova also had much more double faults and unforced errors than Wozniacki – nine double faults to Wozniacki’s three, and 36 unforced errors to Wozniacki’s 10. Final match result: 6-3 6-4.

Wozniacki has won the last four meetings against her next opponent Cibulkova, dating back to 2008, and all of them were on hard courts. The Dane is now more than ever a serious contender for a Grand Slam title, and if the repeat of the last year’s final with Kim Clijsters materializes, Wozniacki will be much more likely to go all the way. (photos: © Neal Trousdale)