Both Daniela Hantuchova and Petra Kvitova, who won last week's tournaments of Pattaya and Paris, were defeated in the first round of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

Kvitova may have beaten current world No.1 Kim Clijsters just two days ago, but she felt slow and tired in her first round in the United Arab Emirates and lost to qualifier Ayumi Morita 7-6(2) 7-6(3). Having won the Brisbane and Paris tournaments in 2011, Kvitova has today suffered only her second loss of the season in which she ascended 20 spots in the rankings. The Czech is currently at a career-high of No.14.

Hantuchova was also feeling physically exhausted, so much that at moments she couldn't keep track of the score. Former world No.5 Anna Chakvetadze, whose days of tennis glory are growing distant, made it to the second round of Dubai with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Hantuchova. It's Chakvetadze's second first-round win in four attempts this season.

Besides the 14th-seeded Kvitova, the only other seed to lose on Tuesday was No.13 seed Ana Ivanovic, who is now enjoying the benefits of being coachless. Patty Schnyder defeated Ivanovic 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2. Another Serb also lost in three sets in the first round, wildcard Bojana Jovanovski to Yanina Wickmayer, 7-5 3-6 6-2. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Justine Henin's second career came to an end, but not because she wanted to pursue other things – the Belgian had an elbow injury which cut her tennis plans short and now she is calling her state mourning.

Here’s how Henin is feeling right now:

I regard ending my career more like a sentence that's been handed down than a decision I've made. The will is there, but physically I can't [carry on]. Now I have to mourn the end of my career.

And she further explains the serious nature of her injury:

I've had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career but this time, at 29, I just can't go on. You have to be reasonable about things. When I came back from Australia, I had consultations with three different doctors. It got to the point that I needed 10 minutes in the morning just to get my elbow functional. The ligament wasn't solid enough to handle the intensity of the game. I'm going to miss all the great feelings you have as a professional tennis player. I hope I'll pick the racquet up again one day, but more than anything I want to live a normal life.

Earlier this month, Henin was in Antwerp, alongside Kim Clijsters, Els Callens, and Laurence Courtois, to receive a Fed Cup trophy won in Madrid ten years ago. There was a standing ovation by 10,000 spectators, and the seven-time Grand Slam champion expressed how she was going through a difficult period, missing tennis. (photo: Ralf Reinecke, sources: BBC, Henin's official website)

Tomorrow-to-be-number-one Kim Clijsters is vulnerable just like every other player on the WTA Tour, and Petra Kvitova proved that by beating the Belgian 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Open GDF Suez in Paris.

The Paris title is Kvitova’s third, but it is her biggest one and of course, her biggest match victory so far. However, the fourth-seeded Kvitova had closer matches earlier in the tournament – the left-handed Czech barely made it to the quarterfinals, having been a match point down against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (final score: 6-4 6-7(6) 7-6(9)), and then Yanina Wickmayer had a 5-3 lead in the third set before Kvitova reached the semis.

Clijsters will enjoy her regained No.1 ranking anyway, for the first time since 2006, while world No.18 Kvitova can enjoy her great victory and already the second title this season, after the Brisbane International. (via WTA Tour)

World No.32 Daniela Hantuchova followed her upset of top seed and twice defending champion Vera Zvonareva, with a convincing 6-0 6-2 victory over Sara Errani in the PTT Pattaya Open final. The fourth-seeded Hantuchova converted six of her 13 opportunities to break the Italian and clinched her first title in almost four years.

Hantuchova’s previous singles trophies include Indian Wells 2002 and 2007, and her latest prior to today’s in Thailand, Linz 2007.

As for the 44th-ranked Errani, she won two WTA titles in 2008 (Palermo and Portoroz), and this is the third final she has lost. (photo AP via Yahoo)

Twice defending champion and top seed Vera Zvonareva suffered a straight sets defeat to Daniela Hantuchova in the semifinals of the PTT Pattaya Open. To make matters worse for Zvonareva, the match point that Hantuchova converted came when Zvonareva was penalized for swearing (after having been warned for smashing a racquet).

The 7-6(3) 6-4 victory has enabled the fourth-seeded Hantuchova to be one match way from her first title since Linz 2007. Her last obstacle will be eighth seed Sara Errani.

The final at the Open GDF Suez in Paris will feature seed No.1 Kim Clijsters, who will become WTA No.1 on Monday, and fourth seed and world No.18 Petra Kvitova. Clijsters defeated Kaia Kanepi 6-1 7-5 in the semifinals, while Kvitova cruised past Bethanie Mattek Sands 6-2 6-0.

Both Clijsters and Kvitova have already clinched a title this season: Clijsters won the Australian Open, while Kvitova won the Brisbane International. So far they have faced each other two times, both matches were in 2010, and Clijsters was victorious on both occasions, losing a total of just five games. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

You all know about the scandal involving Jelena Jankovic and a photo of her "full mouth" face expression that a German company used in an advertisement for a Swiss sperm bank, without JJ's consent. The tennis star decided to sue them and give all the money the trial will probably earn her to humanitarian causes.

Here's what Jelena's mother, Snezana, said about their plans to sue:

Jelena has a good reputation. Linking her to a sperm bank for us in Serbia is absolutely unacceptable and reprehensible. We forwarded the whole case to a lawyer, who will take all the necessary legal procedures, so the responsible will have to explain their action in the court.

Very nice of Jelena to decide to help humanitarian organizations! (source: Blic Online)

Kim Clijsters' second career has just reached brand new heights. As if it wasn't high enough with three Grand Slam titles – US Open 2009 and 2010, and the 2011 Australian Open! By defeating Jelena Dokic in a mighty fashion, Clijsters will take Wozniacki off her pedestal, before the young Dane managed to win a Grand Slam, and reclaim her No.1 ranking when the WTA Tour releases the new list on Monday.

The first to take charge in the Open GDF Suez quarterfinal in Paris was actually the former world No.4 Dokic, now ranked 120th and a qualifier at the tournament. The Australian established a 3-0 with one break of top-seeded Clijsters' serve. However, since that moment, Clijsters won 12 straight games, defeating Dokic 6-3 6-0!

Clijsters is at the moment the most solid player on the Tour and the No.1 ranking is just a natural consequence of her current dominance. Well deserved, Kim! Congratulations!

In the Paris semifinals, Clijsters will play either Dominika Cibulkova or Kaia Kanepi. (photo via WTA Tour)

Vera Zvonareva is now just two steps away from her third successive title at the PTT Pattaya Open in Thailand. The top-seeded Russian beat world No.40 Peng Shuai 6-4 4-6 6-4 and earned her 13th consecutive win at the tournament. The victory didn’t come without a challenge, as Peng had two break points to lead 5-3 in the third set. Zvonareva’s next obstacle is Daniela Hantuchova.

Second seed Ana Ivanovic lost in today’s Pattaya quarterfinals. The Serb was defeated by Roberta Vinci, the first time in their five meetings. Final score: 7-5 6-3.

A mention of Galina Voskoboeva’s Pattaya campaign I owe to our reader and contributor John Bolan. Voskoboeva lost in the quarterfinals to Sara Errani, 2-6 6-3 6-2. But this defeated came only after she won two qualifying matches, including one against Sania Mirza (Voskoboeva's first match back from almost a year long injury), and her second-round match against third seed Maria Kirilenko.

Elsewhere, that is in Paris, another tournament is in full swing. As we’re awaiting the spectacle of the day – Kim Clijsters vs. Jelena Dokic, which could earn Kim No.1 ranking – let’s mention a great match that happened between Andrea Petkovic and Bethanie Mattek Sands. Petkovic was in charge during the beginning of the match, her service games were strong and she earned a set point. However, Mattek Sands miraculously got back into the match, and in a tiebreak won that first set, leaving Petkovic in utmost frustration.  Even though the German won the second set, Mattek Sands repeated the history and advanced to the semifinals, 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Thanks to our reader, Gregoire, I am learning about Aravane Rezai’s interview for Le Figaro entitled "Between me and my father", where the world No.21 talks for the first time about the issues that happened with her father during the Australian Open. Rezai didn’t entirely reveal the exact nature of the clash, despite journalist's persistence, but my understanding is that she wants more independence in making her own choices. The unwelcome situtation hit her emotionally and she needed some time to recover. Things seem to be settling down now.

Gregoire translated the interview for us:

Journalist: Aravane, what happened in Australia and why did you withdraw from the Fed Cup and the Open GDF-Suez?

Aravane Rezai: In Australia, I had some problems with my family. These are problems that happen in all families. I decided to take a break after this little family problem. For me it was a big earthquake in the head. So I decided not to play Fed Cup and the Open GDF-Suez. I want to apologize to the girls of the France team for not having been with them. They know what situation I’m dealing with. I really enjoyed representing my country, but being only 20% was impossible. I thank the captain (Editor’s note: Nicolas Escude) have respected my choice. My apologies also to GDF-SUEZ, which has always supported me as a partner. But this break was important to me, and it will allow me to come back stronger. I intend to return to the tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, if I have a wild card, or otherwise in Indian Wells.

Journalist: Why do you not you expressed earlier?

Aravane Rezai: I wanted to speak earlier, in Australia, but the WTA, my managers and the organization advised me not to do so because they thought I was not ready psychologically. I feel better today. I took a little rest and a lot of things fall into place. I am in the healing phase. Read more »

The highest-ranked Chinese player, Li Na, currently at career high of No.7, has become an ambassador of ice cream brand Haagen-Dazs. According to Wikipedia, Haagen-Dazs dates back to 1961 when two Polish immigrants established the brand in the Bronx, New York. Their first retail store was open in Brooklyn in 1976.

The glowing Li was part of a special ceremony and press conference in Beijing, together with her husband and coach, Jiang Shan.

Li’s status of Asia’s first Grand Slam singles finalist, earned at last month’s Australian Open, has landed her another sponsorship opportunity – a deal with Rolex is said to be awaiting Li. (source: WTA Tour)