Ana Ivanovic followed up her 6-2 6-0 victory over Sorana Cirstea in the first round with a 6-3 6-2 triumph over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova at the Generali Ladies Linz. The match will be remembered for an unusual incidenent that happened over a bathroom break – Ivanovic asked to go to the toilet and the umpire gave her the permission to do so, but when she came back to the court she found out she had lost a game because of the time spent away (one point for each 20-second absence, which was summed up to four points, which is one game). It was the second game of the match, Zahlavova Strycova’s service game. Ivanovic was angry at the umpire but it turned out that the umpire’s decision was legitimate as a player should use such a break only before their own serve and not their opponent’s serve.

In the other part of the world, at the tournament in Osaka, Japanese No.1 Kimiko Date Krumm advanced to the quarterfinals with a decisive 6-2 6-0 victory over good friend Aiko Nakamura. Date Krumm won all the games from 3-2 in the first set. The sixth-seeded Japanese will next play top seed Samantha Stosur, who is defending her title. It will be their first career meeting and Date Krumm’s seventh match against a Top 10 player – she won just one of the previous six but four of her five losses were three-setters. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Luckily for Caroline Wozniacki, who is to become No.1-ranked WTA player on Monday, she didn't lose her first match since it became known she would replace Serena Williams on the top of the rankings, but rather confirmed her status, disputable as a lot of tennis fans would say, by beating former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals of the China Open. In the previous round Ivanovic managed to stay on track and defeat seventh seed Elena Dementieva after two tiebreaks.

In the quarterfinal against Ivanovic, Wozniacki took just three of 11 break point chances and, after winning a closely-fought first set, survived the Serb's late charge in the second set when she bettered her score from 5-2 down to 5-4 down. Even though Wozniacki pulled off the 7-6(1) 6-4 victory, there is place for concern about her health – she twisted her knee in the second set which left her motionless on the floor for a few moments.

Wozniacki's opponent in the semifinals will be No.16 seed Shahar Peer who defeated Timea Bacsinszky in the quarterfinals 7-6(4) 6-4. The other semifinal match will feature second seed Vera Zvonareva and home favorite Li Na. Zvonareva advanced with a 6-0 6-2 win over fifth-seeded Francesca Schiavone, while Li defeated Anastasija Sevastova 7-6(6) 6-3. The quarterfinal win in Beijing was Zvonareva's 45th win this season, and will ascend her to a career-high of No.3 in the new rankings on Monday. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova came to the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo fresh off her second career title in Seoul and lost in the very first round to none other than Ana Ivanovic who had a disappointing showing in Seoul the week before, losing in the first round.

The world No.38 Ivanovic had a pretty easy victory over Kleybanova, 6-3 6-2, and as I read she played very well "great serving, fantastic movement, and phenomenal hitting on her forehand side."

Unlike last week in Seoul where Ivanovic lost in the first round and Dinara Safina won, this time we had reverse situation and Safina fell to Julia Goerges 6-1 5-7 6-2. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

Jarmila Groth lost her first match since winning her maiden WTA title over the weekend in Guangzhou, falling to world No.19 and top seed Nadia Petrova 6-3 6-2  in the opening round of the Hansol Korea Open. Groth still hasn’t defeated a Top 20 player in her career and now her record against them is 0-17. The 41st-ranked Groth won sets in only three matches she played against the members of the Top 20.

Former world No.1s Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic, wildcard entries into the Seoul tournament, also played their first round matches, with the Russian winning and the Serb losing. Safina defeated Simona Halep 6-4 6-4, while the seventh-seeded Ivanovic lost to Vera Dushevina 2-6 6-4 6-2 despite having a 6-2 4-4 lead.

The Hansol Korea Open defending champion Kimiko Date Krumm was also in action and she beat fellow Japanese Junri Namigata 6-2 7-5. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, 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)