Carlos Rodriguez, best-known as the former coach of once dominant women’s tennis player Justine Henin, was interviewed by Matt Cronin for FOXSports.com and gave harsh reviews of some currently top WTA players.

Ok, the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova can be satisfied, but Jelena Jankovic could feel more than offended. However, we can’t blame Carlos for being honest; I doubt he wanted to insult anyone. Read more »

Ohohoho, this story is becoming juicer than I had expected.

Earlier today we saw photos of Fernando Verdasco in Ana Ivanovic’s player box, as well as the ones where the ATP player is watching Ana’s practice. Their closeness at the China Open party was also noticed. All these things led to speculations that they are the latest tennis couple, or will soon become one.

We didn’t have to wait for long for more details to get caught. The tennis beauty from Serbia and her Spanish colleague were seen together on one more occasion (see the photo), and it’s not an official gathering. Who knows what we’ll witness tomorrow.

After the cut you can see more photos of Fernando sitting with Ana’s mother Dragana while Ana practices. Read more »

Well, well, this seems to be more than just a rumor. Men’s tennis player Fernando Verdasco from Spain, ranked 15th in the world, seems to be in love with women’s tennis beauty Ana Ivanovic. Read more »

Oh Ana, you haven't had a winning streak for so long. When was the last one, at Wimbledon? And even there you lost in the third round already, to the same player who conquered you today.

Ana Ivanovic lost in the quarterfinals of the China Open to home favorite Zheng Jie, ranked 30th in the world. The match was a tense three-setter with a final score 7-6 2-6 6-4 which came after almost three hours of play.

"This tournament has definitely been a step forward. I'm still working my way back and I just have to be patient," said Ivanovic. Haha, a step forward. This sounds so strange when you hear it from a recent world No.1. She won one match at the China Open!

Let’s quickly review Ivanovic’s results after Wimbledon in June. She reached the third round at Montreal, withdrew from the Olympics with right thumb injury, reached only the second round at the US Open, dropped opener at Tokyo, and lost in the quarterfinals of the China Open today.

Maybe the solution to Ana’s problems lies in changing that adidas outfit everyone has long been fed up with. Actually, everyone wanted the outfit to go since its introduction. (image via Great Tennis Photos)

Ana Ivanovic finally won a match.

The former world No.1 defeated Alize Cornet 6-1 7-6 in the second round of the China Open and earned her first victory since August 26th when she beat Vera Dushevina in the US Open first round. The top seed suffered a shocking loss in the second round already, as she fell to 188th-ranked Julie Coin of France.

Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie, who downed then top-seeded Ivanovic at the grass-court Grand Slam in the third round, will play the Serb in the quarterfinals.

The two are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head history. The world No.30 Zheng represents a significant threat, especially taking into account she’s a home favorite, and plus, the fourth-ranked Ivanovic is still wearing that monotonous adidas outfit in which she's never won back to back matches. (via Forty Deuce)

Top women’s tennis players attended the official reception at the China Open in Beijing, wearing traditional Chinese dresses.

Hm, look at Fernando Verdasco, he’s the third Spanish ATP player who seems to enjoy Ana’s company, joining Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo (OK, by now we know that the story about Robredo was not more than a rumor).

Oh, and it’s so nice to see Ana and Jelena together. They even seem to enjoy each other’s company.

More photos after the cut. Read more »

Top seed Jelena Jankovic confidently advanced at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, while fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic, seeded second, lost the first match she played after her shocking defeat at the US Open.

Jelena Jankovic cruised past Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-2 6-1 to book her place in the Tokyo quarterfinals where she’ll face fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia who defeated Japan's Ayumi Morita 6-1 6-1.

Current number two in the world, Jankovic, has a chance to return to the top of the rankings if she wins the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Ana Ivanovic was upset by Nadia Petrova 6-1 1-6 6-2. Not a great promotion of her new Yonex racquet.

In the first set Ivanovic’s serve was broken three times, while she herself earned no break points. The second set was the same story, only the players exchanged their roles. The world number 20 Petrova pressured unprepared Ivanovic in the decider and the Serb succumbed after an hour and 41 minutes.

The world number three will now fly to Beijing for next week's China Open. (photos: Getty Images)

World number three Ana Ivanovic will begin this week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo with a new Yonex racquet produced specifically for her, no other tennis pro will use it. The 20-year-old tennis star from Serbia will also start using an exclusive new racquet bag.

The racquet, named the RQiS 1Tour XL, will go on global sale to the public shortly.

You can see the racquet bag after the cut. Read more »