In a long and closely-fought rain-interrupted Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinal, Andrea Petkovic followed up her win over world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki with a 2-6 6-2 6-4 upset of sixth seed Jelena Jankovic, Miami runner-up to Serena Williams in 2008.

In the first set, the seventh-ranked Jankovic faced no break points and won 80% of points on her serve, compared to Petkovic's 49%. Also, she won 51% of return points, compared to Petkovic's low 20%.

German world No.23 Petkovic established a 2-0 lead in the beginning of the second set and even though Jankovic had multiple break points in the third game, after a long fight Petkovic increased the lead to 3-0 and solidly went on to win the set 6-2.

In the decider, it was Jankovic who was first in the better position, leading 4-2, but it was obvious it wouldn't be an easy job for her. Petkovic took charge and even though Jankovic kept fighting, and maintained the match thrilling until the end, Petkovic won four straight games to reach the semifinals of the $4,500,000 tournament. (photo: sr_cranks)

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)

As our reader Brenda from Argentina asked for my overview of the 2011 Australian Open tennis fashion, here it is – a little bit of every brand, a little bit of good and bad.

Let's not save the best for the last. Let's start with by far the biggest fashion attention-grabber of the tournament – Venus Williams. The American played three matches (actually two, but she started her third one) and showcased the same number of outfits. The following one is the unofficial ugliest tennis outfit of the decade.

Venus, a graduate in fashion design and the person behind clothing line EleVen, made the outfits herself.

Believe it or not, Venus' dresses, or whatever they can be called, have gained a fan base. Whoever likes Venus' latest EleVen dresses, please leave a comment! I'm sure the world would love to hear your reasoning.

I'd like to continue with Nadia Petrova, the representative of Ellesse. Petrova has also had some colorful and imaginative styles (remember her US Open 2010 outfit that had stripes of all the possible colors?). There might be sound logic behind Petrova's support of EleVen.

Another fashion favorite is always Aravane Rezai. Even though this time her family drama attracted more attention than her dress, the Frenchwoman stayed faithful to the touch of crazy uniqueness. Although, she definitely can do better!

Let's move on to adidas – plenty of it. Read more »