Since winning Sydney and reaching the final of the Australian Open, Li Na has lost all her opening matches (Dubai, Doha, Indian Wells and Miami), and you know what heals wounds the best, off-court activities such as commercials and photo shoots. The Chinese world No.7 distracted herself by a commercial for the new Beijing Open stadium.

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki is making blister pads glamorous with her latest product promotion. Read more »

Straight from winning the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Caroline Wozniacki rushed to Monte Carlo for an exhibition match at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with the 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone. The Danish world No.1 lost the one-set match, 6-4.

Wozniacki is bursting with confidence, so much that she booked her flight so close to the end of her Charleston final that they could have easily overlapped. Here’s what Diane of Women Who Serve, who regularly attends Charleston, said:

After the final, she dashed in to a press conference, and then almost immediately dashed right out. The champion had to catch a flight to the ATP tournament in Monaco […] So I'm left with a couple of questions: What if the second set in Charleston had gone to a tiebreak? What if it had gone to three sets?

Despite losing at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, Wozniacki enjoyed her appearance at the ATP event, especially because her home is just up the street from the Monte Carlo tournament venue. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Two WTA events were played this week and two good friends clinched titles: Caroline Wozniacki at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston and Victoria Azarenka at the Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella.

The world No.1 Wozniacki survived a string of tough matches to reach the final for a chance to win her first Charleston title in three appearances (one of which was a runner-up finish in 2009 and last year’s hurtful injury retirement in the semifinals). On her first tournament on clay this year, Wozniacki survived Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the third round after two tiebreaks, and followed it with another thriller, in the quarterfinals against Yanina Wickmayer. The Dane avoided an upset in the semis against Jelena Jankovic, beating the Serb 6-4 6-4, and in the title match she didn’t face much threat against surprise finalist Elena Vesnina and won 6-2 6-3.

Wozniacki has now added Charleston to her Dubai and Indian Wells 2011 titles. Her number of WTA titles now totals 15. As for the 56th-ranked Vesnina, the week will stay as a bright point in her career, she recorded upsets of Bethanie Mattek Sands, Julia Goerges, Peng Shuai, and most importantly, her first Top 5 win against Samantha Stosur. Read more »

All the quarterfinal matches at the Family Circle Cup have finished and we have our members of the final four: Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Peng Shuai and Elena Vesnina.

World No.1 Wozniacki and 2007 Charleston champion Jankovic will clash in the first semifinal. The two high-profile players didn't go through the quarterfinals with the same amount of difficulty: Wozniacki came from behind in both the second and third set to beat sixth seed Yanina Wickmayer 4-6 6-4 6-4, while No.3 seed Jankovic rolled past 18-year-old American Christina McHale 6-2 6-0. Still, Jankovic stated that the match wasn’t as easy:

The score looked pretty easy today, but the match was a lot tougher. My opponent played really well. She has a great serve and a pretty big forehand. Maybe I was better on the important points, especially at the start of the match. I took two long games and from then on I had the momentum. But she plays very well and she's going to be a very good player in the future. Read more »

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki had an easy second-round match at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, but the third round against the tricky opponent of Barbora Zahlavova Strycova was a big challenge for the Dane, who eventually prevailed with a 7-6(6) 7-6(9) score.

The match lasted more than two hours and a half. In the first set, despite establishing a 4-1 lead, Wozniacki played a tiebreak and saved a set point then. The second tiebreak was difficult too, as Wozniacki squandered four match points before defeating the 48th-ranked Zahlavova Strycova, seeded 15th at the Premier-level tournament.

Wozniacki's opponent in the quarterfinals will be sixth seed Yanina Wickmayer, who defeated Anna Tatishvili 6-4 7-5 in the third round. (via ESPN, photo: © Neal Trousdale)