Some of the WTA Tour players dressed elegantly last night for the annual Ralph Lauren Sony Ericsson Pre-Wimbledon Party hosted by Richard Branson at The Roof Gardens.

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Top seed Elena Dementieva lost to Virginie Razzano 6-0 3-6 7-6(4) in the second round of the AEGON International in Eastbourne.

The world No.4 Dementieva was bageled after 21 minutes. In the second set she recovered her aggression, but missed her chances in the third-set tiebreak.

With No.7 seed Nadia Petrova also losing on Wednesday, more precisely retiring because of problems with her back, only two seeded players have reached the Eastbourne quarterfinals: eighth-seeded holder Agnieszka Radwanska and sixth seed Caroline Wozniacki. (source: Reuters, photo: Getty Images via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Australian seed No.30 Samantha Stosur upset Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva 6-3 4-6 6-1 in the third round of the 2009 French Open.

The victory over the 2008 quarterfinalist and 2004 finalist gave Stosur her best ever result at Roland Garros. She reached the third round only once, in 2007, and now she’s in the fourth round for the first time.

Dementieva, the Olympic gold medalist, "didn't deserve to win" her second-round match, as she stated. She was down a set against Jelena Dokic, but the Australian retired in tears with an agonizing back injury, which I learned is believed not to be serious.

Stosur will play France’s Virginie Razzano in the fourth round. Razzano advanced with a 7-5 7-5 victory over Tathiana Garbin. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

The draw for the 2009 French Open is out and here’s my analysis of contenders. I would just like to mention that despite all the facts, I'm sure we all deep inside feel that the women’s field is wide open.

Dinara Safina is my top favorite to win the title. She is coming to Paris with back-to-back titles in Rome and Madrid, plus the Stuttgart final before that (and all the three tournaments mentioned are played on clay). And not only that, the world No.1 Safina was last year’s runner up at the French Open.

The Russian is in impressive form, but she shouldn’t give herself the luxury of making matches longer than they should be (although she’s great at coming back from behind), in order to be fully fit as long as it takes to claim her first Grand Slam.

The first opponent at the French Open won’t be easy for Safina, as she’s meeting Anne Keothavong who reached the semifinals of this week’s Warsaw Open. Other big names such as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Alisa Kleybanova, Zheng Jie, Victoria Azarenka, Carla Suarez Navarro and defending champion Ana Ivanovic are also in her quarter.

Serena Williams still hasn’t won a singles match on clay this season. The world No.2 dropped openers of Marbella, Rome and Madrid, and hence it’s hard to put her as the favorite. However, knowing her impressive resume which includes the 2002 French Open title, and her ability to show her best at majors, the younger Williams sister can never be written off.

To make things more interesting, Serena Williams is playing Klara Zakopalova in the first round, the player she lost to in Marbella in April. Serena is looking at another potential tough match in the fourth round against Flavia Pennetta.

Venus Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, and although she has never been victorious at Roland Garros, she played the final in 2002, and just like her sister Serena, she’s a threat anywhere and anytime.

Williams is the top seed in her quarter of the draw. Her first-round opponent will be fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. In the second round Williams could meet Sabine Lisicki, who beat her en route to the title in Charleston last month. Read more »

Russian sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova exited the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open in the second round already, and compatriots Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova followed her shortly after on Wednesday, in the third round though.

Eighth seed Nadia Petrova lost to unseeded Patty Schnyder at the Premier-level claycourt event. Petrova fought hard, forced and won the second-set tiebreak and even rallied from 4-1 down in the third set, but the Swiss eventually won 6-4 6-7(2) 7-6(5).

Third seed Elena Dementieva took the first set 6-1, but Amelie Mauresmo rallied back to beat the world No.5 1-6 6-4 6-2. The Frenchwoman, who had upset China’s seed No.15 Zheng Jie en route to the third-round encounter with Dementieva, now has a 10-6 career record against the Russian.

Not all Russian players lost on Wednesday: world No.1 Dinara Safina defeated Li Na 6-3 7-6(2), while qualifier Vera Dushevina beat Francesca Schiavone 6-3 4-6 6-2. (photo by our reader Jacob)