Bojana Jovanovski upsets fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic at China Open

Jelena Jankovic and Bojana JovanovskiRising Serbian star Bojana Jovanovski faced compatriot and former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic in the second round of the China Open and upset her 4-6 6-2 6-2. Jankovic, who won the tournament in 2008 and reached the final in 2007, was seeded third this year.

The world No.93 Jovanovski advanced through qualifying to make her first appearance in Beijing, and in the first round she defeated Kateryna Bondarenko, now outside the Top 100, but last year ranked 29th. Then against the seventh-ranked Jankovic, Jovanovski scored her first Top 10 win.

Two struggling former world No.1s Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic seem to be making a trend – it’s the fourth successive tournament that they lose or win in different rounds – if Safina wins, Ivanovic loses, and vice versa. Today in Beijing Ivanovic won her first round match, upsetting No.11 seed Marion Bartoli 6-2 6-3, while Safina lost in the same round, to second seed Vera Zvonareva 6-4 7-6(6).

Sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska lost to Angelique Kerber 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5 in the opening round and the news is that she will miss the rest of the season as well as possibly the beginning of the next season, maybe even including the Australian Open, because of a serious stress fracture to her foot. The Pole is not sure how she picked up the injury, but she felt it prior to coming to Asia to play Tokyo and Beijing. In Tokyo she retired against eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Jankovic runs out of luck at US Open, Kanepi through

Jelena JankovicFourth seed Jelena Jankovic was lucky to scrape through her first two rounds of the 2010 US Open, winning 6-4 4-6 7-5 against Simona Halep and 6-4 3-6 6-2 against Mirjana Lucic, but fell in straight sets in the third round to seed No.31 Kaia Kanepi, despite having a very good opportunity to take the match to the decider.

Jankovic lost the first set to Kanepi 6-2 in 32 minutes and found herself one game from defeat when the Estonian was serving at 5-3 in the second set. However, Jankovic won three games in a row and was serving to win the second set. Still, the comeback proved to be brief and Kanepi broke Jankovic to force a tiebreaker in which she quickly earned a 6-1 lead before converting her first match point. Final score: 6-2 7-6(1).

By reaching the fourth round of the US Open, Kanepi has recorded her best result at the tournament. Her next opponent will be either Patty Schnyder or seed No.15 Yanina Wickmayer. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

US Open 2010 women's tennis fashion

Women's tennis fashion is attracting a lot of attention, especially at Grand Slams when clothing sponsors and players try to showcase the best they have. So let's see what they've come up for the 2010 US Open.

I'll start with adidas, my overall favorite, as they always make outfits that have a glamorous touch but can also be easily worn at everyday practice.

Daniela Hantuchova in adidas Women's Fall adilibria Dress at US Open 2010Ana Ivanovic in adidas Women's Fall adilibria Dress at US Open 2010

Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic are sporting pink adidas Women's Fall adilibria Dress.

Dinara Safina in adidas Barricade Top and Skort at the 2010 US OpenMaria Kirilenko in adidas Barricade Top and Skort at the 2010 US Open

Russians Dinara Safina and Maria Kirilenko are clad in adidas Barricade Top and Skort.

Caroline Wozniacki in Stella McCartney Tennis Performance Dress at the 2010 US OpenElena Dementieva in red Yonex at the 2010 US Open

Caroline Wozniacki is looking great in Stella McCartney Tennis Performance Dress, contrasting nicely with Tennis Performance Bra Top. Elena Dementieva and Yonex once again failed to impress with design and fellow blogger C Note, who saw the dress live at the US Open, said that it even looks two sizes too big on Dementieva.

Maria Sharapova in the Nike Striking Court Day Dress at the 2010 US OpenMaria Sharapova in the Nike Maria Sharapova NYC Dress at the 2010 US Open

As usual for a Grand Slam, Maria Sharapova has two versions of a Nike dress – one for day matches and a darker piece for night. When we reviewed the dresses from the photos prior to the Open they looked somewhat questionable, but when seen on Sharapova they are a perfect match. You can see the dresses closer here and here.

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Jelena Jankovic battles past Simona Halep to advance to US Open round two

Jelena JankovicFourth seed Jelena Jankovic had a tough opening match at the US Open against world No.96 Simona Halep of Romania. As Jankovic said, she wasn’t playing her best tennis, but was able to get through.

The 2008 US Open finalist Jankovic lost the first set and found the 18-year-old Halep serving for the match at 5-4 in the decider. Halep was actually two points away from victory, but Jankovic then broke her serve and won all the remaining games to advance to the second round. Final score: 4-6 6-4 7-5.

Halep made her Grand Slam debut at this year’s French Open and lost in the first round as well.

Seed No.11 Svetlana Kuznetsova was pushed to three sets, 6-2 4-6 6-1, in her first round match against Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm, whose last match in the US Open’s main draw prior to her this year’s appearance was a loss in the first round in 1996.

Kateryna Bondarenko sent home eighth-seeded Li Na with a 2-6 6-4 6-2 victory. Li, who reached at least the fourth round in her last three appearances at the US Open, blamed the heat for the defeat and her inability to cope with it. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

The New York Times Magazine gives special feature to WTA players and their power

The New York Times Magazine used various forms of media to show how power has changed women’s tennis. The feature including an article by Michael Kimmelman, extraordinary photos and awesome short slow motion videos by Dewey Nicks has attracted a lot of positive attention in the tennis world, so make sure to check it out.

Elena Dementieva The New York Times Magazine

The article mentions a number of women’s tennis players and their stories, the expansion of the WTA to the Chinese market, the increase in prize money and equal pay at Grand Slams, the difficulties tour pros (or "independent contractors" as Stacey Allaster, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, likes to call them) can face in earning a living, the influence of Serena and Venus Williams, etc.

Samantha Stosur The New York Times Magazine

The slideshow and videos include Serena Willams, Jelena Jankovic, Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, Victoria Azarenka, Samantha Stosur and Vera Zvonareva. I love how Dementieva's grace accompanies the delicate music of the video. Also, it's a nice surprise to see Sam looking like a ballet dancer. (via Down the Line)

Qualifier Iveta Benesova upsets top seed Jelena Jankovic at Montreal

Iveta Benesova at the 2010 Rogers Cup in MontrealJelena Jankovic at the 2010 Rogers Cup in Montreal

Qualifier Iveta Benesova recorded the biggest victory of her 12-year pro career by upsetting top seed and world No.3 Jelena Jankovic in the second round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal. The world No.75 Benesova, in 2009 ranked as high as No.25, defeated Jankovic 7-6(3) 6-3, even though the Serb had a 5-3 lead in the first set.

After having to retire from matches at both Wimbledon and Portoroz, with back and ankle injuries respectively, Jankovic hasn’t been playing well. She lost her opening match at San Diego and her second match at last week’s tournament in Cincinnati, and at both events she was top-seeded.

Having not played many matches lately, Jankovic is not very confident for the US Open, the only Grand Slam she reached the final of. (photo courtesy of Fiji Water)

Kleybanova upsets top seed Jankovic in round two of San Diego

Alisa Kleybanova

Top seed Jelena Jankovic lost in straight sets in the second round of the Mercury Insurance Open to Alisa Kleybanova, despite leading 4-0 in the first set. Jankovic even had three set points at 5-3, but Kleybanova won eight straight games to take the score to 7-5 4-0 and eventually win the match 7-5 6-2.

The second-ranked Jankovic said she was afraid to run a lot because it was just her first match since injuring her left ankle in Portoroz two weeks ago. The world No.28 Kleybanova defeated Jankovic two times in 2009 and now leads their head-to-head record 3-2.

The 21-year-old Russian, who won her first WTA title in Kuala Lumpur in February, has reached only her third quarterfinal of the season. (photo: John Bolan)

Fashion radar: WTA players' Wimbledon whites

Wimbledon may have strict dress code but there still is enough space for players and their brands to experiment and bring something new and exciting. Let's see how successful they've been this year.

Serena and Venus Williams at Wimbledon 2010

Let's start with Venus and Serena Williams. We've already paid close attention to both Venus' Eleven dress and Serena's Nike dress, but it's worth mentioning them again – Venus was definitely unique with fringes all over the bottom part of the dress, while Serena wore a more classic design inspired by strawberries and cream and a cute narrow headband. Just to use the opportunity to mention that the sisters, twice defending champions, lost in doubles quarterfinals today to Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon 2010

Chinese brand ANTA and Jelena Jankovic were simple and classy at this year's Wimbledon. JJ also sported a customized racquet bag and was fully equipped for the greatest Grand Slam.

Caroline Wozniacki at Wimbledon 2010

Once my favorite tennis fashion designer Stella McCartney seems to be lacking inspiration as Caroline Wozniacki has been wearing pretty much the same dress for months. Now I can't blame her, why bother when you're going to lose your match in 46 minutes (sorry, Caro). Talking about Stella, we have to mention Maria Kirilenko who looks awesome even in the simple adidas BARRICADE top and skort. Read more »


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