Top two seeds upset in Tashkent, Nadia Petrova advances in Seoul

Alexandra DulgheruTop seed Alexandra Dulgheru and second seed Akgul Amanmuradova were upset in the quarterfinals of the Tashkent Open. At the other tournament played this week, Hansol Korea Open, top seed Nadia Petrova advanced to the quarterfinals, and defending champion Kimiko Date Krumm upset second seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Dulgheru lost to fellow Romanian Monica Niculescu 7-6(5) 2-6 6-3, while Alla Kudryavtseva, runner-up at Guangzhou during the weekend, defeated local favorite and two-time finalist Amanmuradova 7-6(5) 6-3.

At the Hansol Korea Open, Petrova rallied from 0-3 in the second set to defeat Vania King 6-3 6-4. Date Krumm, who will soon turn 40, played 20 years younger Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and defeated her 6-2 6-1 in the second round.

Former world No.1 Dinara Safina also advanced in Seoul, with a 6-2 6-3 victory over third seed Maria Kirilenko. (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 cled 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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New Haven: Nadia Petrova reaches first final in two years

Nadia Petrova

Nadia Petrova has reached her first final since 2008 and the 20th of her career after a 2-6 6-2 6-2 victory over Maria Kirilenko in the semis of the Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale.

Kirilenko won the first set in 39 minutes, breaking the eighth-seeded Petrova twice and without dropping her own serve. But then Petrova started to play better and Kirilenko’s low back injury that she got "out of nowhere" took the toll. Petrova won all her service games in the remaining two sets and defeated her fellow Russian who refused to retire despite the pain.

The second semifinal will feature No.4 seed Elena Dementieva and No.1 seed Caroline Wozniacki. (photo courtesy of Fiji Water)

Nadia Petrova beats Venus Williams to advance to French Open quarters

Nadia PetrovaSeed No.19 Nadia Petrova survived three match points against home favorite Aravane Rezai in the third round, but her next match against second seed Venus Williams saw less drama as the Russian won 6-4 6-3 to advance to the French Open quartefinals. It’s Petrova’s first win over Venus in their five meetings (this fifth match was their first on clay).

In the quarterfinals, the 2003 and 2005 French Open semifinalist Petrova will play fifth seed Elena Dementieva, with whom she is tied at 7-7 in career meetings.

Third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki earned her quarterfinal berth the tough way as she played the longest match of the 2010 French Open so far to beat seed No.14 Flavia Pennetta 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 6-2. Wozniacki’s next opponent will be Francesca Schiavone, seeded 17th. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Nadia Petrova sends Aravane Rezai home after 6-7 6-4 10-8 epic

Nadia PetrovaThe third round between Nadia Petrova and Aravane Rezai was suspended at 6-7(2) 6-4 7-7 on Friday due to darkness and both players went to sleep knowing they had blown three match points. The match was continued today and the 19th-seeded Petrova finished it in just 15 minutes, breaking the 15th-seeded Rezai for a 9-8 lead and then serving out the match.

Russia’s Petrova, who was semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2003 and 2005, will play second seed Venus Williams in the fourth round. Petrova has never defeated Williams in their four meetings, but none of them were on clay. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

Nadia Petrova still sending big names home, moves into Australian Open quarters

Nadia Petrova at the 2010 Australian OpenSeed No.19 Nadia Petrova crushed former world No.1 Kim Clijsters in the third round and her new attitude towards tennis is still proving to be fruitful as she has now knocked out third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

On the same court where she scored a ruthless 6-0 6-1 victory over Clijsters, Petrova defeated French Open champion Kuznetsova 6-3 3-6 6-1 to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.

"When I played Kim, before going on court, I said, 'it's all or nothing, I gotta to give everything' (and) I did," said world No.19 Petrova.

"Same thing happened today. If I can continue doing this, I can get even further."

Petrova’s next opponent will be seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin, who advanced to the last eight despite sustaining an ankle injury in the third set of her fourth-round match against fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer. Henin defeated Petrova in 12 of their 14 encounters, including their meeting at the Brisbane International this season. However, Petrova is very likely to test Henin’s physical readiness. (photo via Australian Open)

Kim Clijsters suffers worst loss in 555 matches

Kim Clijsters at the 2010 Australian Open

Former world No.1 Kim Clijsters suffered the worst loss of both of her careers which featured 555 matches, losing to seed No.19 Nadia Petrova 6-0 6-1 in the third round of the Australian Open in just 52 minutes.

The 15th-seeded Clijsters, who won the US Open last season and the Brisbane International just before coming to the Australian Open, scored only five points in the first set and made 17 unforced errors.

The Belgian couldn’t find her game throughout the match:

The way I played today, I was completely off and I didn't feel the ball at all. She was good, but she really didn't have to do much. She served really well and was aggressive, but that's because I let her play into the court.

Before this one, Clijsters’ worst defeat came nine years ago in Miami when she lost to Serena Williams 6-0 6-2. (photo via Australian Open)

Justine Henin continues successful warm-up in exhibitions

Justine Henin

Justine Henin won a match in Cairo, Egypt, one more successful exhibition ahead of her eagerly-anticipated comeback in January.

In an exo just about a week ago, Henin had beaten world No.12 Flavia Pennetta, and now her latest victim was world No.20 Nadia Petrova. Final score in the Cairo exhibition event held over the weekend was 7-6 6-2.

Additional info: Serena Williams was defeated by Melanie Oudin 7-5 in an exhibition match in Athens, Georgia. (sources: CCTV, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Serena Williams loses to Nadia Petrova in China Open third round

Nadia PetrovaHas the No.1 jinx already transferred to Serena Williams? Just one round after securing to be ranked No.1 in the next week’s rankings the American lost to Nadia Petrova 6-4 3-6 7-6(5).

The 13th-seeded Petrova and second-seeded Williams each won a set of their third-round match and in the decider they both held serve until tiebreak, having each faced only one break point in that final set. Petrova raced to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak and although Williams showed resistance the Russian managed to close it out.

Before this encounter, Petrova had defeated Williams only once in their seven previous meetings. (photo courtesy of Women Who Serve)

Top seed Nadia Petrova out of Bell Challenge

Nadia Petrova

Defending champion Nadia Petrova had to retire from her quarterfinal match at the Bell Challenge due to a viral illness.

The top-seeded Petrova was playing against fifth seed Melinda Czink, and retired after losing the first set tiebreak.

The Hungarian will play home hope Aleksandra Wozniak, seeded third, for a place in Sunday's final. (source: Sky Sports, photo courtesy of Women Who Serve)


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