Our reader Milano predicted the year-end WTA singles rankings in the comments of this blog and I decided to make a post out of those comments so that more people get to see Milano's thorough prognosis. Feel free to add your view of the rankings below in the comments section.

The only one who can eventually take No.1 ranking from Caroline Wozniacki is Vera Zvonareva. That will happen only if Wozniacki doesn't gain any points at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha and Zvonareva wins the whole thing without losing a single match. Chances are quite minimal, of course.

When Serena Williams' Doha points fall off she will be No. 5 by default, but if other players behind (Jelena Jankovic, Francesca Schiavone, Samantha Stosur) do really well in Doha, she could fall as low as No. 8, or even No.9 if Elena Dementieva suddenly wakes up and reaches semifinals at least. But these are big if's.

I think that Kim Clijsters and Francesca Schiavone have the best chance to move up the rankings. I think we will watch an interesting battle for No. 2 year-end spot between Zvonareva and Clijsters (or even Schiavone).

Stosur needs to win (just) two matches to reach No. 6 in the world. Jankovic and Stosur are in terrible form, so I don't think they will do any good out there with top players. Jankovic lost at the Kremlin Cup to No. 268, Zarina Diyas 6-1 6-2, she is feeling ill, she is going to have an eye surgery by the end of the season. I'd say she is the weakest Doha player right now.

Venus Williams will have around 5000 points by the end of the year, just like her sister (Serena will have around 5100). Schiavone has 5035 points now but she will automatically gain 210, even if she loses all three of her round robin matches in Doha. That means that both Williamses will be ranked No.5 or lower by the end of the year, with Serena in front of Venus.

The latest qualifier Victoria Azarenka will have to do something really big to make a move up the rankings.

Venus Williams hasn’t competed since losing to Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the US Open and it’s now official that the seven-time Grand Slam champion will not play until the start of the new season. The reason she put an end to tennis tournaments in 2010 is a left knee injury and you can see some recent photos of Venus walking with the help of crutches.

The fact that Venus will be out of the competition for the remainder of the season encompasses both the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha and the Fed Cup final against Italy.

Here’s what the third-ranked Williams said about the situation:

I have been getting treatment and therapy on my knee and have been making progress, but unfortunately must continue to keep weight off my knee for the short term and won't be ready to return to competition in 2010. I am looking forward to returning to full health in time for the start of 2011 season and hopefully having the opportunity to play in both the Fed Cup and WTA Championships next year.

(source: AP, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Kim Clijsters edged Venus Williams 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4, reached her third straight US Open final (2005, 2009, and now 2010) and will be looking for her third successive US Open title.

The third-seeded Williams won the first set 6-4 by converting on the only break point in that set. Then the second-seeded Clijsters established a 5-2 lead in the second set, but Williams produced a comeback of her own and a tiebreak was played. However, Williams double faulted two of her service points and eventually lost the set. In the decider, after another exchange of breaks, Clijsters cracked through Williams’ service again for a 5-4 lead and then served out for the victory.

The 2010 US Open final will therefore feature defending champion Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva, who stopped top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the earlier semifinal. Clijsters own a positive career record against Zvonareva, 5-2, but all the wins Clijsters recorded came prior to her two-year-long retirement. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Venus Williams battled past French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 7-6(5) 6-4 in a late-running daytime quarterfinal, while defending champion Kim Clijsters prevailed against French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur 6-4 5-7 6-3 at night.

After two breaks apiece it came down to a tie-break in the first set of the Williams vs. Schiavone encounter, played in windy conditions. The Italian, seeded sixth, recovered from a 0-4 deficit in the tiebreak, but two forehand errors at 5-5 handed Venus the set. The American third seed took control early in the second set but she twice let breaks slip before dismantling Schiavone’s serve once again to win the match. Williams has now defeated Schiavone in all of their eight meetings.

In the other quarterfinal of the day, Clijsters extended her US Open winning streak to 19 matches, which includes her titles in 2005 and 2009 (before and after her retirement). The fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur made the better start but Clijsters fought back to take the first set. Stosur revived in the second set and Clijsters was in trouble in the decider as she was broken three times in a row. In that same set, however, Stosur did not hold serve once. The scrappy match featured a total of 15 breaks.

Williams and Clijsters will face each other in the semifinals and both are chasing their third titles at the US Open.  The two met last year in the fourth round when Clijsters won with an interesting score 6-0 0-6 6-4. (sources: BBC, Women Who Serve, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

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

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

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.

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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