Nadia Petrova on her Ellesse outfits: "Oh my god. Those are not my choices."

Russian world No.22 Nadia Petrova has been drawing a lot of attention with her Ellesse apparel – from her US Open stripes in more than all the colors of the rainbow, to the blue piece pictured above. The Ellesse designs are neither making Petrova look stylish and fashionable, nor flattering her figure in any way. The outfits look like a joke, and as ridiculous as they are, they look even more ridiculous on Petrova (Caroline Wozniacki would look somewhat better in them, for example, or maybe Jelena Jankovic).

Anyway, A Change of Ends chatted with Petrova at the All-Access Hour in Charleston and we learned that Petrova actually hates the clothes Ellesse prepares for her. The interview is hilarous!

Q. Recently you’ve made some pretty bold fash­ion choices on court. How much input…

A. Oh my god. That has noth­ing to do with me. Those are not my choices. Read more »

Patty Schnyder says goodbye to Charleston after 15 years

World No.40 Patty Schnyder lost in the first round of the Family Circle Cup to Chanelle Scheepers 6-4 6-4, after saving nine match points, and will never again play in singles at the tournament which had been her mandatory stop for 15 successive years.

"I feel so good whenever I come to Charleston, but I don't think I will be back as a player – maybe as a fan," said the 32-year-old Schnyder.

Fellow blogger, Diane, visits Charleston every year and here's how she explains the special love Charleston has for the Swiss player:

If you've never been to the Family Circle Cup, then it may be hard to appreciate how wild the crowd goes for Schnyder. Last year, there was quick, polite applause for Caroline Wozniacki when she beat Schnyder, then the crowd broke out in yells when Schnyder made her exit.

Interestingly, Scheepers lost to Schnyder last year in the first round of Charleston. Schnyder is still at the tournament, though, playing doubles with Shelby Rogers.

Schnyder's best results in Charleston were finals in 2002 and 2006. In 2002 she lost to Iva Majoli and in 2006 to Nadia Petrova. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Cara Black and Liezel Huber no longer co-ranked at No.1

Cara Black and Liezel Huber

American Liezel Huber is now the only doubles player ranked No.1 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Huber had shared the top position with her doubles partner Cara Black of Zimbabwe since November 12, 2007, but for the first time since then, at the 2010 Family Circle Cup, the American played with another partner , and teamed up with Russian Nadia Petrova won the Charleston tournament. The points Huber won by taking the Family Circle Cup doubles title gave her the edge over Black, who is now ranked No.2.

Questions have been asked whether Huber and Black may have split up, but they are most likely still a team, although Huber would enjoy partnering with Petrova again.

"Cara and I are a team so I guess if there's the odd week we don't have a partner, we'll call each other or message each other," Huber said of Petrova. "It's been really fun." (via On the Baseline, photo: Stephane Martinache)

Samantha Stosur demolishes Vera Zvonareva in the Family Circle Cup final

Samantha StosurSamantha Stosur won her second singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour by impressively storming past Vera Zvonareva 6-0 6-3 in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.

Before we knew it the first set was over, the Australian won it in 18 minutes! The second set started in a similar fashion, with Stosur racing to a 3-0 lead. In the tenth game, Zvonareva woke up, won her first game, and soon followed it by winning two more games. However, the match remained in Stosur’s hands and she wrapped up victory on her first match point.

The fourth-seeded Stosur was a favorite on paper compared to the seventh-seeded Zvonareva. In addition, Stosur had entered the final leading their head-to-head series 4-2. However, Zvonareva had started the match with ten singles titles to her name, compared to Stosur’s one.

World No.11 Stosur earned $107,000 with the victory in the Family Circle Cup final, while world No.22 Zvonareva earned $55,500 for her runner-up position. (photo: sr_cranks)

Fall and injury end Caroline Wozniacki’s winning streak

Caroline WozniackiTop seed Caroline Wozniacki fell during the first set of her semifinal against seventh seed Vera Zvonareva at the Family Circle Cup, injured her right ankle, retired and ended her eight-match winning streak.

The semifinal started off in favor of Zvonareva, who raced to a 3-0 lead. Last year’s Charleston finalist Wozniacki, after short consultations with her father, won her first game in the match, but shortly after, during one point in the seventh game, she fell and lay on the green clay in tears.  A medical timeout followed and even though Wozniacki returned to the court she very soon retired, at 5-2 in the first set.

The world No.2 Wozniacki should next play the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, if her injury heals in time.

Zvonareva's opponent in the final will be the winner of the match between Samantha Stosur and Daniela Hantuchova. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)


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