Serena cancels Linz, rain postpones China Open final

Serena Williams

Serena Williams' expected comeback at the Generali Ladies Linz is not to be, as she suffered "a physical problem" which appeared in her last training session for the tournament. The American decided to undergo some more medical tests and later withdrew from the $220,000 Austrian event. Will the Munich restaurant foot injury keep Serena away from the Sony Ericsson Championships as well?

Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva are also not in action, but due to rain in Beijing which has postponed matches until Monday. Wozniacki and Zvonareva, top two seeds at the China Open, are playing the finals as the Dane overcame Shahar Peer in the semis 7-5 6-2, and Zvonareva beat home favorite Li Na 6-3 6-3.

Update: Serena said she restrained her foot because of training too hard and there is a possibility she will miss the rest of the season. (photo: sr_cranks)

Serena Williams returns to the Tour at the Generali Ladies Linz

Serena Williams

On the same day it became known Serena Williams would lose her number one ranking to Caroline Wozniacki, it was announced that the American would return to the Tour for the first time since July. The tournament Williams is scheduled to play is the Generali Ladies Linz which starts on Monday, October 11.

Serena hasn't been playing competitive tennis because of a foot injury and surgery she had to have as a consequence of stepping on glass at a restaurant. Having been very selective as to which tournaments she would play and also because of the injury, Serena has approached the end of the 2010 season with only six tournament appearances (Sydney, Australian Open, Rome, Madrid, French Open, Wimbledon). However, her winning percentage is awesome: out of the six tournaments she has played so far this year, Serena has won two, and those were none other than Grand Slams.

Now that Serena is returning, Caroline Wozniacki’s top ranking could be short-lived, because Serena has qualified for the prestigious Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha as well. (source: ESPN, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Yanina Wickmayer wins Generali Ladies Linz, cracks Top 20

Yanina Wickmayer wins Generali Ladies Linz

Belgian Yanina Wickmayer beat Czech Petra Kvitova in the final of the Generali Ladies Linz, thus winning her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title and ensuring her place in the Top 20 for the first time.

Third seed Wickmayer, a wildcard into the draw, had defeated top seed and world No.11 Flavia Pennetta in the semifinals scoring her career-best win, and in the title match she went past unseeded Kvitova, ranked 55th, in an hour and 25 minutes, 6-3 6-4.

The world No.24 Wickmayer, who turns 20 on Tuesday, was a semifinalist at the 2009 US Open and by this title in Linz she consolidated that Grand Slam success. (via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Wickmayer, Kvitova advance to Linz final, seeds number 1 and 2 fall

Yanina WickmayerBelgian Yanina Wickmayer and Czech Petra Kvitova will play for the Generali Ladies Linz title as they upset top seed Flavia Pennetta 7-6(5) 6-3 and second seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3 6-2 respectively.

Both Wickmayer and Kvitova have won one WTA Tour singles title so far in their careers, and both came this season. Wickmayer was victorious in Estoril, while Kvitova claimed her maiden title in Hobart.

Wickmayer was a surprise semifinalist at the 2009 US Open, and even beat Kvitova en route to that career achievement. The Belgian leads the Czech 2-1 in career meetings. (photo via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Ana Ivanovic back to best, wins Generali Ladies Linz title

Ana Ivanovic beats Vera Zvonareva for Generali Ladies Linz titleTop seed Ana Ivanovic confirmed her return to form by impressively defeating Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-1 in the final of the $600,000 Generali Ladies Linz.

After winning Roland Garros and becoming world No.1, Ivanovic’s slide slowly started. She had won just seven of her previous 14 matches entering Linz, but in today’s final the Serb let the Russian take only three games in a 50-minute match. Ivanovic faced only one break point in the encounter, but broke second-seeded Zvonareva six times, using every chance for a break.

Ivanovic’s road to the title at the Generali Ladies Linz included victories over Sybille Bammer, seventh seed Flavia Pennetta, third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, and finally second-seeded Vera Zvonareva, who lost her fifth final of 2008 (this year the Russian won titles at Prague and Guangzhou). (photo via Yahoo)

Vera Zvonareva, Ana Ivanovic move into Generali Ladies Linz final

Vera ZvonarevaAna IvanovicSecond seed Vera Zvonareva and top seed Ana Ivanovic reached the final of the Generali Ladies Linz on Saturday.

Russia’s Zvonareva defeated her semifinal opponent Marion Bartoli 6-0 6-1 in just 51 minutes. The Frenchwoman won only six points on serve in the first set, while in the second she didn’t earn a game point until the 11th game. Earlier this month Zvonareva and Bartoli also played each other; it was in Stuttgart, and Bartoli managed to win just two games.

In the final of the Generali Ladies Linz Zvonareva will face Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, the 6-2 3-6 7-5 winner over Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Good for the world No.4 Ivanovic to finally live up to the expectations and go far into a tournament.

The Generali Ladies Linz final is Ana’s first since winning the French Open in June. Last week she lost in the semis of the Tennis.com Zurich Open to eventual champion Venus Williams, and that semifinal was also a sort of improvement of Ana’s recent results, but this Linz final is definitely a good sign. (photos: Getty Images)

Ana Ivanovic reaches second straight semifinal

Ana IvanovicAna Ivanovic’s consistency seems to be getting back on track. The fourth-ranked Serb reached her second semifinal in two weeks with a 6-4 6-4 win over in-form Flavia Pennetta at the Generali Ladies Linz.

Both players contributed to a final-like quality of the match, which remained in the balance until the final ball. The seventh-seeded Pennetta was, however, troubled by a serve that produced seven double faults, while Ivanovic used her strong forehand to give her an edge.

The top-seeded Ivanovic will take on No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the Linz semifinals. Radwanska advanced with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory over Russian fifth seed Nadia Petrova.

The third known semifinalist is Vera Zvonareva, seeded second, who defeated seed No.8 Alize Cornet 7-5 6-1. The win earned Zvonareva the final place in the eight-player field for the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.

The last player to reach the semis will be either France's Marion Bartoli or Alona Bondarenko. They are currently playing the third set. (source: Reuters, photo: Getty Images)

Ana Ivanovic through to Generali Ladies Linz quarterfinals

Ana IvanovicSerbia’s Ana Ivanovic confidently defeated home favorite Sybille Bammer in the second round of the Generali Ladies Linz.

Ivanovic beat the 24th-ranked Austrian 6-4 6-2 to book a first career meeting with in-form Flavia Pennetta of Italy, seeded seventh at Linz.

The world No.14 Pennetta reached the last eight thanks to a straightforward 6-3 6-1 victory over Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.

Will last weak’s Tennis.com Zurich Open finalist Flavia Pennetta be too much for current Ana Ivanovic? I would love to hear what you think? I believe Flavia is more likely to win this one. (photo: Getty Images)


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