You know I enjoy awarding my readers with nice prizes, and this time I have Best of The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 2010 Zagat® Guide signed by world No.6 and French Open finalist Samantha Stosur. I obtained it thanks to Andi, my new collaborator from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

How to get a chance to win? Simply answer the following question below in the comments section: What was Samantha Stosur's best result at the US Open in singles prior to 2010? The Australian recorded her best US Open result this year, by reaching the quarterfinals where she lost to defending champion Kim Clijsters.

The winner will be chosen randomly, from those providing the right answer. The contest ends on September 14th at 5 pm CET and I will announce the winner shortly after. When leaving the comment, make sure to give your correct email address, as I will use it to contact you if you win the prize.

Best of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 2010 Zagat® Guide features players’ recommended restaurants and shopping places in the cities where WTA tournaments are played. The guide also includes the list of the players’ most frequented spots as well as an index so fans can easily find their favorite players’ dining and shopping recommendations.

Good luck and thank you for participating! (photo of Stosur by John Bolan)

Yonex has announced a new multi-year partnership with Martina Hingis, their longtime endorser. The news contributes to the recent hints that Hingis could come back from retirement to play doubles, as she will now, according to the announcement, "serve as a featured member of the Yonex advisory staff, play the new EZONE 100 racquet and continue to use the brand's tennis bags, strings and other accessories".

Hingis has been playing exhibitions and today she will play another one, at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The new EZONE series of racquets was launched at the start of the 2010 US Open. (via: Women Who Serve, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Neither Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova nor the windy conditions at Flushing Meadows could stop top seed Caroline Wozniacki, and the Dane is well on her way to her first Grand Slam title.

Last year’s runner-up Wozniacki defeated unseeded first-time US Open quarterfinalist Cibulkova 6-2 7-5 in the match that "felt like playing in a hurricane", as Wozniacki later said, and in which it was an achievement simply to keep the ball in play.

Wozniacki made only 18 unforced errors, compared to Cibulkova’s 43. The quarterfinal between Vera Zvonareva and Kaia Kanepi that took place earlier featured as much as 88 unforced errors.

Wozniacki is now on a 13-match winning streak, having won Monteral and New Haven prior to coming to the US Open. In the Montreal final she defeated Vera Zvonareva, her next opponent at the US Open. (source: BBC, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Jim from KEF Media that arranged me two interviews with Lindsay Davenport and one with Chris Evert, provided me with another high-profile interview, with tennis great Tracy Austin.

The two-time US Open champion (1979, 1981) and former world No.1 answered a couple of my questions that are of course related to the current Grand Slam event and there is also the third question that I have to note was inserted by them, basically so that Tracy would advertise a product she is using for her injuries. Oh well, I’m fine with it.

My questions:

1. Can you name three players, in order, that you think are most likely to win the US Open women’s title?

2. Ivanovic has shown good form so far, what do you think her chances are?

All in all, Tracy was right with her predictions (the interview took place September 3). Actually, this US Open turned out not to be so difficult to predict, no earth-shaking surprises have occurred.

More or less irrelevant note: I want to say one more thing, I didn’t get to talk on the phone with the person I was interviewing yet again, because I was at work at the time the interview was scheduled for. Next time…

Vera Zvonareva has joined Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the US Open with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Kaia Kanepi in the round of eight. Both Zvonareva and Kanepi were making their first appearance at that stage of the US Open.

The seventh-seeded Zvonareva attributed the win in the windy conditions in Arthur Ashe Stadium to her ability to find the right balance between "keeping the ball in play and going for your shots", as she said. Kanepi was apparently far from that balance, as she made 60 unforced.

In the beginning of the match the players traded breaks to make it 1-1, and in those first two games they made 12 unforced errors and only one winner. The final statistics of the match show a total of 88 unforced errors and only 28 winners, 18 scored by seed No.31 Kanepi.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki or Dominika Cibulkova will be Zvonareva’s opponent in the semifinals. (source: ESPN, photo: © Neal Trousdale)