Not a bad day for Serbian tennis. Even though young Serbian prospect Bojana Jovanovski fell in two tiebreaks in a courageous fight against Dominika Cibulkova in the second round of the US Open, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic are progressing little by little.

After beating Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-2 in the first round, the 12th-seeded Ivanovic was dictating her second-round match against Sofia Arvidsson, comfortably taking out the Swede 6-2 6-2. Ivanovic took the first set in 29 minutes, fending off all six break points that Arvidsson earned. Clearly, the match depended on Ivanovic and her ability to avoid unforced errors in her attacking game. In the second set Arvidsson did break Ivanovic's serve two times, but she couldn't neutralize the Serb's 4-0 initial lead. In the end, Ivanovic hit 39 winners to Arvidsson's just 7, while in the unforced errors department Ivanovic's outcome was 23 to Arvidsson's 9. Read more »

Two lost tiebreaks in the US Open second round against Laura Robson, 7-6(4) 7-6(5), and we're, a bit surprisingly prematurely, saying goodbye to Kim Clijsters. If this was too fast a goodbye for you, let me tell you that Clijsters is out only from the singles competition. She's playing women's doubles with fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, while in mixed doubles she's paired with American Bob Bryan.

Moreover, the official farewell is yet to come. At the Diamond Games on December 12, in Antwerp, Belgium, there will be a celebration of Kim's career, a night with top players, entertainment and surprises, while on the occasion the event will be called Kim's Thank You Games. Read more »

Even though she's recorded two convincing victories so far at the US Open – 6-0 6-1 against Alexandra Panova in the first round and today 6-2 6-2 against Kirsten Flipkens – the Grand Slam is not the only thing Victoria Azarenka has been up to. The Belarusian has a new off-court activity – she’s become the international brand ambassador of the Citizen Watch Company, in particular of their Citizen Eco-Drive Unstoppable media campaign.

The company chose Azarenka for the multiyear deal because of her "unstoppable drive", "determination, acumen and style as well as her on-court accomplishments" and the fact that she’s seen as a "leader of this new generation of athletes", thus perfectly embodying the spirit of the Citizen Eco-Drive brand.

The WTA face we're used to associating with Citizen is Kim Clijsters (here you can see her recent ad for the brand). The Belgian, who started the cooperation in 2010, will retire very soon, so Citizen needs new promoters that are here to stay and the world No.1 Vika is the perfect choice. (source: Victoria Azarenka's official website)

Lately I've been thinking about how awkwardly silent Maria Sharapova has been about her marriage and I decided to give the topic attention in hope of getting some insider/wise reader input. It's been almost two years since Masha and Sasha Vujacic got engaged and the topic of the wedding seems to be a far away subject on their minds, or they are playing such a game for the media. The question is, could they be hiding the split, postponing the worse, or they are just private and relaxed about their wedding plans?

First of all, no recent sightings of the couple have reached the media, while before, every now and then there was some story about them. Moreover, what happened to the giant engagement ring on Sharapova's left hand? According to the sharp eye of our reader Katrin, who pitched me to dig into this issue, the ring has been missing since about the start of the summer.

That's not the only strange thing surrounding this story.  Just days ago Sharapova said that the November Istanbul wedding was just a rumor:

That's not true. I'm definitely not getting married in Istanbul in November. I'm surprised anyone believed that.

However, it's suspicious that in the interview for the September 2012 issue of Hamptons magazine, Maria didn't correct the interviewer!

Hamptons: You're getting married to Sasha Vujacic, a Slovenian professional basketball player (who played for the Lakers and the Nets), on November 10 in Istanbul, Turkey. Do you see yourself one day becoming a mom? Read more »

At the US Open, where she played the final in 2009 and semifinals in 2010 and 2011, Caroline Wozniacki quietly went out in the first round to 96th-ranked Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-2 6-2. At the previous Grand Slam, Wimbledon 2012, Wozniacki also lost in the first round, which was her first first-round loss since the 2007 French Open.

Even though Wozniacki did not blame the defeat on her right knee injury that forced her to give up on chasing five straight titles at the New Haven Open, it can’t be denied that the Dane is not fully fit. Hopefully, the injury is just a temporary issue, as Wozniacki believes, and will heal quickly.

Begu got her first US Open win and her first victory over a Top 10 player in six tries. However, Wozniacki might not be in the Top 10 for long – if Marion Bartoli beats Romina Oprandi in the second round, the Dane is out of the elite group. (photo: sr_cranks)