Clijsters withdraws from match against Bartoli at Indian Wells

No. 2 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, was forced to withdraw from her fourth round match against No. 15 seed, Marion Bartoli of France, at the 2011 WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells today. Clijsters won the first set 6-3, as was trailing 1-2 in the second when she called on her trainer for treatment on her shoulder. She withdrew one game later.

Clijsters said her shoulder pain mainly affected serving and trying to hit high forehands. She claims she withdrew largely as a precaution with Fed Cup duties and the clay court season fast approaching.

Wozniacki easy victor over Martinez Sanchez at Indian Wells

World No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, had an easy time reaching the 4th round of the 2011 WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells with a win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, 6-1, 6-3.

Martinez Sanchez was 3-0 against Wozniacki in previous matches, but this time, Wozniacki was the more consistent player and the outcome was reversed from their previous three meetings.

Martinez Sanchez got only 28 percent of her first serves in during the first set. Wozniacki took advantage, going on offense as soon as the second serves arrived. Her returns left the Spaniard scrambling during many points.

Sharapova advances over Rezai at Indian Wells

No. 16 seed, Maria Sharapova advanced to the fourth round of the 2011 WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells with an easy, straight sets win over No. 20 seed, Aravane Rezai of France, 6-2, 6-2.

Rezai was celebrating her 24th birthday, and was hoping for a win to cap it off, but it wasn’t to be. In just 73 minutes, Sharapova had put a damper on the birthday-girl’s hopes.

It took Sharapova a few games to get used to Rezai’s pace, but once she did, there was no stopping her. She benefited from her opponent’s missteps, but also played much better than in her last match, a three-set battle with Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Cibulkova upsets Zvonareva at Indian Wells

No. 25 seed, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, defeated No. 3 seed, Vera Zvonareva of Russia, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in round three of the WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

It was a 3-hour marathon as the 21-year-old Cibulkova played her heart out against 26-year-old Zvonareva. Zvonareva had won the three previous meetings between the pair and she looked on course for a fourth as she took the first set but Cibulkova fought back to claim the upset win in tightly fought battle.

Clijsters upset by Kvitova in Paris final

The day before the rankings showed Kim Clijsters has ascended the ladder to World No. 1 once again, she was upset by Petra Kvitova in the final of the Open Gaz de France, 6-4, 6-3.

”I would like to dedicate this trophy to my grandfather, who passed away last week,” Kvitova said. ”I played for my grandfather. I’m happy I won the tournament for him.”

Kvitova has now won 16 of 17 matches this season, and earned the WTA Newcomer of the Year award last season. Kvitova is ranked No. 14 in the new rankings that came out today.

Li upsets Clijsters at Sydney

No. 8 seed, Na Li of China upset No. 3 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium at the 2011 WTA Medibank International played in Sydney, Australia on Friday.

It was the fourth career WTA title for 28-year-old Na, and she became the first Chinese player to ever win a “Premier” level title.

Kim, 27 years old, jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the 1st set before Na came back to win the set in a tie-break 7-3. Na said: “I was 5-0 down and saw the time, it was only 15 minutes. I thought, ‘Yeah, the fans, they pay a lot of money and the match will be over in half an hour.’ One or two points changed it, and it turned around like that.”

Venus Williams struggles in return to the court

Venus Williams, the World No. 5 women’s tennis player, is struggling after returning from an injury-laden last season.

Venus missed a majority of the 2010 season with an injury to her left knee. She made her return to the court Thursday in an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion really struggled against the current Wold No. 2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia. Vera won easily 6-4, 6-2. Venus committed 16 unforced errors, while hitting only five winners in the entire match.

Ivanovic wins WTA Bali Open for 2nd title in a row

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia was the victor in the final of the 2010 Tournament of Champions at Bali, Indonesia, defeating Russian, Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 7-6(5).

The 23-year-old Ana is shown here dressed in a traditional Balinese outfit displaying the hardware she won. The outfit looks quite nice on this Serbian beauty, I might add.

The victory was especially sweet for Ana after she had struggled with her form earlier in the season. Throughout the season, she had managed to win back-to-back matches only twice up until August. Then she began to find her form again, the form that took her to No. 1 in the world following her French Open title in 2008, a ranking which she held for 12 weeks.

Clijsters wins year-end championship in Doha over Wozniacki

Kim Clijsters of Belgium defeated the new World No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, to win the year-ending championship in Doha, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Clijsters’s victory earned her a fifth title of the year – one less than Wozniacki’s tour-best half-dozen – and 40th of her career and solidified her season-ending ranking of No.3 in the world behind the Dane and Russian Vera Zvonareva

Ivanovic ends 2-year title drought with win at Linz

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia ended her title drought which stretched back two years by defeating Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-1, 6-2 in the final of the WTA Generali Ladies Linz on Sunday.

“Winning again after two years is so wonderful, just unbelievable,” Ivanovic said. “I have been waiting so long for this and I worked hard to achieve it.”

It was the ninth overall title for the 22-year-old former No. 1, who won her last title at the same event in 2008 after capturing the championship at the French Open and becoming the top-ranked player in the world for 12 weeks.