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French Open runner up, Samantha Stosur of Australia, is already packing to go home after a 1st-round loss at Wimbledon on Tuesday. The lady who sent her packing is 80th-ranked qualifier, Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, who took care of the upset in stunning fashion in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
This was the fourth first-round exit in eight appearances at the All England Club for the sixth-seeded Samantha. She came to Wimbledon with a tour-leading 35 match wins in 2010 and with her career-best ranking. She reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open this month, beating current No. 1 Serena Williams and former World No. 1 Justine Henin and another former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic along the way.
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was among the early upsets at the 2010 WTA AEGON International being played June 14-20 in Eastbourne, England. The No. 1 seed was defeated in the 1st round by Aravane Rezai of France 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
The Wimbledon warmup claimed other top seeds in the 1st round, including No. 2 seed and 2010 French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone of Italy who was eliminated by Sorana Cirstea of Romania 7-5, 6-3.
It appears the warmup is getting the unseeded players more warmed up than the top seeds. It could be an interesting Wimbledon. Warm up your TV sets by Monday, because here we go!
This is a preview of Wozniacki, Schiavone, Radwanska and Pennetta among upsets at the 2010 AEGON International . Read the full post (168 words, 1 image, estimated 40 secs reading time)
World number five, Elena Dementieva of Russia, has pulled out of Wimbledon due to an injury. The calf injury that forced Elena to quit her French Open semifinal against Italian Francesca Schiavone will cause her to miss this year’s Wimbledon which starts next Monday.
Elena announced on Tuesday on her Website that she hasn’t fully recovered from the problem and would skip the year’s third tennis major.
Elena reached the semifinals of Wimbledon the past two years. In 2008 she lost to Venus Williams who went on to win the title, and in 2009 she lost to Serena Williams who also went on to win the title.
Francesca Schiavone won her first Grand Slam title at age 29, downing Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) at the 2010 French Open in Paris. In doing so, Francesca became the first Italian woman ever to win a Grand Slam title.
It was a thriller of a match, pitting Francesca’s one-handed powerful backhand against Samantha’s two-handed powerful backhand, two great forehands, two great servers, two great players. In the end, it was 17th seeded Schiavone who was able to stay with her game and upend 7th seeded Samantha. The only other time the French title was won by a woman not seeded in the top 10 was in 1933.
 The 2010 French Open will produce a first-time Grand Slam winner as Francesca Schiavone of Italy faces Samantha Stosur of Australia.
Neither 29 year-old Francesca nor 26 year-old Samantha have ever won a Grand Slam event. Neither have ever even been in a Grand Slam final before. It was only the 2nd time Samantha reached a semifinal (the French Open in 2009), and Schiavone has never been beyond a quarterfinal of a Grand Slam tournament.
Samantha leads their head-to-head series 4-1, including the past four times they have met. All five matches have been straight sets victories. Francesca won their first matchup in 2005. Samantha won the past four, including two on clay.
Francesca Schiavone of Italy is into her first Grand Slam final after Elena Dementieva retired following the first set of their semifinal match at the 2010 French Open in Paris.
Elena came out onto the court with both thighs wrapped, but seemed to be playing normally at the beginning of the match. With one break each, the 1st set went into a tie-break, which Francesca won 7-3.
At that point, Dementieva walked off the court shaking her head. She went up to a surprised Francesca, sitting in her changeover chair, and offered a concession handshake.
This is a preview of Dementieva retires after 1st set putting Schiavone into final . Read the full post (237 words, 1 image, estimated 57 secs reading time)
The No. 5 seed, Elena Dementieva of Russia, survived a bit of a scare against No. 19 seeded countrywoman, Nadia Petrova. Final score: 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Both players were slowed by leg injuries which were not helped by cold and rainy conditions. Petrova was hampered by a strained left thigh, which she had rewrapped midway through the first set. Dementieva also received treatment during the 17-minute break, when a trainer taped her right thigh.
Elena hit 25 winners with 24 unforced errors; Nadia had 27 winners, with 27 errors. Elena scored on 6 of 10 break points she held against Nadia; Nadia converted only 3 of 11 break points she held against Elena.

No. 17 seed, Francesca Schiavone of Italy, proved once again that experience can overcome youth as she took out No. 3 seed, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-2, 6-3 in the Quarterfinals of the French Open in Paris.
It was a dominating performance by the 29 year-old Francesca, the oldest woman left in the field, as 19 year-old Caroline, the youngest quarterfinalist, struggled to find her forehand. Both players had trouble holding serve, but Francesca’s nerves held out better as she kept Caroline running corner to corner. Francesca’s offense eventually won out over Caroline’s defense.
Venus Williams made quick work of her Semifinal match against Shahar Peer of Israel to reach her first Madrid Masters final. The match, which was over in two quick sets, 6-3, 6-0, took just 66 minutes.
Williams, seeded 4th in this tournament, has built an impressive record of 12-1 on clay this year. Earlier in this tournament, she defeated No. 21 ranked Vera Zvonareva of Russia, No. 15 seed, Francesca Schiavone of Italy, and No 8 seed, Samantha Stosur of Australia.
This is a preview of Venus Williams routs Shahar Peer to reach Madrid Masters Final . Read the full post (269 words, 1 image, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)
No. 11 seed, Maria Sharapova of Russia, was sent packing after the first round of the 2010 WTA Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open being played in Madrid, Spain this week by No. 30 ranked Lucie Safarova. It was a straight sets match for 23-year-old Safarova from the Czech Republic.
It is the first time these two have met on court. Sharapova undoubtedly didn’t like this introduction.
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