Makarova downs Serena Williams in stunning upset

In a stunning upset, No. 56 ranked Ekaterina Makarova of Russia defeated No. 12 seed, Serena Williams of the USA in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 in round 4 of the Australian Open.

Williams had seven double faults, several to set up break points, to allow Makarova to earn one of the biggest wins of her career. Makarova now advances to the quarterfinals against either 2008 champion Maria Sharapova or Sabine Lisicki

Williams came into the tournament with a badly-injured left ankle that forced her to pull out of a warmup tournament in Brisbane two weeks ago. In the match she appeared to be moving well, but made 37 unforced errors and had her service broken while trying to stay in the match.

Goerges defeats Wozniacki in 2nd meeting in a row

Julia Goerges, the 22 year-old rising star from Germany, defeated World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark for the 2nd time in two weeks. Goerges won the 3rd round of the 2011 WTA Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open in Madrid, Spain in a see-saw 3-set match ending up 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Zvonareva vs. Wozniacki in semifinal

No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva will face No. 1 seed, Caroline Wozniacki in one of the semifinals of the 2010 U.S. Open.

This is Zvonareva’s first time in the semifinals, having never made it past the 4th round in seven tries, while Wozniacki was a finalist here last year on her third try.

Zvonareva defeated 31st seed, Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 7-5 to reach the semifinal. Wozniacki continued her winning form downing Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-5. Wozniacki hasn’t dropped a set nor played a tie-break in her first five matches, allowing just three games in her first three matches. Zvonareva has struggled a little more, surviving two tie-breaks in her matches.

Wickmayer over Schnyder for berth in 4th round

No. 15 seed Yanina Wickmayer and unseeded No. 53 ranked Patty Schnyder dueled it out right to the end, with Wickmayer coming out on top 7-6(7-5), 3-6, 7-6(8-6) at the 2010 U.S. Open today.

Belgian slugger Wickmayer inched closer to a second semifinal appearance at Flushing Meadows with this narrow win over Swiss veteran Schnyder. Schnyder, at 31 the oldest in the women’s draw, gained match point at 6-5 in the 3rd set tie-break. But Wickmayer saved that match point, and won the next point to go up 7-6. Schnyder then committed an untimely double fault to end the match. Schnyder had six double-faults, while Wickmayer had seven. Schnyder’s last one just came at a really bad time.

Jankovic ousted by Kanepi

No. 4 seed, Jelena Jankovic once again lost her bid to win her first Grand Slam when she was defeated by No. 31 seed, Kaia Kanepi in round 3 at the 2010 U.S. Open.

Although Hurricane Earl didn’t bring much rain to the New York area, the remnants of the storm brought wind gusts of up to 33 mph that were playing havoc with the players — starting with Jankovic, who lost 6-2, 7-6 (1) to Kanepi.

Stosur upset by Kanepi at Wimbledon

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.

Clijsters could miss French Open due to Injury

Just when everything seemed to be going her way, Kim Clijsters of Belgium may miss the French Open due to a foot injury.

Having come out of retirement recently, Clijsters surged back in the rankings to her current No. 11. However, she is out for up to six weeks after tearing a muscle in her left foot during a Fed Cup singles match against Estonia.

Clijsters beat Maret Ani 6-4, 6-2 Saturday despite discomfort in the foot. The bruising got more painful overnight, forcing her to pull out of Sunday’s second match. Tests at a hospital showed the muscle tear in her foot.