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Nadia Petrova is looking like the real deal after eliminating No. 3 seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in an all Russian match at the 2010 Australian Open. It took three sets, but Petrova got the job done, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Petrova picked up where she left off in her last match when she blasted past Kim Clijsters. In this 4th round match, Petrova took the first set from Kuznetsova 6-3. Kuznetsova battled back winning the 2nd set 6-3 to level the match at one set all. Kuznetsova seemed to have the momentum. But Petrova picked up her game and Kuznetsova committed too many unforced errors and was broken three times in the final set. Petrova won that deciding set 6-1.

The much anticipated Quarterfinal between Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin will not be happening, thanks to the aggressive play of Nadia Petrova, and a rather poor performance on the part of Clijsters. Petrova, seeded No. 19 beat the No. 15 seeded Clijsters in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1 in their third round match.

Clijsters had 26 unforced errors compared to just 10 by Petrova in Clijsters’ worst Australian Open outing since her 2000 debut. Petrova had 15 winners compared to just 5 for Clijsters. The first set took only 18 minutes and Clijsters won only five points.

Serena Williams is seen here at her book signing at Harrods department store in London, on November 2, 2009. Now it’s time to put the books away and focus on tennis. Williams, who is currently ranked No. 1 on the WTA Tour is seeded No. 1 for the 2010 Australian Open set to begin Jan. 18 in Melbourne. Yes, Grand Slam tennis is about to get under way.

Tournament officials could have used a discretionary seeding to place Justine Henin in the draw, but they chose not to. So the Belgian former champion playing in her first Grand Slam tournament since announcing her return from retirement will be a dangerous threat, possibly meeting some of the top seeds in the opening rounds.

Justine Henin may well be back in full form after 15 months away from the tennis circuit. She is showing she still knows how to play as she works her way through the draw in the 2010 WTA Brisbane International tournament going on Jan. 4-10, 2010 in Brisbane, Australia.

Coming into the tournament unseeded, she faced a good challenge with the No. 2 seed, Nadia Petrova of Russia in the first round. Henin prevailed in a close match, 7-5, 7-5. She then took on unseeded 20 year-old Sesil Karatancheva of Bulgaria who had a two-year suspension for using drugs in 2005. Henin took her out 6-4, 6-3. In the Quarterfinals, Henin defeated 7th seed, Melinda Czink of Hungary in a very close 3-set match, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5).

What has happened to French tennis star, Titiana Golovin? After turning pro in 2002, Golovin had a top 30 season in 2005 and 2006, and a top 20 season in 2007. She won two WTA Tour singles titles in 2007, and was ranked as high as No. 12 in the world on February 4, 2008. Then she disappeared from tennis the Spring of 2008. For those wondering what happened to this up-and-coming 21-year-old tennis star, here’s the scoop.