Stosur upset by Kvitova at Australian Open

In a major disappointment for home-town folks down under, No. 5 seed, #6 Samantha Stosur of Australia had her hopes dashed for a 1st Grand Slam title by No. 25 seed, # 28 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-6(7-5) 6-3 at the 2011 Australian Open in Melbourne.

The 3rd round match began with a tense 63-minute 1st-set battle in which Stosur succumbed 5-7 in a tie-break. Stosur never seemed to recover, being bludgeoned by 35 clean winners from Kvitova, compared to Stosur’s 11 winners. The match was over after a 32 minute 2nd set 6-3 pounding by Kvitova, one hour and 35 minutes total match time.

Kim Clijsters – 2010 WTA Player of the Year

Kim Clijsters of Belgium was voted Player of the Year for the 2nd time in her career. She first earned that honor in 2005.

The 27-year-old from Belgium won five titles in 2010, including her second U.S. Open crown in a row. She won at Brisbane, Miami, Cincinnati, and the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha, as well as taking her third title at Flushing Meadows.

Just one year after making a comeback following a break to rest injuries and start a family, Clijsters was voted the top honor in a balloting of players as well as the Player Service award given to the woman who did the most to support her fellow players through the WTA players’ council or other initiatives.

Wozniacki takes over World No. 1 ranking from Serena Williams

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark officially will take over the World No. 1 ranking when the new rankings are released on Monday. In doing so, she has dethroned Serena Williams of the USA.

The 20-year-old will become the first player from Denmark, male or female, to hold the top ranking after a 6-3, 6-2 win over Petra Kvitova at the China Open in Beijing on Thursday.

“This is a real big step for me. To be the world No. 1 has always been a dream for me,” Wozniacki said at the Beijing Tennis Center. “It doesn’t feel like it’s real.”

Clijsters advances to 3rd round over Peers

The defending champion, Kim Clijsters, continues her quest for a 3rd U.S. Open title after defeating Sally Peers 6-2, 6-1 in round 2 of the 2010 U.S. Open.

Clijsters of Belgium made 15 unforced errors in the first set before steadying herself to take the win over the No. 201 ranked Peers of Australia in 56 minutes. The 19-year-old Peers had to come through qualifying to gain entry to her first Grand Slam tournament.

Wimbledon 2010 Final – Serena Williams versus Vera Zvonareva

As happened 5 times in the last 8 years, Serena Williams will appear in the Wimbledon Final as she goes up against Vera Zvonareva.

World No. 1, 28-year-old Serena of the USA earned her berth in the Final by defeating unseeded but determined 19-year-old Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Petra pushed Serena from the start, going up a break in the 1st set. Serena was able to break back and take the 1st set to a tie-break, which she won 7-5. The 2nd set was much closer than the score reflects with many deuce games. But Serena proved to be the tougher one in the end.

Wimbledon Semifinals – Zvonareva, Pironkova, Kvitova, Serena Williams

The Semifinals for Wimbledon 2010 have been determined.

One match pits No. 21 seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia against No. 82 ranked
Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria.

These two have met once before at Moscow in 2009 where Tsvetana won 6-0, 6-2 on hard court. Tsvetana, 22-years-old, has never made it past the 2nd round of a Grand Slam before, while Vera, age 25, has made the 4th round of Wimbledon twice and the semifinal of the Australian Open once. Thus we have a much more Grand Slam experienced Vera versus a more inexperienced Tsvetana. However, the match may well be determined by who is more hungry for the win. It is new ground for both of these players, since neither has been in a Grand Slam Semifinal before. It should prove to be an interesting match.

No. 3 Wozniacki sent packing after being pounded by Kvitova

No. 3 seed, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, was sent packing today after being pounded by No. 62 ranked Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the 4th round of Wimbledon 2010.

The pounding took only 46 minutes. Who is this Petra Kvitova who can knock off a high seed without hardly breaking a sweat? In her post match press conference, the questions were not about how she thought she played, but the first question to her was: “We don’t know who you are very well. Can you tell us a little bit about you?” Her answer didn’t really clear things up very much. “I was born in Bilovec, Fulnek is my residence and I’m practising in Prostejov.”

Henin Cruises Over Dementieva at Sony Ericsson Open

Still quite fresh out of retirement, Justine Henin of Belgium continued her dominance over No. 6 ranked Elena Dementieva of Russia in the 2nd round of the 2010 WTA Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA. It was a convincing straight sets pounding, 6-3, 6-2.

Henin didn’t even concede a break point in the first set and broke three times in the second to win in a little under 90 minutes.

Henin came into the tournament as a wildcard, playing in her first Sony Ericsson Open since coming out of retirement this year.