Hantuchova wins stunning upset over Wozniacki

No. 28 seed, Daniela Hantuchova, pulled out a stunning upset over No. 1 seed, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, in a straight sets victory, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round of the 2011 French Open.

The 28-year-old Hantuchova from Slovakia stayed mentally tough the entire match, while 20-year-old Wozniacki of Denmark had trouble keeping the ball in the court.

Tied at one all in the opening set, Hantuchova went on a nine game winning streak running Wozniacki ragged, taking the first set 6-1 and gaining a 4-0 lead in the second. Wozniacki finally held serve again to bring it to 4-1, then broke to get to 4-2. She then held serve again, giving fans some hope that maybe she could launch a comeback and pull the match out.

Petkovic upsets Wozniacki at Sony Ericsson Open

No. 21 seed, Andrea Petkovic of Germany, pulled an upset over World No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark at the 2011 WTA Sony Ericsson Open, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

It was the biggest win of Petkovic’s career. Her previous best was a win over then No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009.

Petkovic fired an ace on set point to end the 1st set, and another ace on match point to finish the match. She totaled 3 aces, with 4 double faults, while converting 6 of 14 break points and scoring 101 points overall. Wozniacki only had 1 ace, with 5 double faults, scored on 5 of 17 break points against Petkovic, and won 97 points in all.

Schiavone outlasts Kuznetsova in record-setting match

French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone of Italy, out dueled her Russian friend, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the longest women’s singles match in Grand Slam history, winning 6-4, 1-6, 16-14.

The 30-game 3rd set alone took exactly three hours. The first two sets lasted 51 and 53 minutes for a total match time of 4 hours, 44 minutes.

After destroying last year’s finalist, Justine Henin, in straight sets in the third round, Kuznetsova should have been filled with confidence coming in against veteran Schiavone, who has never made it past the fourth round in Melbourne. But it was Schiavone who took Kuznetsova by surprise in the opening set.

Wozniacki reaches quarter-finals with win over Sevastova

World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 Australian Open in Melbourne with a straight sets win over No. 46 ranked Anastasjia Sevastova, 6-3, 6-4.

Wozniacki, 20-years-old, double-faulted to give up a break in the first game and trailed Sevastova 3-1 before sailing through the next six games.

Sevastova, also 20-years-old, fought back to 4-4 after being a break down in the second set, but served up two unforced errors to hand it straight back and Wozniacki sealed the match after whipping a cross-court forehand winner.

Kuznetsova upsets Henin at Australian Open

The 23rd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova upset No. 11 seeded Justine Henin in round three of the 2011 Australian Open in Melbourne. Svetlana took the match in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(8).

After taking the first set, Svetlana twice served for the match. Justine broke both times sending the 2nd set to a tie-break. After several lead changes, set points for Justine and match points for Svetlana, Svetlana finally pulled out the upset at 10-8.

Justine reached the final of the Australian Open in 2010, her first Grand Slam after coming out of retirement. Now, just a year later, she suffered her worst run at a Grand Slam event since Wimbledon in 2005 when she lost in the 1st round.

Sharapova loses in first round of Pan Pacific Open

No. 15 ranked Maria Sharapova of Russia was sent packing today by No. 67 ranked wildcard Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan in the first round of the 2010 Pan Pacific Open being played in Tokyo, Japan.

The 23-year-old Maria was the defending champion of this tournament, but was shown the exit door by a local resident and all-time Japanese # 1 Kimiko who turns 40 tomorrow.

Long-time Japanese crowd favorite Kimiko stunned the former world No. 1 Maria 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Kimiko advanced in 2 hours, 9 minutes, as Maria, still struggling with her serve, piled up 11 double faults and had her big serve broken five times.

Serena Williams pulls out of China Open, may lose No. 1 ranking

World No. 1 Serena Williams of the USA has pulled out of yet another tournament, the China Open in Beijing while she continues to recover from surgery on her right foot. The injury will keep her from competing at the Pan Pacific Open and China Open tournaments over the next two weeks.

At the beginning of the week, the 13-time Grand Slam champion revealed to fans on her website that she had stopped wearing a protective boot around her injured foot. “While I have continued to make progress in the recovery of my foot injury, unfortunately I am still not ready to compete at the upcoming Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and China Open in Beijing,” Williams said in a statement.

Seeded players Kuznetsova, Hantuchova, Shvedova, Peer, Rezai, Oudin, and Jie fall in 2nd round at Wimbledon

Shahar Peer of Israel was the highest seed to be eliminated in the 2nd round at Wimbledon 2010. The 13th seeded Shahar lost to No. 54 ranked Angelique Kerber of Germany 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

It was a round that saw many seeded players fall to much lower ranked players. Some of the higher seeds included No. 18 seed, Aravane Rezai of France, who lost to No. 66 ranked Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, and No. 19 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, who was defeated by countrywoman Anastasia Rodionova 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Makarova defeats Azarenka for title at WTA AEGON International

Ekaterina Makarova of Russia won the women’s final against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at the 2010 WTA AEGON International held in Eastbourne, England June 14-19. Ekaterina won the match in straights sets, 7-6(5), 6-4.

Ekaterina is ranked No. 103, and was a qualifier, while Victoria was also unseeded but ranked much higher at No. 15.

Ekaterina defeated #10 Flavia Pennetta, #13 Nadia Petrova, #19 Svetlana Kuznetsova, and #7 Samantha Stosur on her way to the final, making this by far the best week of her career. She did not lose a set along the way.

Kuznetsova squeaks by Petkovic at French Open

No. 6 seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia had a scare today, and barely squeaked by unseeded No. 41 ranked Andrea Petkovic of Germany in round 2 of the French Open in Paris. Final score: 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

In a match interrupted by a 1 1/2 hour rain delay, Andrea won the first set, and was up 5-2 in the second set. Svetlana came back, but Andrea served for the match at 5-4. Andrea got up 40-love, but sent a backhand into the net, a forehand long, and a backhand wide to waste three match points. On her fourth match point, she put another backhand into the net.