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.

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.

Serena Williams Named Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player of the Year

Serena Williams of the USA was voted the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s 2009 Player of the Year for the third time in her career. She was announced as the winner at the annual Player Awards during a special ceremony at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida. It is ironic that Serena isn’t even playing the the Sony Ericsson Open this year due to injuries. Serena received the award previously for the 2002 and 2008 seasons.

(See other awards later in this article.)

Dementieva Seeded No 1 at WTA Open GDF Suez

No. 7 ranked Elena Dementieva of Russia is seeded No. 1 for the $700,000 WTA Open GDF Suez being played in Paris, France, February 8-10, 2010. After a 1st round bye, Dementieva will take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia who was a 1st round winner over Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic.

The top seeds include:

Petrova Cruises Into Quarterfinals By Downing Kuznetsova

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.

Clijsters Run Ended By Petrova

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.

Wickmayer Sends No. 12 Pennetta Home From Australian Open

Just two months ago, Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer wasn’t going to be able to play tennis all year. Now she is into round 3 of the 2010 Australian Open after downing No. 12 ranked Flavia Pennetta in straight sets.

Wickmayer grabbed the momentum in the first-set tiebreaker, winning the tiebreaker easily 7-2. She then broke Pennetta 3 times in the second set for a 7-6(7-2), 6-1 win which took only 87 minutes.

Serena Williams Seeded No. 1 For 2010 Australian Open

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.

Ekaterina Bychkova Fined and Suspended For Match-fixing Claims

The tennis police are at it again, fining Russian player, Ekaterina Bychkova, $5,000 and barring her from playing for 30 days for match-fixing claims, which will keep the 123rd ranked player from participating in the Australian Open this month.

Last week, the Tennis Integrity Unit handed down the fine and suspension. The anti-corruption unit said Bychkova failed to report that she was asked to provide inside information and throw matches, even though officials said there was no evidence Bychkova accepted any compensation. She was penalized because she didn’t disclose the offer until being questioned by investigators from the Tennis Integrity Unit.

Yanina Wickmayer Has Tennis Ban Lifted

The WTA Tour’s 16th ranked player and 2009 U.S. Open semi-finalist, Yanina Wickmayer from Belgium, has successfully appealed against the ban imposed on her for missing three drug tests in eighteen months under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s controversial “whereabouts clause”.

Wickmayer and fellow countryman, Xavier Malisse, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, were suspended by a Belgian court Nov. 5, for breaking World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules by failing to report their whereabouts for drug testing three times. The International Tennis Federation imposed the bans worldwide.