Month of May , 2009

Top-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain and No. 2 Alisa Kleybanova of Russia advanced to the semifinals of the Grand Prix SAR in straight sets Thursday.

Medina Garrigues beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in an all-Spanish match, while Kleybanova defeated Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-3, 6-4.

World number one Dinara Safina made light work of Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova as she needed just over an hour to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament here on Thursday.

Having blasted her way past Italy's Sara Errani 6-0, 6-1 in the first round, Safina was barely troubled by Hantuchova as she won her second round game 6-4, 6-2 and will play eighth-seed Agnieszka Radwanska in Friday's quarter-final.

Defending champion Jelena Jankovic had to battle her way into the quarter-finals of Stuttgart's WTA Thursday as crowd-favourite Sabine Lisicki went down fighting.

The 19-year-old German, ranked 42nd in the world, broke the former world number one in the second set and pushed her all the way before she losing 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 and was rewarded with a standing ovation when she finally bowed out.

Having lost the first set 7-5, Lisicki showed tremendous mental strength by fighting back from 4-2 down to take the second 7-5 using her forehand to devastating effect.

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic posted straight-set wins Friday to set up a meeting in the Rome Masters semifinals.

Federer overcame a first-set challenge from the net-charging German qualifier Mischa Zverev, advancing 7-6 (3), 6-2. Djokovic stayed on course to defend his title in this clay-court warmup for the French Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro.

The fast clay at the Foro Italico suits both Federer and Djokovic.

World number one Rafael Nadal produced a superbly gritty display to crush an excellent Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-3 in their Rome Masters quarter-final encounter.

Russia's Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova will face each other in the semi-finals of Stuttgart's WTA tournament on Saturday after both came through Friday's quarter-finals.

While Dementieva struggled to see off France's Marion Bartoli in her quarter-final, Kuznetsova took just over an hour to beat Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-2 and will now play her compatriot for a place in Sunday's final.

"I played great today," beamed fifth-seed Kuznetsova.

Flavia Pennetta of Italy did it again to Jelena Jankovic, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, on Friday as the Serbian title holder crashed out of the Porsche Grand Prix quarter-finals.

The 14th-ranked Pennetta clinched the comeback upset win in 1 hour 58 minutes against an erratic third seed Jankovic.

Pennetta, 27, lost the first five matches against Jankovic but then beat her the last time they met, in Zurich last autumn, less than two weeks after Jankovic had claimed the world number one spot with the Stuttgart title in October 2008.

The top three seeds – three-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal, two-time finalist Roger Federer and defending champion Novak Djokovic – are into the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, the fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season. All three players have yet to drop a set in their first three matches. The other semi-finalist is No. 12 seed and 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez. This marks the first time since 1981 the top three seeds are in the semi-finals in Rome.

Top-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues and sixth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova cruised past semifinal opponents on Friday to set up a clash in the final of the Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem on Saturday.

Medina Garrigues had won the first set against Melinda Czink, 6-0, when the Hungarian retired with a gastrointestinal illness just 24 minutes into the match. This was the first time in three career matches, all on clay, that the two didn't split sets, with the 26-year-old Spaniard now holding a 2-1 edge in the series.

Eurosport's Simon Reed believes that the world's best women are finally getting back on track after a rocky start to the season.

It's already been a terrific week for women's tennis in Stuttgart, because for the first time in what seems like an age the best women players are starting to play at their best.

It is still just the early signs of resurgence we are seeing after what has been a difficult start to 2009 for many of the top players - but the signs are encouraging nonetheless.

Elena Dementieva wore down Marion Bartoli on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix for the third time. Standing in the way of a first Stuttgart final for the No.2 seed is fellow Russian and four-time semifinalist Svetlana Kuznetsova, who dismissed upset artist Gisela Dulko in straight sets. World No.1 Dinara Safina also advanced and will play Flavia Pennetta, who stunned defending champ Jelena Jankovic. 

Serena Williams' road to Roland Garros begins in Bradenton.

The 2002 French Open champion hit the red clay today, training with legendary coach Nick Bollettieri at the IMG Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion, who has worked with Bollettieri in preparation for Grand Slam tournaments in the past, is gearing up for another run at Roland Garros. Serena is scheduled to play both Rome next week and Madrid the following week before the French Open starts on May 24.

Holder Novak Djokovic took advantage of Roger Federer's slump in form after a rain break to reach the Rome Masters final with a 4-6 6-3 6-3 win on Saturday.

Second seed Federer, yet to win a title this year, looked to be cruising when leading 6-4 2-1 before rain halted play for about an hour.

He had had a break point to go 3-0 up and then created another for 4-1 before some wild shots helped the third ranked Serb take the match to a decider.

Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Olympic champion and second-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday to reach the final of the Porsche Grand Prix.

The fifth-seeded Kuznetsova made the Stuttgart final for the first time after getting knocked out in her three previous semifinals.

"I surprised myself a little bit. I was extremely focused," Kuznetsova said.

She will play either top-ranked Dinara Safina or Flavia Pennetta in Sunday's final.

World No. 3 Novak Djokovic will have the opportunity to defend his Internazionali BNL d’Italia title after recovering from a set and a break down to oust two-time former finalist Roger Federer 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament in Rome.

In a repeat of the recent Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final, Djokovic will take on three-time former champion Rafael Nadal after the top-ranked Spaniard rolled past Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3 later on Saturday.

World number one Dinara Safina overcame a first set scare here Saturday to outclass unseeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 and book her place in the WTA Stuttgart final.

Safina, who will play Russian compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova on Sunday, turned her semi-final around in the second set after calling for her coach Zeljko Krajan, going on to recover from 3-1 down to win the second 7-5.

It seemed so far away a few days ago but after making it through the diffuclt times Anabel Medina Garrigues only picked up more steam, and on Saturday the Spaniard steamrolled Ekaterina Makarova in 60 minutes for the ninth Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title of her career.

Svetlana Kuznetsova ended a disturbing trend while Dinara Safina fought off a serious upset bid and at the end of the day both Russians moved into the final in Stuttgart.

Kuznetsova had lost her last eight matches against fellow Top 10 players going into her semifinal with Elena Dementieva but it didn't matter at all as she cruised to a 64 62 victory over the No.2 seed. Kuznetsova, the No.5 seed, had been to the semifinals at the event three times before - 2004, 2006 and 2007 - but had never made the final.

Reigning ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal attempts to capture a record fourth title in Rome as he takes on defending champion and No. 3 Novak Djokovic (pictured) in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday. This is the first final between two former Rome champions since 1978 when Bjorn Borg defeated Adriano Panatta in five sets. Jaroslav Drobny (1950-52), Martin Mulligan (1963, ’65, ’67) and Thomas Muster (1990, ’95-96) are the others who have won three titles in Rome.

Three of Spain's most prominent figures were on hand on Thursday, April 30, to open La Caja Mágica (The Magic Box), where the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open will take place in just over a week, from May 8 to 17.