Fourth seed Nicole Vaidisova and 12th seed Ana Ivanovic became the latest top players to pull out of the Italian Open in Rome after succumbing to injuries, tournament organisers said.

Czech Vaidisova withdrew with a recurrence of the tendonitis that kept her out of last week's German Open in Berlin.

Serb Ivanovic, who moved up to eighth in the world rankings -- her first time in the top 10 -- after beating world number three Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final in Berlin, pulled out with an ankle injury.

Another leading player, 13th seed Li Na of China, also dropped out with a stomach upset.

First Round Results:

Stosur - Schiavone   6-3, 6-4
Tu - Vinci   2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Schnyder - Bardina   6-1, 6-2
Peer - Radwanska   6-0, 2-0  Retired
Sugiyama - Kirilenko   6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Krajicek - Poutchkova   6-1, 6-2
Paszek - Pratt   6-7, 6-0, 6-2
Bondarenko - Sun   6-7, 7-5, 6-2
Garbin - Pennetta   6-3, 7-6
Dementieva - Camerin   6-1, 6-2
Castano - Knapp   6-1, 7-5
Shaughnessy - Loit   6-3, 6-2
Zi - Brémond   2-6, 6-0, 6-3
Bammer - Dulko   7-5, 7-5
Hantuchova - Rezaï   4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Srebotnik - Muller   6-4, 6-2
Medina Garrigues - Zheng   6-2, 6-2
Voskoboeva - Brianti   6-2, 6-3
Kanepi - Dominguez Lino   6-3, 6-3
Sprem - Daniilidou   3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Bondarenko - Errani   4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Fedak - Oprandi   6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Santangelo - Morigami   6-2, 6-0
Dechy - Groenefeld   6-0, 6-4

Second Round Fixtures:

Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)  vs.  Samantha Stosur (AUS)
Meilen Tu (USA)  vs.  Patty Schnyder (SUI)
Shahar Peer (ISR)  vs.  Ai Sugiyama (JPN)
Michaella Krajicek (NLD)  vs.  Serena Williams (USA)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)  vs.  Tamira Paszek (AUT)
Alyona Bondarenko (UKR)  vs.  Tathiana Garbin (ITA)
Elena Dementieva (RUS)  vs.  Catalina Castano (COL)
Meghann Shaughnessy (USA)  vs.  Nadia Petrova (RUS)
Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)  vs.  Yan Zi (CHN)
Sybille Bammer (AUT)  vs.  Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
Katarina Srebotnik (SVN)  vs.  Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)
Galina Voskoboeva (RUS)  vs.  Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)
Dinara Safina (RUS)  vs.  Kaia Kanepi (EST)
Karolina Sprem (CRO)  vs.  Katerina Bondarenko (UKR)
Yuliana Fedak (UKR)  vs.  Nathalie Dechy (FRA)
Mara Santangelo (ITA)  vs.  Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

Mauresmo falls early again.

Second Round Results:

Stosur - Mauresmo 7-5, 6-7, 7-6
Schnyder - Tu 6-4, 6-0
Peer - Sugiyama 6-0, 6-2
Williams - Krajicek 6-4, 6-1
Jankovic - Paszek 6-3, 6-4
Bondarenko - Garbin 6-4, 6-2
Dementieva - Castano 6-4, 6-3
Petrova - Shaughnessy 7-6, 6-1
Chakvetadze - Zi 6-1, 6-3
Hantuchova - Bammer 6-1, 6-2
Medina Garrigues - Srebotnik 6-3, 6-2
Vierin - Voskoboeva 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Safina - Kanepi 7-6, 6-2
Bondarenko - Sprem 6-3, 6-4
Fedak - Dechy 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
Kuznetsova - Santangelo 6-3, 6-3

3rd Round Fixtures:

Samantha Stosur (AUS) vs. Patty Schnyder (SUI)
Shahar Peer (ISR) vs. Serena Williams (USA)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) vs. Alyona Bondarenko (UKR)
Elena Dementieva (RUS) vs. Nadia Petrova (RUS)
Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) vs. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) vs. Nathalie Vierin (ITA)
Dinara Safina (RUS) vs. Katerina Bondarenko (UKR)
Yuliana Fedak (UKR) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

3rd Round Results:

Schnyder - Stosur 6-4, 6-4
Williams - Peer 6-3, 6-3
Jankovic - Bondarenko 6-4, 7-5
Dementieva - Petrova 4-3 (Retired with a back problem)
Hantuchova - Chakvetadze 6-2, 6-3
Medina Garrigues - Vierin 6-1, 6-1
Safina - Bondarenko 6-2, 6-3
Kuznetsova - Fedak 7-6, 6-1

Quarter Final Fixtures:

Patty Schnyder (SUI) vs. Serena Williams (USA)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) vs. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)
Dinara Safina (RUS) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

Former world number one Serena Williams slid out of the Italian Open following a 6-3 2-6 7-6 defeat by Patty Schnyder in the quarter-finals.

Playing her first tournament since a groin strain forced her to pull out of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston last month, Williams struggled to find her rhythm against the 14th seed and paid the price for an error-strewn performance.

Schnyder's reward will be a semi-final against third seed Jelena Jankovic, who produced an impressive display of baseline hitting to sweep past Elena Dementieva 6-2 6-1.

In the other QF matches, Hantuchova beat Medina Garrigues   7-6, 7-5. The victory means Hantuchova will play former US Open champ, Kuznetsova who eased past Safina  6-1, 6-3.

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic will play for the Italian Open title, and apart from Justine Henin nobody on the tour is playing as sharply as those two.

Kuznetsova, seeded second, beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-2 Saturday. Jankovic, seeded third, routed Patty Schnyder 6-1, 6-3 in the other semifinal of this clay-court warmup for the French Open, which begins next weekend.

"I feel really comfortable here," Kuznetsova said. "I have the game on clay and I've showed it the past three weeks.

Kuznetsova is ranked a career-high No. 3 this week following her runner-up finish in last week's German Open and a semifinal appearance in Warsaw, Poland, the week before.

Jankovic is also at a career high in the rankings -- No. 5 -- and has not dropped a set this week. The Serb won a clay-court title in Charleston, S.C., last month and lost to Henin in Warsaw and Berlin.

"She moves incredibly well on clay. Tomorrow is going to be a tough match," Kuznetsova said. "But I think I have the game to win."

Kuznetsova was the runner-up to Henin at last year's French Open.

"This year I can see how I can hurt other players a lot on clay courts," Kuznetsova said. "I can play with a lot of spin. I really understand the game much more this year."

Kuznetsova has defeated Jankovic in two of their three matches. Jankovic, however, beat her in three sets at last year's U.S. Open.

"I'm just going to concentrate on myself and try to put my serves in," Jankovic said.

Kuznetsova used her speed to run down Hantuchova's angled shots and flattened her backhand for a series of winners. Hantuchova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues in a long two-setter that ended late Friday and did not appear to have fully recovered.

"I know she likes hard courts better and it takes some time to get used to the clay," Kuznetsova said.

Kuznetsova broke to go up 2-1 in the first and maintained the lead for the rest of the set. After trading breaks early in the second set, Kuznetsova won the final games.

Schnyder upset Serena Williams in a third-set tiebreaker Friday and appeared out of energy in her semifinal. She was late arriving to the ball, missed routine groundstrokes and committed double-faults.

"She played unbelievably yesterday and it's really hard to play two days in a row like she did," Jankovic said.

Schnyder, who has a cold, never held serve.

"I couldn't breathe," she said. "I had trouble in the long rallies."

Jankovic's only problem came when she served for the match and had trouble with her serve.

"It was terrible. I was just a little bit tight," Jankovic said. "It happens to everybody. I just had to hang in there."

WTA Rome Final:

(3) Jelena Jankovic (Ser) bt (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 7-5 6-1

WTA Birmingham
Birmingham, England
June 11-17, 2007
Tier III
Prize Money: $200,000
Draw: 56M/32Q/16D
Surface: Grass/Outdoors
Tournament Director: Marjory Howie

Seeds: (1) Maria Sharapova, (2) Jelena Jankovic, (3) Daniela Hantuchova (Svk), (4) Na Li (Chn), (6) Alona Bondarenko (Ukr), (7) Ai Sugiyama (Jpn), (8 ) Mara Santangelo (Ita), (9) Julia Vakulenko (Ukr), (10) Severine Bremond (Fra), (11) Olga Poutchkova (Rus), (12) Agnieska Radwanska (Pol), (13) Melien Tu (USA), (15) Eleni Daniilidou (Gre), (16) Maria Kirilenko (Rus)



Jelena Jankovic won her fourth title of the year by beating Maria [i]Shrieka[/i]pova 4-6 6-3 7-5 at Birmingham. The other titles came on hardcourt(1) and clay(2). It was also her first win over the russian in four attempts.

seems Sharapova is really having a tough time!
since loosn the top spot, she has been struggln!

gud for Jankovic

feel bad for her but Jankovic seems to be getting better and better.

Sharapova was never really that good in the first place. Thank God for her pushy dad if not. . .

@ PDF

You should really go for a Tennis Reporter, your analysis 'na wa o!' always in full details(almost ). You made me love tennis and not forgetting others who has made this sport alive on this board. Keep It Up You'll.

Ope, thanks for those words. Glad we've won ur heart to tennis.

International Women's Open

Eastbourne, England
June 16-23, 2007
Tier II
Prize Money: $600,000
Draw: 28M/32Q/16D
Surface: Grass/Outdoors
Tournament Director: Gavin Fletcher

Seeds: (1) Justine Henin (BEL), (2) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA), (3)Nadia Petrova (RUS), (4)Elena Dementieva (RUS), (5)Nicole Vaidisova (CZE), (6)Shahar Peer (ISR), (Marion Bartoli (FRA), (9) Sybille Bammer (AUT)

International Women's Open

Second Round: Women's Singles

(1) Justine Henin (BEL)  vs.  Agnieska Radwanska (POL)   6-4, 6-1
(2) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)  vs.  Mara Santangelo (ITA)   6-2, 6-3
(3) Nadia Petrova (RUS)  vs.  Nathalie Dechy (FRA)   7-5, 7-5
(4) Elena Dementieva (RUS)  vs.  Katie O'Brien (GBR)   6-3, 6-4
(5) Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)  vs.  Elena Baltacha (GBR)   6-3, 6-2
(6) Shahar Peer (ISR)  vs.  Aiko Nakamura (JPN)   6-3, 6-2
(7) Sybille Bammer (AUT)  vs.  Lucie Safarova (CZE)   7-5, 5-7, 6-3
(Marion Bartoli (FRA)  vs.  Melanie South (GBR)   6-1, 6-3

Singles - Quarterfinals

(1) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (5) Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) 62 62
(2) Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) d. (6) Shahar Peer (ISR) 63 64
(3) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. (9) Sybille Bammer (AUT) 67(6) 75 64
(Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 61 60

SF Fixtures:

(1) Justine Henin (BEL)  vs.  (Marion Bartoli (FRA)

(3) Nadia Petrova (Rus)  vs.  (2) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)

Women's Wimbledon draw


1) Justine Henin (Bel) v Jorgelina Cravero (Arg)

Timea Bacsinszky (Swi) v Vera Dushevina (Rus)

Sun Tiantian (Chn) v Emilie Loit (Fra)

Elena Vesnina (Rus) v (30) Olga Poutchkova (Rus)

(24) Alona Bondarenko (Ukr) v Jill Craybas (US)

Agnes Szavay (Hun) v Eva Birnerova (Cze)

Ashley Harkleroad (US) v Roberta Vinci (Ita)

Camille Pin (Fra) v (15) Patty Schnyder (Swi)

(10) Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus)

Elena Likhovtseva (Rus) v Maria Elena Camerin (Ita)

Nika Ozegovic (Cro) v Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Ger)

Elena Baltacha (GB) v (19) Katarina Srebotnik (Slo)

(27) Samantha Stosur (Aus) v Kristina Brandi (Pur)

Milagros Sequera (Ven) v Julia Schruff (Ger)

Alicia Molik (Aus) v Anastasia Rodionova (Rus)

Lourdes Dominguez Lino (Spa) v (7) Serena Williams (US)


(3) Jelena Jankovic (Ser) v Anne Keothavong (GB)

Meghann Shaughnessy (US) v Jarmila Gajdosova (Svk)

Gisela Dulko (Arg) v Eleni Daniilidou (Greece)

Zuzana Ondraskova (Cze) v (25) Lucie Safarova (Cze)

(18) Marion Bartoli (Fra) v Flavia Pennetta (Ita)

Olga Govortsova (Blr) v Greta Arn (Ger)

Kaia Kanepi (Est) v Tatjana Malek (Ger)

Tamarine Tanasugarn (Tha) v (16) Shahar Peer (Isr)

(9) Martina Hingis (Swi) v Naomi Cavaday (GB)

Aiko Nakamura (Jpn) v Martina Sucha (Svk)

Aleksandra Wozniak (Can) v Laura Granville (US)

Varvara Lepchenko (Uzb) v (20) Sybille Bammer (Aut)

(31) Michaella Krajicek (Ned) v Tzipi Obziler (Isr)

Sandra Kloesel (Ger) v Katie O'Brien (GB)

Viktoriya Kutuzova (Ukr) v Tatiana Poutchek (Blr)

Angelique Kerber (Ger) v 8 Anna Chakvetadze (Rus)


(6) Ana Ivanovic (Ser) v Melinda Czink (Hun)

Edina Gallovits (Rom) v Meilen Tu (US)

Shenay Perry (US) v Aravane Rezai (Fra)

Anne Kremer (Lux) v (29) Francesca Schiavone (Ita)

(22) Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spa) v Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spa)

Tatiana Perebiynis (Ukr) v Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Swi)

Sania Mirza (Ind) v Yaroslava Shvedova (Rus)

Vania King (US) v (11) Nadia Petrova (Rus)

(14) Nicole Vaidisova (Cze) v Karin Knapp (Ita)

Nicole Pratt (Aus) v Casey Dellacqua (Aus)

Victoria Azarenka (Blr) v Jelena Kostanic Tosic (Cro)

Yan Zi (Chn) v (21) Tathiana Garbin (Ita)

(28) Mara Santangelo (Ita) v Ayumi Morita (Jpn)

Caroline Wozniacki (Den) v Anastasiya Yakimova (Blr)

Virginie Razzano (Fra) v Yvonne Meusburger (Aut)

Jamea Jackson (US) v (4) Amelie Mauresmo (Fra)


(5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) v Julia Vakulenko (Ukr)

Bethanie Mattek (US) v Vasilisa Bardina (Rus)

Tsvetana Kirilo Pironkova (Bul) v Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol)

Anna Smashnova (Isr) v (32) Martina Muller (Ger)

(17) Tatiana Golovin (Fra) v Hsieh Su-wei (Tpe)

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Cze) v Tamira Paszek (Aut)

Catalina Castano (Col) v Iveta Benesova (Cze)

Nathalie Dechy (Fra) v (12) Elena Dementieva (Rus)

(13) Dinara Safina (Rus) v Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr)

Alberta Brianti (Ita) v Akiko Morigami (Jap)

Peng Shuai (Chn) v Hana Sromova (Cze)

Alla Kudryavtseva (Rus) v (23) Venus Williams (US)

(26) Ai Sugiyama (Jpn) v Melanie South (GB)

Maria Kirilenko (Rus) v ll-Alize Cornet (Fra)

Severine Bremond (Fra) v Ekaterina Bychkova (Rus)

Chan Yung-jan (Tpe) v (2) Maria Sharapova (Rus)

Justin 6-5 up against Mauresmo in the second set of eastbourne final. She won the first set 7-5.

i hope she will end up so exhausted , she will not get up so QF
make she will sha, to console for wimbledon wey go still dey elude am

hi viee made a mistake on the scores Justin has won in three sets. Too bad, i just don't like Henin.
Justine Henin laid down a marker ahead of Wimbledon by beating reigning SW19 champion Amelie Mauresmo 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-2) in the final at Eastbourne, from bbc.

sup dinozzo

im indifferent abt her
but she is in a great shape and i will not want her to meet serena in QF

but serena isnt in a bad shape herself
lets see how it pams out

good one for Henin
guess she needs it after all the sad news she had to face

looks like this might be Justin's year in wimbledon, mauresmo doesn't look to be in top shape, serena is very unpredictable. Maria sharapova well i still think Justin will beat her if they meet. So I think like the french open it will be decided in the quarters when Serena and Justin meets. We still can't rule out Jankovic though.

sharapova don turn to pensioner since!
serena is unpredictable,yes
Jankovic is far more convincing
but Henin is in top shape

lets c what happens

im all for serena no matter what

viee:


im all for serena no matter what

yeah me too. On the mens corner, the winner is kind of like a foregone conclusion.

dinozzo:

yeah me too. On the mens corner, the winner is kind of like a foregone conclusion.

i hope we are reffering to Nadal here o

viee:


i hope we are reffering to Nadal here o

lol i wish i could say that but you know when its grass its Federer. Nadal's loss last week to Mahut has dropped my hopes of him triumphing on grass this year but i'm with him all the way.