The draw.

Not a bad set of projected SFs for a Tier III:

Jankovic v Chakvetadze
Safina v Ivanovic

These would feature two Top 10 clashes, with the slight exception of Safina, who only recently slipped a few spots out of it. And actually there will be a potential Top 10 quarterfinal owing to recent ranking developments in Hantuchova v Ivanovic. Other tantalising match-ups may be a rematch less than a week removed of Jankovic v the in-form A Bondarenko, again coming in the quarters.

Thus far seeds AMG and Srebotnik have already fallen, the former in three sets to Vesnina, and the latter out tamely to qualifier Palek. Chakvetadze advanced from a set down against the rising Azarenka, Bondarenko took out a Dutch wildcard in 1 and 1, and Safina was a set up and 2-all against Pin before the rains came. Hantuchova and Ivanovic play their first matches today, whilst Jankovic has presumably been given an extra day's reprieve in light of her busy weekend.

Some storylines include:

Top two seeds Jankovic and Ivanovic will be hoping to meet in a first-ever (?) all-Serb final, as well as rekindle their growing rivalry in a fifth encounter, which would be their first since sharing the Top 10. Ivanovic actually leads that series 3-1, and apart from hoping to gain ground in their H2H, Jankovic may want to score points against her countrywoman who went one better than her at RG in reaching the final, even if she actually fared one game worse against Henin there. The seemingly indefatigable Jankovic will also be hoping to extend a grass streak in the wake of her Birmingham win and potentially go undefeated into Wimbledon on the surface.

Krajicek will be seeking to defend the biggest of her three titles and taste success on her home turf again. I think she had a bit of an injury complaint coming into the event, and she had that shock upset to Fedak (who is ranked nearly 100 spots lower than her) last week. She's already done better this week, winning her first match 3 and 2 against Dulko. First Safina and then Jankovic especially, who inhabit her half of the draw, will pose significant obstacles, however.

Hantuchova ushered herself back into the Top 10 by reaching the quarters in Birmingham, and will want to follow up on that result this week. She will also want to confirm her new status in that stage of the tourney by defeating No 6 Ivanovic, if they meet.

Ivanovic all the way, put the debacle that was the RG Final behind you and lift your spirits with a win :yahoo:

As for Jankovic, that she's even playing :doh: I can see her being mentally tired when she has to face a tough opponent at Wimbly like she was against Justine.

Just wanted to point out that the Ordina Open site is offering a live stream of centre court.

Two options available here.

Currently a men's match is on but coming up next will be a rematch of last year's final, Safina v Kracijek.

Heh heh - in between matches, the live stream is carrying some feature or another on Jankovic, showing her among other things steering a boat along the water (I'm guessing in the vicinity of 's-Hertogenbosch) and letting off peals of madcap laughter throughout. She's a character, that one. A brief interview with her followed, and now one with Safina. I'm afraid my Dutch isn't very good (or more accurately, it's nonexistent) but luckily it's all conducted in English.

In other news, Hantuchova rebounded from dropping the first set to Shaughnessy and has drawn even 3-6, 6-3. Vesnina down 3-6 to Kerber, surprisingly, but leads by a break 3-2 in the second.

Disappointingly, Hantuchova wins by virtue of retirement just one game away from the finish 3-6, 6-3, 5-3. Shaughnessy is coming off a title in Barcelona (on clay, even) and I suppose all the tennis caught up to her.

Vesnina goes out tamely to Kerber 3 and 3. A shame considering her battling three-set win over AMG in the first round.

In the clash of younger sisters to Slam champions, Safina v Krajicek is proving very competitive indeed. Deuces aplenty and the final game of the first set alone was an epic, which Safina ultimately won to go up 6-4. However Krajicek fought hard in the second, first to fend off break points and then convert her own, and serves it out 6-3 to level things a set apiece.

It was something of an epic, 6-4 in the third, lasting two and a half hours; it should probably have more fittingly gone to a tiebreaker, but the Russian successfully avenged her loss to the Dutchwoman in last year's final.

Both women were solid off the backhand wing, Krajicek in finding the angles and Safina in generating pace and hitting lines. Despite a combined 16 DFs (9 for Safina, 7 for Krajicek) the serving was top-notch as well, with 24 aces total (14 for Safina to Krajicek's 10) and each drawing her opponent wide effectively to set up points, or going for a surprise down the T at timely moments. Krajicek showed more feel at net (and hit a few stunning half-volleys to stay in points) but Safina was likewise impressive with the passing shots and lobs. The pressure ultimately told too much for the defending champion as she served to remain the match; she could save one match point but not a second. Well done to Safina, who should have an easier time of it against Pennetta in the quarters, although the Italian (who pushed Sharapova to three sets at Wimbledon last year) seems to have found some form on the grass this week.

Just noticed jankovic is playing here... Don't remember a week gone by when she hasn't been playing!! She has been playing a heck of a lot of tournaments this year, after here we can probably expect her to get to the 2nd week of Wimbledon... surely she will take a break after that!
All these tournaments will mean she has a lot of points to defend next year as she is playing pretty well in them all.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that retiring one game from your opponent winning is kind of bad manners? It denies your opponent the winning feeling I think.

Surely she could have hobbled through 4 more points.

Ooo..
Cheers for this :D

Agreed

Is this tournament indoors? It sorta has the feel to it watching on the live stream.. or do they have a roof for when it rains?

Jelena is really dishing out a tennis lesson to Bondarenko here at the mo.. 6-2 and 3-0 up

hi trsco - could you please forward to the livestream?

Cheers

Yep, Meghann did a Justine!

Nadia would have played it out, as she did at RG this year :fserve:

I agree it's very bad manners!

I heard at the FO that someone retired on match point!!! It was either in the first round or during qualifying. It was is the men's tournament. What bad sportsman ship though!

It's in Manzikert's post near the top.

It depends on the retirement i suppose. Image if Mary was expected to carry out her match when she picked up her injury :o

Well yeah, but I've never seen anyone get injured like that during a match though :yikes:

. If its just a case of you have a cold or feel ill, then its fair enough to carry on for a bit if you feel up to it, i just think its stupid risking aggravating an injury you think you have picked up, when your opponent is going through whether you retire or not

I agree it depends on the injury, obviously if you've broken your leg or something fair enough, but just for niggly injuries....

Cmon Anna Chakvetadze!! Hope she beats Hantuchova and reaches the finals.

Well, Hantuchova decisively announced her return to the Top 10 with an eyebrow-raising drubbing of Ivanovic 3 and 1. I was hoping for the all-Serb final but I'm pleased to see Hantuchova continuing her good results.

The other Top 4 seeds reached the semis with little fuss. The SFs will feature two rematches from the clay just past, Jankovic d. Safina in the Charleston final and Hantuchova d. Chakvetadze in the Rome R16. Have to say I'd like to see the same results this time round; Hantuchova seems due for another final and she hasn't faced Jankovic since the Serb's disastrous losing streak early last year, so that I'm curious to see how both rejuvenated women would fare against each other now. I would imagine Jankovic would embrace the opportunity to deal out another Top 10 defeat as a welcome to the recent arrival. B) Would be content to see either of the Russian ladies crash the party, though.

Apparently Jelena Jankovic became the fastest woman since Chris Evert in 1974 to win 50 matches in a single season by beating Bondarenko to reach the Ordina Open semifinals.

Whatever stats will they come up with next? :shrug:

Great win for Dani!! :yahoo: She is showing her best form for a few years, is very encouraging to see!!

I am obviously hoping for a Dani v Jelena final. :ok:

Jelena should have too much class for Safina. Dani's match might be a closer, but after beating Ana, she will be confident of reaching the final, I would think.

BTW, Anna C beat Jankovic 7-6 3-6 6-3 for the title yesterday :D

Well done to Chakvetadze!

It was a class final, all told, once the rain delays were past. The first set was interrupted several times, which led to the odd development of first Chakvetadze racing out to a 5-0 lead, and then Jankovic hitting back once she finally found her rhythm. Credit to the Russian for not panicking or getting down on herself when she found herself pegged to 5-all, instead keeping focus and taking charge of the tiebreaker to win the set she had initially dominated. Jankovic was in full flight in the second set, and the decider was a tight contest, with several holds of serve and then an exchange of breaks in quick succession, before Chakvetadze won the last decisive break of serve. The Serb fought furiously in the last game, even holding a couple of break points to again draw even, but Chakvetadze was relentless and ultimately saw herself through to the title.

The tennis was very solid and lovely to watch, and in fact stylistically I think both women are similar. Neither is a ferocious hitter or a big server, but they play so intelligently, patiently and tenaciously, and can exploit even the slightest opening on the court once it arises; they are also such determined competitors, never giving up on a point to the last. (In fact Chakvetadze has now won each of the four finals she has contested, even when faced with higher-ranked opponents such as Petrova and Jankovic - she was all business from the start, and never betrayed any doubt.) Both women are even alike in stature and temperament, both quick to smile wryly after a tumultuous point played or (as twice in the second set) when a line call challenge is successful by the most implausible matter of millimetres, as well as to vent frustration openly. The fantastic photos of the trophy presentation are also evidence of their effusive personalities.

The win nudged Chakvetadze up to a career-high No 7, and I think there are traces of a fledgling Top 10 rivalry with Jankovic. The Russian dominates their H2H 5-2 now and has defeated her across three surfaces, many of those wins coming even when Jankovic was established in the Top 20 and Chakvetadze still an unproven quantity. It doesn't bode well for Jankovic if their seeded QF clash at Wimbledon comes to pass, although she may be motivated for revenge.

Thanks for the summary Manzi :ok:

Great to see Anna's work paying off, but the fact she has knocked Serena down a spot rather irritates me :angry:

Yep, good result for Chakvetadze!! Well done indeed..

To be honest I haven't seen her play much.. but if she has a similar style to Jankovic then she will be one to look out for, both in terms of her game (more all-court players please!) and her on-court success.. :)

What will Jelena do with her day without playing tennis today? :lol: