Frustrated by the sheer tenacity of Zi Yan, top seed Jelena Jankovic, hampered by a shoulder injury, was ousted 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 from the WTA Bangalore Open after a gripping contest that lasted just over an hour on Friday. "I gave her the whole match basically," said Jankovic, who walked into the press room straight after the match.
The writing was on the wall only a couple of games into the match. Patty Schnyder had come with a specific game plan and she executed it to perfection. The fourth seeded Swiss beat China's Zi Yan 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 15 minutes to advance to the final of the WTA Tier II Bangalore Open on Saturday.
The best was saved for the last. After a day of mundane action and lopsided contests, China's Zi Yan showed tremendous grit to save three match points and oust eighth seed Maria Kirilenko in the first round of the WTA Tier II Bangalore Open on Tuesday night.
Sania Mirza and Edina Gallovits stunned fourth seeds Anna Smith and Zi Yan in straight sets to progress to the doubles semi-finals of the Guangzhou International Women's Open in Guangzhou, China.
Fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi overcame a late resistance from Arnaud Clement and Nicolas Mahut to advance to the second round of the men's doubles event of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Top seed Jelena Jankovic retired from the Bangkok Open after suffering from heat illness in her first round match
The US-based Indian player lost 4-6, 4-6 to China's Zi Yan in the final qualifying round of the US Open.
Mirza teamed up with Russian Anna Chakvetadze to beat Kristina Brandi of Puerto Rico and Nana Miyagi of Japan.
The Indian pair was beaten by Zi Yan and Jie Zheng in the quarter-finals at the Hyderabad Open.
They play Daniel Nestor of Canada and Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia for a berth in the quarter-finals.
The pair beat Liezel Huber of USA and Jamie Murray of UK 6-7, 7-6, 10-5 in the semi-finals.
China's Zheng Jie and Yan Zi beat Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the women's doubles final
The top-seeded duo, who also competed at the Paris Olympics, showcased a dominant performance to outclass Li and Wang 21-18, 21-12 in the summit clash that lasted 43 minutes.
Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva proved too strong for an understrength Chinese team and handed the champions a 2-0 lead in their Fed Cup first round tie on Saturday.
Serena and Venus Williams lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to former champions Yan Zi and Zheng Jie in the quarter-finals.
Milestones in the progress of Chinese women's tennis after Li Na won the final of the French Open on Saturday.
A 300-strong Chinese delegation including military personnel, their families and civilians from across the border came to an Indian Army post located at 15,300 feet atop the Arunachal Himalayas to celebrate the 62nd Independence Day in response to an invitation by the Indian Army.
China reached the Fed Cup semi-finals for the first time with a 3-2 victory over France.
China's top two Li Na and Zheng Jie will miss next month's Fed Cup tie against holders Italy to help other players qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, according to a senior China Tennis Association (CTA) official.
The Indo-American pair went down 6-7, 7-5, 10-4 to Yan Zi and Zheng Jie of China in the semi-final of the Indian Wells tournament.
A Henin and Jankovic final may lack the pizzazz of a Maria Sharapova-Serena Williams showdown but their records this season are second to none, with the battling Belgian claiming five titles and the Serbian four.
Zhang Shuai was aware of the risks involved when she opted to "Fly Alone" two months ago but the 24-year-old Chinese now stands vindicated after winning her maiden WTA Tour title on Saturday.
Milestones in the progress of Chinese women's tennis after Li Na, the first Asian to win Grand Slam singles titles, announced her retirement from the sport on Friday.
The absence of Japan's Kei Nishikori from this year's Australian Open has turned the spotlight on Chung Hyeon as Asia waits for its first men's Grand Slam singles champion.
