TENNIS in DEPTH.

French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has pulled out of next week’s L.A. Women’s Tennis Championships due to a foot injury.

The hard-court tournament, to be held from Aug. 3-9, announced Kuznetsova’s withdrawal on Tuesday. She also missed the event last year.

The fifth-ranked Kuznetsova’s departure still leaves 10 of the world’s top 15 women in the field, including No. 1 Dinara Safina, the defending champion.

The L.A. Women’s Tennis Championships is part of the U.S. Open Series of tuneup events for the year’s last Grand Slam tournament.

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World number two Rafael Nadal said on Wednesday he was unsure if he would return to competition at the Montreal Masters next month.

“I don’t know. I would like to be in Montreal in a week and a half. I will have to push it in the next few days and see,” the Spaniard told Spanish state television in an interview conducted at his home in Mallorca.

Nadal has been suffering from tendinitis in both knees aggravated by a gruelling schedule of clay court matches.

He has not played a competitive match since being knocked out in the fourth round of the French Open by Robin Soderling on May 31.

Nadal, who resumed training last week, had earmarked the Montreal Masters, which starts on August 8, as a likely return date.

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Top seed Vera Zvonareva, playing for the first time since withdrawing from the third round of Wimbledon due to a right ankle injury, fell victim to Mariya Koryttseva, 62 16 64. Koryttseva’s win over the world No.7 was her first Top 10 win; in fact she had never beaten anyone ranked higher than No.30 previously.

“It’s very difficult to come back after injury. I had a very experienced opponent out there today and I knew I had to come up with a better game than her. I tried my best, fought until the end and saved a couple of match points, but I wasn’t able to win,” Zvonareva said. “Even though I didn’t do as well as I wanted to here, I really enjoyed my time in Istanbul. I’m very impressed with the city and the tournament and I hope I’ll be back.”

Tuesday’s other stunner was 33-year-old Rossana de los Ríos upending fellow veteran and No.2 seed Patty Schnyder, 76(3) 26 63. It was de los Ríos’ first win against the 30-year-old Schnyder in four career match-ups, though they hadn’t played since 2002. Next up for the Paraguayan is the red-hot Andrea Petkovic, who is riding a six-match winning streak after capturing her first Tour singles title last week at Bad Gastein and winning her first round match here over Sandra Zahlavova on Tuesday.

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Venus Williams and Serena Williams played their first singles matches of the 2009 Bank of the West Classic on Tuesday evening, both taking different paths on the way to straight-set victories.

Top-seeded Serena Williams held off a late charge from China’s Na Li for a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win during the night session and will now play Hungary’s Melinda Czink in the next round.

Meanwhile, second-seeded Venus Williams experienced little trouble against Canada’s Stephanie Dubois with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph in her first career appearance at the Bank of the West Classic since a runner-up finish to Kim Clijsters in 2005. Her next opponent is Russian qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva, who defeated Julie Coin of France 6-1, 7-6 (5) during Tuesday’s day session.

Other seeded players to emerge victorious on Tuesday included No. 4 seed Jelena Jankovic, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over American qualifier Angela Haynes and No. 8 seed Marion Bartoli, a 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory over Japan’s Ayumi Morita.

Sixth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova was not as lucky, falling victim to a 6-4, 6-3 upset by Australia’s Samantha Stosur.

There will be a new tournament champion as well this year, following Daniela Hantuchova’s 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 marathon win over defending champion Aleksandra Wozniak.

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Boosted by a series of outstanding junior achievements, Robby Ginepri was often held up as the future of American tennis alongside his long-time friend and junior rival Andy Roddick.

Undefeated throughout the 1999 junior season and a 2000 junior US Open runner-up to Roddick, Ginepri turned professional in 2001 at the end of his high school year and it seemed the only way would be up.

But while Roddick went on to triumph at Flushing Meadows and consistently challenge the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal deep into the second weeks of Grand Slams, Ginepri found it harder.

To this day his best world ranking remains the 25th place he achieved briefly in February 2004. His best Grand Slam performance is his semi-final appearance at the 2005 US Open, where he lost to Andre Agassi.

But for the large part, Ginepri has had to be placed among that ever-growing group of US players who have failed to turn stellar junior displays into senior glory, leaving Roddick to carry the flag pretty much on his own.

Ironically, just a month after Roddick experienced some kind of career redemption in the form of his tremendous performances at Wimbledon, Ginepri also celebrated a little more modest success.

After a season ravaged by injuries, including appendicitis in March which kept him off tour for most of the spring, Ginepri won his first tour title for four years at Indianapolis this week.

Ginepri – whose last title was in the same tournament – beat fellow American Sam Querrey for a triumph which he admitted was unexpected, and which will likely steer him towards the US Open safely back in the world’s top 50.

And afterwards Ginepri admitted his long title drought and gradual slide down the world rankings had led him to question whether, at the young age of 26, he still had a future in the sport.

Ginepri said: “Without results you start questioning your game. I haven’t been to a final in four years. You question if you can play at this level any more. It creeps into the back of your mind.”

Even aside from illness, Ginepri has had a fairly grim year. He only passed the first round four times in 10 tournaments leading into Indianapolis, never progressing past the second round.

At Wimbledon, he was embarrassed 6-4 6-1 6-1 in the first round by Lleyton Hewitt. It was Ginepri’s seventh straight appearance in the main draw at the All England Club – and his fifth straight defeat.

Little wonder Ginepri is relishing his out-of-the-blue triumph at Indianapolis. “This is a true confidence boost for the summer,” he added. “I feel fit and ready to fight some more.

“My ranking will go up and I can get into more tournaments. This win is more special because I never really expected it. I really had no expectations but I had no pressure either. It’s funny how things work out.”

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One thing was clear as Pete Sampras battled Marat Safin on Monday night: he’s still got it.

Safin emerged victorious, 6-4, 3-6, (10-6), but it would not have been obvious judging by the crowd’s reaction at Straus Stadium.

In front of a pro-Sampras audience, the 37-year-old Sampras stole the show and took Safin – eight years his junior and the LA Tennis Open’s No. 8 seed – down to the wire.

“It was too much stress,” Safin told the fans following the match.

Sampras showed glimpses of the finesse he utilized to win 14 Grand Slam titles during a remarkable 15-year career. He displayed his powerful serve, once registering an ace of nearly 130 miles per hour. He pumped his fist and talked to himself – all blatant signs that a competitor still lies inside.

“I miss the crowds, the majors,” Sampras said. “I still enjoy playing.”

And underneath the lights on Monday night, Sampras proved it.

At the beginning, the match had the resemblance of a pick-up game. Sampras would shake his head and smile as Safin eased his way to a 6-4, first-set victory.

But then Sampras stormed back, at one time gesturing towards the stands with his arms extended as if to ask, “Did you see that?”

Sampras, who grew up in nearby Palos Verdes, broke Safin early in the second set, which resulted in another fist pump. Sampras then showcased his precise serve on consecutive aces to extend a 3-0 lead.

He even battled back from a 15-40 deficit to take a fifth point. Another fist pump from Sampras and another loud response from those in attendance.

“I hope the fans had a great time. I had a great time,” Sampras said.

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I feel refreshed after an enjoyable holiday. I think it is a great idea to have this mid-season break, as part of the Roadmap, and it has given me time to rest and reflect on my game. More importantly, of course, it has allowed me to get fit again after my injury.

Wimbledon seems like a long time ago. I did some fitness work during my holiday in Scotland and I’ve been training this past week in Spain. I am now on my way to America for what should be a six-week stay at least. I will play tournaments in LA, Cincinnati, Toronto and then the US Open.

It’s quite some time since I played three tournaments in three weeks and it’s definitely a challenge physically, but I am up to it for sure. Actually, someone told me that the last time I played three tournaments in three weeks was three years ago, when I won the US Open Series. That was nice to hear!

Having a short break from tennis like this gives me even more hunger to compete. I really can’t wait to get back on the court, so I am very much looking forward to the Los Angeles tournament starting next week.

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World number four Elena Dementieva made light work of beating Britain’s Anne Keothavong in the first round of the West Classic in California.

The Russian cruised to a 6-1 6-4 victory in her first match since her epic Wimbledon semi-final defeat by Serena Williams earlier this month.

Dementieva is making her debut at the Stanford event, which features five of the top 10 women’s players in the world, including both Williams sisters.

The third seed claimed she has shrugged off the disappointment of losing the longest women’s semi-final match in recent Wimbledon history and is now concentrating on the hard court season.

“It’s not something that ticks me off,” insisted the 27-year-old, who will play either Maria Kirilenko or Anna Chakvetadze in the second round.

“It was a good experience and a good match. I was just disappointed in the way I lost.”

Seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska also made a confident start in the competition, easing to a 6-0 6-1 victory over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.

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