TENNIS in DEPTH.

Jelena Dokic is back in the winner’s circle after beating Frenchwoman Olivia Sanchez in the final of the ITF $50,000 event in Contrexeville, France on Sunday.

Dokic recovered from a set down to overhaul the eighth seed in the title match 4-6 6-3 6-1.

The first set of the final was the only set Dokic dropped all week as she marched towards claiming her first title of the year.

The win marks a strong turnaround in form for Dokic, who has slipped to No.125 in the world rankings after struggling for most of the year with a continuing number of ailments. She has finally shrugged off their effects and is back in form. With her natural talent and determination it will only be a matter of time before she is back in the top echelon of the WTA tour.

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Agnes Szavay of Hungary claimed a women’s tennis title for the second straight week Sunday by capturing the the Prague Open in three sets.

Hot on the heels of her victory last week at Budapest, Szavay defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 to also win the Prague event, her fifth career WTA Tour crown.

Szavay won the first set easily, breaking serve in the opening game. Zahlavova Strycova, however, battled back in the second set, winning six straight games.

Szavay responded by dominating the final set after an early break of serve by Zahlavova Strycova. She has now posted 10 straight matches since losing in the first round of Wimbeldon to Ekaterina Makarova.

Zahlavova Strycova was appearing in her first career WTA

final.

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Nicolas Almagro upset home favourite and defending champion Robin Soderling in three sets to win the Swedish Open on clay in Bastad.

Fourth seed Almagro came through 7-5 3-6 6-2 to secure the sixth title of his career and his first of 2010.

The Spaniard recovered from dropping the second set to break twice in a row on his way to wrapping up the decider after one hour 57 minutes.

Soderling was playing his fourth successive three-set match of the week.

Almagro said the win was a “big moment” for him.

“Robin is a great player. Here in Bastad he’s like a hero,” Almagro said, adding he had prepared for the match by trying to imagine how Soderling would play.

“I tried to be him. I was thinking about the match all night and this morning, and finally I can beat him and I’m very happy,” he said.

The 24-year-old Almagro, a clay-court specialist, also beat Soderling when the pair last met, winning in straight sets in Madrid in May.

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Robin Soderling survived an early scare before booking his place in the final of the SkiStar Swedish Open to the delight of his home fans.

Soderling came back from a set down to defeat David Ferrer 4-6 6-3 6-2 and reach his fourth final of the year.

The Swede looked at odds in the first set and was broken in the third game but slowly came back into the match.

Ferrer managed to save two break points in the sixth game of the second set but double-faulted two games later to hand Soderling the advantage.

Soderling’s superiority told in the final set as he cruised to victory, at one point holding a 5-1 lead over the third-seeded Spaniard.

“I felt I was playing better, and the more the match went on, the better I felt. It’s great to be in the final again,” said Soderling.

The 25-year-old will meet Nicolas Almagro in the final after the fourth seed crushed double former champion Tommy Robredo in an all-Spanish semi-final.

Almagro took little over an hour to dispose of the fifth seed, winning 6-1 6-3 with an impressive performance that included a run of nine straight games.

“I know the crowd will be all for Soderling. Maybe I should try to find some people and convince them to cheer for me,” said Almagro, who trails his opponent 3-2 in their head-to-head record but was the victor the last time the pair met, in May.

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Czech tennis players Radek Stepanek and Nicole Vaidisova have tied the knot in Prague.

They married Saturday in St. Vitus Cathedral, the country’s biggest and most famous church.

Czech public radio reported that guests included ice hockey star Jaromir Jagr and tennis player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, who reached her first WTA final at the Prague Open on Saturday.

The 31-year-old Stepanek,ranked No. 29 and was once engaged to Martina Hingis, missed most of the season with health problems. Vaidisova, who is 21 and a former top 10 player, retired this year after struggling with form.

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Serena Williams will miss three tournaments ahead of the US Open after cutting her foot on broken glass in a restaurant.

The 28-year-old Wimbledon champion underwent an operation after suffering the injury and has been ruled out of the hardcourt events in Istanbul, Cincinnati and Montreal.

The last of those events, the Rogers Cup in Montreal, begins on August 16 with the US Open commencing at Flushing Meadows a fortnight later.

“I’m so upset I won’t be able to play in the upcoming events because of this foot surgery,” Williams said.

“Thank you for all of your support. I can’t wait to get back on the courts.”

Williams has not played on the WTA Tour since winning her 13th grand slam title at Wimbledon, when she beat Vera Zvonareva in straight sets earlier this month.

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Eighth seed Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova of Czech Republic will face seventh seed Agnes Szavay tomorrow in the ECM Prague Open final after cruising past Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder in their semi-final today.

The 24-year-old Zahlavova-Strycova secured her first WTA Tour final appearance with a comprehensive 6-2 6-0 triumph over her experienced Swiss opponent.

Szavay also enjoyed a straight-sets victory and ensured it would not be an all-Czech final by overcoming Lucie Hradecka 6-2 6-4 in the second semi-final.

The 21-year-old will be bidding for a fifth WTA title in the Czech capital tomorrow.

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Italian Romina Oprandi kept giving her home crowd something to cheer about on Friday, stunning No.2 seed Aravane Rezai in the quarterfinals of the clay court stop in Palermo, 75 60.

In what was seemingly a mismatch pitting No.20 against No.90, Oprandi, a wildcard, was broken in the first game and was two points away from going down a double break serving at 0-2, 30-30. That was the turning point though, as the 24-year-old got right back into it, winning seven of the next 10 games to take the set then rolling past Rezai in a 23-minute love second set.

This will be Oprandi’s first career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour semifinal.

“I’m very happy because this is my first semifinal,” Oprandi said. “Today’s match wasn’t easy. This is my best win since I beat Zvonareva four years ago. I hope to continue this way. I feel very good about my tennis right now.”

Next up for Oprandi is another player who has been rebounding this year, Kaia Kanepi. Seeded No.5, Kanepi crushed No.3 seed Sara Errani, 62 62.

“I’ve made a lot of progress on clay and today I played some very good tennis,” Kanepi said. “Sara wasn’t easy to play against but I was always leading.”

Flavia Pennetta kept the hopes of an all-Italian final alive with a 64 62 win over Nuria Llagostera Vives in the feature night match. Pennetta, the No.1 seed, saved her first ace of the match for match point – meanwhile, Llagostera Vives, a qualifier but a former Top 40 player, had no aces to six double faults.

In the semifinals Pennetta will face No.8 seed Julia Goerges, who made it past American veteran Jill Craybas handily earlier in the day, 62 64.

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