TENNIS in DEPTH.

Angelique Kerber overcame a second-set wobble to beat Marion Bartoli and claim her maiden WTA Tour title at the Open GDF Suez in Paris. Germany’s Kerber looked to be heading to a routine win when she led by a set and 5-3 only for home favourite Bartoli to hit back to claim four successive games and take it to a decider. But Kerber held her nerve to secure a 7-6 (7/3) 5-7 6-3 victory in two hours and 39 minutes. An opening set with four breaks of serve eventually went the way of Kerber in the tie-break and an early break of serve handed her a 2-0 lead in the second. She choked when serving for the match but regrouped impressively to break twice in the decider to become the first German since Steffi Graf in 1995 to claim this crown.

Daniela Hantuchova retained her Pattaya Open title by hitting back to defeat Maria Kirilenko in three sets. Slovakian Hantuchova dropped the opening set but rebounded well to win 6-7 (4/7) 6-3 6-3 in three hours and 14 minutes. Hantuchova had the better of the opening set but could only convert one of seven break point chances as it eventually went to a breaker won by Kirilenko. But she fared much better in the second, breaking twice to level it. The key moment in the decider came when a double-fault from Russian Kirilenko handed Hantuchova a 5-3 lead and she served it out to claim her fifth career title.

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Defending champion Daniela Hantuchova marched into the final of the PTT Pattaya Open in Thailand with a convincing win over qualifier Hsieh Su-wei. The Slovakian third seed took five of her 10 break-point chances to claim a 6-4 6-1 win. In the final she will play Russian fourth seed Maria Kirilenko who came through a three-set battle with Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. Kirilenko won 6-2 5-7 6-4 in a match which featured 10 breaks of serve.

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Daniela’s new calendar is going to be out very soon – you can get it from Tennis Warehouse on November 18th. The photo shoot for the calendar was a lot of fun because we did it in Monte Carlo, where I live. The whole team was great once again and it was more fun than work, because we all knew it was for a great cause…

All money from the calendar goes to the hospital in Cambodia where we are treating and taking care of orphans who are HIV positive. The improvement we have seen in their health the last few years has been incredible and it keeps us motivated to work even harder and help as much as we can. It’s all about making a difference in their lives.

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The line-up for the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions has been finalised. The event takes place in Bali, Indonesia, during 3-6 November. Ana Ivanovic is the defending champion. She is one of two wild card entrants into the event – the other being China’s Shuai Peng. The six women that gained entry by virtue of being the highest ranked players to have won International Series tournaments this year are Marion Bartoli, Sabine Lisicki, Roberta Vinci, Daniela Hantuchova, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Nadia Petrova. Ana won’t be seeded, thus she will face Bartoli, Lisicki, Vinci or Hantuchova in the opening round of the knock-out event.

“We are delighted to have such a strong player field in what will be the final year of operating the Tournament of Champions in Bali. We look forward to welcoming them and I know that everyone in Bali is looking forward to an exciting event,” said Kevin Livesey, tournament director of the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions.

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Hantuchova stormed through the opening set against Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic without dropping a game, only to suffer a major lapse in concentration and lose the second 6-2. However, the Slovakian recovered her composure to win the decider and seal a 6-0 2-6 6-4 victory. Third seed Tamira Paszek went through a very similar experience in beating American qualifier Ashley Weinhold 6-0 4-6 6-2, but second seed Lucie Safarova enjoyed a much easier victory, beating American Jill Craybas 6-2 6-1. Eighth seed Anna Tatishvili was the biggest casualty, winning the first set 7-5 but losing the next two 6-4 to bow out at the hands of French qualifier Julie Coin.

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The Mercury Insurance Open continues to stick close to the form book as the top seeds dominated in the third round. Number one Vera Zvonareva brushed aside fellow Russian Vera Dushevina 6-3 6-0, while second seed Andrea Petkovic was leading 6-2 3-0 when Virginie Razzano retired hurt to clear her path. Agnieszka Radwanska, seeded third, was a 6-1 6-0 winner over Christina McHale though fourth seed Shuai Peng had to come from behind to beat 15th seed Sara Errani 4-6 6-2 7-6 (9-7). Ana Ivanovic, seeded fifth, cruised past Alberta Brianti 6-1 6-2, while eighth seed Daniela Hantuchova saw off Jie Zheng 6-2 4-6 6-4.

In the final match of the day, 12th seed Sabine Lisicki saw off Coco Vandeweghe 6-4 6-3. However, there will be one wild-card in the quarter-finals as Sloane Stephens progressed when Tamira Paszek retired hurt from their match. Stephens was leading 5-3 at the time.

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Maria Sharapova battled to a 6-2 2-6 6-4 win over Daniela Hantuchova to book her place in the quarter-finals of the Bank of the West Classic – and a possible meeting with Serena Williams. The Russian, who had a bye in the first round, was straight into her stride and, despite a blip in the second set, held off Hantuchova to progress. Next up will be either WIlliams or Maria Kirilenko.

Third seed Marion Bartoli found life a litter easier against Canada’s Rebecca Marino, the Frenchwoman claiming a 6-4 6-3 win. Also through to the qaurter-finals are fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska and eighth seed Dominika Cibulkova.

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Daniela Hantuchova beat qualifier Rina Fujiwara of Japan, 6-0, 6-2 to set up a second-round meeting with second-seeded Maria Sharapova, who had a first-round bye.

Serena Williams made her belated return to WTA Tour play in the United States by cruising past Anastasia Rodionova 6-0, 6-0 at the Bank of the West Classic on Tuesday. Williams, ranked 169th, moved smoothly on the court against the overmatched, 105th-ranked Australian, who has lost five straight. “It was me being focused,” Williams said. “I’ve always said if I play my best no one can beat me. Hopefully I can get back to that level.” She will play further tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto before stepping back onto the big stage at the U.S. Open.

Williams’ opponent in the second round will be Russia’s Maria Kirilenko, who had a surprisingly comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany. The 25th-ranked Kirilenko, who reached the quarterfinal of this event last year, snapped a 13-match losing streak against the top 20 with her victory over Goerges, but faces a tough task against Williams. “She’s coming back and she’s winning again,” Kirilenko said of Williams. “I need to be focused every minute.”

Germany’s Sabine Lisicki defeated Romania’s Simona Halep, 6-1, 6-2 and will take on Samantha Stosur in the second round; the Australian fourth seed also had a bye. Also getting free passage to the second round was top-seeded Victoria Azarenka. Her opponent will be qualifier Marina Erakovic of New Zealand, who beat Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2, 6-1.

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