Ivanovic upset at Kremlin Cup

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW -- Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia rallied to upset former top-ranked Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) Wednesday in the second round of the Kremlin Cup.

The fourth-seeded Ivanovic, who won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in June, failed to convert two match points in the 10th game of the deciding set. The Serb has not won straight matches in four events since reaching the third round at Wimbledon in July.

Defending champion Elena Dementieva of Russia beat Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2) to advance to the quarter-finals, along with fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia who defeated Italian qualifier Sara Errani 7-6 (0), 6-1.

Serving for the match at 6-5, Cibulkova was broken at love by the fifth-ranked Ivanovic. The 20th-ranked Slovak went 6-4 ahead in a tiebreaker and won on her first match point when Ivanovic returned wide.

"I had a bad first set because I was playing too defensively," Cibulkova said. "I got more aggressive, I began to serve better and return better. I knew I had to play more aggressively in the tiebreaker which I did and I'm happy to beat a player of that ranking."

Dementieva, who won Olympic gold in Beijing, had two breaks to win the first set against Srebotnik. Srebotnik won the next set and saved a break point in the fourth game of the decider before forcing a tiebreaker.

Dementieva won five straight points in the tiebreaker, serving two aces to close the match.

"It took time to adjust to the surface here," Dementieva said. "It wasn't easy to win today."

Srebotnik beat the Russian in straight sets in Tokyo in September.

In first-round action, Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki beat eighth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

After losing the first set and going 1-0 down in the second, Wozniacki won eight straight games against the 12th-ranked Chakvetadze. The 18-year-old Dane, who is looking for her fourth title this season, then broke the Russian at love in the ninth game for a decisive lead.

"It was a tough match. I fought for every point," Wozniacki said. "And I came back.".

In the second round, Wozniacki will face Nadia Petrova, who ousted fellow Russian Anna Lapushchenkova 6-2, 6-1.

The winner of the match will play Dementieva in the quarter-finals.

In the men's event of the dual ATP and WTA tournament, Teimuraz Gabashvili upset third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (1) in an all-Russian match.

Mischa Zverev beat Denis Gremelmayr 6-3, 7-6 (7) in an all-German first-round matchup, and Igor Kunitsyn of Russia ousted Kazakh lucky loser Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

Kukushkin replaced fifth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov, who pulled out with a right shoulder injury sustained during practice on Tuesday.

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Mauresmo advances at Kremlin Cup

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW -- Amelie Mauresmo rallied to beat Alize Cornet 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4 Monday in the first round of the Kremlin Cup.

The former top-ranked Frenchwoman will play second-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia in the next round of the dual WTA and ATP tournament. Safina won her fourth title this season in Tokyo on Sept. 21 and is at a career-high No. 3 in the world rankings.

"I will be definitely the underdog for the next match," Mauresmo said.

In the men's event, Jeremy Chardy of France rallied to beat Potito Starace of Italy 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain advanced by beating Nicolas Devilder of France 6-2, 6-4, and Fabrice Santoro of France rallied to beat Yuri Schukin of Kazakhstan 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4.

The women's field at the Kremlin Cup contains seven of the top 10 players in the world, including top-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. U.S. Open champion Serena Williams, last year's runner-up in Moscow, has already pulled out because of an ankle injury.

Cornet, an 18-year-old Frenchwoman, broke to take a 3-2 lead in the second set, but the former top-ranked Mauresmo won the next four games to even the match at one set apiece..

In the third, Mauresmo led 2-0 before Cornet recovered to even the set at 3-3. Mauresmo later won nine consecutive points and served out the match.

"It's always difficult and not very comfortable to play another Frenchwoman," Mauresmo said. "Yes, it was tight, but we showed some good things, sometimes a little bit up and down, but overall (it was) a pretty good match."

Ferrero beats Karlovic at BA Trophy

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VIENNA, Austria -- Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain beat fourth-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (4) Monday in the opening round of the BA Tennis Trophy. Ferrero, a former top-ranked player who is currently No. 44, played from the baseline and held serve throughout. He conceded just four points on his serve in the second set. The 14th-ranked Karlovic hit 17 aces but was broken early in the opening set -- the only break of the match. Ferrero won the first set after the umpire overruled a line call on a forehand from Karlovic and closed out the win on his first match point in the tiebreaker when Karlovic netted a return. Fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain also advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Victor Crivoi of Romania. Feliciano Lopez of Spain won two tiebreakers to beat Agustin Calleri of Argentina 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), Carlos Moya of Spain fought off a set point in the second set before defeating Michael Berrer of Germany 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), Guillermo Canas of Argentina beat Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (2), 6-3, and Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic rallied to defeat Roko Karanusic of Croatia 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

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Ferrero bests Karlovic in Vienna

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VIENNA, Austria -- Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain beat fourth-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (4) Monday in the opening round of the BA Tennis Trophy.

Ferrero, a former top-ranked player who is currently No. 44, played from the baseline and held serve throughout. He conceded just four points on his serve in the second set.

The 14th-ranked Karlovic hit 17 aces but was broken early in the opening set -- the only break of the match.

Ferrero won the first set after the umpire overruled a line call on a forehand from Karlovic and closed out the win on his first match point in the tiebreaker when Karlovic netted a return.

Fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain also advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Victor Crivoi of Romania.

Feliciano Lopez of Spain won two tiebreakers to beat Agustin Calleri of Argentina 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), Carlos Moya of Spain fought off a set point in the second set before defeating Michael Berrer of Germany 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), Guillermo Canas of Argentina beat Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (2), 6-3, and Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic rallied to defeat Roko Karanusic of Croatia 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

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New No. 1 Jankvovic wins Porsche GP

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

STUTTGART, Germany -- New women's No. 1 Jelena Jankovic won her second title in two weeks, defeating Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-4, 6-3 Sunday in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old Serb also won the China Open last week and the Italian Open earlier this year.

"I am really proud of myself," she said. "I am playing with a lot of confidence and I played some good tennis this week."

Jankovic was assured of taking the top ranking Monday from Serena Williams regardless of the outcome of the final. She already held the No. 1 spot for one week in August.

"I feel that every day I am getting better and better. I am really working on my game, I want to reach my full potential," Jankovic said.

Williams became the No. 1 after defeating Jankovic in the U.S. Open final, but the American will drop in the rankings after losing her opening match in Stuttgart.

Jankovic won her eighth career title after overcoming a brief lapse in the second set against the 18th-ranked Russian, who won the Stuttgart tournament in 2006.

After the win, Jankovic took a spin in the red Porsche 911 convertible given to the winner and appeared to have more trouble controlling the powerful car than the match.

She broke serve in the opening game and it was enough to give her the set against an error-prone Petrova.

"I really wanted to win this trophy, and when you want too much, sometimes it doesn't work in tennis," Petrova said. "I gave it my best."

.Jankovic also broke to start the second set, but Petrova broke back to tie it at 3-3. The Russian was unable to keep the momentum, however, and dropped serve again after a series of errors. Jankovic won the match when Petrova pushed a forehand long.

"I got a bit flat in the middle of the second set, I had some tough matches behind me and I was getting tired," Jankovic said. "I tried to stay positive, to be aggressive and to switch into a higher gear, it was an important game."

Petrova had not dropped a set this week until the final. Jankovic has been playing with a painful left foot after tearing off a toe nail. She needed painkiller shots before her semifinal win over Venus Williams and got two more before the final.

Asked about her foot at the post-match news conference, Jankovic misunderstood the question and replied, "The food is great."

Realizing the mistake, Jankovic burst out laughing and then added: "It's numb during the match and I don't feel anything, but after a couple of hours it hurts a lot," she said. "The doctor told me to wear flip-flops but I am flying to Serbia tonight, I can't go in flip-flops like I am going to the beach."

Jankovic is scheduled to play the Kremlin Cup next week although she left open whether she would actually show up in Moscow for the tournament, which Williams is skipping.

"I feel tired now, but mentally I am not tired, I am hungry to do well," she said. "I want to finish the year as No. 1."

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Berdych, Wozniacki win Japan finals

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOKYO -- Tomas Berdych claimed his first singles title in 16 months with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Juan Martin Del Potro on Sunday to win the Japan Open.

The ninth-seeded Czech relied on strong serves and solid groundstrokes to beat the Argentine, whose was not able to show the form that had seen him win 29 of 30 matches going into the final.

"At this level of tennis, it's important to be consistent," said the 23-year-old Berdych, who had 11 aces. "I was able to do that all week and am thrilled to win the title."

.After struggling for much of this season, Berdych said he's starting to get his game back. He reached the semifinals of the Bangkok Open last month.

"In today's tennis everything is so close and tough," said Berdych. "It's all about having confidence on the court. If you win one or two matches everything can come together."

.In the women's event, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki defeated fifth-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. It was the Dane's third singles title in as many months, having claimed events in Stockholm and New Haven

"She was serving really well in the second set and had the advantage," said Wozniacki. "I just tried to step it up in the third set and play better on my return and it worked out for me."

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Serena pulls out of Kremlin Cup

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

STUTTGART, Germany -- Serena Williams has pulled out of next week's Kremlin Cup because of an ankle injury, the WTA Tour said Friday.

Williams, the U.S. Open champion, will drop from the No. 1 ranking Monday after losing to Li Na in the second round of the Porsche Grand Prix this week. Jelena Jankovic will regain the top spot.

Williams also pulled out of the doubles competition in Stuttgart shortly before she was due to team up with her sister Venus on Thursday.

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