On the Baseline Tennis News

World number one and top seed Serena Williams won her opening match against Iveta Benesova at the Open GDF SUEZ in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.

Fourth seed Sybille Bammer lost to Vera Dushevina on Wednesday at the PTT Pattaya Women’s Open.

Aces

Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva remain hopeful of winning maiden Grand Slam titles. (Yahoo)

World number one Serena Williams leads the list of players entered to compete at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Tournament officials announced on Wednesday that Williams will play for a record-setting sixth Sony Ericsson Open title in March.

Live coverage of the 2009 Open GDF SUEZ in Paris will be available online at TennisTV.com.

Online matches from the tournament start Thursday, February 12th with live action from the 2nd round of the competition and will continue through to the singles final.

Ana Ivanovic will compete next week at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship with a new coach at her side.

The reigning French Open champion announced on Wednesday that she has hired Craig Kardon as her coach.

World number one Serena Williams will return to action for the first time since winning the Australian Open on Wednesday in Paris.

Top seed Vera Zvonareva won her opening round match against Andreja Klepac 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday in Thailand.

Cole Haan announced on Tuesday that Maria Sharapova will serve as the face of the company’s 2009 Spring advertising campaign.

Shot with elemental simplicity in Malibu, California, the campaign reflects the style and sport, passion and play that Cole Haan and Sharapova share.

Aces

Li Na is eyeing a shopping spree after her comeback win in Paris. (Yahoo)

Serena Williams entered her second consecutive week as the number one tennis player in the world on Monday.

Dinara Safina, the second-ranked player, is currently 282 points behind the 2009 Australian Open champion.

China’s Li Na ousted last year’s finalist Agnes Szavay in two sets during the first round of action on Monday in Paris.

Davis Cup and Fed Cup. The two most diverse, elite and historic international team events in the world are arguably two of the most disappointing.

Guest writer Devon Jerome writes about how the competitions can be improved and attract a bigger audience.

Sesil Karatantcheva advanced to the main draw of the 2009 PTT Pattaya Women’s Open on Monday after beating Ryoko Fuda in the final round of singles qualifying.

Russia, Czech Republic, Italy and the United States emerged victorious this weekend after the opening round of the 2009 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas competition.

The four nations will compete next in the semifinals on April 25-26.