On the Baseline Tennis News

“I have spoken with Maria Sharapova’s father the day before yesterday. He said she is preparing to play at Roland Garros. Prior to that she’ll probably play in two tournaments to get in form. It’s not clear which tournaments that would be now. But it is clear Sharapova intends to play on clay. Let’s hope that it’s the way it’ll be,” Shamil Tarpishchev said.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will expand its online presence with the launch of a new video series based around the “Looking for a Hero” marketing campaign.

Sixteen players including Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva and Caroline Wozniacki participated in the production.

Many of the biggest stars on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will compete for their countries in the next round of Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.

Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Vera Zvonareva, Liezel Huber, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Daniela Hantuchova are among the players expected to compete in the Fed Cup World Group Semifinals, World Group Play-offs and World Group II Play-offs on April 25-26.

Top seed Elena Dementieva cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 opening round win over Julie Ditty on Tuesday at the Family Circle Cup.

The 2009 Family Circle will be aired live in the United States on ESPN2.

Coverage is scheduled to begin on Thursday during the singles quarterfinals.

Lucky loser Masa Zec Peskiric upset fourth seed Kaia Kanepi in the first round of the Barcelona Ladies Open on Tuesday.

American Vania King upset fourteenth seed Olga Govortsova on Monday in three sets at the Family Circle Cup.

Top seed Alize Cornet was upset in the first round on Monday by her French countrywoman Stephanie Cohen-Aloro.

Tamira Paszek, who had been coached for four years by former Gustavo Kuerten guru Larri Passos, has split with the Brazilian and is now working at the Sanchez Academy in Barcelona.

Jelena Jankovic dispelled concerns over her recent poor form with a spellbinding run to victory at the Andalucia Tennis Experience.

Now that the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season is fast approaching the business end of the gritty clay court season, it’s clear that she’s timed her rise to perfect form in impeccable fashion.

Serena Williams started her last week as world No. 1 when the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings were released on Monday.

Former No. 1 Maria Sharapova has exited the Top 50 after being off the Tour since last summer because of a shoulder injury.

Alize Cornet, Flavia Pennetta, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Kaia Kanepi are the top four seeded players at the Barcelona Ladies Open.

Elena Dementieva, Venus Williams, Vera Zvonareva and Nadia Petrova are the fop four seeds at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina.

Second seed Caroline Wozniacki won her first clay court title on Sunday by beating fifth seed Aleksandra Wozniak in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

World No.4 Jelena Jankovic won her 10th career singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour at the 2009 Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella, Spain.