I watched the first set of Serena’s match with Li Na at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart . She took it 6-0. So prematurely deciding the outcome of the match, I changed the channel to CNN with a hope to watch something more amusing (aka something said or done by the U.S. vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin). Needless to say, I was quite surprised to read this final scoreline 6-0, 1-6, 4-6. Jelena Jankovic will take over her No.1 ranking next week. Read more on the match at Women’s Tennis Blog.

Tennis players Serena Williams her sister Venus Williams pose in traditional Indian Sarees along with Jelena Jankovich Serbia and other tennis players during a function on the eve of the WTA Bangalore Open Championship 2008 in Bangalore March 2, 2008. The World Tennis Association (WTA) Bangalore Open Championship begins on March 3, 2008.

Isn’t saree beautiful. I had a Jewish coworker who used to wear various colorful saris at work. It was great!

(Photo: STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)

(Via Women’s Tennis Blog) Jelena Jankovic has launched a new website. Some sections are still under construction. You can compare it with her old site. What I find a little bit strange is that she chose such a long address: www.jj-jelenajankovic.com/. I wonder if she doesn’t own www.jelenajankovic.com (which returns no results)? If that’s the case, the recent rulings in the past couple of years relating to famous people’s rights to their domain names show that she can get it back with some legal help. If she wants to, of course.

Maria Sharapova gets mentioned in 2008 World Book Encyclopedia. (Via On the Baseline)

Dinara Safina is one of the players featured in the 2008 Tennis Players to Watch series. (Dinara Safina Makes Her Mark as Russians Continue to Dominate Tennis).

Nikolay Davydenko: World number four player Kolya whines about not being able to relocate to Moscow because he cannot afford an apartment there. Davydenko is a Russian citizen of Ukrainian origin, currently living in Germany, lists tax-haven Monte Carlo as his permanent residence, AND has applied for Austrian citizenship. Talk about Globalization! (Tvoy Den).

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Serbian Smile-Loving Tennis Star Jelena Jankovic will be “framed” in the upcoming months by a “soon to be announced” Hollywood star. A first-of-its-kind television series created by Reebok Entertainment, “Framed” provides viewers with an unfiltered, real view of the biggest names in sports and entertainment both on and off the field, court and screen. Marking Reebok Entertainment’s first venture into the world of television, “Framed” will air exclusively on IFC beginning December 14, 2007 throughout March 2008. (Reebok News Release)

Not a “fan-favorite” day in Zurich Open.

French tennis player Amelie Mauresmo, who I like very much, was upset by unseeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko in the second round of the Zurich Open.

World number four Ana Ivanovic also suffered a shock 6-3 6-1 defeat to Tatiana Golovin from France.

Another fan favorite Jelena Jankovic, seeded third in Zurich, was defeated in straight sets 6-4 6-4 by Czech Nicole Vaidisova.

Recent Kremlin Cup champion Elena Dementieva forced to retire with an injured left thigh after trailing Italian Francesca Schiavone. Dementieva’s withdrawal ended any chance the Russian had of qualifying for the season-ending WTA Championship in Madrid, Spain.

On Tuesday Serena Williams retired with a right adductor injury after losing the first nine games to Swiss Patty Schnyder.

Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams have qualified for the WTA tournament on Nov. 6-11. Five other players are still eligible for the remaining three spots.

(Source: Reuters, Zurich Open)