Rogers Cup doubles champions win a close battle 10-6 in the decider.

 

Defending champions Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta squeak by after splitting the first two sets against Marina Erakovic and Julia Goerges, Dulko and Pennetta trailed 6-5 in the match tie-break, but then reeled off five straight points to secure a 46 62 106 triumph. “Nice win today,” Dulko tweeted. “Was a really tough match against Erakovic and Goerges. Tough conditions as well, very windy!” Next up for the No.2 seeds are Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja Rosolska, whom they just beat last week in the first round of Carlsbad. Dulko and Pennetta will be looking to put a disappointing trend behind them, as they have lost in the quarterfinals of five straight events.

The other seeded team in action Thursday, fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko, were up, 4-1, in the first set on Ana Ivanovic and Andrea Petkovic when the Serb-German duo had to retire because of a left wrist injury suffered by Ivanovic. Azarenka and Kirilenko, who have now won 16 of their past 17 matches, will take on Natalie Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova in the quarters.

Gisela Dulko and her new husband as of Wednesday.

Another WTA star heads to the altar next Tuesday.

Gisela Dulko, 26, will marry Real Madrid soccer player Fernando Gago next Tuesday in Argentina, the Spanish press reported. Last week, Dulko, who finished last season as a member of the No. 1 doubles team with Flavia Pennetta, was named her nation’s sportswoman of the year.

 

Stosur & Wozniacki are both defeated to leave the Women’s field wide open.

The shocks continued at the French Open this afternoon as world number one Caroline Wozniacki crashed out in the third round with a 6-1 6-3 defeat by Daniela Hantuchova. Yesterday saw second seed Kim Clijsters throw away a winning position against little-known Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus while last year’s finalist Samantha Stosur was beaten by Gisela Dulko this morning.

The match on Court Suzanne Lenglen was reminiscent of last year’s fourth-round clash at Wimbledon, where Wozniacki was thumped 6-2 6-0 by Petra Kvitova, and again showed the Dane has some way to go if she is really to be considered the best player in the world. Wozniacki, who relies on consistency and great movement, really was playing very poorly and Hantuchova continued her onslaught at the start of the second set, breaking twice to open up a 4-0 lead. The 28th seed, who had not taken a set off Wozniacki in three previous meetings, has a reputation for imploding in big matches and the alarm bells were ringing when she lost three games in a row. But for once Hantuchova held her nerve, continuing to go for her shots, and a netted backhand from Wozniacki sealed her fate.

Samantha Stosur’s bid for French Open glory was ended by Gisela Dulko in round three. The Australian eighth seed began poorly against Dulko, throwing in too many unforced errors and not making the most of her powerful serve. Dulko, ranked 51st in the world, quickly found herself 5-2 up in the first set and, although she missed set points in the next two games, she did not let a third chance go begging. Stosur, who lost in last year’s final, appeared to have turned things around in the second set, and when she went a break up at the start of the decider, it seemed the 27-year-old was on track for a place in round four. But from there the Australian fell apart and Dulko did not have to do much more than keep the ball in play to secure a 6-4 1-6 6-3 victory and book her place in the fourth round for the first time since 2006. Stosur, who has been battling a cold for the last five days, admitted struggling with the wind and praised Dulko for the way she controlled the points.

The Australian said: “The conditions were pretty tough and it wasn’t good for either of us. She seemed to be out ahead a little bit better and was really the one dictating the points. I’m usually the one able to do that.

 

Jankovic and Dulko progress to the quarters in Monterrey.

Jelena Jankovic booked her place in the last eight of the Monterrey Open with a straightforward victory over Austria’s Sybille Bammer. Serbian Jankovic, the world number six, eased to a 6-3 6-4 win over her unseeded opponent to book a quarter-final meeting with fifth-seeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, who progressed after a 2-6 6-2 6-4 win over Alize Cornet of France.

Gisela Dulko of Argentina won her second-round match with Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4 6-1 to set up a quarter-final tie with Ksenia Pervak of Russia, who was a 6-2 6-7 (4/7) 6-3 victor over Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.

The remaining last-eight matches at the hard-court event see Olga Govortsova face Polona Hercog and Greta Arn take on defending champion and second seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Gisela Dulko wins her 4th WTA title in Acapulco.

Gisela Dulko became the first Argentine woman ever to win the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL on Saturday night, beating Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja in a tight two-setter in the title match, 63 76(5). Seeded No.4, Dulko cruised into the final for the most part, a 36 75 60 win over Laura Pous-Tio in the quarterfinals the only scare – apart from that she lost just eight games in her other three matches combined. On the other side of the draw, a No.6-seeded Parra Santonja was also putting her best on display in becoming the first Spaniard ever to reach the finals at this tournament.

“Finals are always special and we were both nervous in the first set, but after that I was playing much better,” Dulko commented. “All of a sudden I started to get a bit nervous again and Arantxa started playing so well. I was three set points down. At the end I ended up winning, so I’m really happy.”

Dulko now has four WTA titles to her name, her first three coming at Budapest and Forest Hills in 2007 and at Fès in 2008. She is now 4-4 in career finals. “I love this tournament but I was always struggling here,” Dulko said. “I felt great this week though, on and off the court. I couldn’t go to the beach too much though, so I’ll try to do that tomorrow morning before I leave.” When Dulko was informed she was the first Argentine woman to win this title she was even happier. “Wow, what an honor!” the 26-year-old said. “It’s great just to win a tournament but to do that too is unbelievable for me. A lot of good things have been happening to me this year and I’m just trying to enjoy it all.”

Pennetta & Dulko capture 2011 Aussie Open doubles title.

Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta survived match points to beat Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko to win the Australian Open women’s doubles title. The top ranked pair, 2010 Wimbledon semi-finalists, struggled in the first set and trailed 5-4 in the second. But Argentine Dulko and her Italian partner powered back, and after a break at 3-1 in the decider, came through 2-6 7-5 6-1 in 131 minutes. The duo won seven titles last year but this was their first Grand Slam crown. “Last year was a great year, this year we are starting really good,” said Pennetta, who lost to the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova in the fourth round of the singles.

Dulko and Pennetta were blown away in the opening set against Russia’s Kirilenko and Azarenka of Belarus and then had to face match points at 5-4 in the second set. With Azaranka wasting chances for glory when serving for the match, the top seeds broke back and then won three games in a row to level the match at one set each. Dulko and Pennetta broke early in the decider and swiftly wrapped up the victory when Azarenka, a fourth-round loser to China’s Na Li in the singles, hit a backhand into the net.

The win means Dulko remains the world’s top-ranked doubles player while Pennetta stays second.

Gisela Dulko with her BF Fernando Gago….and you thought she was gay!

Gisela Dulko and her boyfriend Fernando Gago, a Real Madrid soccer player, participated in a photoshoot for Gente Magazine in Argentina.

The couple,seen here, were walking around the beautiful neighborhood of Tigre, where Dulko lives where she is not in Spain.

Pennetta and Dulko win the title and the #1 ranking in Doha!

Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta put the finishing touches on their dynamite doubles season on Sunday night, beating Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, 75 64, for their biggest career title in Doha. Dulko and Pennetta, already winners of six titles this year and the No.1 seeds at the prestigious season-ending WTA Championships – Doha 2010, faced set point at 4-5 in the first set, but Pennetta conjured up a strong first serve that drew a forehand return error from Peschke; Dulko and Pennetta then went on an eight point tear, winning the next two games at love to tuck away the first set. The second set stayed on serve until the fifth, sixth and seventh games, all of which were breaks – with Srebotnik, Pennetta and Peschke all losing serve. But Dulko never did, leaving the No.1 seeds up a break the rest of the set – Pennetta served it out, building a 40-0 lead and cliching it on the second match point.

“We never expected to be here,” Pennetta said on court after the match. “It’s amazing to be here, and especially with Gisela with me, it’s unbelievable. “I’m so happy. I can’t believe it,” an ecstatic Dulko added. “We’ve had such a good year and to finish like this is unbelievable. I’m so happy and so proud right now. And I’d like to thank Flavia for all of her support over the years.” Dulko and Pennetta were making their first career appearances at the WTA Championships – together and individually. On Saturday they were confirmed as the year-end No.1 team on the WTA; and to add to that, Dulko will rise to No.1 in the individual doubles rankings, just the second South American ever to achieve that feat (after Paola Suárez, who was also from Argentina).

Rezai wins her second WTA title of the year.

Aravane Rezai outlasted fourth-seeded Gisela Dulko in three sets Saturday to win the title at the $220,000 Swedish Open.

Rezai was a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 winner in a match that lasted more than two hours as both players struggled with their service games. Rezai converted eight of 15 break chances while Dulko converted 6-of-7, and neither had a first serve percentage above 56. The pair also combined for 16 double faults.

However, Rezai pulled out the victory to take her fourth career title and second of the season. The 23-year-old Frenchwoman titled in Madrid earlier this season.

Dulko, meanwhile, was aiming for her fourth career championship. The Argentine had dismissed top-seeded Flavia Pennetta in the semifinals in straight sets, fending off eight break points, but was not able to repeat that performance Saturday.

Rezai got her first victory against Dulko in their third matchup, and collected $37,000 for the win.