Svetlana Kuznetsova

TODAY'S WOMEN'S FINAL (world rankings in parentheses) Dinara Safina, Russia (1), vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia (7) They played on clay in a final in Rome on May 10, and Safina won. They played on clay in a final in Stuttgart on May 3, and Kuznetsova won. They played a French Open semifinal in 2008, and Safina won. They played a French Open quarterfinal in 2006, and Kuznetsova won. They've played eight times on clay, and each has won four.

LeBron James can picture returning one day to the place where his NBA journey began, making an unlikely return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. After practicing in a gym where he refined his game for seven seasons, James said Thursday he would not rule out a return to the Cavaliers, a team he carried to the brink of a title before he spurned adoring fans by leaving as a free agent in 2010 to chase a championship with Miami. Asked whether he could play for the Cavaliers again, James initially paused before giving his answer.

At an apex of awkwardness came a gesture of dignity on Saturday at Roland Garros. A chronic top-10 player with a nifty wit, a gregarious personality, landslide popularity among her peers and a quirky habit of dusting off the baseline before each serve won the French Open, but she didn't show it. Svetlana Kuznetsova saw the last flimsy, ghastly second serve from No.

Reporting from New York -- Serena Williams gets you fast. So does Roger Federer. On a Monday when the wind was swirling so furiously it tore Ana Ivanovic's visor right off her head, when it made tennis balls move as if an evil magician was at work to sweep an overhead just out of bounds, Williams and Federer blew away their opponents. Williams, a three-time champion, won her first three games in eight minutes and beat 16th-seeded Ivanovic, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to her ninth U.S. Open quarterfinal.

As her tennis deteriorated, as her ability to put the tennis ball inside the lines of the tennis court failed, Svetlana Kuznetsova let her emotions also fly out of bounds. She mumbled to herself and threw a racket, and neither expression of her frustration helped the top-seeded woman in the BNP Paribas Open draw. Kuznetsova was upset by Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Suarez Navarro, who upset Venus Williams at the 2009 Australian Open, didn't do anything spectacular other than stay safely behind the baseline and keep putting balls over the net. "She is in, out, in, out," Suarez said.

It was early in October 2009 when Svetlana Kuznetsova last won a WTA tournament. On a hard court in Beijing, Kuznetsova defeated Agnieszka Radwanska for the China Open title on Oct. 3. Ten months later, Kuznetsova and Radwanska are in a final for the first time since Beijing, at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad. The unseeded Kuznetsova, of Russia, defeated No. 5-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy, 6-4, 6-0, and No. 4-seeded Radwanska, of Poland, topped Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 6-4, 6-2, in Saturday's semifinals.

Sporting bright pink shoes and a blond ponytail, Coco Vandeweghe made 25-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova look positively old on the tennis court Friday afternoon. But experience proved to be an advantage for Kuznetsova. Vandeweghe, an 18-year-old from Rancho Santa Fe putting together an improbable run at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, held a 5-2 lead in the first set of her quarterfinal against Kuznetsova. But the unseeded Russian had learned enough about Vandeweghe's game to use it against her, and took the next five games on her way to a 7-5, 6-2 victory.

Reporting from Carlsbad, Calif. — It had been just over 10 months since Svetlana Kuznetsova last won a tournament. On Sunday, Agnieszka Radwanska tried to prolong that drought as long as she could. After 2 hours 35 minutes of play at La Costa resort, the unseeded Kuznetsova converted her fifth match point, sending the ball past Radwanska's right side to win the Mercury Insurance Open title, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3. The last point was a "big relief," Kuznetsova said. "First of all, after such a long time not winning.

Novak Djokovic won the China Open with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic , and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-2, 6-4, in the women's final Sunday. The second-seeded Serb broke Cilic's serve in the sixth game and again in the eighth to take the first set following a 90-minute rain delay. The second set was much tighter, with each breaking the other's serve three times to force the tiebreaker. But Cilic then struggled, and his return at 6-4 went wide, giving Djokovic the win. "My patience and the choice of certain shots and a little more experience than he has decided the winner today," said Djokovic, who has won all four matches between the two, all on hard courts.

What: Mercury Insurance Open Where: La Costa resort, Carlsbad Monday night schedule Not before 7 p.m. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine, vs. Dinara Safina, Russia; Su-Wei Hsieh, Taipei, and Meghann Shaughnessy vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, and Vera Zvonareva, Russia.

Facing match point and feeling lousy, Andy Roddick bent over behind the baseline with his hands on his thighs, looking like someone desperately needing to take a seat in the shade. That's where he was headed one point later. An ailing Roddick lost his opening match Saturday in the Sony Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne, Fla., to Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Two-time champion Roddick requested three visits from a trainer in the second set and said he had trouble breathing because of chest congestion.

Roger Federer ended a seven-month title drought with a 6-7 7-6 6-4 win over American Mardy Fish in the Cincinnati Masters final in Mason, Ohio. Federer captured his 63rd title in his 90th final and his victory was his fourth at Cincinnati since his first win in the tournament in 2005. But having failed to win a title since his record 16th grand slam win at the Australian Open in January, a run which included defeat to Andy Murray in the final at Toronto last week, the Swiss needed this boost.

The final match in the Mercury Insurance Open at La Costa on Sunday provided a snapshot of the current state of women's professional tennis. There was the good, the bad and the ugly. But in the end, the main participant in all that, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, made it all better. First, she won, which made amends for a horrible second set. Second, she fessed up about what really happened in that second set. She even used the C-word, an untouchable for athletes. "I choked," she said.

Reporting from Carlsbad, Calif. — It had been just over 10 months since Svetlana Kuznetsova last won a tournament. On Sunday, Agnieszka Radwanska tried to prolong that drought as long as she could. After 2 hours 35 minutes of play at La Costa resort, the unseeded Kuznetsova converted her fifth match point, sending the ball past Radwanska's right side to win the Mercury Insurance Open title, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3. The last point was a "big relief," Kuznetsova said. "First of all, after such a long time not winning.

It was early in October 2009 when Svetlana Kuznetsova last won a WTA tournament. On a hard court in Beijing, Kuznetsova defeated Agnieszka Radwanska for the China Open title on Oct. 3. Ten months later, Kuznetsova and Radwanska are in a final for the first time since Beijing, at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad. The unseeded Kuznetsova, of Russia, defeated No. 5-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy, 6-4, 6-0, and No. 4-seeded Radwanska, of Poland, topped Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 6-4, 6-2, in Saturday's semifinals.

Sporting bright pink shoes and a blond ponytail, Coco Vandeweghe made 25-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova look positively old on the tennis court Friday afternoon. But experience proved to be an advantage for Kuznetsova. Vandeweghe, an 18-year-old from Rancho Santa Fe putting together an improbable run at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, held a 5-2 lead in the first set of her quarterfinal against Kuznetsova. But the unseeded Russian had learned enough about Vandeweghe's game to use it against her, and took the next five games on her way to a 7-5, 6-2 victory.

There are many elements that the sport of tennis must endure and one of those is the weather. When it is played outdoors it must be played outdoors without the use of a retractable roof should it get too hot. This is just pandering to the weakest player who cannot sustain the heat, as was the case for Serena Williams in her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova. A retractable roof's function should be utilized solely for inclement weather, specifically rain or snow. Interesting that the roof was utilized for the women's match, who play only two out of three sets, but not for the men, who play three out of five.

A look at Day 11 of the French Open and a look ahead to today's competition (world rankings in parentheses): TODAY'S QUARTERFINAL WINNERS Roger Federer, Switzerland (1) -- defeated Fernando Gonzalez, Chile (25), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Federer confessed to feeling "rattled" after being broken three times in the first set. Of course, "rattled" for him means one of his nerves budged. Dinara Safina, Russia (14) -- defeated Elena Dementieva, Russia (8), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0. Just as against No. 1 Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, Safina trailed by one set, trailed, 5-2, in the second set and trailed, 5-3, with a match point against her in the second set. Clearly, if you're leading her a set and 5-2, you are in deep trouble.

What: Mercury Insurance Open Where: La Costa resort, Carlsbad Monday night schedule Not before 7 p.m. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine, vs. Dinara Safina, Russia; Su-Wei Hsieh, Taipei, and Meghann Shaughnessy vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, and Vera Zvonareva, Russia.

As her tennis deteriorated, as her ability to put the tennis ball inside the lines of the tennis court failed, Svetlana Kuznetsova let her emotions also fly out of bounds. She mumbled to herself and threw a racket, and neither expression of her frustration helped the top-seeded woman in the BNP Paribas Open draw. Kuznetsova was upset by Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Suarez Navarro, who upset Venus Williams at the 2009 Australian Open, didn't do anything spectacular other than stay safely behind the baseline and keep putting balls over the net. "She is in, out, in, out," Suarez said.