Future Tennis Stars

In an odd twist, Shahar Peer was accused of unsportsmanlike conduct in the Fed Cup tie between Israel and Russia.

In a story posted on ESPN.com, Peer is said to have encouraged the crowd to unsettle Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina and Anna Chakvetadze in last weekend’s tie.

Alex Gilady, an IOC member, said the crowd, some of whom had mimicked Australian Open champion Sharapova’s grunting sounds as she hit the ball when she played Tzipi Obziler, had portrayed a “primitive” image of the country.

The Israel Tennis Association said in a statement that it did not accept Gilady’s criticism of Peer, although it asked spectators to behave in an acceptable manner.

I call this odd because it doesn’t seem like something Shahar Peer would do, but stranger things have happened.

The good news for Ana Ivanovic? She did better today than the last time she faced Justine Henin in a 6-1, 6-2 loss in the French Open finals. The bad news? She still lost.

Justine Henin beat Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4 to move into Sunday’s final against Maria Sharapova. Sharapova routed Anna Chakvetadze 6-2, 6-2 in the first semifinal. Henin and Sharapova have not played since the semifinals of last year’s season ending Championships where Henin won 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).

A win on Sunday would give Henin her 25th win in a row, matching a run made by Steffi Graf in 1989. Henin could also win her 10th title of the year. No player has won 10 or more titles in a year since Martina Hingis did it in 1997.

Maria Sharapova beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday and with the win, both her and Ana Ivanovic reached the semifinals. Both Sharapova and Ivanovic have 2-0 win/loss records while Kuznetsova and Daniela Hantuchova are 0-2. Sharapova and Ivanovic will still play each other while Kuznetsova will play Hantuchova.