Belly dancing: Hingis reconsiders the angles as Mirza rolls on

	Mal Taam/MALTphoto Smiling has been helping out Micahella Krajicek.

But Michaella Krajicek, all of 18-years-old, looked very strong in her 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Yuliana Fedak, who talks to herself more than a five-year-old with a faded set of crayons. It seems like Richard's younger sister has been an up-and-comer for three years now. She took the Hingis route, playing her first pro match at 14. She had decent breakout seasons in 2005 and 2006, but didn't really strike the world's attention until Wimbledon, when she reached the quarters. She's getting taller, has an Ana Ivanovic-linebacker's  build, a huge first serve and powerful ground strokes. She punched a one-handed backhand volleys a la Richard and, if she can keep her temper in check, she has Top-20 potential this year. She says she's still growing and should top 6-feet. She doesn't want to get to Richard's height of 6-foot-4, though, as she thinks that she then might scare off some suitors.

She speaks terrific English, oozes with self confidence and says that the element in her game that needs the most work is changing mid-match strategy and learning to dissect her opponents. That was volunteered, not pulled out of her, which shows a good mind. Krajicek also says that she doesn't miss the normal teenage life because she never been there and doesn't know what she's missing. Fair enough.

She says she's itching to face Maria Sharapova in third round because she finally thinks she has enough oomph in her game and steely guts to hang with her. That match should occur on Thursday and should be well contested.

Due to massive time constraints, I'm paraphrasing a lot here instead of transcribing direct quotes. Towards the end of the week, I should have more time to run some longer quotes past you, but 16 days into this US Open Road Trip, I'm being clubbed from many time-demanding quarters.

I had a long talk with Marion Bartoli on Monday, the day before she took another disheartening post Wimbledon loss, this one to Maria Kirilenko 7-6(2), 6-3. Bartoli isn't sure how to deal with being granted byes, or the constant change of cities, surfaces and where her confidence is during the big points. She is not contending with the pressure of being a Wimbledon finalist and she admits that.

"When you win a lot of matches and you are used to playing the big points, then you are confident," Bartoli said. "When you don't play the big points, you think a little too much."

She does not own a Top-5 game at this point, but she does have a Top-10 one when she's feeling positive. But she left her smile back home and is getting down on herself. She's looking for answers in all the wrong places - specifically, on the practice courts. She needs to ease up on herself and hopefully, when her mother, Sophie, joins her in Toronto, she'll rediscover her love of competing. Her mother, who doesn't follow tennis, rarely travels to tournaments. Sophie doesn't see her much, so Marion is excited about seeing her. Maybe that will bring a smile back to her daughter's face. "She does a good job at loving me," Marion said. You go, mom.

	Mal Taam/MALTphoto Greek Elena Daniilidou gets a three-set victory over Arevane Rezai.

Notes: Hingis will hang around LA and play dubs with Daniela Hantuchova. … Speaking of whom, Hantuchova was roaring with laughter on Monday when describing this encounter with a reporter. "He asked me my ranking. I told him 10. Then he asked me, 'Is that for females?' "… Kirilenko went swimming in San Diego the other day and thought that she had encountered a few sharks, but they turned out to be dolphins. She was thrilled. … Sharapova ended up going boogie boarding on Sunday after winning the Acura. She did go to InNOut burger and ordered a double-double and a strawberry shake. … I went to watch a little of Eleni Daniilidou's 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over France's Arevane Rezai, who has quite a temper, is slow and was wearing an all-black outfit under a hot sun. Why? … Lilia Osterloh defeated Alicia Molik 6-2, 6-4. The Aussie just doesn't have enough stick on her shots and it's very hard to see her making another run at the Top 20. … Hingis is here with her stepdad, Mario, and a new hitting partner, Mark Gellart. … She fell asleep watching her fiancée, Radek Stepanek's three-set win over Fernando Gonzalez.

TennisReporters.net was planning to have live reporter in Montreal, but that fell through. Sorry for less men's coverage during the past three weeks, but I've learned to make the most of what's in front of me, rather than sloppily throwing up opinions on matches I didn't see and folks I've never talked to. I'll leave that to some other sites. But I will say this about this web site: At least we've been out there at five different US Open events this summer (including Todd Skovron's coverage on Indianapolis on radio). Regardless of gender, that's much better than any of our US competitors, who seem to think that they should be taking vacations during the summer hard-court season. We may not have the resources of some, but we are beating the tar out off them when it comes to real reporting. Go team, go.

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