There were no women’s seeded upsets at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia Monday in Rome, but former No. 1 Venus Williams, French Open winner Francesca Schiavone, and former No. 2-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova were all sent packing, all unseeded, on the red clay.

After a scratchy Madrid event, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer look to regain their footing at Rome.

Sadder news for U.S. men’s tennis? They were the Top 2 ranked players for the U.S. Sadder still? Both were unseeded in the 16-seeded field. Sadder still? Never mind, this can go on and on.

Notes: Insane field with two former No. 1s and an additional Slam champ all unseeded…The Top 3 seeds are current or former No. 1s…Tough opening-round matches are (5) Na vs. Tamira Paszek then the winner of Venus and (WC) Medina Garrigues, (3) Azarenka vs. Pavlyuchenkova, (11) Petrova vs. a qualifier then likely Kuznetsova, (16) Ivanovic vs. a qualifier then likely her Serb countrywoman Jankovic, (9) Stosur vs. the clay-savvy Suarez Navarro, and (2) Sharapova vs. a qualifier then likely Peng…No blue clay this year…Former champs in the field are Serena Williams (2012) and Kvitova (2011).

“She’s amazing. We were joking that she’s like a soldier,” Vesnina said of Makarova. “She has a bleeding knee and she won such an amazing match — one of the most emotional matches she has won. And then in the doubles, she was feeling tired, but she’s a great fighter.”

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, you really want to be able to win. I think in general I feel a little bit of pressure when I’m playing for the team because I want to be able to do really well. You’re not just playing for yourself. You don’t want to let your friends and your team down.

In one of their most lopsided meetings, Serena slammed sister Venus in the Charleston semifinals on Saturday.

Sister act 24: Venus and Serena meet for the first time since 2009 in the Charleston semifinals on Saturday.

The trailer is out for the new Venus and Serena documentary.

Notes: Interesting start for (2) Bartoli vs. the free-swinging American Vandeweghe…wildcards went to (4) Ivanovic and Mexicans Ximena Hermoso and Ana Sof�a Sanchez…notable pulls from the draw were Victoria Azarenka (right ankle, missed a chunk of cash), Kirsten Flipkens, Aleksandra Wozniak (shoulder), and Vera Zvonareva (shoulder)…Returning former champs in the field are Pavlyuchenkova (2011-10) and Bartoli (2009).