Today’s Men’s & Women’s News – Madrid

Written by: Staff on 10th May 2012

Today's Men's & Women's News - Madrid

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a backhand to Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during their quarter final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 24 January 2012. Federer won in three sets. EPA/MARTIN PHILBEY |

Today’s Men’s News

Singles – Second Round: (2) R Nadal def. N Davydenko 6-2 6-2

He may not like blue clay, but obviously Rafael Nadal can play pretty well on the stuff!

Singles – Second Round: (3) R Federer def. M Raonic 4-6 7-5 7-6(7-4)

Whatever Roger Federer’s opinion of blue clay before this, we have to suspect he’s less happy with it now. Still, he survived, keeping alive his faint hopes of reaching #2. Milos Raonic will have to settle for a ranking a little below #20.

Singles – Second Round: (4) J Tsonga def. (WC) R Harrison 6-2 7-6(7-4)

Ryan Harrison was the only American to earn any points here. Whatever that tells you….

Singles – Second Round: (5) D Ferrer def. R Stepanek 7-6(7-4) 6-2

David Ferrer didn’t play last year at this time, so every point he earns here is a bonus — but he needs a lot more than this to move up. He leaves Radek Stepanek around #25 — and around the cutoff for the #24 Roland Garros seed; Stepanek will be under pressure in Rome.

Singles – Second Round: (7) J Tipsarevic def. (Q) F Delbonis 7-6(7-5) 6-7(8-10) 6-3

Not the most promising start, but Janko Tipsarevic defends what he had to defend. He can’t rise above #8 this week, but he is making it less likely that he will fall.

Singles – Second Round: M Cilic def. (8) J Isner 7-6(7-4) 7-6(7-3)

Milos Raonic earlier this week made the interesting observation that, whoever wins Madrid this week, that person will be the all-time greatest blue clay player — at least until next year. So, for at least a year, John Isner will be in a many-way tie for all-time worst blue clay player. On the other hand, he will again become the #1 American player, ahead of Mardy Fish; the question now is whether he will be ranked #9, #10, or possibly a little lower.

Singles – Second Round: (9) G Simon def. G Garcia-Lopez 6-4 6-3

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez saved several match points in the last game, which seemed to go on forever, but he has never seemed as comfortable on clay as most Spaniards. He will stay near the bottom of the Top Hundred. Gilles Simon remains at #12; he needs at least two more wins to rise.

Singles – Second Round: (10) J del Potro def. M Youzhny 6-4 7-6(7-1)

This will almost certainly put Juan Martin del Potro back in the Top Ten; Mardy Fish is out. Mikhail Youzhny is a few spots below #30 — in other words, right around the borderline for Roland Garros seeding.

Singles – Second Round: (11) N Almagro def. M Granollers 6-3 7-6(7-3)

Nicolas Almagro has now defended his points, but he has yet to move in the rankings. He leaves Marcel Granollers just below the Top 25.

Singles – Second Round: (12) G Monfils def. (Q) I Andreev 6-3 1-0, retired

It’s always nice for Gael Monfils to see someone else hurting even more than he is….

Singles – Second Round: (14) R Gasquet def. V Troicki 7-5 6-3

Richard Gasquet still has a pile of points to defend if he wants to stay Top Twenty. He does look as if he will at least be one of the Top 24 Roland Garros seeds. Viktor Troicki will be around #30, so his Roland Garros seed is still in some danger.

Singles – Second Round: (15) F Verdasco def. (Q) A Falla 6-7(4-7) 6-4 6-4

Fernando Verdasco has yet to clinch his Top Twenty spot, but it now looks very likely.

Singles – Second Round: (16) A Dolgopolov def. A Seppi 6-7(5-7) 7-6(7-5) 6-3

Little wonder if Andreas Seppi, already tired after last week, ran out of gas in this marathon! He will be around #30 next week. That means a good shot at a Roland Garros seed, but he may need to add some points at Rome. On the other hand, where else better for him to do it than at one of Italy’s biggest sporting events?

Singles – Second Round: S Wawrinka def. J Melzer 6-1 6-4

This will leave Jurgen Melzer right around #32 or #33, so he is right on the border for a Roland Garros seed. Stanislas Wawrinka is in an interesting situation: He has defended his points, but is still only about #20 — but he faces Novak Djokovic next, and Djokovic didn’t look too good in his first match.

Doubles – First Round: Qureshi/Rojer def. (WC) Gimeno-Traver/Navarro 6-3 7-5

Doubles – First Round: Cilic/Melo def. Bogomolov/Fognini 6-4 6-1

Doubles – First Round: Gasquet/Monfils def. (WC) Bubka/Marti 7-6(8-6) 6-2 .

Doubles – Second Round: (4) Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Cabal/Schwank 6-3 7-6(7-5)

Doubles – Second Round: (7) Bhupathi/Bopanna def. S Gonzalez/Kas 6-1 7-6(7-2)

*****

Today’s Women’s News

Singles – Second Round: (Q) Lucie Hradecka def. (3) Petra Kvitova 6-4 6-3

Clearly one or another of Petra Kvitova’s problems is back. She doesn’t lose any points, since Madrid 2011 is already off, but neither does she gain enough to matter; she will remain #4. And, if she has another bad week next week, it’s just possible that Samantha Stosur could pass her to earn the #4 Roland Garros seed.

Singles – Second Round: (4) Agnieszka Radwanska def. Sara Errani 6-0 6-1

Sara Errani’s winning streak comes to an end with her ranked probably #24. Which means that she will have to clinch her Top 24 Roland Garros seed in Rome. Still, those should be friendly conditions….

Singles – Second Round: Ekaterina Makarova def. (16) Maria Kirilenko 6-4 6-4

Maria Kirilenko survived a round in singles and in doubles, but she is hurting. That came out here, against an opponent who is at her best in defensive situations. Kirilenko will probably gain two or three ranking spots even so, but she loses her chance to reach the Top Fifteen. Ekaterina Makarova is now firmly in the Top Forty, although she needs about 300 more points to have a shot at a Roland Garros seed. One thing that might help is that she faces Lucie Hradecka next.

Singles – Second Round: Roberta Vinci def. Yanina Wickmayer 6-1 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer was defending points, meaning that she will fall to #34 or #35. So the pressure will be on her at Rome if she wants to be seeded in Paris. Roberta Vinci will certainly be seeded; the question is, can she earn a Top 16 seed? She is currently #19 in safe points, about 150 points behind the pace for the #16 spot.

Singles – Third Round: (1) Victoria Azarenka def. (13) Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-4

We’ll assume you aren’t much surprised by this and simply say that Ana Ivanovic won’t rise above #15, although the chances of her falling below that are also effectively nil.

Singles – Third Round: (5) Samantha Stosur def. Petra Cetkovska 6-3 6-2

Petra Cetkovska will end up around #28. Her Roland Garros seed looks certain, although she’ll have to do something fairly big at Rome to earn one of the Top 24 seeds. Samantha Stosur hasn’t yet clinched the #5 ranking, but her chances look a lot better than after her first round struggle!

Singles – Third Round: (8) Li Na def. (12) Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-4

Angelique Kerber didn’t have any real chance to hit the Top Ten this week, and now it’s no chance at all — but she will probably be #11, and will certainly be the #1 German player.

Doubles – Second Round: (2) Peschke/Srebotnik def. Goerges/Stosur 6-2 3-6 10-7 (Match TB)

Doubles – Second Round: (5) Errani/Vinci def. (WC) Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova 6-1 6-3

At the rate they’re going, Errani/Vinci may make the Top Ten pretty soon.

Doubles – Second Round: (7) Shvedova/Voskoboeva def. Medina Garrigues/Parra Santonja 6-3 6-2

Doubles – Second Round: Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez def. Hsieh/Zheng 6-4 6-4

You’d think Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez had never split up….