Daily Women Tennis Update – Roland Garros and Rankings

Written by: Staff on 28th May 2012

Daily Women Tennis Update - Roland Garros and Rankings

epa03221895 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns to Shahar Peer of Israel during their second round match at the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 16 May 2012. EPA/ETTORE FERRARI |

Roland Garros

Singles – First Round: (1) Victoria Azarenka def. Alberta Brianti 6-7(6-8) 6-4 6-2

In the first set of this, Alberta Brianti played very well, and in the first part of the second set, Victoria Azarenka seemed to lose track of where the court was. But Azarenka came to life from 4-2 down in the second set….

Singles – First Round: (3) Agnieszka Radwanska def. Bojana Jovanovski 6-1 6-0

Five straight wins for Agnieszka Radwanska, leaving Bojana Jovanovski probably still below #100.

Singles – First Round: (7) Li Na def. Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-1

A much better start to Li Na’s title defense than we expected — but she is still only #11 in safe points. (It would have been #12 had she lost.) Sorana Cirstea, who was defending 160 points, will very likely lose her Top Fifty spot.

Singles – First Round: (8) Marion Bartoli def. (Q) Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-3

Marion Bartoli still has 800 points to defend, but her chances of staying #8 look surprisingly good. It’s just that she will have a hard time climbing much.

Singles – First Round: Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. (12) Sabine Lisicki 6-4 6-3

More evidence that Sabine Lisicki came back too soon. She will fall at least one ranking spot, to #14, and it may be more.

Singles – First Round: (15) Dominika Cibulkova def. (WC) Kristina Mladenovic 6-2 6-1

Dominika Cibulkova lost her opener last year, so this gives her a fair shot at a Top Fifteen ranking.

Singles – First Round: Sofia Arvidsson def. (17) Roberta Vinci 6-2 4-6 6-3

It really does seem as if Sofia Arvidsson has suddenly, very late in her career, discovered clay. She looks likely to hit the Top Fifty — but Roberta Vinci’s Top Twenty ranking may be in some slight danger.

Singles – First Round: (18) Flavia Pennetta def. Hsieh Su-Wei 6-7(3-7) 6-4 6-2

Flavia Pennetta wasn’t defending anything, so this for practical purposes clinches her Top Twenty ranking.

Singles – First Round: (19) Jelena Jankovic def. Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 1-6 6-1 7-5

About time Jelena Jankovic won something. But she still needs two more victories to defend her points.

Singles – First Round: (24) Petra Cetkovska def. Simona Halep 6-1 6-3

Petra Cetkovska needs one more win to defend her points, but her Top 25 chances look pretty good. Simona Halep loses second round points and looks likely to lose about three ranking spots.

Singles – First Round: (27) Nadia Petrova def. Iveta Benesova 6-3 6-3

Nadia Petrova lost her opener last year, so this all but assures her Top Thirty ranking.

Singles – First Round: (29) Anabel Medina Garrigues def. (LL) Laura Robson 6-2 6-1

Laura Robson replaced Silvia Soler Espinosa; no word on the reason. But Soler Espinosa was defending a pile of points; she will fall below #60.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Lauren Davis def. (30) Mona Barthel 6-1 6-1

Mona Barthel just can’t make it to the Top Thirty. Indeed, she was defending points this week, so she is going to fall.

Singles – First Round: (31) Zheng Jie def. Alize Cornet 6-4 6-4

So ends Alize Cornet’s hot streak. And she made the second round last year, so it appears she will fall below #70.

Singles – First Round: Nina Bratchikova def. (32) Monica Niculescu 0-6 6-3 6-3

The end of a truly miserable clay season will leave Monica Niculescu at or a little below #30.

Singles – First Round: Christina McHale def. (Q) Kiki Bertens 2-6 6-4 6-4

Christina McHale could have been seeded if Vera Zvonareva hadn’t waited so long to withdraw. But she still manages to add points. As does Kiki Bertens, who should move above #90.

Singles – First Round: Chanelle Scheepers def. Laura Pous-Tio 6-4 2-6 6-1

This should be enough to keep Chanelle Scheepers Top Fifty.

Singles – First Round: Carla Suarez Navarro def. Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-0 6-3

No surprise at all on clay. This may suffice to make Carla Suarez Navarro Top Forty.

Singles – First Round: Petra Martic def. Michaella Krajicek 6-2 7-5

It’s no surprise when Michaella Krajicek loses on clay. But she loses some grass points, meaning that she will likely slip below #75.

Singles – First Round: Vania King def. Galina Voskoboeva 6-4 6-2

This will cost Galina Voskoboeva her Top Fifty ranking.

Singles – First Round: Varvara Lepchenko def. Ksenia Pervak 6-2 6-7(6-8) 6-4

We’d guess that this will cost Ksenia Pervak her Top Forty ranking.

Singles – First Round: Sloane Stephens def. Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 7-6(8-6)

Ekaterina Makarova made the fourth found last year, so she will fall below #50.

Singles – First Round: Olga Govortsova def. Romina Oprandi 6-4 6-1

A nice start for Olga Govortsova, but she still has 150 points to defend. We’d guess this will keep her Top Hundred — but perhaps not by much.

Singles – First Round: Stephanie Foretz Gacon def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-3 7-5

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova remains stuck around #60.

Singles – First Round: (WC) Claire Feuerstein def. Vera Dushevina 6-4 6-1

Vera Dushevina was defending second round points; she will fall to not much above #100.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Chan Yung-Jan def. Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1 7-6(10-8)

Kateryna Bondarenko loses her chance to return to the Top Sixty.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Yaroslava Shvedova de. Mandy Minella 6-3 6-4

Yaroslava Shvedova ought to rise above #120.

Singles – First Round: (LL) Sesil Karatantcheva def. Timea Babos 6-1 6-0

Timea Babos will not make the Top Sixty after this. We suspect she’ll be quite glad to finish with clay.

Sesil Karatantcheva earned her main draw spot because Vera Zvonareva is out — her shoulder is still too bad. That almost certainly means that Zvonareva will not be returning to the Top Ten, even though she is currently #10 in safe points.

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Rankings

Estimated WTA Rankings As of May 28, 2012

Rank &
Prior
Rank …Name …………. Points
1..(1) AZARENKA ………..8620*
2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 7495*
3..(3) ARADWANSKA ………7170*
4..(4) KVITOVA ……….. 6000*
5..(5) SWILLIAMS ……… 5700*
6..(6) STOSUR ………….5380*
7..(9) WOZNIACKI ……… 4211*
8..(8) BARTOLI ……….. 4070*
9.(10) KERBER ………….3655*
10.(11) Zvonareva ……… 3160
11..(7) LI ……………..3065*
12.(14) IVANOVIC ………..3010*
13.(16) CIBULKOVA ……… 2780*
14.(13) LISICKI ……….. 2697
15.(15) Petkovic ………..2421
16.(20) PENNETTA ………..2410*
17.(17) KIRILENKO ……… 2200*
18.(19) VINCI …………. 2165
19.(22) SAFAROVA ………..2145*
20.(21) JANKOVIC ………..2080*
21.(24) ERRANI ………….2050*
22.(23) KANEPI ………….2024*
23.(18) Hantuchova ………1950
24.(29) PETROVA ……….. 1945*
25.(26) CETKOVSKA ……… 1895*
26.(27) GOERGES ……….. 1790*
27.(31) MEDINA GARRIGUES …1775*
28.(12) SCHIAVONE ……… 1765*
29.(34) ZHENG …………. 1730*
30.(33) NICULESCU ……… 1705