Today’s Women’s News (08/21): New Haven, Dallas, & US Open

Written by: Staff on 22nd August 2012

Today's Women's News (08/21): New Haven, Dallas, & US Open

epa03289456 Jie Zheng of China returns to Serena Williams of the US during their third round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2012. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

New Haven

Singles – First Round: Zheng Jie def. Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5 6-2

This will very likely put Zheng Jie in the Top Thirty; it will certainly leave Tsvetana Pironkova below the Top Fifty.

Singles – Second Round: (Q) Olga Govortsova def. (1) Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0 2-1, retired

This wasn’t really as one-sided as it looked; that first set was quite long. But obviously Agnieszka Radwanska wasn’t playing up to her abilities. That’s perhaps just as well; she surely needs the rest! She will keep the #2 ranking she came in with, but she makes no progress at all toward #1.

Singles – Second Round: (4) Sara Errani def. Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-3

This isn’t a lot of points, but it is sufficient to clinch the #10 ranking for Sara Errani.

Singles – Second Round: (5) Marion Bartoli def. Sloane Stephens 6-1 0-6 6-3

Another small sign that Marion Bartoli is coming out of her funk, but she still needs one more win before the points start counting. And Sara Errani’s win means that Bartoli cannot climb in the rankings no matter what — although she faces Errani next, and a win would obviously let her narrow the gap. She leaves Sloane Stephens around #45.

Singles – Second Round: (7) Maria Kirilenko def. Mona Barthel walkover (GI Illness)

Mona Barthel will be around #35. Let’s hope she doesn’t have the same bug as Vera Zvonareva….

Doubles – First Round: (2) Hlavackova/Hradecka def. Hantuchova/Medina Garrigues 7-6(7-5) 6-2

No signs of a slowdown for Hlavackova/Hradecka after winning Cincinnati.

Doubles – First Round: (3) Srebotnik/Zheng def. (WC) Babos/Stephens 6-3 6-4

Doubles – First Round: (4) Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez def. H Chan/Jans-Ignacik 6-2 7-6(7-2)

Too bad Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez can’t transfer some of these wins to singles….

Doubles – First Round: Klepac/Rosolska def. Soler-Espinosa/Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-3

Dallas

Singles – Second Round: (3) Roberta Vinci def. Polona Hercog 6-2 6-3

This matches Roberta Vinci’s sixteenth event score, so she will start rising if she wins any more matches. And she is the highest-ranked, although not the highest-seeded, player in the draw.

Singles – Second Round: Casey Dellacqua def. (4) Yanina Wickmayer (WC) 6-4 6-3

Yanina Wickmayer will end up probably #27 or #28, which is where she came in.

Singles – Second Round: (6) Peng Shuai def. (Q) Pauline Parmentier 6-4 6-2

Peng Shuai earns only a few points, but she looks certain to rise to #35 or higher. One more win might put her Top Thirty.

Singles – Second Round: Aleksandra Wozniak def. (Q) Eugenie Bouchard 6-2 6-2

Canada, it seems, still has its pecking order…. Aleksandra Wozniak is now guaranteed to stay Top Fifty.

Singles – Second Round: (WC) Bojana Jovanovski def. (Q) Mirjana Lucic 7-6(7-5) 6-2

This will probably take Bojana Jovanovski above #80.

U. S. Open

This injury report is brought to you by the letter “K.” Tuesday brought word of our second high-profile withdrawal from the U. S. Open First there was Kaia Kanepi. Now we learn that Svetlana Kuznetsova will be unable to play.

Kuznetsova has been out for weeks, and has fallen out of the Top Forty. So she would not have been seeded. Which is amazing enough in itself….

She wasn’t even the only Russian we lost on Tuesday. Later in the day, Vera Zvonareva pulled out, citing a viral illness. (Quite a virus if she’s pulling out almost a week in advance!). Zvonareva, unlike Kuznetsova, would have been seeded, so that opens up another seeded spot. Jelena Jankovic will be very happy — Zvonareva’s withdrawal will give her the #32 seed.