Today’s Women’s News (08/28)

Written by: Staff on 28th August 2012

Today's Women's News (08/28)

epa03372513 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland hits a return to Nina Bratchikova of Russia during their match on the second day of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 28 August 2012. The US Open runs through Sunday 09 September 2012. EPA/JASON SZENES |

U. S. Open

Singles – First Round: (2) Agnieszka Radwanska def. Nina Bratchikova 6-1 6-1

Agnieszka Radwanska’s shoulder is still sore. Maybe it helped her concentrate. She is still in the hunt for #1, although she will need a lot more than this.

Singles – First Round: (6) Angelique Kerber def. Anne Keothavong 6-2 6-0

Too bad Angelique Kerber couldn’t give some of those easy games to her German colleagues who lost on Monday. Or just put them in storage for her next round, when she faces Venus Williams…. Kerber still has 800 more points to defend, but her odds of staying #6 look surprisingly good; she has more than a 400 point lead over the next active player.

Singles – First Round: Irina-Camelia Begu def. (8) Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-2

We knew Caroline Wozniacki had a bad knee. She turned out to have a few other banged-up parts as well. It wasn’t much of a contest.

That may well mean the end of Wozniacki’s stay in the Top Ten. She was a semifinalist last year. This instantly drops her to #10 in safe points, and Marion Bartoli needs only one more win to pass her.

Singles – First Round: (10) Sara Errani def. Garbine Muguruza 6-3 6-7(6-8) 6-1

Sara Errani has a good chance to rise to #8 this week; not much chance of going higher.

Singles – First Round: (12) Ana Ivanovic def. (Q) Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-2

Two more wins for Ana Ivanovic to defend her points. But — even with Wozniacki opening a door for someone — she needs at least four more to hit the Top Ten.

Singles – First Round: (13) Dominika Cibulkova def. Johanna Larsson 6-7(5-7) 6-2 6-0

Dominika Cibulkova defends her points. She is at #12 in safe points, but she needs at least a semifinal to rise higher than that.

Singles – First Round: (14) Maria Kirilenko def. Chanelle Scheepers 6-2 6-1

Evidently Chanelle Scheepers had one of her high-error-rate days. That will cost her her Top Forty spot.

Singles – First Round: (20) Roberta Vinci def. Urszula Radwanska 6-1 6-1

After spending most of the year climbing, Urszula Radwanska loses 55 points. That surely means no Top Forty spot.

Singles – First Round: Sloane Stephens def. (22) Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-4

Francesca Schiavone never quite seemed on balance in this match — too many balls were landing in the wrong places. And she made the fourth round last year. She falls below #35.

Singles – First Round: Andrea Hlavackova def. (24) Klara Zakopalova 6-4 6-4

Klara Zakopalova wasn’t defending anything, but this costs her her chance to clinch her Top Thirty spot.

Singles – First Round: Ayumi Morita def. (26) Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-3

This was Monica Niculescu’s first match since Wimbledon, and it showed. And she was defending fourth round points. She will fall from #33 to around #45.

Singles – First Round: Olga Govortsova def. (29) Tamira Paszek 6-3 6-4

Olga Govortsova lost her opener last year, so she will rise to around #60 — maybe higher. Tamira Paszek will remain around #30.

Singles – First Round: (30) Jelena Jankovic def. Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1 6-2

Maybe Jelena Jankovic really did get a boost out of her Dallas final. Unfortunately, she needs one more win to defend her points.

Singles – First Round: Elena Vesnina def. (32) Peng Shuai 7-6(7-5) 6-1

This isn’t quite the shocker that some of the day’s other upsets were; Elena Vesnina is a pretty good player. But it was tough timing for Peng Shuai, who was defending fourth round points. Peng will probably end up between #45 and #50.

Singles – First Round: Bojana Jovanovski def. Mona Barthel 4-6 7-5 6-2

Quite a day for Serbs, with three of them in the second round. Jovanovski will rise above #70 as a result. Mona Barthel will fall below #35.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino def. Shahar Peer 6-4 7-6(7-5)

That’s the first Slam win for Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, who will be hitting the Top Hundred. For Shahar Peer, it means yet another rankings hit; she’ll fall to around #70.

Singles – First Round: Carla Suarez Navarro def. Ksenia Pervak 7-5 1-2 retired (Right Thigh Injury)

Carla Suarez Navarro will need at least one more win, and probably two, to stay Top Forty, but this at least should keep her Top Fifty.

Singles – First Round: Ekaterina Makarova def. (LL) Eleni Daniilidou 6-1 6-4

This will very likely take Ekaterina Makarova above #35.

Singles – First Round: Galina Voskoboeva def. Arantxa Rus 6-1 6-3

Galna Voskoboeva has been falling in the rankings, but this should finally let her move up at least a few places.

Singles – First Round: Greta Arn def. Agnes Szavay 6-4 3-2, retired

We wondered, coming into this match, which one of these two was more broken-down. Guess we now know…. Still, Agnes Szavay earns five points just for showing up. That increases her total by 167%, taking her from #1166 to around #1035.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Johanna Konta def. Timea Babos 6-2 7-5

Johanna Konta has had some pretty good Challenger results lately, but this is the first real sign that she could extend that success to the WTA level. This may well drop Timea Babos below #60.

Singles – First Round: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Mirjana Lucic 6-3 7-5

This produces a Top Hundred Swap: Mirjana Lucic, who was defending second round points, will fall below #100; Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who wasn’t defending anything, will rise above that mark. Although probably not by much, since she faces Serena Williams next.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Olga Puchkova def. Irina Falconi 7-6(7-5) 6-7(2-7) 6-3

After about a five year slump, Olga Puchkova seems finally to be coming back to life, but she remains far below #100.

Singles – First Round: Silvia Soler-Espinosa def. Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3 6-2

This has been truly an awful year for Alla Kudryavtseva. She came in at #144, with points to defend, so this will drop her to around #165.

Singles – First Round: Sofia Arvidsson def. Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-4 6-2

Kimiko Date-Krumm will remain below #100; it’s hard to believe she has another comeback left. But Sofia Arvidsson appears certain to hit the Top Fifty.

Singles – First Round: Tsvetana Pironkova def. Camila Giorgi 6-3 6-4

Hardcourts, so far, do not seem to be proving very kind for Camila Giorgi. This may be something to watch out for.

Singles – First Round: Venus Williams def. (WC) Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3 6-1

Bethanie Mattek-Sands will almost certainly have to start playing lower-tier events if she wants to get her ranking back above #200; she keeps bumping into tough opponents. Venus Williams defends her points and is getting close to a return to the Top Forty.

Singles – First Round: Vera Dushevina def. (Q) Nastassja Burnett 6-0 6-3

Vera Dushevina is down to #104, so a Slam win is very big for her just now….

Singles – First Round: Yaroslava Shvedova def. Vania King 6-4 6-2

A tough contest between doubles partners. Vania King will end up below #55, but Yaroslava Shvedova seems bound for the Top Forty.