Seoul
Singles – Quarterfinal: (1) Caroline Wozniacki def. (7) Klara Zakopalova 6-2 6-3
Caroline Wozniacki is finally earning enough points to count, but hardly enough to matter. If she is to have any chance at all for Istanbul, she’ll have to earn big points in the two weeks after this. Klara Zakopalova falls from #27 to #29.
Singles – Quarterfinal: (3) Kaia Kanepi def. Kiki Bertens 6-4 6-4
That does it: Kaia Kanepi is back to the Top Fifteen. Pretty good for a player who has been off since before Wimbledon.
Singles – Quarterfinal: (6) Varvara Lepchenko def. Tamira Paszek 4-6 7-6(7-3) 6-4
Tamira Paszek will have to settle for #32. Varvara Lepchenko is up to #20 in safe points, but can’t count on a Top Twenty spot yet, because…
Singles – Quarterfinal: (8) Ekaterina Makarova def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1 6-1
…Ekaterina Makarova is at #22 and within striking distance of Lepchenko. At least one of them will be Top Twenty; if Makarova beats Lepchenko in the final, they both will be. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who was last year’s champion, will fall from #93 to a bit below #135.
Doubles – Semifinal: (1) Kops-Jones/Spears def. (3) Grandin/Uhlirova 6-3 6-3
Maybe Kops-Jones/Spears should have played more weak events events like this one where they could slice through the draw almost unopposed. They might have a genuine chance at Istanbul if they had. As it is, this will be too small to help much.
Guangzhou
Singles – Semifinal: Laura Robson def. (3) Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-2
The breakthroughs continue for Laura Robson, who just last week moved ahead of Heather Watson to become Britain’s #1 player (ranked #74 to Watson’s #75), and who with this rises to a little above #60. Sorana Cirstea will fall from #30 to #31.
Robson is reported to be the first British woman to make a WTA final since Jo Durie at Newport 1990 — before Robson was born.
Singles – Semifinal: Hsieh Su-Wei def. (4) Urszula Radwanska 6-1 3-6 6-0
Breakthroughs everywhere around here! At least, for unseeded players — Hsieh Su-Wei rises to probably #45. But Urszula Radwanska blows what should have been a big chance. She will rise from #39 to probably #36, but had she won this, she would have been #33.
Doubles – Semifinal: (1) Gajdosova/Niculescu def. Luzhanska/S Zheng 7-5 7-6(7-3)
We have to wonder again: Why can’t Gajdosova and Niculescu do this in singles?
Doubles – Semifinal: (3) Tanasugarn/Zhang def. Han/Liu 6-3 6-3
Given how poorly Tamarine Tanasugarn has done in singles lately, the income from this result just might extend her career….