Today’s Women’s News (09/30): Beijing & Las Vegas Challenger

Written by: Staff on 30th September 2012

Today's Women's News (09/30): Beijing & Las Vegas Challenger

epa03411878 Sara Errani of Italy returns a forehand shot during the quarterfinals against Nadia Petrova of Russia in the Pan Pacific Open tennis in Tokyo, Japan, 27 September 2012. EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA |

Beijing

Singles – First Round: (Q) Camila Giorgi def. (6) Sara Errani 5-4 retired (Left Thigh Injury)

This appears to mean that Sara Errani won’t clinch her Istanbul spot for a few more days. It still seems all but sure in practice, though. The greater effect may be in doubles; she and Roberta Vinci could have put away the year-end top rankings this week, but that doesn’t seem as likely now. They’re still very likely to end the year on top, but they aren’t likely to clinch this week.

Singles – First Round: (7) Li Na def. Francesca Schiavone 6-2 6-3

Li Na gives her Istanbul hopes a boost — and makes it extremely likely that Francesca Schiavone will end 2012 ranked below #30.

Singles – First Round: (9) Marion Bartoli def. (Q) Bojana Jovanovski 6-3 6-3

Marion Bartoli keeps her Istanbul hopes alive — but she has a long, long way to go.

Singles – First Round: Ekaterina Makarova def. (13) Maria Kirilenko 6-3 6-3

This formally eliminated Maria Kirilenko from the hunt for Istanbul (at least in singles), but is hardly a surprise after her injury last week. The bigger issue is the doubles — she and Nadia Petrova are the #4 team in the doubles Race, and would really like to add some points this week. Is Kirilenko up to it?

Singles – First Round: (Q) Lourdes Dominguez Lino def. (15) Roberta Vinci 6-7(4-7) 7-6(7-4) 6-2

We didn’t even actually calculate whether Roberta Vinci still had a mathematical chance to qualify for Istanbul singles; we knew it wasn’t much. We can now absolutely guarantee that she has none.

Singles – First Round: Monica Niculescu def. (16) Lucie Safarova 6-2 6-0

Lucie Safarova, like Vinci, loses whatever faint hopes she had. We’re guessing she was having physical problems. But it’s very good news for Monica Niculescu, who was defending semifinalist points and has really been struggling.

Singles – First Round: Jelena Jankovic def. Andrea Petkovic 6-2 6-4

Speaking of really struggling…. Andrea Petkovic, last year’s finalist, is going to turn into a pumpkin; she loses two-thirds of her remaining points.

Singles – First Round: Peng Shuai def. Yanina Wickmayer 7-5 7-5

A medium upset in terms of rankings, but that ignores the home court advantage.

Singles – First Round: Julia Goerges def. Vania King 6-7(9-11) 7-5 6-2

The organizers here seem to have an incredible skill for picking extremely long matches for the late match — this took almost three hours. But it moves Julia Goerges a little closer to a return to the Top Twenty.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Laura Robson def. (WC) Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-4 6-4

Laura Robson is on pace to end the year in the Top Fifty.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Elena Vesnina def. Mona Barthel 6-1 6-1

We’d guess this means no year-end Top Thirty spot for Mona Barthel. She’ll still have a shot at the year’s remaining events, but this was her big chance.

Singles – First Round: (Q) Ayumi Morita def. (WC) Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 6-3 6-0

Ayumi Morita is on a very hot streak all of a sudden. Of course, the draw helped. Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor has had some pretty good Challenger results, but we would assume she likes clay a lot better than hardcourt.

Doubles – First Round: (5) Llagostera Vives/Mirza def. Martic/Watson 6-3 6-4

Doubles – First Round: (6) Srebotnik/Zheng def. Cibulkova/Husarova 7-5 6-4

Dominika Cibulkova hurt her hip in singles; the surprise is not that she lost, it’s that she played at all.

Doubles – First Round: Hsieh/Medina Garrigues def. Dellacqua/Jans-Ignacik 6-1 6-1

Doubles – First Round: Chuang/Zhang def. Grandin/Uhlirova 6-4 6-3

Grandin/Uhlirova are really struggling all of a sudden. Although it may be more a case of returning to their normal level; it was pretty shocking when they hit the Top Thirty.

Doubles – First Round: Dushevina/Rosolska def. Babos/Minella 6-2 6-2 .

Las Vegas Challenger

For once, a Challenger seems to be doing what it’s supposed to be doing: developing new players. Both finalists in Las Vegas are teenagers. 18-year-old Lauren Davis, the #2 seed, reached her second straight final by beating #4 Anastasia Rodionova 6-4 6-7 6-4. She will face 19-year-old Shelby Rogers, who beat qualifier Adriana Perez 7-6 7-2.

Interestingly, our two finalists met just last week at Albuquerque, but that was in the first round, with Davis winning a three hour marathon.