Today’s Women’s News (10/15) – Moscow/Luxembourg

Written by: Staff on 15th October 2012

Today's Women's News (10/15) - Moscow/Luxembourg

epa03410743 Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic returns a forehand shot against Maria Sharapova of Russia during the third round of the Pan Pacific Open tennis in Tokyo, Japan, 26 September 2012. EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA |

Moscow

It was a pretty dull qualifying final. Only one match involved two seeds, and it wasn’t really a contest. #2 seed Olga Puchkova quit with an ankle strain trailing #8 Anastasia Rodionova 6-0 3-0. It still looks as if Puchkova will end the year in the Top Hundred, so maybe it’s progress. Two other qualifying matches also saw seeds upset, in much more competitive ways: Vesna Dolonc beat #5 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 2-6 6-4 6-2, while Valeria Solovieva edged #6 Kristyna Pliskova in a third set tiebreak. The fourth qualifier is Elina Svitolina.

Singles – First Round: (8) Lucie Safarova def. (WC) Margarita Gasparyan 6-3 4-6 6-2

Hard to believe that Lucie Safarova had that much trouble with an opponent ranked #227. At least she won — she has 200 points to defend this week, so she doesn’t want to go down early!

Singles – First Round: Urszula Radwanska def. Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-1

Believe it or not, this is not an upset — Urszula Radwanska came in ranked #30, Francesca Schiavone #34. And this raises a real possibility that Schiavone will end the year below the Top Thirty — although she did win Strasbourg, so she has a shot at improving things at Sofia. Still, it is not unlikely that she will be unseeded at the Australian Open.

Singles – First Round: Klara Zakopalova def. Alexandra Cadantu 6-3 6-3

Klara Zakopalova defends her points; one more win would very likely let her end the year in the Top Thirty.

Singles – First Round: Sofia Arvidsson def. Bojana Jovanovski 6-2 6-4

Bojana Jovanovski loses a few points and will fall below #55. And her year is probably over; she is too far down to get a spot in Sofia. Barring withdrawals, anyway.

Doubles – First Round: (2) Kirilenko/Petrova def. Pliskova/Pliskova 6-4 4-6 11-9 (Match TB)

First blood to Kirilenko/Petrova in the contest for the last spot in Istanbul — but the contest with Kops-Jones/Spears is so close that the team that lasts longest will probably get it; ties go to Kirilenko/Petrova.

Petrova’s situation does raise interesting questions. She is gunning for a doubles spot in Istanbul. She is eligible for a singles spot in Sofia. Which will she try harder for? The same question, incidentally, applies to Roberta Vinci, who has qualified for Istanbul doubles (no question in her case) and Sofia singles.

Doubles – First Round: Lee-Waters/Moulton-Levy def. Cornet/Rosolska 7-6(9-7) 6-7(5-7) 10-5 (Match TB)

Luxembourg

Talk about a sour ending to the year! Anne Keothavong was last year’s Luxembourg semifinalist, but she probably shouldn’t have had a chance to repeat. She lost her qualifying final 6-4 6-3 to Vera Dushevina. The loss of those points probably means she will end the year below #100.

Although Keothavong has another opportunity, as a Lucky Loser. Yanina Wickmayer pulled out of Luxembourg with a knee injury. That caused seed promotion — Sabine Lisicki got Wickmayer’s spot, and Mona Barthel became the #9 seed and took Lisicki’s spot. Which opened a place for Keothavong. But Keothavong will have to improve her form fast….

Aravane Rezai also ends a miserable year miserably. She lost 6-1 7-6 to Tatjana Malek. Our other qualifiers are Annika Beck and Tatjana Malek.

Singles – First Round: Lucie Hradecka def. (7) Tamira Paszek 6-3 7-6(10-8)

Overall, this has probably been the best year of Tamira Paszek’s career, but the ending hasn’t been too good. She will fall at least one spot, to #28. Lucie Hradecka needs one more win to defend her points, but this appears to assure that she will end the year in the Top Fifty.

Singles – First Round: Magdalena Rybarikova def. (8) Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6(7-2) 6-4

Did Carla Suarez Navarro finally run out of steam after a very strong fall season? She loses her chance to hit the Top Thirty; this loss might cost her her shot at an Australian Open seed.

Singles – First Round: (9) Mona Barthel def. (WC) Mandy Minella 7-5 6-0

At least one seed around here managed to do something, even if she seed involved was a last-minute replacement. But Mona Barthel needs two more wins to earn enough points to matter.

Singles – First Round: Monica Niculescu def. Romina Oprandi 7-6(7-4) 6-1

Finally a sign of life for Monica Niculescu — who really needed it, since she is defending 200 points. This won’t help much, but it will keep her around #90. Romina Oprandi will end the year around #60.

Doubles – First Round: Mattek-Sands/Petkovic def. (WC) Bencic/Schaul 7-6(7-5) 7-5

A surprisingly promising result for Claudine Schaul, but she has been away from the game for years. We wouldn’t bet much on a successful comeback.

Doubles – First Round: Arruabarrena-Vecino/Dominguez Lino def. Brengle/Elie 6-1 6-0

Only in the very last week of the year would a team like Brengle/Elie have been able to get into a main draw. Of course, the result shows why they don’t normally make main draws….