Today’s Women’s News (10/31) – Sofia & Taipei Challenger

Written by: Staff on 31st October 2012

Today's Women's News (10/31) - Sofia & Taipei Challenger

epa03441065 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark celebrates after beating Samantha Stosur of Australia in their final match at the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament in Moscow, Russia, 21 October 2012. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY |

Sofia

Round Robin – Group Serdika: (1) Caroline Wozniacki def. (4) Roberta Vinci 6-3 6-1

Give Caroline Wozniacki credit for a very obscure historical footnote: She is the first player in WTA history to go 2-0 in a Round Robin at the Other Year-End Event. That should spell a semifinal spot — but it doesn’t earn enough points to count toward her ranking. Under the goofball rule here where players get substantial points (25 points!) for losing, this loss actually counts for Roberta Vinci. But it won’t improve her ranking.

Round Robin – Group Sredets: (2) Nadia Petrova def. (6) Zheng Jie 6-3 6-3

Nadia Petrova picks up in the singles where she left off in the doubles at Istanbul. Which means that Zheng Jie becomes another historical footnote: The first player to go 0-2 here. Which means — she’s adding substantial points. She will gain at least two rankings spots for going 0-2. Which is more than Petrova will gain even if she wins the event.

Round Robin – Group Sredets: (3/Wc) Maria Kirilenko def. (8/WC) Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1 6-4

Evidently it doesn’t have to be a second round for Tsvetana Pironkova to lose it; it just has to be a second match. Still, she benefits from the same rule as Zheng: This is another 25 points, and should take her to #42. And if she can win her third match, she could still end the year in the Top Forty.

Taipei Challenger

It was mostly a good day for seeds — #3 Ayumi Morita, #4 Kristina Mladenovic, and #6 Kimiko Date-Krumm all made the quarterfinal. But top seed Peng Shuai lost her first round badly — Zarina Diyas took her out 6-2 6-2. That means Peng will stay stuck around #40. Also, veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn, who is unseeded, fell 6-3 0-6 6-4 to Kurumi Nara.