Women’s Tennis Update (4/26) – Stuttgart/Marrakech

Written by: Staff on 25th April 2013

Women's Tennis Update (4/26) - Stuttgart/Marrakech

epa03676856 Maria Sharapova of Russia returns the ball to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their second round match at the WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, 25 April 2013. EPA/BERND WEISSBROD |

Stuttgart

Singles – Second Round: (1) Maria Sharapova def. Lucie Safarova 6-4 6-7(3-7) 6-3

Maria Sharapova certainly gave the crowd something to take notice of as she won her fifth straight match here…. It looks as if Lucie Safarova will stay at #25.

Singles – Second Round: (2) Li Na def. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-1 6-2

This isn’t enough to matter yet for Li Na, but just getting this far was big for Mirjana Lucic-Baroni; she will return to the Top Hundred.

Singles – Second Round: (3) Angelique Kerber def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova wasn’t going to rise above #19 this week no matter what, but this is a pretty disappointing outcome given how poorly Angelique Kerber has been playing lately.

Singles – Second Round: Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. (4) Sara Errani 6-0 4-6 6-1

Sara Errani had already pulled out of the doubles. Maybe she should have skipped the singles as well…. She loses the chance to rise above #7; she might fall.

Singles – Second Round: (5) Petra Kvitova def. Julia Goerges 2-6 7-6(7-4) 6-2

Petra Kvitova is definitely going to welcome the time off next week… She leaves Julia Goerges at probably #29.

Singles – Second Round: Ana Ivanovic def. (8) Nadia Petrova 6-4 6-3

Nadia Petrova wasn’t going to make the Top Ten this week no matter what, but this will leave her still far, far below #10. One more win would probably return Ana Ivanovic to the Top Fifteen.

Singles – Second Round: Yaroslava Shvedova def. Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5 6-4

Funny, given how strong Carla Suarez Navarro had looked the round before. She loses her Top Twenty chance. Yaroslava Shvedova ought to rise above #35.

Singles – Second Round: Sabine Lisicki def. Jelena Jankovic 7-6(7-3) 7-5

One of Sabine Lisicki’s better results of recent months. It will put her back in the Top Forty. Jelena Jankovic will stay stuck at #18.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Kerber/Petkovic def. Groenefeld/Peschke 7-6(10-8) 6-2

This place seems jinxed for doubles players. All the seeds lost early. Which probably made Groenefeld/Peschke the favorites. So then this happened….

Marrakech

Singles – Second Round: Mandy Minella def. (4) Kaia Kanepi 3-6 6-4 6-3

These days, Kaia Kanepi can use any points she can get. She ought to gain a spot or two just for getting this far. But this should have been a big opportunity.

Singles – Second Round: (5) Kiki Bertens def. Flavia Pennetta 7-6(7-0) 4-6 6-4

Kiki Bertens has now won seven straight here, plus qualifying — but that still leaves her around #60 if she can’t win any more.

Singles – Second Round: (6) Francesca Schiavone def. Simona Halep 6-3 6-2

Simona Halep was defending semifinalist points and will fall well below #60.

Singles – Second Round: (7) Kristina Mladenovic def. Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-3

Kristina Mladenovic is now up to around #45.

Singles – Second Round: Lourdes Dominguez Lino def. (9) Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6 6-4 6-3

Tsvetana Pironkova rarely wins back-to-back matches. She doesn’t like slow surfaces. And she came in a mere six ranking spots ahead of Lourdes Dominguez Lino. In other words, no surprise here. Pironkova may make it to #50, but she won’t know for some time yet.

Singles – Second Round: Silvia Soler-Espinosa def. Olga Puchkova 6-0 6-3

Every time Olga Puchkova seems to be getting in form, she produces a result like this….

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Savchuk/Scheepers def. (1) Hantuchova/Medina Garrigues 6-4 6-3

Hantuchova/Medina Garrigues looked good in their first match, but maybe they had second-match-after-Fed-Cup problems after all.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (4) Martic/Mladenovic def. Klemenschits/Klepac 4-6 6-3 10-8

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Dominguez Lino/Parra Santonja def. Kania/Olaru 6-4 7-6.(5)