Sharapova to take on Li in Stuttgart
Sharapova to take on Li in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Singles – Semifinal: (1) Maria Sharapova def. (3) Angelique Kerber 6-3 2-6 7-5
Every match here has been extremely tough for Maria Sharapova, but somehow she keeps on extending her winning streak. She now has about a 950 point lead on Victoria Azarenka in the contest for #2 — which, given Azarenka’s health and dislike of clay, is probably enough to let her hang onto the #2 Roland Garros seed. Angelique Kerber will stay at #6.
Singles – Semifinal: (2) Li Na def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4 6-3
Loss or not, this tournament has been one of the best of Bethanie Mattek-Sands’s career, and puts her firmly back in the Top Hundred. Still, the outcome is no surprise. It gives us quite the final — two past Roland Garros champions! The ranking situation is interesting; Sharapova will be #2 and Li #5 no matter what happens, but a title would move Li a little closer to #4 Agnieszka Radwanska. And the difference between #4 and #5 in the Roland Garros seedings is a big one….
Doubles – Semifinal: Barthel/Lisicki def. Jurak/Marosi 6-3 6-4
And so the locals get to watch Germans on Sunday after all. The doubles draw here isn’t nearly as strong as the singles draw, but this is still a nice result for Barthel/Lisicki, who are pretty low-ranked in doubles.
Doubles – Semifinal: Mattek-Sands/Mirza def. Kerber/Petkovic 6-4 7-5
No all-German final, it seems, but still, good match practice for Andrea Petkovic. Mattek-Sands/Mirza are the obvious favorites in the final — and they showed they can deal with a pro-German crowd….
Marrakech
Singles – Semifinal: (6) Francesca Schiavone def Chanelle Scheepers 7-6(7-4) 6-1
The (fairly) big comeback continues for Francesca Schiavone, who is now firmly back in the Top Forty and presumably hoping yet to earn a Roland Garros seed.
Singles – Semifinal: Lourdes Dominguez Lino def. Mandy Minella 2-6 6-0 6-1
This tournament is in a new place, but it will have two veteran finalists. Lourdes Dominguez Lino now has her ranking up to probably #47.
Doubles – Semifinal: (4) Martic/Mladenovic def. Savchuk/Scheepers 6-4 6-0
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
Women’s Look Forward: Oeiras
Everybody needs a vacation sometimes. This week, for the most part, is it. It is the quietest week of the entire clay season, with only one event, and it an International. The top players, almost without exception, are taking the week off to rest after Stuttgart and prepare for Madrid and Rome.
At least Oeiras has the advantage that, being the only event of the week, it has a fairly deep field. Deep enough that fast-rising Annika Beck ended up in qualifying (and lost in the first round to Vania King. Qualifying #2 Johanna Larsson also lost her opener).
It doesn’t have any Top Ten players, and only two Top Fifteen players, but it’s pretty strong below that. Marion Bartoli is the #1 seed. Dominika Cibulkova, who pulled out of Marrakech last week, took a wildcard to be the #2 seed. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is #3, and Carla Suarez Navarro is #4. Sorana Cirstea is the #5 seed, Varvara Lepchenko #6, Elena Vesnina #7, and Julia Goerges #8 — meaning that, although we have no Top Ten players, all the seeds are Top Thirty. And some could be challenged. Bartoli opens against Peng Shuai, then maybe Kiki Bertens. Lepchenko has to face Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is in on a wildcard. Vesnina’s second round is likely to be against Tamira Paszek. Goerges will likely face Francesca Schiavone in round two. Suarez Navarro would face Yanina Wickmayer in that round. Cirstea opens against Anabel Medina Garrigues, then last year’s champion Kaia Kanepi. And Cibulkova is likely to start against Urszsula Radwanska.
The Rankings
This week has always been a quiet one, but last year the calendar had two tournaments (Budapest and Estoril) rather than just one. Sara Errani won Budapest; Elena Vesnina was the finalist, and Anna Tatishvili and Marina Erakovic made the semifinals. (Not exactly the list you’d expect at a clay event!) The champion at Estoril was Kaia Kanepi, who edged Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 in the third; Roberta Vinci and Karin Knapp being the semifinalists.
That means — no moves at all in the Top Ten; Errani isn’t defending, but she has so many seventeenth event points that it doesn’t matter. Kanepi, on the other hand, could easily fall below #50. Vesnina might wind up around #35, so her result could determine her Roland Garros seed. Suarez Navarro may fall out of the Top Twenty.
It looks as if the highest ranking to be contested will be #14, with Bartoli and Cibulkova fighting over it.
KEYWORDS: Preview Oeiras
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
Stuttgart (Premier 700/Clay). Defending Champion: Maria Sharapova
Marrakech (International/Clay). Defending Champion: Kiki Bertens
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
Oeiras (International/Clay). Defending Champion: Kaia Kanepi (at Estoril)
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
**RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of April 27, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank….Name…………..Points
1..(1) SWilliams ……… 11115
2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 10090*
3..(3) Azarenka ………..9130
4..(4) ARadwanska ………6845
5..(5) LI ……………..6000*
6..(6) KERBER ………….5420
7..(7) ERRANI ………….5350
8..(8) KVITOVA ……….. 5225
9..(9) STOSUR ………….3790
10.(10) WOZNIACKI ……… 3760
11.(11) PETROVA ……….. 3075
12.(12) VINCI …………. 2925
13.(13) Kirilenko ……… 2911
14.(14) Bartoli ……….. 2710
15.(15) Cibulkova ……… 2615
16.(17) IVANOVIC ………..2585
17.(16) Stephens ………..2520
18.(18) JANKOVIC ………..2335
19.(19) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..1875
20.(20) Zakopalova ………1860
21.(21) VWilliams ……… 1850
22.(22) FLIPKENS ………..1816
23.(23) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..1805
24.(24) MAKAROVA ………..1770
25.(25) SAFAROVA ………..1730
26.(26) CIRSTEA ……….. 1660
27.(27) Lepchenko ……… 1657
28.(29) VESNINA ……….. 1598
29.(30) GOERGES ……….. 1585
30.(28) BARTHEL ……….. 1575
**DRAWS
Stuttgart — Week of April 22
…………..QF…………….SF…………F
1 Sharapova…(1)Sharapova……Sharapova…..Sharapova
8 Petrova…..Ivanovic
3 Kerber……(3)Kerber………Kerber
7 Wozniacki…Shvedova
6 Stosur……Lisicki
4 Errani……Mattek-Sands(Q)…Mattek-Sands
5 Kvitova…..(5)Kvitova
2 Li……….(2)Li………….Li…………Li
STATUS OF SEEDS
1 Sharapova
2 Li
3 Kerber……lost SF (Sharapova)
4 Errani……lost 2R (Mattek-Sands)
5 Kvitova…..lost QF (Li)
6 Stosur……lost 1R (Jankovic)
7 Wozniacki…lost 1R (Suarez Navarro)
8 Petrova…..lost 2R (Ivanovic)
Marrakech — Week of April 22
……………..QF……………..SF……………..F
[9 Pironkova]….Dominguez Lino…..Dominguez Lino
5 Bertens……..(5)Bertens
4 Kanepi………Minella…………Minella
[Honcova(Q)]…..Soler Espinosa
6 Schiavone……(6)Schiavone…….Schiavone………Schiavone
3 Cornet………(3)Cornet
7 Mladenovic…..(7)Mladenovic
2 Cirstea……..Scheepers……….Scheepers
STATUS OF SEEDS
1 Cibulkova (WC)….WITHDREW (replaced by Pironkova)
2 Cirstea………..lost 1R (Scheepers)
3 Cornet…………lost 3R (Schiavone)
4 Kanepi…………lost 2R (Minella)
5 Bertens………..lost QF (Dominguez Lino)
6 Schiavone
7 Mladenovic……..lost QF (Scheepers)
8 Oprandi………..WITHDREW
9 Pironkova………lost 2R (Dominguez Lino)
Oeiras — Week of April 29
1 Bartoli
Peng
Bertens
Oprandi
Arvidsson
Qualifier
Kuznetsova (WC)
6 Lepchenko
3 Pavlyuchenkova
Qualifier
Qualifier
Qualifier
Niculescu
Paszek
Koelher (WC)
7 Vesnina
8 Goerges (WC)
Qualifier
Schiavone
Dominguez Lino
Wickmayer
Tatishvili
Erakovic
4 Suarez Navarro
5 Cirstea
Medina Garrigues
Kanepi
Mladenovic
Robson
Morita
U Radwanska
2 Cibulkova (WC)
******** SCORES ********
SATURDAY
Stuttgart
Singles – Semifinal
(1) Maria Sharapova def. (3) Angelique Kerber 6-3 2-6 7-5
(2) Li Na def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4 6-3
Doubles – Semifinal
Barthel/Lisicki def. Jurak/Marosi 6-3 6-4
Mattek-Sands/Mirza def. Kerber/Petkovic 6-4 7-5
Marrakech
Singles – Semifinal
(6) Francesca Schiavone def Chanelle Scheepers 7-6(7-4) 6-1
Lourdes Dominguez Lino def. Mandy Minella 2-6 6-0 6-1
Doubles – Semifinal
(4) Martic/Mladenovic def. Savchuk/Scheepers 6-4 6-0
©Daily tennis news wire
Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Maybe Angelique, Petra Kvitova, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka, Yaroslava Shvedova
Share this article:
Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:
10sBalls Top Stories
- Reasons Behind the Increase in Sex Shops
- Reasons Behind the Increase in Sex Shops
- Reasons Behind the Increase in Sex Shops
- Casibom: Yaşayan Casinolar ve Bahisler Lider Platform
- Sea Star Casino: Play Games Without Registering Online
- JETZT DEN SWEET BONANZA SLOT GRATIS DREHEN
- Азартные игры с Мостбет Казино – испытайте удачу
- Çevrimiçi en iyi yuvalar: Hizmetinizde Karavan Bet Casino
- Top No Deposit Free Spins Offer for Canadians – December 2024
- Abe Bet Casino: Ücretsiz dönüşlerle heyecan hissedin
- Ünlü slotlar çevrimiçi kumarhanelerde başarı bet giriş ücretli formatta
- BasariBet Casino Giriş – En Güzel Canlı Casino Oyunlarına Katılın
- Игра на деньги в казино 1вин казино: безопасность
- De parking de credits sans oublier les Diction Casino Archive sauf que Perception
- Играть в хитовые слоты в надежных клубах azino777