Women Tennis News Update – Madrid

Written by: Staff on 5th May 2013

Women Tennis News Update - Madrid |

Madrid

Singles – First Round: (1) Serena Williams def. Yulia Putintseva 7-6(7-5) 6-1

Serena’s blue clay winning streak continues onto red clay, but this won’t make much difference to her chances of staying #1; Maria Sharapova remains close behind her. And Serena didn’t look too hot in the first set, but presumably she’ll improve.

Singles – First Round: (4) Agnieszka Radwanska def. Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2 6-4

It appears Tsvetana Pironkova has lost another Top Fifty chance. Agnieszka Radwanska still needed more to clinch her #4 ranking, but her chances look good. Especially given the next result:

Singles – First Round: Madison Keys def. (5) Li Na 6-3 6-2

Did Li Na not want to be here? How else to explain that a former Roland Garros winner lost to an American Lucky Loser? A very good Lucky Loser, to be sure, but one who is very new to clay. Li loses any chance to rise above #5 (meaning that Agnieszka Radwanska, after this, has clinched the #4 ranking).

Singles – First Round: (6) Angelique Kerber def. Su-Wei Hsieh 3-6 6-3 6-2

With Angelique Kerber and Sara Errani both into the second round, we’re making no progress on determining who will be #6.

Singles – First Round: (8) Petra Kvitova def. Yanina Wickmayer 4-6 7-5 6-4

And so Petra Kvitova also keeps alive her hopes to reach #6 — although life would surely be a lot easier for her if she could learn how to play a first set! Yanina Wickmayer still has an outside shot at a Roland Garros seed, but this is a very severe blow; she will probably be around #40 after Madrid.

Singles – First Round: Yaroslava Shvedova def. (10) Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-4

Still no love for clay for Caroline Wozniacki. She is likely to stay Top Ten, but she is opening a small door for others. Yaroslava Shvedova probably needs more to earn a Roland Garros seed, but she is close.

Singles – First Round: (11) Nadia Petrova def. Camila Giorgi 6-3 4-6 6-4

Nadia Petrova has a Top Ten chance here, but she needs a lot more than this, and this was an awfully labor-intensive start.

Singles – First Round: Varvara Lepchenko def. (12) Roberta Vinci 6-1 1-6 6-2

Believe it or not, this took less than an hour and a half. The surprise, really, is that Roberta Vinci — who obviously has something wrong with her — managed to win a set. Not that it matters much; she will fall to no better than #14. Lepchenko, a quarterfinalist last year, still needs more if she is to hang onto her Roland Garros seed.

Singles – First Round: (13) Maria Kirilenko def. Klara Zakopalova 6-3 2-1, retired

Given that we’ve had two weeks with nothing bigger than an international event, you’d think more players would be healthy. But it was an awful day for injuries. In the case of Klara Zakopalova, that will cost her her Top Twenty spot.

Singles – First Round: (14) Marion Bartoli def. Elena Vesnina 6-3 3-0, retired

Bad news for Elena Vesnina, who is right on the cusp of Roland Garros seeding. She will have another chance at Rome, of course, but she’ll need to get well quickly.

Singles – First Round: (15) Dominika Cibulkova def. Lesia Tsurenko 6-3 6-2

With Sloane Stephens already out, this makes it quite likely, although not yet absolutely certain, that Dominika Cibulkova will stay Top Fifteen.

Singles – First Round: (16) Ana Ivanovic def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-7(10-12) 6-3 6-2

Bethanie Mattek-Sands continues to look as if she is back to her peak form, but her draw was unlucky. Ana Ivanovic needs one more win to defend her points, but this might be enough to keep her at #16.

Singles – First Round: Chanelle Scheepers def. Jelena Jankovic 6-7(1-7) 6-3 6-3

Jelena Jankovic was supposed to face her countrywoman Ivanovic, but it won’t happen now. A real surprise, given Jankovic’s recent solid form. She will not rise above #18.

Singles – First Round: Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Stefanie Voegele 6-3 6-3

This came about because Venus Williams pulled out of the draw with a back injury, allowing Stefanie Voegele to make the main draw. Venus will fall several spots below her current #21. Anabel Medina Garrigues is struggling to get back into the Top Sixty. This will obviously help, although our in-our-head estimate is that she isn’t there yet.

Singles – First Round: Kaia Kanepi def. Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-7(8-10) 6-2

Wouldn’t you know that Kaia Kanepi’s game is finally coming around now that her ranking has gone into the pits…. Still, she has lots of room to add points.

Singles – First Round: Sorana Cirstea def. Ayumi Morita 3-0, retired

A cheap way to win, but it lets Sorana Cirstea defend her points. Ayumi Morita will stay below #40; her faint hopes of a Roland Garros seed appear to be gone.

Singles – First Round: Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor def. Francesca Schiavone 6-2 7-5

Francesca Schiavone started to struggle the moment she won Marrakech. This was a big chance lost. The good news is, she wasn’t defending anything. Still, this could well be the loss that costs her her Roland Garros seed; she remains just below the cutoff.

Singles – First Round: Ekaterina Makarova def. Lucie Safarova 6-2 7-5

Lucie Safarova is going to slip to not much above #30.

Singles – First Round: Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Zheng Jie 6-2 6-3

This will probably suffice to keep Svetlana Kuznetsova Top Forty, but Zheng Jie’s Top Fifty spot is in danger.

Doubles – First Round: Husarova/Lisicki def. Raymond/Robson 7-5 6-1

Raymond/Robson had a very good first tournament together, but they aren’t doing much to follow it up.

Doubles – First Round: Dekmeijere/Kalashnikova def. Goerges/Shvedova 7-5 6-3

**RANKINGS

Estimated WTA Rankings As of May 4, 2013

Rank &

Prior

Rank….Name…………..Points