Women Tennis Update – Madrid Sunday, May 12, 2013

Madrid

 

Singles – Semifinal: (1) Serena Williams def. (7) Sara Errani 7-5 6-2

The first match through put Serena Williams one win from effectively clinching the #1 Roland Garros seed. Sara Errani — who of course has the Roland Garros final to defend — will be #6 next week, but now has no real chance of making it to #4. At least she will be Top Eight.

Singles – Semifinal: (2) Maria Sharapova def. (16) Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-3

And so the two best clay players of the last year will face off to see which one is the best clay player. Maria Sharapova, who has now won 21 straight matches on clay (Rome 2012, Roland Garros 2012, Stuttgart 2013, and five matches here) will regain the #1 ranking if she can win the final. Ana Ivanovic will have to settle for #13, meaning that she will have a shot at the #12 Roland Garros seed next week but will need to do fairly well to earn it.

Doubles – Final: Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova def. Black/Erakovic 6-2 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova seemed to have this under complete control, then got in all sorts of trouble as they tried to serve out the match. They were broken the first time they served for the match, and faced a break point the second time. But they finished it off.

It’s tempting to say, “About time.” It was quite surprising, in setting up our doubles spreadsheet, to realize that Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was ranked a mere #54 in doubles. They’ve had a lot of good wins in the last fifteen months — two over Mirza/Vesnina, two over Kops-Jones/Spears, one over Huber/Raymond, one over King/Shvedova. But quality doesn’t count in doubles, and they had only one title (Charleston 2012), which is already off. Now they have the biggest title of their career — and Pavlyuchenkova is obviously back in the doubles Top Fifty. More Martina Hingis influence?

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

 

Women’s Look Forward: Rome

 

All right, you know the drill: Last call for Roland Garros seeds. The rankings after Rome will decide who is seeded where in Paris. Which means that, although this event is sort of optional, it will still have a very strong field. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will again be the top two seeds, and might again be squaring off for #1 (although with Serena having the big advantage this time). Victoria Azarenka will be #3; she is in Sharapova’s half. Agnieszka Radwanska, the WTA’s seemingly permanent #4, will be the #4 seed. She is in the same quarter as #5 Li Na. #6 Angelique Kerber, who is struggling, is in Serena’s quarter. #7 Sara Errani, who just lost to Maria Sharapova in Madrid, is in Sharapova’s quarter. Slumping #8 Petra Kvitova is in Azarenka’s; that’s pretty clearly the weakest quarter of the four.

In the Round of Sixteen, Serena would face #14 Dominika Cibulkova, Kerber takes on #11 Nadia Petrova, Radwanska has drawn #13 Roberta Vinci, Li is up against #10 Caroline Wozniacki, Kvitova would face #9 Samantha Stosur, Azarenka goes against #15 Ana Ivanovic (who obviously just made the Madrid semifinal, so she is in good form), Errani would have to out-scramble #13 Maria Kirilenko, and Sharapova is up against #16 Sloane Stephens. That means we have all of the Top Ten, and all of the Top Fifteen except Marion Bartoli.

And there are plenty of strong unseeded players. Serena is drawn to face none other than sister Venus in her opener. Cibulkova starts against fast-rising Kristina Mladenovic, then maybe Ekaterina Makarova, who did so much damage at Madrid. Petrova opens against Carla Suarez Navarro, who is having a fine year, then perhaps Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Kerber will start against Yanina Wickmayer or Kirsten Flipkens. Radwanska’s opener is likely to be against Svetlana Kuznetsova. Vinci faces first Elena Vesnina (who probably needs to win to be seeded in Paris) then Alize Cornet. Wozniacki’s second round is likely to be against Jelena Jankovic, the top unseeded player. Li may open against countrywoman Zheng Jie. Kvitova’s first opponent could be Sabine Lisicki. Stosur’s draw is relatively easy, but Ivanovic starts against Urszula Radwanska, then maybe Sorana Cirstea. Azarenka might face Julia Goerges. Kirilenko is likely to face Varvara Lepchenko in the second round. Stephens opens against Flavia Pennetta, who needed a wildcard but who is Italian and likes clay, then Francesca Schiavone, who is Italian and likes clay. The easiest draw of all may be Sharapova’s: A bye (all the top eight seeds have byes), then a qualifier, then Stephens….

The Rankings

We had a contest for most of the top spots last week. Don’t expect much this week. That’s because of the difference in points to defend. Maria Sharapova was last year’s Rome champion, so she can only lose points. We will have a contest for #1 (the exact nature of which we will not know until after the Madrid final), but Serena will definitely have the inside track.

Li Na was the 2012 Rome finalist, helped by the fact that Serena pulled out of the semifinal; Angelique Kerber was the other semifinalist. Nor was Serena the only player to bail out; Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the third round. Quarterfinalists were Dominika Cibulkova, Flavia Pennetta (who retired — talk about a tough event for pullouts), Petra Kvitova, and Venus Williams. Of the other top players, Agnieszka Radwanska lost her opener, as did Caroline Wozniacki (who retired). Samantha Stosur lost in the third round. Sara Errani, who wasn’t seeded, lost in the second round.

The contest for #1 depends more on Madrid than Rome. If Serena wins Madrid, then it’s effectively over; Sharapova has to defend and hope Serena does nothing. But if Sharapova wins Rome, then we have a relatively close contest; Sharapova might be able to stay #1 with a final.

Azarenka will remain at #3. Radwanska is safe at #4. #5… is very much up in the air. Errani is ahead of Li in safe points, by a lot. Of course, the difference between #5 and #6 is trivial when it comes to seedings. Kerber and Kvitova will be #7 and #8 in some order.

Roland Garros seeds #9-#12, barring withdrawals, will go to Wozniacki, Stosur, and two others, probably Petrova and Kirilenko. #13-#16 will be Bartoli, Ivanovic, Vinci, and one other, currently Cibulkova.

#17-#24 are likely to be Stephens, Jankovic (who probably has the best chance to pass Cibulkova), Pavlyuchenkova, Flipkens, Makarova, Suarez Navarro, Zakopalova, and one other. Hard even to guess who the other will be; Lucie Safarova currently leads the contest. The remaining seeds will include Shvedova, Paszek, Urszula Radwanska, Venus (whose seed is likely to suffer due to facing Serena so early), Cornet, and Cirstea, plus two others. Goerges, Lepchenko, Vesnina, and Lisicki are probably the leading contenders; Barthel would have been in the mix, but she isn’t playing.

KEYWORDS: Preview Rome Women

******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********

 

THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:

Madrid (Premier Mandatory/Clay). Defending Champion: Serena Williams

NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:

Rome (Premier Five/Clay). Defending Champion: Maria Sharapova

************ STATS AND FACTS ************

 

**RANKINGS

 

Estimated WTA Rankings As of May 11, 2013

 

Rank &

Prior

Rank….Name…………..Points

1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 10815*

2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 10690*

3..(3) AZARENKA ………..8510

4..(4) ARADWANSKA ………6475

5..(5) LI ……………..5755

6..(7) ERRANI ………….5640

7..(6) KERBER ………….5530

8..(8) KVITOVA ……….. 5225

9.(10) WOZNIACKI ……… 3625

10..(9) STOSUR ………….3545

11.(11) PETROVA ……….. 3075

12.(12) KIRILENKO ……… 2971

13.(16) IVANOVIC ………..2895

14.(14) BARTOLI ……….. 2845

15.(13) VINCI …………. 2730

16.(15) CIBULKOVA ……… 2690

17.(17) STEPHENS ………..2515

18.(18) JANKOVIC ………..2335

19.(19) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..2010

20.(24) MAKAROVA ………..1880

21.(22) FLIPKENS ………..1872

22.(23) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..1805

23.(20) ZAKOPALOVA ………1785

24.(21) VWilliams ……… 1770

25.(26) CIRSTEA ……….. 1660

26.(28) GOERGES ……….. 1660

27.(25) SAFAROVA ………..1595

28.(36) SHVEDOVA ………..1572

29.(30) Paszek ………….1568

30.(31) URADWANSKA ………1550

**DRAWS

 

Madrid — Week of May 6

 

………………3R………………QF…………SF………….F

1 S Williams……(1)SWilliams……..S.Williams….S.Williams…..Williams

13 Kirilenko……(13)Kirilenko

10 Wozniacki……Shvedova

5 Li…………..Medina Garrigues….Medina

 

3 Azarenka……..Makarova…………Makarova

14 Bartoli……..(14)Bartoli

12 Vinci……….Lepchenko

7 Errani……….(7)Errani………..Errani……..Errani

 

6 Kerber……….(6)Kerber………..Kerber

11 Petrova……..Kuznetsova

16 Ivanovic…….(16)Ivanovic……..Ivanovic……Ivanovic

4 A Radwanska…..Robson

 

8 Kvitova………Hantuchova (WC)

9 Stosur……….Kanepi…………..Kanepi

15 Cibulkova……Lisicki

2 Sharapova…….(2)Sharapova……..Sharapova…..Sharapova

 

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 S Williams

2 Sharapova

3 Azarenka………lost 2R (Makarova)

4 A Radwanska……lost 2R (Robson)

5 Li……………lost 1R (Keys)

6 Kerber………..lost QF (Ivanovic)

7 Errani………..lost SF (S. Williams)

8 Kvitova……….lost 2R (Hantuchova)

9 Stosur………..lost 1R (Suarez Navarro)

10 Wozniacki…….lost 1R (Shvedova)

11 Petrova………lost 2R (Kuznetsova)

12 Vinci………..lost 1R (Lepchenko)

13 Kirilenko…….lost 3R (S. Williams)

14 Bartoli ……..lost 3R (Makarova)

15 Cibulkova…….lost 2R (Lisicki)

16 Ivanovic

Rome — Week of May 13

 

1 S Williams

–bye

V Williams

Robson

Makarova

Qualifier

Mladenovic

14 Cibulkova

 

11 Petrova

Suarez Navarro

Pavlyuchenkova

Oprandi

Flipkens

Wickmayer

–bye

6 Kerber

 

4 A Radwanska

–bye

Kuznetsova

Qualifier

Burnett (WC)

Cornet

Vesnina

13 Vinci

 

10 Wozniacki

Jovanovski

Jankovic

Pironkova

Zheng

Rybarikova

–bye

5 Li

 

8 Kvitova

–bye

Lisicki

Qualifier

Niculescu

Peng

Hsieh

9 Stosur

 

15 Ivanovic

U. Radwanska

Cirstea

Morita

Goerges

Qualifier

–bye

3 Azarenka

 

7 Errani

–bye

Knapp (WC)

McHale

Qualifier

Lepchenko

Qualifier

12 Kirilenko

 

16 Stephens

Pennetta (WC)

Schiavone

Bertens

Qualifier

Qualifier

–bye

2 Sharapova

******** SCORES ********

 

SATURDAY

Madrid

Singles – Semifinal

(1) Serena Williams def. (7) Sara Errani 7-5 6-2

(2) Maria Sharapova def. (16) Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-3

Doubles – Final

Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova def. Black/Erakovic 6-2 6-4

©Daily tennis news wire

Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Madrid Open, Maria Sharapova, Sara Errani, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, women tennis news

10sBalls Top Stories

• No Key Biscayne, No Problem; New Site, Same Great Miami Open Tennis Event
• 10SBALLS SHARES FAVORITE EPA TENNIS PHOTOS Of 2018
• THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR ANY TENNIS PLAYER & FAN
• ATP MEN’S TENNIS • WILL IT MOVE FROM LONDON TO MANCHESTER OR TOKYO OR SINGAPORE? OR TURIN?
• ALIX RAMSAY WRITES TO “TENNIS SANTA CLAUS” WITH HER WISHES • ANDY MURRAY!
• CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE JACK KRAMER CLUB – DECEMBER 15 TO 22 2018 • UTR • ORACLE • AND AN AWESOME NEW TENNIS EVENT
• 10sBalls.com Shares Alix Ramsay’s Rambling On About Tennis and The Holidays
• ROGER FEDERER JOINED BY RAFA NADAL FOR THE 2019 LAVER CUP FESTIVITIES IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
• TENNIS PLAYERS’ UNION – IS IT NEEDED? BY MARK WINTERS
• Tennis News: Wilson’s Revolution Is Here – THE CLASH
• ROTTERDAM TENNIS TOURNEY DIRECTOR RICHARD KRAJICEK ANNOUNCES DAVID GOFFIN TO PLAY IN 2019 ABN AMRO
• JELENA VEMIC’S PHOTO GALLERY
• TENNIS NEWS FROM LONDON • 10SBALLS REPORTS ON THE LAWN TENNIS WRITERS HOLIDAY LUNCHEON AT WIMBLEDON’S DEBENTURE CLUB
• 10sBalls.com Shares a Great Gift For A Tennis Player – The Functional Tennis Match Journal
• BNP PARIBAS TENNIS OPEN NAMED 2018 WTA PREMIER MANDATORY TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.