Women’s Tennis Update (5/14) – Rome
Women's Tennis Update (5/14) - Rome
Rome
Former Rome Masters champion Venus Williams heads into the French Open in less than a fortnight without a win on European clay after losing 6-3, 6-2 to Briton Laura Robson at the Foro Italico in blustery, sandstorm conditions. The 32-year-old American played and lost in Rome after pulling out last week in Madrid before the first round with back pain.
The game of the 1999 Rome winner who made her last major impression on the event seven years ago in the semi-finals, was barely a match for her teenaged opponent ranked 39 to the 24th of Williams. The quality of the competition was not helped by a swirling wind which could have put any desert to shame and forced both players to halt their serves on occasion and turn away from the blowing clay dust.
“I always have trouble with the dust and so it was kind of tough in the first set but then it sort of settled down,” said Robson. “The hardest part for me was on my service games, having to wait so long between the first and the second serves. I just got used to it.”
Five-time Wimbledon winner Williams went down six double-faults and lost her serve five times. Robson saved 10 or the 12 break points she faced in her struggling victory. The Briton now faces a huge task as she takes on younger Williams sister Serena after the American won her second straight title at Madrid with a 12th consecutive defeat of rival Maria Sharapova.
Australian ninth seed Samantha Stosur, the French Open finalist three years ago, earned her first European clay win on her third try this spring, beating Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan 6-2, 6-3.
Stosur lost in the Madrid first round to Carla Suarez Navarro and immediately came to Rome to practice. “I really like here is the surface, the clay courts here are very light and the ball gets through the air pretty quickly,” she said. “As long as it’s not too windy it’s great.”
German Sabine Lisicki reached the second round over American Madison Burdette 6-1, 6-2 but sixth seed and Madrid semi-finalist Angelique Kerber of Germany withdrew with an abdominal strain.
China’s Peng Shuai beat Romanian Monica Niculescu 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 while Italian Nastassja Burnett beat 2008 finalist Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-2. Former No. 1 Serb Jelena Jankovic beat Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 6-0 while Kiki Bertens knocked out 2010 French Open holder Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Romanian Simona Halep Paris winner Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-1, 6-1.
RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of May 12, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank….Name…………..Points
1 (1) SWILLIAMS 10945*
2 (2) SHARAPOVA 9795*
3 (3) AZARENKA 8390*
4 (4) ARADWANSKA 6475*
5 (6) ERRANI 5640*
6 (5) LI 5335*
7 (7) KERBER 5310*
8 (8) KVITOVA 5175*
9 (9) WOZNIACKI 3625*
10 (10) STOSUR 3540*
11 (11) PETROVA 3065*
12 (12) KIRILENKO 2971*
13 (14) Bartoli 2845
14 (13) IVANOVIC 2800*
15 (15) VINCI 2730*
16 (16) CIBULKOVA 2535*
17 (17) STEPHENS 2420*
18 (18) JANKOVIC 2345*
19 (19) PAVLYUCHENKOVA 2010*
20 (21) FLIPKENS 1872*
21 (20) MAKAROVA 1815
22 (22) SUAREZ NAVARRO 1805*
23 (23) Zakopalova 1745
24 (26) CIRSTEA 1595
25 (28) Shvedova 1572
26 (29) Paszek 1568
27 (25) GOERGES 1565*
28 (24) VWILLIAMS 1550
29 (30) CORNET 1530
30 (34) LISICKI 1526*
DRAWS
Rome — Week of May 13
1 S Williams
–bye
V Williams
Robson
Makarova
Oudin (Q)
Mladenovic
14 Cibulkova
11 Petrova
Suarez Navarro
Pavlyuchenkova
Oprandi
Flipkens
Wickmayer
–bye
6 Kerber
4 A Radwanska
–bye
Kuznetsova
Halep (Q)
Burnett (WC)
Cornet
Vesnina
13 Vinci
10 Wozniacki
Jovanovski
Jankovic
Pironkova
Zheng
Rybarikova
–bye
5 Li
8 Kvitova
–bye
Lisicki
Burdette (Q)
Niculescu
Peng
Hsieh
9 Stosur
15 Ivanovic
U. Radwanska
Cirstea
Morita
Goerges
Hlavackova (Q)
–bye
3 Azarenka
7 Errani
–bye
Knapp (WC)
McHale
Tsurenko (Q)
Lepchenko
Medina Garrigues (Q)
12 Kirilenko
16 Stephens
Pennetta (WC)
Schiavone
Bertens
Muguruza (Q)
Johansson (Q)
–bye
2 Sharapova
MONDAY
Rome
Singles – First Round
(9) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) 62 63
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 63 60
Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. (Q) Mallory Burdette (USA) 61 62
Peng Shuai (CHN) d. Monica Niculescu (ROU) 46 63 62
Laura Robson (GBR) d. Venus Williams (USA) 63 62
Ayumi Morita (JPN) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 61 63
Kiki Bertens (NED) d. Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 76(5) 61
(Q) Simona Halep (ROU) d. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 61 61
(Q) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) d. (Q) Mathilde Johansson (FRA) 16 60 62
(Q) Melanie Oudin (USA) d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 26 75 42 ret. (left Achilles injury)
(WC) Nastassja Burnett (ITA) d. Alizé Cornet (FRA) 62 62
Doubles – First Round
Kudryavtseva/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) d. (5) Kops-Jones/Spears (USA/USA) 75 75
Cibulkova/Niculescu (SVK/ROU) d. (8) Zhang/Zheng (CHN/CHN) 63 61
Hlavackova/Martic (CZE/CRO) d. Birnerova/Buryachok (CZE/UKR) 60 61
Govortsova/Moulton-Levy (BLR/USA) d. Chan/Jurak (TPE/CRO) 36 63 1311 (Match TB)
Marosi/Tatishvili (HUN/GEO) d. (WC) Burnett/McHale (ITA/USA) 57 64 106 (Match TB)
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