French Open Ladies Update – Saturday, June 1, 2013

Written by: Staff on 1st June 2013

French Open Ladies Update - Saturday, June 1, 2013

epa03588885 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns the ball to Serena Williams of the USA during their final match of the WTA Qatar Ladies Open tennis tournament at the International Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, 17 February 2013. EPA/STRINGER |

Roland Garros

Singles – Third Round: (2) Maria Sharapova def. Zheng Jie 6-1 7-5

Five years ago, this might have gone the other way. But Maria Sharapova has learned how to play on clay, and Zheng Jie is a little slower than she used to be. She will be around #40. Sharapova is still trying to hang on to the #2 ranking; see the Feature.

Singles – Third Round: (3) Victoria Azarenka def. (31) Alize Cornet 4-6 6-3 6-1

In the first set of this, Victoria Azarenka seemed to be having trouble finding the range — Alize Cornet’s speed was rattling her, and her forehand was way off. But, midway through the second set, Azarenka started landing forehands, and that was the end of the story. It appears Cornet will be rising to #23.

Singles – Third Round: Jamie Hampton def. (7) Petra Kvitova 6-1 7-6(9-7)

Once again Petra Kvitova makes you want to pull your hair. Especially the part where she came back from a minibreak down in the tiebreak, then let it slip away. Kvitova, a semifinalist last year, falls from #7 to #8; Jamie Hampton is now just a few dozen points from the Top Forty.

Singles – Third Round: (18) Jelena Jankovic def. (9) Samantha Stosur 3-6 6-3 6-4

This match had even more changes of momentum than the score indicates. Jelena Jankovic went up 3-0 in the third, then Samantha Stosur won four games in a row. Jankovic went up 40-0 in the eighth game, blew the lead, but held anyway. Jankovic broke in game nine, giving her the chance to serve it out. She had several match points — and couldn’t convert, and even gave Stosur a break chance. But Jankovic at last pulled it out. That makes it likely, although not yet certain, that she will rise to #16. But Samantha Stosur, last year’s semifinalist, will fall to no better than #14.

Singles – Third Round: (12) Maria Kirilenko def. Stefanie Voegele 7-6(7-3) 7-5

It appears Stefanie Voegele won’t quite make the Top Fifty, but it could happen soon. It has been a while since the Swiss have had a Top Fifty player…. Maria Kirilenko is getting closer clinching to the #10 ranking, although it isn’t certain yet. Not by about five other players….

Singles – Third Round: Francesca Schiavone def. (13) Marion Bartoli 6-2 6-1

The last month or so really does seem to have revived Francesca Schiavone. She is now firmly back in the Top Fifty — probably #45 or higher. But Marion Bartoli, who is struggling badly, is in danger of losing her Top Fifteen spot.

Singles – Third Round: (17) Sloane Stephens def. Marina Erakovic 6-4 6-7(5-7) 6-3

Marina Erakovic was warned for coaching in this match. Whether it made any difference is hard to tell. Sloane Stephens has now defended her points, but needs at least one more win if she is to rise.

Singles – Third Round: Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Paula Ormaechea 4-6 6-1 6-3

Francesca Schiavone isn’t the only one staging a big comeback. Bethanie Mattek-Sands is now up to around #55.

Doubles – First Round: (1) Errani/Vinci def. Dominguez Lino/Muguruza 6-3 3-6 6-2

Rafael Nadal has been complaining about his scheduling, but Errani/Vinci frankly have the better gripe. Vinci’s singles match on Friday was scheduled so late that they couldn’t get to the doubles — and so the top seeds are a round behind most of the other top competitors.

Doubles – First Round: (15) H Chan/Jurak def. Soler-Espinosa/Suarez Espinosa 6-1 6-3

Doubles – First Round: Black/Erakovic def. Kerber/Petkovic 6-2 6-1

When Cara Black looks good on clay, all we can say is… look out come the grass season!

Doubles – First Round: Kuznetsova/Pennetta def. Cibulkova/Zahlavova Strycova 6-2 6-3

It continues to be a tough comeback for Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. Indeed, one starts to wonder if she can come back.

Doubles – Second Round: (2) Hlavackova/Hradecka def. Cirstea/Morita 7-5 1-6 6-0

Hlavackova and Hradecka improve their chances of staying Top Five, but it isn’t settled yet, especially for Hradecka. We currently show the Top Ten as follows:

1..(1) ERRANI ………….8455*

1..(1) VINCI …………. 8455*

3..(3) PETROVA ……….. 6895*

4..(4) HLAVACKOVA ………6720*

5..(5) HRADECKA ………..6166*

6..(6) SREBOTNIK ……… 5755*

7..(7) MAKAROVA ………..5280*

8..(9) VESNINA ……….. 4932*

9.(11) RAYMOND ……….. 4775*

10.(12) HUBER …………. 4425

Doubles – Second Round: Kalashnikova/Rosolska def. (8) Hsieh/Peng 4-6 6-0 6-4

Hsieh Su-Wei loses the chance to clinch a Top Fifteen spot.

Doubles – Second Round: (11) Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova def. Garcia/Johansson 6-2 6-4

Doubles – Second Round: King/Niculescu def. Barthel/Dekmeijere 6-0 6-4

Doubles – Second Round: Lepchenko/Zhang def. Begu/Rybarikova 3-6 7-6(11-9) 6-3

Mixed Doubles – First Round: (3) Srebotnik/Zimonjic def. Garcia/Gicquel 6-2 7-5

Mixed Doubles – First Round: (5) Mladenovic/Nestor def. Spears/Lipsky 6-2 6-4

Mixed Doubles – First Round: (6) Groenefeld/Tecau def. Coin/Mahut 6-3 1-6 10-5

Mixed Doubles – First Round: Rodionova/Gonzalez def. (7) Dellacqua/Bhupathi 6-4 1-6 11-9

Not sure what this says about Mixed rankings. Mixed would have promoted Dellacqua/Bhupathi slightly, to the #6 seeds — but Rodionova/Gonzalez were the #9 team in Mixed, which is higher than they would be in the actual draw.

Mixed Doubles – First Round: Hradecka/Cermak def. Barty/Bopanna 6-4 6-4

Mixed rankings would have made Hradecka/Cermak #4, so this was to be expected.

Mixed Doubles – First Round: Grandin/Polasek def. Flipkens/Fleming 6-4 7-5

Mixed Doubles – First Round: Lim/Chardy def. Watson/Marray 6-4 6-7(8-10) 14-12

Watson/Marray had the chance to serve this out in the match tiebreak, and failed. More signs that Heather Watson needs some matches to get back into form….

Mixed Doubles – First Round: Hsieh/Nielsen def. Cirstea/Marrero 7-6(7-5) 6-4

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

Women’s Rankings Update: Roland Garros

The story of Serena Williams’s lead in the contest for the #1 ranking sort of resembles a fish story: Everyone is asking, “Just how big is it?”

Don’t think trout. Or walleye, or perch, or any normal fish. Think, maybe, Moby Dick. Which, of course, wasn’t a fish. But it was big. And so is Serena’s lead. Big, as in, more than a thousand points even if she doesn’t win another match and Victoria Azarenka wins Roland Garros. She is safe at #1.

#2 remains interesting, because .Azarenka has defended her points and Maria Sharapova still needs four more wins. Sharapova needs at least a final to have any shot at #2. She will, at least, be safe at #3.

With Li Na out, Agnieszka Radwanska is almost safe at #4; the only way she can lose the spot is if Angelique Kerber or Sara Errani wins Roland Garros. Li will almost certainly keep the #6 ranking, and may move up to #5; Kerber and the others need at least a semifinal to move ahead of her.

Serena, Azarenka, Sharapova, Radwanska, Li, Kerber, Errani, and Petra Kvitova are safe in the Top Ten. That leaves two spots. Right now, they belong to Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Kirilenko; Samantha Stosur is out. Wozniacki isn’t safe, but her odds look pretty good. The #10 spot, however, is wide open; any players in the Top Twenty who survive still have a chance. Our three main contenders are Kirilenko, Vinci, and Ivanovic; the one who lasts longest will likely get it.

Out of the Top Twenty is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova; Kirsten Flipkens is the player most likely to take her place, but it isn’t quite settled yet.

Out of the Top Thirty are Klara Zakopalova and Julia Goerges, replaced by Sabine Lisicki and probably Mona Barthel. Out of the Top Fifty are Yaroslava Shvedova and Heather Watson; we might also see Lourdes Dominguez Lino lose her spot. In are Jamie Hampton and Magdalena Rybarikova.

We have a contest of sorts for the #1 ranking in doubles, but only if Nadia Petrova wins Roland Garros and Errani/Vinci lose before the quarterfinal. The last couple of Top Ten spots are in play; Maria Kirilenko is probably out, and Nuria Llagostera Vives may be. Lisa Raymond has a good chance to move up; there is a chance that Liezel Huber, even though she lost her opener, will make it to #10.

KEYWORDS: Women’s Rankings Update

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

THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:

Roland Garros (Slam/Clay). Defending Champion: Maria Sharapova

NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:

Roland Garros (Slam/Clay). Defending Champion: Maria Sharapova

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

**RANKINGS

Estimated WTA Rankings As of June 1, 2013

Rank &

Prior

Rank….Name…………..Points

1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 11895*

2..(3) AZARENKA ………..9005*

3..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 8295*

4..(4) ARADWANSKA ………6245*

5..(6) LI ……………..5155

6..(8) KERBER ………….4915*

7..(5) ERRANI ………….4715*

8..(7) KVITOVA ……….. 4555*

9.(10) WOZNIACKI ……… 3565

10.(12) KIRILENKO ……… 3096

11.(15) VINCI …………. 3060*

12.(14) IVANOVIC ………..2920*

13.(11) PETROVA ……….. 2910

14..(9) STOSUR ………….2905

14.(13) BARTOLI ……….. 2905

16.(18) JANKOVIC ………..2680*

17.(17) STEPHENS ………..2530*

18.(16) CIBULKOVA ……… 2140

19.(20) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2095*

20.(21) FLIPKENS ………..1978

21.(19) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..1950

22.(22) MAKAROVA ………..1811

23.(27) CORNET ………….1765

24.(30) CIRSTEA ……….. 1750

25.(23) PENG ……………1685

26.(34) LISICKI ……….. 1681

27.(25) LEPCHENKO ……… 1566

28.(33) PASZEK ………….1539

29.(29) SAFAROVA ………..1500

29.(35) BARTHEL ……….. 1500

**DRAWS

Roland Garros — Week of May 26

…………………3R………………..4R

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

26 Cirstea………..(26)Cirstea

19 Pavlyuchenkova….Cetkovska

15 Vinci………….(15)Vinci………….Vinci

10 Wozniacki………Jovanovski

22 Makarova……….Kuznetsova…………Kuznetsova

29 Lepchenko………(29)Lepchenko

8 Kerber………….(8)Kerber………….Kerber

4 A Radwanska……..(4)A.Radwanska……..Radwanska

30 V Williams……..Pfizenmaier(Q)

24 Goerges………..Razzano(WC)

14 Ivanovic……….(14)Ivanovic……….Ivanovic

11 Petrova………..Puig

20 Suarez Navarro….(20)Suarez Navarro….Suarez Navarro

32 Lisicki………..(32)Lisicki

5 Errani………….(5)Errani………….Errani

6 Li……………..Mattek-Sands……….Mattek-Sands

27 Shvedova……….Ormaechea(Q)

23 Zakopalova……..Voegele

12 Kirilenko………(12)Kirilenko………Kirilenko

13 Bartoli………..(13)Bartoli

21 Flipkens……….Schiavone………….Schiavone

31 Cornet…………(31)Cornet

3 Azarenka………..(3)Azarenka………..Azarenka

7 Kvitova…………(7)Kvitova

25 Safarova……….Hampton……………Hampton

18 Jankovic……….(18)Jankovic……….Jankovic

9 Stosur………….(9)Stosur

16 Cibulkova………Erakovic

17 Stephens……….(17)Stephens……….Stephens

28 Paszek…………Zheng

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

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 S Williams

2 Sharapova

3 Azarenka

4 A Radwanska

5 Errani

6 Li…………….lost 2R (Mattek-Sands)

7 Kvitova………..lost 3R (Hampton)

8 Kerber

9 Stosur…………lost 3r (Jankovic)

10 Wozniacki……..lost 2R (Jovanovski)

11 Petrova……….lost 1R (Puig)

12 Kirilenko

13 Bartoli……….lost 3R (Schiavone)

14 Ivanovic

15 Vinci

16 Cibulkova……..lost 2R (Erakovic)

17 Stephens

18 Jankovic

19 Pavlyuchenkova…lost 2R (Cetkovska)

20 Suarez Navarro

21 Flipkens………lost 2R (Schiavone)

22 Makarova………lost 1R (Kuznetsova)

23 Zakopalova…….lost 1R (Kanepi)

24 Goerges……….lost 1R (Z Kucova)

25 Safarova………lost 1R (Hampton)

26 Cirstea……….lost 3R (S. Williams)

27 Shvedova………lost 2R (Ormaechea)

28 Paszek………..lost 1R (Oudin)

29 Lepchenko……..lost 3R (Kerber)

30 V Williams…….lost 1R (U. Radwanska)

31 Cornet………..lost 3R (Azarenka)

32 Lisicki……….lost 3R (Errani)

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

SATURDAY

Roland Garros

Singles – Third Round

(2) Maria Sharapova def. Zheng Jie 6-1 7-5

(3) Victoria Azarenka def. (31) Alize Cornet 4-6 6-3 6-1

Jamie Hampton def. (7) Petra Kvitova 6-1 7-6(9-7)

(18) Jelena Jankovic def. (9) Samantha Stosur 3-6 6-3 6-4

(12) Maria Kirilenko def. Stefanie Voegele 7-6(7-3) 7-5

Francesca Schiavone def. (13) Marion Bartoli 6-2 6-1

(17) Sloane Stephens def. Marina Erakovic 6-4 6-7(5-7) 6-3

Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Paula Ormaechea 4-6 6-1 6-3

Doubles – First Round

(1) Errani/Vinci def. Dominguez Lino/Muguruza 6-3 3-6 6-2

(15) H Chan/Jurak def. Soler-Espinosa/Suarez Espinosa 6-1 6-3

Black/Erakovic def. Kerber/Petkovic 6-2 6-1

Kuznetsova/Pennetta def. Cibulkova/Zahlavova Strycova 6-2 6-3

Doubles – Second Round

(2) Hlavackova/Hradecka def. Cirstea/Morita 7-5 1-6 6-0

Kalashnikova/Rosolska def. (8) Hsieh/Peng 4-6 6-0 6-4

(11) Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova def. Garcia/Johansson 6-2 6-4

King/Niculescu def. Barthel/Dekmeijere 6-0 6-4

Lepchenko/Zhang def. Begu/Rybarikova 3-6 7-6(11-9) 6-3

Mixed Doubles – First Round

(3) Srebotnik/Zimonjic def. Garcia/Gicquel 6-2 7-5

(5) Mladenovic/Nestor def. Spears/Lipsky 6-2 6-4

(6) Groenefeld/Tecau def. Coin/Mahut 6-3 1-6 10-5

Rodionova/Gonzalez def. (7) Dellacqua/Bhupathi 6-4 1-6 11-9

Hradecka/Cermak def. Barty/Bopanna 6-4 6-4

Grandin/Polasek def. Flipkens/Fleming 6-4 7-5

Lim/Chardy def. Watson/Marray 6-4 6-7(8-10) 14-12

Hsieh/Nielsen def. Cirstea/Marrero 7-6(7-5) 6-4

Topics: Alize Cornet, French Open, Maria Sharapova, Roland Garros, Sports, Tennis, tennis new, Victoria Azarenka, Zheng Jie

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