Wimbledon warmup up results and more

Written by: on 15th June 2013
Tennis Australian Open 2012
Wimbledon warmup up results and more

epa03063413 Alison Riske of the United States returns to Urszula Radwanska of Poland in their women's first round singles match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 17 January 2012. EPA/BARBARA WALTON  |

Birmingham

 

Singles – Quarterfinal: Alison Riske def. (5) Sabine Lisicki 7-6(7-2) 2-6 6-4

These two were tied at 2-2 in the third on Friday when they had to halt the match due to darkness. So what happened? They came back on Saturday, played three games — and had things halted by rain. But, happily, it was a short rain delay. And Alison Riske was pretty much in control after that. Which meant that the top six seeds were out of the draw here. For Sabine Lisicki, that means no Top Twenty spot.

What in the world is there to say about Alison Riske? She still hasn’t managed to win a WTA match at any event other than Birmingham — but she now has 11 wins in four tries at this particular event!

Singles – Semifinal: Donna Vekic def. (16) Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6(7-5) 1-6 6-3

There seems to be some sort of rule around here that, the more rain there is, the longer the matches take. It makes for some very late evenings…. Still, Donna Vekic managed to eventually serve this out. She leaves Magdalena Rybarikova at #43. Vekic herself is up to around #65.

Singles – Semifinal: Daniela Hantuchova def. Alison Riske 5-7 6-1 6-4

Maybe Alison Riske does something that causes rain delays? She certainly has faced her share this week. Including in this match. And the pause certainly didn’t do her any good, since Daniela Hantuchova seemed stronger after the delay. Hantuchova is up to probably #53; a title would put her back in the Top Fifty.

Doubles – Semifinal: (3) Barty/Dellacqua def. Barthel/Mladenovic 6-3 6-2

It will truly be fascinating to see how Barty/Dellacqua do at Wimbledon. They seem to work together very well, and they evidently like grass.

And they look like a good bet to win, since they’re in the final. They’re two deep in unfinished doubles matches. Expect some walkovers tomorrow.

Nurnberg

 

Singles – Final: (7) Simona Halep def. (WC) Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-3

Simona Halep had real trouble serving this out, but other than that, it was pretty routine. Of course, that first title is never easy, especially when one has lost three previous finals (Fes 2010, Fes 2011, Brussels 2012). But this is looking like a breakthrough year for Halep, since this follows on a Rome semifinal. She is now 16-11 this year, and we show her ranking rising to probably #45. We’ll have to see how she does away from clay, but things certainly look promising for her.

Andrea Petkovic’s winning streak ends at nine, but she is firmly back in the Top Hundred, and appears finally to be her old self again. She looks ready to climb fast after this.

Doubles – Final: Olaru/Solovyeva def. (1) Groenefeld/Peschke 2-6 7-6(7-3) 11-9

This week’s Great Seed Jinx continues. Being a high seed has been generally disastrous. This may be the biggest shock of all, though. Raluca Olaru has a couple of past titles (Tashkent 2008 with Savchuk and Acapulco 2011 with Koryttseva), but those were pretty weak. And Solovyeva’s only previous title was Baku 2012, which was absurdly weak. To beat a strong team like this can only be labelled “Amazing.” It may well be a career-extending for Raluca Olaru.

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

 

Women’s Look Forward: Eastbourne, ‘s-Hertogenbosch

 

And to think there was a time when it seemed no one wanted to play Eastbourne!

Those days are long gone. The field is packed with top players. So much so that red-hot Jamie Hampton found herself stuck in the qualifying. (At least in the initial draw. She could still move up.) Madison Keys is in the qualifying, too.

Eastbourne in fact has six of the Top Ten. Sadly, the four missing players include all of the top three, and four of the top five: Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, and Sara Errani. Agnieszka Radwanska, a past champion, is the #1 seed. Li Na is #2. Angelique Kerber, last year’s finalist, is #3. Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is #4 — not only is it a strong field, it’s a field with good grass credentials. #5 seed Caroline Wozniacki is also a past champion. Maria Kirilenko is #6, although she is the one seed here who really doesn’t like grass much. Ana Ivanovic has the #7 seed, with last year’s ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion Nadia Petrova #8.

And most of them are likely to be pushed hard. Radwanska has a pretty trivial draw, but Petrova opens against Samantha Stosur (talk about a big-serving battle!), then Lucie Safarova or Klara Zakopalova. Kerber starts against Sorana Cirstea, then could face past champion Ekaterina Makarova. Wozniacki starts against defending champion Tamira Paszek, then Laura Robson. Kirilenko and Kvitova opens easy draws, but Ivanovic starts against Elena Vesnina, then Varvara Lepchenko or Heather Watson. Li probably won’t be challenged too fiercely by Alize Cornet in the first round, given Cornet’s poor grass history, but then comes Marion Bartoli, another former Eastbourne champion who has also been a Wimbledon finalist.

‘s-Hertogenbosch isn’t nearly as strong — Roberta Vinci is the #1 seed, and Dominika Cibulkova #2, so there are no Top Ten players — but it’s deep. Vinci faces the incredible challenge of opening against Kaia Kanepi, then either promising Annika Beck or Simona Halep, hot off her title in Nurnberg. Vinci’s quarterfinal opponent is supposed to be #6 Romina Oprandi — except that Oprandi has to open against Daniela Hantuchova. The #3 seed, Carla Suarez Navarro, has a decent draw, but her quarterfinal is against #8 Kristina Mladenovic, and Mladenovic has to start against grass-loving Tsvetana Pironkova. #7 Urszula Radwanska, who likes grass a lot, is likely to face another hot grass player, Magdalena Rybarikova, in the second round. #4 seed Kirsten Flipkens has to open against Francesca Schiavone, then perhaps wildcard Michaella Krajicek (no, we didn’t know she was still around, either). #5 Mona Barthel faces Lauren Davis in round two. It’s not a draw any of the seeds will want to take for granted.

The Rankings

Last year, the title at Eastbourne went to Tamira Paszek — the best result of her rather inconsistent career. Angelique Kerber was the finalist. Marion Bartoli and Klara Zakopalova where semifinalists. Oddly enough, the three top players in the draw last year — Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova, and Caroline Wozniacki — all lost their openers (admittedly Radwanska lost to Pironkova and Kvitova to Makarova, grass-lovers both). Nadia Petrova won ‘s-Hertogenbosch, over Urszula Radwanska, with Kirsten Flipkens and Kim Clijsters the semifinalists. (Sad to say that Clijsters withdrew from the semifinal….)

Since the Top Three aren’t playing, and are far ahead of #4 Radwanska, there won’t be any movement at the top. Radwanska is safe at #4, too. But #5 Errani could lose her spot to Li Na if Li can make it to the final. There is just a chance that Kerber could lose the #7 spot to Kvitova, but only if she loses early and Kvitova does well. Kvitova will not fall below #8. Wozniacki and Kirilenko are contending for #9, but Wozniacki has a big lead and Kirilenko doesn’t like grass, so we doubt they will swap places. Kirilenko ought to be safe at #10.

Petrova could easily fall to around #15. Bartoli could end up below #15. Zakopalova might be below #35. Paszek’s Top Fifty ranking is in danger. Urszula Radwanska will likely fall out of the Top Forty. Kirsten Flipkens may well lose her Top Twenty spot.

KEYWORDS: Preview Eastbourne ‘s-Hertogenbosch

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

 

THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:

Birmingham (International/Grass). Defending Champion: Melanie Oudin

Nurnberg (International/Clay). Defending Champion: New Event (Cornet won Bad Gastein in this slot)

NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:

Eastbourne (Premier/Grass). Defending Champion: Tamira Paszek

‘s-Hertogenbosch (International/Grass). Defending Champion: Nadia Petrova

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

 

**RANKINGS

 

Estimated WTA Rankings As of June 15, 2013

 

Rank &

Prior

Rank….Name…………..Points

1..(1) SWilliams ……… 13615

2..(2) Azarenka ………..9625

3..(3) Sharapova ……… 9415

4..(4) ARadwanska ………6465

5..(5) Errani ………….5335

6..(6) Li ……………..5155

7..(7) Kerber ………….4915

8..(8) Kvitova ……….. 4435

9..(9) Wozniacki ……… 3565

10.(10) Kirilenko ……… 3436

11.(11) Vinci …………. 3060

12.(12) Ivanovic ………..2920

13.(13) Petrova ……….. 2910

14.(14) Stosur ………….2905

15.(15) Bartoli ……….. 2905

16.(16) JANKOVIC ………..2770

17.(17) Stephens ………..2530

18.(18) Cibulkova ……… 2140

19.(19) Suarez Navarro …..2095

20.(20) FLIPKENS ………..1978

21.(21) Pavlyuchenkova …..1950

22.(24) CIRSTEA ……….. 1760

23.(26) LISICKI ……….. 1750

24.(25) Peng ……………1685

25.(22) MAKAROVA ………..1682

26.(27) Kuznetsova ………1662

27.(28) Lepchenko ……… 1566

28.(30) SAFAROVA ………..1560

29.(29) PASZEK ………….1552

30.(23) CORNET ………….1545

**DRAWS

 

Birmingham — Week of May 10

 

………………3R……………..QF…………SF………….F

1 Flipkens……..(1)Flipkens

16 Rybarikova…..(16)Rybarikova…..Rybarikova….Rybarikova

10 Hsieh……….Keys……………Keys

6 Barthel………(6)Barthel

 

3 Cirstea………(3)Cirstea………Cirstea

13 Jovanovski…..(13)Jovanovski

11 Morita………Sanchez(Q)

8 U. Radwanska….Vekic…………..Vekic………Vekic………Vekic

 

5 Lisicki………(5)Lisicki………Lisicki

9 Wickmayer…….Lucic-Baroni

14 Watson………Kudryavtseva(Q)

4 Paszek……….Riske(Q)………..Riske………Riske

 

7 Robson……….Hantuchova………Hantuchova….Hantuchova….Hantuchova

12 Mladenovic…..(12)Mladenovic

15 Schiavone……(15)Schiavone……Schiavone

2 Makarova……..Erakovic

 

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 Flipkens……..lost 3R (Rybarikova)

2 Makarova……..lost 2R (Erakovic)

3 Cirstea………lost QF (Vekic)

4 Paszek……….lost 2R (Riske)

5 Lisicki………lost QF (Riske)

6 Barthel………lost 3R (Keys)

7 Robson……….lost 2R (Hantuchova)

8 U. Radwanska….lost 2R (Vekic)

9 Wickmayer…….lost 2R (Lucic-Baroni)

10 Hsieh……….lost 1R (Hampton)

11 Morita………lost 1R (Van Uytvanck)

12 Mladenovic…..lost 3R (Hantuchova)

13 Jovanovski…..lost 3R (Cirstea)

14 Watson………lost 2R (Kudryatvseva)

15 Schiavone……lost QF (Hantuchova)

16 Rybarikova

Nurnberg — Week of May 10

WINNER: Simona Halep

………………….QF……………….SF………..F

1 Jankovic (WC)…….(1)Jankovic……….Jankovic

6 Dominguez Lino……(6)Dominguez Lino

4 Goerges………….Petkovic………….Petkovic…..Petkovic

8 Beck…………….(8)Beck

 

7 Halep……………(7)Halep………….Halep……..Halep

3 Cornet…………..Voskoboeva

5 Safarova…………(5)Safarova……….Safarova

2 Zakopalova……….Hercog

 

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Jankovic (WC)……..lost SF (Petkovic)

2 Zakopalova………..lost 1R (Hercog)

3 Cornet……………lost 2R (Voskoboeva)

4 Goerges…………..lost 2R (Petkovic)

5 Safarova………….lost SF (Halep)

6 Dominguez Lino…….lost QF (Jankovic)

7 Halep…………….WON TOURNAMENT

8 Beck……………..lost QF (Beck)

Eastbourne — Week of May 17

 

1 A Radwanska

Qualifier

Konta (WC)

Hsieh

Zakopalova

Safarova

Stosur (WC)

8 Petrova

 

3 Kerber

Cirstea

Qualifier

Makarova

Qualifier

Robson

Paszek

5 Wozniacki

 

6 Kirilenko

Jovanovski

Baltacha (WC)

Qualifier

McHale

Wickmayer

Niculescu

4 Kvitova

 

7 Ivanovic

Vesnina

Lepchenko

Watson

Pennetta

Bartoli

Cornet

2 Li (WC)

‘s-Hertogenbosch — Week of May 17

 

1 Vinci

Kanepi

Beck

Halep

Voegele

Qualifier

Hantuchova (WC)

6 Oprandi

 

3 Suarez Navarro

Larsson

Arvidsson

Morita

Qualifier

Begu

Pironkova

8 Mladenovic

 

7 U Radwanska

Govortsova

Rybarikova

Rus (WC)

Krajicek (WC)

Soler-Espinosa

Schiavone

4 Flipkens

 

5 Barthel

Qualifier

Qualifier

Davis

Bertens

Medina Garrigues

Dominguez Lino

2 Cibulkova

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

 

SATURDAY

Birmingham

Singles – Quarterfinal

Alison Riske def. (5) Sabine Lisicki 7-6(7-2) 2-6 6-4

Singles – Semifinal

Donna Vekic def. (16) Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6(7-5) 1-6 6-3

Daniela Hantuchova def. Alison Riske 5-7 6-1 6-4

Doubles – Semifinal

(3) Barty/Dellacqua def. Barthel/Mladenovic 6-3 6-2

Nurnberg

Singles – Final

(7) Simona Halep def. (WC) Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-3

Doubles – Final

Olaru/Solovyeva def. (1) Groenefeld/Peschke 2-6 7-6(7-3) 11-9

©Daily tennis news wire

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