Wimbledon A look at the Ladies

Written by: Staff on 22nd June 2013

We had a 13 hour power failure at our offices last night. This made it impossible to do as full a Wimbledon preview as we would usually do. We assumed that you are most interested in the rankings preview and concentrated on that.

****** EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ******

* Vesnina earns first Premier title

* Halep makes it two in a row

****** TODAY’S WOMEN’S NEWS ******

Eastbourne

Singles – Final: Elena Vesnina def. (Q) Jamie Hampton 6-2 6-1

After her tennis career is over, Elena Vesnina should look into being a storm chaser. Or maybe a character in the Wizard of Oz. Because the wind does wonders for her. There were a few bad moments — she got a time warning from the chair at one stage because she had so much trouble with her skirt — but she was mostly dominant.

That gives her the second title of her career, following Hobart at the start of the season, and her first Premier title. She talked about the confidence it gives her going into Wimbledon. Well she might. She’ll be unseeded, but she will clearly be one of the major unseeded threats. With this, we show her rising to #22. That matches her career high — and as long as her confidence remains as high as it seems to be, we’d guess she’ll go higher.

Jamie Hampton fails to win her first title (something which Vesnina can sympathize with, given the half dozen finals she lost prior to Hobart), but she should rise to a career-high #25. And although she is still ranked behind Sloane Stephens, right now we’d consider her the clear American #2. Based on recent results, she looks like a genuine Top Twenty prospect.

Doubles – Final: (1) Petrova/Srebotnik def. Niculescu/Zakopalova 6-3 6-3

Here is a curiosity: Clay is probably the best surface for both Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik. And yet, none of their three titles this year is on clay; they won Sydney and Miami on hardcourt; now they have added Eastbourne on grass. Still, they continue to look like the best team of the year other than Errani/Vinci and perhaps Makarova/Vesnina; they still look like good bets to make the year-end Championships.

‘s-Hertogenbosch

Singles – Final: Simona Halep def. (4) Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 6-2

Simona Halep, where have you been all your life?

Two weeks. Two titles. It really does seem as if she’s a new player. There isn’t much we can say about this performance, except that Halep just seemed to get better after a rain delay at 5-4 in the first set. From then on, it wasn’t much of a match. We show Halep rising to a career-high #32. If Elena Vesnina is the top unseeded threat at Wimbledon, and Jamie Hampton #2, Halep surely qualifies as #3.

Kirsten Flipkens joins Hampton in the “no-first-title-this-week” club, but she did score her first final, and she strengthened her Top Twenty spot. This is still clearly the best year of her career.

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

Women’s Look Forward: Wimbledon

Maria Sharapova had some rather harsh words for Wimbledon top seed Serena Williams this week, but ultimately, her target is #2 seed Victoria Azarenka, not Serena. That’s because, first, Sharapova has a shot at catching Sharapova, and second, they’re in the same half, so they meet sooner. Serena’s semifinal will be against last year’s finalist Agnieszka Radwanska — in other words, a rematch of the 2012 final.

In the quarterfinal, Serena is drawn to face #7 Angelique Kerber, who seems to like grass but is struggling. Radwanska faces Li Na, who crashed and burned at Eastbourne. #3 Sharapova goes up against #5 Sara Errani, who probably likes grass the least of all the top players. Azarenka’s quarterfinal opponent will be former champion and #8 seed Petra Kvitova. In the Round of Sixteen, it’s Serena against #14 Samantha Stosur, who somehow can’t seem to convert her grass tools into a grass game. Kerber will take on #10 Maria Kirilenko, another grass non-fan. Radwanska is to face #13 Nadia Petrova, while Li would face #11 Roberta Vinci. Errani is supposed to face #9 Caroline Wozniacki. Sharapova goes against #15 Marion Bartoli, a former finalist but one who is struggling. Kvitova take on #12 Ana Ivanovic, while Azarenka is to face #16 Jelena Jankovic — who, we note, chose to play Nurnberg rather than a grass warmup; that presumably tells us all we really need to know about her feelings regarding grass!

Serena’s third round match is against on-and-off #28 Tamira Paszek, who won Eastbourne in 2012 but seems to be “off” again at present. Stosur would face #23 Sabin Lisicki. Kirilenko takes on #24 Peng Shuai. Kerber is against #31 Romina Oprandi. Radwanska takes on #30 Mona Barthel. Petrova is against #21 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Vinci faces #18 Dominika Cibulkova, Li opposes struggling #32 Klara Zakopalova, Errani goes against #26 Varvara Lepchenko, Wozniacki faces #17 Sloane Stephens, Bartoli takes on #22 Sorana Cirstea, Sharapova is up against #27 Lucie Safarova, Kvitova has to deal with grass-loving #25 Ekaterina Makarova, Ivanovic faces #19 Carla Suarez Navarro, Jankovic takes on #20 Kirsten Flipkens, and Azarenka will take on #29 Alize Cornet.

Few of those lower seeds seem like much threat on grass (Makarova may be the leading exception.) But there are some unseeded players who could genuinely cause trouble. Lisicki opens against Francesca Schiavone, then Eastbourne champion Elena Vesnina. Kirilenko starts against Laura Robson, then Julia Goerges. Oprandi starts against grass-loving wildcard Alison Riske, then Urszula Radwanska. Kerber’s second match could be against Kaia Kanepi. Barthel faces a gantlet of Monica Niculescu, then Heather Watson or Madison Keys. Pavlyuchenkova has to start against former semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova. Zakopalova opens against Birmingham champion Daniela Hantuchova. Li’s second round is against red-hot Simona Halep. Stephens opens against Jamie Hampton (in effect, a contest to see who is the American #2), then perhaps Andrea Petkovic. Wozniacki’s second round is likely to be against Donna Vekic. And Jankovic could face Yanina Wickmayer in round two.

The Rankings

You probably remember Serena Williams winning Wimbledon last year; that was, after all, the start of the terrific run she has been on ever since. Agnieszka Radwanska was the finalist; Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka made the semifinal; Sabine Lisicki (who beat Sharapova in the Round of Sixteen), Maria Kirilenko, Petra Kvitova, and Tamira Paszek were quarterfinalists. Of the other top players, Sharapova lost in the Round of Sixteen, Errani went out in the third round, Li lost in the second round, and Wozniacki lost her opener.

We might note that Vera Zvonareva lost in the third round last year, so she is history as far as the rankings are concerned. Paszek isn’t much better off; almost half her points are at risk. She could lose her Top Hundred spot.

Serena’s position is so strong that she cannot lose the #1 ranking no matter what. But Azarenka’s #2 spot is in great danger — in safe points, she is about 400 points behind Sharapova. That means she needs at least a quarterfinal, and probably more, to stay #2. Given that she and Sharapova meet in the semifinal, the winner of that is guaranteed the #2 spot.

Agnieszka Radwanska has been fixed at #4 for months, but this could be when that changes. Because she has so much to defend, she is actually about a hundred points behind Errani, and just barely ahead of Li. That’s an effective tie between Errani, Radwanska, and Li; the one who loses first will probably be #6, and the one who lasts longest will be #4.

Kerber and Kvitova are both falling off the pace, and aren’t much ahead of Wozniacki. We’d guess all three will stay Top Ten, but perhaps not by much, and the order is uncertain. Kirilenko’s Top Ten spot is in real danger, with Jankovic the leading contender to pass her.

Oddly enough, there are no obvious candidates to fall out of the Top Twenty. Lepchenko, Peng, and Lisicki are in real danger of losing their Top Thirty spots — indeed, Lisicki’s Top Forty spot could be at risk.

KEYWORDS: Preview Wimbledon Women

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

THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:

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

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

NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:

Wimbledon (Slam/Grass). Defending Champion: Serena Williams

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

**RANKINGS

Estimated WTA Rankings As of June 22, 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 4770

8 (8) KVITOVA 4435

9 (9) WOZNIACKI 3565

10 (10) KIRILENKO 3471

11 (11) VINCI 3060

12 (12) IVANOVIC 2920

13 (14) STOSUR 2905

14 (16) Jankovic 2830

15 (15) BARTOLI 2775

16 (13) PETROVA 2660

17 (17) Stephens 2530

18 (19) SUAREZ NAVARRO 2165

19 (18) CIBULKOVA 2140

20 (20) FLIPKENS 2038

21 (21) Pavlyuchenkova 1900

22 (36) VESNINA 1889*

23 (22) CIRSTEA 1760

24 (23) Lisicki 1750

25 (41) HAMPTON 1722

26 (24) Peng 1685

27 (25) MAKAROVA 1682

28 (26) Kuznetsova 1662

29 (27) LEPCHENKO 1566

30 (28) SAFAROVA 1560

**DRAWS

Eastbourne — Week of May 17

WINNER: Elena Vesnina

……………….QF……………SF……….F

1 A Radwanska……Hampton(Q)…….Hampton…..Hampton

8 Petrova……….Safarova

3 Kerber………..Makarova

5 Wozniacki……..(5)Wozniacki…..Wozniacki

6 Kirilenko……..(6)Kirilenko

4 Kvitova……….Wickmayer……..Wickmayer

7 Ivanovic………Vesnina……….Vesnina…..Vesnina

2 Li (WC)……….(2)Li (WC)

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 A Radwanska…..lost 1R (Hampton)

2 Li (WC)………lost QF (Vesnina)

3 Kerber……….lost 2R (Makarova)

4 Kvitova………lost 2R (Wickmayer)

5 Wozniacki…….lost SF (Hampton)

6 Kirilenko…….lost QF (Wickmayer)

7 Ivanovic……..lost 1R (Vesnina)

8 Petrova………lost 1R (Stosur)

‘s-Hertogenbosch — Week of May 17

WINNER: Simona Halep

…………………QF………………..SF……………F

1 Vinci…………..Halep……………..Halep…………Halep

[Tsurenko(LL)]…….Tsurenko(LL)

3 Suarez Navarro…..(3)Suarez Navarro…..Suarez Navarrro

8 Mladenovic………Pironkova

7 U Radwanska……..(7)U.Radwanska

4 Flipkens………..(4)Flipkens………..Flipkens………Flipkens

5 Barthel…………Muguruza…………..Muguruza

2 Cibulkova……….(2)Cibulkova

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Vinci…………lost 2R (Halep)

2 Cibulkova……..lost QF (Muguruza)

3 Suarez Navarro…lost SF (Halep)

4 Flipkens………lost F (Halep)

5 Barthel……….lost 1R (Muguruza)

6 Oprandi……….WITHDREW

7 U Radwanska……lost QF (Flipkens)

8 Mladenovic…….lost 1R (Pironkova)

Wimbledon — Week of May 24

1 S Williams

Minella

Garcia (Q)

Zheng

Date-Krumm

Witthoeft (Q)

Cadantu

28 Paszek

23 Lisicki

Schiavone

Vesnina

Hlavackova

Puchkova

Rus

Schmiedlova (LL)

14 Stosur

10 Kirilenko

Robson

Duque-Marino (Q)

Goerges

Morita

Erakovic

Medina Garrigues

24 Peng

31 Oprandi

Riske (WC)

Burdette

U Radwanska

Kanepi

Moore (WC)

Mattek-Sands

7 Kerber

4 A Radwanska

Meusburger (Q)

Babos

Johansson

Watson

Keys

Niculescu

30 Barthel

21 Pavlyuchenkova

Pironkova

Zahlavova Strycova (Q)

Rybarikova

Tatishvili

Martic

Ka. Pliskova

13 Petrova

11 Vinci

Scheepers

Kr. Pliskova

Cepelova

Torro-Flor

Begu

Camerin (Q)

18 Cibulkova

32 Zakopalova

Hantuchova

Bratchikova

Beck

Govortsova

Halep

Krajicek

6 Li

5 Errani

Puig

Soler-Espinosa

Doi

Arruabarrena

Tsurenko

Birnerova (Q)

26 Lepchenko

17 Stephens

Hampton

Parmentier

Petkovic (WC)

Cetkovska (Q)

Vekic

Cabeza Candela

9 Wozniacki

15 Bartoli

Svitolina

McHale

Glatch

Giorgi

Murray (WC)

Voegele

22 Cirstea

27 Safarova

Davis

Hradecka (WC)

Knapp

Larcher De Brito (Q)

Oudin

Mladenovic

3 Sharapova

8 Kvitova

Vandeweghe

Bertens

Shvedova

Muguruza

Keothavong (WC)

Larsson

25 Makarova

19 Suarez Navarro

Dominguez Lino

Arvidsson

Lucic-Baroni

Bouchard

Voskoboeva (Q)

Razzano (Q)

12 Ivanovic

16 Jankovic

Konta (WC)

Wickmayer

Dolonc

Tomljanovic (Q)

Jovanovski

Putintseva

20 Flipkens

29 Cornet

King (LL)

Hsieh

Maria

Baltacha (WC)

Pennetta

Koehler

2 Azarenka

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

SATURDAY

Eastbourne

Singles – Final

Elena Vesnina def. (Q) Jamie Hampton 6-2 6-1

Doubles – Final

(1) Petrova/Srebotnik def. Niculescu/Zakopalova 6-3 6-3

‘s-Hertogenbosch

Singles – Final

Simona Halep def. (4) Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 6-2