TODAY’S WOMEN’S NEWS
New Haven
Singles – Second Round: .Ekaterina Makarova def. (1) Sara Errani 7-5 6-1
Ekaterina Makarova is a Top Thirty player, and Sara Errani likes clay better than hardcourt, so this isn’t a huge surprise — but we can’t help but recall that Errani had already earned the #5 ranking and couldn’t climb this week.
Singles – Second Round: (3) Petra Kvitova def. (Q) Alison Riske 7-6(7-5) 4-6 6-3
The absurd struggles continue for Petra Kvitova — and she still needs one more win to stay Top Ten if Marion Bartoli stays on the rankings. But there is good news with the bad; she is the only seed left in the bottom half.
Singles – Second Round: (4) Caroline Wozniacki def. Karin Knapp (Q) 6-1 7-5
Caroline Wozniacki is a four-time champion here, so of course she is always comfortable in New Haven — but this isn’t enough points to count for her.
Singles – Second Round: (6) Sloane Stephens (WC) def. Julia Goerges (WC) 7-5 2-6 6-1
She did it very much the hard way, but Sloane Stephens needs only one more win to clinch a Top Fifteen spot. Julia Goerges will be around #45.
Singles – Second Round: Simona Halep def. Carla Suarez Navarro 3-6 6-4 6-1
Simona Halep hasn’t moved at all in the rankings yet — she might in fact lose a spot — but she still looks like a Top Twenty place is in her future.
Doubles – Quarterfinal: (2) Medina Garrigues/Srebotnik def. Hradecka/Zakopalova 7-5 6-2
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Soler Espinosa/Suarez Navarro def. Aoyama/Klepac 7-6(7-4) 7-6(7-0)
TODAY’S FEATURE
This Week’s Movers — Women
Each week, Daily Tennis will look at the biggest movers of the week, looking at how they did what they did.
Biggest Upward Mover — Most Places Moved (Top 100)
Leader: Polona Hercog — Moved 19 places, from #102 to #83.
Hercog qualified for Cincinnati and made the second round.
Runner-Up: Marina Erakovic — Moved 11 places, from #77 to #66
Erakovic also qualified for Cincinnati and made the second round.
Biggest Percentage Mover — Cut Ranking By Highest Percent (Top 100)
Leader: Jelena Jankovic — Moved 4 places, 27%, from #15 to #11
Jankovic made the Cincinnati semifinal. She might have made the Top Ten this week had she played.
Runner-Up: Caroline Wozniacki — Moved 2 places, 20%, from #10 to #8
Wozniacki made the Cincinnati quarterfinal, plus several other things broke her way.
Biggest Loser — Most Places Lost (Top 100)
Loser: TIE —
Andrea Hlavackova — Dropped 23 places, from #81 to #104
Venus Williams — Dropped 23 places, from #37 to #60
Last year, Hlavackova made the Cincinnati third round as a qualifier, while Venus made the semifinal. Venus lost second round this year; Hlavackova didn’t even get into the main draw.
Biggest Percentage Loser — Worst Percentage Increase in Ranking (Top 100)
Loser: Venus, ranking increased 62%.
Ranking Notes
A surprisingly quiet week. Only Jankovic and Wozniacki rose as much as 20%; Hercog was third with a 19% move, and Sara Errani’s 17% move, from #6 to #5, was good for fourth. On the down side, Venus fell 62%, Hlavackova 28%, and Angelique Kerber fell 25%, to #10. The only other player to fall as much as 20% was last year’s Cincinnati champ Li Na, who went from #5 to #6, a 20% drop.
Our Personal Picks for “Best Mover of the Week”
These are subjective picks!
With no truly compelling candidates, we’ll go with Jankovic as the biggest percentage mover.
THIS WEEK IN TENNIS
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
New Haven (Premier/Hard). Defending Champion: Petra Kvitova
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
U. S. Open (Slam/Hard). Defending Champion: Serena Williams
STATS AND FACTS
RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of August 21, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank….Name…………..Points
1..(1) SWilliams ……… 12260
2..(2) Azarenka ………..9505
3..(3) Sharapova ……… 8766
4..(4) RAadwanska ………6335
5..(5) ERRANI ………….5125
6..(6) Li ……………..4825
7..(7) Bartoli ……….. 4246
8..(8) WOZNIACKI ……… 3490*
9.(10) KERBER ………….3420
10.(13) Stosur ………….3210
11..(9) KVITOVA ……….. 3170*
12.(11) Jankovic ………..3125
13.(12) VINCI …………. 3065
14.(14) Flipkens ………..2961
15.(15) Ivanovic ………..2940
16.(17) STEPHENS ………..2925*
17.(16) Kirilenko ……… 2620
18.(18) LISICKI ……….. 2615
19.(20) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2375
20.(19) CIBULKOVA ……… 2281
21.(21) CIRSTEA ……….. 2250
22.(22) Petrova ……….. 2212
23.(24) VESNINA ……….. 2127*
24.(23) HALEP …………. 2100*
25.(26) MAKAROVA ………..1935*
26.(25) Hampton ……….. 1881
27.(27) Kanepi ………….1781
28.(28) Cornet ………….1730
29.(29) Kuznetsova ………1679
30.(31) Rybarikova ………1575
DRAWS
New Haven — Week of August 19
……………..QF
1 Errani………Makarova
5 Vinci……….Halep
4 Wozniacki……(4)Wozniacki
6 Stephens (WC)..(6)Stephens(WC)
7 Lisicki……..Pavlyuchenkova
3 Kvitova……..(3)Kvitova
8 Cibulkova……Zakopalova
2 Kerber………Vesnina
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 Errani……….lost 2R (Makarova)
2 Kerber……….lost 2R (Vesnina)
3 Kvitova
4 Wozniacki
5 Vinci………..lost 1R (Suarez Navarro)
6 Stephens (WC)
7 Lisicki………lost 2R (Pavlyuchenkova)
8 Cibulkova…….lost 1R (Knapp)
SCORES
WEDNESDAY
New Haven
Singles – Second Round
Ekaterina Makarova def. (1) Sara Errani 7-5 6-1
(3) Petra Kvitova def. (Q) Alison Riske 7-6(7-5) 4-6 6-3
(4) Caroline Wozniacki def. Karin Knapp (Q) 6-1 7-5
(6) Sloane Stephens (WC) def. Julia Goerges (WC) 7-5 2-6 6-1
Simona Halep def. Carla Suarez Navarro 3-6 6-4 6-1
Doubles – Quarterfinal
(2) Medina Garrigues/Srebotnik def. Hradecka/Zakopalova 7-5 6-2
Soler Espinosa/Suarez Navarro def. Aoyama/Klepac 7-6(7-4) 7-6(7-0)
****
TODAY’S MEN’S NEWS
Winston-Salem
Singles – Third Round: (9) J Melzer def. (5) B Paire 6-4 6-3
The high seeds just don’t seem to want to be here. Benoit Paire became the fourth of the Top Five to go out. It costs him what would have been a good Top 25 chance.
Singles – Third Round: (6) S Querrey def. (11) J Nieminen 4-6 7-6(7-4) 7-6(12-10)
At least Sam Querrey seems to want to be here. Presumably he noticed that he needs one more win to stay Top Thirty.
Singles – Third Round: (7) (WC) F Verdasco def. R Haase 6-4 6-7(8-10) 6-3
This took two and a quarter hours; Fernando Verdasco is definitely getting his exercise. And the points have started to count, although not enough to budge his ranking. And he is one of the players here with the most experience in late rounds, even if he prefers clay.
Singles – Third Round: (10) A Dolgopolov def. (8) J Monaco 4-6 6-3 6-3
There is still a chance that Juan Monaco will return to the Top Thirty, but this costs him his chance to guarantee it. Sam Querrey needs one more win to stay ahead of him; Jurgen Melzer needs two to pass him.
Singles – Third Round: (13) D Tursunov def. A Bogomolov Jr. 6-3 7-5
A substantial opportunity for Dmitry Tursunov. He hasn’t really moved yet, but he faces Jurgen Melzer next, and based on current form, Melzer is overdue to mess up disastrously.
Singles – Third Round: R Berankis def. R Bautista Agut 6-3 6-3
Officially a pretty big upset, but the surface doubtless played a substantial role.
Singles – Third Round: Y Lu def. (Q) S Johnson 6-3 6-2
This easy loss by Steve Johnson — it took just more than an hour — makes you wonder how he beat Andreas Seppi. But he did beat him, so he’ll at least have a memory of a Top 25 win.
Singles – Third Round: (15) G Monfils def. (4) T Robredo 7-6(7-2) 4-6 6-2
If this place pays appearance fees, they may need to rethink their budget. This was the last of the day’s singles matches (which is why we list it down here), and it cost us the last of the Top Five seeds. We have no Top 25 players left — and no clue who will win this thing!
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Butorac/Nielsen def. (3) Marrero/Verdasco 7-6(7-5) 6-3
Marrero/Verdasco haven’t played much lately, so this is a real blow to their London hopes.
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Huey/Inglot def. Cermak/Polasek 6-1 7-6(7-5)
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Begemann/Emmrich def. S Gonzalez/Lipsky 6-4 6-4
TODAY’S FEATURE
This Week’s Movers — Men
Each week, Daily Tennis will look at the biggest movers of the week, looking at how they did what they did.
Biggest Upward Mover — Most Places Moved (Top 100)
Leader: TIE —
David Goffin — Moved 14 places, from #80 to #66.
Pablo Carreno Busta — Moved 14 places, from #90 to #76.
Carreno Busta won the €42K Cordenons Challenger. Goffin made the Cincinnati Round of Sixteen as a qualifier.
Biggest Percentage Mover — Cut Ranking By Highest Percent (Top 100)
Leader: John Isner — Moved 8 places, 36%, from #22 to #14
Isner made the Cincinnati final, matching the best result of his career.
Runner-Up: Rafael Nadal — Moved 1 place, 33%, from #3 to #2
Nadal won Cincinnati, giving him back-to-back hardcourt Masters for the first time in his career.
Biggest Loser — Most Places Lost (Top 100)
Loser: Viktor Troicki — Dropped 11 places, from #61 to #72
He’s suspended; what do you expect?
Biggest Percentage Loser — Worst Percentage Increase in Ranking (Top 100)
Loser: Andy Murray, ranking increased 50%, from #2 to #3
Nadal’s gain is Murray’s loss.
Ranking Notes
Amazingly, only three players gained as much as 20% last week: Isner (36%), Nadal (33%), and Dmitry Tursunov (20%, to #35 — enough to earn him a U. S. Open seed). Richard Gasquet was fourth (rose 18%, to #9), with Goffin fifth (17%). Tomas Berdych was next; he rose 17%.
Berdych of course rose because Roger Federer fell — 40%, to #7, his lowest ranking in more than a decade. That’s almost as bad as Murray’s decline. The only others to fall as much as 20% were Bernard Tomic (down 24%, to #52) and Jeremy Chardy (down 20%, to #36).
Our Personal Picks for “Best Mover of the Week”
These are subjective picks!
Although John Isner had a slightly bigger move, Rafael Nadal won Cincinnati the week after winning the Canadian Open. That is so rare a combination — not even the Bryans managed it in doubles! — that we’ll give the award to Nadal.
THIS WEEK IN TENNIS
THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Winston-Salem (250/Hard). Defending Champion: John Isner
NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
U. S. Open (Slam/Hard). Defending Champion: Andy Murray
STATS AND FACTS
RANKINGS
Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings
As of August 21, 2013
Rank &
Prior…Player………..Points
1..(1) Djokovic……….10980
2..(3) Nadal…………..8860
3..(2) Murray………….8700
4..(4) Ferrer………….7210
5..(6) Berdych…………5135
6..(7) Del Potro……….4740
7..(5) Federer…………4695
8..(8) Tsonga………….3470
9.(11) Gasquet…………2625
10..(9) Wawrinka………..2610
11.(10) Raonic………….2555
12.(12) Nishikori……….2405
13.(13) Haas……………2185
13.(22) Isner…………..2185
15.(14) Janowicz………..2126
16.(15) Almagro…………2110
17.(17) Simon…………..2040
18.(16) Fognini…………2015
19.(18) Cilic…………..1805
20.(19) Anderson………..1740
21.(20) Tipsarevic………1685
22.(23) Robredo…………1620
23.(21) Seppi…………..1550
24.(25) Youzhny…………1475
25.(26) Kohlschreiber……1445
26.(27) Lopez…………..1435
27.(24) Paire…………..1415
28.(29) Dimitrov………..1375
29.(28) Querrey…………1310
30.(31) Verdasco………..1270
DRAWS
Winston Salem — Week of August 19
……………….3R……………QF
1 Berdych (WC)…..Berankis………Berankis
14 Klizan……….bautista Agut
11 Nieminen……..(11)Nieminen
6 Querrey……….(6)Querrey……..Querrey
3 Isner…………Bogomolov
13 Tursunov……..(13)Tursunov……Tursunov
9 Melzer………..(9)Melzer………Melzer
5 Paire…………(5)Paire
7 Verdasco (WC)…(7)Verdasco(WC)….Verdasco
12 Rosol……….Haase
15 Monfils……..(15)Monfils……..Monfils
4 Robredo………(4)Robredo
8 Monaco……….(8)Monaco
10 Dolgopolov…..(10)Dolgopolov…..Dolgopolov
16 Andujar……..Lu……………..Lu
2 Seppi………..Johnson(Q)
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 Berdych (WC)…….WITHDREW
2 Seppi…………..lost 2R (Johnson)
3 Isner…………..WITHDREW
4 Robredo…………lost 3R (Monfils)
5 Paire…………..lost 3R (Melzer)
6 Querrey
7 Verdasco (WC)
8 Monaco…………..lost 3R (Dolgopolov)
9 Melzer
10 Dolgopolov
11 Nieminen……….lost 3R (Querrey)
12 Rosol………….lost 2R (Haase)
13 Tursunov
14 Klizan…………lost 2R (Bautista Agut)
15 Monfils
16 Andujar………..lost 2R (Lu)
SCORES
WEDNESDAY
Winston-Salem
Singles – Third Round
(15) G Monfils def. (4) T Robredo 7-6(7-2) 4-6 6-2
(9) J Melzer def. (5) B Paire 6-4 6-3
(6) S Querrey def. (11) J Nieminen 4-6 7-6(7-4) 7-6(12-10)
(7) (WC) F Verdasco def. R Haase 6-4 6-7(8-10) 6-3
(10) A Dolgopolov def. (8) J Monaco 4-6 6-3 6-3
(13) D Tursunov def. A Bogomolov Jr. 6-3 7-5
R Berankis def. R Bautista Agut 6-3 6-3
Y Lu def. (Q) S Johnson 6-3 6-2
Doubles – Quarterfinal
Butorac/Nielsen def. (3) Marrero/Verdasco 7-6(7-5) 6-3
Huey/Inglot def. Cermak/Polasek 6-1 7-6(7-5)
Begemann/Emmrich def. S Gonzalez/Lipsky 6-4 6-4