WTA / Tokyo Tidbits

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 20th September 2013

WTA / Tokyo Tidbits

epa03845120 Simona Halep of Romania hits a return to Maria Kirilenko of Russia during their match on the sixth day of the 2013 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2013. The US Open runs through Monday 09 September, a 15-day schedule for the first time. EPA/PETER FOLEY |

Women’s Look Forward: Pan Pacific

For a Premier Five, Tokyo is really suffering a lot of defections.

Maybe it’s just that it’s the end of the year. Maybe it’s because it’s the Asian swing. Whatever it is, top players are dropping like flies. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are out. Li Na isn’t playing. Defending champion Nadia Petrova is missing. Sabine Lisicki just announced her withdrawal. Maria Kirilenko isn’t here. That gives us the unusual sight of players ranked below #20 seeded at a High Premier event.

In this field, #1 seed Victoria Azarenka is the obvious favorite — especially since #2 Agnieszka Radwanska has been tiring herself out in Seoul. In the absence of any other Top Five players, Sara Errani has the #3 seed, with Caroline Wozniacki #4. (In other words, we’re missing four of the top eight — although one of them, Marion Bartoli, is retired.) Angelique Kerber is #5, with Jelena Jankovic #6; she is the last Top Ten player. #7 Petra Kvitova and #8 Roberta Vinci have the last two byes.

Sloane Stephens is #9, her best-ever seeding in a high premier event, with Carla Suarez Navarro #10, Ana Ivanovic #11, Samantha Stosur #12, Simona Halep #13, and Kirsten Flipkens #14. That gives us fourteen of the Top Twenty; #15 Sorana Cirstea and #16 Dominika Cibulkova are below that mark. (Ekaterina Makarova, who would have been seeded ahead of Cibulkova, is also absent.)

Below that, things are actually pretty strong. It’s just the top players who are missing. Azarenka will have to open against Mona Barthel or Venus Williams. Halep starts against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has done well in Seoul, then Elena Vesnina (the top unseeded player) or Andrea Petkovic. Stephens has a relatively soft draw, but Jankovic will likely open against Laura Robson, while Errani will probably have to start against Svetlana Kuznetsova. Suarez Navarro opens against Madison Keys, then probably Peng Shuai. Lucie Safarova is in Vinci’s part of the draw; Stosur opens against Alize Cornet. Wozniacki’s draw is full of veterans; she’ll open against Flavia Pennetta or Daniela Hantuchova. And Agnieszka Radwanska will likely start against Francesca Schiavone. She might face sister Urszula after that.

The Rankings

It’s obviously a bad week for Nadia Petrova to miss, since she was last year’s champion. Agnieszka Radwanska was the finalist; Angelique Kerber and Samantha Stosur were the semifinalists. Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Sara Errani, and Maria Sharapova made the quarterfinal.

It’s not going to matter at the top. Serena Williams has an insurmountable lead. It will be about a 2000 point gap even if Victoria Azarenka wins Tokyo. Agnieszka Radwanska should stay #4, although her lead over Li Na could fall enough that she’ll be in danger in Beijing. Li will keep the #5 spot. Errani is safe at #6. Marion Bartoli could lose #7. but so what? The interest starts at #8, especially since #8 Wozniacki and #9 Kerber have points to defend. Kvitova, Vinci, and Stephens all have good Top Ten chances — maybe better than Kerber’s; the German will surely be out if she loses early.

Because there is a big gap between #13 Stephens and #14 Suarez Navarro, those thirteen are sure to stay Top Fifteen. But Lisicki is in real danger of falling out. Stosur could fall to around #20.

Nadia Petrova is already below #25 — meaning she would have been unseeded here even had she been able to play. It appears she will be falling out of the Top Fifty.

KEYWORDS: Preview Pan Pacific

Topics: 10sballs, Li Na, Maria Kirilenko, Maria Sharapova, Nadia Petrova, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis, Tokyo, Wta