Women’s Tennis Results And Quotes
Women's Tennis Results And Quotes
APIA INTERNATIONAL SYDNEY
Sydney, Australia
January 5-10, 2014
$710,000/Premier
Hard/Outdoors
Results – Friday, January 10, 2014
Singles – Final
(Q) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) d. (5) Angelique Kerber (GER) 64 64
Doubles – Final
Babos/Safarova (HUN/CZE) d. (1) Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) 75 36 107 (Match TB)
Final Facts
– Pironkova wins the first WTA title of her career in her maiden final.
– Pironkova’s previous best performances were semifinal runs at Wimbledon (2010), Palermo (2005), Istanbul (2005 and 2008), Stockholm (2006 and 2007) and Sofia (2012).
– Pironkova becomes the first qualifier to win a Premier-level title since Makarova triumphed in Eastbourne in June, 2010.
– Pironkova now leads her head-to-head with Kerber 2-1.
– Pironkova defeated three Top 10 players (Kerber, Kvitova and Errani) en route to the title; her record against Top 10 players now stands at 11-22.
– Kerber falls to 3-6 in WTA finals, and 3-4 in hardcourt finals.
– Babos and Safarova win their first WTA doubles title together in their first tournament as a team; Babos now has six WTA doubles titles to her name, while Safarova has three.
Final Quotes
Pironkova: “I was nervous but tried my hardest not to show it. I was trying to concentrate so hard that I only saw the ball – I was only watching the ball. I was like, ‘Okay, just watch the ball and follow every point.’ When I think about what I’ve been through, not only last season but throughout my career, it hasn’t been easy for me. Winning a WTA title is something I’ve been waiting for so long and something that I’ve missed so much. Now that I finally have it, it’s all surreal. I still cannot believe it, honestly.”
Kerber: “It was a very tough match and she was playing unbelievably well and she deserved to win the match and the tournament. I was just trying to play my game and find my rhythm – I gave everything but she was too good. I can take lots of positives from the past two weeks and had lots of good matches before Melbourne, which was my goal.”
****
HOBART INTERNATIONAL
Hobart, Australia
January 5-11, 2014
$250,000/International
Hard/Outdoors
Results – Friday, January 10, 2014
Singles – Semifinals
(7) Klara Zakopalova (CZE) d. (1) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 63 62
(Q) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) d. (Q) Estrella Cabeza Candela (ESP) 60 61
Doubles – Semifinals
(2) Raymond/Zhang (USA/CHN) d. Arruabarrena/Soler-Espinosa (ESP/ESP) 57 64 103 (Match TB)
Niculescu/Zakopalova (ROU/CZE) d. (4) Chan/Husarova (TPE/SVK) 64 62
Order Of Play – Saturday, January 11, 2014
Centre Court (from 12.00hrs)
1. Singles Final: Klara Zakopalova vs. Garbiñe Muguruza
2. Doubles Final: Niculescu/Zakopalova vs. Raymond/Zhang (after suitable rest)
****
****** TODAY’S WOMEN’S NEWS ******
Sydney
Singles – Final: (Q) Tsvetana Pironkova def. (5) Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-4
For once, Tsvetana Pironkova didn’t jinx herself. When she reached her first final, she talked about hoping for her first title — and she managed to win it. It wasn’t exactly easy; indeed, one of her stats — 3 of 22 points won on second serve — is frankly scary. She was broken four times. But she managed to fashion 21 break points against Angelique Kerber, and although she managed to convert only six, it was enough to earn her her maiden trophy — and at a Premier event, even. And as a qualifier. That’s almost 500 points — close to the 611 she came in with! We can be pretty sure who will be this week’s biggest Mover — Pironkova will rise almost exactly 50 places. (And if the WTA still had quality points, it would have been even more — she beat three Top Ten players in Kerber, Errani, and Kvitova.)
Angelique Kerber had big chances in this match, including the chance to rise to #8 in the rankings. Instead, she is left still looking for her first Premier title since Paris 2012; she will remain at #9.
Doubles – Final: Babos/Safarova def. (1) Errani/Vinci 7-5 3-6 10-7
Timea Babos is a pretty good doubles player — she five titles other than this one in the last year and a half. And Lucie Safarova won Madrid last year with Pavlyuchenkova. Still, all of Babos’s titles had been Internationals. And Babos/Safarova were up against the world’s top team. This seems like a very bad omen for the Italians. Errani/Vinci won last year’s Australian Open, and their lead in the rankings is getting very thin. It looks more and more as if we will have a new #1 team in two weeks….
Hobart
Singles – Semifinal: (7) Klara Zakopalova def. (1) Samantha Stosur 6-3 6-2
Just when Samantha Stosur seemed to be getting somewhere — she turned back into Samantha Stosur. Which is particularly disturbing since she has to face Klara Zakopalova again in the first round of the Australian Open. Can Stosur get her head together? Whether she can or not, she loses her chance to rise above #17. Klara Zakopalova is up to #32, and will stay stuck there even if she wins the title, but she has her chance for her first title since 2005!
Singles – Semifinal: Garbine Muguruza def. Estrella Cabeza Candela 6-0 6-1
Estrella Cabeza Candela finally comes back to earth, but she lasted long enough to reach the Top Hundred. Garbine Muguruza finally hits the Top Fifty — we show her at #48 — and will be #38 if she wins her first title.
Doubles – Semifinal: (2) Raymond/Zhang def. Arruabarrena/Soler-Espinosa 5-7 6-4 10-3
A nice little comeback for Lisa Raymond — she is in her first final since Miami 2013, and will be going for her first title since New Haven 2012!
Doubles – Semifinal: Niculescu/Zakopalova def. (4) Y Chan/Husarova 6-4 6-2
It’s going to be a long Saturday for Klara Zakopalova, but it’s hard to believe she will complain.
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
Women’s Look Forward: Australian Open
If you’re like a lot of people, the biggest thing you remember about last year’s Australian Open is that Serena Williams didn’t win it, because she lost in the quarterfinal to Sloane Stephens. Instead, the title went to Victoria Azarenka — meaning that this week not only gives Serena a chance to add to her Slam haul, it also gives her a big chance to extend her lead in the rankings.
The Big Upset won’t happen again; Serena and Stephens are in opposite halves of the draw. And Serena ended up with a pretty good draw — #4 Li Na is in her half, but her potential quarterfinal opponent is #7 seed Sara Errani (or #12 Roberta Vinci, or #18 Kirsten Flipkens, or #30 Eugenie Bouchard). In the fourth round, Serena takes on #14 Ana Ivanovic, or #17 Samantha Stosur, or maybe (based on current form) Tsvetana Pironkova. The first seed Serena would face would be #31 Daniela Hantuchova. And her first rounds are easy — no chance of facing a Top Fifty player. It’s a draw she should be able to handle in her sleep.
Azarenka’s is a lot tougher. She should be able to handle her first two rounds, and her first seeded opponent, #27 Jamie Hampton, is having physical problems. But the comes #13 Stephens or #19 Svetlana Kuznetsova, and then #5 Agnieszka Radwanska or #10 Caroline Wozniacki or #24 Kaia Kanepi, then #3 Maria Sharapova. Azarenka had better not take anything for granted.
#3 Sharapova has to start against upset artist Bethanie Mattek-Sands (who is hurting, however). Her first seeded opponent is #25 Alize Cornet, then #16 Carla Suarez Navarro or #20 Dominika Cibulkova. Then comes #8 Jelena Jankovic or #11 Simona Halep. That doesn’t seem like too bad a draw.
#4 Li Na has two easy rounds, then #25 Lucie Safarova, then #15 Sabine Lisicki (who is hurting but good at upsets) or #22 Ekaterina Makarova (even better at upsets), then #6 Petra Kvitova or #9 Angelique Kerber. It is not a draw conducive to defending finalist points….
#5 Radwanska has been hurting a little, but it doesn’t seem likely it will affect her in the first three rounds; the first seed she would face is #29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. But then comes #10 Caroline Wozniacki, or #24 Kaia Kanepi (always much, much better than her seeding, because she is injured so much), or maybe Garbine Muguruza, who has been playing very well. Then comes Azarenka.
#6 Petra Kvitova’s draw has several big obstacles in it. Starting with the obstacle that she always faces: Herself. But her opponents could give her tough matches, too. She opens against promising Luksika Kumkhum. Then comes Mona Barthel, who just missed seeding, or Zhang Shuai, who had a great second half last year. Then #28 Flavia Pennetta, then #9 Angelique Kerber or #23 Elena Vesnina or possibly Yanina Wickmayer, then Li. That really does look like the toughest draw of any of the high seeds.
#7 Sara Errani has a much better draw, but she is perhaps the high seed least likely to succeed on the fast-playing courts they’re using this year. Her draw is full of players with a lot of talent and a lot of disappointments in their history — e.g. she opens against Julia Goerges. The first seed she would face is #30 Eugenie Bouchard. Then things really get interesting, because she would next face her doubles partner, #12 Roberta Vinci, or #18 Kirsten Flipkens — if either of them makes it through. Because that Vinci/Flipkens section has probably the greatest selection of unseeded talent in the entire draw. Flipkens has to open against Laura Robson, then might have to face Vera Zvonareva, who will be playing only the second event of her comeback but who is, after all, Vera Zvonareva. Vinci will have to start against Zheng Jie, then likely will face Madison Keys, who just missed seeding. Then comes Serena. Suffice it to say we wouldn’t want to bet on Errani winning Melbourne.
#8 Jelena Jankovic starts with two easy rounds, but the third round could be tough; the seed is #32 Magdalena Rybarikova, but Peng Shuai and Andrea Petkovic are also in that section. Then, if the draw holds, #11 Simona Halep, who is looking to reach the Top Ten, or #21 Sorana Cirstea, or Jankovic’s countrywoman Bojana Jovanovski, who didn’t miss seeding by much. Then comes Sharapova.
If we look for unseeded players with interesting prospects, the obvious one is Zvonareva, who opens against Casey Dellacqua for the right to face Flipkens. Venus Williams is in line to face Makarova in the first round. Struggling Elena Vesnina starts against Alison Riske. The Petkovic/Rybarikova match is surely promising. #20 Dominika Cibulkova has to start against Francesca Schiavone. #24 Kaia Kanepi versus Garbine Muguruza features two players who are better than their rankings. Samantha Stosur faces an immediate rematch with Klara Zakopalova, and then might face Tsvetana Pironkova. And #19 Svetlana Kuznetsova just might be threatened by Elina Svitolina, who had a good second half last year.
The Rankings
Serena Williams much be chortling. She has 500 points to defend, from the 2013 Melbourne quarterfinal. The next three players down the rankings all have more on the line: Victoria Azarenka won the title, Li Na was the finalist, and Maria Sharapova was one semifinalist; Sloane Stephens, who beat Serena, was of course the other. In addition to Serena, the quarterfinalists were Agnieszka Radwanska, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Ekaterina Makarova.
As for the other Top Ten players, Kvitova lost in the second round, Errani lost her opener, Jankovic made the third round, and Kerber and Wozniacki lost in the fourth round. Simona Halep, who is knocking on the door of the Top Ten, lost her opener.
That still leaves Azarenka #2 in safe points, but she is 6500 point behind Serena, 12770 to 6161. Read that again: Serena, in safe points, has more than twice the total of her nearest competitor. Her post-Australian margin may not be quite that big, but she is sure to stay #1. Azarenka isn’t even safe at #2; her lead on #3 Maria Sharapova in only about a thousand points, with Agnieszka Radwanska 200 points behind that. Petra Kvitova, not Li Na, is #5 in safe points, not quite 250 points behind Radwanska; Li is another 150 points back, and Sara Errani is about 150 behind that. That means that anyone from Sharapova down to Errani could theoretically make it to #2 — although, under the new points table, it’s very hard; Sharapova or Radwanska would need a final to catch up with Azarenka (and that’s if Azarenka loses fairly early), and the others need a title. The fight for #3 is, however, very stiff, with Sharapova, Radwanska, Kvitova, and Li all serious competitors. (Errani is also a serious competitor in terms of points, but hardly in terms of hardcourt results.)
In practical terms, it is certain that Serena, Azarenka, Sharapova, Radwanska, Kvitova, Li, Errani, and Jankovic will be Top Ten after this, and Kerber is almost as secure. But the last Top Ten spot is wide open. Simona Halep has a hundred point lead on current #10 Caroline Wozniacki in the contest; Roberta Vinci is not quite 250 points behind Wozniacki; Sabine Lisicki is a hundred points behind that.
Sloane Stephens is a mere #19 in safe points, and could lose her Top Twenty spot. Svetlana Kuznetsova is below the Top 25 in safe points.
Errani/Vinci remain #1 in doubles, but as the defending champions, they are in grave danger, with Hsieh/Peng being the leading contenders to pass them.
KEYWORDS: Preview Australian Open Women
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
Sydney (Premier 700/Hard). Defending Champion: Agnieszka Radwanska
Hobart (International/Hard). Defending Champion: Elena Vesnina
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
Australian Open (Slam/Hard). Defending Champion: Victoria Azarenka
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
Rankings
Estimated WTA Rankings As of January 10, 2014
Rank &
Prior
Rank …Name …………. Points
1..(1) SWilliams ……… 13260
2..(2) Azarenka ………..8151
3..(3) Sharapova ……… 6076
4..(4) Li ……………..5970
5..(5) ARADWANSKA ………5470
6..(6) KVITOVA ……….. 4835
7..(7) ERRANI ………….4435
8..(8) JANKOVIC ………..4230
9..(9) KERBER ………….4070
10.(10) WOZNIACKI ……… 3520
11.(11) HALEP …………. 3335
12.(12) VINCI …………. 3170
13.(13) Stephens ………..3075
14.(14) Ivanovic ………..3010
15.(15) Lisicki ……….. 2915
16.(16) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2775
17.(17) STOSUR ………….2675
18.(18) Kirilenko ……… 2605
19.(19) FLIPKENS ………..2465
20.(20) KUZNETSOVA ………2202
21.(22) CIRSTEA ……….. 2170
22.(23) MAKAROVA ………..2061
23.(25) KANEPI ………….1922
24.(21) CIBULKOVA ……… 1856
25.(26) CORNET ………….1840
26.(27) SAFAROVA ………..1775
27.(28) Hampton ……….. 1761
28.(24) VESNINA ……….. 1745
29.(29) Pennetta ………..1735
30.(30) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..1715
Draws
Sydney (Premier)
WINNER: Tsvetana Pironkova
…………….QF…………….SF………F
1 A. Radwanska..Mattek-Sands(Q)
7 Halep………Keys…………..Keys
4 Jankovic……Suarez Navarro
5 Kerber……..(5)Kerber………Kerber…..Kerber
[Lepchenko(LL)].Pironkova(Q)……Pironkova..Pironkova
3 Errani……..(3)Errani
6 Wozniacki…..Safarova
2 Kvitova…….(2)Kvitova……..Kvitova
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 A. Radwanska…lost 2R (Mattek-Sands)
2 Kvitova……..lost SF (Pironkova)
3 Errani………lost QF (Pironkova)
4 Jankovic…….lost 1R (Makarova)
5 Kerber………lost F (Pironkova)
6 Wozniacki……lost 2R (Safarova)
7 Halep……….lost 1R (Keys)
8 Stephens…….WITHDREW
Hobart (International)
………………QF……………..SF
1 Stosur……….(1)Stosur……….Stosur
8 Jovanovski……(8)Jovanovski
4 Pavlyuchenkova..Riske
7 Zakopalova……(7)Zakopalova……Zakopalova…..Zakopalova
6 Barthel………Niculescu
3 Vesnina………Cabeza Candela(Q)..Cabeza Candela
[Mestach(LL)]…..Muguruza(Q)……..Muguruza……..Muguruza
2 Flipkens……..(2)Flipkens
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 Stosur…………lost SF (Zakopalova)
2 Flipkens……….lost SF (Muguruza)
3 Vesnina………..lost 2R (Cabeza Candela)
4 Pavlyuchenkova….lost 1R (Riske)
5 Pennetta……….WITHDREW (replaced by Mestach)
6 Barthel………..lost 2R (Niculescu)
7 Zakopalova
8 Jovanovski……..lost QF (Stosur)
Australian Open (Slam — Weeks of January 13-26)
1 S Williams
Barty (WC)
Dolonc
Arruabarrena
Parmentier (WC)
Ka. Pliskova
Qualifier
31 Hantuchova
17 Stosur
Zakopalova
Pironkova
Soler-Espinosa
Beck
Martic
Bertens
14 Ivanovic
12 Vinci
Zheng
Mayr-Achleitner
Keys
Dellacqua (WC)
Zvonareva
Robson
18 Flipkens
30 Bouchard
Tang (WC)
Van Uytvanck
Razzano
Vickery (WC)
Davis
Goerges
7 Errani
4 Li
Qualifier
Qualifier
Date-Krumm
Vekic
Qualifier
Glushko
26 Safarova
22 Makarova
V Williams
Medina Garrigues
Qualifier
Peer
Niculescu
Lucic-Baroni
15 Lisicki
9 Kerber
Gajdosova (WC)
Garcia
Qualifier
Pfizenmaier
Wickmayer
Riske
23 Vesnina
28 Pennetta
Cadantu
Puig
Qualifier
Zhang
Barthel
Kumkhum
6 Kvitova
8 Jankovic
Doi
N Kichenok
Morita
Nara
Peng
Petkovic
32 Rybarikova
21 Cirstea
Erakovic
Qualifier
Jovanovski
Tsurenko
Lepchenko
Qualifier
11 Halep
16 Suarez Navarro
King
Voskoboeva
Qualifier
Mladenovic
Voegele
Schiavone
20 Cibulkova
25 Cornet
Hercog
Giorgi
Sanders (WC)
Ormaechea
Knapp
Mattek-Sands
3 Sharapova
5 A Radwanska
Putintseva
Govortsova
Qualifier
Qualifier
Minella
Pereira
29 Pavlyuchenkova
24 Kanepi
Muguruza
Babos
Schmiedlova
Mchale
Y Chan
Dominguez Lino
10 Wozniacki
13 Stephens
Shvedova
Majeric
Tomljanovic
Rogowska (WC)
Duque-Marino
Svitolina
19 Kuznetsova
27 Hampton
Cepelova
Scheepers
Meusburger
Hsieh
Zahlavova Strycova
Larsson
2 Azarenka
******** SCORES ********
FRIDAY
Sydney
Singles – Final
Tsvetana Pironkova def. (5) Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-4
Doubles – Final
Babos/Safarova def. (1) Errani/Vinci 7-5 3-6 10-7
Hobart
ingles – Semifinal
(7) Klara Zakopalova def. (1) Samantha Stosur 6-3 6-2
Garbine Muguruza def. Estrella Cabeza Candela 6-0 6-1
Doubles – Semifinal
(2) Raymond/Zhang def. Arruabarrena/Soler-Espinosa 5-7 6-4 10-3
Niculescu/Zakopalova def. (4) Y Chan/Husarova 6-4 6-2
Topics: 10sballs, Angelique Kerber, Lucie Safarova, Roberta Vinci, Samantha Stosur, Sara Errani, Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Tsvetana Pironkova, Wta
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