USA Loses 2 Matches To Italy, All Fed Cup Results And More
USA Loses 2 Matches To Italy, All Fed Cup Results And More
PRO WOMEN
* Russia way down, likely to soon be out
* Germany takes 2-0 lead on Slovaks
* Only one match completed in Spain due to rain
* Americans lose both matches against Italy
Fed Cup
At least it looks as if the Russians will soon be out of their misery.
As soon as the teams were announced, it was obvious that the Russians would be overmatched by Australia, but the actual contest was more sad than anything else. Casey Dellacqua opened the tie by thrashing Irina Khromacheva 6-0 6-2; Samantha Stosur followed by beating Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 6-0. And the Russians really don’t have anyone better; expect that tie to be over in three.
Is it coincidence that the ITF posted new pictures of most of the Russians overnight, and none of them seem to be smiling?
The tie between Germany and the Slovaks began in a way more reminiscent of two or three years ago than of 2014. Andrea Petkovic, who is still struggling to get back into her Top Fifteen form, opened the tie by beating Slovak #1 Dominika Cibulkova 2-6 7-6 6-2 — although she blew five set points in the second set, and had to save a match point before finally settling down. Then Angelique Kerber looked like the player she was in 2012 as she beat Daniela Hantuchova 7-6 6-1. That puts Germany up 2-0; they look almost as secure as the Australians.
The tie between Spain and the Czech Republic had to wait for it to stop raining in Seville. They got in five games of the first match, then had things suspended again. Carla Suarez Navarro finally beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1 6-4. But it was getting into evening by then. So they will have to play all four remaining matches on Sunday. That’s more bad news for the Czechs (who have already had plenty), since it means Klara Zakopalova will have to play two matches in one day, and one of them against a rested opponent.
It wasn’t a very good day for coaches who had once been smart players but who had to try to come up with a way to win with inadequate teams. It wasn’t just Anastasia Myskina. Mary Joe Fernandez’s decision to play Christina McHale at #2 singles, despite McHale’s slump, was not a success. Karin Knapp put Italy up 1-0 over the United States by beating McHale 6-3 3-6 6-1. It just got worse from there; eternally inconsistent Camila Giorgi took out Fed Cup rookie Madison Keys 6-2 6-1. The Americans are down 0-2, and they really didn’t look good in getting there.
World Group II
The good news for Sweden is, they started their tie against Poland with a win. The bad news is, it didn’t really mean much. Johanna Larsson started the tie by topping Katarzyna Piter 6-1 6-2. But what matters, really, is how Agnieszka Radwanska does. And she did just fine, leveling the tie by beating Sofia Arvidsson 6-1 6-1.
The French decision to play Virginie Razzano instead of one of their higher-ranked youngsters proved a smart move. Razzano easily took care of Swiss #1 Stefanie Voegele 6-2 6-1. On the other hand, the Swiss decision to go with a youngster also proved wise. Belinda Bencic started slowly, but she picked things up to beat France’s #1 Alize Cornet 7-5 6-4, coming back from 2-5 down in the first set to do it. So they’re tied, and now we’ll see how the veteran Razzano does against the teenager….
The tie between Argentina and Japan started with what is likely to be the longest Fed Cup match of the year. Indeed, it would be no great surprise if it proves the longest tour-level match of the year. It took three hours and 39 minutes, but Maria Irigoyen and the clay upset Kurumi Nara 6-7 6-4 6-4. Compared to that, the contest between Paula Ormaechea and Misaki Doi was a walk in the park, but it still took two hours and twelve minutes; Ormaechea won 6-2 3-6 6-2, and Argentina is one win away from advancing. What they do when they have to play a tie away from clay is another matter….
Canada and Serbia both faced interesting questions coming into their meeting. Canada had to decide who to play at #2 singles (behind Eugenie Bouchard). Serbia had to figure out if it had any live bodies. They did — but just barely. In the absence of Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, and Bojana Jovanovski, they ended up with Vesna Dolonc as their #1 player. Canada meanwhile had decided to play veteran Aleksandra Wozniak, who has really struggled in recent years but who is clearly more capable than anyone else they had. And it worked. Wozniak needed two and a half hours, and faced some bad spells, but she beat Dolonc 7-5 2-6 6-4. That turned the tie over to Eugenie Bouchard, which meant that the day was pretty much over; Bouchard beat Jovana Jaksic 6-1 6-0 in less than an hour, and Canada is one win away.
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
Women’s Look Forward: Doha
If you wonder why Victoria Azarenka skipped Fed Cup, look no further than Doha. She is the defending champion — and, now that her Australian Open title is off, her #2 ranking is in grave danger.
But it gets worse for her. She isn’t playing. In fact, this usually-very-strong event is missing the world’s top two. Serena Williams is also out — she has withdrawn from both Doha and Indian Wells, citing the back injury she suffered in Australia. That makes Li Na the #1 seed, with Agnieszka Radwanska #2. They are the only Top Five players; Maria Sharapova is sitting the event out also. But the tournament has just about everyone below that. Petra Kvitova, who has been sick, is #3 and in Li’s half. Sara Errani, who skipped Fed Cup to play here, is #4 and in Radwanska’s. Jelena Jankovic, another Fed Cup absentee, is #5 and in Kvitova’s quarter. Angelique Kerber, who actually played in Fed Cup, is #6 and would face Li in the quarterfinal. Simona Halep is #7 and in Errani’s quarter; Caroline Wozniacki is #8 and in Radwanska’s part of the draw.
In the Round of Sixteen, Li would face #14 Sloane Stephens, Kerber has drawn #9 Ana Ivanovic, Kvitova is up against #16 Kirsten Flipkens, Jankovic is in the same section as #10 Dominika Cibulkova, Halep could take on #11 Roberta Vinci, Errani is up against #15 Eugenie Bouchard, Wozniacki has drawn #12 Samantha Stosur, and Radwanska could face #13 Carla Suarez Navarro.
With every seed being Top Twenty, there are obviously some pretty strong unseeded players. Li starts against Francesca Schiavone or Magdalena Rybarikova. Ivanovic opens against Daniela Hantuchova. Kvitova’s first opponent is likely to be Venus Williams. Flipkens starts against Lucie Safarova (who, however, had some sort of problem in Fed Cup). Halep is likely to face upset artist Kaia Kanepi in round one. Bouchard will have to face tenacious Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Errani will probably open against countrywoman Flavia Pennetta. Wozniacki will likely start against Andrea Petkovic, who just pulled a big upset in Fed Cup. Suarez Navarro opens against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. And Radwanska begins against Sorana Cirstea.
The Rankings
As we mentioned, Victoria Azarenka is this week’s defending champion. She beat Serena Williams in the final; Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Sharapova were semifinalists. Sara Errani, Caroline Wozniacki, Samantha Stosur, and Petra Kvitova were last year’s quarterfinalists. That means that Azarenka will lose the #2 ranking; Li Na is guaranteed to pass her. The only question is, will Radwanska pass her also? It appears a semifinal would do it.
Serena’s top spot is safe despite the loss of points; her lead is huge. And Azarenka is at least sure to stay Top Five. Sharapova isn’t. Kvitova might be able to pass her, although it would take a title. We could see a lot of movement at the low end of the Top Ten, since all the players in that range are in action and are fairly close together. It seems unlikely that we will see a new Top Ten player; Wozniacki and Ivanovic are just barely within reach of #10 Halep, but would surely need a title.
Among the players making the Round of Sixteen last year were Christina McHale, Mona Barthel, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, and Urszula Radwanska. Barthel is in the draw, and Petrova is in the qualifying as she tries to recover from injury, but the others are missing and will be falling noticeably.
If the news in singles is at #2, the news in doubles is at #1, where Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, the current #1 players, are the defending champions. Peng Shuai, Elena Vesnina, and Katarina Srebotnik all have chances at the top spot — although Vesnina and her parter Ekaterina Makarova aren’t in the singles, so they appear to have given up the contest. We don’t yet have the doubles draw, but we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on that.
KEYWORDS: Preview Doha
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
Fed Cup
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
Doha (Premier Five/Hard). Defending Champion: Victoria Azarenka
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
Rankings
Draws
Doha — week of February 10, 2014
1 Li
–bye
Schiavone
Rybarikova
Zhang
Qualifier
Qualifier
14 Stephens
9 Ivanovic
Hantuchova
Svitolina
Zakopalova
Ka. Pliskova
Buyukakcay (WC)
–bye
6 Kerber
3 Kvitova
–bye
V Williams
Qualifier
Peng
Qualifier
Safarova
16 Flipkens
10 Cibulkova
Kleybanova (WC)
Voegele
Cornet
Knapp
Garcia
–bye
5 Jankovic
7 Halep
–bye
Kanepi
Lepchenko
Barthel
Beck
Qualifier
11 Vinci
15 Bouchard
Mattek-Sands
Niculescu
Al Nabhani (WC)
Qualifier
Pennetta
–bye
4 Errani
8 Wozniacki
–bye
Petkovic
Wickmayer
Mladenovic
Cepelova
Erakovic
12 Stosur
13 Suarez Navarro
Pavlyuchenkova
Qualifier
Meusburger
Qualifier
Cirstea
–bye
2 A Radwanska
******** SCORES ********
FED CUP
World Group I
United States hosts Italy (Indoor Hard)
Saturday: Italy leads 2-0
Karin Knapp def. Christina McHale 6-3 3-6 6-1
Camila Giorgi def. Madison Keys 6-2 6-1
Spain hosts Czech Republic (Clay)
Saturday: Spain leads 1-0
Carla Suarez Navarro def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1 6-4
Slovak Republic hosts Germany (Indoor Hard)
Saturday:
Andrea Petkovic def. Dominika Cibulkova 2-6 7-6(9-7) 6-2
Angelique Kerber def. Daniela Hantuchova 7-6(11-9) 6-1
Australia hosts Russia (Hard)
Saturday: Australia leads 2-0
Casey Dellacqua def. Irina Khromacheva 6-0 6-2
Samantha Stosur def. Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 6-0
World Group II
Canada hosts Serbia (Indoor Hard)
Saturday: Canada leads 2-0
Aleksandra Wozniak def. Vesna Dolonc 7-5 2-6 6-4
Eugenie Bouchard def. Jovana Jaksic 6-1 6-0
Sweden hosts Poland (Indoor Hard)
Saturday: Tied 1-1
Johanna Larsson def. Katarzyna Piter 6-1 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Sofia Arvidsson 6-1 6-1
France hosts Switzerland (Indoor Hard)
Saturday: Tied 1-1
Virginie Razzano def. Stefanie Voegele 6-2 6-1
Belinda Bencic def. Alize Cornet 7-5 6-4
Argentina hosts Japan (Clay)
Saturday: Argentina leads 2-0
Maria Irigoyen def. Kurumi Nara 6-7(7-9) 6-4 6-4
Paula Ormaechea def. Misaki Doi 6-2 3-6 6-2
Topics: 10sballs, Agnieszka Radwanska, Alize Cornet, Andrea Petkovic, Angelique Kerber, Casey Dellacqua, Daniela Hantuchova, Dominika Cibulkova, Eugenie Bouchard, Italy, Madison Keys, Samantha Stosur, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, USA
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