****** TODAY’S WOMEN’S NEWS ******
Florianopolis
Singles – Final: (3) Klara Zakopalova def. (2) Garbine Muguruza 4-6 7-5 6-0
It wasn’t exactly an exciting ending. These two were dead even through two sets — not just in games but also in points. And then Garbine Muguruza had her breakdown. She won only eight points in the third set. And so… no second title of 2014. And no Top Thirty ranking. It appears she’ll be #32.
But what a wonderful outcome for Klara Zakopalova. After twelve lost finals in a row, and a decade of trying to break that streak, she finally earns career title #3. She is up to #29. It’s not a career high, but it has been a long time since tennis has felt so good for her….
Acapulco
Singles – Final: (1) Dominika Cibulkova def. Christina McHale 7-6(7-3) 4-6 6-4
If Dominika Cibulkova has a favorite animal, it has to be the chameleon. When she first came up, her speed made her a clay player. Then she turned into an indoor hardcourt player. This year, she’s an outdoor hardcourt player, with the Australian Open final on her record and now this. If she could just manage to get all her surfaces working at once, who knows where she would be?
As it is, she is headed for a career-high #11. It’s a long, long way to the Top Ten, but Sara Errani is fading fast. Maybe Cibulkova can overtake Errani to become the WTA’s top speedster….
Christina McHale failed to win the title, but just reaching the final should take her back to probably #55. After a year of really struggling, this seems to be evidence that she still has a comeback in her.
Doubles – Final: (2) Mladenovic/Voskoboeva def. Cetkovska/Melzer 6-3 2-6 10-5
Cetkovska/Melzer briefly led in the match tiebreak, but then withered away completely. Maybe Iveta Melzer has just been away too long. The amazing thing, really, is that she managed to reach the final in the very first event of her comeback.
And she did lose to a pretty good team. It’s already doubles title #9 for Kristina Mladenovic — pretty impressive for someone who is still only twenty years old. It’s title #5 of Galina Voskoboeva’s career.
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
Indian Wells Defending Champion: Maria Sharapova
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
Rankings
Estimated WTA Rankings As of March 1, 2014
Rank &
Prior
Rank Name Points
1 (1) SWilliams 12660
2 (2) Li 6795
3 (3) ARadwanska 5705
4 (4) Azarenka 5681
5 (5) Sharapova 5206
6 (6) Kerber 4490
7 (7) Halep 4435
8 (8) Jankovic 4380
9 (9) Kvitova 4365
10 (10) Errani 4040
11 (13) CIBULKOVA 3335*
12 (11) Wozniacki 3185
13 (12) Ivanovic 3155
14 (14) Vinci 2940
15 (16) Lisicki 2650
16 (15) SUAREZ NAVARRO 2635
17 (17) Stosur 2605
18 (18) Stephens 2415
19 (19) BOUCHARD 2379
20 (20) Flipkens 2285
21 (21) Pennetta 2260
22 (22) Pavlyuchenkova 2180
23 (23) Cornet 2160
24 (24) Makarova 2065
25 (25) Kirilenko 2046
26 (26) KANEPI 2035
27 (27) Cirstea 1980
28 (28) Safarova 1820
29 (32) ZAKOPALOVA 1745*
30 (30) Kuznetsova 1598
Draws
Acapulco — week of February 24, 2014
WINNER: Dominika Cibulkova
……………QF……………SF………F
1 Cibulkova….(1)Cibulkova…..Cibulkova..Cibulkova
6 Jovanovski…Erakovic
4 Rybarikova…Tomljanovic
8 Zhang……..(8)Zhang………Zhang
7 Voegele…….McHale……….McHale…..McHale
3 Kanepi……..(3)Kanepi
5 Meusburger….Garcia……….Garcia
2 Bouchard……(2)Bouchard
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 Cibulkova…..WON TOURNAMENT
2 Bouchard……lost QF (Garcia)
3 Kanepi……..lost QF (McHale)
4 Rybarikova….lost 1R (Tomljanovic)
5 Meusburger….lost 1R (Fichman)
6 Jovanovski….lost 2R (Erakovic)
7 Voegele…….lost 1R (Date-Krumm)
8 Zhang………lost SF (Cibulkova)
Florianopolis — week of February 24, 2014
WINNER: Klara Zakopalova
………………QF………………SF…………….F
1 Suarez Navarro..(1)Suarez Navarro…Suarez Navarro
5 Niculescu…….(5)Niculescu
3 Zakopalova……(3)Zakopalova…….Zakopalova……..Zakopalova
7 Torro-Flor……(Q)Dulgheru
6 Cadantu………(6)Cadantu
4 Schiavone…….Shvedova…………Shvedova
8 Ormaechea…….van Uytvanck(Q)
2 Muguruza……..(2)Muguruza………Muguruza……….Muguruza
STATUS OF SEEDS
1 Suarez Navarro…lost SF (Zakopalova)
2 Muguruza………lost F (Zakopalova)
3 Zakopalova…….WON TOURNAMENT
4 Schiavone……..lost 1R (Zahlavova Strycova)
5 Niculescu……..lost QF (Suarez Navarro)
6 Cadantu……….lost QF (Shvedova)
7 Torro-Flor…….lost 1R (Pereira)
8 Ormaechea……..lost 2R (van Uytvanck)
******** SCORES ********
SATURDAY
Florianopolis
Singles – Final
(3) Klara Zakopalova def. (2) Garbine Muguruza 4-6 7-5 6-0
Acapulco
Singles – Final
(1) Dominika Cibulkova def. Christina McHale 7-6(7-3) 4-6 6-4
Doubles – Final
(2) Mladenovic/Voskoboeva def. Cetkovska/Melzer 6-3 2-6 10-5
****
ABIERTO MEXICANO TELCEL
Acapulco, México
February 24-March 1, 2014
$250,000/International
Hard/Outdoors
Results – Saturday, March 1, 2014
Singles – Final
(1) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Christina McHale (USA) 76(3) 46 64
Doubles – Final
(2) Mladenovic/Voskoboeva (FRA/KAZ) d. Cetkovska/Melzer (CZE/CZE) 63 26 105 (Match TB)
Final Facts
– Cibulkova wins her fourth WTA title, her first three coming at Premier-level events (Moscow in 2011, Carlsbad in 2012 and Stanford in 2013); she is now 4-6 lifetime in WTA finals.
– Cibulkova is projected to rise from No.13 to No.11 on the new WTA Rankings, surpassing the previous career-high of No.12 she first set in 2009 and reached again in 2012.
– McHale was playing the first WTA final of her career (she was 0-2 in WTA semifinals before this week).
– Mladenovic and Voskoboeva win their second WTA doubles title together (also Memphis last year); Mladenovic now has eight WTA doubles titles to her name, Voskoboeva five.
– Melzer was playing her first tournament back from an 18-month shoulder injury lay-off (the last tournament she played was the US Open in 2012).
Final Quotes
Cibulkova: “For me this was supposed to be preparation before the big ones, but now it’s one of my favorite tournaments. The resort, the courts and everything – I’m happy they made it to hardcourts. I really fell in love with this tournament.”
McHale: “I think this tournament is one of the nicest on the tour. It’s a great tournament and the fans are amazing – they’re really into it. I think Dominika played really well today – I was just trying to stay with her. But hopefully there will be more finals to come for me.”
Topics: 10sballs, Acapulco, Christina Mchale, Dominika Cibulkova, Garbine Muguruza, Klara Zakopalova, Maria Sharapova, Sports, Tennis, Wta
Acapulco Ladies Results, Cibulkova Beats McHale- http://t.co/ZfiOzQqp9u @Cibulkova @ChristinaMcHale #Acapulco #tennis #WTA #results