INDIAN WELLS LADIES UPDATE

Written by: Staff on 8th March 2014

INDIAN WELLS LADIES UPDATE

epa04114745 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium hits a return against Casey Dellacqua of Australia at the BNP Paribas Open tennis in Indian Wells, California, USA, 07 March 2014. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

* Hantuchova first seed to fall in Indian Wells; Flipkens, Vesnina, Kanepi also out

* Azarenka loses first match of comeback

* Bouchard knocks Peng out of Top Forty

* Halep comes back strong from injury

Indian Wells

Singles – Second Round: (2) Agnieszka Radwanska def. (Q) Heather Watson 6-4 6-3

Heather Watson remains below #100, but this at least looks somewhat promising. As a result of the next match, Agnieszka Radwanska has now clinched the #3 ranking.

Singles – Second Round: Lauren Davis def. (2) Victoria Azarenka 6-0 7-6(7-2)

Not really a big surprise, given how long Victoria Azarenka has been out and the fact that she is still barely able to move (she admitted that she might have come back too soon, and said “Basically all I had was my fighting spirit today”). She will remain #4, but she was defending quarterfinalist points, so she is now a rather weak #4. Lauren Davis ought to rise above #65 as a result of this win.

Singles – Second Round: (6) Simona Halep def. Kurumi Nara 6-2 6-2

Simona Halep was hurting so much a few weeks ago that she was talking as if she couldn’t even play this week, and here she is beating a hot player routinely in just over an hour. An impressive recovery, and one that makes another career high — perhaps in the Top Five — even more likely. Kurumi Nara will be around #45.

Singles – Second Round: (7) Jelena Jankovic def. Yvonne Meusburger 6-3 6-1

If Simona Halep doesn’t reach the Top Five, it will probably be because Jelena Jankovic does. The two remain a mere ten points apart, #5 and #6 in safe points. Yvonne Meusburger will be around #40.

Singles – Second Round: (9) Sara Errani def. (Q) Sharon Fichman 6-1 6-1

That’s the most efficient match Sara Errani has played in a long time — but she remains at #10, with little chance of going higher.

Singles – Second Round: (10) Caroline Wozniacki def. Bojana Jovanovski 6-1 6-3

Despite being broken as she served for the match, this was a fairly impressive win for Caroline Wozniacki; it took only about an hour and a half against a pretty strong opponent. But she is defending finalist points; she will need a lot more than this to stay Top Fifteen. She leaves Bojana Jovanovski still around #40.

Singles – Second Round: (13) Roberta Vinci def. Madison Keys 6-3 6-3

Interesting that both Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, who have struggled all year, seem to have come to life at the same time. This doesn’t help Vinci much (although she is in a part of the draw where all the seeds have fallen out) — but it means that Madison Keys will remain below #35.

Singles – Second Round: (14) Carla Suarez Navarro def. Kristina Mladenovic 6-3 6-3

Carla Suarez Navarro matches her result from last year, and has a very good shot at reaching the Top Fifteen this week.

Singles – Second Round: (18) Eugenie Bouchard def. Peng Shuai 6-2 6-2

Eugenie Bouchard wasn’t defending anything, so there is a good chance that she will hit another career high here. Especially given that she faces Errani next, and Errani has really been off…. Peng Shuai was defending third round points, so she will lose her Top Forty ranking.

Singles – Second Round: (Q) Casey Dellacqua def. (19) Kirsten Flipkens 1-6 6-3 6-1

Casey Dellacqua is off to an amazing start this year, and it has her close to #70. The loss knocks Kirsten Flipkens out of the Top Twenty

Singles – Second Round: (22) Alize Cornet def. Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-3 4-6 6-2

This took almost two and a half hours, on a day when most of the other matches went quickly. (Of the first six matches, this was the only one to last more than an hour and 25 minutes.) And Alize Cornet hasn’t even moved yet, although she has already gone one round deeper this year than last.

Singles – Second Round: (Q) Yaroslava Shvedova def. (24) Kaia Kanepi 6-3 6-2

Quite a surprise — Kaia Kanepi, if she is healthy, rarely loses matches like this. There is still a chance she will make the Top 25, but this means she probably won’t know for several days. Yaroslava Shvedova will rise above #60.

Singles – Second Round: (26) Lucie Safarova def. Yanina Wickmayer 6-3 6-4

Yanina Wickmayer was defending third round points, so this will drop her to not much above #60.

Singles – Second Round: Varvara Lepchenko def. (29) Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-2

Daniela Hantuchova is famously inconsistent, but nowhere more than in Indian Wells. She made the second round last year, so this will leave her still below the Top Thirty. This makes it very likely, although not yet absolutely certain, that Varvara Lepchenko will return to the Top Fifty.

Singles – Second Round: Annika Beck def. (30) Elena Vesnina 6-2 3-6 6-3

Annika Beck is in very good form right now, and with this, she can expect to rise above #45. Elena Vesnina, who made the third round last year, loses another chance to return to the Top Thirty.

Singles – Second Round: (31) Magdalena Rybarikova def. (WC) Shelby Rogers 6-4 6-3

Magdalena Rybarikova matches her result from last year, which ought to keep her Top Forty.

Doubles – First Round: (8) Hradecka/Zheng def. King/Voskoboeva 0-6 6-1 10-8

Doubles – First Round: Kops-Jones/Spears def. Fichman/Moulton-Levy 7-6(7-4) 6-2

None of Friday’s matches directly affected the Top Ten — but this one is indirectly important. Nadia Petrova pulled out of the draw due to her singles problem, with Fichman/Moulton-Levy in instead. That means that Petrova, last year’s finalist, is out of the doubles Top Ten. Which in turn all but guarantees that Sania Mirza is in. We currently show the Top Ten as follows:

1 (1) PENG 8265*

2 (2) HSIEH 8125*

3 (6) ERRANI 7270

3 (6) VINCI 7270

5 (5) SREBOTNIK 7040*

6 (3) VESNINA 6740*

7 (4) MAKAROVA 6640*

8 (9) PESCHKE 5350*

9 (11) MIRZA 5255*

10 (10) HLAVACKOVA 5220

Doubles – First Round: Dushevina/Lucic-Baroni def. (WC) Petkovic/Stephens 6-4 7-6(7-3)

Doubles – First Round: Hantuchova/Parra Santonja def. Husarova/Zvonareva 6-4 4-6 10-2

This is getting to be a disturbing pattern for Vera Zvonareva: She comes very close to winning, then falls apart.

Doubles – First Round: Kleybanova/Pavlyuchenkova def. Soler-Espinosa/Rosolska 7-6(7-5) 6-1

************ STATS AND FACTS ************

Rankings

Estimated WTA Rankings As of March 8, 2014

Rank &

Prior

Rank Name Points

1 (1) SWilliams 12660

2 (2) LI 6795

3 (3) ARADWANSKA 5630*

4 (4) AZARENKA 5441

5 (7) HALEP 4450*

6 (8) JANKOVIC 4440*

7 (5) SHARAPOVA 4216*

8 (9) KVITOVA 4125*

9 (6) KERBER 4050*

10 (10) ERRANI 3830*

11 (11) CIBULKOVA 3265*

12 (13) IVANOVIC 3085*

13 (14) VINCI 2925*

14 (15) LISICKI 2660*

15 (16) SUAREZ NAVARRO 2620*

16 (12) WOZNIACKI 2550*

17 (19) BOUCHARD 2430*

18 (18) STEPHENS 2420*

19 (17) STOSUR 2365*

20 (21) PENNETTA 2265*

21 (20) FLIPKENS 2215

22 (22) PAVLYUCHENKOVA 2185*

23 (23) CORNET 2175*

24 (24) MAKAROVA 2070*

25 (26) KANEPI 2045

26 (27) CIRSTEA 1910*

27 (28) SAFAROVA 1880*

28 (29) ZAKOPALOVA 1615*

29 (25) Kirilenko 1596

30 (31) VWilliams 1577

Draws

Indian Wells — week of March 3, 2014

1 Li

28 Zakopalova

21 Pavlyuchenkova

15 Lisicki

12 Cibulkova

23 Makarova

27 Kuznetsova

8 Kvitova

4 Sharapova

25 Cirstea

20 Pennetta

16 Stosur

11 Ivanovic

17 Stephens

32 Muguruza

5 Kerber

6 Halep…………(6)Halep

26 Safarova……..(26)Safarova

18 Bouchard……..(18)Bouchard

9 Errani………..(9)Errani

13 Vinci………..(13)Vinci

19 Flipkens……..Dellacqua(Q)

29 Hantuchova……Lepchenko

3 Azarenka………Davis

7 Jankovic………(7)Jankovic

31 Rybarikova……(31)Rybarikova

24 Kanepi……….Shvedova

10 Wozniacki…….(10)Wozniacki

14 Suarez Navarro..(14)Suarez Navarro

22 Cornet……….(22)Cornet

30 Vesnina………Beck

2 A Radwanska……(2)A.Radwanska

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Li

2 A Radwanska

3 Azarenka……….lost 2R (Davis)

4 Sharapova

5 Kerber

6 Halep

7 Jankovic

8 Kvitova

9 Errani

10 Wozniacki

11 Ivanovic

12 Cibulkova

13 Vinci

14 Suarez Navarro

15 Lisicki

16 Stosur

17 Stephens

18 Bouchard

19 Flipkens………lost 2R (Dellacqua)

20 Pennetta

21 Pavlyuchenkova

22 Cornet

23 Makarova

24 Kanepi………..lost 2R (Shvedova)

25 Cirstea

26 Safarova

27 Kuznetsova

28 Zakopalova

29 Hantuchova…….lost 2R (Lepchenko)

30 Vesnina……….lost 2R (Beck)

31 Rybarikova

32 Muguruza

******** SCORES ********

FRIDAY

Indian Wells Singles – Second Round (2) Agnieszka Radwanska def. (Q) Heather Watson 6-4 6-3 Lauren Davis def. (2) Victoria Azarenka 6-0 7-6(7-2) (6) Simona Halep def. Kurumi Nara 6-2 6-2 (7) Jelena Jankovic def. Yvonne Meusburger 6-3 6-1 (9) Sara Errani def. (Q) Sharon Fichman 6-1 6-1 (10) Caroline Wozniacki def. Bojana Jovanovski 6-1 6-3 (13) Roberta Vinci def. Madison Keys 6-3 6-3 (14) Carla Suarez Navarro def. Kristina Mladenovic 6-3 6-3 (18) Eugenie Bouchard def. Peng Shuai 6-2 6-2 (Q) Casey Dellacqua def. (19) Kirsten Flipkens 1-6 6-3 6-1 (22) Alize Cornet def. Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-3 4-6 6-2 (Q) Yaroslava Shvedova def. (24) Kaia Kanepi 6-3 6-2 (26) Lucie Safarova def. Yanina Wickmayer 6-3 6-4 Varvara Lepchenko def. (29) Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-2 Annika Beck def. (30) Elena Vesnina 6-2 3-6 6-3 (31) Magdalena Rybarikova def. (WC) Shelby Rogers 6-4 6-3 Doubles – First Round (8) Hradecka/Zheng def. King/Voskoboeva 0-6 6-1 10-8 Kops-Jones/Spears def. Fichman/Moulton-Levy 7-6(7-4) 6-2 Dushevina/Lucic-Baroni def. (WC) Petkovic/Stephens 6-4 7-6(7-3) Hantuchova/Parra Santonja def. Husarova/Zvonareva 6-4 4-6 10-2 Kleybanova/Pavlyuchenkova def. Soler-Espinosa/Rosolska 7-6(7-5) 6-1