Tennis Wrap Ladies / Men’s BNP Paribas

Written by: Staff on 10th March 2014

Tennis Wrap Ladies / Men's BNP Paribas

epa04118154 Novak Djokovic from Serbia in action against Victor Hanescu from Romania at the BNP Paribas Open tennis in Indian Wells, California, USA, 09 March 2014. EPA/MICHAEL NELSON |

Indian Wells

Singles – Third Round: (2) Agnieszka Radwanska def. Annika Beck 6-0 6-0

This was by no means as easy and straightforward as it looks; it took more than an hour, and if we did this right, Agnieszka Radwanska’s first hold of the second set lasted 22 points! Radwanska is assured the #3 ranking; Annika Beck will probably be #43.

Singles – Third Round: (6) Simona Halep def. (26) Lucie Safarova 6-2 4-6 6-4

This was a lot more of a test for Simona Halep than her first match, but she survived…. That takes her a little closer to the Top Five; it leaves still Lucie Safarova below #25.

Singles – Third Round: (7) Jelena Jankovic def. (31) Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3 6-2

Jelena Jankovic stays on Simona Halep’s tail in the contest for the #5 spot; she leaves Magdalena Rybarikova at #36.

Singles – Third Round: (18) Eugenie Bouchard def. (9) Sara Errani 6-3 6-3

This probably isn’t much of a surprise based on recent form, but it ends Sara Errani’s very slight hopes of rising above her current #10. On the other hand, she isn’t likely to fall.

Singles – Third Round: (10) Caroline Wozniacki def. (Q) Yaroslava Shvedova 7-6(9-7) 3-6 6-1

It’s a good thing Caroline Wozniacki gets a day off after this; it took two and a half hours. And she still needs at least one more win to stay Top Fifteen! Yaroslava Shvedova, despite the loss, should rise above #60.

Singles – Third Round: (Q) Casey Dellacqua def. (13) Roberta Vinci 4-6 6-4 6-3

Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani seem to be on some sort of strange invisible tether, these days. They lost on the same day in doubles (naturally), and now they’re out on the same day in singles, too. Vinci will be #13 or #14; Casey Dellacqua, who is having an amazing year, will probably rise above #70.

Singles – Third Round: (22) Alize Cornet def. (14) Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6(7-5) 5-7 6-3

Alize Cornet continues to have a great year, although this won’t gain her much (at best, this will take her from #23 to #22). But she costs Carla Suarez Navarro the chance to clinch her Top Fifteen spot.

Singles – Third Round: Lauren Davis def. Varvara Lepchenko 6-3 6-2

Lauren Davis is really moving fast — and we aren’t even talking about her footspeed, although she has plenty of that. (Fortunately, since she’s very short and can never hope to have much power.) But she’s moving in the rankings, too — this will likely take her to #65, ahead of Christina McHale on the American ranking chart. And she faces Casey Dellacqua next, which is probably the best draw she could have. Varvara Lepchenko will almost certainly make the Top Fifty, but this means she won’t clinch yet.

Doubles – Second Round: (1) Hsieh/Peng def. Kleybanova/Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 6-2

Hsieh/Peng continue to strengthen their grip on the top rankings; Peng is now more than a thousand points ahead of Errani and Vinci, the co-#3 pair.

Doubles – Second Round: (2) Makarova/Vesnina def. Groenefeld/Goerges 6-3 6-4

It still wasn’t easy, but this was much better for the defending champions than their first round contest! They still need more to stay Top Five, however. The

Doubles – Second Round: Date-Krumm/Zahlavova Strycova def. Mladenovic/Pennetta 6-7(5-7) 6-2 10-5

This costs Kristina Mladenovic her chance to make the doubles Top Fifteen.

Doubles – Second Round: (WC) Kuznetsova/Stosur def. Medina Garrigues/Shvedova 7-5 6-1

****

Indian Wells

Singles – Second Round: (2) N Djokovic def. V Hanescu 7-6(7-1) 6-2

An efficient start for Novak Djokovic, but not one that makes any real rankings difference.

Singles – Second Round: R Bautista Agut def. (4) T Berdych 4-6 6-2 6-4

Maybe Tomas Berdych is right about skipping away Davis Cup ties. He needs more rest — or something. (He said afterward that he just never felt right — not injured, but not playing right, either.) This costs him big points — he was a semifinalist last year. He instantly falls from #5 to #6, and if Roger Federer can hold seed and reach the quarterfinal, then Berdych will drop all the way to #7. (Lucky for him that Juan Martin del Potro couldn’t play, or it might have been lower still.) One more win and Roberto Bautista Agut will clinch a Top Fifty spot.

Singles – Second Round: (8) R Gasquet def. T Gabashvili 6-0 2-0, retired (illness)

Everything seems to be working perfectly for Richard Gasquet here. First David Ferrer pulled out, letting him be seeded #8 rather than #9. Then he landed in Tomas Berdych’s quarter, easily the softest in the draw. Then Berdych lost, meaning that Gasquet is now the top seed in the quarter. And then Gasquet got this little gift. He can’t rise above #9 this week, but the fates certainly seem to want to make him a strong #9.

Singles – Second Round: J Benneteau def. (9) J Tsonga 6-4 6-4

And another gift for Richard Gasquet, since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the next player behind him in the rankings. For Tsonga, this means he can’t rise above #10, meaning that Gasquet has now clinched his Top Ten spot, although he hasn’t quite clinched the #9 ranking. Julien Benneteau is back up to about #60.

Singles – Second Round: (12) J Isner def. N Davydenko 7-6(7-5) 6-3

On an afternoon when seeds were dropping like flies, this had to feel very good for John Isner — especially since he wasn’t defending anything, so every point helps his total. He hasn’t moved in the rankings yet, though.

Singles – Second Round: (13) G Dimitrov def. R Haase 6-4 6-2

Grigor Dimitrov is still at #16 in safe points, but his next win could well make him Top Fifteen. Robin Haase will stay right around the #46 ranking he came in with.

Singles – Second Round: (16) T Robredo def. M Matosevic 7-6(8-6) 5-7 6-4

Tommy Robredo is already adding points, but this doesn’t appear to be quite enough to make him Top Fifteen yet. Marinko Matosevic will be #70 or, more likely, slightly below.

Singles – Second Round: (20) E Gulbis def. J Sousa 6-3 6-3

This means no Top Forty spot for Joao Sousa after all. Ernests Gulbis needs one more win to defend his points, and probably three to move in the rankings.

Singles – Second Round: (Q) D Thiem def. (21) G Simon 7-6(7-5) 6-2

Gilles Simon is really struggling, and Dominic Thiem has been improving fast, so maybe this isn’t a big surprise. But Simon made the fourth round last year; this very likely means he will lose his Top 25 spot.

Singles – Second Round: Y Lu def. (22) P Kohlschreiber 6-2 6-2

Philipp Kohlschreiber lost his opener last year also, so he doesn’t lose any points, but he can’t possibly rise above his current #24. Yen-Hsun Lu defends his points, meaning that he is still around #50; he needs one more win to clinch his Top Fifty spot.

Singles – Second Round: (24) M Cilic def. (Q) P Lorenzi 6-2 6-2

One more win and Marin Cilic might make the Top 25, although we’d guess he’ll need more.

Singles – Second Round: M Kukushkin def. (25) V Pospisil 6-0 6-2

Vasek Pospisil’s back problems seem to have returned; his serve was way off, and he won less than a third of points on second serve. Which means no Top 25 spot.

Singles – Second Round: J Nieminen def. (26) F Mayer 6-2 1-0, retired (leg)

Florian Mayer defended his points, but because others have added, he will be dropping noticeably — from #29 to no better than #32. Jarkko Nieminen is still around #40.

Singles – Second Round: (30) F Verdasco def. H Zeballos 7-5 7-5

Fernando Verdasco is one of those who has passed Mayer; one more win and he will be Top Thirty.

Singles – Second Round: A Gonzalez def. (31) I Dodig 6-4 2-6 7-6(7-5)

Alejandro Gonzalez was great in Challengers, but he really struggled to win his first ATP match. Having managed it in the first round here, he seems to have found that he likes winning. This took two and a quarter hours, but he now has his first ATP winning streak. Ivan Dodig made the third round last year, so this will drop him below #35.

Singles – Second Round: F Lopez def. (LL) J Ward 3-6 6-2 6-4

They’re running out of Lucky Losers here — James Ward got in when Juan Martin del Potro pulled out, even though his ranking is a mere #160. He’s the third Lucky Loser in the draw. Not that he was really very lucky. The luck is probably Feliciano Lopez’s; he’s likely to rise above #35. Del Potro, who was defending finalist points, takes another blow; he will fall from #7 to #8, although he probably won’t have to worry about falling below that mark for quite some time.

Doubles – First Round: (4) Paes/Stepanek def. Janowicz/Kohlschreiber 7-6(8-6) 3-6 10-5

Paes/Stepanek haven’t put in many appearances this year, but their form seems to be all right. Of course, they were playing two guys who are already out of the singles.

Doubles – First Round: (8) Kubot/Lindstedt def. F Lopez/Robredo 6-4 3-6 10-7

Doubles – First Round: Fleming/Hutchins def. Rojer/Tecau 5-7 7-6(7-4) 10-8

Great to see Ross Hutchins back after his battle with cancer. He is also the new tourney director for Queens.

Doubles – First Round: Isner/Querrey def. Chardy/Simon 7-5 6-2

Sam Querrey is a mess in singles, but it looks as if he can still perform in doubles — historically, he and John Isner are a very good team.

Doubles – Second Round: (2) Peya/Soares def. Marray/A Murray 7-6(7-1) 6-3

As it turns out, Andy Murray didn’t outlast brother Jamie in doubles by very much. Perhaps not surprising, given his singles struggles.

Topics: 10sballs, Agnieszka Radwanska, Alejandro Gonzalez, Atp, Caroline Wozniacki, Casey Dellacqua, Eugenie Bouchard, Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Simon, Ivan Dodig, Jelena Jankovic, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner, Lucie Safarova, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Roberta Vinci, Roger Federer, Sara Errani, Simona Halep, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych, Tommy Robredo, Vasek Pospisil, Wta

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10sBalls_com says:

March 10, 2014 at 7:57 am

Tennis Wrap Ladies / Men’s BNP Paribas – http://t.co/brXZ3dR3X8 @BNPPARIBASOPEN @WTA @ATPWorldTour #tennis #results