* Still no Slam for Aggie Radwanska
* Loss to Cornet drops Hantuchova out of Top Fifty
* Sloane Stephens shocked by Larsson
U. S. Open
Singles – Second Round: (2) Simona Halep def. Jana Cepelova 6-2 6-1
No struggles for Simona Halep this time! Which takes her just a tiny bit closer to the #1 ranking. Jana Cepelova lasted long enough to rise above #60.
Singles – Second Round: Peng Shuai def. (4) Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3 6-4
Agnieszka Radwanska put up some resistance in this match as Peng Shuai tried to finish it off, but it really wasn’t much of a contest. Once again she fails to win a Slam. It’s getting harder and harder to believe she ever will — certainly not here, where she can’t even seem to get to the quarterfinal. She isn’t likely to lose her #5 ranking — the next active players, Angelique Kerber and Eugenie Bouchard, are almost a thousand points behind her — but she doesn’t look likely to climb above that any time soon, either. He loss clinches that Maria Sharapova will be returning to the Top Five. It also clinches that Peng Shuai will remain Top Forty; she’s likely to gain a couple of spots.
Singles – Second Round: (5) Maria Sharapova def. Alexandra Dulgheru 4-6 6-3 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska’s loss almost guarantees that Maria Sharapova will rise to #4 — but she has a chance to go higher. She almost blew it. She almost seems in love with three-set matches at Slams these days….
Singles – Second Round: (6) Angelique Kerber def. Alla Kudryavtseva 6-2 6-4
After a very tough first round against a qualifier, it looks as if Angelique Kerber is settling down. She moves back ahead of Eugenie Bouchard in the contest for #7, although that is so close that it won’t be settled until one of them loses.
Singles – Second Round: (9) Jelena Jankovic def. Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5 6-4
Even with the loss, it appears likely that Tsvetana Pironkova will hit the Top Fifty.
Singles – Second Round: (10) Caroline Wozniacki def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3 6-4
This wasn’t a particularly competitive match, but Caroline Wozniacki did her best to keep it entertaining by getting her hair entwined in her racquet — and trying to hit the ball while entangled. After her disappointing result at New Haven, she keeps her Top Ten hopes alive — but, with Kerber and Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic all still in the draw, she isn’t making much progress.
Singles – Second Round: (13) Sara Errani def. Anastasia Rodionova 6-4 7-6(7-2)
A three-set Sara Errani match may not be the most boring thing in tennis, but it’s up there — and it looked for a bit as if we might be in for one when Errani went down an early break in the first set, and also kept on throwing away chances late in the second. But after that slow start in the first set, she started grinding, and it merely became a very slow two set match…. She’s slugging it out with Lucie Safarova for the #13 ranking.
Singles – Second Round: (14) Lucie Safarova def. Zheng Saisai 6-3 4-6 6-2
Lucie Safarova has already surpassed her result from last year, so there is a slight chance she will hit another career high this week.
Singles – Second Round: (18) Andrea Petkovic def. Monica Puig 3-6 6-3 7-6(7-5)
Andrea Petkovic is clearly struggling, but still, she is on the brink of the Top Fifteen. Monica Puig will be a little below #60.
Singles – Second Round: (19) Venus Williams def. Timea Bacsinszky 6-1 6-4
This was almost like the Timea Bacsinszky of old, and it certainly wasn’t like the Venus Williams of old. But Venus won, and because she lost in the second round last year, she is on the fringes of the contest for a Top Fifteen spot.
Singles – Second Round: Johanna Larsson def. (21) Sloane Stephens 5-7 6-4 6-2
Sloane Stephens has always had difficulties at non-Slams. But when she starts losing to players ranked #96 at Slams, you know she is in trouble! Especially since she was up a set and a break before collapsing. She made the fourth round last year; given how many of the players below her are still active, she will probably lose her Top 25 spot.
Singles – Second Round: (22) Alize Cornet def. Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-3
Daniela Hantuchova had struggled in the first round, so it’s no big surprise that this happened, but it’s still a disastrous loss for her. She came in at #37, but with quarterfinalist points to defend. The loss instantly dropped her to #54, and it’s likely she’ll be a spot or two lower. Alize Cornet is now at #21 in safe points, but isn’t likely to go higher — there is a big gap between #20 and #21.
Singles – Second Round: (26) Sabine Lisicki def. Madison Brengle 6-4 6-1
It was hard to believe that Madison Brengle is still only 24; it seems as if she has been around forever. In Challengers, anyway. She came here at #123, close to a career high. But she won’t be making the Top Hundred.
Singles – Second Round: (28) Roberta Vinci def. Irina-Camelia Begu 2-6 6-4 6-1
Roberta Vinci is coming to life just in time — and we aren’t talking about the score in this match. She’s defending quarterfinalist points. Obviously she still has a lot more to do, but this will likely keep her above #45.
Singles – Second Round: Belinda Bencic def. (31) Kurumi Nara 6-4 4-6 6-1
Unlike most of the day’s other “upsets,” this doesn’t feel like much of a surprise. Belinda Bencic has been playing too well, and Kurumi Nara has been dependent of a few big results; most of the time, she plays far below her ranking. And she was defending 220 points. She will drop at least one, and probably several, spots. But Bencic looks like a sure bet for the Top Fifty. If not this week, soon.
Singles – Second Round: Mirjana Lucic-Baroni def. Shahar Peer 6-7(6-8) 6-3 6-2
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni made this much harder for herself than it should have been; leading in the first set tiebreak, she blew it by blasting those bullets of hers off the court. But she finally managed to get enough balls in to top Shahar Peer. That will probably put her back in the Top Hundred. Shahar Peer will stay far below that.
Doubles – First Round: (3) C Black/Mirza def. Pliskova/Pliskova 6-3 6-0
This isn’t yet enough points to count for Cara Black and Sania Mirza, but their chances of staying #5 and #6 look very good even so. Especially if they keep playing like this.
Doubles – First Round: (4) Makarova/Vesnina def. Hantuchova/Schiavone 6-2 6-4
Ekaterina Makarova has lots of room to add points, so this is a genuine boost to her hopes of staying Top Ten.
Doubles – First Round: (5) Peschke/Srebotnik def. Fichman/Scheepers 6-4 7-6(7-3)
They didn’t face much opposition here, but these days, Peschke/Srebotnik need all the help they can get. This slightly improves the chances for Peschke to return to the Top Ten, but that is very far from settled.
Doubles – First Round: Diyas/Xu def. (6) Kops-Jones/Spears 6-4 2-6 6-1
This is hard to believe; it will very probably be the biggest upset of the tournament. For Kops-Jones/Spears, this means a real shot at the Top Ten is gone. The best they can hope for is to be co-#11. This, even more than the preceding result, is a big boost to Kveta Peschke’s Top Ten hopes. We currently show the Top Twelve as follows:
1..(1) ERRANI ………….10050*
1..(1) VINCI …………. 10050*
3..(3) PENG ……………7785*
4..(4) HSIEH …………. 7635*
5..(5) MIRZA …………. 5375*
5..(6) BLACK …………. 5375*
7..(7) SREBOTNIK ……… 4485*
8..(8) VESNINA ……….. 4320*
9..(9) MAKAROVA ………..4300*
10.(11) PESCHKE ……….. 4235*
11.(14) KOPS-JONES ………4150
11.(14) SPEARS ………….4150
Doubles – First Round: Dabrowski/Rosolska def. (10) Barty/Dellacqua 6-2 6-3
Out go last year’s finalists. Barty/Dellacqua have had a lot of trouble defending this year. Both will be losing their Top Twenty spots. Probably their Top Thirty spots, in fact.
Doubles – First Round: (12) Muguruza/Suarez Navarro def. Cornet/Flipkens 7-5 6-4
Doubles – First Round: King/Raymond def. (16) Goerges/Groenefeld 6-3 5-7 7-6(7-2)
This was one of those matches where neither side could seem to hold serve. Not surprising for King/Raymond, since they’re both small, plus Lisa Raymond has been just about invisible lately — but you wonder what Goerges/Groenefeld will say about losing to a team with a combined age of about 145. (All right, not quite, but Raymond did turn 41 earlier this month….)
Doubles – First Round: Kalashnikova/Savchuk def. Oprandi/Rogers 2-6 6-1 6-0
Doubles – First Round: Cirstea/Parmentier def. T. Black/Pera 2-6 6-4 6-3
Well, at least we don’t have to try to keep track of which player we mean when we say “Black” any more. Although the organizers were pretty tough on Tornado Alicia Black — one match later, on this same court, she had to play mixed doubles. Ironically, against Cara Black’s regular doubles partner Sania Mirza.
Doubles – First Round: Erakovic/Parra Santonja def. Chirico/Stewart 6-4 6-3
Doubles – First Round: McHale/Schmiedlova def. van Uytvanck/Wickmayer 6-3 6-1
Doubles – First Round: Cetkovska/Piter def. Min/Oudin 6-3 6-2
Doubles – First Round: Gajdosova/Tomljanovic def. Barrois/Beck 7-5 4-6 6-2
Doubles – First Round: Davis/Voracova def. Gibbs/Sanchez 6-3 4-6 6-1
Doubles – First Round: Riske/Vandeweghe def. Soler-Espinosa/Watson 7-5 6-3
Doubles – First Round: Doi/Svitolina def. Barthel/Panova 7-5 3-6 7-6(7-4)
Doubles – First Round: Date-Krumm/Zahlavova Strycova def. Falconi/Tatishvili 7-5 4-6 6-3
Mixed Doubles – First Round: (1) Mirza/Soares def. T Black/Escobedo 6-2 3-6 10-5
A long day with not much reward for Tornado Alicia Black: Six sets, zero wins.
Mixed Doubles – First Round: Y Chan/Hutchins def. (4) Mladenovic/Nestor 7-6(7-5) 3-6 10-6
For most of a year, Mladenovic/Nestor were clearly the best mixed doubles team in the world, and it still shows in their rankings, as our Feature (in Men’s News) shows. But suddenly they are losing their grip. Given Daniel Nestor’s tendency to dump partners, it will be interesting to see if he sticks with Kristina Mladenovic next year. If nothing else, this has obviously made a hash of the Mixed rankings — note that the #1 team under Mixed is out in the first round! It almost makes it tempting to rewrite the feature. (No, we didn’t do it.)
Mixed Doubles – First Round: Kudryavtseva/Qureshi def. Rogers/Klahn 7-6(7-1) 6-3
It’s a bit surprising Kudryavtseva/Qureshi weren’t seeded — although the Mixed rankings show that they aren’t an especially strong team. But against such an inexperienced American pair, it hardly mattered.
Rankings
Estimated WTA Rankings As of August 27, 2014
Rank &
Prior
Rank …Name …………. Points
1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 7500*
2..(2) HALEP …………. 6100*
3..(4) KVITOVA ……….. 5866*
4..(6) SHARAPOVA ……… 5465*
5..(5) ARADWANSKA ………5380
6..(3) Li ……………..5270
7..(7) KERBER ………….4400*
8..(8) BOUCHARD ………..4375*
9..(9) IVANOVIC ………..3855*
10.(10) JANKOVIC ………..3545*
11.(11) WOZNIACKI ……… 3135*
12.(13) CIBULKOVA ……… 3007
13.(14) ERRANI ………….2915*
14.(15) SAFAROVA ………..2855*
15.(19) PETKOVIC ………..2525*
16.(20) VWILLIAMS ……… 2370*
17.(16) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2360*
18.(12) PENNETTA ………..2291*
19.(18) MAKAROVA ………..2135*
20.(21) STOSUR ………….2110*
21.(23) CORNET ………….1900*
22.(22) KUZNETSOVA ………1860
23.(25) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..1775*
24.(26) MUGURUZA ………..1743
25.(24) STEPHENS ………..1690
26.(27) KEYS ……………1670*
27.(28) LISICKI ……….. 1546*
28.(29) ZAHLAVOVA STRYCOVA .1541*
29.(17) AZARENKA ………..1453*
30.(32) DELLACQUA ……… 1451
Draws
U. S. Open — Week of August 26, 2014
……………………..3R
1 S. Williams
32 Zhang
24 Stosur
15 Suarez Navarro
11 Pennetta
23 Pavlyuchenkova
29 Dellacqua
8 Ivanovic
3 Kvitova
27 Keys
20 Kuznetsova
16 Azarenka
12 Cibulkova
17 Makarova
30 Zahlavova Strycova
7 Bouchard
6 Kerber……………..(6)Kerber
31 Nara………………Bencic
21 Stephens…………..Larsson
9 Jankovic……………(9)Jankovic
14 Safarova…………..(14)Safarova
22 Cornet…………….(22)Cornet
28 Vinci……………..(28)Vinci
4 A Radwanska…………Peng
5 Sharapova…………..(5)Sharapova
26 Lisicki……………(26)Lisicki
18 Petkovic…………..(18)Petkovic
10 Wozniacki………….(10)Wozniacki
13 Errani
19 V Williams
25 Muguruza…………..Lucic-Baroni
2 Halep………………(2)Halep
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 S. Williams
2 Halep
3 Kvitova
4 A Radwanska……….lost 2R (Peng)
5 Sharapova
6 Kerber
7 Bouchard
8 Ivanovic
9 Jankovic
10 Wozniacki
11 Pennetta
12 Cibulkova………..lost 1R (Bellis)
13 Errani
14 Safarova
15 Suarez Navarro
16 Azarenka
17 Makarova
18 Petkovic
19 V Williams
20 Kuznetsova……….lost 1R (Erakovic)
21 Stephens…………lost 2R (Larsson)
22 Cornet
23 Pavlyuchenkova
24 Stosur
25 Muguruza…………lost 1R (Lucic-Baroni)
26 Lisicki
27 Keys
28 Vinci
29 Dellacqua
30 Zahlavova Strycova
31 Nara…………….lost 2R (Bencic)
32 Zhang……………lost 1R (Barthel)
******** SCORES ********
WEDNESDAY
U. S. Open
Singles – Second Round
(2) Simona Halep def. Jana Cepelova 6-2 6-1
Peng Shuai def. (4) Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3 6-4
(5) Maria Sharapova def. Alexandra Dulgheru 4-6 6-3 6-2
(6) Angelique Kerber def. Alla Kudryavtseva 6-2 6-4
(9) Jelena Jankovic def. Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5 6-4
(10) Caroline Wozniacki def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3 6-4
(13) Sara Errani def. Anastasia Rodionova 6-4 7-6(7-2)
(14) Lucie Safarova def. Zheng Saisai 6-3 4-6 6-2
(18) Andrea Petkovic def. Monica Puig 3-6 6-3 7-6(7-5)
(19) Venus Williams def. Timea Bacsinszky 6-1 6-4
Johanna Larsson def. (21) Sloane Stephens 5-7 6-4 6-2
(22) Alize Cornet def. Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-3
(26) Sabine Lisicki def. Madison Brengle 6-4 6-1
(28) Roberta Vinci def. Irina-Camelia Begu 2-6 6-4 6-1
Belinda Bencic def. (31) Kurumi Nara 6-4 4-6 6-1
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni def. Shahar Peer 6-7(6-8) 6-3 6-2
Doubles – First Round
(3) C Black/Mirza def. Pliskova/Pliskova 6-3 6-0
(4) Makarova/Vesnina def. Hantuchova/Schiavone 6-2 6-4
(5) Peschke/Srebotnik def. Fichman/Scheepers 6-4 7-6(7-3)
Diyas/Xu def. (6) Kops-Jones/Spears 6-4 2-6 6-1
Dabrowski/Rosolska def. (10) Barty/Dellacqua 6-2 6-3
(12) Muguruza/Suarez Navarro def. Cornet/Flipkens 7-5 6-4
King/Raymond def. (16) Goerges/Groenefeld 6-3 5-7 7-6(7-2)
Kalashnikova/Savchuk def. Oprandi/Rogers 2-6 6-1 6-0
Cirstea/Parmentier def. T. Black/Pera 2-6 6-4 6-3
Erakovic/Parra Santonja def. Chirico/Stewart 6-4 6-3
McHale/Schmiedlova def. van Uytvanck/Wickmayer 6-3 6-1
Cetkovska/Piter def. Min/Oudin 6-3 6-2
Doi/Svitolina def. Barthel/Panova 7-5 3-6 7-6(7-4)
Gajdosova/Tomljanovic def. Barrois/Beck 7-5 4-6 6-2
Davis/Voracova def. Gibbs/Sanchez 6-3 4-6 6-1
Riske/Vandeweghe def. Soler-Espinosa/Watson 7-5 6-3
Date-Krumm/Zahlavova Strycova def. Falconi/Tatishvili 7-5 4-6 6-3
Mixed Doubles – First Round
(1) Mirza/Soares def. T Black/Escobedo 6-2 3-6 10-5
Y Chan/Hutchins def. (4) Mladenovic/Nestor 7-6(7-5) 3-6 10-6
Kudryavtseva/Qureshi def. Rogers/Klahn 7-6(7-1) 6-3
Topics: Andrea Petkovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Sharapova, Tennis Results, US Open, Venus Williams, Wta
@Venuseswilliams, @MariaSharapova, @CaroWozniacki & @andreapetkovic ALL WIN TODAY @ THE @usopen- http://t.co/3vOsjAMBmm #tennis #USOpen2014
Venus Williams, Caro Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova and Andrea Petkovic all win today at US Open http://t.co/cyBi0rChuk