* Serena looks weak against sparkling Halep, who is now 2-0 in Singapore
* Ivanovic drops Bouchard to 0-2
* Hsieh/Peng cruise in doubles; Makarova/Vesnina upset
Singapore
Singles – Round Robin: (4) Simona Halep def. (1) Serena Williams 6-0 6-2
We wondered, after this was over, if Serena was having trouble with her knee. But she said otherwise, simply attributing the result to playing poorly. In term of scoreline, one of the poorest results of her career. And it means that, yes, the #1 ranking is still in play, although Maria Sharapova will have to step things up. Simona Halep — who called it “the best match of my life” — has now overtaken Petra Kvitova in the contest for #3, although that isn’t over yet. But even if Kvitova gets back into that contest, Halep has all but assured herself a semifinal spot. Which is more than Serena can say.
Singles – Round Robin: (7) Ana Ivanovic def. (5) Eugenie Bouchard 6-1 6-3
It’s beginning to look as if Eugenie Bouchard shouldn’t even have bothered to come here. She’s now 0-2, and has won only nine games in two matches. We have two matches left, Bouchard versus Serena and Halep versus Ivanovic. Hard to know what to expect of the former, since they’ve both had horrid matches. But if we assume that Bouchard is in worse shape, meaning that Serena should win, then Bouchard comes out dead last in the group and Serena is 2-1. In that case, if Halep beats Ivanovic, then Halep and Serena make the final. If Ivanovic beats Halep, then Serena, Halep, and Ivanovic are all tied at 2-1 and it comes down to tiebreaks. Given that Halep has lost only seven games so far, Serena twenty, and Ivanovic sixteen, Halep’s chances look very good and Serena’s not so hot. So it looks as if Serena will be rooting for Halep.
Doubles – Quarterfinal: (2) Hsieh/Peng def. Muguruza/Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-1
Hsieh/Peng started rather slowly here — but that may merely be because they haven’t played together for a while. Once they got into the match, after about six games, it went fast. If Carla Suarez Navarro was in a hurry to get to Sofia, she certainly got her wish!
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Kudryavtseva/Rodionova def. (4) Makarova/Vesnina 4-6 6-2 10-6
Please note that the WTA’s scores page is very wonky this week; this is what we think was the score of this match. We are at least certain that Kudryavtseva/Rodionova won. For the team that just barely made it into the draw, it’s a nice start. Of course, Makarova/Vesnina are not in the best shape right now. By the looks of things, rather than replacing Kudryavtseva/Rodionova, Hingis/Pennetta should have replaced the Russians. Which would have been an interesting bit of U. S. Open turnabout. The loss raises a significant likelihood that Makarova/Vesnina will lose their #7 rankings.
Rankings
Estimated WTA Rankings As of October 22, 2014
Rank &
Prior
Rank …Name …………. Points
1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 7355*
2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 6750*
3..(4) HALEP …………. 5932*
4..(3) KVITOVA ……….. 5666*
5..(6) ARADWANSKA ………4650*
6..(5) BOUCHARD ………..4575*
7..(7) IVANOVIC ………..4500*
8..(8) WOZNIACKI ……… 4145*
9..(9) Li ……………..3970
10.(10) Kerber ………….3480
11.(11) Makarova ………..2970
12.(12) Cibulkova ……… 2908
13.(13) Errani ………….2775
14.(14) Jankovic ………..2675
15.(15) Pennetta ………..2642
16.(16) Safarova ………..2615
17.(17) Petkovic ………..2495
18.(18) Suarez Navarro …..2370
19.(19) VWilliams ……… 2270
20.(20) Cornet ………….2200
21.(21) Stosur ………….2005
22.(22) Peng ……………2005
23.(23) Muguruza ………..1923
24.(24) Pliskova ………..1830
25.(25) Pavlyuchenkova …..1820
26.(26) Zahlavova Strycova .1750
27.(27) Lisicki ……….. 1735
28.(28) Kuznetsova ………1730
29.(29) Dellacqua ……… 1665
30.(30) Svitolina ……… 1655
Draws
Singapore Championships – Week of October 19, 2014
RED GROUP
……………..SWILL…HALEP…BOUCH…IVANO….W/L….SETS
(4)Halep………Halep…%%%%%…HALEP…XXXXX….2/0…..4/0
(1)S.Williams….%%%%%…HALEP…XXXXX…SWILL….1/1…..2/2
(7)Ivanovic……SWILL…XXXXX…IVANO…%%%%%….1/1…..2/2
(5)Bouchard……XXXXX…HALEP…%%%%%…IVANO….0/2…..0/4
WHITE GROUP
……………..SHARA…KVITO…RADWA…WOZNI….W/L….SETS
(6)A.Radwanska…XXXXX…RADWA…%%%%%…XXXXX….1/0…..2/0
(8)Wozniacki…..XXXXX…XXXXX…XXXXX…%%%%%….1/0…..2/1
(2)Sharapova…..%%%%%…XXXXX…XXXXX…XXXXX….0/1…..1/2
(3)Kvitova…….XXXXX…%%%%%…RADWA…XXXXX….0/1…..0/2
WEDNESDAY
Singapore
Singles – Round Robin
(4) Simona Halep def. (1) Serena Williams 6-0 6-2
(7) Ana Ivanovic def. (5) Eugenie Bouchard 6-1 6-3
Doubles – Quarterfinal
(2) Hsieh/Peng def. Muguruza/Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-1
Kudryavtseva/Rodionova def. (4) Makarova/Vesnina 4-6 6-2 10-6
***
Story via Bob LARSON tennis news
Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Singapore, Tennis, Wta
@serenawilliams GETS A “BAGEL” IN #SINGAPORE & MORE- http://t.co/7pUOtIZ8vy @singaporetennis #tennis #SerenaWilliams #bnpparibas #WTA