LADIES TENNIS TIDBITS AND A LOOK AT AUZZIE OPEN DRAW AS WELL AS SYDNEY AND HOBART RESULTS , BRAVO BETHANIE & SANIA & SHARAPOVA IS CLOSE IN POINTS TO SERENA FOR #1

Bethanie and Sania win Sydney

 

* Kvitova edges Pliskova for first title of 2015

* Mattek-Sands wins first doubles title since Dubai 2013

* Watson beats Riske in Hobart, to face first-time finalist Brengle

 

SYDNEY

 

Singles – Final: (2) Petra Kvitova def. Karolina Pliskova 7-6(7-5) 7-6(8-6)

This was as close as it looks; the two Czechs were hitting hard and well. But Petra Kvitova has a huge edge in big-match experience, and perhaps it showed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the rankings, it doesn’t matter — for the moment. Kvitova remains #4, although she is now very close to #3 Simona Halep; she’ll have a good shot to move up at the Australian Open (see the Feature). But it’s still a pretty big result for Kvitova. She earns her fifteenth career title, which is obviously a nice number. It’s also an interesting omen. Kvitova has a pretty good history in Australia; she won Hobart in 2009 and Brisbane in 2011. And what else did she do in 2011? That was, of course, the year of her first Wimbledon, and so many other titles. Could this be a foreshadowing of another good year?

Karolina Pliskova did not win her first Premier title, but she did reach her first Premier final, and she also puts herself at a career high #20. And if she can play as well as she did here, she is likely to go still higher.

 

Doubles – Final: Mattek-Sands/Mirza def. (1) Kops-Jones/Spears 6-3 6-3

Bethanie Mattek-Sands must be thinking, “Finally!” This is her first title since Dubai 2013, 23 months ago (also with Sania Mirza, interestingly). Could this mean that she is finally really and truly back? If so, the rest of the doubles world should probably take notice — Mattek-Sands, after all, won eleven doubles titles fro 2007 to 2013, eight of them Premier trophies. This is Premier #9 for her. Ten would certainly be a nice number….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sania Mirza is looking for another nice number — her next title will be #24. And she has a very nice streak going; she has won at least one title every year since 2009 (inclusive). And she has won at least one Premier title every year since 2011, and at least two titles in every year in that span up to now. With one title already on the books, her odds of continuing that streak look quite good!

 

Hobart

 

Singles – Semifinal: Heather Watson def. (8) Alison Riske 6-3 7-5

If this match had taken place earlier in the week, we’d guess they would have given up at some point. There were six rain delays, one of them on match point (Heather Watson’s third of the match). But this event had lost so much time that they just had to stick around, although Watson admitted that it was a rather sloppy match — and not just because of the water; the general dampness made it hard to play well. But finally Watson won, reaching her first final since she took the title at Osaka 2012. Her ranking obviously benefits; we show her rising from #49 to #43, and she’ll be Top Forty if she wins the title. As will Alison Riske — #40 if Watson takes the title, #39 if Watson loses.

 

Singles – Semifinal: (Q) Madison Brengle def. Kurumi Nara 6-4 1-6 6-3

Whatever Madison Brengle has discovered in the last year, it is really working. She is, of course, in her first final; indeed, she had never won back-to-back WTA matches before this week, and her four wins here are only three fewer than her total in her previous seven years of playing WTA events! And one of those previous seven wins came at Brisbane, so Brengle’s WTA tally is, from 2007 to 2014, six wins; in 2015, five wins, with a chance for her first title. Obviously she can look forward to a career high, win or lose.

 

Doubles – Semifinal: Bertens/Larsson def. (4) Arruabarrena/Olaru 2-6 6-3 10-5

This is clearly a jinxed place for seeds. There are none in the singles final and none in the doubles final.

 

Doubles – Semifinal: Diatchenko/Niculescu def. Tomljanovic/Watson 6-2 6-3

 

A Look At The Ladies Australian Open Draw.

 

Women’s Look Forward: Australian Open

 

We’re sort of getting into the habit of holding Slams with the defending champion missing. Last year, it was Wimbledon without Marion Bartoli. This year, it’s the Australian Open without Li Na. What does that say about this year? Probably that, even more than usual, this year, all eyes will be on Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. After all, they’re both past champions — and while both lost in the Round of Sixteen last year, the players who made the final seem unlikely to repeat. Li obviously can’t repeat, since she isn’t in the draw, and finalist Dominika Cibulkova simply hasn’t shown that sort of form since.

 

(Li did have something to do with the results, to be sure: They had her determine the names in the men’s draw. As she joked, she has plenty of time these days to pull names out of a trophy cup.)

 

Serena may be the favorite, but the draw didn’t exactly do her any favors. Her second round match might be against Vera Zvonareva, trying again for a comeback. In the third, Serena would likely face #26 seed Elina Svitolina, who is young and very possibly better than her seeding. Then would come #16 Jelena Jankovic — or, possibly, #24 Garbine Muguruza, another promising youngster who emphatically announced her presence in Australia last year, winning Hobart (as a qualifier!) and making the Melbourne fourth round. In the quarterfinal, Serena has drawn her close friend, #8 seed Caroline Wozniacki, or maybe #11 Dominika Cibulkova, or possibly #19 Alize Cornet, who has become Serena’s personal nemesis. No matter who it is, it will be a very good defender. Then, in the semifinal, Serena would face #4 Petra Kvitova, who — if she is on (and she did just win Sydney) — is one of the few players truly able to trade power with Serena. And then, obviously, Sharapova.

 

Or, of course, whoever beats Sharapova. #3 seed Halep wants that job, but there are plenty of other solid players Sharapova would face before that. The first seed she would face is #31 Zarina Diyas. Then comes #16 Lucie Safarova, who did well in Hopman Cup, or #21 Peng Shuai — now China’s #1 since Li is gone. That’s an interesting section, because while neither Peng nor Diyas is Australian, they’re both Asian, so they might be considered “relatively local.” After Safarova comes #6 seed Eugenie Bouchard or #9 Angelique Kerber, or maybe #17 Carla Suarez Navarro or #27 Svetlana Kuznetsova (who, however, has looked terrible this year). And then Halep.

 

Halep, seeded #3, has her own tricky draw to deal with; she might face Jarmila Gajdosova, who did so much damage at Sydney, in the second round. Then comes Sabine Lisicki, who if she is on might be able to overpower Halep. The next round might be easier — #14 Sara Errani, who is struggling, or #23 Anastasiya Pavlyuchenkova, who hasn’t done anything this year. But then comes #5 Ana Ivanovic (in good form) or #10 Ekaterina Makarova (a top upset artist) or #22 Karolina Pliskova (very hot right now) or #32 Belinda Bencic (who hasn’t done anything this year but is making rapid progress). Alison Riske, who did so well in Hobart, is also in that part of the draw.

 

#4 seed Kvitova probably has, on balance, the best draw of the bunch. Her early rounds are easy, and the first seed she would face is #29 Casey Dellacqua, who seems a little unsteady right now (although her likely replacement, Madison Keys, is no pushover). Then comes #13 Andrea Petkovic, who is 0-2 this year, or #20 Samantha Stosur, who suffers from the handicap of being Samantha Stosur, or Kaia Kanepi. Then comes #6 Agnieszka Radwanska, or #12 Flavia Pennetta (both of whom made it past the fourth round last year, so one of them will suffer), or #18 Venus Williams.

 

Of the lower seeds, #5 Ivanovic has two easy matches, then #32 Bencic, then #10 Makarova or #22 Pliskova, then Halep. #6 Radwanska starts against Kurumi Nara, who was very good in Hobart, then in the third round, #30 Varvara Lepchenko or semi-Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, then #12 Pennetta or #18 Venus Williams or Camila Giorgi, then Kvitova — a nasty draw. #7 Bouchard has to face #27 Kuznetsova in the third round, then #9 Kerber or #17 Suarez Navarro, then Sharapova. And #8 Wozniacki has to face Victoria Azarenka or Sloane Stephens in round two, then #25 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, then last year’s finalist and this year’s #11 seed Dominika Cibulkova or #19 Alize Cornet, then Serena.

 

Looking for hot early round matches, we’d list these:

 

First Round:

Bacsinszky versus Jankovic. Timea Bacsinszky is in good form, and Jelena Jankovic hasn’t shown much yet.

Pironkova versus Watson. Both in great form.

Stephens versus Azarenka. Yes, they’re both unseeded! Ouch.

Giorgi versus Pennetta. Both Italian, but they could hardly be less alike mentally.

Garcia versus Kuznetsova. Given the way Kuznetsova has been playing, this could be a major challenge for her.

 

Second Round:

Serena versus Zvonareva. Once again Vera Zvonareva gets a lousy draw. But she is a former Slam finalist.

Cibulkova versus Pironkova or Watson. Two upset artists, one seed with a lot to defend.

Stephens or Azarenka versus Wozniacki. This might be Carolina Wozniacki’s ideal Slam, but it definitely isn’t her ideal draw!

Keys versus Dellacqua. One of the closest matches, in terms of rankings, of the early rounds.

Stosur versus Vandeweghe. Vandeweghe didn’t miss seeding by all that much.

Petkovic versus Kanepi. Kanepi won their meeting at Brisbane.

Tomljanovic versus Lepchenko. Lots of upset potential there.

Pliskova versus Riske. Both in good form; both tired.

 

The Rankings

 

This is going to be one of the most complicated weeks on the calendar, because we have two weeks’ worth of events coming off. First is, of course, the Australian Open — but Paris and Pattaya City also come off, because of calendar shift. (To make life even more complicated, Paris is off the calendar, but let’s not get into that.) Li Na of course won Melbourne, and her (non-)ranking won’t be affected, but finalist Dominika Cibulkova is defending 40% of her points and is barely above #25 in safe points. The semifinalists were Eugenie Bouchard and Agnieszka Radwanska; quarterfinalists were Ana Ivanovic, Flavia Pennetta, Simona Halep, and Victoria Azarenka. Of the other Top Ten players, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Angelique Kerber lost in the fourth round; Caroline Wozniacki fell in the third round; and Petra Kvitova lost her opener. Anastasiya Pavlyuchenkova won Paris, over Sara Errai, with Sharapova and Alize Cornet being semifinalists. Ekaterina Makarova won Pattaya City, over Karolina Pliskova (an interesting result; both of them have had amazing years since); the semifinalists were Andrea Hlavackova and Julia Goerges (who certainly haven’t had amazing years!).

 

What that spells is a real contest for #1 — in fact, a four-way contest, although it seems most unlikely that more than two players will really contend. Serena Williams is #1 in safe points, but her lead over Maria Sharapova is only 681 points — or just less than the 700 points that is the difference between a title and a final. So if Sharapova wins the Australian Open, she is #1. Or if she makes the final and Serena loses before the semifinal, again, Sharapova is #1. Or if Sharapova makes the semifinal and Serena loses in the first two rounds, again, Sharapova is on top.

 

Petra Kvitova is about 1400 points behind Serena, and 750 behind Sharapova; Simona Halep is about 200 behind that. This means that it is theoretically possible that one of them could take #1, but only by winning Melbourne and only if Sharapova and Serena both lose fairly early. They have a better shot at #2, but in practice, we’d guess they’re fighting over the #3 spot; they’re close enough together that whoever lasts longer will likely be #3, with ties to Kvitova.

 

Caroline Wozniacki, #5 in safe points, is more than 1600 points off the pace, so it is unlikely that Kvitova or Halep will fall below #4. Wozniacki has only about an 80 point lead on Ana Ivanovic, so we have a very tight contest for #5. Agnieszka Radwanska is almost 400 points behind them, with Eugenie Bouchard a hundred points behind that, so they are all contending for #5.

 

Below Bouchard is a more than 800 point gap to #9 Angelique Kerber. That makes it highly unlikely that Kerber will move up (she would need a final), and it means that Serena, Sharapova, Kvitova, Halep, Wozniacki, Ivanovic, Radwanska, and Bouchard are guaranteed to stay Top Ten. Kerber isn’t, but with almost a 400 point lead on the next player, it’s the way to bet.

 

The big question is, who gets that last Top Ten spot? It’s not likely to be Cibulkova; she isn’t even Top Twenty in safe points. The current leader is Andrea Petkovic; she’s more than 200 points ahead of Ekaterina Makarova, with Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta, and Lucie Safarova all within a hundred points of that.

 

All of them look sure to be Top Twenty, as do Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Carla Suarez Navarro. Alize Cornet also looks like a good bet, although she isn’t clinched. The last two spots currently belong to Karolina Pliskova and Peng Shuai, but they are far from clinching.

 

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova runs a real risk of falling below #35. Victoria Azarenka, with more than a third of her remaining points on the line, could well end up below #60.

 

 

 

***RANKINGS As of January 16, 2015

 

 

Rank &

Prior

Rank …Name …………. Points

1..(1) SWilliams ……… 8016

2..(2) Sharapova ……… 7335

3..(3) Halep …………. 6571

4..(4) KVITOVA ……….. 6360*

5..(5) Ivanovic ………..4845

6..(6) ARADWANSKA ………4810

7..(7) Bouchard ………..4715

8..(8) WOZNIACKI ……… 4625

9..(9) KERBER ………….3360

10.(11) CIBULKOVA ……… 3007

11.(10) MAKAROVA ………..2970

12.(12) PENNETTA ………..2861

13.(13) PETKOVIC ………..2780

14.(14) ERRANI ………….2735

15.(15) Jankovic ………..2590

16.(16) SAFAROVA ………..2545

17.(17) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2415

18.(18) VWilliams ……… 2370

19.(19) CORNET ………….2255

20.(22) KAPLISKOVA ………2075

21.(20) STOSUR ………….1895

22.(21) PENG ……………1880

23.(25) ZAHLAVOVA STRYCOVA .1870

24.(24) MUGURUZA ………..1845

25.(23) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..1820

26.(26) SVITOLINA ……… 1780

27.(27) KUZNETSOVA ………1730

28.(28) LISICKI ……….. 1681

29.(29) DELLACQUA ……… 1542

30.(30) Lepchenko ……… 1480

 

(c) Copyright 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson

 

Content here via Bob Larson news Wire service. With permission.

Topics: Agnieszka Radwanska, Alison Riske, Australian Open, BETHANIE Mattek-Sands, Heather Watson, Hobart, Karolina Pliskova, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Sania Mirza, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Sports, Sydney, Tennis Results, Victoria Azarenka, Wta

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