SERENA SPANKS VERA IN THE SECOND SET , AZARENKA BEATS CARO WOZNIACKI & LOTS MORE TENNIS NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA

THE LATEST ON THE LADIES IN MELBOURNE

 

 

 

*TIDBZiTS

 

* Terrible day for Australians: Stosur, Dellacqua, Tomljanovic all lose

* Azarenka again hot in Australia after upsetting Wozniacki

* Zvonareva builds lead on Serena — then loses badly

 

Auzzie Open Ladies

 

Singles – Second Round: (1) Serena Williams def. Vera Zvonareva 7-5 6-0

 

Serena Williams got off to another of her slow starts here; that seems almost standard operating procedure these days. She was down a break for most of the first set — and then she got things together. She needs a lot more to assure the #1 ranking, though. Vera Zvonareva at least earned enough points that she ought to hit the Top 200.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singles – Second Round: (4) Petra Kvitova def. Mona Barthel 6-2 6-4

Petra Kvitova lost her opener last year, and blamed the heat; she credited a new fitness regime for making it easier for her to deal with the conditions. It may matter; she is ahead of Simona Halep in the contest for the #3 ranking, but her lead is far from insurmountable. She leaves Mona Barthel still below the Top Forty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singles – Second Round: (6) Agnieszka Radwanska def. Johanna Larsson 6-0 6-1

This — the first match of the day to finish — was truly a “blink and you’ll miss it” contest. Which is perhaps fitting, since it makes very little difference to either player. Johanna Larsson will remain around #70; Agnieszka Radwanska still needs a lot more to keep the #6 ranking she came in with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singles – Second Round: Victoria Azarenka def. (8) Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-2

This looked like the Victoria Azarenka who has twice won this tournament — although it’s worth remembering that Caroline Wozniacki has a bad wrist. Wozniacki also started talking about feeling some sort of jinx at this event. Wozniacki is almost certain to rise in the rankings even so — with Ana Ivanovic also out, Wozniacki should gain at least one spot, and it might be as many as three. Azarenka, on the other hand, is still in danger of falling below #50. This win should at least let her stay Top Sixty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singles – Second Round: (11) Dominika Cibulkova def. Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2 6-0

The second round jinx apparently is back for Tsvetana Pironkova. Still, there is a fair shot she will return to the Top Fifty. Dominika Cibulkova is looking inspired by her return to Melbourne, but since she is defending finalist points, she still needs more to stay Top Twenty.

 

Singles – Second Round: (18) Venus Williams def. Lauren Davis 6-2 6-3

Lauren Davis loses some points, and she won’t make the Top Fifty, but it doesn’t appear she’ll fall much. For Venus Williams, this makes it almost certain that she’ll hit the Top Fifteen; she’s up to #13 in safe points, with a lead of several hundred points over the next active player. She and Serena withdrew from the doubles, and refuse to say why, but it certainly doesn’t appear to be a physical problem. We’d guess it’s just their usual case of “we-only-play-Wimbledon-and-the-U.S. Open.”

 

Singles – Second Round: (19) Alize Cornet def. Denisa Allertova 6-4 6-7(2-7) 6-2

A valiant try by Denisa Allertova, who should hit the Top Hundred and seems to be worthy of future attention. Alize Cornet hasn’t moved much yet; she faces Cibulkova next in what seems likely to be one of the scramblingest matches in recent memory.

 

Singles – Second Round: Coco Vandeweghe def. (20) Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-4

Sometimes standard English just isn’t sufficient to express an emotion. Go ahead, try to sum up the head-pounding sensation you feel when Samantha Stosur produces another furball like this one in Australia! The loss will cost her at least two ranking spots; it might be more. CoCo Vandeweghe isn’t quite Top Thirty, but she is now very close.

 

Singles – Second Round: (24) Garbine Muguruza def. Daniela Hatuchova 6-1 1-6 6-0

More bad news for Daniela Hantuchova, and we don’t mean the crazy scoreline. She was defending more than a hundred points, and will fall below #70. Garbine Muguruza still has more to defend, but this might be enough to keep her Top 25.

 

Singles – Second Round: (25) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Chang Kai-Chen 6-1 7-5

We have quite a knot of players still active from #18 to #22, so nothing is certain yet, but one more win might make Barbora Zahlavova Strycova a Top Twenty player.

 

Singles – Second Round: (26) Elina Svitolina def. Nicole Gibbs 7-6(7-3) 7-6(8-6)

Elina Svitolina still has a few points to defend, but this might suffice to make her Top 25.

 

Singles – Second Round: Madison Keys def. (29) Casey Dellacqua 2-6 6-1 6-1

The Australians gave this match a fine spot on the schedule, but it obviously didn’t help Casey Dellacqua much. Dellacqua will be losing her Top Thirty ranking (we show her no better than #34); Madison Keys is now just below the Top Thirty.

 

Singles – Second Round: (30) Varvara Lepchenko def. Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1 7-6(7-1)

That made it three Australians out. Well, properly speaking, it wasn’t three yet, since Tomljanovic lost before Stosur, but the total is right. At least Tomljanovic lost to someone ranked ahead of her! But the loss means that she will not rise above the #67 ranking she came in with.

 

Singles – Second Round: Timea Bacsinszky def. Anna Tatishvili 6-7(5-7) 6-3 6-2

Timea Bacsinszky is now certain to hit the Top Forty; she might rise as high as #35.

 

Singles – Second Round: Madison Brengle def. Irina Falconi 6-1 6-3

Speaking of movers — Madison Brengle is now up to #51, and now seems certain to hit the Top Fifty this year.

 

Singles – Second Round: Camila Giorgi def. Tereza Smitkova 6-1 6-4

This might be enough to put Camila Giorgi in the Top Thirty — although the situation around #30 is much like that around #20: very crowded. There are six active players from #28 to #33, and only a 120 point gap from the first to the last, so a lot remains to be settled!

 

Doubles – First Round: (1) Errani/Vinci def. Ka Pliskova/Schmiedlova 6-2 6-0

The fact that Errani/Vinci now look extremely likely to keep the #1 rankings doesn’t prevent them from wanting a little insurance…. we currently show the doubles Top Ten as follows:

1..(1) ERRANI ………….7750*

1..(1) VINCI …………. 7750*

3..(3) PENG ……………7640

4..(4) BLACK …………. 6625

5..(6) HSIEH …………. 6595*

6..(5) MIRZA …………. 6510*

7..(9) HINGIS ………….5105*

8..(7) MAKAROVA ………..4410*

8..(7) VESNINA ……….. 4410*

10.(14) PENNETTA ………..4200*

 

Doubles – First Round: (5) Kops-Jones/Spears def. Birrell/Hon 6-3 7-5

Kops-Jones/Spears are defending semifinalist points; to have to work even this hard against a pair of nobodies is rather disturbing.

 

Doubles – First Round: (7) Garcia/Srebotnik def. Petkovic/Rybarikova 4-6 7-5 6-2

 

Doubles – First Round: (9) Hlavackova/Hradecka def. L Kichenok/Savchuk 6-0 7-6(7-4)

The Hlavackova/Hradecka reunion still looks a little shaky, but maybe this is progress.

 

Doubles – First Round: (10) Babos/Mladenovic def. Jovanovski/Piter 6-1 6-3

 

Doubles – First Round: (14) Y Chan/J Zheng def. Koukalova/Voegele 6-3 6-0

Zheng Jie’s singles career seems to be effectively over, but at least she’s doing fairly well in doubles.

 

Doubles – First Round: (16) Goerges/Groenefeld def. Inglis/Nancarrow 6-4 6-1

This wasn’t really much of a test, but it seems as if Julia Goerges can do no wrong all of a sudden.

 

Doubles – First Round: Hantuchova/Knapp def. Chuang/Zhang 6-3 6-3

For a former finalist here, Chuang Chia-Jung doesn’t seem to be having much luck finding partners.

 

Doubles – First Round: Gajdosova/Tomljanovic def. Moore/Myers 6-0 6-0

 

Doubles – First Round: Panova/Watson def. Beck/Peer 2-6 7-5 3-1, retired

 

Doubles – First Round: Diyas/Scheepers def. Jurak/Moulton-Levy 4-6 6-4 7-6(7-5)

 

Doubles – First Round: Bertens/Larsson def. Lucic-Baroni/Raymond 7-6(9-7) 6-3

This will drop Lisa Raymond out of the Top Fifty.

 

Doubles – First Round: Soler-Espinosa/Torro-Flor def. Bacsinszky/Beygelzimer 4-6 6-2 6-1

 

Doubles – First Round: Arruabarrena/Begu def. Yang/Ye 5-7 6-4 6-4

 

Doubles – First Round: Mattek-Sands/Safarova def. Maria/Olaru 6-3 6-2

 

 

 

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

 

Rankings

 

Estimated WTA Rankings As of January 22, 2015

 

 

Rank &

Prior

Rank …Name …………. Points

1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 7906*

2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 7040*

3..(4) KVITOVA ……….. 6480*

4..(3) HALEP …………. 6271*

5..(8) WOZNIACKI ……… 4565

6..(5) IVANOVIC ………..4425

7..(6) ARADWANSKA ………4160*

8..(7) BOUCHARD ………..4065*

9..(9) KERBER ………….3090

10.(13) PETKOVIC ………..2735

11.(11) MAKAROVA ………..2635*

12.(14) ERRANI ………….2550*

13.(18) VWILLIAMS ……… 2490*

14.(12) PENNETTA ………..2441

15.(16) SAFAROVA ………..2425

16.(15) JANKOVIC ………..2360

17.(17) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2295

18.(19) CORNET ………….2125*

19.(20) KAPLISKOVA ………2015*

20.(22) PENG ……………1970*

21.(23) ZAHLAVOVA STRYCOVA .1930*

22.(10) CIBULKOVA ……… 1837*

23.(21) STOSUR ………….1835

24.(26) SVITOLINA ……… 1740*

25.(24) MUGURUZA ………..1735*

26.(27) KUZNETSOVA ………1701

27.(28) LISICKI ……….. 1592

28.(30) LEPCHENKO ……… 1540*

29.(36) GARCIA ………….1461*

30.(33) GIORGI ………….1455*

 

Draws

 

Australian Open — Week of January 19

 

 

………………….2R

1 S Williams……….(1)S.Williams

26 Svitolina……….(26)Svitolina

24 Muguruza………..(24)Muguruza

15 Jankovic………..Bacsinszky

 

11 Cibulkova……….(11)Cibulkova

19 Cornet………….(19)Cornet

25 Zahlavova Strycova.(25)Zahlavova S

8 Wozniacki………..Azarenka

 

4 Kvitova………….(4)Kvitova

29 Dellacqua……….Keys

20 Stosur………….Vandeweghe

13 Petkovic………..Brengle

 

12 Pennetta………..Giorgi

18 V Williams………(18)V.Williams

30 Lepchenko……….(30)Lepchenko

6 A Radwanska………(6)Radwanska

 

5 Ivanovic…………Hradecka(Q)

32 Bencic………….Goerges

22 Ka Pliskova……..(22)Pliskova

10 Makarova………..(10)Makarova

 

14 Errani………….(14)Errani

23 Pavlyuchenkova…..Wickmayer

28 Lisicki…………Mattek-Sands

3 Halep……………(3)Halep

 

7 Bouchard…………(7)Bouchard

27 Kuznetsova………Garcia

17 Suarez Navarro…..Witthoeft

9 Kerber…………..Begu

 

16 Safarova………..Shvedova

21 Peng……………(21)Peng

31 Diyas…………..(31)Diyas

2 Sharapova………..(2)Sharapova

 

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 S Williams

2 Sharapova

3 Halep

4 Kvitova

5 Ivanovic………….lost 1R (Hradecka)

6 A Radwanska

7 Bouchard

8 Wozniacki…………lost 2R (Azarenka)

9 Kerber……………lost 1R (Begu)

10 Makarova

11 Cibulkova

12 Pennetta………….lost 1R (Giorgi)

13 Petkovic………….lost 1R (Brengle)

14 Errani

15 Jankovic………….lost 1R (Bacsinszky)

16 Safarova………….lost 1R (Shvedova)

17 Suarez Navarro…….lost 1R (Witthoeft)

18 V Williams

19 Cornet

20 Stosur……………lost 2R (Vandeweghe)

21 Peng

22 Ka Pliskova

23 Pavlyuchenkova…….lost 1R (Wickmayer)

24 Muguruza

25 Zahlavova Strycova

26 Svitolina

27 Kuznetsova………..lost 1R (Garcia)

28 Lisicki…………..lost 1R (Mladenovic)

29 Dellacqua…………lost 2R (Keys)

30 Lepchenko

31 Diyas

32 Bencic……………lost 1R (Goerges)

 

SCORES

 

Australian Open

Singles – Second Round

(1) Serena Williams def. Vera Zvonareva 7-5 6-0

(4) Petra Kvitova def. Mona Barthel 6-2 6-4

(6) Agnieszka Radwanska def. Johanna Larsson 6-0 6-1

Victoria Azarenka def. (8) Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-2

(11) Dominika Cibulkova def. Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2 6-0

(18) Venus Williams def. Lauren Davis 6-2 6-3

(19) Alize Cornet def. Denisa Allertova 6-4 6-7(2-7) 6-2

Coco Vandeweghe def. (20) Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-4

(24) Garbine Muguruza def. Daniela Hantuchova 6-1 1-6 6-0

(25) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Chang Kai-Chen 6-1 7-5

(26) Elina Svitolina def. Nicole Gibbs 7-6(7-3) 7-6(8-6)

Madison Keys def. (29) Casey Dellacqua 2-6 6-1 6-1

(30) Varvara Lepchenko def. Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1 7-6(7-1)

Timea Bacsinszky def. Anna Tatishvili 6-7(5-7) 6-3 6-2

Madison Brengle def. Irina Falconi 6-1 6-3

Camila Giorgi def. Tereza Smitkova 6-1 6-4

Doubles – First Round

(1) Errani/Vinci def. Ka Pliskova/Schmiedlova 6-2 6-0

(5) Kops-Jones/Spears def. Birrell/Hon 6-3 7-5

(7) Garcia/Srebotnik def. Petkovic/Rybarikova 4-6 7-5 6-2

(9) Hlavackova/Hradecka def. L Kichenok/Savchuk 6-0 7-6(7-4)

(10) Babos/Mladenovic def. Jovanovski/Piter 6-1 6-3

(14) Y Chan/J Zheng def. Koukalova/Voegele 6-3 6-0

(16) Goerges/Groenefeld def. Inglis/Nancarrow 6-4 6-1

Hantuchova/Knapp def. Chuang/Zhang 6-3 6-3

Gajdosova/Tomljanovic def. Moore/Myers 6-0 6-0

Panova/Watson def. Beck/Peer 2-6 7-5 3-1, retired

Diyas/Scheepers def. Jurak/Moulton-Levy 4-6 6-4 7-6(7-5)

Bertens/Larsson def. Lucic-Baroni/Raymond 7-6(9-7) 6-3

Soler-Espinosa/Torro-Flor def. Bacsinszky/Beygelzimer 4-6 6-2 6-1

Arruabarrena/Begu def. Yang/Ye 5-7 6-4 6-4

Mattek-Sands/Safarova def. Maria/Olaru 6-3 6-2

 

***

 

Bob Larson tennis wire service.

Topics: Australian Open, Melbourne, Tennis Results, Wta

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