We thought we would be able to cover the late match (Radwanska versus Begu) in today’s edition, but it is supposed to follow Novak Djokovic’s match, and somehow Djokovic seems to be losing his grip. So we’ll cover the Radwanska match tomorrow.
* Struggling Bouchard out to opponent ranked more than a hundred places below her
* What knee problem? Serena loses only four games against Niculescu
Singles – Second Round: (1) Serena Williams def. Monica Niculescu 6-3 6-1
Serena Williams may have a bad knee, but her head is doing just fine. After struggling against Monica Niculescu in Indian Wells, Serena gave poor Niculescu the full Williams treatment this time. Serena is going to be #1 no matter what, but this obviously puts the rest of the draw on notice. Niculescu will probably be a little below #60.
Singles – Second Round: (Q) Tatjana Maria def. (6) Eugenie Bouchard 6-0 7-6(7-4)
Is there no limit to Eugenie Bouchard’s misery? Tatjana Maria is ranked 106 places below her! Or was; this will put Maria in the Top Hundred. Bouchard will almost certainly keep the #7 ranking she came in with, but she won’t rise, and if she can’t get things going soon, she’s going to be in a lot of trouble come Wimbledon!
Singles – Second Round: (11) Sara Errani def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 7-6(7-5)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova adds a few points but won’t rise above #38. Sara Errani still has points to defend and is in danger of falling from #13 to #14 or lower.
Singles – Second Round: (13) Angelique Kerber def. Heather Watson 7-5 3-6 6-4
Just what they didn’t need on a day when they were trying to catch up from yesterday’s ten singles postponements: Yet another two and a half hour match. At least Angelique Kerber survived — but this left her still barely ahead of Venus Williams in the contest for #15. Heather Watson may well rise from #41 to #40, but that is as high as she can go this week.
Singles – Third Round: (4) Caroline Wozniacki def. Kaia Kanepi 4-6 6-1 6-3
Caroline Wozniacki stays in the lead in the contest for the #5 ranking, by a wide margin, although it isn’t over yet. Kaia Kanepi has a good chance of reaching #50, but it isn’t sure yet.
Singles – Third Round: (8) Ekaterina Makarova def. (26) Elina Svitolina 6-0 6-4
Ekaterina Makarova builds her lead on Agnieszka Radwanska in the contest for the #8 ranking. But Elina Svitolina, who was defending third round points, will fall from #27 to probably #29.
Singles – Third Round: (9) Andrea Petkovic def. Kristina Mladenovic 6-0 6-2
Andrea Petkovic is now just five points behind Lucie Safarova in the contest for the last Top Ten spot. Kristina Mladenovic will rise above #60, but this leaves her still below #55.
Singles – Third Round: (12) Carla Suarez Navarro def. (22) Alize Cornet 6-0 6-4
It’s quite the coincidence: The first two matches to finish on Saturday were this and the Makarova match. Both went by the score 6-0 6-4. And both ended in between 64 and 65 minutes. For Alize Cornet, this means no Top Twenty spot, but Carla Suarez Navarro is now perhaps just one win away from the Top Ten. She and Andrea Petkovic are both just behind Lucie Safarova; if either wins her next match, the one who lasts longer will be #10.
Singles – Third Round: (14) Karolina Pliskova def. (WC) Paula Badosa Gibert 7-5 6-1
The first set of this wasn’t really as close as it looks. Karolina Pliskova was in charge, let her foot off the throttle long enough to let Paula Badosa Gibert get things back to 5-5, and then Pliskova took charge again. She is still only #13 in safe points, but she faces a wildcard next, so she has a real chance to go higher. Badosa Gibert at least earned her first WTA third round and a career high.
Singles – Third Round: (16) Venus Williams def. (23) Samantha Stosur 6-4 7-6(7-3)
This should have been over a lot sooner; Venus Williams was up 5-2 in the second set, and twice served for the match, and couldn’t put it away. But she finally got the job done in the tiebreak. That means she still has a shot at the Top Fifteen, although she’ll need at least one more win. Samantha Stosur will stay within one spot of the #26 ranking she came in with.
Singles – Third Round: (WC) Daria Gavrilova def. Kurumi Nara 6-0 7-6(7-5)
Daria Gavrilova is easily going to hit a career high. Kurumi Nara loses her chance to hit the Top 25.
Doubles – First Round: (4) Hsieh/Pennetta def. (WC) Cornet/Svitolina 6-1 6-3
It was a pretty good day for doubles seeds, but it’s not clear how much that means — there are a lot of weak teams in this draw, and a lot of them ended up facing the seeds.
Doubles – First Round: (5) Muguruza/Suarez Navarro def. Savchuk/Torro-Flor 6-3 6-2
Doubles – First Round: (8) Garcia/Srebotnik def. (WC) Puig/Watson 6-3 6-3
Doubles – First Round: H Chan/Jankovic def. Parra Santonja/Soler-Espinosa 7-5 6-4
Doubles – First Round: (WC) Hantuchova/Knapp def. (WC) Dulgheru/Halep 7-5 6-3
Doubles – First Round: Jans-Ignacik/Klepac def. Bertens/Maria 7-5 6-4
Doubles – First Round: Niculescu/Panova def. Raymond/Stosur 6-2 6-3
Raymond/Stosur did reasonably well last week at Indian Wells, but frankly this is more like what usually happens to them when they try a reunion. They really need a long time to get their games synchronized.
Doubles – Second Round: Dushevina/Martinez Sanchez def. Goerges/Groenefeld 7-6(7-2) 3-6 10-7
This looks like quite a comeback. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez is unranked, but this means she’ll come back on the rankings at around #380. Not bad for one event!
Estimated WTA Rankings As of March 29, 2015
Rank &
Prior
Rank …Name …………. Points
1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 9046*
2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 7890
3..(3) HALEP …………. 7246*
4..(4) Kvitova ……….. 6060
5..(5) WOZNIACKI ……… 4675*
6..(6) IVANOVIC ………..4260*
7..(7) BOUCHARD ………..4122
8..(9) MAKAROVA ………..3420*
9..(8) ARADWANSKA ………3330*
10.(11) SAFAROVA ………..2870
11.(10) PETKOVIC ………..2865*
12.(12) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2810*
13.(14) KAPLISKOVA ………2785*
14.(13) ERRANI ………….2680*
15.(15) KERBER ………….2500*
16.(16) VWILLIAMS ……… 2496*
17.(17) JANKOVIC ………..2420
18.(19) MUGURUZA ………..2125*
19.(18) KEYS ……………2075
20.(20) Peng ……………1985
21.(21) LISICKI ……….. 1977*
22.(23) Bacsinszky ………1971
23.(22) ZAHLAVOVA STRYCOVA .1945
24.(24) CORNET ………….1870
25.(26) STOSUR ………….1835
26.(29) KUZNETSOVA ………1815*
27.(25) GARCIA ………….1785
28.(28) PENNETTA ………..1775*
29.(27) SVITOLINA ……… 1770
30.(31) LEPCHENKO ……… 1430
Miami — Week of March 23
…………………..3R
1 S Williams………..(1)S.Williams
29 Diyas……………Bellis(WC)
24 Kuznetsova……….(24)Kuznetsova
13 Kerber…………..(13)Kerber
11 Errani…………..(11)Errani
21 Muguruza…………(21)Muguruza
27 Lisicki………….(27)Lisicki
5 Ivanovic………….(5)Ivanovic
3 Halep…………….(3)Halep
30 Giorgi…………..(30)Giorgi
20 Jankovic…………Azarenka
15 Pennetta…………(15)Pennetta
10 Safarova…………Larsson
17 Keys…………….Stephens
32 Dellacqua………..Bencic
6 Bouchard………….Maria(Q)
7 A Radwanska……….(7)Radwanska
31 Begu…………….(31)Begu
22 Cornet…………..(22)Cornet
12 Suarez Navarro……(12)Suarez Navarro..Suarez N
16 V Williams……….(16)V.Williams……(16)V.Williams
23 Stosur…………..(23)Stosur
28 Lepchenko………..Kanepi
4 Wozniacki…………(4)Wozniacki……..Wozniacki
8 Makarova………….(8)Makarova………Makarova
26 Svitolina………..(26)Svitolina
19 Zahlavova Strycova..Mladenovic
9 Petkovic………….(9)Petkovic………Petkovic
14 Ka Pliskova………(14)Pliskova……..Pliskova
[S.Zheng(LL)………..Badosa Gibert(WC)
25 Garcia…………..Nara
2 Sharapova…………Gavrilova(WC)…….Gavrilova
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 S Williams
2 Sharapova………….lost 2R (Gavrilova)
3 Halep
4 Wozniacki
5 Ivanovic
6 Bouchard………….lost 2R (Maria)
7 A Radwanska
8 Makarova
9 Petkovic
10 Safarova…………lost 2R (Larsson)
11 Errani
12 Suarez Navarro
13 Kerber
14 Ka Pliskova
15 Pennetta
16 V Williams
17 Keys…………….lost 3R (Stephens)
18 Peng…………….WITHDREW (replaced by Zheng/LL)
19 Zahlavova Strycova..lost 2R (Mladenovic)
20 Jankovic…………lost 2R (Azarenka)
21 Muguruza
22 Cornet…………..lost 3R (Suarez Navarro)
23 Stosur…………..lost 3R (V. Williams)
24 Kuznetsova
25 Garcia…………..lost 2R (Nara)
26 Svitolina………..lost 3R (Makarova)
27 Lisicki
28 Lepchenko………..lost 2R (Kanepi)
29 Diyas……………lost 2R (Bellis)
30 Giorgi
31 Begu
32 Dellacqua………..lost 2R (Bencic)
SATURDAY
Miami
Singles – Second Round
(1) Serena Williams def. Monica Niculescu 6-3 6-1
(Q) Tatjana Maria def. (6) Eugenie Bouchard 6-0 7-6(7-4)
(11) Sara Errani def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 7-6(7-5)
(13) Angelique Kerber def. Heather Watson 7-5 3-6 6-4
Singles – Third Round
(4) Caroline Wozniacki def. Kaia Kanepi 4-6 6-1 6-3
(8) Ekaterina Makarova def. (26) Elina Svitolina 6-0 6-4
(9) Andrea Petkovic def. Kristina Mladenovic 6-0 6-2
(12) Carla Suarez Navarro def. (22) Alize Cornet 6-0 6-4
(14) Karolina Pliskova def. (WC) Paula Badosa Gibert 7-5 6-1
(16) Venus Williams def. (23) Samantha Stosur 6-4 7-6(7-3)
(WC) Daria Gavrilova def. Kurumi Nara 6-0 7-6(7-5)
Doubles – First Round
(4) Hsieh/Pennetta def. (WC) Cornet/Svitolina 6-1 6-3
(5) Muguruza/Suarez Navarro def. Savchuk/Torro-Flor 6-3 6-2
(8) Garcia/Srebotnik def. (WC) Puig/Watson 6-3 6-3
H Chan/Jankovic def. Parra Santonja/Soler-Espinosa 7-5 6-4
(WC) Hantuchova/Knapp def. (WC) Dulgheru/Halep 7-5 6-3
Jans-Ignacik/Klepac def. Bertens/Maria 7-5 6-4
Niculescu/Panova def. Raymond/Stosur 6-2 6-3
Doubles – Second Round
Dushevina/Martinez Sanchez def. Goerges/Groenefeld 7-6(7-2) 3-6 10-7
Content via Bob Larson tennis news
Topics: Maria Sharapova, Miami Open 2015, Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams, Wta
#TENNIS NEWS FROM #MIAMI, DASHA TOOK OUT @MariaSharapova & WON HER NEXT ROUND TOO, AS DID SERENA & @Venuseswilliams.. http://t.co/p6fJGHvHPy