****** EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ******
* Italy leads 2-0 in Fed Cup despite Vinci’s struggles
* Halep tops Ivanovic to rise to #11; will face Stosur
****** TODAY’S WOMEN’S NEWS ******
Sofia
Singles – Semifinal: (1) Simona Halep def. (2) Ana Ivanovic 2-6 6-1 6-3
A strange match — and not just because it featured #1 versus #2 in the semifinal. Simona Halep started reasonably well in the first set, collapsed, took charge in the second, went down a break in the third, then took charge again. But what counts is who is in charge last, and since it was Halep, she assured herself yet another career high. We show her rising from #14 to #11. She can’t go above that no matter what happens in the final — but she is playing like a Top Ten player. Certainly more so than Caroline Wozniacki or Angelique Kerber! So stay tuned for next year.
Ana Ivanovic, on the other hand, does not move at all. #16 she came in, and at #16 she will end the year.
Singles – Semifinal: (4) Samantha Stosur def. (6) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 1-6 6-3
A day of strange matches…. A poor ending for Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who had the chance to hit the Top 25 but will end up at #26. Samantha Stosur rises from #19 to #18; she’ll make #17 if she wins the final.
Fed Cup
The surprise was that it was so close. Russia’s Alexandra Panova — whose only career final was on clay at Bogota — not only hung tough with Roberta Vinci, she actually had four match points. But Panova had only one WTA win all year, and that was all the way back at Pattaya City. Vinci won 5-7 7-5 8-6, and Italy was up 1-0.
Sara Errani had one bad moment at the start of the second set, when she went down 3-1. But that was the only fight Irina Khromacheva could put up. Errani won the second singles 6-1 6-4, and Italy had a 2-0 lead.
It will be really interesting to see who gets the call for the remaining singles matches. It’s probably Flavia Pennetta’s turn for Italy, given that Vinci had to play three hours and thirteen minutes and has a sore neck….
Nanjing $125K
Simona Halep is this year’s obvious candidate for Most Improved Player, but maybe we should give a thought to Zhang Shuai. China’s breakthrough player of 2013 is at it again. On Saturday, she beat #2 seed Yanina Wickmayer 1-6 6-4 6-4. #3 seed Zhang is now firmly in the Top Sixty. In the final, she will face #4 Ayumi Morita, who beat Jarmila Gajdosova 7-6 6-2. Zhang and Morita came in at #63 and #64, so there isn’t much to separate them except Chinese-ness — but if Zhang can win the title, she’ll be just below the Top Fifty. Morita would be closer to #55 if she wins.
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
KEYWORDS: No Feature Today
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
Sofia (International Championships/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Nadia Petrova
Fed Cup Final
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
Challengers Only
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
**RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of November 2, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank….Name…………..Points
1..(1) SWilliams ……… 13260
2..(2) Azarenka ………..8046
3..(3) Li ……………..6045
4..(4) Sharapova ……… 5891
5..(5) ARadwanska ………5875
6..(6) Kvitova ……….. 4775
7..(7) Errani ………….4435
8..(8) Jankovic ………..4170
9..(9) Kerber ………….3965
10.(10) Wozniacki ……… 3520
11.(14) HALEP …………. 3215*
12.(11) Stephens ………..3185
13.(12) Bartoli ……….. 3172
14.(13) Vinci …………. 3170
15.(15) Lisicki ……….. 2920
16.(16) IVANOVIC ………..2850
17.(17) Suarez Navarro …..2735
18.(19) STOSUR ………….2675*
19.(18) KIRILENKO ……… 2640
20.(20) Flipkens ………..2495
21.(21) Kuznetsova ………2341
22.(22) Cirstea ……….. 2170
23.(23) Cibulkova ……… 2076
24.(24) Makarova ………..2066
25.(25) VESNINA ……….. 2005
26.(26) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..1965
27.(27) CORNET ………….1840
28.(28) Hampton ……….. 1781
29.(29) Safarova ………..1775
30.(30) Kanepi ………….1752
**DRAWS
Sofia — Week of October 28
GROUP SERDIKA……HALEP….KIRIL….PAVLY….CORNE….SVITO….W/L….Sets
1 Halep…………XXXXX….XXXXX….HALEP….HALEP….HALEP….3/0….6/0
5 Pavlyuchenkova…HALEP….XXXXX….XXXXX….PAVLY….PAVLY….2/1….4/2
7 Cornet………..HALEP….CORNE….PAVLY….XXXXX….XXXXX….1/2….2/4
3 Kirilenko……..+++++….XXXXX….+++++….CORNE….XXXXX….0/1….0/2
9 Svitolina……..HALEP….XXXXX….PAVLY….XXXXX….XXXXX….0/2….0/4
GROUP SREDETS……IVANO….STOSU….VESNI….PIRON….W/L….Sets
2 Ivanovic………XXXXX….IVANO….VESNI….IVANO….2/1….5/3
4 Stosur………..IVANO….XXXXX….STOSU….STOSU….2/1….5/2
5 Vesnina……….VESNI….STOSU….XXXXX….VESNI….2/1….4/4
8 Pironkova……..IVANO….STOSU….VESNI….XXXXX….0/3….1/6
SEMIFINAL………..FINAL
1 Halep………….Halep
2 Ivanovic
4 Stosur…………Stosur
6 Pavlyuchenkova
******** SCORES ********
SATURDAY
Sofia
Singles – Semifinal
(1) Simona Halep def. (2) Ana Ivanovic 2-6 6-1 6-3
(4) Samantha Stosur def. (6) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 1-6 6-3
Fed Cup — Final
Saturday: Italy leads 2-0
Roberta Vinci def. Alexandra Panova 5-7 7-5 8-6
Sara Errani def. Irina Khromacheva 6-1 6-4
Topics: 10sballs, Agnieszka Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Li Na, Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka, Wta