Singles – Second Round: (1) Li Na def. Zheng Jie 6-1 7-5
Could there possibly be just a little bit of rivalry between Li Na and Zheng Jie? After all, Li is often called the first Chinese player to win a Slam — but Zheng Jie actually won one (in fact, won two) first — it’s just that it was in doubles, with Yan. Li, who will be #2 no matter what happens here, leaves Zheng still below the Top Fifty.
Singles – Second Round: (4) Maria Sharapova def. Julia Goerges 6-1 6-4
Maria Sharapova looked strong in the first match of her title defense, but she is still only #7 — and not a particularly strong #7 — in safe points. The good news is, it now looks highly unlikely that she will fall out of the Top Eight.
Singles – Second Round: Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor def. (5) Angelique Kerber 2-6 7-6(7-5) 6-4
This is the main reason Sharapova’s Top Eight spot looks safe. We lost five seeds on Saturday, but this was by far the craziest upset — not only is Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor ranked #72 (or she was; this will probably take her above #70), but she comes from clay. Angelique Kerber, a semifinalist last year, will fall from #6 to probably #9.
Singles – Second Round: (8) Petra Kvitova def. (WC) Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 6-3
This must be one of Petra Kvitova’s healthy weeks. She leaves Coco Vandeweghe still below #100.
Singles – Second Round: (11) Ana Ivanovic def. Elina Svitolina 4-6 7-5 7-6(7-1)
This two and a half hour match gave Ana Ivanovic quite a scare, but she remains likely to rise to #12. Elina Svitolina will remain a little below #40.
Singles – Second Round: (12) Dominika Cibulkova def. (WC) Donna Vekic 6-3 6-2
Dominika Cibulkova keeps alive her faint hopes of reaching the Top Ten — but emphasize “faint”; she will almost certainly need a title. This leaves Donna Vekic still in the #100 range.
Singles – Second Round: Aleksandra Wozniak def. (15) Sabine Lisicki 7-5 1-6 7-6(7-5)
We were really hoping Sabine Lisicki would win this, just so we could have a contest between Sabine Lisicki, Martina Hingis’s current project, and Hingis’s former associate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. So far, being around Hingis doesn’t seem to be helping Lisicki much! The good news is, she wasn’t defending anything, so her Top Fifteen spot looks pretty safe.
Singles – Second Round: (16) Samantha Stosur def. Francesca Schiavone 6-2 6-3
The Big Rematch was rather a dud, obviously. Francesca Schiavone continues to lose ground; it appears she will be falling below #45. Samantha Stosur still has a lot of defending to do, but her Top Twenty spot now looks pretty secure.
Singles – Second Round: (17) Sloane Stephens def. Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-0
Good to see Sloane Stephens win away from the Slams, but the points aren’t yet enough to make much difference. She leaves Ajla Tomljanovic still between #65 and #70.
Singles – Second Round: (20) Flavia Pennetta def. (WC) Taylor Townsend 6-3 6-7(4-7) 6-3
Flavia Pennetta’s chances of making the Top Twenty now look pretty good but by no means certain.
Singles – Second Round: (21) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Caroline Garcia 6-4 7-5
This was a relatively early match, so we didn’t know at the time whether Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova would face Sabine Lisicki. We did know, though, that it moves the Russian to within about a hundred points of the Top Twenty.
Singles – Second Round: (23) Ekaterina Makarova def. Monica Niculescu 7-5 6-7(3-7) 6-3
Ekaterina Makarova is definitely living dangerously around here. First there was her narrow escape in doubles, now this three hour, eleven minute monster. But every point she earns is a bonus; it now seems just about certain that she will stay Top 25. Monica Niculescu matched her result from last year, but because of the changes in the points table, it appears this will drop her below #65.
Singles – Second Round: (Q) Camila Giorgi def. (25) Sorana Cirstea 7-6(7-3) 6-3
Talk about a contest of two inconsistent players! The loss means no Top 25 spot for Sorana Cirstea.
Singles – Second Round: (27) Svetlana Kuznetsova def. (Q) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-3 6-3
This will almost certainly suffice to keep Svetlana Kuznetsova Top Thirty, meaning that Venus Williams will remain below that mark. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, despite adding about fifty points, remains below #60.
Singles – Second Round: Karolina Pliskova def. (28) Klara Zakopalova 7-5 6-2
If Klara Zakopalova had to choose an event at which to lose her opener, this was probably it. She was defending fourth round points, but because others around her were defending more, it appears she won’t fall in the rankings. Karolina Pliskova ought to rise above #65.
Singles – Second Round: Alisa Kleybanova def. (32) Garbine Muguruza 6-3 6-2
Given how well Garbine Muguruza has been playing lately, this probably counts as one of the best results of Alisa Kleybanova’s comeback. The loss will drop Muguruza from #32 to #35 or lower.
Doubles – Second Round: (5) Black/Mirza def. Kops-Jones/Spears 6-3 6-4
It is a good indication of how strong this draw is that Kops-Jones and Spears are both Top Twenty, yet they didn’t get seeded here. They will remain near the bottom of the Top Twenty. Sania Mirza’s Top Ten spot is looking increasingly certain, since the next active player is her partner Cara Black, currently #10 in safe points. We estimate the Top Ten as follows:
1 (1) PENG 8265* 2 (2) HSIEH 8125* 3 (6) ERRANI 7270 4 (6) VINCI 7270 5 (5) SREBOTNIK 7040* 6 (3) VESNINA 6740* 7 (4) MAKAROVA 6640* 8 (9) PESCHKE 5350* 9 (11) MIRZA 5270* 10 (10) HLAVACKOVA 5220
Rankings
Estimated WTA Rankings As of March 8, 2014
Rank & Prior Rank Name Points 1 (1) SWilliams 12660 2 (2) LI 6860* 3 (3) ARADWANSKA 5630* 4 (4) AZARENKA 5441 5 (7) HALEP 4450* 6 (8) JANKOVIC 4440* 7 (5) SHARAPOVA 4271* 8 (9) KVITOVA 4180* 9 (6) KERBER 4050 10 (10) ERRANI 3830* 11 (11) CIBULKOVA 3320* 12 (13) IVANOVIC 3140* 13 (14) VINCI 2925* 14 (15) LISICKI 2660 15 (16) SUAREZ NAVARRO 2620* 16 (12) WOZNIACKI 2550* 17 (18) STEPHENS 2475* 18 (19) BOUCHARD 2430* 19 (17) STOSUR 2420* 20 (21) PENNETTA 2320* 21 (22) PAVLYUCHENKOVA 2240* 22 (20) FLIPKENS 2215 23 (23) CORNET 2175* 24 (24) MAKAROVA 2125* 25 (26) KANEPI 2045 26 (27) CIRSTEA 1910 27 (28) SAFAROVA 1880* 28 (29) ZAKOPALOVA 1615 29 (25) Kirilenko 1596 30 (30) KUZNETSOVA 1583*
Draws
Indian Wells — week of March 3, 2014
...................3R 1 Li...............(1)Li 28 Zakopalova......Ka.Pliskova 21 Pavlyuchenkova..(21)Pavlyuchenkova 15 Lisicki.........Wozniak 12 Cibulkova.......(12)Cibulkova 23 Makarova........(23)Makarova 27 Kuznetsova......(27)Kuznetsova 8 Kvitova..........(8)Kvitova 4 Sharapova........(4)Sharapova 25 Cirstea.........Giorgi(Q) 20 Pennetta........(20)Pennetta 16 Stosur..........(16)Stosur 11 Ivanovic........(11)Ivanovic 17 Stephens........(17)Stephens 32 Muguruza........Kleybanova 5 Kerber...........Torro-Flor 6 Halep............(6)Halep 26 Safarova........(26)Safarova 18 Bouchard........(18)Bouchard 9 Errani...........(9)Errani 13 Vinci...........(13)Vinci 19 Flipkens........Dellacqua(Q) 29 Hantuchova......Lepchenko 3 Azarenka.........Davis 7 Jankovic.........(7)Jankovic 31 Rybarikova......(31)Rybarikova 24 Kanepi..........Shvedova 10 Wozniacki.......(10)Wozniacki 14 Suarez Navarro..(14)Suarez Navarro 22 Cornet..........(22)Cornet 30 Vesnina.........Beck 2 A Radwanska......(2)A.Radwanska STATUS OF SEEDS: 1 Li 2 A Radwanska 3 Azarenka..........lost 2R (Davis) 4 Sharapova 5 Kerber............lost 2R (Torro-Flor) 6 Halep 7 Jankovic 8 Kvitova 9 Errani 10 Wozniacki 11 Ivanovic 12 Cibulkova 13 Vinci 14 Suarez Navarro 15 Lisicki..........lost 2R (Wozniak) 16 Stosur 17 Stephens 18 Bouchard 19 Flipkens.........lost 2R (Dellacqua) 20 Pennetta 21 Pavlyuchenkova 22 Cornet 23 Makarova 24 Kanepi...........lost 2R (Shvedova) 25 Cirstea..........lost 2R (Giorgi) 26 Safarova 27 Kuznetsova 28 Zakopalova.......lost 1R (Ka. Pliskova) 29 Hantuchova.......lost 2R (Lepchenko) 30 Vesnina..........lost 2R (Beck) 31 Rybarikova 32 Muguruza.........lost 2R (Kleybanova)
SATURDAY
Indian Wells Singles – Second Round (1) Li Na def. Zheng Jie 6-1 7-5 (4) Maria Sharapova def. Julia Goerges 6-1 6-4 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor def. (5) Angelique Kerber 2-6 7-6(7-5) 6-4 (8) Petra Kvitova def. (WC) Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 6-3 (11) Ana Ivanovic def. Elina Svitolina 4-6 7-5 7-6(7-1) (12) Dominika Cibulkova def. (WC) Donna Vekic 6-3 6-2 Aleksandra Wozniak def. (15) Sabine Lisicki 7-5 1-6 7-6(7-5) (16) Samantha Stosur def. Francesca Schiavone 6-2 6-3 (17) Sloane Stephens def. Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-0 (20) Flavia Pennetta def. (WC) Taylor Townsend 6-3 6-7(4-7) 6-3 (21) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Caroline Garcia 6-4 7-5 (23) Ekaterina Makarova def. Monica Niculescu 7-5 6-7(3-7) 6-3 (Q) Camila Giorgi def. (25) Sorana Cirstea 7-6(7-3) 6-3 (27) Svetlana Kuznetsova def. (Q) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-3 6-3 Karolina Pliskova def. (28) Klara Zakopalova 7-5 6-2 Alisa Kleybanova def. (32) Garbine Muguruza 6-3 6-2 Doubles – Second Round (5) Black/Mirza def. Kops-Jones/Spears 6-3 6-4 (7) Barty/Dellacqua def. Hantuchova/Parra Santonja 6-1 6-3
Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Indian Wells Tennis News, Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Wta, Zheng Jie
WTA / INDIAN WELLS RESULTS FROM SATURDAY – http://t.co/9j16FHznmX @WTA #tennis @BNPPARIBASOPEN #BNPPO14