Women’s Update: Doha – Qatar Total Open

Written by: Staff on 16th February 2012

Women’s Update: Doha – Qatar Total Open |

Singles – Second Round: (1) Victoria Azarenka def. Mona Barthel 6-1 6-0
Victoria Azarenka skipped Fed Cup, but she seems to be just fine now! What a start to the year…. She leaves Mona Barthel still below #35.

Singles – Second Round: Lucie Safarova def. (2) Caroline Wozniacki 4-6 6-4 7-6(7-3)
Could Caroline Wozniacki be paying the price for all those many years of over-playing? This took two and a half hours, and Wozniacki had three match points, but Lucie Safarova on the whole performed distinctly better than the ex-#1. Safarova remains in the running for a Top 25 spot; Wozniacki will remain #4, but her position is getting shaky.

Singles – Second Round: (3) Samantha Stosur def. Sorana Cirstea 6-4 7-6(7-5)
Samantha Stosur has real reason to worry about her #5 ranking this week, so this is an important start for her. And if she can do well here, she can come quite close to Wozniacki, although she can’t quite catch her. She leaves Sorana Cirstea around #48.

Singles – Second Round: (4) Agnieszka Radwanska def. (Q) Anne Keothavong 6-1 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska still needs more if she is to hit the Top Five, but she is looking pretty unstoppable these days. If she can reach the semifinal and outlast Stosur, it should happen.

Singles – Second Round: (5) Marion Bartoli def. Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2 6-0
Looking at the numbers, we’d guess this may well mean no Top 25 spot for Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Singles – Second Round: Monica Niculescu def. (6) Vera Zvonareva 7-5 3-2 retired (Left Hip Injury)
Vera Zvonareva suffered this last week, and hip injuries are usually slow to heal, so this is no surprise. It means she won’t rise above #8. But she won’t fall, either.

Singles – Second Round: Yanina Wickmayer def. (7) Francesca Schiavone 7-6(7-4) 6-4
There goes Francesca Schiavone’s Top Ten chance, meaning that Andrea Petkovic will keep the #10 ranking, Yanina Wickmayer stays in the Top 25 hunt, but it isn’t settled yet.

Singles – Second Round: Shahar Peer def. (8) Jelena Jankovic 7-6(7-3) 6-2
Jelena Jankovic was a semifinalist at Dubai last year, so she will lose another ranking spot. That probably means another high for Sabine Lisicki, who is likely to reach #13.

Singles – Second Round: Christina McHale def. (12) Peng Shuai 5-7 6-3 6-2
Peng Shuai will lose at least one ranking spot; Christina McHale will gain at least one.

Singles – Second Round: Petra Cetkovska def. (13) Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-4
Amazingly, Petra Cetkovska still hasn’t clinched her Top Thirty ranking, but it looks sure in practice. It appears Ana Ivanovic will be #18.

Singles – Second Round: (14) Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Maria Kirilenko 6-4 6-4
Maria Kirilenko loses her Top Twenty chance, but Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is defending finalist points, keeps within shooting distance of the Top 25.

Singles – Second Round: (Q) Varvara Lepchenko def. (16) Julia Goerges 7-6(7-4) 7-6(7-5)
Julia Goerges should hit the Top Twenty despite this loss, but not by much. She became the eleventh seed to lose in the first two rounds!

Singles – Second Round: Ksenia Pervak def. (Q) Virginie Razzano 6-4 6-0
Ksenia Pervak is ow on the cusp of the Top Forty. One more win would clinch it — and she faces an unseeded opponent.

Singles – Second Round: Tsvetana Pironkova def. Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-1
Tsvetana Pironkova almost never wins second round matches, but she doesn’t often face opponents as tired as Angelique Kerber. Kerber, despite the loss, is very likely to hit the Top Twenty; Pironkova will probably rise above #45.

Singles – Second Round: Simona Halep def. Iveta Benesova 6-4 6-4
Iveta Benesova loses her Top Forty chance.

Singles – Second Round: (Q) Kateryna Bondarenko def. Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-2
Flavia Pennetta was a Dubai semifinalist last year, so this means that she is out of the Top 25. She should stay Top Thirty.

Doubles – Second Round: Dushevina/Peer def. (2) Mirza/Vesnina 6-4 6-4
What a jinxed place for seeds! Although, in this case, it appears that Elena Vesnina just wasn’t quite in playing shape.

Doubles – Second Round: Barrois/Groenefeld def. (3) Hantuchova/Radwanska 6-1 6-2
That’s two too-early losses for Daniela Hantuchova here, one in singles, one in doubles. Clearly the jet lag or the exhaustion are getting to her.

Doubles – Second Round: (4) Kirilenko/Lisicki def. Klepac/Rosolska 6-2 4-6 10-8 (Match TB)

Doubles – Second Round: Kops-Jones/Spears def. (6) Grandin/Uhlirova 6-4 3-6 11-9 (Match TB)

Topics: Qatar Total Open