Barcelona
Singles – First Round: Olga Govortsova def. (1/WC) Francesca Schiavone 6-4 6-3
Olga Govortsova is a pretty good player on her good days, but this still looks like an appearance fee score…. Francesca Schiavone loses another chance to rise above #12.
Singles – First Round: (2) Julia Goerges def. (Q) Aravane Rezai 6-4 6-0
Aravane Rezai will remain far below the Top Hundred.
Singles – First Round: (3) Dominika Cibulkova def. Iryna Bremond 6-0 6-3
The scores on this day perhaps reveal how weak this event is. Note that the #2, #3, and #5 seeds all scored bagels.
Singles – First Round: (5/WC) Flavia Pennetta def. Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino 6-0 6-4
We had thought that this match, at least, might prove interesting, given that Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino had a title earlier this year. But she will remain below #120.
Singles – First Round: Klara Zakopalova def. (Q) Laura Thorpe 6-3 6-4
No points yet for Klara Zakopalova, but her Top Fifty spot looks fairly safe.
Singles – First Round: Carla Suarez Navarro def. (Q) Annalisa Bona 6-3 6-1
Annalisa Bona is #240, so even qualifying points are worth something for her. But not much, because she had points to defend.
Singles – First Round: Laura Pous-Tio def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1 6-2
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova will remain around #60.
Singles – First Round: (Q) Yuliya Beygelzimer def. Alexandra Cadantu 6-3 7-6(7-4)
Frankly, we thought Alexandra Cadantu was one of the better unseeded players here. Instead, she’s out to an opponent ranked below #200 — although this will move Yuliya Beygelzimer above that mark.
Singles – First Round: (LL) Estrella Cabeza Candela def. Nina Bratchikova 6-2 7-5
This will knock Nina Bratchikova out of the Top Hundred.
Singles – First Round: Lourdes Dominguez Lino def. Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-1 6-2
It’s hard to believe that this is an upset, but it is — a fairly substantial one. Silvia Soler Espinosa would have been closing in on the Top Sixty had she won this.
Doubles – First Round: (1) Errani/Vinci def. Kustova/Savchuk 6-0 6-3
Doubles – First Round: Jugic-Salkic/Klemenschits def. (2) Llagostera Vives/Parra Santonja 7-6(9-7) 6-3
Doubles – First Round: Halep/Husarova def. Arruabarrena-Vecino/Stephens 5-7 6-2 10-3 (Match TB)
Copenhagen
Singles – First Round: (1) Caroline Wozniacki def. Urszula Radwanska 7-6(7-4) 6-2
Caroline Wozniacki needs a title her to earn any points at all, so long matches are not exactly what she is looking for….
Singles – First Round: (2) Angelique Kerber def. Stephanie Foretz Gacon 4-6 6-2 7-5
One more win and Angelique Kerber clinches her Top Fifteen ranking. But she is definitely getting there the hard way.
Singles – First Round: (4) Monica Niculescu def. Valeria Savinykh 6-2 6-2
Any additional points will count for Monica Niculescu, but she needs at least a semifinal to climb in the rankings.
Singles – First Round: (5) Kaia Kanepi def. Anastasia Rodionova 6-3 6-4
Kaia Kanepi is already earning points; one more win would likely take her up a spot or two.
Singles – First Round: (6) Mona Barthel def. Johanna Larsson 6-3 6-4
Mona Barthel is also starting to add to her total; she too needs one more win to move.
Singles – First Round: (Q) Johanna Konta def. (7) Ksenia Pervak 6-3 1-0, retired (GI Illness)
A big chance wasted for Ksenia Pervak, who will not rise above her current #38.
Singles – First Round: Patricia Mayr-Achleitner def. (8) Sofia Arvidsson 7-5 5-7 6-1
We would have expected this on clay, which Patricia Mayr-Achleitner likes and Sofia Arvidsson does not. But it’s a real surprise on this surface. Arvidsson loses what could have been a real shot at the Top Fifty.
Singles – First Round: Petra Martic def. (Q) Annika Beck 6-4 6-4
Just qualifying here will probably take Annika Beck to around #180.
Singles – First Round: Anne Keothavong def. (Q) Melinda Czink 4-6 6-2 6-3
This appears to mean no return to the Top Hundred for Melinda Czink.
Singles – First Round: Alize Cornet def. (WC) Malou Ejdesgaard 6-0 6-0
By the looks of things, Denmark is going to remain a one-player country for a long time….
Singles – First Round: Pauline Parmentier def. (Q) Anna Chakvetadze 7-5 6-1
A rather sad result, but at least Anna Chakvetadze is playing again.
Estimated WTA Rankings As of April 10, 2012
Rank &
Prior
Rank …Name …………. Points
1..(1) Azarenka ………..8980
2..(2) Sharapova ……… 7930
3..(3) Kvitova ……….. 7095
4..(4) Radwanska ……… 6710
5..(5) Stosur ………….5825
6..(6) WOZNIACKI ……… 5450*
7..(7) Bartoli ……….. 5020
8..(8) Li ……………..4880
9..(9) SWilliams ……… 4300
10.(10) Zvonareva ……… 3895
11.(11) Petkovic ………..3410
12.(12) SCHIAVONE ……… 3380
13.(13) Lisicki ……….. 3251
14.(15) KERBER ………….2785*
14.(14) Ivanovic ………..2785
16.(16) GOERGES ……….. 2735*
17.(17) CIBULKOVA ……… 2545*
18.(18) VINCI …………. 2470*
19.(19) Hantuchova ………2450
20.(20) JANKOVIC ………..2430*
21.(21) Kirilenko ……… 2410
22.(22) Pavlyuchenkova …..2305
23.(23) Safarova ………..2255
24.(24) PENNETTA ………..2155*
25.(25) Peng ……………2050
26.(26) Medina Garrigues …1940
27.(27) Kuznetsova ………1902
28.(29) NICULESCU ……… 1840*
29.(28) CETKOVSKA ……… 1800*
30.(30) Wickmayer ……… 1745