Today’s Women’s News (10/24)
Today's Women's News (10/24)
Istanbul
Sadly, we now know why Petra Kvitova looked so feeble in her opening match in Istanbul. She was coming down with a bug, and has now withdrawn from the event at which she was the defending champion. That means she cannot rise above her current #6; there is a slight chance she will fall to #7. She still hopes to play the Fed Cup final.
That leaves an opening for Samantha Stosur to take a spot in the draw — and, since Stosur will get to play two matches, the Australian has at least an outside shot at reaching the final. Which would likely allow her to end the year at #8.
Round Robin – Red Group: (1) Victoria Azarenka def. (5) Angelique Kerber 6-7(11-13) 7-6(7-2) 6-4
Angelique Kerber had all the angles in this match — but Victoria Azarenka had all the power. Azarenka slipped up on set point in the first set — but when Kerber had a couple of match points on Azarenka’s serve in the second set, Azarenka came through. The big question is whether she’ll have any energy left…. Still, she needs only one more win to clinch the year-end #1.
Kerber is, of course, 0-2 and last in the group. She still has a theoretical chance at the semifinal — but only if Serena goes 3-0 and Kerber beats Li Na and Li beats Azarenka and Kerber wins the tiebreak. In other words, not likely. She is pretty likely to end the year at #5, though.
Round Robin – Red Group: (3) Serena Williams def. (8) Li Na 7-6(7-2) 6-3
This doesn’t produce any rankings movement — Serena remains #3, Li Na #8. But Serena is now 2-0. For practical purposes, she has assured herself a spot in the semifinal. Oh, if Li Na beats both Azarenka and Kerber, and Serena loses to Azarenka, it would come down to tiebreaks. But Serena’s score looks pretty convincing even in that case.
Round Robin – White Group: (2) Maria Sharapova def. (4) Agnieszka Radwanska 5-7 7-5 7-5
Three hours and twelve minutes this lasted. We’re almost as tired as the players; we can’t really say much about it. But it gives Maria Sharapova two wins — all but clinching her spot in the semifinal. What’s more, it gives her enough points that she has clinched the #3 spot. Serena can no longer pass her. Radwanska is 1-1, so she still has a chance at the semifinal. A win over Sara Errani would probably do it for her. But, of course, she will end the year at #4.
Sofia
Yes, they’re starting to withdraw. Kaia Kanepi, who would have been the #4 player in Sofia, is out due to the heel injury that has been bothering her for the last half year. That means Zheng Jie is in (along with Caroline Wozniacki, Nadia Petrova, Roberta Vinci, Venus Williams, and Hsieh Su-Wei); Daniela Hantuchova is now the alternate, and there will of course be the two wildcards, Tsvetana Pironkova and Maria Kirilenko or whoever. Now we wait to see if all those eight will play….
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