Late Saturday
The following matches were completed after our previous edition went out.
Singles – Second Round: (1) Victoria Azarenka def. Daniela Hantuchova 6-4 6-1
For about five games, it looked as if Daniela Hantuchova’s Indian Wells magic was back. Then Victoria Azarenka got into gear…. The good news is, for once, Hantuchova wasn’t defending anything at Indian Wells; just making the second round will probably move her back above #70.
Singles – Second Round: (8) Caroline Wozniacki def. Alize Cornet 6-4 3-6 6-3
Alize Cornet was defeding 130 points, so she will fall below #35.
Singles – Second Round: (11) Ana Ivanovic def. Taylor Townsend 6-1 6-2
In the first set of this, Taylor Townsend looked very twitchy and nervous. She eventually seemed to get into things, but it didn’t really show up in the score. Ana Ivanovic, who has semifinalist points to defend, is still far below the Top Fifteen.
Singles – Second Round: Urszula Radwanska def. (15) Sloane Stephens 6-3 6-4
A big chance to reach the Top Fifteen lost by Sloane Stephens; she will almost certainly be #16 or #17. Not higher.
Singles – Second Round: Magdalena Rybarikova def. (16) Lucie Safarova 6-2 4-6 6-2
Safarova was only the second seed to lose on Saturday, and she was defending fourth round points. She will lose at least one ranking spot; there is a chance she might lose her Top Twenty ranking (although the next result reduced the odds of that significantly). Magdalena Rybarikova is likely to hit the Top Fifty.
Singles – Second Round: Garbine Muguruza def. (17) Ekaterina Makarova 6-3 1-6 6-4
This raises a real possibility that Ekaterina Makarova will lose her Top Twenty ranking. She is at much greater risk than Safarova.
Singles – Second Round: (24) Mona Barthel def. Kiki Bertens 6-1 6-4
This puts Mona Barthel very close to the Top 25. Kiki Bertens is a little below the Top Forty.
Singles – Second Round: (30) Elena Vesnina def. Kimiko Date-Krumm 3-6 7-5 6-1
Kimiko Date-Krumm has won a lot of matches with her stamina, but Elena Vesnina works harder than almost anyone on the Tour; she has stamina and to spare. Unfortunately for Vesnina, others around her have been adding points faster than she has, so she needs one more win to stay Top Thirty.
Doubles – Second Round: Dushevina/Panova def. (2) Hlavackova/Hradecka 6-4 7-6(7-4)
An astounding day in doubles. Only two matches played, but they involved the top two seeded teams — and both teams lost. It is turning into a rather miserable year for Hlavackova/Hradecka.
Early Matches
Singles – Second Round: (4) Angelique Kerber def. Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3 6-2
Given the efficiency of this win, maybe Angelique Kerber is finally over her physical problems. She moves back to the head of the pack in the three-way contest for #6. Irina-Camelia Begu remains just below #50.
Singles – Second Round: (7) Samantha Stosur def. Madison Keys 6-3 6-4
Samantha Stosur defends her points. That makes her #9 ranking a little more secure, but she cannot climb this week.
Singles – Second Round: (10) Nadia Petrova def. Stefanie Voegele 6-2 6-3
Nadia Petrova doesn’t have much hope of reaching the Top Ten, but it’s just barely possible if she can keep playing like this.
Singles – Second Round: Jamie Hampton def. (20) Hsieh Su-Wei 6-3 6-3
Hsieh Su-Wei is suddenly in a bit of a slump. After failing to defend at Kuala Lumpur, she loses a few more points here. That will cause her to drop to probably around #38.
Singles – Second Round: (21) Julia Goerges def. Sofia Arvidsson 6-3 6-3
It looks as if this might cost Sofia Arvidsson her Top Fifty spot. Julia Goerges still needs one more win to defend her points, but this should keep her Top Thirty.
Singles – Second Round: (28) Kirsten Flipkens def. Monica Niculescu 4-6 6-4 6-3
Kirsten Flipkens appears to have established herself in the Top Thirty. Too bad she faces Victoria Azarenka next.
Singles – Second Round: (30) Yanina Wickmayer def. (Q) Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 3-6 6-3 6-2
At least Mirjana Lucic-Baroni is very close to returning to the Top Hundred, even if she isn’t quite there. Yanina Wickmayer, who lost her opener last year, will almost certainly return to the Top Thirty.
Singles – Second Round: (32) Peng Shuai def. Alexandra Dulgheru 6-0 4-6 6-3
A fairly creditable result, considering how long Alexandra Dulgheru has been away. Peng Shuai gains 75 points and will likely rise three or four ranking spots.
Doubles – Second Round: Hsieh/Peng def. (1) Errani/Vinci 6-2 6-3
Wow. Not only did the world’s top team lose, they lost in just over an hour. We have to think that there was something wrong; it will be interesting to see how Errani and Vinci do in singles on Sunday.
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Azarenka, BNP Paribas Indian Wells, Julia Goerges, Kirsten Flipkens, Maria Sharapova, Nadia Petrova, Samantha Stosur, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News