Sharapova to take on Li in Stuttgart

Written by: on 27th April 2013
Tennis Australian Open 2013
Sharapova to take on Li in Stuttgart

epa03552715 Li Na of China hits a forehand during her semi final match against Maria Sharapova of Russia at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 24 January 2013. EPA/MAST IRHAM AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT  |

Stuttgart

 

Singles – Semifinal: (1) Maria Sharapova def. (3) Angelique Kerber 6-3 2-6 7-5

Every match here has been extremely tough for Maria Sharapova, but somehow she keeps on extending her winning streak. She now has about a 950 point lead on Victoria Azarenka in the contest for #2 — which, given Azarenka’s health and dislike of clay, is probably enough to let her hang onto the #2 Roland Garros seed. Angelique Kerber will stay at #6.

Singles – Semifinal: (2) Li Na def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4 6-3

Loss or not, this tournament has been one of the best of Bethanie Mattek-Sands’s career, and puts her firmly back in the Top Hundred. Still, the outcome is no surprise. It gives us quite the final — two past Roland Garros champions! The ranking situation is interesting; Sharapova will be #2 and Li #5 no matter what happens, but a title would move Li a little closer to #4 Agnieszka Radwanska. And the difference between #4 and #5 in the Roland Garros seedings is a big one….

Doubles – Semifinal: Barthel/Lisicki def. Jurak/Marosi 6-3 6-4

And so the locals get to watch Germans on Sunday after all. The doubles draw here isn’t nearly as strong as the singles draw, but this is still a nice result for Barthel/Lisicki, who are pretty low-ranked in doubles.

Doubles – Semifinal: Mattek-Sands/Mirza def. Kerber/Petkovic 6-4 7-5

No all-German final, it seems, but still, good match practice for Andrea Petkovic. Mattek-Sands/Mirza are the obvious favorites in the final — and they showed they can deal with a pro-German crowd….

Marrakech

 

Singles – Semifinal: (6) Francesca Schiavone def Chanelle Scheepers 7-6(7-4) 6-1

The (fairly) big comeback continues for Francesca Schiavone, who is now firmly back in the Top Forty and presumably hoping yet to earn a Roland Garros seed.

Singles – Semifinal: Lourdes Dominguez Lino def. Mandy Minella 2-6 6-0 6-1

This tournament is in a new place, but it will have two veteran finalists. Lourdes Dominguez Lino now has her ranking up to probably #47.

Doubles – Semifinal: (4) Martic/Mladenovic def. Savchuk/Scheepers 6-4 6-0

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

 

Women’s Look Forward: Oeiras

 

Everybody needs a vacation sometimes. This week, for the most part, is it. It is the quietest week of the entire clay season, with only one event, and it an International. The top players, almost without exception, are taking the week off to rest after Stuttgart and prepare for Madrid and Rome.

At least Oeiras has the advantage that, being the only event of the week, it has a fairly deep field. Deep enough that fast-rising Annika Beck ended up in qualifying (and lost in the first round to Vania King. Qualifying #2 Johanna Larsson also lost her opener).

It doesn’t have any Top Ten players, and only two Top Fifteen players, but it’s pretty strong below that. Marion Bartoli is the #1 seed. Dominika Cibulkova, who pulled out of Marrakech last week, took a wildcard to be the #2 seed. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is #3, and Carla Suarez Navarro is #4. Sorana Cirstea is the #5 seed, Varvara Lepchenko #6, Elena Vesnina #7, and Julia Goerges #8 — meaning that, although we have no Top Ten players, all the seeds are Top Thirty. And some could be challenged. Bartoli opens against Peng Shuai, then maybe Kiki Bertens. Lepchenko has to face Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is in on a wildcard. Vesnina’s second round is likely to be against Tamira Paszek. Goerges will likely face Francesca Schiavone in round two. Suarez Navarro would face Yanina Wickmayer in that round. Cirstea opens against Anabel Medina Garrigues, then last year’s champion Kaia Kanepi. And Cibulkova is likely to start against Urszsula Radwanska.

The Rankings

This week has always been a quiet one, but last year the calendar had two tournaments (Budapest and Estoril) rather than just one. Sara Errani won Budapest; Elena Vesnina was the finalist, and Anna Tatishvili and Marina Erakovic made the semifinals. (Not exactly the list you’d expect at a clay event!) The champion at Estoril was Kaia Kanepi, who edged Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 in the third; Roberta Vinci and Karin Knapp being the semifinalists.

That means — no moves at all in the Top Ten; Errani isn’t defending, but she has so many seventeenth event points that it doesn’t matter. Kanepi, on the other hand, could easily fall below #50. Vesnina might wind up around #35, so her result could determine her Roland Garros seed. Suarez Navarro may fall out of the Top Twenty.

It looks as if the highest ranking to be contested will be #14, with Bartoli and Cibulkova fighting over it.

KEYWORDS: Preview Oeiras

******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********

 

THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:

Stuttgart (Premier 700/Clay). Defending Champion: Maria Sharapova

Marrakech (International/Clay). Defending Champion: Kiki Bertens

NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:

Oeiras (International/Clay). Defending Champion: Kaia Kanepi (at Estoril)

************ STATS AND FACTS ************

 

**RANKINGS

 

Estimated WTA Rankings As of April 27, 2013

 

Rank &

Prior

Rank….Name…………..Points

1..(1) SWilliams ……… 11115

2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 10090*

3..(3) Azarenka ………..9130

4..(4) ARadwanska ………6845

5..(5) LI ……………..6000*

6..(6) KERBER ………….5420

7..(7) ERRANI ………….5350

8..(8) KVITOVA ……….. 5225

9..(9) STOSUR ………….3790

10.(10) WOZNIACKI ……… 3760

11.(11) PETROVA ……….. 3075

12.(12) VINCI …………. 2925

13.(13) Kirilenko ……… 2911

14.(14) Bartoli ……….. 2710

15.(15) Cibulkova ……… 2615

16.(17) IVANOVIC ………..2585

17.(16) Stephens ………..2520

18.(18) JANKOVIC ………..2335

19.(19) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..1875

20.(20) Zakopalova ………1860

21.(21) VWilliams ……… 1850

22.(22) FLIPKENS ………..1816

23.(23) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..1805

24.(24) MAKAROVA ………..1770

25.(25) SAFAROVA ………..1730

26.(26) CIRSTEA ……….. 1660

27.(27) Lepchenko ……… 1657

28.(29) VESNINA ……….. 1598

29.(30) GOERGES ……….. 1585

30.(28) BARTHEL ……….. 1575

**DRAWS

 

Stuttgart — Week of April 22

 

…………..QF…………….SF…………F

1 Sharapova…(1)Sharapova……Sharapova…..Sharapova

8 Petrova…..Ivanovic

3 Kerber……(3)Kerber………Kerber

7 Wozniacki…Shvedova

 

6 Stosur……Lisicki

4 Errani……Mattek-Sands(Q)…Mattek-Sands

5 Kvitova…..(5)Kvitova

2 Li……….(2)Li………….Li…………Li

 

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 Sharapova

2 Li

3 Kerber……lost SF (Sharapova)

4 Errani……lost 2R (Mattek-Sands)

5 Kvitova…..lost QF (Li)

6 Stosur……lost 1R (Jankovic)

7 Wozniacki…lost 1R (Suarez Navarro)

8 Petrova…..lost 2R (Ivanovic)

Marrakech — Week of April 22

 

……………..QF……………..SF……………..F

[9 Pironkova]….Dominguez Lino…..Dominguez Lino

5 Bertens……..(5)Bertens

4 Kanepi………Minella…………Minella

[Honcova(Q)]…..Soler Espinosa

 

6 Schiavone……(6)Schiavone…….Schiavone………Schiavone

3 Cornet………(3)Cornet

7 Mladenovic…..(7)Mladenovic

2 Cirstea……..Scheepers……….Scheepers

 

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 Cibulkova (WC)….WITHDREW (replaced by Pironkova)

2 Cirstea………..lost 1R (Scheepers)

3 Cornet…………lost 3R (Schiavone)

4 Kanepi…………lost 2R (Minella)

5 Bertens………..lost QF (Dominguez Lino)

6 Schiavone

7 Mladenovic……..lost QF (Scheepers)

8 Oprandi………..WITHDREW

9 Pironkova………lost 2R (Dominguez Lino)

Oeiras — Week of April 29

 

1 Bartoli

Peng

Bertens

Oprandi

Arvidsson

Qualifier

Kuznetsova (WC)

6 Lepchenko

 

3 Pavlyuchenkova

Qualifier

Qualifier

Qualifier

Niculescu

Paszek

Koelher (WC)

7 Vesnina

 

8 Goerges (WC)

Qualifier

Schiavone

Dominguez Lino

Wickmayer

Tatishvili

Erakovic

4 Suarez Navarro

 

5 Cirstea

Medina Garrigues

Kanepi

Mladenovic

Robson

Morita

U Radwanska

2 Cibulkova (WC)

******** SCORES ********

 

SATURDAY

Stuttgart

Singles – Semifinal

(1) Maria Sharapova def. (3) Angelique Kerber 6-3 2-6 7-5

(2) Li Na def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4 6-3

Doubles – Semifinal

Barthel/Lisicki def. Jurak/Marosi 6-3 6-4

Mattek-Sands/Mirza def. Kerber/Petkovic 6-4 7-5

Marrakech

Singles – Semifinal

(6) Francesca Schiavone def Chanelle Scheepers 7-6(7-4) 6-1

Lourdes Dominguez Lino def. Mandy Minella 2-6 6-0 6-1

Doubles – Semifinal

(4) Martic/Mladenovic def. Savchuk/Scheepers 6-4 6-0

©Daily tennis news wire

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