TODAY’S WOMEN’S NEWS ******
Rome
Singles – Semifinal: Serena Williams def. (Q) Simona Halep 6-3 6-0
Looks like Serena wants those back-to-back clay titles. Still, it was a great run for Simona Halep — and a timely one, since her finalist points from Brussels come off next week. This means that she will stay in the #60 range even after those points are off. Fortunately, because her results have cost her her chance to play in Brussels; the draw shows her as out with a calf injury.
Singles – Semifinal: (3) Victoria Azarenka def. (7) Sara Errani 6-0 7-5
Sara Errani was down 4-0 in the first set when it started to rain. Apparently she needs a long time to warm up, because when they came back, she quickly lost the last two games of the first set — then started to get into the match. But she just can’t fight Azarenka’s power. She will be #5. And Azarenka will be #3 — but she and Serena have been, officially at least, the two most successful players of 2013. Consider the final a contest for “#1-so-far.”
Doubles – Semifinal: (1) Errani/Vinci def. Kudryavtseva/Rodionova 6-2 6-1
Given the next result, Errani/Vinci look like overwhelming favorites to bring home a title for Italy.
Doubles – Semifinal: Hsieh/Peng def. (2) Petrova/Srebotnik 6-2 6-1
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
Women’s Look Forward: Brussels, Strasbourg
You can always count on Caroline Wozniacki to come to the rescue.
It used to be that the WTA didn’t try to schedule a Premier event in the week before Roland Garros. After all, we’ve just been through two very big events, and everyone wants to rest before the French Open anyway. It’s a very hard time to pull in a field. Most Top Ten players wouldn’t play this week.
Not Wozniacki. Last year, Agnieszka Radwanska was the top seed in a Brussels field where she was the only Top Five player, and two seeds pulled out after the draw was made, and they ended up seeding players with rankings down to #29 — a very low cutoff for a European Premier event; some years, players ranked that low couldn’t even get direct entry into, say, Stuttgart!
This year, the event was expected to be even weaker. Other than Radwanska, the top player on the initial entry list was Roberta Vinci. And then — Radwanska bailed. So Wozniacki, in on a wildcard, is the only Top Ten player in an extremely weak field. Vinci is still #2. Dominika Cibulkova is #3, Sloane Stephens #4, Kirsten Flipkens #5, Julia Goerges #6, Varvara Lepchenko #7, Peng Shuai #8. That’s a cutoff for seeding even lower than last year — around #40. The only unseeded player who looks like a real threat is Kaia Kanepi, who opens against Cibulkova. There is also Yanina Wickmayer, who could play Flipkens in an all-Belgian battle in round two, but she isn’t looking good at all right now.
If Brussels is weak, Strasbourg verges on pitiful. Daniela Hantuchova, #61 last week, nonetheless managed to earn a seed. The only Top 25 player is #1 seed Marion Bartoli. Tamira Paszek is #2, Alize Cornet #3, Hsieh Su-Wei #4, and Monica Niculescu #5; those are the only Top Fifty players in the draw. Christina McHale has the #6 seed, Chanelle Scheepers is #7, and then Hantuchova.
The Rankings
The nice thing for Agnieszka Radwanska about playing Brussels was that she would have been the big favorite. Problem is, it wouldn’t help her, because she is the defending champion. Simona Halep was last year’s finalist — given her result at Rome, it would seem there is something she really likes about late May. Kaia Kanepi and Sofia Arvidsson were last year’s semifinalists. At Strasbourg, the title went to Francesca Schiavone, over Alize Cornet; Pauline Parmentier and Sloane Stephens were semifinalists.
The good news for Radwanska is, she has a hefty lead over #5 Sara Errani; she will keep the #4 spot. In fact, there will be no change in the Top Eight. The first spot in play is #9. Wozniacki can overtake Samantha Stosur with a final.
Halep will fall to around #60. Kanepi may lose her Top Forty spot. Ditto Schiavone. Cornet’s Top Thirty spot in in grave danger. Stephens will probably lose a spot or two but should stay Top Twenty.
KEYWORDS: Preview Brussels Strasbourg
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
Rome (Premier Five/Clay). Defending Champion: Maria Sharapova
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
Brussels (Premier/Clay). Defending Champion: Agnieszka Radwanska
Strasbourg (INternational/Clay). Defending Champion: Francesca Schiavone
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
**RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of May 18, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank….Name…………..Points
1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 11340*
2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 10015
3..(3) AZARENKA ………..9005*
4..(4) ARADWANSKA ………6475
5..(6) ERRANI ………….5835
6..(5) LI ……………..5335
7..(7) Kerber ………….5310
8..(8) KVITOVA ……….. 5175
9.(10) STOSUR ………….3645
10..(9) WOZNIACKI ……… 3625
11.(11) PETROVA ……….. 3065
12.(12) KIRILENKO ……… 3036
13.(14) Bartoli ……….. 2845
14.(13) IVANOVIC ………..2800
15.(15) VINCI …………. 2785
16.(16) CIBULKOVA ……… 2590
17.(17) STEPHENS ………..2540
18.(18) JANKOVIC ………..2500
19.(19) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..2010
20.(22) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..1975
21.(21) FLIPKENS ………..1872
22.(20) MAKAROVA ………..1815
23.(23) Zakopalova ………1745
24.(25) GOERGES ……….. 1605
25.(26) CIRSTEA ……….. 1595
26.(28) Shvedova ………..1572
27.(29) Paszek ………….1568
28.(31) LEPCHENKO ……… 1567
29.(24) VWILLIAMS ……… 1550
30.(30) CORNET ………….1530
**DRAWS
Rome — Week of May 13
………………..3R…………….QF…………….SF……..F
1 S Williams……..(1)S.Williams…..Williams……….Williams..Williams
14 Cibulkova……..(14)Cibulkova
11 Petrova……….Suarez Navarro….Suarez Navarro
[Dominguez Lino(LL)]Dominguez Lino
4 A Radwanska…….Halep………….Halep………….Halep
13 Vinci…………(13)Vinci
10 Wozniacki……..Jankovic……….Jankovic
5 Li…………….(5)Li
8 Kvitova………..(8)Kvitova
9 Stosur…………(9)Stosur………Stosur
15 Ivanovic………Morita
3 Azarenka……….(3)Azarenka…….Azarenka………Azarenka..Azarenka
7 Errani…………(7)Errani………Errani………..Errani
12 Kirilenko……..(12)Kirilenko
16 Stephens………(16)Stephens
2 Sharapova………(2)Sharapova……Sharapova
STATUS OF SEEDS
1 S Williams
2 Sharapova……..WITHDREW from QF
3 Azarenka
4 A Radwanska……lost 2R (Halep)
5 Li……………lost 3R (Jankovic)
6 Kerber………..WITHDREW (replaced by Dominguez Lino)
7 Errani………..lost SF (Azarenka)
8 Kvitova……….lost 3R (Stosur)
9 Stosur………..lost QF (Azarenka)
10 Wozniacki…….lost 1R (Jovanovski)
11 Petrova………lost 1R (Suarez Navarro)
12 Kirilenko…….lost 3R (Errani)
13 Vinci………..lost 3R (Halep)
14 Cibulkova…….lost 3R (S. Williams)
15 Ivanovic……..lost 1R (U. Radwanska)
16 Stephens……..lost 2R (Sharapova)
Brussels — Week of May 20
1 Wozniacki (WC)
–bye
Zheng
Qualifier
Oprandi
Qualifier
Qualifier
8 Goerges
4 Stephens
Pironkova
Qualifier
Rybarikova
Govortsova
Rus
Arvidsson
8 Peng
7 Lepchenko
Jovanovski
Baltacha (WC)
Voegele
Cepelova
Tsurenko
Kanepi
3 Cibulkova
5 Flipkens
Keys
Wickmayer
Hampton
Qualifier
Van Uytvank (WC)
–bye
2 Vinci
Strasbourg — Week of May 20
1 Bartoli
Giorgi
Soler-Espinosa
Bouchard
Tatishvili
Garcia (WC)
Erakovic
5 Niculescu
3 Cornet
Johansson
Qualifier
Puchkova
Qualifier
Qualifier
Feuerstein (WC)
7 Scheepers
8 Hantuchova
Torro-Flor
Svitolova
Qualifier
Doi
Ka. Pliskova
Beck
4 Hsieh
5 McHale
Davis
Hradecka
Muguruza
Larsson
Cetkovska
Razzano (WC)
2 Paszek
******** SCORES ********
SATURDAY
Rome
Singles – Semifinal
(1) Serena Williams def. Simona Halep 6-3 6-0
(3) Victoria Azarenka def. (7) Sara Errani 6-0 7-5
Doubles – Semifinal
(1) Errani/Vinci def. Kudryavtseva/Rodionova 6-2 6-1
Hsieh/Peng def. (2) Petrova/Srebotnik 6-2 6-1
***
Bob LARSON – Publisher
Cort LARSON – Editor
Robert Waltz – Contributor
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