Cincy tennis
Cincy tennis
Cincinnati
Singles – Semifinal: (1) Serena Williams def. (5) Li Na 7-5 7-5
In both sets of this, Serena Williams had and blew a break lead. In both, she blew it. In both, she came back at the end. No big deal for Serena, whose #1 ranking is safe — but very bad news for defending champion Li Na, who was last year’s champion; he will fall to #6, with Sara Errani taking the #5 ranking.
Women’s Look Forward: New Haven
You might almost call New Haven the WTA’s recovery room. It’s full of players trying to get back into form.
Which is good news, really, since the event ends up with four of the Top Ten and nine of the Top Twenty. But of those top four seeds, only one — #1 seed Sara Errani — isn’t struggling. #2 seed Angelique Kerber, who has the only other bye, is in danger of losing her Top Ten spot in the coming weeks. #3 Petra Kvitova, the defending champion, isn’t much better off. And #4 Caroline Wozniacki is the many-times-but-not-now defending champion.
The lower seeds are #5 Roberta Vinsi, in Errani’s quarter (meaning they could meet in the early going for the second straight week); #6 Sloane Stephens, who is in on a wildcard and is in Wozniacki’s quarter; #7 Sabine Lisicki, in Kvitova’s quarter, and #8 Dominika Cibulkova.
Unseeded threats include Ekaterina Makarova, who is likely to be Errani’s opening opponent; Carla Suarez Navarro, Simona Halep, and wildcard Daniela Hantuchova, all in Vinci’s eighth; Peng Shuai, who starts against Wozniacki; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sorana Cirstea, one of whom will face Lisicki in round two; Urszula Radwanska and Magdalena Rybarikova, who stand in Kvitova’s way; Klara Zakopalova, who opens against Cibulkova; and Elena Vesnina, likely to start against Kerber.
The Rankings
Last year at this time, there were two events, New Haven (a Premier) and Dallas (an International). Roberta Vinci won Dallas, so she will have a hard time making the Top Ten this week. The finalist was Jelena Jankovic, who is taking the week off. Bojana Jovanovski and Casey Dellacqua were semifinalists.
Petra Kvitova won New Haven, over Maria Kirilenko (another player who isn’t in action), with Caroline Wozniacki and Sara Errani semifinalists.
The Top Four won’t be affected; the order will remain Williams, Azarenka, Sharapova, Radwanska. We will probably have some sort of contest between Li and Errani for #5. It’s hard to give exact rankings below that, because we don’t know when Marion Bartoli will go off the rankings, but if she goes off this week, then Kvitova’s Top Ten spot is safe; otherwise, she might be in some danger. Wozniacki and Kerber look set for now; Vinci or Stosur will get the last Top Ten spot if Bartoli is taken off. Kirilenko will fall several more spots. Stephens has a very good Top Fifteen chance; Lisicki and Cibulkova and Suarez Navarro rather lesser changes. Dellacqua, whose ranking is low anyway, is going to get a lot lower….
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
Cincinnati (Premier Five/Hard). Defending Champion: Li Na
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
New Haven (Premier/Hard). Defending Champion: Petra Kvitova
RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of August 17, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank….Name…………..Points
1..(1) SWILLIAMS ………12260*
2..(2) AZARENKA ………..8830*
3..(3) SHARAPOVA ……… 8765
4..(4) ARADWANSKA ………6335
5..(6) ERRANI ………….5125
6..(5) LI ……………..4825
7..(7) BARTOLI ……….. 4365
8.(10) WOZNIACKI ……… 3490
9..(9) KVITOVA ……….. 3440
10..(8) KERBER ………….3420
11.(15) JANKOVIC ………..3265*
12.(12) VINCI …………. 3220
13.(11) STOSUR ………….3210
14.(13) FLIPKENS ………..2961
15.(14) IVANOVIC ………..2940
16.(16) KIRILENKO ……… 2870
17.(17) STEPHENS ………..2865
18.(18) LISICKI ……….. 2556
19.(19) CIBULKOVA ……… 2400
20.(20) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2375
21.(21) Cirstea ……….. 2260
22.(22) Petrova ……….. 2212
23.(25) HALEP …………. 2040
24.(23) VESNINA ……….. 2013
25.(26) HAMPTON ……….. 1881
26.(24) MAKAROVA ………..1816
27.(27) Kanepi ………….1781
28.(28) CORNET ………….1730
29.(29) KUZNETSOVA ………1679
30.(32) BARTHEL ……….. 1580
DRAWS
Cincinnati — Week of August 12
………………3R…………….QF…………SF………F
1 S. Williams…..(1)S.Williams…..Williams……Williams…Williams
16 Kirilenko……Barthel
11 Stosur………(11)Stosur
8 Bartoli………Halep………….Halep
4 A Radwanska…..(4)Radwanska……Radwanska
13 Flipkens…….Vesnina
9 Kerber……….(9)Kerber
5 Li…………..(5)Li………….Li………..Li
6 Errani………(6)Errani
12 Vinci………(12)Vinci……….Vinci
14 Jankovic……(14)Jankovic…….Jankovic…..Jankovic
3 Sharapova……Stephens
7 Kvitova……..(7)Kvitova
10 Wozniacki…..(10)Wozniacki……Wozniacki
15 Ivanovic……Rybarikova
2 Azarenka…….(2)Azarenka……..Azarenka…..Azarenka
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 S. Williams
2 Azarenka
3 Sharapova….lost 2R (Stephens)
4 A Radwanska..WITHDREW from QF
5 Li………..lost SF (S. Williams)
6 Errani…….lost 3R (Vinci)
7 Kvitova……lost 3R (Wozniacki)
8 Bartoli……lost 2R (Halep)
9 Kerber…….lost 3R (Vinci)
10 Wozniacki…lost QF (Azarenka)
11 Stosur……lost 3R (Halep)
12 Vinci…….lost QF (Jankovic)
13 Flipkens….lost 1R (Vesnina)
14 Jankovic
15 Ivanovic….lost 2R (Cornet)
16 Kirilenko…lost 2R (Barthel)
New Haven — Week of August 19
1 Errani
–bye
Makarova
Wozniak
Halep
Hantuchova (WC)
Suarez Navarro
5 Vinci
4 Wozniacki
Peng
Qualifier
Qualifier
Jovanovski
Goerges (WC)
Qualifier
6 Stephens (WC)
7 Lisicki
Mladenovic
Pavlyuchenkova
Cirstea
Qualifier
Rybarikova
U Radwanska
3 Kvitova
8 Cibulkova
Zakopalova
Qualifier
Hsieh
Vesnina
Qualifier
–bye
2 Kerber
SATURDAY
Cincinnati
Singles – Semifinal
(1) Serena Williams def. (5) Li Na 7-5 7-5
Singles – Semifinal: (4) R Nadal def. (6) T Berdych 7-5 7-6(7-4)
Typical Tomas Berdych: He threatened in the second set, but couldn’t take advantage. Rafael Nadal wins his ninth straight match, and is one win away from the #2 ranking; Berdych will be #5.
Singles – Semifinal: J Isner def. (7) J del Potro 6-7(5-7) 7-6(11-9) 6-3
An amazing match. More than two and three-quarter hours. John Isner had 23 aces and was broken only once. It looked like Isner was out of it after losing the first set by two points… but he regrouped, got things back — and looked as if he might be out of it again after he lost his second set point to reach 9-9 in the second set tiebreak. At 10-9. Juan Martin del Potro (who had double-faulted at 8-8 to give up that set point) hit a fault, and then del Potro wildly knocked a forehand wide for no good reason. And Isner played a fine third set, and is rewarded with a spot in the Top Fifteen — meaning that he’ll have a Top Sixteen U. S. Open seed. A title would make him #11 and one of the top twelve seeds. Del Potro will have to settle for #6 — which still means he is ahead of Roger Federer….
Doubles – Semifinal: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. S Gonzalez/Lipsky 4-6 7-6(8-6) 10-8
Doubles – Semifinal: (2) Granollers/M Lopez def. (8) Bopanna/Roger-Vasselin 7-5 6-2
And so we get our #1 versus #2 final at a time when Granollers/Lopez are no longer the #2 team. Maybe they just needed a wakeup call….
Men’s Look Forward: Winston-Salem
John Isner had better hurry.
Last year’s Winston-Salem champion is supposed to be the #3 seed in North Carolina, but he has been kept busy in Cincinnati. So has Tomas Berdych, the #1 Winston-Salem seed. Luckily they, and all the sixteen seeds at this six-round 250 point event, have byes.
It looks like it could be a big opportunity for Isner, given that he and Berdych are the only Top Twenty players in the field. Andras Seppi is seeded #2. Tommy Robredo is #4, Benoit Paire #5, Sam Querrey #6, and that’s it for Top Thirty players. The #7 seed is Fernando Verdasco, Juan Monaco is #8, Jurgen Melzer #9, Alexandr Dolgopolov #10, Jarkko Nieminen #11, Lukas Rosol #12, Dmitry Tursunov #13, Martin Klizan #14, Gael Monfils #15, and Pablo Andujar #16. That’s about it for Top Fifty players, but we might still see some tough early matches. Nieminen may have to open against Mardy Fish, Melzer against Igor Sijsling, Paire against James Blake, Rosol against Robin Haase, and Robredo against Denis Istomin.
The Rankings
John Isner, as mentioned, is the defending North Carolina champion, with Tomas Berdych the finalist and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Sam Querrey semifinalists. Isner and Berdych are in the same half, so we can’t have a replay this year. But Isner has now added enough points that he will stay Top Twenty no matter what.
Berdych will be #5 no matter what; the Top Ten isn’t going to change. We might see some movement around #20. But it’s going to be pretty quiet. Of course, it hardly matters anyway, since the U. S. Open will be seeded based on the post-Cincinnati rankings.
THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Cincinnati (1000/Hard). Defending Champion: Roger Federer
NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Winston-Salem (250/Hard). Defending Champion: John Isner
RANKINGS
Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings
As of August 17, 2013
Rank &
Prior…Player………..Points
1..(1) Djokovic……….10980
2..(2) Murray………….8700
3..(3) Nadal…………..8460
4..(4) Ferrer………….7210
5..(6) Berdych…………5135
6..(7) Del Potro……….4740
7..(5) Federer…………4695
8..(8) Tsonga………….3470
9.(11) Gasquet…………2625
10..(9) Wawrinka………..2610
11.(10) Raonic………….2555
12.(12) Nishikori……….2405
13.(13) Haas……………2185
14.(22) Isner…………..2185
15.(14) Janowicz………..2126
16.(15) Almagro…………2110
17.(17) Simon…………..2040
18.(16) Fognini…………2015
19.(18) Cilic…………..1805
20.(19) Anderson………..1740
21.(20) Tipsarevic………1685
22.(23) Robredo…………1620
23.(21) Seppi…………..1550
24.(25) Youzhny…………1475
25.(26) Kohlschreiber……1445
26.(27) Lopez…………..1435
27.(24) Paire…………..1415
28.(29) Dimitrov………..1375
29.(28) Querrey…………1310
30.(31) Verdasco………..1270
DRAWS
Cincinnati — Week of August 12
…………….3R…………..QF………..SF……….F
1 Djokovic……(1)Djokovic…..Djokovic
16 Simon……..Goffin(Q)
12 Raonic…….(12)Raonic
8 Gasquet…….Isner………..Isner……..Isner…….Isner
3 Ferrer……..(3)Ferrer
15 Janowicz…..Tursunov……..Tursunov
10 Nishikori….Lopez
7 del Potro…..(7)del Potro….del Potro….del Potro
5 Federer…….(5)Federer……Federer
11 Haas………(11)Haas
13 Almagro……Dimitrov
4 Nadal………(4)Nadal……..Nadal……..Nadal……..Nadal
6 Berdych…….(5)Berdych……Berdych……Berdych
9 Wawrinka……Robredo
14 Fognini……Benneteau
2 Murray……..(2)Murray…….Murray
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 Djokovic……lost QF (Isner)
2 Murray……..lost QF (Berdych)
3 Ferrer……..lost 3R (Tursunov)
4 Nadal
5 Federer…….lost QF (Nadal)
6 Berdych…….lost SF (Nadal)
7 del Potro…..lost SF (Isner)
8 Gasquet…….lost 2R (Isner)
9 Wawrinka……lost 2R (Robredo)
10 Nishikori….lost 1R (Lopez)
11 Haas………lost 3R (Federer)
12 Raonic…….lost 3R (Isner)
13 Almagro……lost 1R (Dimitrov)
14 Fognini……lost 1R (Stepanek)
15 Janowicz…..lost 1R (Blake)
16 Simon……..lost 1R (Pospisil)
Winston Salem — Week of August 19
1 Berdych (WC)
–bye
Berankis
de Schepper
Qualifier
Bautista Agut
–bye
14 Klizan
11 Nieminen
–bye
Fish (WC)
Donskoy
Zemlja
Garcia-Lopez
–bye
6 Querrey
3 Isner
–bye
Bogomolov
Hanescu
Qualifier
Sock
–bye
13 Tursunov
9 Melzer
–bye
Qualifier
Sijsling
Williams
Blake
–bye
5 Paire
7 Verdasco (WC)
–bye
Russell
Smyczek
Haase
Mannarino
–bye
12 Rosol
15 Monfils
–bye
L Mayer
Pella
Rufin
Istomin
–bye
4 Robredo
8 Monaco
–bye
Mahut
Kubot
Gimeno-Traver
Roger-Vasselin
–bye
10 Dolgopolov
16 Andujar
–bye
Bogaerts (WC)
Lu
Reynolds
Qualifier
–bye
2 Seppi
SATURDAY
Cincinnati
Singles – Semifinal
(4) R Nadal def. (6) T Berdych 7-5 7-6(7-4)
J Isner def. (7) J del Potro 6-7(5-7) 7-6(11-9) 6-3
Doubles – Semifinal
(1) Bryan/Bryan def. S Gonzalez/Lipsky 4-6 7-6(8-6) 10-8
(2) Granollers/M Lopez def. (8) Bopanna/Roger-Vasselin 7-5 6-2
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