****** TODAY’S WOMEN’S NEWS ******
Cincinnati
Singles – Final: (2) Victoria Azarenka def. (1) Serena Williams 2-6 6-2 7-6(8-6)
The semifinal contest between Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Jankovic had featured 15 breaks out of 17 games in the first two sets. The assignment for Victoria Azarenka was obvious: Win some points on serve! After all, she had to know Serena would.
Certainly Serena did better than Azarenka or Jankovic had. But she had her problems. This time, there were six breaks in the first two sets. Each player managed to hold in three of their first four service games in the final set, but Serena broke again in game nine. Whereupon Azarenka broke back easily and held at love. Azarenka built a 4-2 lead in the tiebreak, then lost three straight after the change of ends. At 5-5, Serena double-faulted to give Azarenka match point on her serve. Which Azarenka blew. But she won the next two points to take the title. A strange match indeed.
Too bad it makes so little difference. Serena was #1 either way, and Azarenka #2, and the gap was sure to be large. Even with Azarenka’s win, Serena leads the contest for #1 by more than 2500 points. Still, it has to give players hope for the U. S. Open. Where these two played in the final last year, and Azarenka lost….
Doubles – Final: (3) Hsieh/Peng def. (6) Groenefeld/Peschke 2-6 6-3 12-10
There is getting to be an “always a bridesmaid” feeling about Groenefeld/Peschke. Yes, they won Linz 2012 and Brussels 2013, but they’re now 2-5 as a team in finals, and they tend to lose the big finals. They lost the Canadian Open final last week to Jankovic/Srebotnik, and they lost the 2012 Pan Pacific to Kops-Jones/Spears. That has to change if they are to get anywhere near the top. Which is why they were the #6 seeds here, to be sure.
Hsieh/Peng have no such troubles, with titles at Wimbledon and Rome this year. They’re still only #4 in the doubles Race (behind Errani/Vinci, Vesnina/Makarova, and Petrova/Srebotnik), but they’re pulling away from the everyone else. It’s looking quite likely that those four will be the teams to make the WTA Championships. Barring a big surprise at the U. S. Open, anyway.
New Haven
Singles – First Round: (7) Sabine Lisicki def. Kristina Mladenovic 7-5 6-1
After a good start to the year, things seem to be going south for Kristina Mladenovic. In singles, anyway; she’s fine in doubles.
Doubles – First Round: (2) Medina Garrigues/Srebotnik def. Grandin/Jurak 6-3 2-6 10-5
This is not one of Katarina Srebotnik’s better efforts this year — after all, she just won the Canadian Open, and she and Nadia Petrova have been the year’s #2 team — but she is playing with a pickup partner who prefers clay. So maybe it’s more good news than bad.
Doubles – First Round: Hradecka/Zakopalova def. H Chan/Husarova 6-2 6-2
Doubles – First Round: Aoyama/Klepac def. Begu/Govortsova 6-3 6-4
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
KEYWORDS: No Feature Today
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
New Haven (Premier/Hard). Defending Champion: Petra Kvitova
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
U. S. Open (Slam/Hard). Defending Champion: Serena Williams
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
**RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of August 18, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank….Name…………..Points
1 (1) SWILLIAMS 12260
2 (2) AZARENKA 9505*
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
WINNER: Victoria Azarenka
………………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…Azarenka
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 S. Williams..lost F (Azarenka)
2 Azarenka…..WON TOURNAMENT
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….lost SF (Azarenka)
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
Knapp (Q)
Svitolina (LL)
Jovanovski
Goerges (WC)
Schmiedlova (Q)
6 Stephens (WC)
7 Lisicki
Mladenovic
Pavlyuchenkova
Cirstea
Riske (Q)
Voegele (Q)
U Radwanska
3 Kvitova
8 Cibulkova
Zakopalova
Puig (Q)
Hsieh
Vesnina
Morita (Q)
–bye
2 Kerber
******** SCORES ********
SUNDAY
Cincinnati
Singles – Final
(2) Victoria Azarenka def. (1) Serena Williams 2-6 6-2 7-6(8-6)
Doubles – Final
(3) Hsieh/Peng def. (6) Groenefeld/Peschke 2-6 6-3 12-10
New Haven
Singles – First Round
(7) Sabine Lisicki def. Kristina Mladenovic 7-5 6-1
Doubles – First Round
(2) Medina Garrigues/Srebotnik def. Grandin/Jurak 6-3 2-6 10-5
Hradecka/Zakopalova def. H Chan/Husarova 6-2 6-2
Aoyama/Klepac def. Begu/Govortsova 6-3 6-4
****** TODAY’S MEN’S NEWS ******
Singles – Final: (4) R Nadal def. J Isner 7-6(10-8) 7-6(7-3)
What do we mean when we say a match was closer than the score? As a possibility, that the fraction of points won by the loser is greater than the fraction of games he was. If so, this was… ever so slightly closer than the score. Rafael Nadal won 54% of the games; he won 53% of the points. And, bottom line, he won the match — even though he never so much as had a break point. (John Isner had three, converting none.)
Last week, after winning the Canadian Open, Nadal said he needed two thousand more points to end the year at #1. This is worth 1000. So he’s halfway there. Last week, he was hesitant to talk about the year-end #1. Maybe this will loosen his tongue. He will rise to #2, dropping Andy Murray to #3. He did admit, “It means a lot, being able to win two straight titles, two Masters 1000 on hard back-to-back is just amazing for me. I never did something like this in all my career.”
John Isner didn’t win his first Masters, and he goes to defend his Winston-Salem title on a slightly down note. But he is up to #13/#14. After all the woe about there being no Americans in the Top Twenty, maybe Isner gives hope after all. He does have an interesting choice to make: If he defends his North Carolina title, he’ll win the U. S. Open series. But if he tries for it, he’ll be very tired for the Open. He is still thinking about it.
Doubles – Final: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. (2) Granollers/M Lopez 4-6 6-4 10-4
Och, what do we say? The Bryans keep breaking their own records. This is title #10 this year for them. And seven of them Slams or Masters. In other words, they have now guaranteed that they will win more than half of the required events. And that’s with four of the thirteen still to go! The only two they have lost, so far, are Miami and the Canadian Open. They will be the year-end #1 team, again. C’mon, world, give them some competition!
Winston-Salem
Singles – First Round: (WC) M Fish def. E. Donskoy 6-3 3-6 6-1
THis is impressively promising. When Mardy Fish won the first three games then faded, we thought his stamina problems were back. Instead, he finished strong. It’s only ten points — a pittance even to someone ranked as low as Fish — but he’s winning.
Singles – First Round: A Bogomolov Jr. def. V Hanescu 6-3 6-4
Both these guys are incredibly streaky, and while Victor Hanescu is the higher-ranked, his streaks are mostly on clay….
Singles – First Round: Y Lu def. (WC) R Bogaerts 6-1 6-1
Not a fun introduction to the ATP for Romain Bogaerts. But that’s pretty typical for 19-year-old college students.
Singles – First Round: G Garcia-Lopez def. G Zemlja 6-1 4-6 6-1
Grega Zemlja had a fine first half of the year, but it has all fallen apart since he hit the Top Fifty two months ago.
Singles – First Round: R Haase def. A Mannarino 6-3 6-3
We keep wondering when Robin Haase will get back in gear. This isn’t a big result, but maybe it’s a start.
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
KEYWORDS: No Feature Today
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Winston-Salem (250/Hard). Defending Champion: John Isner
NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
U. S. Open (Slam/Hard). Defending Champion: Andy Murray
******** STATS AND FACTS ********
RANKINGS
Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings
As of August 18, 2013
Rank &
Prior…Player………..Points
1..(1) Djokovic……….10980
2..(3) Nadal…………..8860
3..(2) Murray………….8700
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
13.(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
WINNER: Rafael Nadal
…………….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………WON TOURNAMENT
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
Nielsen (Q)
Bautista Agut
–bye
14 Klizan
11 Nieminen
–bye
Fish (WC)
Donskoy
Zemlja
Garcia-Lopez
–bye
6 Querrey
3 Isner
–bye
Bogomolov
Hanescu
Goffin (Q)
Sock
–bye
13 Tursunov
9 Melzer
–bye
de Bakker (Q)
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
Johnson (Q)
–bye
2 Seppi
******** SCORES ********
SUNDAY
Cincinnati
Singles – Final
(4) R Nadal def. J Isner 7-6(10-8) 7-6(7-3)
Winston-Salem
Singles – First Round
(WC) M Fish def. E. Donskoy 6-3 3-6 6-1
A Bogomolov Jr. def. V Hanescu 6-3 6-4
Y Lu def. (WC) R Bogaerts 6-1 6-1
G Garcia-Lopez def. G Zemlja 6-1 4-6 6-1
R Haase def. A Mannarino 6-3 6-3
©Daily tennis news wire
Topics: Cincinnati Open, John Isner, new haven open, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka