© 2012
Daily
Tennis News Wire -
Sony Ericsson Open
Miami
Monday Women's Summary
Singles - Fourth Round: (1) Victoria Azarenka def. (16)
Dominika Cibulkova 1-6 7-6(9-7) 7-5
In the first set, and even at the beginning of the
second, Dominika Cibulkova was hitting hard and Victoria
Azarenka was looking as if she didn't know what was
happening. But she also looked pretty determined -- and
Cibulkova seemed to have more and more trouble getting
her serve in. Azarenka managed to level the second set,
then win the tiebreak. The final set -- after two hours
on the court -- saw both players lose the ability to
hold. There were seven breaks in the set, and Cibulkova
had the chance to break as Azarenka served for the
match. But Azarenka finally held, leaving Cibulkova
still stuck with the #18 ranking she had coming in.
Singles - Fourth Round: (2) Maria Sharapova def.
Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 7-6(7-3)
Big surprise, huh? Still, Ekaterina Makarova lasted long
enough to make the Top Forty.
Singles - Fourth Round: (10) Serena Williams def. (4)
Samantha Stosur 7-5 6-3
Most of the chatter about this match has been because it
was a rematch of the U. S. Open final, but the main
effect is to all but settle the #4 ranking. Samantha
Stosur loses her chance to make it; she will probably be
#5, and Caroline Wozniacki could still pass her. Serena
Williams is still at #10 in safe points; another win
would take her to #9. And she looks ready for more
wins....
Singles - Fourth Round: (4) Caroline Wozniacki def. (23)
Yanina Wickmayer 7-6(8-6) 6-0
Yes, that second set was as quick as the score. This,
combined with the day's other results, keeps alive
Caroline Wozniacki's faint hope of returning to the Top
Five. It appears Yanina Wickmayer will be #30.
Singles - Fourth Round: (5) Agnieszka Radwanska def.
(WC) Garbine Muguruza Blanco 6-3 6-2
Finally everyone's fingers get a break as we won't have
to type "Garbine Muguruza Blanco" any more. Still, she
improves her ranking to around #160.
Singles - Fourth Round: (7) Marion Bartoli def. (22)
Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-2
Maria Kirilenko falls just short of the Top Twenty. She
will probably have chances during the clay season.
Singles - Fourth Round: (8) Li Na def. (12) Sabine
Lisicki 3-6 6-4 6-2
Even though Sabine Lisicki added points, she doesn't add
enough to do any good. She will remain at #13 -- which
in turn means that the Top Ten is closed (see the day's
Feature). Li Na remains ahead of Marion Bartoli in the
contest for #7, but obviously they both still have their
chances.
Singles - Fourth Round: (WC) Venus Williams def. (15)
Ana Ivanovic 6-7(4-7) 6-2 6-2
Venus Williams must be getting her stamina back if she
survived this marathon! Naturally she is doing wonders
for her ranking -- she increases her point total by
exactly 50%. And she has plenty of room to add points.
So she will rise from #134 to around #90. She leaves Ana
Ivanovic probably #14 or #15.
Doubles - Second Round: King/Niculescu def. (7) Shvedova/Voskoboeva
7-5 6-2
An interesting contest, since Vania King and Yaroslava
Shvedova usually play together -- although their luck
lately hasn't been great. The result here is rather a
surprise -- results with other partners seem to reveal
that King is a stronger player than Shvedova, but she
was playing with a much weaker partner here.
Perhaps more noteworthy is how fast the seeds are
dropping around here. Already the top four teams are
out, and now we lose the #7 seeds!
Doubles - Second Round: (WC) Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova
def. Llagostera Vives/Parra Santonja 6-1 7-6(7-2)
Doubles - Second Round: Medina Garrigues/Pennetta def.
Goerges/Stosur 6-7(4-7) 6-2 11-9 (Match TB)
Doubles - Second Round: (WC) Dulko/Suarez def. Klepac/Rosolska
walkover (Rosolska: illness)
This actually came through late Sunday, but it wasn't on
the schedule, so we didn't notice. For Paula Suarez, of
course, it's still more points. She is now up to about
#105.
Doubles - Quarterfinal: (WC) Dulko/Suarez def. Dushevina/Peer
7-6(7-2) 6-7(3-7) 10-6 (Match TB)
And, with this, Paola Suarez is back in the Top Hundred.
She's around #85, in fact.
