Madrid 2013 03-12May

[10isfan]

Sara is good on clay. I doubt a first round exit. How about Cibulkova? Does anyone think she can go far? Woz and Vika have difficult first round matches. One of them going out would not surprise me.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Yeah, I look at the bottom half, and there really is not any match I really want to see or could potentially get excited to see.

In another note, Sharapova said the courts are playing heavy, slow and the conditions are somewhat cold.

 

[SingleBackhand]

Wow!! V. Azarenka and Na Li are both in Serena's half and Maria Sharapova seems to have gotten the less dangerous opponents on her half. I wonder when all the rumors that the draw was manipulated will start?

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Not rigged! I mean there are some dangerous opponents down in that half that if they decide to show up that day could win. However, it is pretty full of women who have game but usually continue to disappoint.

 

[SingleBackhand]

I see a lot of interesting names not in the top on both halves. For example in Serena's half:
D.L Lourdes
K. Zakopalova
M. Kirilenko
Y. Shvedova
M. Bartel
V. Williams
L. Safarova
F. Schiavoni
M. Bartoli
R. Vinci
J. Goerges
S. Cirstea

In Maria Sharapova's half:
S. Kuznetsova
N. Petrova
A. Ivanovic
L. Robson
S. Stephens
D. Hantuchova
F. Pennetta
K. Kanepi
D. Cibulkova
S. Lisicki

It will be interesting to see how these women will do here in Madrid. Personally I find it difficult to see any clear favorite for this tournament. I haven't seen Serena play on red clay this year as of yet. Maria Sharapova won in Stuttgart but she struggled in the matches leading up to the final. Victoria has been injured so it's uncertain where she stands form wise. I have no real reason not to believe in Na Li except that she was defeated by Maria in the Stuttgart final. None of the others like Sam Stosur, Sara Errani and so on have distinguished themselves on this surface so far. It's gonna be a thrill to see how this tournament will play out. The winner could well be someone not in the top 10

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Madrid 2013 03-12 May

.... there really is not any match I really want to see or could potentially get excited to see.

Samantha vs. Carla kinda excites me, Sam has been lousy lately and Carla has been hot...


Order of play is out for Saturday, main draw begins.
http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/1479/title/mutua-madrid-open

Some notable matches tomorrow:

Manolo Santana(center court)
16:30 - Sloane Stephens (USA) V Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
19:00 - Urszula Radwanska (POL) V [7] Sara Errani (ITA)

Stadium 3
11:00 - Julia Goerges (GER) V Bojana Jovanovski (SRB)
13:00 - Sabine Lisicki (GER) V Sofia Arvidsson (SWE)
15:00 - Mona Barthel (GER) V Kirsten Flipkens (BEL)

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[tossip]

why does pova get all these favourable draws.I thought she is considered tough,why does she need a helping hand all the time.Ihope one of these gals humiliate her in Madrid because Stacy McCallister desperately wants pova as no.1 at all cost.I think the WTA honchos are in cahoots with pova s agent to promote his players as much as possible..all of a sudden Na li is getting unwarranted publicity and pova is all over the WTA website..soon it will be Madison Keys...shame on you WTA.

 

[Moxie]

Wow!! V. Azarenka and Na Li are both in Serena's half and Maria Sharapova seems to have gotten the less dangerous opponents on her half. I wonder when all the rumors that the draw was manipulated will start?

Apparently, it has started.

 

[jhar26]

The winner could well be someone not in the top 10

Really? There could be some upsets along the way, but I would be surprised if the last girl standing wouldn't be one of the Williams/Sharapova/Li/Azarenka quartet.

 

[Hoergren]

Just seen the Portuguese final. A. Pavlyuchenkova won 75 62 over Navarro who beat Caroline in Stuttgart. I see an early upset coming in Madrid when Vika - who hasn't been playing for long - is playing a player with confidence. Also remember A. Pavlyuchenkova has Hingis as coach. I believe in an upset.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

That would be a huge upset, I think it can happen too.
Also Carla against Samantha, Carla was the other finalist in Potugal, she seems to be on a roll.

It may not happen in the two maatches I mentioned above, but I think there is definitly going to be an early upset.
Julia Goerges is warming up, the qualies are almost finished and I am waiting for that Sara vs. U-Rad match.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Stephens bombs again!

 

[10isfan]

I find this site very helpful in keeping tracks of all scores. Sometimes it takes a while to load.

http://www.livescorehunter.com/Livescores/Livescore-Tennis.html

Lisicki wins. That is a surprise. I think Vika can be upset by Pavly. There were high expectations for her two years ago. She may now be playing to her potential. Her serve used to be awful. Is it still bad?

 

[Hoergren]

The top 10 with all last years Madrid results stripped:

1 Serena Williams 10115
2 Maria Sharapova 9990
3 Victoria Azarenka 8430
4 Agnieszka Radwanska 6395
5 Na Li 5750
6 Angelique Kerber 5280
7 Sara Errani 5190
8 Petra Kvitova 5145
9 Caroline Wozniacki 3620
10 Samantha Stosur 3540

Many interesting battles 1 & 2, 4 & 5, 6 - 8, 9 & 10 only one left in "no mans land" is Vika

And as always in a mandatory EVERY point counts. Let the game begin

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I wonder if Li can make it to number 4 before the French? That might make someone in the Top 3 happy if they can't see her until the semis.

 

[SingleBackhand]

why does pova get all these favourable draws.I thought she is considered tough,why does she need a helping hand all the time.Ihope one of these gals humiliate her in Madrid because Stacy McCallister desperately wants pova as no.1 at all cost.I think the WTA honchos are in cahoots with pova s agent to promote his players as much as possible..all of a sudden Na li is getting unwarranted publicity and pova is all over the WTA website..soon it will be Madison Keys...shame on you WTA.

It's really sad to see a person hysterical like this. It so clearly shows ignorance and he obviously has no idea how a WTA draw is performed. It is a public event with the press, WTA player representatives, WTA officials and tournament officials involved and performed after strict rules

tossip also known as mutethat just can not restrain himself from attacking his worst nightmare - that is Maria Sharapova - and that's how he always will be revealed

Da poor guy has tried so hard to keep a low profile but the Maria Sharapova's draw made him go bonkers

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BTW No streaming of Madrid matches until Monday or so? - LsHunter lists nothing so far

I hope this woman will qualify herself for the real tournament

Camila Giorgi (ITA)

 

[Hoergren]

Although it's a horrible homepage you can find the schedule for Sunday here - remember to press Sunday

schedule Sunday

Serena follows Venus on Manolo Santana Centre Stadium
Caroline first on second court - Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Stadium

Should be TV from day 1.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

I hope this woman will qualify herself for the real tournament

Camila Giorgi (ITA)

She is in, so is BMS!

Here is the completed scores for the final qualifying round:

SINGLES - QUALIFYING - FINAL ROUND

Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor (ESP) d [9] Johanna Larsson (SWE) | 6 - 3 | 6 - 1 |
[2] Christina McHale (USA) d Mathilde Johansson (FRA) | 6 - 2 | 6 - 4 |
Camila Giorgi (ITA) d Garbine Muguruza (ESP) | 6 - 2 | 1 - 6 | 6 - 3 |
[14] Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) d [8] Madison Keys (USA) | 6 - 2 | 7 - 5 |
Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) d Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) | 6 - 2 | 1 - 6 | 6 - 2 |
[6] Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d Melanie Oudin (USA) | 6 - 3 | 6 - 1 |
Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) d Aravane Rezai (FRA) | 3 - 6 | 6 - 3 | 7 - 6 (5) |
[13] Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) d [3] Stefanie Voegele (SUI) | 7 - 6 (4) | 6 - 4 |

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and here are the first round scores:

SATURDAY, MAY 04, 2013

Laura Robson (GBR) d Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) | 6 - 7 (7) | 6 - 2 | 6 - 2 |
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d Sloane Stephens (USA) | 6 - 3 | 7 - 5 |
Julia Goerges (GER) d Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) | 6 - 4 | 6 - 1 |
Alize Cornet (FRA) d Kiki Bertens (NED) | 7 - 5 | 7 - 6 (8) |
[7] Sara Errani (ITA) d Urszula Radwanska (POL) | 6 - 3 | 6 - 1 |
Sabine Lisicki (GER) d Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) | 6 - 3 | 6 - 1 |
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) d Mona Barthel (GER) | 6 - 4 | 6 - 1 |
Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP) d Simona Halep (ROU) | 6 - 2 | 4 - 6 | 6 - 4 |

 

[SingleBackhand]

Wozniacki is only a shadow of herself today. What has happened to her? Surely love can not be the main reason of her downfall? I feel really sorry for her

That said .. I think Shvedova played very well. Congratulations!!

 

[Hoergren]

Dear Caroline it's a pain to see you play for the moment. You're playing with no confidence. There is no sparkle in your eyes and you make tons of mistakes. I don't know why - it's yourself to solve this. We fans can give you all the advice we will but you decide. I hope you crawl up again of the big hole you are in right now. Only thing I can see is that it's a mental problem you're struggling with. Fed up with tennis - maybe. Next stop is Rome and I hope you will rise as Phoenix and show us the swan you used to be. :heart: