Sharapova Into Final, Faces Li For Title
ROME, Italy – Two of the WTA’s largest international stars, Maria Sharapova and Li Na, will meet in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, 1 hoping to defend her title and the other hoping for her very first title in almost a year.
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The No.8-seeded Li was the initial to advance to the final, though perhaps not in the way she wanted – No.9 seed Serena Williams, who was riding a 17-match clay court winning streak, had to pull out prior to their match with a back injury.
Dream Final In Madrid: Azarenka Vs Serena
MADRID, Spain – Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams battled past some very tricky semifinal opponents at the Mutua Madrid Open Saturday, setting up an absolute blockbuster final at the prestigious Premier-level tournament.
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Azarenka, the No.1 seed, was the first to advance, continuing her domination of No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska with a 62 64 victory. Azarenka had won all five of their previous encounters this year and things went much the same this time as the World No.1 rolled through the first set in 29 minutes and fended off some late resistance from Radwanska to win the 50-minute second set too.
Madrid Day 7 Preview
MADRID, Spain – A star-studded quarterfinal Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open will consist of 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams against 3-time Grand Slam titlist Maria Sharapova and current World No.1 Victoria Azarenka versus reigning French Open champion Li Na.
Friday, QuarterfinalsManolo Santana[two] Maria Sharapova (RUS #two) vs. [9] Serena Williams (USA #9)Head-to-head: Williams leads 7-2After winning two of her very first three meetings with Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova has lost six straight. This will be just their second encounter on clay, with Williams coming out on leading in their 1st in the Charleston quarterfinals in 2008. However, Sharapova’s self-confidence on the dirt may possibly be greater than ever, as she is coming off a title in Stuttgart and two convincing victories in Madrid ahead of acquiring a walkover win over Lucie Safarova on Thursday. Williams is rolling as well, with a 20-two record on the year, which includes 10- on clay. However, her 17-set clay court winning streak did come to an finish in the 1st set of her third round triumph here over Caroline Wozniacki.
“She’s been playing truly well and has the upper hand going into tomorrow’s match with so significantly momentum in winning in Stuttgart,” Williams said. “I am going out there with nothing at all to lose and that is always a good position to be in.”
[1] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #1) vs. [8] Li Na (CHN #eight)Head-to-head: Li leads four-3The quarterfinals have been Li Na’s roadblock of late, as she has lost in that round in three straight events. She is in specifically great form in Madrid, though, having not lost a set in three matches – like an impressive triumph over the red-hot Angelique Kerber in the third round. And she has a winning record against quarterfinal foe Victoria Azarenka, highlighted by straight set victories at the Australian Open and French Open (their a single previous meeting on clay) final year. Nonetheless, Azarenka has won two in a row in their series considering that then. A runner-up here last year, the Belarusian also has not dropped a set this week in enhancing her record this season to 32-2.
Stadium 3[Q] Varvara Lepchenko (USA #77) vs. [four] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #three)Head-to-head: Radwanska leads two-0Although yet to drop a set in Madrid, Agnieszka Radwanska was pushed for the initial time in the third round against Roberta Vinci, but as she has completed in each match this year against any person not named Victoria Azarenka, she prevailed. Varvara Lepchenko is getting a dream event, coming by way of qualifying and taking down in order, 2010 French Open champion and existing Globe No.11 Francesca Schiavone (her greatest career win in terms of ranking), former Globe No.11 Shahar Peer and active clay court titles leader Anabel Medina Garrigues. By virtue of that, she has matched her deepest tournament runs – quarterfinal showings in Ponte Vedra Beach in 2010 and in Memphis earlier this year. Though she has fallen short in both of her preceding encounters with Radwanska, Lepchenko has held her own in every single of them.
Madrid Day 6 Preview
MADRID, Spain – The last 5 quarterfinal berths will be booked on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open, highlighted by a showdown among great friends and former Globe No.1s Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki.
Thursday, Third RoundManolo Santana
[9] Serena Williams (USA #9) vs. [6] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #6)Head-to-head: Williams leads three-1After obtaining bested by Serena Williams in their 1st 3 meetings, Caroline Wozniacki exacted a measure of revenge by winning their most current encounter in the quarterfinals of Miami earlier this year. Wozniacki has put early season struggles behind her in going 11-3 in her final 14 matches, like an impressive straight set triumph more than rising German star Mona Barthel in the second round right here. Williams is even hotter, 19-2 on the year and 9- on clay. She dropped just seven games combined in her 1st two matches right here, possessing no difficulty obtaining utilized to blue clay. This will be the duo’s very first battle on clay.
Madrid Day 4 Preview
MADRID, Spain – Following an impressive very first round showing, Serena Williams continues her title quest against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic also function on action packed Tuesday in the Spanish capital.
Tuesday, Second RoundManolo SantanaAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #25) vs. [9] Serena Williams (USA #9)Head-to-head: Williams leads two-0After a flawless title run on the green clay of Charleston, Serena Williams opened up her European season with an equally dominating displaying on the blue of Madrid. The American’s straight set defeat of current Budapest finalist Elena Vesnina served as a warning shot to the rest of the draw and next in the line of fire is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. On her day, Pavlyuchenkova has the heavy groundstrokes to difficulty Williams, as she displayed in their only preceding clay court meeting, a 3 set defeat at Roland Garros in 2010. However, the young Russian has looked out of sorts of late and, barring the most dramatic of returns to form, stands little opportunity of derailing an on-song Williams.Stadium 3Nadia Petrova (RUS #31) vs. [13] Ana Ivanovic (SRB #15)Head-to-head: Ivanovic leads 7-5It might not be on a par with Navratilova-Evert just but, but Ana Ivanovic and Nadia Petrova are developing fairly the rivalry. At least once a year, for the past seven years, the two have locked horns on tour and on Tuesday they meet yet again. In their 12 encounters to date, Ivanovic holds the slight edge, and if current form is anything to go by, she has each opportunity of extending her advantage in Madrid. However, regardless of Petrova’s disappointing begin to the season, she knows her way about a clay court and recent quarterfinal runs in Charleston and Estoril indicate that she definitely can not be discounted.[6] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #6) vs. Mona Barthel (GER #35)Head-to-head: Wozniacki leads 1-0After a tricky very first round assignment against Ksenia Pervak, things are not about to get any less difficult for Caroline Wozniacki in Madrid. Subsequent up for the No.6 seed is 2012′s breakout star: Mona Barthel. With 27 wins – only Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska have recorded far more – and a maiden WTA title to her name this year, Barthel has undoubtedly made the tennis globe sit up and take notice. A fortnight ago in Stuttgart, the German made an intoxicating mix of energy and precision tennis to dismantle Globe No.7 Marion Bartoli and if she serves up a repeat efficiency on Tuesday she is much more than capable of adding Wozniacki to her list of conquests.Also on court…Joining Williams on Manolo Santana will be pre-tournament favorites Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, who take on Andrea Hlavackova and Klara Zakopalova respectively, although out on Court four Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and  Carla Suárez Navarro are among these looking to secure third round berths.For more on today’s matches, see our Match Notes in the Press Center.
WTA Odds N’ Ends… Radwanska’s Rise
Breakthroughs, ranking movers and a lot far more – every week wtatennis.com will be serving up a summary of stats in WTA Odds N’ Ends…
Radwanska Climbs To New Profession-HighAgnieszka Radwanska is off to a remarkable begin this year, getting collected two titles and 29 match wins, just 1 brief of World No.1 Victoria Azarenka for most wins on the WTA. In reality, all five of the Pole’s losses have come at the hands of Azarenka. Ironically, Radwanska climbed a spot to a profession-finest No.3 on the rankings on Monday after a week in which she did not even play. Here are some notable ranking accolades from her career:
9/11/06: Top rated 100 debut1/29/07: Leading 50 debut2/18/08: Top 20 debut7/7/08: Top rated 10 debut2/27/12: Top rated 5 debut5/7/12: Best three debutOther Ranking MoversAlso producing ranking news was Marina Erakovic. In going from No.45 to No.39, she made her Top 40 debut. Her run to the semifinals last week in Budapest week was her fifth quarterfinal-or-better displaying in the last 12 months.
On the doubles rankings, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka rose to No.7 and No.eight, respectively, profession-highs for both.
Errani’s Clay Court StreakSara Errani was triumphant in Budapest for her third straight clay court title following Acapulco and Barcelona. And right after being victorious in her opener in Madrid on Monday, she now has won 16 straight matches on clay – tied for the second-best streak on the surface this century:
Madrid Day 1 Preview
MADRID, Spain – Considering that its inception, the Mutua Madrid Open has been a leader in innovations. Those have included possessing models operate as ball boys and ball girls, displaying the finals in 3D at Spanish cinemas, possessing Elena Dementieva and Caroline Wozniacki play ‘Underground Tennis’ on the tracks of one of Madrid’s busiest Metro stations in 2009 and possessing Maria Sharapova square off with Spanish motorcycle rider Fonsi Nieto in a speed competition of her serve against his bike in 2010.However, the concept that received the most attention is Madrid becoming the very first tournament in history to be played on blue clay – switching from its conventional red clay – starting with this year’s staging. Those famed blue courts will be broken in by a few former Grand Slam champions on the very first day of primary draw play.
Saturday, First Round
Manolo SantanaSimona Halep (ROU #47) vs. [WC] Venus Williams (USA #70)Head-to-head: -0Since returning from a seven month absence induced by Sjögren’s syndrome, seven-time key champ Venus Williams has shown flashes of her former dominance by collecting three Prime 20 wins en route to creating quarterfinals in Miami and Charleston. Ranked No.137 as recently as February, Williams has soared 67 spots given that then. Runner-up in Madrid in 2010, Williams’ nine profession clay court titles are just one particular behind Anabel Medina Garrigues for most amongst active players. Simona Halep is coming off her very best outcome of the season – a semifinal showing in Fès that featured a 62 61 rout of No.1 seed Medina Garrigues in the quarterfinals. Halep’s greatest two career outcomes – runner-up showings at Fès in 2010 and 2011 – occurred on clay.
Petra Martic (CRO #51) vs. [5] Samantha Stosur (AUS #5)Head-to-head: -0After an up-and-down commence to the season, the outcomes for 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur have picked up as of late. Her semifinal displaying last month in Charleston included a victory over Venus Williams. Later in the month, she recorded two singles victories for Australia in its Fed Cup triumph over Germany. In her most recent outing in Stuttgart, she held a match point in the quarterfinals against eventual champ Maria Sharapova just before succumbing. Martic’s year has been highlighted by her initial profession final in Kuala Lumpur and a semifinal displaying at her most recent event in Copenhagen.
Vesnina Books Final Meeting With Errani
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Elena Vesnina arrived in Budapest this week with just 4 wins to her name this season. Four much more wins later and she stands on the verge of her maiden profession title.
Following defeating Marina Erakovic in Friday’s semifinal, Vesnina will take on Sara Errani with each the Italian’s 14-match unbeaten run and the Budapest Grand Prix title on the line. However, regardless of Errani’s imperious record on the red dirt this year – her streak is the longest given that Dinara Safina won 16 on the spin back in 2009 – the Russian is unlikely to be overawed by the challenge in front of her.
Vesnina’s run to the final in the Hungarian capital has observed her chalk up wins more than 3 seeds and all with out dropping a set. The latest upset saw the Planet No.78 oust her doubles partner and No.five seed Erakovic in a confident display of attacking clay court tennis.
“In our earlier encounters, Marina played much more aggressive,” Vesnina mentioned. “These days she was attempting to exploit my mistakes and move me around and play the spin. I did not anticipate that but luckily I nonetheless discovered the crucial to win.”
Right after racing by way of the 1st set, Vesnina was forced to dig deep in the second, securing the vital service break in the final game to close out the match, 62 64.”In the second set, we each played a lot more rallies and longer games. There had been some weird bounces, perhaps by the breeze coming from the river, and I lost some concentration. But, then, I recovered and managed to win the match.”
Errani Extends Clay Win Streak To 12
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Despite suffering a second set lapse, No.1 seed Sara Errani extended her clay court winning streak to 12 matches with a defeat of Budapest native and resident Melinda Czink in the second round of the Budapest Grand Prix on Wednesday.
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Errani, who came into this week ranked a profession-high No.27, captured Acapulco and Barcelona in her two most current tournaments on the dirt. In truth, her first set triumph against Czink was her 15th consecutive set won on the surface dating back to the Acapulco final. Even though that streak was snapped, she nevertheless emerged with a 64 16 61 victory.
“She began to play much better in the second set and I got nervous,” Errani said. “I had two games from 40-15 that I lost. In the third set, I tried to be calmer, to hit the ball deeper and push her outside the court, and that worked better.”
Anabel Looks To Defend In Estoril
The WTA’s European red clay court swing continues this week with International-level events in Estoril and Budapest.
Final year, Anabel Medina Garrigues did not drop a set en route to becoming Spain’s first Estoril Open champion given that Magui Serna in 2003. In so undertaking, she tied Venus Williams for most clay court titles among active players.
“I had a excellent week here. I won the tournament and got a gorgeous watch,” Medina Garrigues said right after her triumph. “I don’t think I could have wished for anything a lot more here in Estoril.”