Yeah... I went there...
Today, Simona Halep lost in three sets to Sybille Bammer. The sixth seed, she was the highest seed left in the Bad Gastein Draw, but her loss was expected. After all, the only seed to advance past the first round was Ksenia Pervak of Russia, the eighth seed. Simona Halep is probably known most for getting breast reduction surgery a couple years ago. Since then, she's risen more than 400 spots in the rankings, and she is close to cracking the top 50. Sybille Bammer is a mother who will be retiring from tennis after Bad Gastein. She reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2008, and she peaked at number 19 in the rankings. However, despite these accomplishments, she will probably be remembered most for having a 2:0 head to head record against Serena Williams. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario is the only other woman in the world with a positive head to head ratio against Serena.
In other news, Flavia Pennetta was brought back from the brink of defeat by Mathilde Johansson. Johansson led 6-4 5-3 before choking away the second set. She also led by 6-4 5-7 5-3 before choking the match away. Johansson is known for choking. In her match against Vitalia Diatchenko at the 2009 French Open, Johansson wasted eight match points before losing 10-8 in the third. She double faulted four of them away.
Showing posts with label Pennetta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pennetta. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Palermo Preview
One of two final clay tournaments of the year is at Palermo. Last year, Kaia Kanepi defeated crowd favorite Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-3 in the Palermo final to win her first title. However, Kanepi will not be returning to Palermo to defend her title.
The three top seeds at Palermo are Italian. The top seed, Flavia Pennetta, won Palermo in 2009. She broke into the top 10 in 2009 as well. The second seed, Roberta Vinci is enjoying a great season and is fighting for her fourth title of the year. She is coming off a win at Budapest, another clay tournament. She is quite close to cracking the top 20 for the first time in her career. The third seed is Sara Errani who won Palermo in 2008. She was the runner up at Palermo in 2009. Other contenders for the title include Anabel Medina Garrigues who won a clay court title earlier this year at Estoril and Polona Hercog who just won Bastad.
My pick for the title is Roberta Vinci who has really blossomed this year. She is a clay court specialist, and she will have the home court advantage.
The three top seeds at Palermo are Italian. The top seed, Flavia Pennetta, won Palermo in 2009. She broke into the top 10 in 2009 as well. The second seed, Roberta Vinci is enjoying a great season and is fighting for her fourth title of the year. She is coming off a win at Budapest, another clay tournament. She is quite close to cracking the top 20 for the first time in her career. The third seed is Sara Errani who won Palermo in 2008. She was the runner up at Palermo in 2009. Other contenders for the title include Anabel Medina Garrigues who won a clay court title earlier this year at Estoril and Polona Hercog who just won Bastad.
My pick for the title is Roberta Vinci who has really blossomed this year. She is a clay court specialist, and she will have the home court advantage.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
The Week After Wimbledon
Although Wimbledon is over, there is still a lot of tennis until the US Open. Immediately following Wimbledon, there are two weeks of clay tournaments. During the week beginning July fourth, there will be two WTA tournaments, Budapest and Bastad. Although the only top 20 player who will be playing next week is Caroline Wozniacki, there will still be some great matches.
Lets start with Budapest. Budapest is an international tournament, the new equivalent of a Tier III or Tier IV tournament. There is only one player who will be competing at Budapest who is in the top 32- the 25th ranked Roberta Vinci. Vinci comes into Budapest as the favorite since she has already won two international events on clay this year. I'd say she leaves Budapest with her third.
The other tournament is at Bastad. It's also an international tournament. There are three players in the top 32 who are participating in Bastad- Lucie Safarova, Flavia Pennetta and Caroline Wozniacki. Safarova is a dangerous lefty who has a great forehand but who has always been hindered by her lack of mental toughness. Flavia Pennetta is a former top 10 player who is also the top ranked player in doubles. Caroline Wozniacki is the top ranked player in singles. Although she favors hard courts, Caroline Wozniacki will be hard to beat here. She has already won two clay titles this year, and has a combined 6-1 head to head against Pennetta and Safarova.
Lets start with Budapest. Budapest is an international tournament, the new equivalent of a Tier III or Tier IV tournament. There is only one player who will be competing at Budapest who is in the top 32- the 25th ranked Roberta Vinci. Vinci comes into Budapest as the favorite since she has already won two international events on clay this year. I'd say she leaves Budapest with her third.
The other tournament is at Bastad. It's also an international tournament. There are three players in the top 32 who are participating in Bastad- Lucie Safarova, Flavia Pennetta and Caroline Wozniacki. Safarova is a dangerous lefty who has a great forehand but who has always been hindered by her lack of mental toughness. Flavia Pennetta is a former top 10 player who is also the top ranked player in doubles. Caroline Wozniacki is the top ranked player in singles. Although she favors hard courts, Caroline Wozniacki will be hard to beat here. She has already won two clay titles this year, and has a combined 6-1 head to head against Pennetta and Safarova.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)