Friday, July 24, 2009

Interesting first rounds in Stanford

With only 32 women participating, the Bank of the West Classic has a rather intense draw. It will probably become even more interesting once the qualifiers have been added, but there is enough now to provide some exciting first round matches:

Serena Williams vs. Li Na: Sadly, this match will very likely not take place because of Li's knee injury, and--even if it does--Li is not likely to be playing at her best level. Still--on paper--it is a good one.

Samantha Stosur vs. Dominika Cibulkova: Stosur has been playing well of late. If she serves at her best level and Cibulkova is healthy (what a pity we have to say that so much), this could be an excellent first round match. It's certainly a shame to consider that one of them has to be eliminated.

Peng Shuai vs. Marion Bartoli: The two double-handers are usually quite entertaining when they have a go at each other.

Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Sorana Cirstea: This is the match I would watch if I were there. I expect it to have a bit of everything in it, and I expect the spectators to get their money's worth.

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Aleksandra Wozniak: Wozniak, the defending champion, is unseeded this year, as is Hantuchova. Both have been showing signs of quality play lately, so this, too, could be a good one.

Nadia Petrova vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands: This is an unfortunate draw for both, since they are doubles partners.

Maria Sharapova vs. Ai Sugiyama: Yes, the veteran is not what she used to be, but neither is Sharapova. If Sharapova shows up with an iffy serve, she could have a long match on her hands. Sugiyama may no longer be in the top 10, but she is as tough as they come.

2 comments:

Miss L said...

Whenever we get to this part of the season, all I can think of is, "Where did all the year go?" We're in the lead-up to the last slam of the year and that is scary. Having said that, there is still plenty of time in the year left for girls to make their mark.

Diane said...

I always wonder where the time went, too. The women who excel in hard court play do tend to play catch-up during this period. I wish we still had the San Diego tournament.