Friday, March 21, 2014

Halep withdraws from Miami

I don't like the term "blessing in disguise," yet sometimes I have to go with it. I'm kind of going with it in the case of Simona Halep's withdrawal from the Sony Open because of a toe injury. The world number 5 (I like saying that) has had foot problems lately; notably, in her Achilles tendons. It's no surprise that she would have a toe injury.

13th seed Roberta Vinci is out (again), defeated by Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. The Czech player had a couple of signature anger outbursts during the match, prompting Tennis Channel commentator Tracy Austin to give some speeches about professionalism. Speeches or no speeches, this is how Zahlavova Strycova is on court. Always has been, always will be.

Genie Bouchard is out too--defeated 1-6 6-1, 6-2 by Elina Svitolina. But the shock of the day was the upset of 7th seed Jelena Jankovic by Varvaro Lephenko. I mean this as no slight against Lepchenko; it's just that JJ was up 5-1 in the third set. And then lost the set--and the match--in a tiebreak.

There was a lot of action in doubles. Martina Hingis and Sabine Lisicki beat Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Safarova. Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears beat Kristina Mladenovic and Flavia Pennetta. Vania King and Zheng Jie beat Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber (that's right--Raymond and Huber) 7-6, 7-6.

Tomorrrow, Maria Sharapova plays Lucie Safarova. 'Pova, by the way, has teamed with pinkberry to promote Sugarpova.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Straight sets again today for Kvitova. A new leaf?

Diane said...

Don't get too hopeful--she'll break your heart.

Bobby Skipsey said...

I'm afraid of that. However, she has improved this year, winning in straight sets several times. The baffling thing remains that she is capable of otherworldly tennis.

Diane said...

I think Petra may be the biggest puzzle I can recall in women's professional tennis.

Anonymous said...

Petra 'twitted' (not tweeted; it'sTWITter):Really pleased with my match today. 2 wins in straight sets. What is happening?

Is it possible to be that unaware of one's own mental state? Perhaps she's what used to be termed an "idiot savant".

Diane said...

No, that would make her autistic :) A lot of people--more than you know--are unaware of their mental state.

Petra, however, was being funny. She still has a sense of humor, thank goodness, and a good one.