Jarmila Gajdosova has done a pretty good imitation of Thrill Ride since she arrived in Madrid. In the first round, she hung in while her opponent, Maria Kirilenko, served for the match twice and held two match points. In the second round, Gajdosova upset 12th seed Agnieszka Radwansska after Radwanska came close to going up 4-0 in the third set.
Thrill Ride, by the way, is still standing, and will play Stuttgart champion Julia Goerges in the next round. 9th seed Shahar Peer went out in the first round, as did Spanish clay court star Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who lost to 6th seed Li Na. Wild card Arantxa Parra Santonja upset 13th seed Andrea Petkovic in the second round, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova upset 11th seed Marion Bartoli.
Petra Kvitova will take on 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva on Wednesday. Up next for top seed Caroline Wozniacki will be the winner of the Safina-Goerges match.
In doubles, 4th seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond were defeated by Casey Dellacqua and Rennae Stubbs, who makes an occasional appearance in tournaments, despite her "retirement" from pro tennis. Also, 3rd seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova defeated wild cards Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva in the second round.
Thrills and spills in Madrid indeed... When was the last time A Radwanska served 13 aces in a match... and lost ! I seriously enjoyed Santonja's performance. The Spanish no. 4, a veteran on the tour completely outplayed her higher-ranked opponent. Petkovic didn't play badly: just powerless or lacking variety in her game on this surface to do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteHi Diane,
ReplyDeleteWas wondering about Rennae, having seen the result of her match on the T-Line. Speaking of which, do you know what's up with Cara Black, according to the WTA website she hasn't played since January. Is she injured? Retiring?
Thanks.
Mel
Rennae looks like she might be the go-to person for someone who needs a partner. She can't stop playing!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what's going on with Black, Mel. She did a clinic in Zimbabwe last month, and I don't remember any mention of an injury. But she has kind of disappeared. Does anyone know?
Really worthwhile data, much thanks for the post.
ReplyDelete