Schiavone, Italy's highest-ranked player in WTA history and the No.2 seed this week, rebounded from an early loss in Madrid with a routine 6-3 6-1 win over American qualifier Christina McHale. McHale, who took out one of the hottest players of the year in the first round - China's Peng Shuai - was no match for the all-court attack of Schiavone, who lost 12 points in eight service games.
At night, No.7 seed Sharapova had an even more comprehensive victory, beating Ekaterina Makarova, 6-1 6-1. Last week Makarova pushed Sharapova to three sets in the same round of Madrid, but this time there were no cracks whatsoever in Sharapova's game, as she won almost exactly twice as many points as Makarova (51 to 26) and cruised past her countrywoman in 54 minutes.
Mattek-Sands beat No.15 seed Flavia Pennetta, 6-4 4-6 6-3, just her second win in seven career meetings with the Italian. "Flavia's a big favorite here - it was almost like a Fed Cup match. I hit a blazing winner and there was silence," Mattek-Sands said. "I had my crew cheering for me though. Obviously you want people to cheer for you but it's Italy, it's understandable. I don't mind. Flavia's such a tough competitor, too - it just came down to a break of serve today."
Mattek-Sands reached the quarterfinals of Madrid last week, upsetting former French Open champions Ana Ivanovic and Schiavone along the way. "I'm a dirtballer now," she said. "I'm still playing my game, aggressive on the red clay. They say Americans don't do well on clay - I'm trying to prove them wrong."
Next for Mattek-Sands is Slovakia-born Australian Jarmila Gajdosova. "She smacks the ball hard. I lost to her in Hobart this year, but I'm ready. I'll get some protein and have a good night's sleep tonight and I'll be ready tomorrow."
Photography - LIFE
11 comments:
Mattek-Sands is a fashion nightmare!
Btw, can one of you two get an interview with Christina McHale?
Hercog over Petko 6-4, 6-3.
Peer over Kleybanova - 6-3, 7-5. Somehow I doubt she gets past Divapova!
Vesnina over Aggie 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Aggie had injury timeouts for her back. Not sure how much this affected her loss.
Garrigues over Bartoli 6-4, 6-3.
Jankovic over Safarova 6-0, 6-3.
The Duchess' season is slipping by.
Looks like the Imbecile's Apprentice is all hype.
I disagree Caos321 I see Peer, Divapova is improving but I still say that shoulder of hers can't hold up.
Garrigues , isn't she a dirt specialist?
IMO, The Diva should beat Peer even if her shoulder is only 50%.
Looks like Kirilenko/Vesnina retired in their match. Maybe it was Vesnina, she also had the trainer out in her match with Aggie. (Announcers were saying how Mirza helped Vesnina with her wrist injury, like how to cope or whatnot.)
Seems Aggie's about to crash out of doubles as well. Her and Dani are down 6-3, 4-2.
Wiki beats Imbecile 2-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Mirza pulled out because of a bad back.
It was not a good day to be an Imbecile as both The Fist Pumping and her Apprentice went down. I shall now hold my big gut and laugh like an evil villain, hahaha.
Point taken on the Diva, Caps321.
Well The Duchess/Dani are ranked 7th in doubles they lost to number one ranked team. The Duchess/Dani need to improve a bit to be contenders. Oh, Princess/Angry Bird are ranked two.
Bethanie lost in singles, so much for calling herself a dirt baller. However her doubles team double bageled their opponents today.
Caps321, Ill look into and see what I can try organize in regards to Christina McHale!
Thanks Emily.
Vesnina was up 5-3 in the third set and ended up losing 6-3, 6-7, 6-7.
All my women are out of the tournament now. Guess I'll just hang around looking for a Bunny, Peer, and Angry Bird defeat!
Guess Vesnina hurt her back in the second set:
EVesnina001 Elena Vesnina
I didn't use my chances,but anyway good match,unfortunately pulled my back at the 2nd set,feeling pain.Going to withdraw from Strasbourg:(
Peer has no idea how to win against Sharapova. She can't serve worth crap and just hits the ball back in basically.. Sorta like a minor league version of Bunny.
The Diva wins the first set 6-2! YEAH!
via tennis.com
MOSCOW (AP)—Former No. 1 Dinara Safina is taking an indefinite break from tennis in the hope of recovering from chronic back pain.
The 25-year-old Safina told Thursday’s edition of Russian daily Sport Express that she will miss the upcoming French Open where she has twice reached the final.
She said she would take as much time as it takes to resolve her health issues.
“I don’t know how long the break will be,” she said. “I don’t want to torture myself and my body any longer. I want to take as much time to recover, so I don’t have any regrets at the end of my career.”
In other news: The Diva wins against Peer 6-2, 6-2.
Caps321 good call on Divapova over Peer. The only way that I would know if the Diva is really back if she play top level against the top players -I have to include The Big Bunny cause she has hammered the Diva-. Nice run so far but hasn't defeated anybody, overrated players don't count.
Sadly I think Dinara's best days are over. She is 25 and this back injury keeps popping up. I hope I'm dead wrong but I just don't see her playing at a high level again or being a top caliber player again.
I thought that this would be the last year that Pennetta would play at the good level that she has played in the last couple years. She started the year in good form going deep into tournaments, but in the last three tournaments she has been one and done, only winning a set. She also had a poor showing at I.W. Like Petrova I thought she was 25 but she is 29. She is good doubles player I would hope she would become a doubles specialist if things continue to go south for her in singles. With Italians you never know the older they get the better they seem to play.
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