Il tennis femminile

Note (quasi tutte) felici da Acapulco (Italia)

Acapulco, Italia

Il quadro dei quarti di finale femminili

Acapulco ha spesso parlato italiano, ma quest'anno Acapulco sembra essere diventata la succursale di un centro FIT...  In tre delle quattro partite dei quarti femminili c'è una italiana (Errani, Knapp, Schiavone). Un'altra "demi-italienne" (Romina Oprandi) non c'è per causa di forza maggiore: eliminata dalla "cugina" Karin Knapp.

Peccato, davvero, per l'uscita al primo turno di Flavia, che evidentemente non ha ancora la partita nelle gambe e nella testa. Non le si può chiedere di più. Questa è la terza partita che gioca dopo uno stop di quasi mezzo anno. Intanto godiamoci questa foto di Flavia nel ruolo (speriamo provvisorio) di telecronista di grande successo per ESPN... Flavia, ad Acapulco, è un mito. Fra il 2003 e il 2013 ha dato (e avuto) lustro da questo torneo, con ben 9 partecipazioni. Quest'anno è andata così... (uscita al primo turno). Alla sua prima partecipazione (2003... Flavia aveva 21 anni) era arrivata ai quarti. Poi solo finali (2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012) o vittorie (2005, 2008). Insomma, Flavia è figlia adottiva di Acapulco.

Anche i maschietti si stanno facendo onore. Se nei quarti femminili le femminucce sono in tre partite su quattro, non molto peggio hanno fatto i maschietti: due partite su quattro parlano italiano, con l'accesso ai quarti di Fognini, e del sorprendente Lorenzi.

I tornei di questa settimana interessano aree "sensibili" della classifica, nelle quali pochi punti spostano pesantemente le graduatorie in classifica (tranne che per le prime):

• Sara Errani - Era e resta a fine settimana 8°

• Roberta Vinci - Era e resta 16°

• Francesca Schiavone - dalla 51° posizione, a seconda dei risultati suoi o altrui, potrà vagare in un range molto ampio (37°/52° posizione!)

• Flavia Pennetta - Dalla 65° posizione. è già destinata a scendere alla 90°, per via dei 200 punti lasciati per la finale 2012. Ma in teoria potrebbe scendere fino alla 96° posizione. Brutta storia, perchè diventa a rischio persino l'accesso diretto ai 235.000 $. Forza, Flavia! Recupera alla svelta!

• Camila Giorgi - Dalla 80° posizione, a seconda dei risultati altrui, potrebbe ritrovarsi fra la 78° e la 85° posizione. Intanto niente di sicuro sappiamo circa la sua partecipazione eventuale a Indian Wells.

Indian Wells: la entry-list aggiornata al 27 Febbraio

INDIAN WELLS, entry-list aggiornata al 27 febbraio

Presenti le migliori italiane (Sara Errani, Roberta Vinci, Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Romina Oprandi, Camila Giorgi). In particolare, Flavia Pennetta e Camila Giorgi entrano per il rotto della cuffia, perchè a fine settimana dovrebbero retrocedere. Flavia intorno alla 90ma posizione (deve sbarcare i 200 punti della finale 2012 di Acapulco), e Camila Giorgi intorno all'80ma posizione.

Altro elemento d'interesse è la presenza a Indian Wells di Svetlana Kuznetsova. Non è escluso quindi che ci sia l'esordio della nuova coppia di doppio Pennetta/Kuznetsova. Auguri a tutte. Tafanus

Azarenka, Victoria       1    
Sharapova, Maria         2    
Radwanska, Agnieszka     4    
Kerber, Angelique        5    
Li, Na                   6    
Errani, Sara             7    
Kvitova, Petra           8    
Stosur, Samantha         9    
Wozniacki, Caroline     10    
Bartoli, Marion         11    
Petrova, Nadia          12    
Ivanovic, Ana           13    
Cibulkova, Dominika     14    
Kirilenko, Maria        15    
Vinci, Roberta          16    
Safarova, Lucie         17    
Goerges, Julia          18    
Makarova, Ekaterina     19    
Lepchenko, Varvara      20    
Jankovic, Jelena        21    
Pavlyuchenkova, Anast.  23    
Wickmayer, Yanina       24    
Stephens, Sloane        25    
Hsieh, Su-wei           27    
Shvedova, Yaroslava     28    
Cirstea, Sorana         29    
Paszek, Tamira          30    
Radwanska, Urszula      31    
Peng, Shuai             32    
Suarez Navarro, Carla   33    
McHale, Christina       35    
Lisicki, Sabine         36    
Pironkova, Tsvetana     37    
Barthel, Mona           38    
Arvidsson, Sofia        39    
Zheng, Jie              40    
Cornet, Alize           41    
Flipkens, Kirsten       43    
Hantuchova, Daniela     44    
Halep, Simona           45    
Dominguez Lino          46    
Vesnina, Elena          47    
Schiavone, Francesca    48    
Niculescu, Monica       49    
Watson, Heather         50    
Hradecka, Lucie         51    
Medina Garrigues        52    
Robson, Laura           53    
Tatishvili, Anna        54    
Begu, Irina-Camelia     55    
Jovanovski, Bojana      56    
Govortsova, Olga        58    
Dulgheru, Alexandera    58    
Pennetta, Flavia        59    
Bertens, Kiki           60    
Oprandi, Romina         61    
Martic, Petra           62    
Hampton, Jamie          63    
Rybarikova, Magdalena   64    
Scheepers, Chanelle     65    
Hlavackova, Andrea      66    
Parmentier, Pauline     67    
Erakovic, Marina        68    
Larsson, Johanna        69    
Rus, Arantxa            70    
Beck, Annika            71    
Morita, Ayumi           72    
Babos, Timea            73    
Giorgi, Camila          74    
Kuznetsova, Svetlana    75    
King, Vania             76    
Arruabarrena-Vecino     77    
Minella, Mandy          78    
Voskokoeva, Galina      80    
Davis, Lauren           81   

Vinci ed Errani, Errani e Vinci... Sempre loro: domani una contro l'altra in semifinale a Dubai

Roberta Vinci has beaten two Top 10 players at a tournament for the first time and is now through to her biggest WTA semifinal - but it doesn't get any easier from here, in more ways than one.

WtaTour.com - Published Feburary 21, 2013 12:00

Roberta Vinci

DUBAI, UAE - Roberta Vinci continued to carve out one of the very best weeks of her career on Thursday, beating Sam Stosur to reach the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Vinci's big serve and big forehand - and her lethal backhand slice - were hitting their targets throughout the match against the No.7-seeded Stosur, as she raced through the first set and fought back from 2-0 down in the second set to reach the semifinals in straights in an hour and 18 minutes, 62 64.

"It was a great match for me, a great performance," Vinci said. "She has a great serve, a great kick serve, and for me it was difficult to return because I have a one-handed backhand. But today I played aggressively on the court when I could and it was a good game for me, just like it was yesterday."

There was one shot Vinci stayed away from. "She has an unbelievable forehand," Vinci said. "I had to play a lot to her backhand, and I tried to change from slice to topspin when I had the time."

Vinci is now through to the biggest WTA semifinal of her career, and her second at the Premier level (Dubai has more than three times the prize money of the other Premier tournament she reached the semifinals of - Eastbourne in 2005). This is also the first time Vinci has beaten two Top 10 players at the same tournament, having defeated Angelique Kerber in the third round on Wednesday.

It doesn't get any easier, though, and not just in an on-paper sense - next up for Vinci is her best friend on the tour, No.5 seed Sara Errani, who rebounded from a second set lapse to beat Nadia Petrova in three sets, 64 06 63. Petrova actually won more points than Errani in the match, 105 to 104.

"The first two games of the second set were so long, the second set was very long even if it was 6-0," Errani said afterwards. "In the third set I just tried to get more aggressive and more concentrated. I tried to show her I wasn't tired. I just tried to recover and be positive and face these things."

Errani and Vinci aren't just best friends on the tour, they are also the No.1 doubles team in the world together - their respect for each other was never more evident after they played each other in the US Open quarterfinals last year, with Errani winning but her totally silent celebration saying it all.

"Normally she's with me on my side of the net and not on the other one, so to see her on the other side is tough because one of us will lose," Errani commented. "She's an amazing person outside the court. Outside the court she will always try to help you when she can. She's like a sister to me. We stay together maybe 300 days a year. Of course we have had a lot of good moments together.

"I will have to think about it as just another tennis match, and not that it's against her. I just have to go on the court and do my best. The good thing is one of us will be in the finals here."

Vinci echoed Errani's sentiment. "It will be different mentally because I know her, she's like a sister for me and we play doubles together all the time," the Italian explained. "It will be tough."

Another Milestone: Serena & Vinci

Serena Williams is now the oldest World No.1 in singles, but with a little bit of an assist from a perfectly-placed birthday, there was even more history made on Monday. Find out what it is right here...

Roberta Vinci

DOHA, Qatar - With a little bit of an assist from a perfectly-placed birthday, there was even more history made on Monday, following the results of the Qatar Total Open. With Serena Williams now the World No.1 in singles and doubles World No.1 Roberta Vinci celebrating her 30th birthday today, this is just the second time in WTA history 30-somethings have topped both singles and doubles rankings:

October 18, 1986 to August 16, 1987
(43 weeks & 1 day)
Singles No.1: Martina Navratilova (age 30)
Doubles No.1: Martina Navratilova (age 30)

February 18, 2013 to February 24, 2013
(1 week)
Singles No.1: Serena Williams (age 31)
Doubles No.1: Roberta Vinci (age 30)

(Credit: WTATour.com)

Bentornata Flavia Pennetta! Stasera di nuovo in campo da Bogotà

Dopo una lunga assenza, durata oltre 5 mesi e mezzo, oggi Flavia tornerà in campo da Bogotà. Non vedeva l'ora, ed è molto carica. Speriamo che non lo sia troppo, e che l'emozione del ritorno alle gare non condizioni la sua partita. Flavia giocherà alle 14,30 (20,30 ora italiana) contro la russa Alexandra Panova.

 ALTRE ITALIANE IMPEGNATE

• Sempre a Bogotà, ore 18,30 Francesca Schiavone contro Sharon Fichman

• Alle 18,30 su altro campo Karin Knapp contro Eva Birnerova

• A Dubai, ore 11,00, Sara Errani esordisce contro Julia Goerges.

• Alle 15,00 Roberta Vinci, fortunata, trova all'esordio una qualificata: Svetlana Kuznetsova

Auguri a tutte le nostre ragazze

Errani & Vinci conquistano anche il Premier del Qatar

...ve l'avevamo detto che questa fotina sarebbe diventata l'icona di una leggenda...

Melbourne, Paris and now Doha - Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci won their third tournament in a row at the Qatar Total Open on Sunday, and the victory was a throwback to 2001 for one of them.

Sara Errani, Roberta Vinci

DOHA, Qatar - Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci continued to show why they're the No.1 team in the world on Sunday afternoon, winning their third WTA tournament in a row at the Qatar Total Open.

Errani and Vinci had come into the final of the Premier-level event on the heels of titles at the Australian Open and Paris [Indoors] - not only that, but they had won 13 matches in a row if you throw in Fed Cup play from last weekend. But in the final they would face the last team to beat them before that streak - the very accomplished No.2 seeds, Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik.

And for a while those No.2 seeds looked headed for another victory, as they broke three times en route to a 6-2 first set; but the No.1 seeds weren't done by any means, battling back to take the second set and rallying from 4-0 down in the match tie-break to steal the championship, 26 63 106.

"It was a similar match to yesterday's semifinals," Errani said afterwards. "In the first set we didn't start so well, but then from the second set we started to play much more aggressive, going to the net more and trying to put more pressure on them. After doing so well in the second set it was a bit strange to be down 4-0 in the super tie-break, but we started playing well again and are happy with the result."

"It's another tournament and another victory, and we're so happy we could play another good week," Vinci said. "It was a tough week, though - three of our matches went to super tie-breaks - and today we started so slow, but they played a really good first set and we knew we just had to start being more aggressive and focused. It wasn't an easy match, but we just played better at the end of it."

Errani and Vinci have now captured 16 WTA doubles titles together - three Grand Slam titles, four Premier titles (including this week's tournament in Doha) and nine International titles.

Even more special for Vinci was that she captured this tournament in doubles all the way back in 2001 with Sandrine Testud. It would be her first WTA title of any kind, and she wouldn't win another one until more than four years later - but she now has 26 in total, seven in singles and 19 in doubles. (dal sito della WTA)

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Ringrazio tutti per la generosità.La settimana prossima invierò l'estratto conto integrale, coi nomi dei donatori e gli importi, a Don Paolo Farinella.

Tafanus

Il lato elegante di Flavia Pennetta (Sanremo)

Dedicato a chi si fosse perso questo splendore di ragazzina che fra 6 giorni compirà 31 anni

  

Fed Cup - Sara Errani e Roberta Vinci: quante volte ancora vedremo questo abbraccio?

Photo: Ray GiubiloSara Errani and Roberto Vinci (ITA)

RIMINI, ITALY: Doubles world No. 1's Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani clinched a thrilling tie on home soil by defeating Liezel Huber and Varvara Lepchenko 62 62 much to the delight of the partisan crowd. The Italians will now play reigning champions Czech Republic at home in April's semifinals in what is sure to be a thrilling tie.

Earlier in the day Varvara Lepchenko stunned Sara Errani 75 62 to give USA a surprise 2-1 lead in the third rubber, before Vinci levelled proceedings at 2-2 with a 62 46 61 triumph over Jamie Hampton.

"Roberta reacted like a great champion," Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti said. "She went out there after all the problems of yesterday, got them out of her head and played two very good matches. That's the mark of a champion.

"They both played a great match and Roberta did a couple of really exceptional shots at the net. I don't really say much to them when they play, they're the best, what can you say? I try not to bother them when they play, they know each other so well. They're the strongest in the world, so I don't have to do anything."

Vinci improved her perfect record in Fed Cup doubles to 18-0 - the best doubles record in Fed Cup history - as Italy clinched a third successive victory over the USA.

"It's maybe the best day of my career," Vinci said. "We really wanted it, we were very tired but today we managed to show a lot of heart, a lot of personality. We are a great team. I had to have various treatments and physiotherapy, massages almost until midnight. Yesterday was a horrible day and I'm glad I managed to come back today.

"I felt a bit of a drop in form in the second set (of the singles) and I did get worried. I was in difficulty but I did well to get out of it. It doesn't matter who wins at the end of the day, what's important is that Italy wins. Sara was very upset, very angry (after her defeat) but losses happen."

It was the USA who surprisingly broke first in the opening set, but the Italian duo reacted in the best way possible, breaking Huber's serve to love as they took the next five games and the set. Huber and Lepchenko saved two of the Italians' three set points but Vinci closed it out at the net.

The start of the second set was again balanced until Italy broke to take a 3-1 lead, with Vinci again brilliant at the net to stop a stunning shot from Huber and set herself up for a winning smash. The Americans broke straight back, but the Italians' decisive break came immediately after.

Huber and Lepchenko threatened to break again but Vinci rescued two break points as she managed to hold her serve before clinching the match in the next game with a splendid volleyed lob.

"We have had a successful and fun weekend," Huber said. "Of course it's very disappointing today not to win, disappointing to lose again to them, that's what hurts the most. But I think each one of us thinks that this is the best weekend of the year and next time we'll be more experience.

"They (Vinci and Errani) are the weapon. They're like sisters and best friends, they can read each other's body language. That's why they're No. 1 and think they'll be that for many years to come. They both have different styles and they stick to that. I really enjoy watching them play, but not against me!" [...]

(Fonte: fedcup.com)

Parte la Fed Cup 2013 - Italia-USA 9 e 10 Febbraio da Rimini

A fine settimana si disputeranno, su due giornate, i primi turni del World Group di Fed Cup. L'Italia incontrerà gli USA a Rimini (indoor, clay). Di seguito il tabellone del World Group, e le composizioni delle singole squadre.

IL TABELLONE DEL WORLD GROUP

   

ITALIA - USA

 

   

REP. CECA - AUSTRALIA 

 

 

  RUSSIA - GIAPPONE

 

 

  SERBIA - SLOVACCHIA

Per questo primo turno, non dovrebbero esserci grandi sorprese all'orizzonte: favorite tutte le squadre che giocano in casa (Italia, Rep. Ceca, Russia e Serbia). Più complicate le cose al secondo turno, dove il risultato della presumibile semifinale Italia - Rep. Ceca dipenderà molto dalle condizioni in cui si troveranno Kvitova e Safarova, che negli ultimi tempi sono state molto altalenanti.

Roberta Vinci e Flavia Pennetta: c'è per tutte una prima volta...

...primi approcci di Flavia (5 anni) e Roberta (6 anni) con "quello strano coso con le corde"...

    

Notare le fantastiche "mises" di Flavia (a sinistra) in tenuta da Principessa Sissi, e di Roberta, a destra, con le "ciole" da spiaggia, un cappellino da carrettiere, e dei "bermudas" dai colori assassini... Ma che apertura che aveva già, sul dritto...

...spero che Flavia e Roberta mi perdonino... Tafanus

 

WTA - Il nuovo ranking delle italiane

E' uscita stamattina la nuova classifica classifica WTA. Ci soffermiamo in particolare sulla posizione e le variazioni delle italiane top-100, delle variazioni che ci sono state, e della probabile classifica a fine settimana. Questa settimana infatti i tornei WTA si fermano per la concomitanza con la FED Cup.

Sara Errani - Rimane in settima posizione, nonostante che la Kerber, che la precede, perda a fine settimana 470 punti. La settimana successiva potrebbe in teoria salire in 6° posizione

Roberta Vinci - Perde 120 punti, resta in 16ma posizione, ma a fine settimana sarà 17ma, superata dalla Stephens

Francesca Schiavone - Perde una posizione, e va al 54° posto

Flavia Pennetta - Perde tre posizioni (scende al 60° posto), ma a fine settimana ne guadagna quattro, perchè Tatishvili, Hantuchoca, Govortsova e Rybarikova lasceranno punti abbastanza pesanti. La settimana successiva,. se dovesse giocare un buon Bogotà, potrebbe rientrare fra le top-50

Camila Giorgi -  Perde due posizioni, e scende in 78ma posizione. Ma a fine settimana potrebbe riguadagnare la 75ma posizione, a spese di Date-Krumm, Parmentier e Hantuchova