WUHAN Open 2014 - China - WTA Premier

[Marius_Hancu]

Hello, everyone,

​

A tournament designed for Li Na, in her home town, which unfortunately was in the end the place of her retirement from tennis.

Wuhan, China, the capital of Hubei province, is the largest city in central China, with over 6 million residents in the urban area. Wuhan is the birthplace of WTA player Li Na, and other notables such as actress Crystal Liu Yifei, who starred in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008 ) with Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

One of the two major WTA stops in China.

The tournament where Simona Halep and Genie Bouchard are to come back on circuit, after the surprising early exits at the USO.

WTA Premier 5, replacing one in Japan.

Over $2million in prize money, so everybody (and her bf, I was close to saying ) is back for it, after the post-USO break. Except for Li Na.

OK, the draw is out, but only at the tourney site.
http://en.wuhanopen.org/index.php/index-pdf-p-1.html

The top half is heavier, with Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Eugenie Bouchard, Ana Ivanovici, and Caroline Wozniacki.

This makes it an easier draw for Simona Halep, until one looks closer and sees Garbine Muguruza in her path, in Halep's first match back.

Are Halep and Bouchard going to redeem themselves here, or are they to continue being post-Roland_Garros-Wimbledon tired?

Is Serena going to play hard? How about Sharapova and Kvitova?

So, finally, who is going to take the first edition of this rich tourney?

 

[ScottleeSV]

Well, obviously Serena is favourite on current form. The draw is so big in these events though that it's hard to predict what the state of play will be in the later rounds.

I like that Bouchard might play Williams in the quarters. I haven't seen that match-up yet.

Interesting that Ivanovic and Wozniacki might have to play in the last 16, so soon after the Tokyo final. So they might play, what, two matches in the space of five days?

Okay, predictions...

(quarters)
Williams v Bouchard
Sharapova v Ivanovic (Ana loses to Wozza in Tokyo, redeems herself five days later).
Azarenka v Kvitova
Kerber v Halep

(semis)
Williams v Ivanovic
Azarenka v Halep

(final)
Williams beats Halep

---

I know it's not much of a prediction, going for Williams. I might pick different next week once Williams has had a bit of energy taken out of her. I certainly think she'll lose two or three sets on the way to the title at least.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

(final)
Williams beats Halep

Either could have a difficulty to get there:

- Serena: does she have enough desire left?

- Halep: not enough tournament training

 

[ScottleeSV]

Yeah Halep in particular is a roll of the dice on my part. I tried to work out the routes and thought Azarenka might have had one too many three setters by the time the semis roll around.

Muguruza could easily beat Halep early, I know.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

new Chinese hope, WC
16-year-old Shilin Xu, #507, beating on Riske (#57?)
5-2

 

[70後]

I am watching Xu too. Good player.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Several upsets already: Garcia takes out Venus! Certainly A. Radwanska likes that, as do all in that quarter, but not easy match with Garcia next

Shilin Xu, the 16-year-old, retired at 6-6 in the third. Wonder what went on there.

singles - First round

[Q] Karin Knapp (ITA) d [Q] Marina Erakovic (NZL) | 6 - 4 | 2 - 6 | 6 - 1 |

[Q] Zarina Diyas (KAZ) d Klara Koukalova (CZE) | 6 - 4 | 6 - 7 (7) | 6 - 2 |

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) d Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) | 7 - 6 (5) | 7 - 6 (2) |

[13] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) d Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) | 6 - 2 | 6 - 2 |

Caroline Garcia (FRA) d Venus Williams (USA) | 6 - 4 | 4 - 6 | 7 - 6 (6) |

Elina Svitolina (UKR) d Camila Giorgi (ITA) | 6 - 2 | 6 - 3 |

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d Kurumi Nara (JPN) | 6 - 3 | 6 - 2 |

Alison Riske (USA) d [WC] Shilin Xu (CHN) | 4 - 6 | 6 - 4 | 6 - 6 | ret

[WC] Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) d [Q] Francesca Schiavone (ITA) | 2 - 6 | 7 - 6 (2) | 6 - 4 |

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Monday OP
http://www.wtatennis.com/SEWTATour-Archive/posting/2014/1075/OP.pdf

the big guns are already in (Sharapova-Kuznetsova, tough). Poor Ivanovic, barely having won Tokyo, plays again.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Azarenka is out.
http://news.yahoo.com/tennis-injury-ends-azarenkas-season-092621849--ten.html
I think she is finished for tennis: her body's given up.
Further simplifies Radwanska's, and Halep's path, even though, just like Venus, Azarenka's been very much up and down.

 

[ScottleeSV]

Azarenka is out.
http://news.yahoo.com/tennis-injury-ends-azarenkas-season-092621849--ten.html
I think she is finished for tennis: her body's given up.
Further simplifies Radwanska's, and Halep's path, even though, just like Venus, Azarenka's been very much up and down.

I have the same fear. She's not a personal favourite of mine but I do admire her game.

Suspect she'll be one of those who retires in their late twenties. I certainly can't see her getting back to No 1 again. Probably not even top five again.

 

[Nostradamus]

Azarenka is out.
http://news.yahoo.com/tennis-injury-ends-azarenkas-season-092621849--ten.html
I think she is finished for tennis: her body's given up.
Further simplifies Radwanska's, and Halep's path, even though, just like Venus, Azarenka's been very much up and down.

What is wrong with Azarenka ?? she looked WEAK against Ivanovic

 

[Nostradamus]

^^^^^^^^^^^^That stadium is ridiculous from a nation with 80 % of the population is in Poverty............. They need to spend more money into raising the standard of living..........NOT insane stadium like the one above....

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Elsewhere in the tournament, home favourite Xu Shilin was forced to retire from her match with American Alison Riske in the third set with the scores at 6-6.

The 16-year-old wildcard was carried of with heatstroke after playing more than 2 hours 45 minutes in high temperatures in the central Chinese city.

 

[JJGUY]

is that a fact or you just made that up? I am quite surprised either way.

.......from a nation with 80 % of the population is in Poverty.............

 

[Nostradamus]

I am so happy for Caroline Garcia. she hit the new low at US open then now beats Venus.............LOL. talk about up and down

 

[JJGUY]

never mind, you number is embarrassingly inaccurate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_China

"Since the start of far-reaching economic reforms in the late 1970s, growth has fueled a remarkable increase in per capita income and a decline in the poverty rate from 85% in 1981 to 13.1% in 2008..."

^^^^^^^^^^^^That stadium is ridiculous from a nation with 80 % of the population is in Poverty...............

 

[Marius_Hancu]

I wouldn't miss the $440,000 prize in Wuhan, but Ivanovic might want to take it easy, after having pocketed $196,000 in Tokyo.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Hey, Garcia-Venus seems to have been a dandy:
http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/4161289/title/garcia-survives-venus-in-wuhan

too late, didn't watch it

 

[JJGUY]

never thought about it, but after reading the related articles, I am really stunned to know this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_China

The poverty rate in the world's most populous country fell by nearly three-quarters in the last six years, from 26% in 2007 to 7% by 2012, the report by Gallup, a U.S.-based research company, said.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States

"In November 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty, including almost 20% of American children, up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993.... California has a poverty rate of 23.5%, the highest of any state in the country.

never mind, you number is embarrassingly inaccurate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_China

"Since the start of far-reaching economic reforms in the late 1970s, growth has fueled a remarkable increase in per capita income and a decline in the poverty rate from 85% in 1981 to 13.1% in 2008..."

 

[Nostradamus]

never mind, you number is embarrassingly inaccurate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_China

"Since the start of far-reaching economic reforms in the late 1970s, growth has fueled a remarkable increase in per capita income and a decline in the poverty rate from 85% in 1981 to 13.1% in 2008..."

Not true. that number is from people who live in the city with mostly professional jobs. wiki is very inaccurate. people who live outside of city still live in poverty and work hard with almost no days off. and many people live outside of city

 

[JJGUY]

I am pretty the sources on Wiki have more credibility than your nonsense.

Not true. that number is from people who live in the city with mostly professional jobs. wiki is very inaccurate. people who live outside of city still live in poverty and work hard with almost no days off. and many people live outside of city

 

[newpball]

a nation with 80 % of the population is in Poverty.............

Depends on how you measure that. In "dollar" terms there is a lot of poverty but most of those "in poverty" have their own house with a nice piece of land or a nice apartment in the city and enough food to live from day to day and most still have enough left to buy a TV, mobile phone and many have cars.

Compare that to "rich" people living in say New York spending most of their income on a small apartment hardly getting by.

In a medium sized city you should be able to obtain a nice apartment not costing more than $100 a month and a nice dinner will set you back at most $5-$7. And a haircut (including shoulder massage) will cost a whopping $1, no tips required. In rural areas these things are even less costly.

:grin:

 

[JJGUY]

no "depends" required, the 80% claim just too stupid, only a moron can come out that number without thinking

Depends on how you measure that. In "dollar" terms there is a lot of poverty but most of those "in poverty" have their own house with a nice piece of land or a nice apartment in the city and enough food to live from day to day and most still have enough left to buy a TV, mobile phone and many have cars.

Compare that to "rich" people living in say New York spending most of their income on a small apartment hardly getting by.

In a medium sized city you should be able to obtain a nice apartment not costing more than $100 a month and a nice dinner will set you back at most $5-$7. And a haircut (including shoulder massage) will cost a whopping $1, no tips required. In rural areas these things are even less costly.

:grin:

 

[D-Lite]

I wouldn't miss the $440,000 prize in Wuhan, but Ivanovic might want to take it easy, after having pocketed $196,000 in Tokyo.

I'd imagine Ana is highly driven to qualify for the WTA Tour Finals in Singapore and so I highly doubt she would withdraw or slow down unless she had an injury. Also, all the matches she won in Tokyo were in straight sets.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

I'd imagine Ana is highly driven to qualify for the WTA Tour Finals in Singapore and so I highly doubt she would withdraw or slow down unless she had an injury. Also, all the matches she won in Tokyo were in straight sets.

Woz is waiting again for her, this time in the QF

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Any predictions here?

02:30 Radwanska - Garcia (WTA Wuhan)

07:30 Sharapova - Kuznetsova (WTA Wuhan)

Garcia just got rid of Venus. Aga next?

 

[Marius_Hancu]

What is wrong with Azarenka ?? she looked WEAK against Ivanovic

foot injury: to be expected, she isn't that sturdy built, she's on the soft side

 

[La Grande]

The court is beautiful. Odd colour, but beautiful.

 

[Nostradamus]

The court is beautiful. Odd colour, but beautiful.

what kind of Chinese food does Wuhan have ? Mongolian, schezuan, or manderine ?

 

[70後]

never thought about it, but after reading the related articles, I am really stunned to know this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_China


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States

I suppose that unlike British politicians, Chinese Communist Party officials will never dream of editing Wikipedia, will they?

 

[70後]

The court is beautiful. Odd colour, but beautiful.

A brand new spanking polished stadium. Look at how many seats are empty. Tokyo last week was by my rough estimate much better attended even at the same rounds of competition. Thanks Stacey for getting Toray, with its tennis tradition and long line of great champions, downgraded to Premier. You can never buy tradition with money or brown nosing.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Guess the heat

Madison Keys 4 6
Dominika Cibulkova 6 3 Ret.

Ouch, are we losing Garbine?

Garbine Muguruza 4 1 ( 40 )
Maria Teresa Torro 6 0 ( 30 )

I love Halep, but I love Garbine too, and I want my match between them
OK, Garbine's a break up in the 2nd now.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Garbine is coming back, Halep will have to contend with her:

Garbine Muguruza 4 6 3 ( 0 )
Maria Teresa Torro 6 4 1 ( 40 )

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

Garcia's back is built like a boxer's. :shock:

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

A brand new spanking polished stadium. Look at how many seats are empty. Tokyo last week was by my rough estimate much better attended even at the same rounds of competition. Thanks Stacey for getting Toray, with its tennis tradition and long line of great champions, downgraded to Premier. You can never buy tradition with money or brown nosing.

True, Tokyo looks much better than this. The amount of people watching made it look like a Slam.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Garcia's back is built like a boxer's. :shock:

Not quite: I saw her from 5 meters in Montreal, she's quite thin, but athletic. NOTHING, NOTHING like Serena who is right now pumped up like a TANK, or bodybuilder on stuff (saw her from two meters): her face injected, shoulders, biceps, triceps -- THICK, THICK, I remember seeing her 6 years ago in Monntreal, she was not even by far like this. I hope that checks are in place or we're having several Marion Jones (remember she was found 5 years later), Armstrongs (7 years later) or Rodriguez in tennis, in both ladies and men.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Garcia showing some spunk and athleticism again, coming back in the 2nd set with Aga.
She breaks back.
She's more advanced into the court than Bouchard on 1st serve returning, Garcia!!

Muguruza-Halep is on for the next round. I'm praying for center court, heavens.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

Not quite: I saw her from 5 meters in Montreal, she's quite thin, but athletic. NOTHING, NOTHING like Serena who is right now pumped up like a TANK, or bodybuilder on stuff (saw her from two meters): her face injected, shoulders, biceps, triceps -- THICK, THICK, I remember seeing her 6 years ago in Monntreal, she was not even by far like this. I hope that checks are in place or we're having several Marion Jones (remember she was found 5 years later), Armstrongs (7 years later) or Rodriguez in tennis, in both ladies and men.

Yeah, I didn't mean she's huge or anything like that. Just that her back looks a little bit like a boxer's, as in strong and slightly hunched.

 

[Vanhool]

Not quite: I saw her from 5 meters in Montreal, she's quite thin, but athletic. NOTHING, NOTHING like Serena who is right now pumped up like a TANK, or bodybuilder on stuff (saw her from two meters): her face injected, shoulders, biceps, triceps -- THICK, THICK, I remember seeing her 6 years ago in Monntreal, she was not even by far like this. I hope that checks are in place or we're having several Marion Jones (remember she was found 5 years later), Armstrongs (7 years later) or Rodriguez in tennis, in both ladies and men.

Ironically, Jones and Armstrong didn't look thick or pumped.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Hey, Garcia-Venus seems to have been a dandy:
http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/4161289/title/garcia-survives-venus-in-wuhan

too late, didn't watch it

She was up 5-2 and had a match point? Venus is killing me constantly giving away the 1 or 2 most important points of the match in all her losses.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

amazing TB from Garcia to tie sets 1-1
huge winners, volleys, serving
while Aga played very well

Garcia's playing doubles a lot: clearly helps her now

 

[Marius_Hancu]

I hate to see how big the boxes are in Wuhan, keeping regular seating at quite a distance: the socialists are more class-oriented than anyone, as usual

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Lisicki wins: 3rd round for Halep, if they both get there

 

[Marius_Hancu]

I hope everyone watching Garcia Radwanska appreciates it

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Garcia b Aga for her biggest win ever
again in a 3rd set TB: 9-7!!

She can get to the SF

 

[Marius_Hancu]

I'd imagine Ana is highly driven to qualify for the WTA Tour Finals in Singapore and so I highly doubt she would withdraw or slow down unless she had an injury. Also, all the matches she won in Tokyo were in straight sets.

Well ...

Ret. Ana Ivanovic 5 5
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7 6

Halep's task is theoretically easier, with Ivanovic and Aga out.
Now, she's beaten them both before, but let's see the shape she's in herself.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Easier for Bouchard now:

Mona Barthel 6 7
Shuai Peng 2 6

especially with the local support, but let's see **her** play.

 

[JJGUY]

poor Aga, but I am not really surprised, more and more players figured out her game, if she cannot add power and play aggressively, I doubt she will stay in Top 10 for very long.

 

[JJGUY]

3 DF from Maria, she lost the game. It has only been 5 games so far, Maria already had 5 DF, Kuzzy had 2 :twisted:

 

[jaggy]

Maria down a set