In Wozniacki's half of the draw are the No. 3 seed Schiavone, No. 6 seed Kuznetsova, and No. 7 seed Jankovic. All three players have struggled on the hard courts this summer, with Jankovic the only player showing signs of life in Cincinnati. But, as always, there are dangerous floaters in the draw. Nadia Petrova lost last year's final to Wozniacki, and after slipping down to No. 37, has recently regained her form with a tournament title in Washington, D.C. last month. Also in the top half of the draw is McHale, coming off of the biggest win of her career over Wozniacki in Cincinnati. McHale, the youngest player in the Top 100, faces a tough opening match against Kuznetsova, but the American has won in the pair's only previous meeting, earlier this year at Indian Wells.
In the bottom half of the draw with Li are No. 4 seed Bartoli, No. 5 seed Radwanska, and No. 8 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Bartoli's success this summer has been well documented, as the Frenchwoman made the semifinals of her home Slam, and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, beating defending champ Serena Williams en route. Bartoli reached the final on the hard courts of Stanford before losing to Williams. Meanwhile, Radwanska has compiled an 11-2 record since Wimbledon, including the title in San Diego. There are additional Top 25 players who will threaten the seeds on the bottom half of the draw: the No. 3-ranked doubles player Flavia Pennetta; the always dangerous Daniela Hantuchova, and Vinci, a surprise three-time winner on the tour this year.
Based on recent form, it's difficult to predict a winner here. But whoever holds the trophy on Sunday has a very good chance of success at the U.S. Open, if past history is any indicator.
Saturday Match Report
Some highlights from the Second Round of Qualifying matches:
(7) Carla Suarez Navarro def. Edina Gallovits-Hall, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
The match started with Gallovits-Hall dominating on her forehand, and Suarez Navarro sending most of her one-handed backhands into the net. But Suarez Navarro changed tactics at the start of the second set, putting a little more height on her ground strokes. This allowed the Spaniard the opportunity to find a rhythm, and caused Gallovits-Hall to lose her way. The Romanian's forehand, flawless in the first set, was finding the net by the end of the match. Suarez Navarro has been plagued by elbow injuries, which have dropped her from a career high ranking of No. 22. The two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, however, showed she has the grit to get back among the best.
(2) Petra Cetkovska def. Heather Watson, 6-1, 6-1
Watson served to open the match, and used a huge backhand down the line to hold. But, the highlights quickly ended for the British No. 3. Cetkovska used very solid groundstrokes off both wings and superior court coverage to sweep the next nine games. The Czech has had great success on the ITF Circuit this season, and upset two Top 20 players to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon, so her confidence was evident. Watson fought gamely at the end, but Cetkovska showed why she is now ranked No. 45 in the world.
Sloane Stephens def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 7-6(2), 6-2
This was the final match of the day, and was moved to the Grandstand as matches ran long on assigned courts, so the crowd was sparse as play began. Stephens is an 18-year-old American on the verge of breaking into the Top 100, while the 31-year-old Llagostera Vives turned pro in 1996, just a few years after Stephens was born. But experience was not the difference in this encounter. Breaking serve was the norm in the first set, but neither player could gain a firm advantage. At 1-1 in the opening set tiebreak, Stephens hit a forehand that was called long, then quickly overruled by the umpire. The Spaniard argued the call for a few minutes, and seemed to lose her way after that, hitting errors to lose the tiebreak. The opening game of the second set was a sixteen- point, five-deuce marathon, but ultimately Stephens held serve. By this time, the American seemed to have figured out the change of pace shots from Llagostera Vives, and swept the last four games to advance.
Around the Grounds...
Robin Anderson, an 18-year-old American from Matawan, NJ, did double duty in New Haven today. She opened play with a lossto Anastasia Rodionova in the Second Round of New Haven Qualifying, but returned later inthe day to win a match over Macall Harkins in the U.S. Open National Playoffevent held on the grounds. Andersonplays Yasmin Schnack in the finals of the Playoff on Sunday.... Nathan Healey, a 31-year-old Australianwho now makes his home in Pennsylvania,defeated David Martin of Key Biscayne, FL in the semifinals of the U.S. OpenNational Playoff. Healey may be a familiar name to some, as a three-time ATPdoubles champion and owner of a third round result in Men's Singles at the 2006Australian Open... Blake Strode into the finals of the 2011 National Playoff asHealey's opponent, easily defeating Damon Gooch of South Africa, 6-1, 6-1. Strode,from St. Louis,won the same playoffs in 2010, and has dropped only six games in his threematches this year... Seen in the stands today: Anabel Medina Garrigues (pictured), entered in both the singles anddoubles draw here, but cheering on her countrywoman Suarez Navarro thisafternoon; and Vera Dushevina, scouting Stephens, her opponent in the Final Round of Qualifying.
