Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Rocks
Top Sony Ericsson Women Players Battle In Stuttgart
Eight of the top-10 and 15 of the top-20 professional women tennis players battle in Stuttgart to earn spots and tune-up for the Sony Ericsson Championships in November.
Almost all of the premier Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players have descended on Stuttgart, Germany for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2007. Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova are the only top-10 players missing from the fray. The small draw (28 players) promises prime match-ups from the first toss.
Henin a Favorite Again
After picking up a first round bye, World No.1 and pre-tourney favorite, Justine Henin will not have an easy pass to the third round. Dinara Safina, the 17th-ranked player in the world could present some difficulty if Henin shows a bit of rust from her layoff since the US Open. Third-ranked Jelena Jankovic will have her hands full in her first match as she skirmishes with Israeli soldier Shahar Peer in the round of 16. A couple of wins for both, and Henin and Jankovic could provide another highly entertaining contest in the semis.
Radwanska Seeking Another big Upset
Agnieszka Radwanska, the Polish teen who sideswiped Maria Sharapova at the US Open, took out the ever-dangerous Marion Bartoli, who reached the final of Wimbledon. Radwanska will now face World No.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova, who lost to Henin in the final of the US Open. The winner will likely face Serena Williams in the next round.
Mauresmo Falls in First Round
Elena Dementieva posted a straight-set win over Amélie Mauresmo in the first round and awaits the winner of No.10 Daniela Hantuchova and Lucie Safarova. The two have only played once, with Safarova winning in three sets, but the waiting Dementieva has a winning record against both. But all of these match-ups are toss-ups and should provide competitive contests.
Serena Williams Faces Stiff Challenge
After a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing of qualifier Zuzana Ondrascova Serena Williams looks good to get past a second qualifier Julia Vakulenko to face off with the winner of Kuznetsova and Radwanska in the quarters. Williams should get a strong challenge from either if she gets past Vakulenko. Radwanska has shown that she is afraid of little, and Kuznetsova proved that she still has game by getting to the US Open final.
Henin-Williams a Potential Final
If tennis fans aren’t getting tired of the Henin-Williams rivalry, which has been less a rivalry than a bullying by Henin recently, then there is potential for that match-up in the final. But there are no free passes for either to the final. Given the toughness of these two multiple Grand Slam winners, the chances are good that we'll see the match-up on the women's side that rivals the Federer-Nadal drama on the men's.
Battle of the Cover Girls
An enticing, potential match in the quarters is No.6 Anna Chakvetadze versus No.5 Ana Ivanovic. These two are battling for pre-eminence on the court and in front of the camera. These two talented twenty-year-olds are likely to put on a show that will please marketing moguls as much as true tennis fans. Ivanovic already has made the cover of Tennis, and Chakvetadze won't be far behind with a few more wins.
Porshe Packs Plenty of Horsepower
It may not be a Grand Slam, but with the top women tennis players pounding the fuzzy orb in Stuttgart, the Porsche is providing plenty of horsepower down the stretch in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships.
