Results and previews from the WTA Sony Ericsson Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin.
The “Kiss of Death” worked on Justine Henin (1) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (3). Henin continues her freefall from grace, losing to Dinara Safina in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. It’s strange that after such a stellar year as ‘07 Henin seems to be struggling with confidence, and showing little fight once things turn south. In three of her four losses on the year, the final sets have been 0, 0, and 1.
After cruising to a 6-1 first set, Kuznetsova didn’t put up much resistance either, bowing out a 2 and 2 in the final two sets. It’s the first time Kuzi hasn’t reached at least the semis since February.
The Serbs proved immune to the curse, although Ivanovic struggled against Sybil Bammer in a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 tester. Ivanovic (2) gets up-and-comer Agnes Szavay (10) next, and don’t be surprised if Szavay presents more of a problem than Ana can solve. Szavay has been steadily climbing the ranking ladder since her pro debut in ’04. She’s jumped from No.207 in ’06 to a current ranking of no.14.
Jankovic (4) cruised through a 6-2, 6-4 win over Maria Kirilenko, and will match-up against Elena Dementieva (7) next. Dementieva has plenty of game to hang with, and beat, Jankovic, but she also has plenty of head issues as far as her serve goes…Sounds like me these days… Anyway, that match could go either way depending on which Dementieva shows up. Gotta go with reliable Jelena though.
Serena’s got to be the favorite at this point (sorry Serena), and only the curse can stop her. She has Safina (13) next, then the winner of Alona Bondarenko (15) versus Victoria Azarenka. I’m thinking she’ll meet Azarenka, whom she beat the only time they’ve played previously. Until next…Game, set, match.
