The round of 16 at the Qatar Telecom German Open boasts seven of the top ten women in the world, with Serena Williams's 15-match win streak leading the field.
Serena's Streak Still Sizzling
Seven of the top-ten women in the Sony Ericsson World Rankings are still in the draw in Qatar, the hottest being Serena Williams who has won three tournaments in a row, possesses a 15-match win streak. During that streak, Williams beat Henin, Kuznetsova, and Jankovic, all seeded higher in Berlin.
Another Potential Henin-Williams Quarterfinal
Chances are the tennis world will get to see its favorite and most common quarterfinal in women’s tennis: Williams versus Henin. I think most people in Miami watching the matches were surprised at the deuce, bagel blowout that Serena dropped on Justine at the Sony. I know I was after watching them both play. It’ll definitely be interesting to see what happens if they both get through.
Neither one has a gimme though. Justine has Dinara Safina, who’s wild but talented, and Serena has Aggie Radwanska who made some noise last year by silencing Shriekapova at the US Open. However, Henin has never lost to Safina, and if Serena is on her game, Radwanska's noises will be whimpers or screams of frustration.
Promising Match-ups
The match-up that promises to be the most fun to watch is the Marion Bartoli-Agnes Szavay match. Both are hovering around the top ten, Bartoli at No.11 and Szavay at No.14, although I suspect that Szavay is on her way up and Bartoli on her way down from her high of No.9 late last year, it ought to be an entertaining battle of ball-bashers.
Looking ahead, if all goes as seeded, the Serbian sensations, Ivanovic and Jankovic are scheduled for a semifinal tussle, and Kuznetsova will likely meet the winner of a Williams-Henin quarterfinal. Of course, given that I have the kiss of death, we’re likely to be watching Gisela Dulko and Maria Kirikenko in the final. We’ll see. Game,set, match…
