Second seed Elena Dementieva suffered her third loss in five matches of the European clay season, falling to Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova at the Polsat Warsaw Open. Maria Sharapova’s warm-up for the French Open is doing good, as the Russian lost only three games to advance at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, another tournament played this week.
Dementieva lost her second-round match at the Premier-level event to the world No.100 Pironkova 7-5 4-6 6-4 after almost three hours of play. The Russian was twice a break up in the deciding set, but didn’t manage to use that advantage to the full and handed Pironkova her fourth Top 10 win.
Sharapova was made to work in her first match at the International-level event in Strasbourg, but the top seed had a straightforward victory in the second round, defeating qualifier Dia Evtimova 6-3 6-0. Sharapova’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be world No.81 Julia Goerges, who upset No.6 seed Sybille Bammer 6-1 7-6(6). (photo: Stephane Martinache)
Poor Dementieva…she is in free fall zone at the moment, much like Ana after RG 2oo8. I obviously believe she will pull out of it sooner than later. But honestly, never thought Dementieva is good on clay. She had her opportunity a few years ago at the RG finals, but lost. After that moment, I realized she is not the type of person to win such an event. I really hope she does well at RG this year, but I am doubtful.
Marija, you are so right about the uncertainty of women’s tennis at the moment, and its effect on the RG favorites!
Why do you guys think Women’s tennis is on a down recently? Is it because of the inconsistency? Not enough attention to the sport? No serious rivalries? Maybe the players are unmotivated due to the big earnings they get whether they lose in the first round or finals. I think it is the lack of pressure most of them have at the moment. Ana is a great example of this. Who knew money can ruin good sport.
I really wanna see if people have the same thoughts, or maybe it’s just me. What doe you think Marija? I really want some input
Bb, I think Dementieva has the game to win a Grand Slam, but it seems she lacks that extra something to win the biggest events, that extra something that Serena for example has in abundance.
Inconsistency is the main reason we see it as a down period. Unlike you, I believe players are under a lot of pressure, and the money involved is not making things any easier. Players have huge demands from sponsors, their teams, fans, and the general atmosphere is tense.