Fifth seed Samantha Stosur became the highest-seeded casualty of Wimbledon 2012 so far, continuing her poor record at the tournament, while Caroline Wozniacki suffered a surprise loss to Tamira Paszek in terms of ranking, but not as much of a surprise since Paszek won the grasscourt Eastbourne over the weekend.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam where Stosur has a negative record, as she has never been beyond the third round in nine appearances, and this year is no exception thanks to Arantxa Rus. The 21-year-old Rus made headlines at this year’s Roland Garros by reaching the fourth round, beating Virginie Razzano (Serena Williams’ famous conqueror) and then Julia Goerges. This time, Rus won six games in a row to win the first set against Stosur, and despite suffering a bagel in the following set, she quickly went up in the third and prevented Stosur from coming back to eventually win the second-round match 6-2 0-6 6-4.
The seventh-seeded Caroline Wozniacki lost in the first round already and it is the first time in her career that she loses a Wimbledon opener, while the last three times she played the fourth round. Tamira Paszek came out on top in the rain-interrupted match and won 5-7 7-6(4) 6-4 after saving two match points in the second set. Remember that Paszek saved five match points in the Eastbourne final against Angelique Kerber?
I’d also like to mention that third seed Agnieszka Radwanska progressed to the third round without hitting even one unforced error in her 6-2 6-1 victory over Elena Vesnina. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)
Okay, i-m not that suprised by Stosur’s loss, grass isn’t her surface and Rus is a threat right now, but Caroline? It’s like her carrier has been slowly slipping down, she isn’t playing well for more than a year. She’s been loosing so many matches, although she even had match points… I’m not a fan of her game, but it’s never a good thing seeing former no.1 play like that. Sure, Paszek is dangerous, but Caro could have won it.
Mirjana, the fact that Paszek is coming off the Eastbourne title makes Wozniacki’s loss somewhat less demoralizing, but yeah, she’s approaching a free fall zone.
Some really great matches today headlined by the Paszek/Wozniacki one. I love Paszek’s spirit and fight on the court and it could get her a long way in this tournament if she can recover in time. Wozniacki played some great tennis but she has started to have the same problem as JJ in not being able to win 3 set matches.
Sharapova saved 5 set pts in her first set against Pironkova and leads 7-6 3-1… one of the best sets of tennis I have watched all year! Sharapova’s ability to get out of sticky situations is just IMMENSE!
James, that’s why Sharapova is such a force in tennis. Serena and Sharapova are absolute leaders in not giving up. I can’t decide which one is better, but noone else is even close to them.
James, I too was amazed by Pironkova’s game and willingness to stand toe-to-toe with Sharapova and then even more amazed at Sharapova’s fight (which is something I should be used to by now). I don’t enjoy watching Maria run/attempt athletics movements nor do I enjoy the slobber-fests the media and tennis world gives Maria but I absolutely enjoy watching her compete. She has the mindset of a champion for sure.
Marija, I would give Serena the notch over Maria in mental strength if only for her complete and utter dominance over Maria. We have all witnessed both players fall short of their legacies of fighting back (Serena-US Open Final, Maria-Aussie Final) but in terms of overall records and legacy, not one player has ever truly owned Serena, to the point of her putting up little fight time and again. Or 7 matches in a row over 7 years. Maria on the other hand seems to wilt to Serena in the mental game and an in-form Azarenka. She seems to fade.
Zech, good reasoning, I agree, their head-to-head record is a good decision factor. One vote for Serena from my side. Although that doesn’t diminish Maria’s comeback skills.
No it certainly does not. I was just simply stating that for all her toughness she seems to fade consistently against Serena and an in-form Azarenka. I don’t know how to describe it. Its like with the beatdowns Serena and Vika gave her recently, Maria’s power game with some scrambling, seems even more one dimensional. She almost seems powerless to turn the tide against the very headtough, powerful and more athletic Williams and Azarenka. But yes against anyone else her headgame is always impressive to watch. I favor Sharapova over Clijsters because of her mental strength and tenacity despite Kim’s athletic abilities.