Tokyo: The Decimation Continues

Maybe it’s the time of year or maybe it’s the time of woman, but top seeds continue to fall in Tokyo like nobody’s business. Third seed Elena Dementieva lost to qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko, 62 67(3) 61. I have no idea what’s up with Demmy, but that’s a good win for Bondarenko, putting together a little something after her great run to the U.S. Open quarters. Like it.

Fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki, usually Miss Consistency, retired 50 down to Aleksandra Wozniak with ‘viral illness’. I hope she’s OK, but after all the tennis she’s played this year it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if she was a little run down.

And sixth seed Vera Zvonareva went down to Alisa Kleybanova. I saw the first set in a somewhat drunken fashion and assumed Vera would win easily, but somehow she ended up on the wrong end of a 36 64 62 score.

 

Oh, and thirteenth seed Nadia Petrova lost to Magdalena Rybarikova. Keeping the ship afloat? Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka, who knocked out Zheng Jie 61 61, and seventh seed JJ – sadly at Licky’s expense.

 

Also seeded and still alive are Agnieszka Radwanska (d. Hantuchova), Marion Bartoli (d. Rezai), and Li Na (d. Dushevina). And Maria Sharapova knocked out twelfth seed Sam Stosur in a highly dominating performance I don’t quite know where to file …

Shazza-JJ final, anybody?

Singles – Second Round
(Q) Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) d. (3) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 62 67(3) 61
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. (4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 50 ret. (viral illness)
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. (6) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 36 64 62
(7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 63 46 62
(8) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Zheng Jie (CHN) 61 61
(11) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 63 36 63
Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (12) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 60 61
Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) d. (13) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 62 62
(14) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Aravane Rezai (FRA) 64 62
(15) Li Na (CHN) d. Vera Dushevina (RUS) 75 60
Elena Vesnina (RUS) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 61 76(6)
Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. Gisela Dulko (ARG) 63 36 64
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Peng Shuai (CHN) 63 46 64

Doubles – First Round
(2) Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual (ESP/ESP) d. Dushevina/Makarova (RUS/RUS) 36 75 106
Kirilenko/Vesnina (RUS/RUS) d. Groenefeld/Schnyder (GER/SUI) 64 75
Dulko/Petrova (ARG/RUS) d. (WC) Chan/Date Krumm (TPE/JPN) 75 36 107

Suspended due to rain
Kleybanova/Schiavone (RUS/ITA) lead (3) Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS) 62 21