Carlsbad: Aga reigns supreme!

by Doni1212

For the second year in a row Agnieszka Radwanska reached the final in Carlsbad, San Diego. This time, though, she won the title. Radwanska defeated the top seed, Vera Zvonareva, 6-3, 6-4 in a relatively easy final which saw the Pole play arguably some of her best tennis ever. Having played the majority of the tournament with shoulder strapping and at times visibly struggling to hold serve, Radwanska fought hard and defeated quality players such as Andrea Petkovic and Daniela Hantuchova in three sets to reach the final. In contrast to her prior matches Radwanska never lost serve in the final and forced her opponent into errors with her ability to chase down nearly every ball. This title in Carlsbad is Radwanska’s fifth WTA Tour title and propels her to the top of the U.S. Open Series Standings.  

The other big story of the tournament was the success and progress of Ana Ivanovic. After losing in straight sets to Ayumi Morita one week prior to in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic, Ivanovic once again drew her in her opening round. This time, however, Ivanovic defeated Morita 6-1 7-6 (5) after fighting back from 1-5 down in the 2nd. With the guidance of her new coach, Nigel Sears, Ivanovic was able to reach the semifinals beating players such as Alberta Brianti and Shuai Peng along the way. Although Ivanovic had several opportunities to defeat Zvonareva in straight sets before losing 7-5 4-6 4-6 in the semifinals, her team will only be encouraged with her efforts this week. Ivanovic showed a lot of fight in all her matches and her forehand and serve showed why she was once the number one ranked player in the world.

Other Notables:

• Despite losing her semifinal, Andrea Petkovic was comforted in the fact that she gained enough points to reach the Top 10. She becomes the sixth German to achieve this feat. 
• The 18 year old American, Sloane Stephens, reached her first WTA quarterfinal before losing to Petkovic 2-6, 1-6. Stephens scored a notable, upset victory over Julia Goerges in the second round winning 6-3, 7-5.
• Maria Kirilenko, the eleventh seed, was forced to withdraw after winning her first round match with a left hip injury. The sixth seeded player, Dominika Cibulkova, also had to pull out of the tournament with a left abdominal strain.
• Sabine Lisicki made her second consecutive quarterfinal before losing 3-6, 6-3, 4-6.

Next Up for the WTA on the U.S. Open Series: Toronto!