Most tennis fans remember Lauren Davis as the young American who suffered a lopsided first round loss to Samantha Stosur at the 2011 Australian Open.
That match did not do much to turn heads, but her most recent win at the 2012 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells just might.
The 18-year-old Davis, standing at only 5’2’’, earned her first WTA main draw victory when she defeated Croatia’s Petra Martic in the first round at Indian Wells. Ranked a career high No. 221 in the world, Davis defeated her more experienced and higher ranked opponent – Martic is world No. 55 – in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(7). She will play the 30th seed, Nadia Petrova of Russia, in the second round.
The win is a significant milestone for Davis. She turned pro in January 2011 but has struggled on the WTA Tour. Besides playing in the 2011 Australian Open, Davis’ only other Grand Slam experience was when she earned her way into the 2011 U.S. Open main draw by claiming the USTA Girls’ 18 National title. She put up a much stronger fight in Flushing Meadows than in Melbourne, eventually falling to surprise semifinalist Angelique Kerber in two close sets.
Born in Cleveland, the daughter of a heart surgeon and a nurse, Davis attended Gilmour Academy in Gates Mill, Ohio until her sophomore year. She relocated shortly after to the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Fla, where she still trains.
Despite her small stature, Davis had an extremely successful junior campaign. In addition to the National Girls’ 18 title, Davis is a two-time USTA 16-and-under champion and won the Orange Bowl and Eddie Herr junior tournaments in 2010. Her professional titles reach back to 2010 and include three ITF 10ks (2010 Williamsburg, 2011 Buffalo, and 2011 Atlanta) and two ITF 25ks (2010 Bayamon and 2012 Plantation.)
Among her recent accolades, Davis was named one of the most interesting people of 2012 by her hometown publication, Cleveland Magazine.
And Davis, who has a Twitter account but seldom tweets, proudly tweeted about her Indian Wells victory shortly after the match.
With more wins like the one she had, tennis fans should expect more tweets and more matches that will put the Stosur loss further in the rear view mirror.
angelique kerber
Paris: Jankovic, Li Withdraw; Goerges, Safarova, Pironkova in Action
The Open GDF Suez WTA event in Paris saw seeded players Na Li and Jelena Jankovic both withdraw due to injuries today: Li with a sore back and Jankovic with a left thigh strain she picked up in Serbia’s 3-2 win over Belgium in the Fed Cup last week.
[singlepic id=3426 w=320 h=240 float=right]Li received a medical timeout, with a trainer massaging her lower back, before playing a few more points and eventually retiring after trailing in the second set to Tsvetana Pironkova.
“It was so painful,” Li said. “That’s why I called the physio to come to the court. I tried to tape and then tried to play the point, but it didn’t work. I’ll go to the hospital to take an MRI to see what happened.”
“I hurt myself in the Fed Cup at the weekend,” elaborated Li. “It had gotten better since and this morning it didn’t hurt. But the stab of pain returned, very strong and I couldn’t continue. I don’t know if it’s because of the Fed Cup, maybe I’m getting old as well,” added Li, who turns 30 later this month.
Likewise, Jankovic picked up her injury while playing Fed Cup against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium last week and wasn’t able to heal in time to play in Paris.
“I had hoped that after treatment I could still play here but unfortunately it’s impossible,” said Jankovic. “Australia (Open) and the Fed Cup and then here, that’s a lot. But it’s important for me to play for my country… I don’t know when I will be able to resume playing but I don’t regret having played in the Fed Cup.”
Although the third and fourth seeds are gone, the tournament still has it’s top two marquee players scheduled to play, Maria Sharapova and Marion Bartoli.
[singlepic id=3416 w=320 h=240 float=left]Other winners include sixth seed Julia Goerges who dispatched of Shahar Peer 6-1, 6-3, while ninth-seed Angelique Kerber defeated Lucie Safarova 6-2, 7-6. Chanelle Scheepers defeated Polona Hercog 6-2, 6-2. Qualifier Mona Barthel easily dispensed of Barbara Zahlavova Strycova 6-3, 6-2, while Petra Cetkovska defeated Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-3.
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Catch all the great action our photographer Rick Gleijm caught during the first round main draw matches today! And make sure to check out his feature “Paris Tennis Diary: From the Photo Pit.”
Stay tuned all week for full coverage in Paris and catch Rick at the ATP Rotterdam tournament next week!
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ASB Classic Semifinal Showdown with Pennetta, Kuznetsova, Kerber and Zheng
by Stephanie Neppl, Special for Tennis Grandstand
What a week we’ve had at the 2012 ASB Classic! One of the best fields in tournament history has been narrowed down to just four players: a German (but not the top seed Sabine Lisicki as expected), an Italian, a Chinese (but not the #2 seed Peng Shuai) and a Russian.
To get us to this stage of the tournament, we’ve survived numerous rain delays which have done their best to complicate life for the players and organisers. One entire day of qualifying was moved inside, only one night session began on time and many matches had to change courts to accommodate the rain delays.
All that is a blur now as there are just two days to go. Today Lisicki injured herself during warm-up and battled hard against fellow German Angelique Kerber but she was forced to withdraw during the second set. It was not the ending she wanted, but the smiley Lisicki was hopeful the injury won’t affect her play at the Australian Open coming up later this month.
“I hope it’s nothing too bad,” she said. “I hope I’ll recover quickly and that a couple of days off will be enough. I’m just hoping for the best.”
The highest seed remaining is Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. The two-time grand slam winner has the goods but has lacked consistency for most of her career. She’s looked good in Auckland and hasn’t dropped a set in her run to the semifinals.
After her win over Christina McHale in the second round, Kuznetsova was asked if she thought she could improve on her career high #2 ranking. “I think I can do better. It’s definitely in my potential.” She will now face surprise semifinalist Zheng Jie of China who has won her past two rounds with ease.
The other semifinal is a repeat of a US Open quarterfinal match between Flavia Pennetta and Angelique Kerber. The Italian made the final in her last visit to the ASB Classic and will be keen to redeem herself after the German won that grand slam match to reach the semifinals.
Stay updated and catch all the great action at the ASB Classic!
(All photos © www.photosport.co.nz)
Stephanie Neppl is the Social Media Manager for Tennis Auckland covering the ASB Classic and Heineken Open. She is the author of the website I Have a Tennis Addiction and you can follow her on twitter @StephInNZ for further updates.