Who will win Wimbledon 2011?

As our faithful reader P!nky suggested, I'm making a poll for Wimbledon, a bit reluctantly, though, as Roland Garros winner Li Na was not even included in my Roland Garros poll which featured twelve names. :P This time I've narrowed down my list a bit, but if the player you favor is not included, feel free to add her in the comments section.

Who will win Wimbledon 2011?

  • Maria Sharapova (41%, 443 Votes)
  • Serena Williams (16%, 177 Votes)
  • Caroline Wozniacki (12%, 126 Votes)
  • Venus Williams (8%, 92 Votes)
  • Li Na (8%, 90 Votes)
  • Petra Kvitova (7%, 73 Votes)
  • Marion Bartoli (5%, 49 Votes)
  • Daniela Hantuchova (3%, 37 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,087

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Li Na is here because grass is her good surface and she won the French Open recently, although she did lose early to Daniela Hantuchova at the AEGON International. Talking about Hantuchova, I think her current form gives her big credentials for this year's Wimbledon, although her retirement in the semifinal against Petra Kvitova at Eastbourne is worrying. Kvitova played the Wimbledon semifinals last year and this weekend she played the final of Eastbourne which she lost to Marion Bartoli. I wanted to give justice to Bartoli and include her as well, because she won on the grass of the Wimbledon tune-up, has had a great win-loss record recently and played the final of Wimbledon in 2007. Caroline Wozniacki is world No.1, so she has to make the list. Serena Williams is defending champion, although she didn't impress in the lead-up to Wimbledon, while her sister Venus won the tournament five times. And last but not least, the 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, who played impressively this clay-court season, and grass is her much better surface.

What do you say? Who do you think has the greatest chance to win Wimbledon 2011? (photo: Fimb)

Marion Bartoli beats Petra Kvitova for AEGON International title

The 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli won her sixth career title and her first on grass on Saturday against last year's Wimbledon semifinalist Petra Kvitova at the AEGON International in Eastbourne. En route to the big trophy Bartoli overcame Lucie Safarova's match point in the first round, windy conditions at the tournament, a groin strain and the fact that she played both her semifinal and the final on the same day.

The sixth-seeded Bartoli reached the final with a clinical 6-3 6-1 victory over Samantha Stosur. The match against fifth-seeded Kvitova was a tough affair, although Bartoli looked to be cruising when the score was 6-1 3-1. Final result: 6-1 4-6 7-5.

Bartoli has had notable results in the past weeks: in Strasbourg she was runner-up to Andrea Petkovic (Bartoli retired in the final) and at the French Open she played the semifinals which she lost to Francesca Schiavone. The Frenchwoman has won 13 of her last 15 matches. (photo via AEGON International)

Andrea Petkovic claims Strasbourg title and new career-high ranking

On the eve of the French Open, Andrea Petkovic claimed her second WTA title and a new career-high ranking of No.12. In the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg, which was the only International-level final in nine years that top two seeds played, the 15th-ranked Petkovic had a retirement victory over seed No.1 Marion Bartoli.

France’s Bartoli lost just 11 games en route to the final and earned a 2-0 lead at the start of the match with Petkovic, but the German took the first set and won the first game of the second when Bartoli retired with a left thigh injury, at 6-4 1-0.

The first Petkovic’s title also came at an International-level clay court event, at Bad Gastein in 2009.

Regarding the French Open, Petkovic has never progressed past the second round, but this year she's among the players who are marked with the big expectations label. However, the 15th-seeded German faces a stiff challenge in the very beginning. Her first-round opponent will be Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski who is a hard-hitter and is capable of making an upset at any moment.

Another player crowned her lead-up to the French Open today – world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki defeated Peng Shuai in the final of the Brussels Ladies Open. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

Top seed Marion Bartoli falls in round one of Barcelona Open

Marion Bartoli accepted a wildcard for the Barcelona Ladies Open and was a top seed at the event, but fell in the first round to Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4 6-1, who scored her first real victory over the Frenchwoman in their six meetings (Rybarikova had defeated Bartoli once, but it was a retirement).

Both Rybarikova and Bartoli won just 48% of points on their first serve, but the 72nd-ranked Slovak was much better in converting break opportunities, especially in the second set, and hence the decisive scoreline.

By beating the world No.13 Bartoli, Rybarikova scored her best win, ranking-wise, since Tokyo 2009, when she defeated Nadia Petrova, who was also ranked 13th. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Caroline Wozniacki triumphs at Indian Wells

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki won her 14th career title and her second Premier Mandatory by defeating Marion Bartoli in the final of the BNP Paribas Open, 6-1 2-6 6-3. Interestingly, the Dane, known for her defensive game, won the $4.5-million tournament without hitting a single ace.

The 15th-seeded Bartoli, finalist at Wimbledon four years ago, took the second set and approached Wozniacki from 1-4 to 3-4 in the third set, when the 20-year-old world No.1 regrouped and won the match.

Besides Bartoli, Wozniacki defeated Sloane Stephens, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Alisa Kleybanova, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova at Indian Wells this year.

Wozniacki, who finished runner-up to Jelena Jankovic last time at the BNP Paribas Open, is now 14-9 in WTA finals and this is her second title of the year, following Dubai. France's Bartoli will, despite losing today, return to the Top 10 from her current ranking of No.17.

The winner's check amounts to $700,000, while Bartoli received $350,000 as a runner-up. (via WTA Tour)

Wozniacki quickly downs Sharapova 6-1 6-2 for Indian Wells final

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki swept past Maria Sharapova more easily than expected, keeping her good form and taking advantage of the Russian’s 41 unforced errors to reach her second straight final at the BNP Paribas Open. The 16th-seeded Sharapova started the match by breaking Wozniacki’s serve, but from then on Sharapova couldn’t do much against the top seed, especially not with the overwhelming number of unforced errors outbalancing her 19 winners. Final score: 6-1 6-2.

I like this Sharapova’s quote about Wozniacki’s defensive style of play without winners: "I don't think it really matters if you don't miss.  I mean, then why do you need to hit winners?" Haha, great! Thanks, Forty Deuce, for sharing Sharapova's unique perspective.

Interestingly, Wozniacki has reached the title match of a $4.5 million tournament without hitting a single ace! Read more »

Struggling Ana Ivanovic loses to Marion Bartoli in Indian Wells quarterfinals

The quarterfinal encounter of 2008 Indian Wells champion Ana Ivanovic and Marion Bartoli featured 13 breaks of serve in two sets that together lasted more than two hours. The 19th-seeded Ivanovic was desperately fighting, while for the most part of the match seed No.15 Bartoli had a small but valuable advantage. Something was constantly missing in Ivanovic's game and Bartoli moved into the semifinals of the high-profile BNP Paribas Open with a 6-4 7-6(4) victory.

In a slow set full of breaks, at 5-4 Bartoli was serving to win it, and even though Ivanovic earned two break opportunities to level the score, Bartoli prevailed. The second set also started better for Bartoli, but Ivanovic was constantly fighting, leveling, and even led 5-4 for a short time. Bartoli was later serving for the match at 6-5, and even though Ivanovic forced a tiebreak, her troubles were cut short in that set and Bartoli made her way into the semifinals.

It will be Bartoli's third semifinal of the season, after Brisbane and Doha. A semifinalist in Indian Wells earns $150,000. The 17th-ranked Frenchwoman will play either Shahar Peer or Yanina Wickmayer for a place in the title match. (photo: angelicalbite)

Caroline Wozniacki dominates Marion Bartoli for Qatar Open Ladies final

France's Marion Bartoli was no match for in-form Caroline Wozniacki in the Qatar Ladies Open semifinals and the top-ranked Dane will now be looking for her second straight title, after her victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova last week in Dubai.

Bartoli may had defeated Wozniacki in their previous two meetings, once in Cincinnati in 2010 and once in Stuttgart in 2009, but her resistance today was very poor. The world No.18 won 11% of points on first serve, and it was only after Wozniacki raced to a 4-0 lead that Bartoli managed to win a game of her own. But that was pretty much it, until the third game of the second set, when Bartoli held her serve for the first time and won her second and her final game of the match. Therefore, the score is 6-1 6-1.

Wozniacki is now 4-2 against Bartoli. Her opponent in the final will be either No.2 seed Vera Zvonareva or No.5 seed Jelena Jankovic. (photo: Johan Rivera)


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