2011 BNP Paribas Open: Women’s Tennis Association seeds Part III
World Number 5 Francesca Schiavone
Italian tennis player and fifth seed Francesca Schiavone will be making her first appearance at the BNP Paribas Open this year. The player has been on the WTA Tour for over twelve years, and recently came to fame with a surprise victory at the 2010 French
Open event. She defeated many top players en route to the final match, where she triumphed over Australian Sam Stosur to win her first Grand Slam title. She also became the first Italian woman to win a major title; the win ensured her position in the Top Ten
WTA players.
Although Schiavone is a good player, her Grand Slam win is more of a one-off than a sign of consistent victories to come. She may be able to make it to the top at this event, but it is unlikely the Italian will have what it takes to defeat players such as
Kim Clijsters and other top seeds.
World Number 6 Jelena Jankovic
Jelena Jankovic of Serbia is a former World no. 1 player, seeded sixth in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. The player has made great progress since her 2009 BNP Paribas Open appearance, when she was seeded second. Although she received a bye in the first round,
the player faced considerably difficulty in the second round against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who eventually defeated her 6-4, 6-4. The player admitted that her confidence was at a low point, saying, “I need a lot of work.”
It seems as if Jankovic did her best to improve her performance, as she headed to the 2010 BNP Paribas Open with a victory in store. The Serbian pro defeated Dane and current World Number 1 Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to win the match. She
will be defending her title in the tournament this year.
The next part of the series will discuss the seventh and eighth seeds.
Tags: