2011 BNP Paribas Open: Women’s Tennis Association seeds Part XI
World Number 23 Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is currently the most highly ranked German player (male or female) on the tennis circuit. She is the 21st seed at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, where she has participated twice before. Her first showing at the event was in 2009, when
the 23-year-old pro was ranked World no. 225. She fell in the qualifying rounds of the tournament, and was unable to take part as a main-draw entry.
Her second appearance at the Indian Wells tournament was last year, when she climbed up the rankings to become World no. 44. Although she was still not highly-ranked enough to be a seeded player, her position guaranteed her a direct entry. However, she was
also unable to cash in on this opportunity and suffered an upset at the hands of Czech tennis pro Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the first round of the event.
The player is now over 20 spots above her ranking at the last BNP Paribas Open. She also played for the German Fed Cup team recently, helping them to a victory over Slovenia. She has been producing varied results, reaching the quarterfinals of this year’s
Open GDF Suez, but falling in the second round of the Dubai tournament.
The likelihood of her making an impact at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open is, therefore, open to question. The player is known to surprise spectators with unexpected victories, so a safe bet cannot be made at this point.
World Number 24 Alisa Kleybanova
Russian tennis player Alisa Kleybanova, whose highest ranking is World no. 20, is seeded 22nd at this year’s BNP Paribas Open. She has played at the Indian Wells tournament on five occasions prior to this.
In 2009, the Russian pro was seeded 21st as World no. 26. She received a bye in the first round of the tournament, proceeding to the second round directly where she defeated Tamira Paszek in straight sets. She fell to Nuria Llagostera Vives in straight sets
in the third round of the event
Her most recent showing at the BNP Paribas Open was in 2010 as the 23rd seed. At this time, she was ranked World no. 27. She received a bye in the first round of the tournament, and managed to defeat Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round. She went on to
upset comeback queen Kim Clijsters before defeating Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round. Kleybanova qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament, where she was defeated by Serbian pro and ninth seed Jelena Jankovic in straight sets. She may be able
to reproduce this result, with a little dedication.
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