2011 Sony Ericsson Open WTA Part 19: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Jarmila Groth
World Number 33 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez
Spanish tennis pro Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez is currently ranked World Number 33 by the Women’s Tennis Association. The 28-year-old player joined the WTA in 1996, and has been part of the professional tennis circuit for almost fifteen years. The player
has won a total of three WTA singles titles, and her highest ranking was achieved in World Number 19.
The Spanish pro’s first showing in the main draw of Miami as in 2001, when she entered the tournament as a qualifier. Ranked World Number 121 at the time, she was unable to make it past the first round against Croatian tennis player Iva Majoli.
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez’s was seeded at the tournament for the first time in 2010, when her ranking had improved to World Number 27. The player proceeded to the second round of the tournament, and faced Czech pro Lucie Hradecka in her first match. She
was unable to perform well, and fell to the unseeded player in three sets.
This year, Martinez Sanchez was seeded twenty-seventh at the tournament and received a bye in the first round. She performed better at the tournament than she ever had in the past, defeating Anna Tatishvili in the second round before being defeated by Belgian
second seed Kim Clijsters. This is the first time that the Spaniard has ever made it past the second round of the tournament.
World Number Jarmila Groth
Jarmila Groth is the second-highest ranked Australian tennis player on the Women’s Tennis Association, entering the charts at World Number 29. The player, who resides in Melbourne, has been part of the WTA Tour for over half a decade. She has won two singles
titles so far, including her 2011 title. This is her highest career ranking to date.
The right-handed player made her first appearance at Miami in 2007, when she was ranked World Number 90. She entered the tournament as a qualifier, but could not make it past her first round match against Columbian tennis player Catalina Castano.
Next year, Groth was unable to secure a place in the main draw of the tournament despite competing in the qualifying draw. She did not take part in the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open.
This if the first time that Jarmila Groth has taken part in the Sony Ericsson Open as a seeded player; she was seeded twenty-eighth at the tournament and received a bye into the second round, where she met Yaroslava Shvedova of Russia. Groth took the first
set, and was leading by two games in the second set before Shvedova retired. The Australian pro’s run ended in the third round after a straight-sets defeat at the hands of third seed Vera Zvonareva.
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