Rome: Day 2 results

Results:

2nd Round:
(2) Maria Sharapova def. Christina McHale 7-5 7-5
(4) Petra Kvitova def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-4

1st Round:
(9) Serena Williams def. Galina Voskoboeva 6-2 6-3
Marina Erakovic def. (11) Sabine Lisicki 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3
(14) Dominika Cibulkova def. (Q) Mirjana Lucic 6-1 6-2
Sorana Cirstea def. (15) Jelena Jankovic 6-3 4-6 7-6(4)
Flavia Pennetta def. (16) Maria Kirilenko 6-1 7-6(2)
Sara Errani def. Timea Bacsinszky 6-0 3-0 ret.
Petra Cetkovska def. (Q) Olga Govortsova 7-5 6-4
Nadia Petrova def. (Q) Andrea Hlavackova 6-3 6-3
(Q) Sílvia Soler-Espinosa def. (WC) Alberta Brianti 6-2 6-1
(Q) Sloane Stephens def. (Q) Anna Chakvetadze 6-2 2-6 6-4
(WC) Venus Williams def. Simona Halep 6-3 6-4
(WC) Karin Knapp def. Roberta Vinci 6-4 2-6 6-2

Shockers:

(WC) Karin Knapp def. Roberta Vinci 6-4 2-6 6-2

Karin Knapp achieved her highest ranking of 35 4 years ago before injury kept her out of the game for a while. Now she's back and slowly climbing up the rankings again. With this win, she is poised to break back into the top 100. Karin has a good serve and forehand and prefers clay. She had her first breakthrough in Roland Garros in 2007 where she upset Victoria Azarenka(!) and Alona Bondarenko to reach the 3rd round. Good to see her having a resurgence here. Apparently she brought her good form from Estoril (where she reached the semi-finals) here. Roberta must be disappointed. She has never made it past the 2nd round in this tournament. At 29, you have to wonder if she's going to continue after the Olympics. Karin next faces Dominika Cibulkova in the 2nd round.

Sorana Cirstea def. (15) Jelena Jankovic 6-3 4-6 7-6(4)
Marina Erakovic def. (11) Sabine Lisicki 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3
Shockers? Not really. I kind of saw these coming. Jelena is having a horrendous slump now and Sabine is just returning from injury.

Expected:

Basically all the other match results are expected. I know I predicted Anna Chakvetadze to win but I'm going to cut her some slack. She put up a good fight and one shouldn't expect much after what she has been through. Love you still Anna. :) Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova both posted wins but not without struggling. Makes you wonder if they will pick up their form during later rounds.