Guangzhou & Seoul: Wasted trip for Kirilenko

Seoul:

Singles - Second Round
(3) Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 62 62
Kiki Bertens (NED) d. Sílvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 16 76(3) 62

Singles - First Round
(WC) Lee So-Ra (KOR) d. (2) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 11 ret. (back injury)
(4) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) 62 64
Tamira Paszek (AUT) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 76(8) 63
María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. (Q) Eleni Daniilidou (GRE) 62 63

Guangzhou:

Singles - Second Round
Laura Robson (GBR) d. (2) Zheng Jie (CHN) 63 63
(3) Sorana Cirstea (ROU) d. (WC) Duan Ying-Ying (CHN) 61 76(0)
(4) Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. Mandy Minella (LUX) 62 63
(5) Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 64 61
(7) Peng Shuai (CHN) d. (Q) Nudnina Luangnam (THA) 62 61
(8) Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. Olga Govortsova (BLR) 64 ret. (GI illness)
Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) d. (LL) Chang Kai-Chen (TPE) 60 63
Mathilde Johansson (FRA) d. (WC) Zheng Saisai (CHN) 62 46 75

(WC) Lee So-Ra (KOR) d. (2) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 11 ret. (back injury)

I cannot condone the actions of Kirilenko. It seems that she only appeared on court for the appearance fee. It's not like her opponent is a tricky player; she is a local wildcard for god's sake. Even without a serve with a back injury, she could have won the match. If she is indeed injured, why make the trip just to retire? It's just too dubious and convenient for her to retire like that. If Davydenko was fined for lack of effort, Kirilenko should be fined twice that amount.

Tamira Paszek (AUT) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 76(8) 63

I thought Tamira will struggle given that this is not grass but she has proven me wrong. After Wimbledon, Tamira has done... nothing. She had past success on hard courts before but she is quickly becoming a surface specialist. It was not without a struggle though as evidenced by the tight first set. The Austrian now gets a virtual bye, facing local wildcard, Lee. Good chance to gain some points before the season ends.

Laura Robson (GBR) d. (2) Zheng Jie (CHN) 63 63

Laura Robson did not disappoint and backed up her impressive run in US Open by beating home favourite, Zheng Jie in straightforward fashion. We might be witnessing Robson's rise to the top now. Although Laura choked a bit at 5-1 up in the second set, she closed the match eventually 3 games later. Laura will face another Chinese player next, Peng Shuai. Will she break the Chinese hearts again?

(5) Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 64 61

How wrong was I to predict Bojana to win this. Chanelle Scheepers shows her intent on defending her title clearly by brushing aside Jovanovski easily. Bojana was undone by her poor service games despite Chanelle serving more double faults. The South African now faces Urszula Radwanska for a place in the semi-finals and another step closer to defending her title.