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Zvonareva, Radwanska Lead The Field In Moscow
By Sean Bradley
(October 16, 2011) With the race for Istanbul and the TEB BNP Paribas WTA year end championships on the line and two weeks away, players are working for WTA rankings points to make sure that they qualify. This week sees the Kremlin Cup and the Luxembourg Open taking place.
Kremlin Cup
The Moscow-held Premier tournament title is currently held by Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Maria Kirilenko in 2009 to win the title. This year sees Vera Zvonareva as the first seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, Marion Bartoli and Francesca Schiavone, a wildcard entrant, finishing out the top four seeds.
The Kremlin Cup is held in the Olympic Stadium and until 2007 it was played on carpet. It is now played on a RuKortHard surface.
The draw sees Zvonareva and Dominika Cibulkova meet in the third round. Though Zvonareva leads their head-to-head play 3-1, during their most recent match at the BNP Paribas Open, Cibulkova took home the win in a three set match.
The winner of Osaka, Bartoli, looks to play Jelena Jankovic, the 2008 winner, in a potential third-round match up. Bartoli leads their head-to-head 5-4, winning four of their last five matches together. The winner will take on either Cibulkova or Zvonareva.
A wildcard recipient and 2009 winner, Schiavone, sees a possible match up with 2nd-seed Radwanska in a later tournament match. Schiavone leads Radwanska 4-3 in lifetime play, though Radwanska has been the winner of the last three meetings, all of which occurred during this year.
BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open
The Luxembourg-based International event is in it's 16th year and ill take place at the CK Sportcenter Kockelscheuer on Deco Turf. Last year saw Roberta Vinci defeat eighth-seeded Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-4.
The draw sets Victoria Azarenka as the first seed, with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Sabine Lisicki and Flavia Pennetta rounding out the top four.
Azarenka may see Maria Kirilenko in the third round, with the lower-ranked Kirilenko leading their head-to-head match up 5-3 overall. Most recently, Azarenka defeated Kirilenko at the championship of the Kremlin cup, 6-3, 6-4.
5th-seed and 2007 winner Ana Ivanovic looks to meet Pavlyuchenkova in a third-round match up. Despite Pavlyuchenkova's high ranking and seed position, she has yet to win a match over her, Ivanovic leading 3-0 lifetime.
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