By Erik Gudris
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Photo Credit: Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images |
(April 25, 2012) -- Blame Fed Cup.
Okay, perhaps that's a tad harsh, but it's likely a few fans tuning into today's action at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart were thinking exactly that after enduring a day that saw several scheduled intriguing matches either get scrubbed completely or end abruptly due to injury retirements.
After celebrating their return to the World Group, Slovakian teammates Daniela Hantuchova and Dominika Cibulkova were supposed to face off against each other in a first round match today. But Hantuchova withdrew at the last minute after an MRI revealed she had been playing during her nation's Fed Cup tie against Spain with a stress fracture in her foot that will now keep her out of action for several weeks.
Talk about giving it all for one's country.
The likable Slovak sent a message to her fans on Twitter saying "The Fed Cup tie over the weekend was too much for an injury of this type, but it was worth it to bring our country back to the World Group. I will do all I can to be back as soon as my doctors allow me to... With love, Dani."
Cibulkova went on to play lucky loser Akgul Amanmuradova who capitalized on her bit of luck landing in the main draw with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win. Amanmuradova now takes on Li Na in the next round.
No one will forget seeing Jelena Jankovic literally being sandwiched by her Serbian teammates after she clinched the winning singles rubber for her country that propelled them into the Fed Cup finals for the first time in the nation's history. But perhaps that victory proved too much for Jankovic as a lower back injury saw her retire down 3-6, 0-2 this evening in her match with Caroline Wozniacki that was hyped as a must see but ended up disappointing everyone on hand.
A right shoulder injury also ended things early for France's Alize Cornet who retired in tears down 3-6, 0-1 to No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova who is playing in Germany for the first time since 2005.
Fans at least had something to cheer about when rising star Mona Barthel took on Ana Ivanovic earlier in the day. But even though Barthel used her streaky power and blazing serve that yielded her 11 aces en route to a 7-5, 7-6 victory, the rather muted response from the local crowd suggested that even Germany is still getting to know the 21-year-old from Bad Segeberg who is quickly becoming a player no one wants to deal with in the early rounds.
Barthel will next face France's Marion Bartoli tomorrow in a schedule that features several more Germans including Andrea Petkovic against Victoria Azarenka, Wozniacki versus Angelique Kerber, in a rematch of the recent Copenhagen final, and Sam Stosur against Julia Goerges in a rematch of last weekend's scheduled Fed Cup rubber between the two women on the same court in Stuttgart before Goerges withdrew due to illness.
One can only hope that this time both Stosur and Goerges can take the court in full health. Georges leads the head to head 2-0 after winning their last meeting in the semifinals of Stuttgart last year en route to taking the title.