Hannah James has moved up to 45 in the rankings and has avoided a third potential quarter-final with Timea Babos, but unfortunately lands up in the same quarter as her doubles partner, and Thailand G1 winner, Maryna Zanevska instead. Hannah Martin-Merchant and Francesca Stephenson lost in qualifying, but Nicola George has joined the trip for the last 2 Grade 1s (here and in Japan) and has a fairly good draw on paper.
R1 (L64)
Nicola George (GBR) v Sharmada Balu (IND) (15)Melis Sezer (TUR) v BYE
(5)Hannah James (GBR) v BYE (Q)So-Ra Lee (KOR) v (wc)Anna Clarice Patrimonio (PHI)
Wishful thinking I imagine. I don't get Nicola at all, her form seems to be entirely random (and so is her schedule!).
I guess she was going for entry into the slams, but has lost to some girls she really shouldn't of lost to in the past 6 months.
Would like to see her step it up and try a few 10ks.
Nicola is certainly happy to clock up the air miles (Latin America, Scandinavia, Africa and the Far East already this year) playing on different surfaces as you allude to, with no sign of any improvement in form at the moment (4 consecutive defeats). Not sure that playing 10K qualifiers would help her until she regains some confidence though.
It's left to Hannah James again to maintain a British presence in singles. Her doubles partner of the last two weeks (not this) Maryna Zanevska was surprisingly beaten, so Hannah's quarter of the draw looks more promising.
R2
(5)Hannah James (GBR) d. (Q)So-Ra Lee (KOR) 6-0 7-5
Excellent consistency from Hannah sees a third consecutive Grade 1 quarter-final, and this time a good opportunity for a semi-final. Hannah is also through to the doubles quarters with new partner Malou Ejdesgaard
R3
(5)Hannah James (GBR) d. (12) Sina Haas (GER) 2-6 6-1 6-2
QF
(5)Hannah James (GBR) v (13) Ekaterina Nikitina (RUS)
(13) Ekaterina Nikitina (RUS) d. (5)Hannah James (GBR) 6-1 6-3
Hannah also lost her doubles QF, but the consolation is that she has picked up enough points this week to effectively secure her place at Roland Garros and Wimbledon
