Pe’er gets through first round, No. 1 Azarenka up next

Shahar Pe’er will face world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the Rome Masters after her first-round opponent Shuai Peng retired during the third set of their match on Monday.

The 25-year-old Israeli, ranked No. 54, was leading 7-6 (4), 4-6, 3-1 when Peng (23) was forced to retire due to injury.

Pe’er will now be aiming to finally progress past the second round of a tournament, something she has failed to accomplish in her past seven attempts.

However, to do so she will require the biggest win of her career considering she next plays Azarenka, who has already won four titles this season and was only denied a fifth by Serena Williams in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday.

The Belarusian has beaten Pe’er in all three of their previous meetings.

Only two places separated Pe’er (12) and Azarenka (10) in the rankings when they last met in January 2011, a testament to the opposite directions their careers have taken over the last 16 months.

Meanwhile, former women’s No. 1 Serena Williams labeled Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and others as “weenies” after they complained about the blue clay at the Madrid Open.

Asked about criticism from Djokovic and Nadal over the slippery surface on the Manolo Santana show court, Williams told a news conference that women were simply tougher than their male counterparts.

“Women are way tougher than men. That’s why we have the babies, you guys could never handle kids,” Williams said after thumping top seed Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 to win the Madrid title on Sunday.

“We ladies don’t complain we just do our best. On the WTA we are real performers, we are not about going out there and being weenies.”

Dictionary.com lists several definitions of “weenie” including “an insignificant, disliked person” or “a stupid and inept male”.

Djokovic and Nadal have threatened to boycott the Madrid event next year unless the traditional red dirt is reinstated.

Reuters contributed to this report