Friday, January 18, 2008

Guess who had the Radwanska moment?!

A week ago, I asked if anyone would have a "Radwanska moment"--referring to Agnieszka Radwanska's third round upset of Maria Sharapova in the 2007 U.S. Open--at the Australian Open. Well, someone did--Agnieszka Radwanska. The young Polish player defeated world number 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 6-4. Both players looked bad in the first set, but in the second, Radwanska played with precision and cleverness.

Shortly after that, number 6 seed Anna Chakvetadze fell to Maria Kirilenko in three sets. Chakvetadze--who has been suffering with an injured hand--went away in the second set, but came back strong in the third. A pivotal moment occurred toward the end when she mysteriously failed to question an incorrect overrule from the (less than reliable) chair umpire. (It brought back memories of Linday Davenport's failing to challenge a bad call on a match point a couple of years ago.) The mistake caused her to go down 2-4, and that was pretty much it. Despite the second set slump, there were some very fine moments in this match, with the players frequently delivering thrilling rallies. Chakvetadze and Kirilenko are two players I very much enjoy watching. Final score: Kirilenko def. Chakvetadze, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2.

1 comment:

Herzblut said...

I thought of you writing about that as I was watching it!
thanks so much for your kind post on my blog

Claire