Thursday, September 3, 2009

Others emulate her, but there is only one Thrill Ride

If you enjoyed watching Dinara Safina grab victory at the last moment yesterday, then you probably really relished seeing her pull the same kind of trick today. Kristina Barrois, who impresses me every time I see her, gave the top seed all she could handle. Barrois has a very attractive game, and had she been a bit tougher mentally...well, who knows?

Thrill Ride went down 0-2 in the third set. Then, serving at 4-3, 0-40, won four straight points. After three deuces, she held, partially because of a lucky netcord incident. She double-faulted 15 times, again looked a bit dazed and confused, but somehow, came away with a 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Between Safina's last-minute victory and the upset of 4th seed Elena Dementieva, there was plenty of drama for one day. But drama ruled today, and those two matches were just the beginning. Jelena Jankovic, the 5th seed and last year's finalist, could not have been at her best: Her grandmother died last night. She looked somewhat flat, and she might have gotten through, anyway, but Yaroslava Shvedova was in the way. Shvedova, who was last year's WTT Most Valuable Player, showed today just how valuable she is.

Playing aggressive tennis while also matching Jankovic in defense, Shvedova took advantage of her opponent's off-kilter condition, and went at it with Jankovic for two hours and forty minutes, finally claiming a 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 victory. It was close--Shvedova served for the match twice, and Jankovic would not let her have it. But just when it looked like Jankovic could finally prepare for the third round, Shvedova--saving two match points--finished as the winner.

Then there was Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki, the 23rd seed, came into the tournament after yet another injury layoff, this time involving her shoulder. Her opponent was the very competent Anastasia Rodionova, who is often her own worst enemy because of her tendency to go into angry mode and stay there. Rodionova couldn't have hoped for a better opportunity; Lisicki was a shadow of herself, unable to do much with her serve and her forehand, which--when they are working--are very formidable.

True to form, though, Rodionova--when she received a bad line call and the umpire would not overrule it--had a burst of temper. One could hardly blame her, but--also true to form--she couldn't let go of it. She became sullen and argumentative, and opened the door for Lisicki to find her form. The German did find some of her form--so much so that she hit 39 winners. But she made a lot of errors, too. Though she double-faulted "only" ten times today, she served one of those double-faults at match point, and the match slipped away from her.

But there was more: When Rodionova hit match point for a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory, Lisicki fell and twisted her ankle as she tried to return Rodionova's shot. She screamed, fell to the ground, then began to cry in pain. She was then escorted away in a wheelchair and taken to a hospital for treatment.

Sabine Lisicki has come so far. She went from being just a big hitter to being a big hitter with a variety of great serves--some huge, some tricky--a reliable drop shot, and an amazing forehand. But lately, she makes me think of Anna Kournikova--she is either injured or excessively double-faulting. The injuries and time off appear to have set Lisicki back quite a bit. There was a time when she would follow a big upset with a terrible loss, but she got past that fragility and brilliantly won in Charleston this year, never dropping a set. Now she is injured again. I hope it is not serious, and I hope that Lisicki can regain her consistency; she is too talented to go by the wayside.

So today, this most dramatic of days at the U.S. Open, there were many chances for top players to come from behind and win, but only Safina was able to actually do it. The Thrill Ride goes on.

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