Sunday, September 1, 2013

Here comes Li Na!

Tonight at the U.S. Open, Li Na dismissed Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-0 in under an hour. Considering how well JJ has been playing lately, this was an unexpected dismissal. But there was nothing Jankovic could do to stop Li, who put on a display of serving, returning and volleying that was a joy to watch. She had seven break opportunities and converted all of them. Hitting 20 winners and making 12 unforced errors, Li made it look so easy, just as she did in the previous round, when she beat Laura Robson. Tonight, though, the Chinese star played a much cleaner match.

In tonight's other round of 16 match, Ekaterina Makarova defeated 3rd seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-4. Radwanska has been making a lot more unforced errors lately (meaning, more like a normal number; her unforced error count is generally kind of amazing). Tonight, she made 27, but she also hit 18 winners, which is uncharacteristic, too. Makarova's second serve stats tend to be high, and today was no exception--she had a 72 second serve win percentage.

The television commentators were kind of in shock, but I'm not sure why. Radwanska has always made an early (considering her ranking and her usual level) exit from the U.S. Open, and Makarova just keeps getting better, though it's always a "surprise" to the commentators when she wins a big match. Go figure.

In doubles, top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci had a comfortable win, but Kristina Mladenovic and partner Galina Voskoboeva are out, defeated by 3rd seeds Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik.

4 comments:

sunny nine said...

I thought Li was dominating. She was 83% when coming to the net. Her winners to UFE's numbers were great. And you already mentioned the break pt conversion. Also receiving points 73%. I had to check the stats because it was so great. I was disappointed in the match somewhat because I just thought it would be more interesting the way JJ has been playing lately.

I don't think Radwanska has been completely on her game since Wimbledon so I expected that something might happen. Sogn somehow has taken to Makarova and her game so he was happy she won.

This is the side that was all "seeded" going into the 4th rd. Now tomorrow we get to see many of the faces that caused upsets.

Diane said...

I've always liked Makarova's game, and I've never quite understood why she isn't ranked higher than she is. She has all the shots, and she's a lefty, as well. Great court presence, too.

Li is sending a message, it appears. I want to say it should be a great match between her and Ekat, but I don't dare :)

Anonymous said...

Wozniacki's outfit is without question the WORST that I've ever seen. Stella McCartney should leave the fashion 'industry'. Tastless, crude and unrefined. That is what that 'kit' is.

Diane said...

It was pretty bad!