Hitting the deep, laser-like shots that have won her multiple titles, and pinning Ana Ivanovic to the baseline again and again, Lindsay Davenport announced her comeback on the big stage today by defeating Ivanovic 6-4, 6-2 at the Sony Ericsson Open. Davenport uncharactistically hit only one ace, but her service game was solid, and she repeatedly took advantage of Ivanovic's second serves.
Davenport will next face Dinara Safina, who beat Sybille Bammer, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.
Fantastic win for Lindsay! I couldn't be happier for her. If her form holds she has a very decent shot at the semis and even the final. After all, both Williames and Henin are in the other half.
ReplyDeleteAnd goodness -- happened to poor Azarenka? I stopped following the live scores when she was up 6-1, 5-1! And Svetlana then takes 12 straight games? Did you see any of that, by any chance?
Now I see that Cibulkova, after dropping a 6-0 set to Dementieva, came back to take the second in a tiebreak! Good stuff going on in Miami, eh?
I didn't get to see the Azarenka match; I just followed it on the scoreboard. I assume Kuzy just cranked it up a notch.
ReplyDeleteIf Lindsay keeps playing like she did today, her chances are good.
"I assume Kuzy just cranked it up a notch." Okaay, though isn't that just a trifle glib, Diane? You can wait until you're down 1-6, 1-5 to crank it up if you want, but that's playing with all kinds of fire. What I really wondered about was how complicit Azarenka was in the complete reversal. Did she choke hugely, quite a bit, or just a little? But since neither of us saw the match I'll do some more digging!
ReplyDeleteMany of tomorrow's matches look somewhat pedestrian, although I'll be interested to see if Wozniacki can stir up any trouble for Venus. And Shahar Peer should be another tough match for Kuzy. They're 2-2 lifetime but Peer leads 2-1 on hard courts, both wins in 2007....
It was glib, yes, but what I didn't say--and meant to--is that Azarenka is still pretty inexperienced, and is vulnerable to going off mentally at a very big moment against a top player. That's what I should have said.
ReplyDeleteFYI, Jen, people who saw the match said that either (a) Azarenka choked like mad, or (b) Kuzy raised her level so high, Azarenka didn't have a prayer. I'm going to go with a combination of the two, something we see often, since one feeds on the other. You?
Hmmm, nothing much new to add on this. At her presser, Kuzy said that she didn't play well but still won. Azarenka had 3 match points but couldn't convert and I know she lost one on an unforced error, hitting long just over the baseline. So I'll guess that the youngster started to choke and that Sveta had the experience to step it up and capitalize. Let's see what she has left Monday.
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