Saturday, May 16, 2009

Wozniacki to meet Safina in Madrid final

I haven't gotten enough sleep lately, so I made the decision to skip the semifinals this morning. However, a marauding tabby cat woke me up at 5 a.m., and the temptation to turn on the television was too great. I wish now that I hadn't done so. I tuned in just in time to see Mauresmo--generally an outstanding tiebreak competitor--become unglued in a tiebreak. Then I learned that she had failed to convert two set points on her own serve, and two on Caroline Wozniacki's serve. Mauresmo did not pull herself together for the second set (what was that about?), which Wozniacki won, 6-2.

With bleary eyes, I watched the second semifinal between Dinara Safina and Patty Schnyder, which Safina won 6-4, 6-2, though the scoreline of the second set is somewhat deceptive. Schnyder looked down on herself in that set, and her frustration appeared to trigger many of her errors, something we have seen before.

The world number 1 may get a spirited challenge from Wozniacki, and she needs to remember that patience is her key.

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