King & Shvedova 1 match away from back-to-back championships

The surprise champions of the 2010 Wimbledon tournament, Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, advanced to the final of the U.S. Open today with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over 9th seeds Cara Black and Anastasia Rodionova. The third set was especially entertaining, as Rodionova brought up the level of her play and challenged the 6th seeds. Shvedova blew some volleys by being over-eager, but then steadied herself.

There was one amazing moment when a ball flew through the center of the court. King yelled "me!" but Shvedova, who probably didn't hear King, went for it. Standing side by side, each woman--one with a backhand and one with a forehand--was a mirror image of the other. Shvedova's racquet got the ball over the net. For just a moment, though, the synchronized swings created a really beautiful sight.

In the women's wheelchair singles quarterfinals, Esther Vergeer had to fight harder than usual to defeat Florence Alix-Gravellier 7-5, 7-5. Korie Homan is not playing in the U.S. Open (I'm not sure why--possibly continued wrist problems), so the Vergeer-Homan team will not be competing. Vergeer's partner will be Sharon Walraven. Vergeer was hitting today with Martina Navratilova.