She did it the hard way (or, as one commentator said, "just another day at the office for Patty"), but Patty Schnyder reached her third Linz final today by defeating 6th seed Andra Petkovic in the semifinals. Schnyder won the first set, then went up a break in the second, but Petkovic suddenly found more of a comfort level in the match and caught up. She broke Schnyder again and took the second set. Carrying her momentum into the last set, Petkovic looked fresh, while Schnyder--whose signature drop shot failed her again and again--appeared to stumble.
Somehow, though, the Swiss veteran stayed in the match, though it was not as easy for her to hold her serve as it had been earlier. She looked like she was about to tumble out in the latter half of the set, but a break back followed by a very difficult hold kept her in. She saved two match points, then broke Petkovic at 5-6, and--while fans very likely were holding their collective breath, wondering if Patty could close--she surprised perhaps even herself by immediately going up 40-0. On her second match point, Schnyder won the whole thing 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
Schnyder's opponent in the final will be 7th seed Ana Ivanovic, who defeated Roberta Vinci 6-3, 7-5. Vinci probably could have done more to confound Ivanovic, but was a bit flat. Nevertheless, it was another occasion in which Ivanovic showed fans that her serve is definitely back. For emphasis, she hit eight aces.
Good for Patty. Petkorazzi has been improving steadily this year but needs a breakout win - she's dropped plenty of close ones.
ReplyDeletePetkovic is making steady progress in her tennis. A big win would probably help the head part.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Linz is the last tournament Ivanovic won-2 years ago. I still would like to see Patty win one. Even though Ivanovic's forehand makes me want her to get back on track.
ReplyDeleteWell, our wishes did not come true and Patty lost and lost badly. Hmmph. Think that match yesterday against Petkovic kind of did her in. It is like the story of her life in Linz. Just cannot complete the job.
ReplyDeleteI am meh about Ana winning. Was it a command performance? Yes. Does that mean she is back? No. The fact that she gagged serving for the match says it all. Against better opponents she will still be in the wilderness searching for a title. No doubt her game has improved and it looks like her mental game is slowly coming back but we saw that before during clay season. Next year should be very interesting
I think Patty's head did her in. Look at how many finals she's been in and lost. It's so frustrating.
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