Tonight in Miami, for the first time in her career, Caroline Wozniacki defeated five-time Miami champion Serena Williams. Wozniacki, who won 6-4, 6-4, gets credit for serving extremely well and, of course, defending like the defense expert she is. Williams, on the other hand, could not stop making forehand errors. There were moments--especially toward the end--when a comeback seemed possible; Williams broke Wozniacki the first time she served for the match. But the player who served 20 aces in the fourth round was not the player on the other side of the net from Wozniacki this evening.
Wozniacki moved Williams around the court constantly, making her chase down ball after ball. Almost inevitably, Williams' forehand would then let her down. "Everyone I play always plays the match of the year," Williams said afterward. She also expressed regret over the number of errors she made, and said that there was "no excuse for that."
In the other quarterfinal match played today, Maria Sharapova was able to easily overcome Li Na with a 6-3, 6-0 victory. Li made 41 unforced errors.
In the second round of doubles, Australian Open champions Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova went out to countrywomen Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova. Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci won their quarterfinal match against Ekaterina Makarova and Zheng Jie.
In second round play yesterday, by the way, doubles partners Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova faced each other, with King and partner Monica Nisulescu winning. Shvedova's partner was Galina Voskoboeva. Obviously, the losing team was another Olympic Games preparation pairing, and I, for one, will be glad when doubles can get back to normal.
So Wozniacki got some pop on that serve. I wonder if she has been working on that specifically. Do you think Serena could have been tired from all those aces and just the "revenge" of beating Stosur? I think it was important for her to beat Stosur. But credit goes to Wozniacki for the improved serve and for her nerves in serving out the two sets. She didn't "lose it" after losing the 1st of her two breaks in the second set.
ReplyDeleteInteresting tournament. I kinda of think Venus might beat Radwanska though.
P.S. I feel the same about the doubles teams, Diane. It has messed everything up-all the flow of wins and rankings and just fun watching.
ReplyDeleteI do think Serena was tired, but she has looked a bit tired to me at every tournament she's played since her return to the tour.
ReplyDelete