U.S. Open--what they said

...I'm enjoying playing tough matches, but then those tough moments, I really feel like that's where I'm able to produce my best tennis.

Vera Zvonareva

We're just laughing on court half the time. There's no pressure or expectations on us when we go out there.

Jessica Pegula

When she double faulted to begin the final--  
I was happy.
How much confidence did you take from that?
Well, not too much confidence, but I was happy.

Flavia Pennetta

I just want to have the chance to use the challenge system!

Taylor Townsend

For me, if I want to go all the way, I have to beat anyone on my way. So it doesn't really matter, because, you know, there are so many tough opponents right now. You cannot just talk about Venus right now or Serena. There is Maria, there is Caroline, there is, I don't know, Francesca, there is, I don't know, so many. Just name them. I wish all of them to be playing. That creates a great competition, and in the end, whoever is going to win is going to be champion. I think that's great to see.

Vera Zvonareva

It's disappointing.  It's disappointing to lose in the middle of nowhere. It's disappointing to lose in New York. Losing isn't fun for anyone because we work to win. We don't work to try to lose. So when we're faced with a position where, you know, we can win and we didn't in the end, it's tough.  But it's all right.

Maria Sharapova

Obviously the volleys are getting better with me playing doubles. So I'm feeling more and more comfortable at the net.

Sabine Lisicki

Your coach...looked like he was having a heart attack at the end of that third set.
He's always having a heart attack with me. For him, it's normal.

Flavia Pennetta

Stosur advances to U.S. Open round of 16

It took her three sets, three hours and sixteen minutes, and five match points, but 9th seed Sam Stosur advanced to the round of 16 at the U.S. Open tonight when she defeated 24th seed Nadia Petrova 7-6, 6-7, 7-5. This match had a bit of everything--pressure-induced errors, beautiful winners, frustration, humor--and lots of tension. The third set was possibly the best set of tennis seen at the Open so far.

Petrova played from behind throughout much of the match, but she saved two match points in the second set, and found her way to dictating play. The momentum swung a lot during the final set, and Petrova saved a third match point with a dramatic overhead, then saved another. It looked as though a third tiebreak was coming, but Stosur was simply too strong at the end, and she broke Petrova to finally bring an end to the proceedings.

Stosur's opponent in the round of 16 will be 25th seed Maria Kirilenko, who put on a show of her very best tennis tonight during the featured match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Kirilenko defeated home favorite Christina McHale 6-2, 6-3 with a combination of excellent serving, steady hitting and her graceful signature net play. When Kirilenko is in form, she can bring just about everything to a match, as she did tonight. She advances to the U.S. Open round of 16 for the first time in her career.

2nd seed Vera Zvonareva had a fairly smooth go of it for a set and a half this morning, but then Anabel Medina Garrigues saw and opening and took it. However, Zvonareva defeated the 30th seed 6-4, 7-5. She will play Sabine Lisicki in the next round. Lisicki ran over Irina Falconi, 6-0, 6-1, and  gave a stylish ending to the match with a drop shot. Lisicki will compete against Zvonareva in the round of 16. Last year, Zvonarea defeated the German player in the second round.

19th seed Julia Goerges hurt her back during her match against Peng Shuai. Peng beat her 6-4, 7-6, but the match will be remembered by spectators for Goerges' saving four match points at 5-6 in the second set. She could hardly twist her torso, but she fought with ferocity to stay in the match. 13th seed Peng's next opponent will be Flavia Pennetta.

There were two other matches today. Angelique Kerber defeated Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 6-1, and Monica Niculescu upset 27th seed Lucie Safarova 6-0, 6-1. This is a really surprising scoreline, and it's safe to say that the match was not what spectators were expecting. Niculescu had an average first serve speed of 72 mph, she made four unforced errors, and she hit five winners. Almost everything she did flummoxed Safarova. The Romanian player gave Safarova no chance to develop any rhythm, as she repeatedly hit shots that had Safarova scrambling forward. For her part, the Czech player hit five winners and made nineteen unforced errors. She never saw a break opportunity.

Niculescu will play Kerber in the next round.

Pennetta upsets Sharapova at U.S. Open

Flavia Pennetta's season wasn't too good after she injured her shoulder, but her performance at Wimbledon showed that she can still be fiercely competitive and quite creative on the court. Today, she brought her Queen of Fed Cup persona to Arthur Ashe Stadium and upset 3rd seed Maria Sharapova in the third round of the U.S. Open.

Sharapova made it easier for Pennetta. She made 60 unforced errors, and double-faulted twelve times. 

Pennetta went up 4-0 in the first set, but Sharapova broke her, then broke her again, to even the score. But then the 3rd seed had an error-filled game that gave Pennetta an opportunity to serve for the first set; the Italian took it on her first set point.

The second set was, in many ways, a mirror image of the first: Sharapova won three straight games, but then there were four consecutive breaks. Sharapova served for the set at 5-3 after Pennetta double-faulted twice in a row. Sharapova then won the set on her first set point.

The third set lasted exactly an hour, and it began with tension. Sharapova had three break point chances, but Pennetta held. Pennetta then broke the 3rd seed, but it didn't look like she would consolidate that break. Again, however, the Italian saved three break points. This was classic Fed Cup Flavia, but across the net was one of the biggest fighters on the tour, and serious tennis observers knew there was more to come. 

At 4-1, Pennetta got tight and lost her serve after she delivered a poorly-hit drop shot and followed it with a forehand error. Soon--and not surprisingly--it was 4-all. Serving at 4-5, however, Sharapova hit two consecutive double faults, and with Sharapova at 0-30, Pennetta hit a deadly forehand, then struck a backhand down the line to win the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Until today, Sharapova had won every three-set match she had played this season--twelve in all. Pennetta, seeded 26th at the tournament, has made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on two previous occasions. To get there again, she will have to defeat Peng Shuai, who won over Julia Goerges today.

Sharapova, who won the tournament in 2006, was upset in the third round the next year by Agnieszka Radwanska. She withdrew from the 2008 U.S. Open because of a shoulder injury, and in 2009, she was a third round victim of Melanie Oudin, who beat four notable Russians in a row. Sharapova made 60 unforced  errors in that match, also. Last year, Sharapova was defeated in the round of 16 by Caroline Wozniacki. 

Sharapova's  rotator cuff injury was not diagnosed in a timely manner, and she played for some time with an injured shoulder. She then had to undergo rehab twice, and--since her return to the tour--her once outstanding first and second serves have become problematic for her. As the accuracy of her serve has declined, so, it appears, has her confidence during matches, and she is now much more prone to make unforced errors, especially with her forehand. Earlier this season, she made it to the Wimbledon final, but was beaten in straight sets by Petra Kvitova. 

Passing shots

Forty years ago today, Chris Evert won her first U.S. Open match. She made it to the semifinals in that first tournament, and she would go on to win 101 more matches at the Open. Evert won the championship six times; four of those victories were consecutive.

When the new rankings are published, Sloane Stephens will be in the top 100 for the first time.

After Andy Roddick pointed out that it doesn't take a lot of mental agility to be a tennis commentator, Mary Joe Fernandez described Roddick as "somewhat disrespectful." I think perhaps "disrespectful" would be almost never pronouncing players' names correctly and sometimes pretending that one of the competitors on the court doesn't even exist.

Be sure to read Colette Lewis's preview of U.S. Open junior competition.

Venus Williams has enrolled at Indiana University East to study business.

Here is a short film that showcases photographer Dewey Nicks' year-long "Strong is Beautiful" (Silent is Sublime) campaign for the WTA. I have mixed feelings about the campaign, as I've mentioned before, but I think this film is worth watching for Kim Clijsters alone.

Friday cat blogging--Long night match edition

"I never got any answers"

Several years ago, a friend I hadn't seen in a while wrote to tell me she'd been sick for some time, but she had to go to many different doctors for months before she could get a diagnosis. In the first paragraph of her letter, she had described her symptoms, and it seemed pretty obvious to me what was wrong with her.

I reached the second paragraph, and discovered that I was right, and then I wondered: If I knew her diagnosis that quickly, why didn't all those doctors? My friend had a fairly common autoimmune disease, and autoimmune diseases affect mostly women.

"I'd go to doctors, but I never got any answers," Venus Williams told New York Times writer Karen Crouse yesterday, in an interview about her withdrawal from the U.S. Open. Williams has Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that has affected her for years. In the Times article, Crouse quotes Dr. Frederick Vivino, who says that: "Because they look a lot better than they feel, some of our patients have been told they're hypochrondriacs or they're depressed or they are experiencing these symptoms due to menopause, and they just accept that. That's why people go years before being treated for autoimmune diseases."

As a psychotherapist, I have heard this story many times. Some things never change. Autoimmune disorders and disorders that mimic autoimmune disorders affect women by the thousands, yet there is still a shortage of attention to symptoms and accuracy regarding diagnosis provided by medical professionals. It's the 21st Century, yet much of the time, when women are in pain, it's still assumed that the problem is "emotional."

Williams has suffered with swollen and painful joints, extreme fatigue, swollen hands, and respiratory difficulty for a long time. Considering the pain and discomfort she has lived with for so many years, it's no less than amazing that she has had an elite tennis career. She told Crouse that she has not had anything to help her "but my own will." That is one impressive will, but Williams--like so many other others with autoimmune diseases--should not have suffered alone for so long.

Jankovic plays through back injury

Every once in a while, Jelena Jankovic's back goes out on her during a match. It happened today, while she played Jelena Dokic in the second round of the U.S. Open. Jankovic had treatment for the injury, but it was obvious that her movement was hampered. She also had some help from her opponent, who double-faulted fifteen times. Jankovic won in straight sets, and she has a day to get some rest and some more treatment, but the recurrence of the injury is troublesome.

It was a pity that there wasn't more of a crowd around to watch Francesca Schiavone this morning. The 7th seed put on a serving show, and defeated Mirjana Lucic 6-1, 6-1. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki very easily defeated Arantxa Rus in the night match, and 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Elena Baltacha. 31st seed Kaia Kanepi went out to Silvia Soler-Espinosa, and Carla Suarez Navarro (from whom we haven't heard in a while) defeated Simona Halep, the player who upset Li Na.

There was a big comeback today, too. Down a set and 0-3, Andrea Petkovic won seven straight games and eventually prevailed over Zheng Jie. It was a really good match, and it gave us even more evidence that Petkovic has made a lot of progress in the mental part of her tennis. She's dealing with a meniscus tear right now, and reports that--while the pain is occurring less frequently--it takes her by surprise and makes her afraid to move sometimes.