Perhaps from now on, the world "Italian" should always have the adjective "fighting" in front of it. Yesterday, it was Francesca Schiavone who fought her way back from a near-loss; today, it was her friend and countrywoman, Flavia Pennetta. The 26th seed had to fight more than a strong opponent, however. During the first set, Pennetta looked a bit woozy. When the first set was over, it became evident that she was ill. She grew pale, her eyes glazed over, she wasn't moving steadily, and she was pouring sweat.
Pennetta won that first set against Peng Shuai 6-4. Surely she could hang in for the second--or could she? Winning the first one wasn't easy: Peng seemed to be all over the court, getting back everything Pennetta gave her. When she served for it at 5-4, Pennetta faced three break points, two of which she saved with aces.
In the second set, no one held until the fifth game. By this time, Pennetta's illness was evident every moment. At 2-3, down 15-40, though, the (fighting) Italian found a way to hold. She was breathing heavily and dripping with sweat. But suddenly Peng was serving for the set at 5-3. Pennetta broke, then served for the match at 6-5. She soon received a warning from the chair umpire because she took too much time between points. Because time passes quickly when you're dry-heaving against the wall in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Pennetta yelled and gave the umpire a sharp "I'm trying to vomit over here!" look.
Pennetta then foot-faulted, which led to a double fault, which led to a break of serve. The tiebreak began, and Pennetta went for some more wall-slumping dry heaves. Throughout this display, Peng remained calm, and efficiently went up 5-0 in the tiebreak. It didn't look like there was any way the Italian could play a third set, so Peng appeared to be two points from a match victory.
But then Pennetta made her first point in the tiebreak. After that, she hit an ace. She prevailed when Peng had set points. On her fourth one, Peng saw an overhead she had hit come back from Pennetta's racquet and whiz past her. When the tiebreak reached 6-all, the crowd went crazy. And then, just like that, Pennetta won it, 8-6, when Peng tried to hit a drop volley that did not go over the net.
The occasion must have been a terrible one for Peng; for Pennetta, it was a scene more or less revisited. In 2009, she saved six match points against Vera Zvonareva in the round of 16 by going on a tear and hitting consecutive winners as Zvonareva went to melted down. Pennetta won that match, too.
In the quarterfinals, Pennetta will play unseeded Angelique Kerber, who defeated Monica Niculescu--also unseeded--6-4, 6-3.
After the match, Pennetta explained that her on-court illness was a reaction to the humidity. The weather in Flushing Meadows became suddenly humid today, which caused trouble for several players.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Round of 16 play begins on Sunday
I like the round of 16. There are enough matches to make for constant viewing, and the stakes have become higher. Also, there are usually some "surprise" players involved, and, for me, that makes things more interesting. Here is the round of 16--or fourth round, if you will--draw for September 4:
Monica Niculescu vs. Angelique Kerber: Here are two unseeded players with a chance to get to the quarterfinals of a major tournament. Niculescu ran over 27th seed Lucie Safarova to get to the round of 16, and she also defeated a worthy opponent in countrywoman Alexandra Dulgheru. Niculescu doesn't play like Kerber; an argument can be made that she doesn't play like anyone. Kerber will need to remain stready and be prepared to run forward and scoop balls.
Peng Shuai vs. Flavia Pennetta: Peng is having a wonderful season--if you don't count her chronic hip problems. She can be a really accurate and relentless returner of serve. Tomorrow, she'll be up against a determined, creative fighter who, when her serve is on, is very dangerous.
Maria Kirilenko vs. Sam Stosur: It's no secret that I really enjoy watching Kirilenko play. She's a great thinker on the court, and she knows her way around the net. When her serve is on, she can be hard to beat. Kirilenko, the 25th seed, will be playing a woman who is considered one of the best servers on the tour. Stosur has looked very strong at this U.S. Open. Kirilenko's all-court play could make the 9th seed uncomfortable--or Stosur could use her serve to cruise through the match.
Sabine Lisicki vs. Vera Zvonareva: This is the night match, and it should be. Zvonareva, the 2nd seed, was the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open. Lisicki, the 22nd seed, won the new Texas Tennis Open just before she came to New York. She had straight-set wins in the first and third rounds, and received a second-round walkover from Venus Williams.
Lisicki is a flashy player who tends to live by her serve, forehand and drop shot. When she's good, she's very, very good, and she wins with such seeming ease that you wonder how she did it. But Lisicki has also had an abundance of illness and injury issues, and it's taken her a long time to get back to her 2009 form. While trying to get to that form, she fell victim to the double-fault syndrome.
Zvonareva doesn't have Lisicki's serve, but her serve is not a problem, either. She has a formidable backhand, which should make for an interesting contrast to her opponent's forehand. And when it comes to injury and setbacks, the Russian is a true veteran--she's been there. Zvonareva does everything well, and she has beaten Lisicki in all three of their prior matches. One of those matches took place in the second round of last year's U.S. Open. Zvonareva also defeated Lisicki at the 2011 French Open, and in this summer's Carlsbad tournament.
Monica Niculescu vs. Angelique Kerber: Here are two unseeded players with a chance to get to the quarterfinals of a major tournament. Niculescu ran over 27th seed Lucie Safarova to get to the round of 16, and she also defeated a worthy opponent in countrywoman Alexandra Dulgheru. Niculescu doesn't play like Kerber; an argument can be made that she doesn't play like anyone. Kerber will need to remain stready and be prepared to run forward and scoop balls.
Peng Shuai vs. Flavia Pennetta: Peng is having a wonderful season--if you don't count her chronic hip problems. She can be a really accurate and relentless returner of serve. Tomorrow, she'll be up against a determined, creative fighter who, when her serve is on, is very dangerous.
Maria Kirilenko vs. Sam Stosur: It's no secret that I really enjoy watching Kirilenko play. She's a great thinker on the court, and she knows her way around the net. When her serve is on, she can be hard to beat. Kirilenko, the 25th seed, will be playing a woman who is considered one of the best servers on the tour. Stosur has looked very strong at this U.S. Open. Kirilenko's all-court play could make the 9th seed uncomfortable--or Stosur could use her serve to cruise through the match.
Sabine Lisicki vs. Vera Zvonareva: This is the night match, and it should be. Zvonareva, the 2nd seed, was the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open. Lisicki, the 22nd seed, won the new Texas Tennis Open just before she came to New York. She had straight-set wins in the first and third rounds, and received a second-round walkover from Venus Williams.
Lisicki is a flashy player who tends to live by her serve, forehand and drop shot. When she's good, she's very, very good, and she wins with such seeming ease that you wonder how she did it. But Lisicki has also had an abundance of illness and injury issues, and it's taken her a long time to get back to her 2009 form. While trying to get to that form, she fell victim to the double-fault syndrome.
Zvonareva doesn't have Lisicki's serve, but her serve is not a problem, either. She has a formidable backhand, which should make for an interesting contrast to her opponent's forehand. And when it comes to injury and setbacks, the Russian is a true veteran--she's been there. Zvonareva does everything well, and she has beaten Lisicki in all three of their prior matches. One of those matches took place in the second round of last year's U.S. Open. Zvonareva also defeated Lisicki at the 2011 French Open, and in this summer's Carlsbad tournament.
Azarenka out of U.S. Open
When Serena Williams was given the 28th seed at the U.S. Open, it meant that someone important in the draw was going to run into her in the first week. That "someone" turned out to be 4th seed Victoria Azarenka, and today's third round match guaranteed that one of the two stars would be leaving New York early. Not surprisingly, it's Azarenka who is out of the tournament, but the story is a bit more interesting than the headline.
In the first set, Williams could do no wrong. Her serves and her returns looked so effortlessly struck and were so on-target--if you didn't know better--you would have thought that Azarenka was just some random soul whose luck was bad enough to get her blasted out of the tournament by the tour's greatest player. Azarenka didn't win a game in that set, but I had a feeling the second set would be different. Azarenka is no random bit part player, and anyway, no one--not even Serena Williams--can maintain that high a level for more than one set.
The 4th seed came into the second set a different player, and Williams--though she still looked great--became just the tiniest bit vulnerable. A tiny bit was all Azarenka needed. She began to put more on her first serve, and she also went for more on the defensive side. If Azarenka had a better second serve, there most likely would have been a third set. At 3-5 in the second set, the 4th seed saved three match points on her own serve. In the next game, she saved another match point, and she broke Williams when she caught a netcord ball and passed Williams with her return.
The set went to a tiebreak, which Williams won 7-5. Of course, it had to be a difficult loss for Azarenka, but the good part is that she fought so hard in the second set, and she made Williams really work for the victory. It was a high quality set, very exciting, and worth the publicity that preceded it.
In the first set, Williams could do no wrong. Her serves and her returns looked so effortlessly struck and were so on-target--if you didn't know better--you would have thought that Azarenka was just some random soul whose luck was bad enough to get her blasted out of the tournament by the tour's greatest player. Azarenka didn't win a game in that set, but I had a feeling the second set would be different. Azarenka is no random bit part player, and anyway, no one--not even Serena Williams--can maintain that high a level for more than one set.
The 4th seed came into the second set a different player, and Williams--though she still looked great--became just the tiniest bit vulnerable. A tiny bit was all Azarenka needed. She began to put more on her first serve, and she also went for more on the defensive side. If Azarenka had a better second serve, there most likely would have been a third set. At 3-5 in the second set, the 4th seed saved three match points on her own serve. In the next game, she saved another match point, and she broke Williams when she caught a netcord ball and passed Williams with her return.
The set went to a tiebreak, which Williams won 7-5. Of course, it had to be a difficult loss for Azarenka, but the good part is that she fought so hard in the second set, and she made Williams really work for the victory. It was a high quality set, very exciting, and worth the publicity that preceded it.
Schiavone comes back from the brink
I miss Thrill Ride, but while she's off the tour, Francesca Schiavone is doing a more than adequate job of taking on her role. In what has become her usual fashion, the fighting Italian made a huge comeback today in the third round of the U.S. Open. Schiavone had trouble breathing, she had trouble hitting the ball, and she had trouble with Chanelle Scheepers, a savvy opponent who served for the match at 7-5, 5-4. Scheepers got a bit tight at the big moment, however, throwing in a double fault. Schiavone broke her (you knew she would), and then took control of the rest of the match, winning it 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
At the end of the second set, the 7th seed received treatment for her pain. She was advised by the trainer to breathe more openly in order to avoid further muscle injury. She returned fresh for the last set and looked much more like the Schiavone who thrills the crowds. The bad news is that it took her just under three hours to get the job done.
Another player dealing with injury, Andrea Petkovic, survived to dance again at the end of her match against 18th seed Roberta Vinci. The 10th seed said after the match that she put extra spin on the ball to frustrate Vinci. It worked; Dance Party won 6-4, 6-0.
And then there was Vania King, who had some problems with her thigh during her match against top seed Caroline Wozniacki. She also made 39 unforced errors, and was defeated 6-2, 6-4. 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded 15th, defeated Akgul Amanmuradova in 6-4. 6-2, and Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-0, 6-4.
17th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who had beaten Jelena Jankovic both times they had competed, scored victory number three today when she defeated the 11th seed 6-4, 6-4. Jankovic looked sluggish and a little lost on the court, and was bested by Pavlyuchenkova's precise shot-making. In a first set game, Jankovic failed to convert five break points, and that game pretty much summed up how much the 11th seed was struggling to get anything going in this match.
And finally, the impressive run of Sloane Stephens came to an end when she came up against a rather in-form Ana Ivanovic in the women's night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. I hope that Stephens gets her hands on a copy of the Tennis Channel coverage because commentator Martina Navratilova did a really good job of deconstructing the young player's game and suggesting tweaks and additions. The 16th seed was rather shaky with her ball toss tonight, but she played well, and she defeated Stephens 6-3, 6-4. Ivanovic will have to get her serve under better control, however, if she has any hope of competing against Serena Williams in the next round.
At the end of the second set, the 7th seed received treatment for her pain. She was advised by the trainer to breathe more openly in order to avoid further muscle injury. She returned fresh for the last set and looked much more like the Schiavone who thrills the crowds. The bad news is that it took her just under three hours to get the job done.
Another player dealing with injury, Andrea Petkovic, survived to dance again at the end of her match against 18th seed Roberta Vinci. The 10th seed said after the match that she put extra spin on the ball to frustrate Vinci. It worked; Dance Party won 6-4, 6-0.
And then there was Vania King, who had some problems with her thigh during her match against top seed Caroline Wozniacki. She also made 39 unforced errors, and was defeated 6-2, 6-4. 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded 15th, defeated Akgul Amanmuradova in 6-4. 6-2, and Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-0, 6-4.
17th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who had beaten Jelena Jankovic both times they had competed, scored victory number three today when she defeated the 11th seed 6-4, 6-4. Jankovic looked sluggish and a little lost on the court, and was bested by Pavlyuchenkova's precise shot-making. In a first set game, Jankovic failed to convert five break points, and that game pretty much summed up how much the 11th seed was struggling to get anything going in this match.
And finally, the impressive run of Sloane Stephens came to an end when she came up against a rather in-form Ana Ivanovic in the women's night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. I hope that Stephens gets her hands on a copy of the Tennis Channel coverage because commentator Martina Navratilova did a really good job of deconstructing the young player's game and suggesting tweaks and additions. The 16th seed was rather shaky with her ball toss tonight, but she played well, and she defeated Stephens 6-3, 6-4. Ivanovic will have to get her serve under better control, however, if she has any hope of competing against Serena Williams in the next round.
U.S. Open--what they said
Two points in a row for Azarenka must feel like a moral victory.
I used to play well until a certain point, and then just, well, didn't take my chances at all. Now this year with all the experience of the tough matches and all these close key moments that I went through, I'm just calmer. I know what to do in the important moments. Not always. Still happens to me, but I think that happens to everybody. I just have more margin in my game. I play a little bit more spin and I play a little bit safer so then when you get nervous it doesn't affect your game that much.
Against Scheepers Saturday, Schiavone almost lost the match, but she never lost hope.
I think I played really well [in the first set]. I probably should have kept doing those things. If I was in a zone, it didn't last long.
Now, we all know Caroline also had trouble even reaching finals. What are your thoughts about that frame of mind, that it's not a real number 1?
I don't think as a player you should worry about what people say. You know, you're out there competing your hardest and your best. I mean, I can't comment on her, what she feels. I don't think you should worry about what people say.
With all due respect, I was asking you what your thoughts were on that mindset.
Well, I don't care what people say about me, so why should I care what people say about her?
What is the best advice you get from your mysterious new coach?
Move your feet.
You seem to specialize in playing long matches.
No, you say that, not me.
The groundstrokes for Azarenka are the same as Serena's--if you take away the problem of the serve and the returns.
I think I am one of the fittest players on tour. I work really hard and I practice a lot. If I know that I'm tired, I know that the other one is probably almost dying.
Virginia Wade
I used to play well until a certain point, and then just, well, didn't take my chances at all. Now this year with all the experience of the tough matches and all these close key moments that I went through, I'm just calmer. I know what to do in the important moments. Not always. Still happens to me, but I think that happens to everybody. I just have more margin in my game. I play a little bit more spin and I play a little bit safer so then when you get nervous it doesn't affect your game that much.
Andrea Petkovic
Against Scheepers Saturday, Schiavone almost lost the match, but she never lost hope.
Geoff MacDonald
I think I played really well [in the first set]. I probably should have kept doing those things. If I was in a zone, it didn't last long.
Serena Williams
Now, we all know Caroline also had trouble even reaching finals. What are your thoughts about that frame of mind, that it's not a real number 1?
I don't think as a player you should worry about what people say. You know, you're out there competing your hardest and your best. I mean, I can't comment on her, what she feels. I don't think you should worry about what people say.
With all due respect, I was asking you what your thoughts were on that mindset.
Well, I don't care what people say about me, so why should I care what people say about her?
Vania King
What is the best advice you get from your mysterious new coach?
Move your feet.
Caroline Wozniacki
You seem to specialize in playing long matches.
No, you say that, not me.
Francesca Schiavone
The groundstrokes for Azarenka are the same as Serena's--if you take away the problem of the serve and the returns.
Virginia Wade
I think I am one of the fittest players on tour. I work really hard and I practice a lot. If I know that I'm tired, I know that the other one is probably almost dying.
Andrea Petkovic
Top two mixed doubles seeds upset at U.S. Open
Katarina Srebotnik and Daniel Nestor, seeded 2nd in mixed doubles at the U.S. Open, went out in the round today to Irina Falconi and Steve Johnson of the USA. Falconi and Johnson defeated the 2nd seeds 6-4, 3-6, 10-8.
It was a team from the USA that took out the top seeds, also. Melanie Oudin and Jack Sock defeated their countrywoman and -man, Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.
All the seeds in women's doubles won their matches today. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Vera Zvonareva gave a walkover to 5th seeds Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova.
It was a team from the USA that took out the top seeds, also. Melanie Oudin and Jack Sock defeated their countrywoman and -man, Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.
All the seeds in women's doubles won their matches today. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Vera Zvonareva gave a walkover to 5th seeds Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Unseeded team advances to 3rd round of U.S. Open
All of the seeded teams won their matches at the U.S. Open today, but there's also an unseeded team worth mentioning. 17-year-old Jessica Pegula and 15-year-old Taylor Townsend, both from the USA, defeated Jelena Jankovic and Liga Dekmeijere 6-3, 6-3 today in the second round. Pegula and Townsend hardly know each other, and were not scheduled to play together. But when Krista Hardebeck left New York after failing to qualify for the singles draw, Pegula was left without a partner; Townsend then stepped in.
The team's first round victory was perhaps even more impressive: On Wednesday, Pegula and Townsend defeated Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja Rosolska. In the third round, they will play 3rd seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova. King and Shvedova won the U.S. Open in 2010.
The team's first round victory was perhaps even more impressive: On Wednesday, Pegula and Townsend defeated Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja Rosolska. In the third round, they will play 3rd seeds Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova. King and Shvedova won the U.S. Open in 2010.
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