Jelena Jankovic, speaking of Aravane Rezai
Friday, May 14, 2010
Quote of the day
"To be honest, I've never played a player who hits every ball like that. Some players hit the ball really hard, but no one hits every single ball like that. Doesn't matter if it's a high ball or a low ball. It was tough to read."
Jankovic, Li and Petrova all upset in Madrid quarterfinals
Those of us who were looking forward to another Jelena Jankovic-Venus Williams match this weekend are out of luck. Williams may still go to the Madrid final, but her Serbian rival is out of competition. Aravane Rezai defeated Jankovic 7-5, 6-4 in a sometimes-thrilling match that showcased Rezai's relentlessly big ball-striking. In two sets, the Frenchwoman hit 38 winners, which--on red clay--is quite a number.
The second half of the first set was as wild as it gets. Jankovic saved two set points, one with a netcord ball. She broke Rezai and saved three more set points, then went down 0-30, but held. At 5-all, it became very tense. There were 11 deuces, with Rezai finally converting on the seventh break point. Rezai then took the first set 7-5, on her sixth set point.
There was an exchange of breaks early in the second set, then Rezai broke again. When Jankovic held at love for 3-4, a third set appeared to be in the making. But Rezai never let up, overcoming the 7th seed 6-4, and advancing to the semifinals.
Earlier in the day, Shahar Peer knocked out 13th seed Li Na, who hit 43 winners, but made 78 unforced errors. Peer took the match at 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Both players suffered with nerves, and Li fans got to see more of what makes the Chinese number 1 so inconistent.
A third unseeded player showed the exit to 16th seed Nadia Petrova. Lucie Safarova, who is having a wonderful clay court season, defeated Petrova 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. Petrova hit nine aces.
The only seeded player who won her quarterfinal match was 4th seed Venus Williams, who defeated 8th seed Sam Stosur 6-3, 6-3. Williams served really well, hitting eight aces and producing serving stat percentages of 68 and 55.
Williams, now the favorite to win the title, will play Peer in the semifinals. The more interesting semifinal match, in my opinion, will be the one between Rezai and Safarova.
In doubles, the current hot team--Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta--defeated last season's hot team (and number 2 seeds) Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals. The number 8 seeds will play Serena and Venus Williams in the final. The top-seeded Williams sisters defeated Shahar Peer and Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-2.
The second half of the first set was as wild as it gets. Jankovic saved two set points, one with a netcord ball. She broke Rezai and saved three more set points, then went down 0-30, but held. At 5-all, it became very tense. There were 11 deuces, with Rezai finally converting on the seventh break point. Rezai then took the first set 7-5, on her sixth set point.
There was an exchange of breaks early in the second set, then Rezai broke again. When Jankovic held at love for 3-4, a third set appeared to be in the making. But Rezai never let up, overcoming the 7th seed 6-4, and advancing to the semifinals.
Earlier in the day, Shahar Peer knocked out 13th seed Li Na, who hit 43 winners, but made 78 unforced errors. Peer took the match at 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Both players suffered with nerves, and Li fans got to see more of what makes the Chinese number 1 so inconistent.
A third unseeded player showed the exit to 16th seed Nadia Petrova. Lucie Safarova, who is having a wonderful clay court season, defeated Petrova 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. Petrova hit nine aces.
The only seeded player who won her quarterfinal match was 4th seed Venus Williams, who defeated 8th seed Sam Stosur 6-3, 6-3. Williams served really well, hitting eight aces and producing serving stat percentages of 68 and 55.
Williams, now the favorite to win the title, will play Peer in the semifinals. The more interesting semifinal match, in my opinion, will be the one between Rezai and Safarova.
In doubles, the current hot team--Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta--defeated last season's hot team (and number 2 seeds) Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals. The number 8 seeds will play Serena and Venus Williams in the final. The top-seeded Williams sisters defeated Shahar Peer and Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-2.
Ruano Pascual retires from professional tennis
Doubles star Virginia Ruano Pascual announced her retirement from professional tennis yesterday. She will play through the end of this season.The well-liked Spaniard, who is 36, has enjoyed an outstanding career as a doubles expert on the tour, winning ten majors, most of them with Paola Suarez. Ruano Pascual and Suarez were also the finalists in six majors. Between 2002 and 2004, they reached the finals of nine consecutive majors, and won five of them.
Ruano Pascual won the French Open six times, twice with Anabel Medina Garrigues. She won the U.S. Open three times, and the Australian Open once. She also won the French Open mixed doubles title with Tomas Carbonell in 2001. Ruano Pascual won 32 other tour doubles titles, including one end-of-year championship. Suarez was her partner for most of these victories.Ruano Pascual also won three singles titles, and she won the Olympic silver medal in doubles in both 2004 and 2008.
I once found myself standing in front of Ruano Pascual in an airport line, and I was struck by how beautiful she was. She and close friend Suarez were wildly popular with fans, not only for their tennis but because of their easygoing, good-humored court demeanor. (I once saw Ruano Pascual receive a warning from a chair umpire because she couldn't stop laughing over something her partner had said to her.)
"Vivi," as she is known to her friends, was honored in Madrid yesteday with a farewell ceremony. She has a place in history as one of the tour's greatest doubles players.
Good news--San Diego is back
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has not stopped in San Diego for two years. Consequently, the women have had only four tournaments to play in the U.S. Open Series. But Mercury Insurance has signed on to sponsor the event, which is held at La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California. The Mercury Insurance Open will begin in July 31. Already entered are Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Daniela Hantuchova, and Ana Ivanovic.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Quarterfinal draw set for Madrid
There have been so many upsets in Madrid this week, but today, things went more or less the way one might expect. 7th seed Jelena Jankovic needed just an hour and eight minutes to defeat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-0, 8th seed Sam Stosur defeated Patty Schnyder 7-6, 6-2, and 13th seed Li Na defeated Alona Bondarenko 6-3, 6-4. Shahar Peer had a 7-5, 6-2 victory over wild card Arantxa Parra Santonja, and--in what had to be the match of the day--Aravane Rezai defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 7-6.
Here is the quarterfinal draw:
Nadia Petrova vs. Lucie Safarova: Both women play their best on clay. Both are capable of serving very well, and both are inconsistent, though Safarova is having a fine clay season. I expect a good match.
Aravane Rezai vs. Jelena Jankovic: This would be what is known as the popcorn match, but it probably wouldn't hurt to bring a few sandwiches, too. Jankovic should be able to exploit Rezai's errors; she is the steadier of the two players. But Rezai isn't one to give up, and she is also able to motivate herself at crucial moments.
Sam Stosur vs. Venus Williams: Williams is looking very good this week, and is enjoying her status as the upcoming number 2 player in the world. If each player gets her way, it will be forehand vs. backhand. Both players are good servers, hard hitters and talented volleyers.
Shahar Peer vs. Li Na: In the past, I'd have automatically given this match to Peer, but out of nowhere, Li has become much more comfortable on clay.
Here is the quarterfinal draw:
Nadia Petrova vs. Lucie Safarova: Both women play their best on clay. Both are capable of serving very well, and both are inconsistent, though Safarova is having a fine clay season. I expect a good match.
Aravane Rezai vs. Jelena Jankovic: This would be what is known as the popcorn match, but it probably wouldn't hurt to bring a few sandwiches, too. Jankovic should be able to exploit Rezai's errors; she is the steadier of the two players. But Rezai isn't one to give up, and she is also able to motivate herself at crucial moments.
Sam Stosur vs. Venus Williams: Williams is looking very good this week, and is enjoying her status as the upcoming number 2 player in the world. If each player gets her way, it will be forehand vs. backhand. Both players are good servers, hard hitters and talented volleyers.
Shahar Peer vs. Li Na: In the past, I'd have automatically given this match to Peer, but out of nowhere, Li has become much more comfortable on clay.
Rezai defeats Petkovic in Madrid thriller
I could hardly wait to see the Madrid third round match between Aravane Rezai and Andrea Petkovic; fortunately, for me, it was on Tennis TV at a time I could watch it. My expectations were met when the two big hitters engaged in what turned out to be quite a thriller.
Both Rezai and Petkovic can hit screaming winners, and both are dramatic on the court. And while my preference is to watch more Evert-like players, a bit of drama now and then is good, too. Rezai laid on the drama even more by wearing a black and gold lame outfit, which captured my attention several days ago because--well, how could it not?
Rezai also hit nine double faults, which is another matter altogether, and one which she needs to address.
It took Petkovic a while to get going, and Rezai took a 5-2 lead in the first set. But when the Frenchwoman served for the set at 40-0, she was not able to get a set point, and was broken by a spot-on overhead shot from Petkovic. This moment in the match turned out to be oddly prescient of what was to come later, when matters really became tense.
Petkovic held for 4-5, but then, on her fourth set point, Rezai took the first set 6-4. Both women played really well in the second set, and the drama began right away, when Petkovic was broken in the first, very long, game. She broke back and saved set points to force a tiebreak, in which she went down 1-6. Maybe it was that 5-2, 40-0 game I still had on my mind, or maybe it was just that I know what a fighter Petkovic is, but I had a strong feeling that 6-1 probably didn't mean a lot.
It didn't. Petkovic went on a tear, and saved one match point after another. At 6-3, she engaged Rezai in an amazing rally in which she had to reach--Jankovic style--to unknown places to get back a number of balls, and eventually, her performance paid off when she got an error from Rezai. Petkovic held five set points in the tiebreak, but failed to convert any of them. She saved six match points, but on the seventh, Rezai won the tiebreak 10-8, and the match was hers. Petkovic left the court in tears.
And while I'm talking about this match--shame on the people in the Spanish crowd who applauded when Petkovic double-faulted during the tiebreak. I, too, am a fan of David Ferrer, but the idea of wanting such a high quality match to end so he could get onto the court is an insult to Petkovic, Rezai, and the women's tour. It is also unspeakably rude.
Both Rezai and Petkovic can hit screaming winners, and both are dramatic on the court. And while my preference is to watch more Evert-like players, a bit of drama now and then is good, too. Rezai laid on the drama even more by wearing a black and gold lame outfit, which captured my attention several days ago because--well, how could it not?
Rezai also hit nine double faults, which is another matter altogether, and one which she needs to address.
It took Petkovic a while to get going, and Rezai took a 5-2 lead in the first set. But when the Frenchwoman served for the set at 40-0, she was not able to get a set point, and was broken by a spot-on overhead shot from Petkovic. This moment in the match turned out to be oddly prescient of what was to come later, when matters really became tense.
Petkovic held for 4-5, but then, on her fourth set point, Rezai took the first set 6-4. Both women played really well in the second set, and the drama began right away, when Petkovic was broken in the first, very long, game. She broke back and saved set points to force a tiebreak, in which she went down 1-6. Maybe it was that 5-2, 40-0 game I still had on my mind, or maybe it was just that I know what a fighter Petkovic is, but I had a strong feeling that 6-1 probably didn't mean a lot.
It didn't. Petkovic went on a tear, and saved one match point after another. At 6-3, she engaged Rezai in an amazing rally in which she had to reach--Jankovic style--to unknown places to get back a number of balls, and eventually, her performance paid off when she got an error from Rezai. Petkovic held five set points in the tiebreak, but failed to convert any of them. She saved six match points, but on the seventh, Rezai won the tiebreak 10-8, and the match was hers. Petkovic left the court in tears.
And while I'm talking about this match--shame on the people in the Spanish crowd who applauded when Petkovic double-faulted during the tiebreak. I, too, am a fan of David Ferrer, but the idea of wanting such a high quality match to end so he could get onto the court is an insult to Petkovic, Rezai, and the women's tour. It is also unspeakably rude.
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