The top 2 players in the world made it through to the US Open final; a repeat of last year.
(Rank/Seed)
1/1 Williams beat (6/5) Li 60 63 in a match that looked easier than it was. Serena was content to stay in the points throughout the match, winning 24 straight games from her 4th round match through to her 60 10 lead. She was only broken once in the third game of the second set and even though she was nervous towards the end, her victory was never in doubt. Li in contrast was a bundle of nerves, missing her forehand time and time again. Even though she took a 2-1 40-0 lead in the second set, 3 errant backhands proved costly. Though she saved 6 match points in the eighth to prolong the match with some of her vintage best, she just couldn't take advantage of a less than spectacular Serena on the day. Williams now leads the head to 9-1!
2/2 Azarenka came through a scrappy 64 62 match against (83/-) Pennetta. It was a match of many service breaks as both players struggled with the wind behind them. Azarenka held just twice in the 1st set and Pennetta once as each time the number two went ahead, Pennetta clawed her way back. The set ended after a long game where Azarenka finally converted her 6th set point after Pennetta had made some courageous winners. The second set quickly got away from Pennetta who fell 1-4 behind and even though, as predictable, Pennetta broke back, she couldn't hold her own serve. In terms of the final, Azarenka really must sort out her serve, which was woeful at times and cut out the lob drop shots!
Showing posts with label Pennetta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pennetta. Show all posts
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Thursday, 5 September 2013
US Open final prediction
These are my predictions for the final.
Williams will edge Li in two close sets. She dominates the head to head 8-1 and often beats Li in very close matches, just as in their Cincinnati semi final from a few weeks ago. Williams has won 6 out of 7 US Open semi finals and 20 of 23 in all majors! Li is 3-1 in all majors.
Azarenka will beat Pennetta, but maybe in 3 sets. The head to head is 1-1, but they haven't played since Dubai 2011 and both have changed so much since then. Azarenka may start slowly, but will use her experience to come back having gone 3-3 in her previous major semis. Pennetta in contrast hasn't played one before, but hasn't dropped a set yet. Expect plenty of service breaks!
Final prediction: Williams VS Azarenka, I hope!
Williams will edge Li in two close sets. She dominates the head to head 8-1 and often beats Li in very close matches, just as in their Cincinnati semi final from a few weeks ago. Williams has won 6 out of 7 US Open semi finals and 20 of 23 in all majors! Li is 3-1 in all majors.
Azarenka will beat Pennetta, but maybe in 3 sets. The head to head is 1-1, but they haven't played since Dubai 2011 and both have changed so much since then. Azarenka may start slowly, but will use her experience to come back having gone 3-3 in her previous major semis. Pennetta in contrast hasn't played one before, but hasn't dropped a set yet. Expect plenty of service breaks!
Final prediction: Williams VS Azarenka, I hope!
Serena & Azarenka move one step closer
The quarter finals went well for the top players with the 3 top 10 players progressing. The semi finals feature three 30+ players; only the 2nd time that's happened in an open era Grand Slam!
(Rank/Seed)
1/1 Williams was unstoppable against (20/18) Suarez Navarro, crushing her 60 60! It was a horrible 25th birthday present for the Spaniard who couldn't get into the match in tough windy conditions, hitting only 3 winners. In contrast, Serena was the epitome of calm, hitting 20 winners to just 9 unforced errors in beating Suarez Navarro for the 3rd time in as many meetings; winning at least 1 set to love in each meeting! Serena moves through to her 8th US Open semi final, going 6-1 in her first 7!
2/2 Azarenka played her best match in a long time, beating (48/-) Hantuchova 62 63. In general, Hantuchova made too many loose errors and didn't serve as well as she had done throughout the tournament. Azarenka was good under pressure, despite being 0-2 down in the second set. She hit 19 winners, including some fine drop shots to only 15 unforced errors and dropped serve only twice. With the win, she edged the career head to head 3-2 and moved into her 2nd US Open semi final, winning last year's.
6/5 Li became the first Chinese US Open semi finalist, edging (25/24) Makarova 64 67(5) 62 for as many wins in 4 meetings. Li started the stronger, taking a 64 3-1 lead before being pegged back. She admitted that nerves struck her when leading 3-0 and 4-2 in the tiebreak, but she remained composed in the third, hitting 14 of her 44 winners and only 5 of her 42 unforced errors to put the dangerous lefty away.
83/- Pennetta continued her brilliantly unprecedented march through the tournament, reaching her 1st Grand Slam semi final with a 64 61 win over close friend (13/10) Vinci. She hit 23 winners to subdue her tenacious compatriot, despite seeing an early break lead dissipate. Overall, it was her 5th win in 9 meetings with Vinci as she continued her straight sets march through her best tournament since her wrist surgery in 2012 and of her career.
(Rank/Seed)
1/1 Williams was unstoppable against (20/18) Suarez Navarro, crushing her 60 60! It was a horrible 25th birthday present for the Spaniard who couldn't get into the match in tough windy conditions, hitting only 3 winners. In contrast, Serena was the epitome of calm, hitting 20 winners to just 9 unforced errors in beating Suarez Navarro for the 3rd time in as many meetings; winning at least 1 set to love in each meeting! Serena moves through to her 8th US Open semi final, going 6-1 in her first 7!
2/2 Azarenka played her best match in a long time, beating (48/-) Hantuchova 62 63. In general, Hantuchova made too many loose errors and didn't serve as well as she had done throughout the tournament. Azarenka was good under pressure, despite being 0-2 down in the second set. She hit 19 winners, including some fine drop shots to only 15 unforced errors and dropped serve only twice. With the win, she edged the career head to head 3-2 and moved into her 2nd US Open semi final, winning last year's.
6/5 Li became the first Chinese US Open semi finalist, edging (25/24) Makarova 64 67(5) 62 for as many wins in 4 meetings. Li started the stronger, taking a 64 3-1 lead before being pegged back. She admitted that nerves struck her when leading 3-0 and 4-2 in the tiebreak, but she remained composed in the third, hitting 14 of her 44 winners and only 5 of her 42 unforced errors to put the dangerous lefty away.
83/- Pennetta continued her brilliantly unprecedented march through the tournament, reaching her 1st Grand Slam semi final with a 64 61 win over close friend (13/10) Vinci. She hit 23 winners to subdue her tenacious compatriot, despite seeing an early break lead dissipate. Overall, it was her 5th win in 9 meetings with Vinci as she continued her straight sets march through her best tournament since her wrist surgery in 2012 and of her career.
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Radwanska hits stumbling block, again
The 4th round wrapped up and more big seeds fell by the wayside. I only guessed two right before the tournament began, unsurprisingly Williams and Azarenka!
(Rank/Seed)
1/1 Williams handled the most hyped match of the tournament thus far, beating (16/15) Stephens 64 61. As expected, Williams was focused from the outset and looked in the mood for revenge. The first set was a real struggle, whereby Williams was often the one on the defence. Stephens battled back from a break down to level the set but ultimately didn't play as well as Serena on the big points.
2/2 Azarenka was forced once again to fight back from a set down to beat (15/13) Ivanovic 46 63 64 in a rain postponed match. Throughout the match, Victoria struggled to find her range against the hit and miss style of her opponent. In the end, Ivanovic's 42 unforced errors helped Azarenka break her serve 9 times, which contributed to her downfall.
4/3 Radwanska failed for a 4th time to go beyond the 4th round at the US Open, as (25/24)Makarova scored a 64 64 win; her 1st win in 4 meetings with the Pole. Radwanska was guilty of complacency in the 1st set as she lost 8 games from 4-0 up, to trail 46 0-2. As always, the dangerous left handed was dominant as soon as she had shrugged off the nerves, reaching her 2nd major quarter final of the year. For Radwanska, it's the only major in which she hasn't reached the quarters this year.
6/5 Li was ruthless against (12/9) Jankovic, breaking her opponents serve on all 7 opportunities to win 63 60 under the lights.
20/18 Suarez Navarro put everything on the line to edge (9/8) Kerber 46 63 76(3), having initially led 4-2 in the 1st set and served for the match at 5-4. She is the 1st Spaniard to reach the quarters here since 1998, whilst Kerber has now failed to reach any major quarter final since Wimbledon 2012!
Elsewhere, (13/10) Vinci beat the rain and a 1-4 deficit to end the run of qualifier Giorgi 64 62, moving through to her 2nd straight quarter final here. Pennetta defeated the red hot (19/21) Halep 62 76(3) for her 3rd win in as many attempts to move through to her 4th quarter final here. Hantuchova ended the run of wildcard Riske 63 57 62, hitting 15 aces to move into her 1st major quarter final since 2008; her 1st in New York since 2002!
(Rank/Seed)
1/1 Williams handled the most hyped match of the tournament thus far, beating (16/15) Stephens 64 61. As expected, Williams was focused from the outset and looked in the mood for revenge. The first set was a real struggle, whereby Williams was often the one on the defence. Stephens battled back from a break down to level the set but ultimately didn't play as well as Serena on the big points.
2/2 Azarenka was forced once again to fight back from a set down to beat (15/13) Ivanovic 46 63 64 in a rain postponed match. Throughout the match, Victoria struggled to find her range against the hit and miss style of her opponent. In the end, Ivanovic's 42 unforced errors helped Azarenka break her serve 9 times, which contributed to her downfall.
4/3 Radwanska failed for a 4th time to go beyond the 4th round at the US Open, as (25/24)Makarova scored a 64 64 win; her 1st win in 4 meetings with the Pole. Radwanska was guilty of complacency in the 1st set as she lost 8 games from 4-0 up, to trail 46 0-2. As always, the dangerous left handed was dominant as soon as she had shrugged off the nerves, reaching her 2nd major quarter final of the year. For Radwanska, it's the only major in which she hasn't reached the quarters this year.
6/5 Li was ruthless against (12/9) Jankovic, breaking her opponents serve on all 7 opportunities to win 63 60 under the lights.
20/18 Suarez Navarro put everything on the line to edge (9/8) Kerber 46 63 76(3), having initially led 4-2 in the 1st set and served for the match at 5-4. She is the 1st Spaniard to reach the quarters here since 1998, whilst Kerber has now failed to reach any major quarter final since Wimbledon 2012!
Elsewhere, (13/10) Vinci beat the rain and a 1-4 deficit to end the run of qualifier Giorgi 64 62, moving through to her 2nd straight quarter final here. Pennetta defeated the red hot (19/21) Halep 62 76(3) for her 3rd win in as many attempts to move through to her 4th quarter final here. Hantuchova ended the run of wildcard Riske 63 57 62, hitting 15 aces to move into her 1st major quarter final since 2008; her 1st in New York since 2002!
Thursday, 29 August 2013
Errani exits early, lacking confidence
The second round saw the first major upset as both halves of the draw tried to catch up after rain delays.
(Rank/Seed)
1/1 Williams looked a little tense at times but handled big hitter Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan well in the end, 63 60.
2/2 Azarenka let a 5-0 lead become 5-3 before rolling away with a 63 61 win over Canadian Wozniak in breezy conditions.
4/3 Radwanska had to deal with a late come back from Spain's Torro-Flor before winning 60 75. The Spaniard began hitting her flat forehand well in the 2nd set to come back from 3-5 down.
5/4 Errani was handily beaten by compatriot Pennetta 63 61, no doubt a huge disappointment considering her semi final run last year. Pennetta was the aggressor as she played like her former top 10 self, hitting 33 winners (7 aces) to just 19 errors compared to Errani's 12:18 ratio. She dominated the rallies and broke Errani's serve 6 times to claim a 3rd win in six meetings. Errani later admitted to choking under the pressure of being upgraded to 4th seed after Sharapova's withdrawal and isn't enjoying being on the court at the moment after several sleepless nights. This adds to her poor results this year in the slams and I wish her all the best in reviving the confidence of the clay court season soon!
6/5 Li continued in a business like fashion to beat Sweden's Arvidsson 62 62.
8/6 Wozniacki was steady as always against South African Scheepers, winning 61 62.
9/8 Kerber was at her scrapping best against rising Canadian talent Bouchard, eventually coming through 64 26 63 in a match featuring some phenomenal defence.
10/7 Kvitova had a rare straight sets win over Serbian Jovanovski 62 64.
Notably, Venus Williams went down to Zheng 63 26 76(5) in a thrilling match that had the crowd on their feet. I felt bad for Venus; she recovered from 1-4 15-40 in the 3rd set but was left to rue a rushed and missed backhand volley at 5-5 in the tiebreak. With good health and more matches, she could yet still be a force to be reckoned with in the future at the age of 33.
(Rank/Seed)
1/1 Williams looked a little tense at times but handled big hitter Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan well in the end, 63 60.
2/2 Azarenka let a 5-0 lead become 5-3 before rolling away with a 63 61 win over Canadian Wozniak in breezy conditions.
4/3 Radwanska had to deal with a late come back from Spain's Torro-Flor before winning 60 75. The Spaniard began hitting her flat forehand well in the 2nd set to come back from 3-5 down.
5/4 Errani was handily beaten by compatriot Pennetta 63 61, no doubt a huge disappointment considering her semi final run last year. Pennetta was the aggressor as she played like her former top 10 self, hitting 33 winners (7 aces) to just 19 errors compared to Errani's 12:18 ratio. She dominated the rallies and broke Errani's serve 6 times to claim a 3rd win in six meetings. Errani later admitted to choking under the pressure of being upgraded to 4th seed after Sharapova's withdrawal and isn't enjoying being on the court at the moment after several sleepless nights. This adds to her poor results this year in the slams and I wish her all the best in reviving the confidence of the clay court season soon!
6/5 Li continued in a business like fashion to beat Sweden's Arvidsson 62 62.
8/6 Wozniacki was steady as always against South African Scheepers, winning 61 62.
9/8 Kerber was at her scrapping best against rising Canadian talent Bouchard, eventually coming through 64 26 63 in a match featuring some phenomenal defence.
10/7 Kvitova had a rare straight sets win over Serbian Jovanovski 62 64.
Notably, Venus Williams went down to Zheng 63 26 76(5) in a thrilling match that had the crowd on their feet. I felt bad for Venus; she recovered from 1-4 15-40 in the 3rd set but was left to rue a rushed and missed backhand volley at 5-5 in the tiebreak. With good health and more matches, she could yet still be a force to be reckoned with in the future at the age of 33.
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