Wozniacki Wins in Toronto; New Haven Tournament Begins
Caroline Wozniacki, the number two player in the world, needed to win two matches in one day to take the title in Toronto. She did, quite easily. In the morning, she outplayed a recently resurgent Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3. Just a few hours later, Wozniacki took to the courts again, ousting an error-prone and emotional Vera Zvonareva. The Dane’s crisp strokes proved too much for the Wimbledon finalist — she won 6-3, 6-2, putting an end to a tournament re-scheduled due to rain.
The question becomes this: Can Wozniacki, who’s going to be seeded first at the US Open with Serena Williams’ withdrawal, take advantage of the field to win her maiden major title? Last year, she made the finals. This year, she’s on fire, winning three titles already. With numerous others hampered by injury, including Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Venus Williams, and possibly last year’s champion Kim Clijsters, the field currently looks like hers for the taking.
In New Haven, the Pilot Pen tournament got underway with a strong effort by the struggling Dinara Safina on the WTA tour. Safina ousted this year’s French Open winner, the third-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, as a wild card. Also victorious: Elena Dementieva over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and the lucky loser Dominika Cibulkova over fan favorite Melanie Oudin.
For the men, wild card James Blake, who’s been struggling on tour with injury this season, dominated Pere Riba 6-0, 6-1. Americans Donald Young and Taylor Dent also advanced: Young won with a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing of Stephane Robert, while Dent needed three sets to beat Eduardo Schwank.
Tournaments Wrap Down and Seeding Shake-ups
Well, the tournaments before Wimbledon’s start finished yesterday with the victors including Justine Henin and Ekaterina Makarova. Henin’s predictable outcome resounds given the new technique she’s taken to use, and speaks highly of her desire to take Wimbledon from Serena and Venus Williams this year. Can she do it? Her results add a great deal of certainty.
Just as Henin’s win was expected, the Russian Makarova surprised all by beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in a compelling 7-6 (5), 6-4 match. The strong effort makes Makarova a player to definitely look out for at Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.
Speaking of Wimbledon, a last minute drop-out include Dinara Safina, whose string of four straight match losses proves she’s a mentally and physically fatigued player. Safina needs and deserves the two weeks off. It’s a sad reality, but one that she can hopefully overcome in the future. Already out of the top ten, Safina, who made it to last year’s semfinals, will continue to see a sharp drop in the rankings.
In her place, Melanie Oudin, the inspirational American becomes a seeded player for the first time at a Grand Slam. Look to Oudin for a good showing at Wimbledon — her other results this year haven’t lived up to the surprise quarterfinal run at the US Open last year. She hasn’t made it past the first round at a major since then. Regardless, I see a stronger result here, where she made it to the fourth round last year. The pressure affected her, explaining the early defeats. I see big things in Oudin’s future, and I get the feeling that there’s another run into the second week of another Grand Slam in her near future. The talent and the belief is obviously there, the only question is the mental game.
Along with Safina, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez also leaves the field, allowing Kateryna Bondarenko into the draw. I didn’t see either as a threat regardless, and it should do little in the grand scheme of things. Too bad for Martinez Sanchez, whose been having a good year thus far, especially at Indian Wells.
Look out for the next post — Wimbledon predictions.
Jankovic Slams Down Sisters on Clay
In two days, Jelena Jankovic beat both Serena Williams and Venus Williams on the red clay of Rome. With a hard fought three-set win over Serena in the semifinals, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), and her easy 6-0, 6-1 win against Venus in the quaters, the Serb joins a short list of players to beat the sisters at the same tournament, including the Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.
With the impressive play from the typically shaky Serb, Jankovic will next face the surprise finalist in Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who defeated the inspired Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. With both players obviously on a roll on the clay of Rome, the final should be a sensational display of talent.
After watching both Jankovic and Martinez Sanchez on the hard courts of the Indian Wells tournament months ago, it is not surprising that both players brought their best games to clay, too. In fact, both are known for their success on the surface. Jankovic has won at Rome in 2007 and 2007 and will be considered the heavy favorite against the Spaniard to win the title.
Regardless of who wins, the question becomes: can Jankovic use the same exceptional skill and desire to take out the sisters yet again at Roland Garros? When it’s a Grand Slam, it’s safe to say that a Williams sister will be in her way. If Jankovic can embody this same player, maybe she will finally win the elusive Grand Slam title.
Nadal Easily Advances; Upsets Ensue at Indian Wells
Rafael Nadal and John Isner raced through their third round matches, while the Serbs Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic needed marathon three-set matches to advance. On the surprise-side, session ten at Indian Wells saw Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka lose, as Israel’s Shahar Peer advanced in three.
In Nadal’s match against Mario Ancic, the Spaniard wowed the crowed with shot after shot, making his established opponent look like a confused country-player. With his powerful top spin forehand, Nadal dominated Ancic with beautifully hit passing shots and curling forehands hit from outside the doubles alley that miraculously clipped corners of the court. In the end, Ancic looked completely baffled, bowing out, 6-2, 6-2. The third seed next faces the American giant, John Isner.
Isner beat friend and fellow Davis Cup partner, Sam Querrey, 7-6(3), 6-4, asserting his rightful place as the second-ranked American in the world. The question remains, can Isner push himself to the max and take down the defending champion, Nadal, in the next round. My prediction: probably not.
Djokovic looked to have an easy match against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first set, but things intensified as Kohlschreiber’s one-handed backhanded and the California heat weighed down on the Serb’s game. Djokovic outlasted Kohlschreiber’s three match points and took the third set tie break to win, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3). Next up is a harder test in Ivan Ljubicic, the twentieth seed.
Another Serb, Jankovic, looked to be all but out of the tournament against her lower-ranked opponent, Sara Errani in her 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 win. For the first set and most of the second, Jankovic would set the point up with one of her beautifully placed down-the-line backhands. However, she continually made unforced errors, allowing Errani to dictate play. In the second set tiebreak, Jankovic was up 6-1, until sloppy play ensued. Jankovic lost the next five points, but eventually took the set and the match.
With Clijsters out, my prediction for a Belgian champion at the 2010 Indian Wells tournament comes to a close. However, there is the exciting possibility of a new winner on the west coast, which is just as powerful a storyline.
Azarenka’s defeat by Martinez Sanchez was a huge upset, showcasing the Spaniard’s beautiful variety, including drop shot returns, finesse volleys, lobs, and well-placed serves. All combined to throw off Azarenka’s powerful baseline game and end her hopes for a big win.
Other matches of note had Israel’s Shahar Peer versus Flavia Pennetta, Vera Zvonareva against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, and Australia’s Sam Stosur meeting Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Peer came back from a difficult loss in the second set to take a commanding win in the third set, beating the Italian, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1. In the other match, 2009 champion Zvonareva put a stop to the Latvian’s strong run 6-2, 6-3, while Stosur out-hit the recent titlist, Pavlyuchenkova, in a lopsided, 6-3, 6-0.
