Dane Caroline Wozniacki cruises under the lights
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Caroline Wozniacki was utterly dominant in her second round match against Arantxa Rus on Thursday evening, sweeping through the final nine games and losing just seven points in the second set on her way to a 6-2, 6-0 victory.
"It's definitely nice to get through fast and move through to the third round," said Wozniacki. "I've been playing quite a few matches lately, so I feel like I'm on a roll and playing well."
Rus, who is perhaps best known for upsetting Kim Clijsters at the French Open this year, has been unable to back up that monumental win, failing to win a main draw match on the WTA Tour since then. However, she showed no signs of nerves in the early stages of the match by breaking Wozniacki in the opening game. With both players lacking a powerful serve, Wozniacki broke back immediately to level the match at 1-1, and there were three more breaks of serve in the next four games.
The critical game of the match came with Wozniacki serving at 4-2. Rus had three break points to bring the match back on serve, but the world No. 82 was unable to convert on any of them. One game later, the Dutch player dumped a pair of backhands into the net to wrap up the opening set.
The second set was one way traffic for Wozniacki, as she swept through without facing a break point or deuce game at any stage. Rus began to get visibly frustrated with the consistency displayed by the world No. 1, overhitting her shots and comitting 11 unforced errors. Serving down 0-5, Rus sent one final backhand long to wrap up the match.
Wozniacki will now play American Vania King in the third round, who upset world No. 27 Jarmila Gajdosova in the second round. King won the women's doubles title at the US Open last year, pairing with Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazhakstan.
"She's definitely getting a lot of balls back," said Wozniacki. "It's important to stay aggressive, but not too aggressive. I need to dictate, but have control over the points."
Match Facts
- Wozniacki hit eight winners to 13 unforced errors.
- Rus hit nine winners to 32 unforced errors.
- Rus only won one point on her second serve in the match.
- The second set took just 19 minutes to complete.
- Rus was competing in the second round of the US Open for the first time in her career.
- Wozniacki has a 17-4 lifetime record at the US Open.
Arthur Ashe Stadium - Women's Singles - 2nd Round
Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) 6 6
Arantxa Rus NED 2 0
Serena Williams dominates Krajicek and moves into third round
In 2010, Venus Williams tried for a US Open title with her sister sidelined. This year, the roles are reversed, as Serena Williams continued her summer comeback Thursday, defeating Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-1.
The win comes one day after Venus removed herself from the main draw, citing a recent diagnosis of Sjogren's Syndrome - an autoimmune disease where white blood cells can damage the vital organs of the body and cause fatigue and joint pain. Serena, who herself has battled medical maladies such as foot lacerations, a hematoma and a pulomary embolism since her last Open appearance in 2009, steamrolled Krajicek - a qualifier - in a tidy 49 minutes to make it two-for-two for her inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in the last 48 hours.
The abrupt announcement shocked many in the tennis world and created a Google search rush on "Sjogren's Syndrome." Yet, despite being concerned as any family member would be, Williams revealed that putting her sister out of her mind "wasn't that difficult."
"I know she's a fighter and she's really strong," Williams said. "She's great. I think she's really happy now that she knows what it is after all this time. I think, if anything, it's gonna help her now to treat it and go forward."
The three-time Open champion channeled the dominant form she displayed in years past, when she was winning titles in 1999, 2002 and 2008. As the crowd in Ashe shouted words of encouragement to the American favorite, Williams fired 10 aces and converted five-of-six break point opportunities.
Krajicek, meanwhile, did not convert her only opportunity to break in the match and committed 18 unforced errors. Very little went right for the 21-year-old journeywoman, making her first main draw appearance since 2007 when she also lost in the second round. The victory was so lopsided that when Krajicek finally won a game, a soaring roar of applause met her modest triumph - it was just one of those days.
"I told her after the match: 'Welcome back,'" said Williams of Krajicek. "I know she's been going through a really tough time, and not to be discouraged - I hope she doesn't because she's played well.
"She qualified here and won a round, and she never gave up today no matter what the score looked like. I thought it was a really tough match. It was good for her and, you know, she's still young. Her whole life is ahead of her."
Williams defeated Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski in the first round, 6-1, 6-1, in her first match since losing in the '09 semifinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Seeded 28th, Williams could be involved in a star-powered clash on Saturday should No. 4 Victoria Azarenka advance over Argentina's Gisela Dulko. The two play later in the day inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.
If it is Azarenka, Williams believes that she will "definitely be the underdog."
"(Azarenka) has been doing everything good," Williams said. "She moves her feet I think better than anyone on tour, to be honest. She's always moving, and that's really enabled her to get ranked high where she is and have such a great year ... I feel like I have nothing to lose in this match if I have to play her."
Match Facts
- Krajicek hit only five winners and had four double faults.
- Williams is no 3-0 in her career vs. Krajicek, last beating her in Roland Garros in 2007, also in straight sets.
- Williams took the first set in just 22 minutes, firing six aces to Krajicek's none.
Arthur Ashe Stadium - Women's Singles - 2nd Round
Michaella Krajicek NED 0 1
Serena Williams USA (28) 6 6
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Serena Williams dominates Krajicek and moves into third round
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