Thursday, September 8, 2011
When rain delays two days worth of Week 2 matches, desperate times call for desperate measures. And if that means putting the women's No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki on outlying Court 13 for her quarterfinal against Andrea Petkovic, the show must go on. There was no Hawkeye challenge system, no more than 600 fans watching, and a stray ball even flew over from an adjacent court. Perhaps the last time Wozniacki played in this kind of environment at a Grand Slam, it was in her junior days.
But despite the unusual circumstances and a surging opponent, Wozniacki pulled out a 6-1, 7-6(5) win over the tenacious German.
Petkovic had a difficult time controlling her game from the start, striking countless unforced errors and spraying shots all over the court. Though she would finish the match with 44 unforced errors, the No. 10 seed settled down with a better grasp of the match in the second set, pushing the defensive Wozniacki to go the distance in a second-set tiebreaker.
In just 27 minutes, the top seed put away the first set by using her signature steady defense and capitalizing on Petkovic's errors. The German's opening service game was the only time she held serve that set.
But the second set proved to be a completely different story, as Petkovic found her range and cleaned up her game a bit. A break on the German's serve in the fourth game was won back in the following game to get back on serve and level the set at 3-3. Four more breaks were traded to bring the set to a decisive tiebreak, in which Wozniacki held a lead the whole way through. As Petkovic's errors got the better of her, Wozniacki took a 6-3 lead to reach match point. Petkovic fought off two of those, but was unsuccessful on the third match point, as a shot sailed long to hand the Dane the win.
- Kerber converted 9 of 15 break point opportunities (60%).
- Pennetta was just 16 for 46 (35%) on points won on second serve.
But despite the unusual circumstances and a surging opponent, Wozniacki pulled out a 6-1, 7-6(5) win over the tenacious German.
Petkovic had a difficult time controlling her game from the start, striking countless unforced errors and spraying shots all over the court. Though she would finish the match with 44 unforced errors, the No. 10 seed settled down with a better grasp of the match in the second set, pushing the defensive Wozniacki to go the distance in a second-set tiebreaker.
In just 27 minutes, the top seed put away the first set by using her signature steady defense and capitalizing on Petkovic's errors. The German's opening service game was the only time she held serve that set.
But the second set proved to be a completely different story, as Petkovic found her range and cleaned up her game a bit. A break on the German's serve in the fourth game was won back in the following game to get back on serve and level the set at 3-3. Four more breaks were traded to bring the set to a decisive tiebreak, in which Wozniacki held a lead the whole way through. As Petkovic's errors got the better of her, Wozniacki took a 6-3 lead to reach match point. Petkovic fought off two of those, but was unsuccessful on the third match point, as a shot sailed long to hand the Dane the win.
Unseeded Kerber keeps rolling, knocks off Pennetta to reach semis
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Germany's Angelique Kerber took down No. 26 Flavia Pennetta to continue her dream run in Queens, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Ranked No. 92 in the world, Kerber is the last unseeded player left in either men's or women's singles draw. Sher broke Pennetta to begin the first and second sets and proved to be the more resilient of the two players during their two hour, 14 minute battle. As the contest ended, the Bremen native fell to her knees and collapsed in a moment of joy as the Court 17 crowd colletively cheered for what's arguably the biggest surprise storyline of the tournament.
In the match, Kerber edged Pennetta slightly in total points won - 109 to 102 - and first serve percentage: Kerber was 63 of 107 (59%), while Pennetta was 58 of 104 (56%).
Now No. 9 Sam Stosur, who knocked off the No. 2 seed Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3 earlier in the day on Grandstand, is the only obstacle left in Kerber's way en route to her first Grand Slam final. Having never been ranked higher than No. 45 in singles, Kerber's best Grand Slam event performance heading into the Open was a 2010 third round appearance in Melbourne.
The Aussie and the German will battle Saturday night in one of two semifinal matches - the other semifinal match will see top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki take on three-time Open champion Serena Williams.
Ranked No. 92 in the world, Kerber is the last unseeded player left in either men's or women's singles draw. Sher broke Pennetta to begin the first and second sets and proved to be the more resilient of the two players during their two hour, 14 minute battle. As the contest ended, the Bremen native fell to her knees and collapsed in a moment of joy as the Court 17 crowd colletively cheered for what's arguably the biggest surprise storyline of the tournament.
In the match, Kerber edged Pennetta slightly in total points won - 109 to 102 - and first serve percentage: Kerber was 63 of 107 (59%), while Pennetta was 58 of 104 (56%).
Now No. 9 Sam Stosur, who knocked off the No. 2 seed Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3 earlier in the day on Grandstand, is the only obstacle left in Kerber's way en route to her first Grand Slam final. Having never been ranked higher than No. 45 in singles, Kerber's best Grand Slam event performance heading into the Open was a 2010 third round appearance in Melbourne.
The Aussie and the German will battle Saturday night in one of two semifinal matches - the other semifinal match will see top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki take on three-time Open champion Serena Williams.
Match Facts
- Kerber advanced despite not having a dominant serving performance - for the match, she did not execute an ace.- Kerber converted 9 of 15 break point opportunities (60%).
- Pennetta was just 16 for 46 (35%) on points won on second serve.
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Angelique Kerber GER |  | 6 | 4 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| Flavia Pennetta ITA (26) | 4 | 6 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
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| Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) | | 6 | 77 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Andrea Petkovic GER (10) | 1 | 65 | |||||||||||||||||||
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US OPEN 2011: No. 1 Wozniacki bests Petkovic
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