Showing posts with label serina williams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label serina williams. Show all posts
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Serena left looking in the mirror
Serena Williams felt she was her own worst enemy as she lost an epic three-setter to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The loss in the French Open quarter-finals on Wednesday dashed her hopes of landing a second Roland Garros title.
Williams, the second seed, will have to wait another year to repeat her title-winning exploits of 2002 after being downed 7-6 (7/3) 5-7 7-5 by seventh seed Kuznetsova on Suzanne Lenglen court.
The American recovered from going a set down to take a 3-1 lead in the decider, but was eventually sunk when Kuznetsova clinched victory on the third of her match points.
While the Russian can look forward to a semi-final against 30th seed Sam Stosur tomorrow, Williams was left to reflect on what might have been, putting the blame for her defeat firmly at her own door.
"In the third set, I had an opportunity and I got really tight. And I pretty much gave it to her," said the 27-year-old.
"It was like I said, 'Here, do you want to go to the semis? Because I don't'. And she was like, 'Okay'.
"I made it hard for myself more than anything. Honestly, I think I lost because of me and not because of anything she did. I don't think that makes it easier."
Williams added it was the first time she had "got tight" since the Australian Open in 2007, a year she went on to win the title at Melbourne Park.
Williams played a poor tie-break to gift Kuznetsova the opening set.
The Russian went 5-3 up in the second but her opponent, a 10-time grand-slam winner, bounced back to win four games on the spin and take the match to a decider.
Kuznetsova finished the stronger of the two as Williams hung on grimly, saving two match points in game 10.
In her next service game, however, she skewed a backhand wide on the first of two more match points for Kuznetsova, 23.
It is the second successive year Kuznetsova has made the semi-finals here, and she was also a runner-up at Roland Garros in 2006 when she lost to Justine Henin.
"It was a very tough match," she said. "I'm very proud that I pushed myself and fought for the third set.
"She's a great champion. I respect her. Neither of us played great today but we both fought hard. I was lucky."
Kuznetsova is the second Russian to make the semi-finals, along with compatriot Dinara Safina, the top seed and title favourite.
She is the only player to defeat Safina on clay this year.
That makes her strong favourite to see off Stosur, the Australian who will be making her first appearance in a grand-slam semi-final.
The 25-year-old is a doubles specialist but she is making a breakthrough campaign in singles, clinching her spot in the last four with a solid 6-1 6-3 win over Romanian teenager Sorana Cirstea, the world number 41.
Stosur broke Cirstea five times in total as the 19-year-old, who had stunned fifth seed Jelena Jankovic in round four, struggled in blustery conditions on Philippe Chatrier court.
"I'm over the moon, happy, excited - every single positive emotion possible," said Stosur, who owns 22 tour titles in doubles.
"The last few years I've had a lot of doubles success, which is great. But this year, I definitely made a conscious effort to make singles a priority and I'm starting to see good rewards for those decisions."
Stosur's previous best display at a Major was a fourth-round appearance at the 2006 Australian Open.
She was struck down with viral meningitis and Lyme disease in the second half of the 2007 season, hospitalising her in Florida, and only made her return in April 2008.
Williams ousted by Kuznetsova
Serena Williams' hopes of landing a second French Open title were dashed as she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals.
The American second seed came back from a set down and saved two match points before eventually folding 7-6 (7/3) 5-7 7-5 after two hours and 47 minutes' action on Suzanne Lenglen court.
Seventh seed Kuznetsova will meet 30th seed Sam Stosur in the semi-finals, the Australian having earlier brushed past teenager Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-3.
Williams, the 2002 champion here, won just two points in the opening three games as she was broken twice to fall 3-0 down, and she quickly found herself 5-3 behind.
The 10-time grand-slam winner upped her intensity when it came to crunch time, winning three successive games for 6-5 but squandering a set point in game 12.
She played a poor tie-break, though, as she slipped 6-1 down and despite saving two set points, Kuznetsova's forehand winner on the run brought her the set.
The Russian started the second set like she did the first, and a lucky net cord earned her an early 3-0 cushion.
Serving for the match at 5-3, Kuznetsova - by now covered in red dust after a heavy fall in the seventh game - choked.
Williams seized the initiative and won four games on the bounce, sealing the set with an ace, to take it to a decider.
She then took a 3-1 lead in the third but Kuznetsova broke back in the sixth game, as a result of a dreadful drop-shot attempt by her opponent, and strode into a 5-4 lead.
The 2004 US Open champion squandered two match points in game 10 with a backhand then forehand long but in Williams' next service game, Kuznetsova clinched victory when the American skewed a backhand wide.
Kuznetsova is the second Russian to make the semi-finals, along with compatriot Dinara Safina, the top seed and title favourite.
She is the only player to defeat Safina on clay this year.
Doubles specialist Stosur had earlier dismissed the unseeded Cirstea in straight sets in a battle between two players making their debuts in a grand-slam quarter-final.
The Australian raced into a 3-0 lead and after her 19-year-old opponent was broken again, Stosur wrapped up the first set at the first time of asking.
World number 41 Cirstea stunned fifth seed Jelena Jankovic in round four but she struggled badly in blustery conditions on Philippe Chatrier court.
The Romanian improved in the second set but was still broken twice as Stosur eased through.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Serena to meet Kuznetsova in quarters
 | |
| She may have looked shaky in her first three matches but Serena Williams shook off her first week blues and looked every inch a title contender in thrashing Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1 6-2 in the fourth round on Monday. In a sterling performance on Philippe Chatrier court, the 10-time Grand Slam champion completely overpowered the woman who has beaten her in the semi-finals of Stanford last summer (although Serena did retire injured there in the second set), ripping 25 winners and committing only eight unforced errors in the 53-minute contest. Serena started the match as quickly as she ended it, serving efficiently and with terrific location, keeping her ground strokes deep and pouncing on every short ball. Most importantly, she negated Wozniak's second serves, as the powerful Canadian was only able to win two out of 13 points on the second offering. “I feel like it was my most focused match so far,” Serena said afterwards. “I was able to stay focused throughout. My Dad told me some things he wanted me to work on and I just tried to do it.” The 2002 Roland Garros winner will face Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals after the Russian No7 seed bullied Agnieszka Radwanska into submission, nailing 32 winners to just 13 from her Polish foe in a 6-4 1-6 6-1 win. 2006 finalist Kuznetsova has been on a roll since winning Stuttgart in early May and overcame a set of second set nerves to pull through, but she knows she cannot afford any more significant lapses for the rest of the tournament. “It was tough, mentally,” she said. “Second set, I played bad and made a lot of mistakes. I wasn't moving that much. After I went to change clothes, I was thinking that I’d relax a little bit and just play my game. I started to do much better. Definitely I’m not happy to play three sets but I’ve already been through a little bit of fight, because the other matches were too easy. Today it was a test. But next matches, I cannot allow myself to do this - I have to be more prepared.” Serena leads their head-to-head 5-1, taking out the Russian at the 2009 Australian Open in three sets and in their only meeting on clay back in 2004 in Rome. Kuznetsova’s only victory over the American came at 2007 Stuttgart on hard courts. “She's playing unbelievable on clay,” Serena said. “I think she's been doing really good in this tournament. I have nothing to lose. She was going here with high expectations, I am as well. It will be a really good match - this is when everything counts. I have to pick up my level and play again a really good, strong match, especially playing somebody like who moves extremely well and doesn't do anything bad. It will be a good test.” Kuznetsova and Serena are friendly off court, sharing similar tastes in music, but it will be all business on Wednesday and the Russian knows that she will have to be at her best if she is to win. “Serena, maybe she didn't play that many tournaments on clay, or she didn't do well, but you cannot discount her,” she said. “She's a big champion and a great player. She won here, and definitely she knows how to play on clay. I feel a little bit more comfortable on clay than her. I have to just play my game and try to dictate. Serve going to be big in this match. We definitely both have chances. I think she's favourite, but still I'm looking forward to playing and having fun out there.” | |
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Battling Serena into last 16
Serena Williams claimed her place in the last 16 of the French Open but was pushed all the way by Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
The 10-time grand slam winner fought back from a set down against the Spaniard to clinch a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory in a gruelling two hour clash on Suzanne Lenglen court.
Martinez Sanchez, ranked 43rd in the world, had never reached the third round at the French Open before having failed to clear the first hurdle in her two previous appearances at Roland Garros.
But the Spaniard looked confident against the second seed and opened up the advantage with a break of serve in game five.
Williams battled hard to get back on level terms, but was unable to capitalise on the chances which came her way while at the same time making too many unforced errors, allowing Martinez Sanchez to take the opening set after 40 minutes.
American Williams, whose sister Venus crashed out in her third-round match yesterday, continued to struggle at the start of the second set with too many mistakes littering her game.
However, she found her range in game six to go a break up and it proved decisive, with Martinez Sanchez unable to claw the break back.
The third set was a nervy affair and both players struggled with their serve throughout.
Williams drew first blood in game three, Martina Sanchez claimed it back in the very next game but the American snatched another break in the fifth to once more edge ahead.
That proved crucial and, after further breaks for both players, Williams eventually found herself serving for the match, wrapping up the victory on the first of two match points.
She will now face Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak, the 24th seed, in the last 16.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)