Because Kim had won the 2005 "US Open Series," the group of North American tourneys leading up to the US Open, by winning the titles at Stanford, Los Angeles, and Toronto this summer, her US Open prize money was to be doubled regardless of how well she did in the tourney. Since she won the championship,
, the highest sum ever paid to a Grand Slam tourney champion.
, and won the point when Kim hit a forehand into the net. She also took the next point, with a service winner, not showing the shakiness she displayed in the 1st set of her semifinal. But then the score went to 30-40 as Mary's shots went wide on the next three points. Another service winner brought the score to deuce, but Mary netted the ball to end the next two points, giving Kim a break in the opening game.
, Kim with Mary at 30, Mary with Kim at 15, and Kim with Mary at 30 again. With Kim leading 3-1, Mary fell behind 15-40 with her first double fault. But Kim put the next ball long, then, going for a winner, into the net for deuce. A long ball by Mary brought another break point, a mishit by Kim another deuce. Another long shot by Mary gave Kim a 4th break point, then Mary, going for a winner, sent the ball wide and was broken again.
, but serving the next game she fell behind 0-40, picked up one point when Mary sent the ball long, then hit her 2nd double fault of the match and was broken. Kim now lead 4-2.
. Now Kim's lead was 4-3, and Mary had won 8 of the last 10 points. It did not appear likely that Mary would win only one more game the rest of the evening.
, Kim hit a drop shot drawing Mary to the net. Mary reached it, and gave the standard response, a defensive drop shot of her own. But it bounced too high, and Kim, "toe-to-toe" with Mary, passed her easily with a forehand down the line as Mary "blinked". Kim's game was back on again, and she held at 15, to lead 5-3.
, tried moonballs, apparently a desperation tactic. At 15-15, Kim sailed a few back at her, then hit a forehand winner. Mary put the next point into the net, and Kim had two set points. Kim mishit the first one wide off her backhand, then Mary sent the ball long and was broken for a third time, giving Kim the 1st set 6-3.
for a 12-minute medical timeout after losing the first set of her semifinal to Elena Dementieva, took 4½ minutes between sets for her right thigh to be retaped, and a bathroom trip. Then Kim served to open the 2nd set, and held at love. She had won 13 of the last 14 points.
, and broke Mary at 15, to take a 2-0 lead. Kim had hit her stride, and held at love again, hitting two aces along the way.
enough to hold serve in the 4th game of the set, allowing Kim only one point. But Kim then held to 15 as well, and hit her third ace on the way. Then Kim broke Mary a fifth and final time, taking all of her points on forehand errors by Mary.
at 5-1. A forehand winner crosscourt: 15-0. Then sending the ball long, 15-15. A 110mph ace (#4) made it 30-15. There was a very long rally, almost entirely of forehands, before Kim sent the ball wide. 30-30. Kim chose this moment to break out a new Babolat-- and double faulted, giving Mary a break point. Mary sent the ball long to bring up deuce; then Kim netted the next point giving Mary another breaker. Her
behind Mary as she was running to cover her forehand side gave Kim her first championship point. But she sent a forehand long, for a 3rd deuce. Mary put Kim's next serve into the net, giving her a second championship point, and then Kim made another delivery, which Mary netted again, and Kim Clijsters had won her first Grand Slam tourney singles title.
"Until I finished that last shot, obviously you don't want to think ahead. I knew I was feeling the ball well, I was moving well, and I think that's something that I was definitely missing in my previous Grand Slams, is that I didn't really, especially the last three, I didn't feel like I was moving well, at all. I also feel a lot fitter, and I recovered very well after Venus, and after Maria's match.
"But my movement was there today, and that's very important for me. If I move well, that's when I'm confident, and that's when I can just sort of let my strokes and my shots go as well."
"[Kim is] a great girl, you know. She's a champion. She's been No. 1 in the world, now she has a Grand Slam title to her name. You know, I'm happy for her...
"I knew in the very first game, when she came back to 30-All, I knew it was going to be tough, a very tough match. She's got a different style than any girls I've played against this week, or these two weeks...
"I give all the credit to Kim because today she was obviously the better player; that is why she won. She made me play badly, I guess you could say, because she is quicker than all the other girls that I've played so far. She got another ball back every time. And even when I would hit a good shot that usually would either win a point or set up a winner for the next shot against other girls, Kim would hit another ball back and I'd know I'd just made a mistake."
Mary had the highest 1st serve percentage of any WTA player to play more than 4 matches at this US Open (69%), but in the final Kim put 72% of her 1st serves in the box and won 79% of her 1st serve points, Mary, 67% & 52%. Kim won 58 of the 96 points played, hitting 16 winners (with 19 unforced errors), while Mary hit just 7 winners (with 28 errors).
was born in Bilzen, Belgium, and lives in Bree (in the Dutch-speaking part of the country). Kim has now won 28 WTA singles titles in 41 finals, including 3 this summer at Stanford, Los Angeles and Toronto.
, and although she was displaced by her compatriot Justine Henin-Hardenne, retained a solid # 2 position. Then Kim seriously injured her left wrist in her 2nd round match at Indian Wells in March 2004, and when she returned to play in October, she incurred another, separate left wrist injury, which required surgery. Since returning to play in the Spring of 2005, Kim has been playing very, very well again.
, a terrifically popular 11.2 oz (strung) 27" bat balanced head-light with a 100 sq." string area & stiffness 70, reportedly strung with 16 gauge
. Kim wears
has won 17 WTA singles titles (including the 2000 French Open and the 1995 Australian Open) in 38 finals. Mary whose mother is French, was born in Montreal, Canada, and raised mostly in Florida. The WTA lists Mary's residence as Sarasota, Florida, but her apartment is now actually at the
in Bradenton, FL, the most successful tennis school in history. She receives some coaching from Nick Bollettieri and staff, and trains in France as well. Her nationality was declared French when she 15, and the USTA seemed more interested in helping other players more than her. Mary used to wear
"Ultimum RD Ti-80" axe. This year she is wearing custom garb, and says she is is testing fabrics to possibly create her own line of tennis togs. Her bat is still a Yonex, although their logo no longer appears on the strings (Mary Carillo reports that Mary P does get the bats for free, though she has no contract).
, and spent much of the next 5 years in top 10. She won at Roland Garros in 2000, then was injured
of the 2001 French Open, and was out the rest of the year. Mary was then plagued by a series of injuries, which only tapered off last year.
Mary reached the final of this year's French Open, and the ranking points she earned (including 200 "quality points" for defeating # 1 Lindsay Davenport) at Roland Garros put her back in the top 20 again for the first time in over 4 years. Her additional points for reaching this final will keep her highly ranked for the next year at least.
of Italy, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. It was 32-year-old Lisa's 47th career WTA doubles title, her 4th Grand Slam doubles title (Lisa also has 4 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles), and Lisa's 2nd title with Samantha as her partner. It was 21-year-old Samantha's 4th career doubles title, her first Grand Slam doubles title (Samantha also won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open this year).
of Slovakia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco) won the 2005 US Open Mixed Doubles final, teamed with Mahesh Bhupathi, defeating Katarina Srebotnik & Nenad Zimonjic 6-4, 6-2.
Daniela won the title at Roland Garros this year, at the Australian Open in 2002, and at Wimbledon in 2001, all with different partners.
WTA SCOREBOARD: The US Open at Flushing Meadows, New York
Legendary good girl Mary Joe Fernandez announcing the draw on Wednesday, Aug 24, #8 Serena Williams practicing on Thursday, and #1 Maria Sharapova practicing on Wednesday
On Friday in New York, Serena Williams alerted the media as to what her tailor, Nike, has created for her this time, while sister Venus swatted serves from fans at a USTA benefit-- later on Friday Dolores del Rio and Jean Harlow, disguised as Jelena Jankovic and Kim Clijsters, arrived at the US Open's Glam Slam party
Ana Ivanovic, 2004 champ Svetlana Kuznetsova, & Tatiana Golovin displayed their hairdos at the Glam Slam (I vote for Jelena's look: more hair, less 'do)
|
US Open, 1st Rd Mon-Tue Aug 29-30
loser: $15,000 2 points
#1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #63 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-1, 6-1 Mon
Maria, who recently confessed to being 6'2" (but please say 6'1½"), running down a backhand, and levitating for a serve (warning: if you try that at home, your percentage is likely to drop...)
Eleni, who is a former top-20 player whose rank has fallen due to injuries, had Maria at love-40 during each of her first two service games, but could not convert the break points. From then on, Maria took control of the match. Maria hit only 23 unforced errors, along with 22 winners, a good ratio, while Eleni could manage only 3 winners to accompany her 25 unforced errors. match stats
Maria had not played a match since withdrawing from her August 12th quarterfinal in Los Angeles to allow a right pectoral muscle strain to heal. Maria said: "The first few games were a little bit tough. I haven't played a lot of matches, so I'm just trying to get used to the conditions, the stadium, the wind, playing under the lights for the first time in a while. It feels good to be back on court competing. That's where I belong." WTA story - BBC audio
|
#2 s2 Lindsay Davenport USA d #39 Na Li CHN 6-4, 6-4 Tue
 Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay said: "It was a good match. I was expecting a tough match from [Na]. I'd heard some good things about her. I didn't feel like I was at my sharpest in tennis, but really happy to go out there, win the match and get to move on...
"You always want to get the match over with as fast as you possibly can. When some opportunities go by, that probably makes it more frustrating. But I got to say, she did play some great shots. At the end, you know, the last couple games, were really close. I had I felt like a lot of opportunities to go up in the second set two breaks and just wasn't quite able to put another good return game together. Because of that, it ended up to be a really close set." interview - video
|
#3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #61 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-3, 6-2 Tue
 Amelie Mauresmo
Amelie said: "I think the court is a little faster [than last week at New Haven]... So just a few things here and there to adjust, especially probably the footwork. Otherwise just feeling good. Pretty solid today, consistent match. Really a good way to get into this tournament. I think I still have a few things to adjust...
"[Roberta] was serving and volleying... you hit it a little different when you have this kind of player in front of you. So I had to adjust a little bit because it's not usual to see a player do that... I thought my serve was pretty effective, pretty good today, especially when I was coming in after it, I thought it was pretty strong." interview
|
#4 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #137 q Martina Muller GER 6-1, 6-2 Mon
 Kim Clijsters
Kim said: "I'm very happy with the way that I'm playing so far in this whole summer here in America. It's always, you know, always the first couple of matches you always have to get used to the, uhm, get used to the stadiums that you're playing on. That's always a little bit different every tournament you play. And obviously not being able to play here last year, it just took me a little while to get back into my rhythm out there in the beginning of the match. But three, four games into the match, I feel really good." interview - video
|
*#98 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #5 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-3, 6-2 Mon
Ekaterina's backhand, Svetlana after losing a point, and Ekaterina after match point
Svetlana hit 45 unforced errors with only 15 winners (Ekaterina: 8 and 8-- match stats). Svetlana said: "I was ready, but I wasn't at my best... I'll just relax and take some time off, I guess, and just prepare for the next events... I know how you feel when you don't have any gas and you can't go anymore. I think it's something else. I have to find out what that is. It just takes a while to learn it... I really believe I'm going to do well again." AP story - BBC audio
|
#6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #66 Lucie Safarova CZE 7-5, 6-3 Tue
 Elena had 12 double faults, but Lucie had almost as much trouble with her serve-- and Elena won 72% of her 1st serve points, while Lucie won only 50% of hers match stats
#7 s7 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #86 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-3, 6-0 Tue
 Justine Henin-Hardenne
Justine said: "I'm not too far from my best level. I still have lots of things to improve, probably my [service] percentage should improve, that's for sure, if I want to go to the end of the tournament. But I don't want to think about that too much right now. We'll see in the next round." Justine will play # 101 Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo in the 2nd round on Thursday. WTA story - match stats
|
#8 s8 Serena Williams USA d #248 q Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-1, 6-3 Mon
 Serena after winning a point
16-year-old Yung-Jan was playing in her first WTA event.
Serena said: "I'm feeling really good. I'm just I'm not feeling too much pain out there at all... There's no better stage than the US Open for me. I definitely love it...
"I don't think I made that many first serves. But it's so much better than I've been hitting in a while, and it's definitely going faster... I'm actually going for bigger serves...
"I think [Yung-Jan] had a very solid performance. She had a very solid performance. She's really young so she can definitely take this match and build from it." interview - video
|
#9 s9 Nadia Petrova RUS d #111 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-4, 6-4 Mon
Eva's forehand, Nadia's service toss
#10 s10 Venus Williams USA d #84 Rika Fujiwara JPN 6-3, 6-1 Mon
 Venus runs down a backhand
#11 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI d #36 Conchita Martinez ESP 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 Tue
#12 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #100 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-2, 6-4 Tue
 Mary Pierce
#13 s13 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #92 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-3, 6-1 Tue
 Anastasia Myskina
Tammy had trouble with her 1st serve, getting only only 39% of them in the box, while 'Nastya made a fair 69% of her's good, with a top speed of 110 MPH. Anastasia also hit 21 winners with only 23 unforced errors (Tammy: 8 and 28). match stats
|
*#122 wc Shenay Perry USA d #14 s14 Alicia Molik AUS 6-4, 6-4 Mon
#15 s15 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #96 Severine Beltrame FRA 6-4, 7-5 Tue
#17 s17 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #104 Denisa Chladkova CZE 7-5, 6-3 Tue
#18 s18 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #99 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA 7-6(5), 6-3 Mon
#20 s19 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #68 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-4, 6-1 Tue
#21 s20 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #105 Camille Pin FRA 6-3, 6-1 Mon
 Daniela Hantuchova
*#82 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #22 s21 Dinara Safina RUS 6-3, 6(5)-7, 6-3 Mon
*#72 Laura Granville USA d #23 s22 Silvia Farina Elia ITA 6-2, 6-1 Mon
#24 s23 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #110 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) Tue
 Tatiana Golovin
#25 s24 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #87 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-1, 6-4 Tue
 Shinobu after match point
#26 s25 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #67 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-2, 7-5 Mon
 Francesca's forehand
#27 s26 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #41 Kveta Peschke CZE 6-3, 6-1 Mon
#28 s27 Gisela Dulko ARG d #120 q Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-3, 6-2 Tue
*#88 Julia Schruff GER d #29 s28 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 Mon
#30 s29 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #133 q Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 Tue
#31 s30 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #80 Alyona Bondarenko UKR 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 Mon
 Ai's backhand
#32 s31 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #78 Kristina Brandi PUR 6-2, 6-3 Tue
#33 s32 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #85 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-2, 6-3 Tue
#34 s33 Vera Douchevina RUS d #203 q Tiffany Dabek USA 6-1, 6-2 Mon
*#124 q Emma Laine FIN d #35 Shuai Peng CHN 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 Mon
#37 Virginie Razzano FRA d #81 Abigail Spears USA 7-6(6), 6-3 Tue
#38 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #60 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 Tue
Sesil during the match, and after match point
*#722 q Vania King USA d #40 Klara Koukalova CZE 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 Tue
#42 Marion Bartoli FRA d #114 Barbora Strycova CZE 6-3, 6-0 Mon
*#136 Nicole Pratt AUS d #43 Akiko Morigami JPN 6(0)-7, 6-0, retired Mon
Nicole hitting a backhand, and Akiko with her right leg heavily bandaged-- Akiko has been suffering from right leg tendonitis throughout the summer, but she retired from the match due to heat illness
#44 Evgenia Linetskaya RUS d #52 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tue
#45 Anna Smashnova ISR d #109 q Sandra Kloesel GER 6-3, 6-3 Tue
#46 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #205 q Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-0, 6-2 Tue
#47 Lisa Raymond USA d #149 q Anne Kremer LUX 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 Mon
#48 Dally Randriantefy MAD d #245 wc Mary Gambale USA 6-3, 6-1 Mon
#49 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #77 Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-2, 6-3 Mon
#50 Sania Mirza IND d #56 M Washington USA 7-6(6), 6(6)-7, 6-4 Mon
 Sania Mirza
*#180 q Tiantian Sun CHN d #51 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-3, 7-6(4) Tue
*#64 Jie Zheng CHN d #53 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 Mon
#55 Magdalena Maleeva BUL d #112 LL Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-1, 6-3 Tue
Emmanuelle finishes a forehand, Maggie belts a backhand
#57 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #131 wc Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-0, 3-0 retired Mon
#58 Jill Craybas USA d #91 Jamea Jackson USA 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 Tue
#59 Shahar Peer ISR d #62 Marta Domachowska POL 7-5, 7-5 Mon
#65 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG d #163 wc Bethanie Mattek USA 6-4, 6-3 Tue
#69 Catalina Castano COL d #75 Alina Jidkova RUS 6-4, 6-3 Mon
*#253 q Pauline Parmentier FRA d #70 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 Tue
#71 Martina Sucha SVK d #93 q Sybille Bammer AUT 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 Tue
#73 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN d #89 Sanda Mamic CRO 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 Mon
#74 Amy Frazier USA d #182 wc Carly Gullickson USA 6-4, 7-5 Tue
#76 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR d #106 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 Tue
*#191 q Ivana Lisjak CRO d #79 Emilie Loit FRA 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 Mon
#83 Aiko Nakamura JPN d #103 Marissa Irvin USA 6-3, 6-3 Mon
*#101 LL Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP d #95 wc Angela Haynes USA 7-5, 7-6(6) Tue
#97 Michaela Pastikova CZE d #1160 Rita Grande ITA 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 Mon
*#460 wc Alexa Glatch USA d #119 Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-4, 6-3 Tue
#128 q Maria Emilia Salerni ARG d #177 wc Jessica Kirkland USA 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(0) Mon
|
US Open, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu Aug 31-Sep 1
loser: $25,000 32 points
#1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #48 Dally Randriantefy MAD 6-1, 6-0 Wed
 Maria preparing to serve
About playing in the very high winds, Maria said: "...it's better I had a piece of cake yesterday or I would have been in that globe somewhere. I'm glad I gained a few pounds [laughter]...
"The first few games I was serving 69 miles per hour. It's pretty funny. I think it's even funnier from TV because they can't even see the wind. These people probably think we look like beginners." interview - video
|
#2 s2 Lindsay Davenport USA d #253 q Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-1, 6-1 Thu
 Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay said: "I felt like today I played a lot better. It's been really tricky with the wind. I read something Maria [Sharapova] said, that you actually can't tell [how windy it is] when you watch on TV. It's really true. You get down there and it's much stronger wind than you thought it was going to be. But the other night I just felt like I was just a second or two off in my reactions and striking the ball perfectly, but thought I played a good player [Na Li]. Today I felt like I stepped it up a little bit better, was a little bit more consistent and was in control of the points more."
About the low back strain she incurred at Wimbledon, Lindsay said: "...it's been really good. I haven't had any problem since I came back the second time this summer, and it hasn't really been an issue too much. I obviously get therapy every day, but nothing's gone wrong with it to make me think that it won't stay good. But you obviously never know."
About the younger generation of WTA players coming up, Lindsay said: "I think they're all so good. I said this earlier in the year, I played Vaidisova-- I think I say it wrong-- in Australia, and I played Karatantcheva in Indian Wells, I feel like I've played all the young ones. I played another Russian, Kutuzova [Viktoriya Kutuzova, actually from Odessa, Ukraine]. I think that they're all so good. I think Vaidisova is a great player. I think for her age, compared to the others, she's going to be an excellent player. She's got a lot of skill. They all hit the ball extremely well for that age... I get along with [Sesil Karatantcheva] well. We practiced together a few times. I think she's great. I don't know her extremely well off court, but I have practiced with her and talked to her. I think she's fun, I think she's young, and I think she's honest." interview - video
|
#3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #38 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 6-0, 6-1 Thu
#4 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #57 Fabiola Zuluaga COL 7-5, 6-0 Wed
 Kim Clijsters
About the windy conditions, Kim said: "I just knew I had to from the start play aggressive and just keep going for the lines and just go for it. Even though there's a lot of wind, you just have to play your game, not think about it too much." WTA story - interview video
|
#6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #65 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 7-5, 6-1 Thu
 Elena, who belts a 2-handed topspin backhand, lines up a 1-handed slice
#7 s7 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d
#101 LL Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 6-3, 6-4 Thu
Justine got a workout from Maria Antonia, who defeated Anastasia Myskina at Roland Garros
#8 s8 Serena Williams USA d #69 Catalina Castano COL 6-2, 6-2 Wed
 Serena serving to Catalina
About her lingering left ankle injury, and related left knee injury, Serena said: "I'm definitely moving a lot better than I have in the past couple weeks. I'm definitely not at my best. I don't even want to put it in percentage terms. Honestly, I'm under 50%. But I've won stuff under 50% before." Serena Williams interview video
|
#9 s9 Nadia Petrova RUS d #83 Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-2, 6-0 Wed
Aiko finishing a backhand, Nadia launching one
#10 s10 Venus Williams USA d #49 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1, 6-3 Wed
18-year-old Maria serves (she has switched from Nike to adidas garb), Venus volleys
Venus said: "I think the wind was definitely a test today. It was deathly windy. It's easy to fumble and self-destruct in those kind of conditions. I tried to add more spin, take some off the serve, try to get the first serve in... not go for too much, but of course still play the right shots, try to move forward and be aggressive." WTA story - Venus Williams interview video
|
#11 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI d #71 Martina Sucha SVK 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 Thu
#12 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #46 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-3, 6-2 Thu
 Mary serving to Katarina
Mary said: "I think today was tough. There was a little bit of wind-- obviously not as much as yesterday-- I didn't play yesterday. But it was kind of tough out there at times. I do feel like I'm serving really well. I'd like to improve a little bit on my second serve. I think my return's improved as the match went on at the end today, but I do feel like I'd like to return better. I feel like I'm hitting the ball pretty good. Movement, I'd like to get a little bit better on that as well since I had to take 10 days off after San Diego with my leg strain [incurred while practicing in LA the following week]. So I didn't get to work a lot on my movement because I had to kind of take it easy when I started coming back. Overall, feeling not too bad but I definitely feel like I have room for improvement...
[Now my leg is] good. Yeah, my leg is great. It's been 100% for almost two weeks now." interview - video
|
#13 s13 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #74 Amy Frazier USA 6-3, 6-2 Thu
Neither Anastasia, left, nor Amy, center, could hold serve for the first 5 games-- then Anastasia held, and outran Amy the rest of the way. Amy was playing in her 67th Grand Slam tourney, more than any other active player, dating back to the 1987 US Open.
#15 s15 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #722 q Vania King USA 6-1, 6-1 Thu
16-year-old Vania on the run, Nathalie after match point
#17 s17 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #460 wc Alexa Glatch USA 6-2, 6-0 Thu
*#73 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN d #18 s18 Ana Ivanovic SCG v 6-3, 5-7, 1-6 Wed
 Maria Vento-Kabchi
#20 s19 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #55 Magdalena Maleeva BUL 6-2, 6-1 Thu
#21 s20 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #128 q Maria Emilia Salerni ARG 6-1, 6-0 Wed
 Daniela serving to Maria Emilia
#24 s23 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #45 Anna Smashnova ISR 6-4, 7-6(6) Thu
Anna's 1-handed backhand, Tatiana following through on her 2-hander
#25 s24 Shinobu Asagoe JPN d #44 Evgenia Linetskaya RUS 6-4, 6-4 Thu
 Netcam showed Shinobu preparing to break Evgenia's serve in the final game of the match
#26 s25 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #124 q Emma Laine FIN 6-2, 6-2 Wed
 Francesca after match point
#27 s26 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #64 Jie Zheng CHN 6-3, 6-0 Wed
16-year-old Nicole was totally ignored by photographers in the first round -- this is strange, because she is very easy to look at (portrait from Nicole's website)
*#76 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR d #28 s27 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-4, 6-3 Thu
Gisela sighting down the barrel of her Babolat wondering why her shots go awry, Yoon Jeong after match point
#30 s29 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #58 Jill Craybas USA 6-0, 6-2 Thu
#31 s30 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #97 Michaela Pastikova CZE 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Wed
 Ai after match point
In the sloppy 32-game match, Ai and Michaela each hit 44 errors, while Ai had 22 winners, and Michaela 21. Ai will need to play more cleanly to have a chance of defeating her friend and former doubles partner Kim Clijsters in the 3rd round. match stats
|
#32 s31 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #37 Virginie Razzano FRA 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Thu
 Anna-Lena serving
#33 s32 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #180 q Tiantian Sun CHN 6-4, 7-5 Thu
*#59 Shahar Peer ISR d #34 s33 Vera Douchevina RUS 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 Wed
#42 Marion Bartoli FRA d #122 wc Shenay Perry USA 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 Wed
 Marion steps into her 2-handed forehand
*#88 Julia Schruff GER d #47 Lisa Raymond USA 6-2, 6-3 Wed
 Julia after match point
#50 Sania Mirza IND d #82 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 Wed
#72 Laura Granville USA d #136 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 Wed
 Laura walloping an overhead
*#191 q Ivana Lisjak CRO d #98 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 7-5, 6-1 Wed
 Ivana after match point
|
US Open, 3rd Rd Fri-Sat Sep 2-3 WTA Fri story - WTA Sat story
loser: $40,000 56 points
#1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #88 Julia Schruff GER 6-2, 6-4 Fri
Maria flying a serve, rotating a backhand, and celebrating after match point
Maria said: "I was moving quite well in the first set and then second set I felt a little sloppy. You know, played a sloppy game at 4-2 serving with the wind, made a few easy errors. But other than that, came back strong. [Julia] hits pretty flat, so it was a little different compared to the other opponents I played in previous matches...
"The last two opponents I hadn't played before, and the next one [Sania Mirza], too. You just have to see how they play, and my team has seen some of the matches before, in previous tournaments, so I'm sure I'll get a few ideas. But it's not too much. I'm not the kind of person that takes a lot of advice, I just usually do my own thing unfortunately." interview - video
|
#2 s2 Lindsay Davenport USA d #33 s32 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-2 Sat
Anabel serving, Lindsay watching her forehand fly, and Anabel after losing a point
About her low back injury, Lindsay said: "It was doing really good and then two days ago it started to get really tight on me again. For the last 48 hours I've been getting treatment and then tonight it felt great again. I've gotten to the point where when I get to Grand Slams I do my little bit of practice and that's it. I don't feel I can risk anything by working out tons or practicing super hard, so I just kind of concentrate on my matches, hit a little bit on my day off, and that's really it." interview - video
|
#3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #32 s31 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 7-5, 6-3 Sat
Amelie applying a little slice, Anna-Lena blasting a backhand, and Amelie after match point
Amelie said: "Obviously, [Anna-Lena] put me in much more trouble with her serve than the match before [against Sesil Karatantcheva]. Even if these kinds of matches don't give you a lot of rhythm, it's good to play these kinds of players that hit very hard and make the points in two or three shots." interview video
|
#4 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #31 s30 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-1, 6-4 Fri
Kim & Ai won seven doubles titles together before Kim stopped playing doubles due to injuries
Kim said: "I was pretty happy with today's win. I'm happy with how I'm playing. I'm definitely not complaining. I've been hitting the ball well here, today as well." interview video
|
#6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #30 s29 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(5) Sat
Elena serving, Anna's forehand, and Elena after match point
Elena said: "It was very emotional for both of us. I think [Anna is] a very good player, and maybe she needs a little bit more experience...
"[In the tiebreaker] I was trying to be positive. It was a long match and the last thing you want to do with yourself is push yourself down. I was trying to be positive no matter what, and fighting for every point. I think she really play very good match and she deserved to win this one. I was a little bit lucky in the tiebreak...
"I'm sure I lost so many games, I'm not talking about points, I'm talking about games, with my double faults today. It was very tough because, I don't know how many I did, 20 or more [Elena had 19 double faults]. Gosh, it was very difficult to play with this kind of serve. It wasn't that windy as another day. I have no excuse by serving like that... I feel like my serve really can be much, much better... Maybe I have to take more time between the points. It feels like sometimes I'm rushing too much on my serve. [I] don't feel as confident as my return... I know that I can have a good serve one day. I just keep working and hoping that I'm going to have a good one." interview - video
|
#7 s7 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #76 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR 6-0, 7-6(4) Sat
Justine's forehand, Yoon Jeong on the run, and Justine after match point
Justine said: "I think I played first set and the beginning of the second with a very high intensity. I was playing very well, then lost a little bit of my aggressivity. I didn't play badly when [Yoon Jeong] broke to come to 3-1 in the second, but after that the match changed a little bit. I was a little bit too far from the baseline. I wasn't that aggressive. It was very difficult to keep the intensity as high as it was, but I could win this match probably earlier. But finally when I had to be aggressive at the end of the set, I did, so I got the win in two sets." interview - video
|
#8 s8 Serena Williams USA d #26 s25 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-3, 6-4 Fri
Serena fires a forehand on the run, Francesca's 1-handed backhand, and Serena's 2-handed version
Interestingly, Serena averaged only 101 MPH on her 1st serves, while Francesca averaged 102 MPH, and they both averaged 84 MPH on 2nd serves. But Serena got a higher percentage of her 1st serves in (68% to 55%), and hit 4 aces, while Francesca had 6 double faults. match stats
Francesca had defeated Serena in their last meeting, in Rome last May. Serena said: "I definitely think I'm getting better and better. I had to play good because [Francesca] was playing really well. I'm definitely picking it up each round." interview video
|
#9 s9 Nadia Petrova RUS d #72 Laura Granville USA 6-2, 7-5 Fri
Hammer-thrower's daughter Nadia showing her agility, and after match point
#10 s10 Venus Williams USA d #21 s20 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 6-3 Fri
Venus and Daniela's backhands, and Daniela congratulating Venus after match point
Venus said: "I think today was definitely my best match. I got used to the wind. Maybe the next match the wind will be gone, but I finally got used to it. It was nice also I guess to play a player that I have played before, too. I think that helped out." interview video
Daniela said: "I've got to give [Venus] all the credit for the way she served. When she got up, she really stepped up her game, came up with some big shots. I can't do anything about the draw. I can't change it now. But definitely was a tough one for me." interview video
|
#11 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI d #25 s24 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 6-1, 6-3 Sat
Patty and Shinobu's backhands, and Patty after match point
#12 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #17 s17 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-3, 3-0 retired--
low back strain Sat
*#20 s19 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #13 s13 Anastasia Myskina RUS 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) Sat
Elena launching a backhand, Anastasia expressing her opinion of how well she isn't playing, and Anastasia congratulating Elena after match point
#15 s15 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #24 s23 Tatiana Golovin FRA 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 Sat
Tatiana serving, Nathalie returning, and Nathalie celebrating
#27 s26 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #191 q Ivana Lisjak CRO 6-1, 7-6(2) Fri
 Nicole Vaidisova
*#50 Sania Mirza IND d #42 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-5(4), 6-4 Fri
Sania's conventional forehand, Marion's 2-handed forehand, and Sania after match point
Sania said: "I did play much better than I have in the past two matches, and I still feel that I could have done a bit better. I probably could have finished the first set a bit earlier than I did. But [Marion is] a very different kind of player. You have to think. She makes you think what you have to do. She hits the ball pretty cleanly. But you have to play smart tennis out there... I did hit quite a lot of winners. I'm happy about the way I played." interview - video
|
*#73 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN d #59 Shahar Peer ISR 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 Fri
 Maria runs down a forehand
|
US Open, 4th Rd, Sun-Mon Sep 4-5
loser: $70,000 90 points
#1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #50 Sania Mirza IND 6-2, 6-1 Sun
Sania's fine forehand, Maria getting ready to chipmunk a backhand, and Maria after match point
About the tourney so far, Maria said: "I think I started off really well from the first match [against Eleni Daniilidou]. I was really ready. It was a bit unexpected because I didn't play a lot of matches coming into the tournament, so I thought I would be a little rusty at the beginning. Surprised myself in the first round, that's for sure. Played a tough opponent. That gave me more confidence. Playing good...
"I think [Sania is] definitely great for the sport. Tennis is a very global sport. It's amazing how we have such great athletes. She's very young, has a great future ahead of her. Very big game. But of course with time-- I think she needs experience-- she'll learn."
Sania said: "There were a lot of games which I could have taken. But I had fun out there. Had a great Open. First US Open, I don't think I can ask for more. Very happy..."
"That's how I play. I'm going to have maybe 50 unforced errors one day, but I'm going to also have 50 winners that day... I'm going to win matches only when I hit those winners. If I win matches by moonballing, then I'm not going to satisfy myself the way I played that day. I enjoy hitting the ball as hard as I can. I enjoy taking risks. And I believe that you always have to take risks. You know, I enjoyed every minute out there today...
"Today if I would have pushed the ball, I probably would have lost Love and Love. So I had to go for my shots, and I did. I got a few. I got a few in. I got a few out. That just gives me experience... I'm probably going to have a lot more matches hopefully against [Maria], and it's just a lesson... She obviously played some really good shots out there. She gets a lot more balls, a lot tougher balls, which obviously a lot of players when I hit they're winners, but she gets to them." interview - video
|
#2 s2 Lindsay Davenport USA d #15 s15 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-0, 6-3 Mon
Lindsay lunging for a backhand; Nathalie after losing a point
Lindsay said: "This is one of the best matches I've played for sure here so far, and I felt like I was really aggressive and yet I could move well. My back wasn't a problem. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, very excited about that... I've played [Nathalie] a bunch of times. She's given me some problems in the past. In Australia, I was really struggling to really control the points. And here today, I felt like even some of the games I lost, I was really dictating the points, hitting the ball well, not letting her take the balls early and step in."
About her quarterfinal opponent, Elena Dementieva, and Elena's problems with her serve, Lindsay said: [Elena] is such a great athlete and so good off the ground... I've seen her serve great in practice. I remember watching her practice once for that particular reason. Then coming off going, 'Okay, it has to be mental.' The girl had a great motion and was hitting it well. She goes in streaks with it. I've seen her serve okay for a match. Then I heard the other day, it wasn't so good again. She managed to get to two Grand Slam finals last year with it. Just think what she could do with it if she improved and she kind of got over that hump. She's a fantastic player...
"A lot of times you don't know what you get. It could be like the tightest moment and she'll try to hit her second serve at 105 and 110. Another time it comes in at 55. I'm not sure if she knows exactly what she's going to do, so it's tough as a returner to kind of gauge. Almost always it goes to the forehand. That's obviously an advantage to know that."
About learning her strokes, Lindsay said: "I would say for sure my groundstrokes would be [from ] Robert Lansdorp. We didn't work so much on the serve. Probably it evolved more with Van't Hof [Robert Van't Hof, Lindsay's coach when she won the US Open in 1998] than Lansdorp. But I don't know, probably a little bit natural. But then you kind of change things as you get older." interview - video
|
#3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #20 s19 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-1, 6-4 Mon
Amelie chasing a forehand, Elena launching a backhand, and Amelie after match point
Amelie said: "I'm doing better and better... I'm just taking it very in a very relaxed way this year here at the US, just the way I think I was at Wimbledon. I'm trying to keep that momentum going. I feel good... I think my game has really come together in the last few weeks." interview - video
|
#4 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #73 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 6-1, 6-0 Sun
Kim and Maria's backhands, and Kim after match point
About playing Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, Kim said: "I think what you have to do when you play against [Venus or Serena] is just make sure you play aggressive tennis. Because that's the game they play. If you don't do that, if you don't play aggressively, if you don't go for your shots, they're just too good. You have to try from the moment you get a second serve or a weaker first serve, just go for it. Sometimes you have to take some risks. Just have to make sure and keep going for your shots. I mean even when you're down, just keep believing in chances. Sometimes they can miss a few, as well in a row, then you get your chances back. So you just have to make sure that you keep working very hard out there for each point." interview - video
|
#6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #11 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-4, 6-3 Mon
Elena, who is solid with both forehand & backhand kept hitting to lefty Patty's backhand, which is her weaker shot; Elena after match point
Elena and Patty had to wait for a 5-set ATP match to end before they could take the court. Elena said: "Actually that was one of the most difficult match I have ever played in my life, after waiting like four and a half hours, thanks to Coria. That was unbelievable fight.
"But I did my warm up, had my lunch. Then I falling asleep. Then I start it all over again. That was kind of difficult when I started to play. I was completely out of my focus, and it was very difficult just to get into the match and just to play good. It was up and down the whole match for both of us. I'm just very happy I could win this one...
"I feel like my first serve is getting better. But second serve, I still slice it too much. I don't have there is not much I can do. I'm always serving to the forehand side. It's kind of difficult because playing a Grand Slam, to change something, to be focused on your second serve, it's very difficult because in the middle of the match you're just thinking how much you want to win this one...
When you play against Patty Schnyder, you're very focused on what she likes to do, what she doesn't like to do. I didn't play my best. I was playing to her backhand all the time, put a lot of pressure on her backhand side. That not what I usually doing on the court. I like to move my opponent a lot... Today I was thinking a lot what she doesn't like to do on the court, and she really doesn't like to play her backhand. Her forehand side, it's just one of the best shots. I didn't let her play. So I think she was kind of she was kind of confused with this kind of game. I changed her rhythm a lot, and she just couldn't make it."
About playing against Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals, Elena said: "It likes look like she's in a great shape. It's just amazing how quickly she can recover from her injury. She just won Pilot Pen, playing unbelievable level here... I have to play much better than today. I think it's going to be all about how well I can serve because she has unbelievably strong serve and it's going to be difficult for me to return, even this is my favorite shot to do. I'm going to be focused on my serve, try to put lot of first serve in. Just to play aggressively." interview
|
*#12 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #7 s7 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL 6-3, 6-4 Mon
Mary firing a forehand, Justine delivering a backhand, and Justine congratulating Mary after match point
Mary said: "The first five games I just played great. I don't know if I could have played much better than that. I think Justine started to pick up her game a little bit at that point. She's a fighter. She never gave up. If my game dropped a little bit, started making some mistakes, whatever, she would have been right back in that match. I know that I needed to try to stay ahead, stay on top, stay aggressive... I feel like I've been serving well. I'm pretty confident with my serves. They came through for me today." interview - video
Justine said: "[Mary] was playing well, and she did put a lot of pressure on myself in the first few games of the match. At that point, I was feeling a lot of pressure. I was very far from my baseline, and I wasn't aggressive enough because I was feeling this pressure from her. So she played well.
"After that, I started to play a little bit better. I came back in the first set. I kept fighting, had a breakpoint at 5-3. But she was just better than me at that point.
"Then in the second set, I'd been broken twice, I think. But it's one break in the end, she could keep her serve. She served much better than I did. She took the opportunity...
"I don't think I was at the level I was at the French Open or the other times I played her. But Mary played well. I give her a lot of credit because she played a great match. She's probably playing the best tennis of her career...
"I had a lot of trouble with my serve in this tournament. I don't know. It's pretty hard. I'm disappointed today. In a few moments in the match, I was feeling I was back in the match. As soon as I had some hopes, I was losing my service game at that point. It's been tough."
About the hamstring injury that has troubled her since spring, Justine said: "I'll have to take some decisions in the next few days. I'm not going to walk back on the court till my injury doesn't bother me at all. I'll see how long it's going to take." interview - video
|
*#10 s10 Venus Williams USA d #8 s8 Serena Williams USA 7-6(5), 6-2 Sun
Venus and Serena serving, and Venus tearing the cover off the ball with a topspin backhand
Venus said: "I had some bad patches... I think Serena had some tough patches, too, and then some good ones. It was tough. Obviously, it was windy every day. Today the wind was from behind, especially on one side, so that kind of like threw the serve off, for me at least...
"I felt like I had an opportunity at 5-3 to break, but I didn't get that. Then 5-4, I had a pretty bad service game, two double faults. I think Serena had like a monster return or two that I couldn't do anything with, which happens if you're playing Serena Williams. At that point it was just all about sticking in there, which I feel like I'm quite good at also." interview - video
Serena was hobbling a bit near the end. About her left ankle and related knee injuries, Serena said: "I was just having problems at the end because I was moving a lot and stopping a lot. It always gives me a little trouble after a certain time period... Nothing happened out there to make it worse at all...
"I don't think I played my best today at all. I don't think Venus did either. I told her, we were talking in the locker room, just how horrible we played. I said, 'You played terrible.' She was like, 'I know.' I said, 'I played much better against Schiavone.' She said, 'Yeah, you did.' It was definitely a match that I think I could have played better, and she could have played better... Only thing I did halfway decent was serve well... I've been really working on that part of my game." interview - video
|
#9 s9 Nadia Petrova RUS d #27 s26 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 7-6(4), 7-5 Sun
Nicole's forehand, Nadia's backhand, and two views of Nadia after match point
|
US Open, QFs, Tues-Wed Sep 6-7 WTA Tue story
loser: $135,000 162 points
#1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #9 s9 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 Tue
career matches Maria leads 3-0
Maria on the run, Nadia after winning a point, Maria watching a backhand fly, and Maria after match point
Maria won the first four games of the match, Nadia the next four. After that, the ladies played almost evenly, with Maria hitting a few more winners (28) than Nadia (22), in the 217 points played (the match lasted 2½ hours). While Nadia served faster (106mph avg to Maria's 100mph avg), Maria put a higher percentage of her 1st serves in (71% to Nadia's 58%). Maria broke Nadia's serve early in the 3rd set, but Nadia broke back late-- then was broken again by Maria in the final game of the match. match stats
Maria said: "I knew it was going to be tough. I came out hitting a lot of winners. I felt like I was playing great. [Nadia] broke me once, all of a sudden she started playing well. She started hitting the ball, hitting good shots. And all of a sudden you stop and you think 'What happened? I was up 4-0 and now it's back to 4-All.'
"Coming into the match I knew it was going to be a tough match. I knew it was not going to be a walk in the park. This is the quarterfinal of a US Open...
"She has a very big game, and she has a big serve. If someone's serve is on, I guess there's not too much you can do....
"[In the final game Nadia] got a little bit tight serving at 40-15; she made a double [fault]. Then hit a pretty easy backhand... I hit a good return on matchpoint, she hit a great serve wide. I managed to get it back. Her ball was a little bit out." interview - video
About the last game, Nadia said: "I had everything in my hands. I had 40-15 up. Suddenly, I don't know from where, a double fault came. Then I missed an easy backhand and just gave it to her in the rally. I felt like if I would get this game, she would be fragile, that I could have won the match." Nadia Petrova post-match video
|
#6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #2 s2 Lindsay Davenport USA 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6) Wed
career matches Lindsay leads 10-5
Elena's forehand, Lindsay serving, Elena fielding a backhand, and Elena after match point
Elena dominated the 1st set, breaking Lindsay's serve twice to lead 3-0 before Lindsay got one break back. But Elena then broke Lindsay again, and controlled the rest of the set. Elena had no double faults in the 1st set, while Lindsay had three.
Lindsay recovered her form a bit in the 2nd set, while Elena hit the first ace of the match-- and 5 double faults. Lindsay broke Elena's serve three times in the 2nd; Elena broke Lindsay only once.
In the very even final set, Elena hit more winners than Lindsay, but also hit enough double faults to negate the advantage. At 5-5, Elena broke Lindsay's serve to take a 6-5 lead, and serve for the match. But Lindsay broke back, with the help of 2 double faults, and forced the tiebreaker.
Elena took a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker, then Lindsay battled back to 5-5, and had match point at 6-5, before Elena reclaimed control and won. Lindsay finished the match with 56 unforced errors (6 DFs) and 24 winners in the 224 points played; Elena 43 errors (12 DFs) and 34 winners. match stats
Elena said: "When you play a tiebreakers you don't really have time to think about anything... you're just going for every shot because you know that one point can make a big difference. It was a very close match, so even she had a matchpoint, I never give up and I was trying to go for the winner. And I did it."
About Lindsay's unforced errors, Elena said: "It's very difficult to say. Sometimes it's not because [Lindsay] did so many mistakes for nothing. I was putting a lot of pressure on her, and I was playing very well from the beginning. So maybe that's why. She couldn't find her rhythm, and she started to do some easy mistakes, and maybe it was because of my game. She was playing pretty good in the second and the third, when she started to feel more confidence than in the beginning. I don't think she was playing bad. I think she was playing very good today." interview - video - WTA story
Lindsay said: "[Elena has] played well against me a lot of times. I just wished today I found a way to play just a little bit better some different games, just been a little bit more consistent...
"Obviously, it's hard to come back in the tiebreak and get up and then end up losing it. But bottom line is you got to play better than that in a quarterfinal...
"[Elena is] a phenomenal competitor. With the amount of setbacks she has with her serve... she always hangs in there. She's a huge fighter. She manages to stay very positive in some bizarre circumstances in matches... She moves well. When she's on, her ground strokes are very tough. They're very flat and hard and deep. I've seen her make more errors than she did tonight, or spray a few more balls. But she was hitting them pretty well. I wasn't really able to get, you know, inside the baseline or really couldn't control a lot of the points...
"[On match point] she hit a return really deep off a first serve. It's hard to recover. Didn't get it in very deep, and there's the end."
About Elena's serve, Lindsay said: "You get just so many different speeds... you get some in the 60s and you get some in the 90s. You just never kind of know as a returner what to expect. More importantly I should have been holding on to my own serve more often, in the third especially. I got broken a couple of times and really that's what I need to concentrate on."
About her back injury, Lindsay said: "I feel fine. I just played bad at a big time." interview - video
On Thursday, Elena reached the Women's Doubles final, in which she and partner Flavia Pennetta, seeded 14th, will play 6th-seeded Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur on Sunday.
|
*#12 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 6-4, 6-1 Wed
career matches Amelie leads 4-3
Mary serving a cannonball, Amelie on the run, and Mary after match point
Mary won by making few mistakes. Mary has the highest 1st serve percentage of any WTA player to play 4 matches or more at this US Open (71%), and she put 75% of her 1st serves in the box against Amelie, and scored on 72% of those points (Amelie: 60% & 66%). Mary also had only 11 unforced errors with 16 winners in the 96 points played (Amelie: 19 errors, 20 winners). match stats
Mary said: "I feel like today was not a perfect tennis match, but I felt like I played pretty good and it was solid, and that it was good enough to win today. I've been playing well lately and just hope to continue to keep playing well." interview - video
Amelie said: "I think [Mary] just played a better match than me today. She just played better tennis. She's hitting the ball very well for few months now, we know that, and she's moving better and better and serving very well also. And so there's maybe few things here and there that I could have done better... she put me under a lot of pressure, not only on her service games but also on the return on my service games. So that's all the credit to her I think." interview - video
|
#4 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #10 s10 Venus Williams USA 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 Tue
career matches Venus leads 6-4
Venus on a 3rd set changeover, with that "not much fun in Stalingrad" look, and Kim's trademark splits forehand (how does it work?)
Kim put 66% of her 1st serves in the box (Venus: 58%) and hit only 3 of her 38 unforced errors (in 182 points played) in the 3rd set, while Venus hit 13 of her 51 errors in the 3rd. Kim also averaged a faster 2nd serve speed, 88mph, than Venus (84mph). match stats
Kim was trailing 4-6, 2-4 on Venus' serve in the second set before she took control of the match, winning 11 of the next 13 games. Kim said: "I just kept hanging in there. I don't think I was playing the same level in the first set as I did in the third set. But as long as you end on a good level, that's the most important thing. And that's what I did today. So even though I wasn't playing my best tennis at all, for a set and a half, I was still still kept fighting. I was defending well. I think that's kept me in a lot of the games. A lot of the points I came back. I got [Venus] tired the first and second set. We had a lot of long rallies, and I think that got her tired." interview - video
Venus Williams post-match video
|
|
On Thursday at Flushing Meadows, Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova had a friendly cookout on their day off before their semifinal. Kim is shown with a spatula full of cheeseballs ready for the grill, while Maria is patiently pulling puffy pink pasta from the extruder.
US Open, SFs, Fri Sep 9 CBS-TV
loser: $270,000 292 points
*#4 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS 6-2, 6(4)-7, 6-3
career matches Kim leads 4-0
Kim serving, Maria's backhand, Maria having a word with her Prince Turbo Shark MP about its 54 unforced errors, and Maria congratulating Kim after match point
200 points were played in the 2 hour, 14 minute match. 27% of those points ended in errors by Maria, and 17.5% in winners by her, while only 14.5% of the points ended in errors by Kim (a much more conservative player), and 12% in winners by her. Maria's service speeds have been lower than usual throughout this tourney (this may be related to her recent right pectoral muscle strain). Maria averaged 98mph on her 1st serves, and 84mph on her 2nd serves; her fastest serve was 108mph (Kim: 100mph and 87 mph, with a top speed of 116mph). match stats
In the 1st set, neither player could hold serve for the first 4 games. Then Kim held, while breaking Maria's weaker than ususal serve two more times. Both players held serve throughout the 2nd set. Serving while trailing 5-6 in the 2nd set, Maria fell behind 0-40, giving Kim 3 match points. Maria won the next three to reach deuce, but Kim was unable to convert two more match points before Maria could force the tiebreaker. Kim then broke Maria's serve twice early in the 2nd set, and although Maria broke Kim's serve twice late, Kim broke back immediately both times.
About the 5 unconverted match points in the 2nd set, Kim said: "I know I didn't play bad points there. [Maria] had to come up with good shots, and she did. She probably hit better shots in those points than she hit in the whole match... It was a little frustrating afterwards... I was saying to myself 'She came up with those shots in the last minute. Just try to refocus from the start. If she plays like this for the whole match, well, too good. But just let her do that again if she wants to beat me...'
"[In the 3rd set] I think I took over straightaway. It was obviously great for me to break her that first game. I think that definitely made it a lot easier for me, too.
"When she's down, she really goes for her shots and she takes a lot of risks... On matchpoint, when I was serving for it at 5-2 [in the 3rd set], she hit four incredible returns. Too good. Again, let her do it for the next few games. I was just trying to be consistent and I was trying to keep the unforced errors down at the end, too." interview - video
Maria said: "I kind of gave it all I had in the tiebreaker. Then the third, just kind of ran out of gas basically... I still have to get a lot better and I have to play these three-setters. The points are going to go on and on and on... when the points started getting longer and longer, I felt that [Kim] had the advantage. She was able to execute them well. I did have opportunities, going into the net, and she came up with great shots. One or two points, and you never know what could have happened. But credit to her, she played well when she needed to... she's able to make you hit another ball and when she gets an opportunity her ball is very heavy and big." interview - video
Kim now leads Maria 4-0 in career matches; they had last met in the NASDAQ-100 Open final in Miami (Key Biscayne) last March, where Kim won 6-3, 7-5. According to the WTA's (possibly incomplete) head-to-head list, Kim has the best record of any player against Maria. Anastasia Myskina 3-1 against Maria; no other player has defeated Maria 3 times.
|
*#12 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
career matches Elena leads 2-1
Mary serving, Elena after losing a point, Mary's forehand, and Mary winning a point
Elena won the 1st set 6-3, and it appeared she might dominate the entire match. Before the 2nd set began, Mary, who had shown no sign of injury, took two consecutive injury time outs, totaling 12 minutes. The first timeout was declared to treat Mary's back, the second to attend to a right thigh strain. Although the delay was legal, it appeared that Mary might have called the timeouts in the hope that Elena would lose her concentration, and thus her momentum.
Elena said: "You can change the game around by winning unbelievable points or by changing the rhythm. That's the fair point. But by taking 12 minutes time-out, I don't think it was a fair play, but [Mary] could do it by the rules. And she did it. If that's the only way she can beat me, it's up to her.
"I've never had such a long break. I can't remember that anyone could take such a long break before, like 12 minutes. That was really a lot. I was trying just to keep warm, you know, just stay focused because that was pretty long...
"I wasn't angry because I know that's the way she plays... If she has 20 seconds, she's going to use 25 seconds between points. She uses all extra time that she has. That's the way she plays and I was ready for this...
"I think it's didn't affect my game. But do I think she had something, I don't think so. But she could do it by the rules and she did it...
"But I think she was playing pretty good, pretty solid game today. And the thing really didn't affect my game. It was all my fault and I don't think that she did something incredible...
"After this break I was serving. I won this game very easily. I was very close to win the second game on her serve, so that means that it didn't affect my game. Just some little mistakes that I started to do, maybe because she started to play deep and heavy. She was playing pretty good today. I think she improved since last time we play, so she has a very solid game for the moment." interview - video
Mary said: "My back was bothering me from the very beginning of the match. Maybe I was compensating already for my leg that I injured in the match against Mauresmo, so I really wasn't able to serve normally... I didn't want to walk out there today with tape around my leg. I guess I just didn't want my opponent to know that there was anything wrong with me. But after I lost the first set, I was like, 'Okay, well, I need to get help...'
"After the break [Elena] didn't play as well. She started making more mistakes. Her serves weren't as hard. She served really great in the first set, was playing unbelievable. She played a lot better than I thought she was going to play, hitting the ball hard from both sides, moving very fast, serving really well and returning well...
"I know that I have a certain amount of time that I'm allowed to have, and I'm allowed to call a trainer. When she came out, I said, 'Look, my back and my leg are hurting. Am I allowed to have two injury time-outs right now together? Do I need to do one and then another one?' She said, 'No, you can have them both now.' I said, 'Well, I might as well get them both done now and get it out of the way.'" interview - video
The match was statistically very even. Mary has the highest 1st serve percentage of any WTA player to play more than 4 matches at this US Open (70%). She put 65% of her 1st serves in the box against Elena, and scored on 78% of those points (Elena: 64% & 65%). Mary had 32 unforced errors with 24 winners in the 160 points played (Elena: 32 errors, 25 winners). Elena had 6 double faults, low for her, while Mary had 3. Mary averaged 101mph on her 1st serves, and 87mph on 2nd serves, Elena served almost as fast: 99mph & 87mph. But Mary broke Elena's serve 4 times, while Elena only broke Mary twice, giving Mary the match. match stats
|
|
US Open, Final, Sat Sep 10 8pm CBS-TV
loser: $550,000 456 points - title: $1,100,000 650 pts
bonus: prize money doubled to $2,200,000 for "US Open Series" winner Clijsters
#4 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #12 s12 Mary Pierce FRA 6-3, 6-1
career matches Kim leads 3-0
Mary serving, Kim serving, Kim's backhand, Mary chasing a forehand that's getting away, and Kim after match point
 Kim on Sunday
|
US Open, Qualifying Finals Fri Aug 26 11am
losers' prize: $8,000 US
#93 Sybille Bammer AUT d #125 Shikha Uberoi IND 7-6(5), 6-2
*#124 Emma Laine FIN d #101 LL Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 6-4, 6-4
#109 Sandra Kloesel GER d #172 Claudine Schaul LUX 6-4, 6-3
#110 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #235 Marina Erakovic NZL 7-5, 6-3
*#133 Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR d #112 LL Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-4, 6-1
*#253 Pauline Parmentier FRA d #113 Tatiana Panova RUS 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
*#128 Maria Emilia Salerni ARG d #115 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR 7-5, 6-2
#120 Stephanie Foretz FRA d #165 Kathrin Woerle GER 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
*#180 Tiantian Sun CHN d #130 Ludmila Cervanova SVK 6-1, 6-2
#137 Martina Muller GER d #196 Vilmarie Castellvi PUR 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
*#722 Vania King USA d #139 Edina Gallovits ROM 6-4, 6(1)-7, 6-4
*#203 Tiffany Dabek USA d #141 Maria Fernanda Alves BRA 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
 Tiffany after match point
#149 Anne Kremer LUX d #158 Natalie Grandin RSA 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
*#205 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE d #157 Milagros Sequera VEN 7-5, 6-3
*#248 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #178 Lubomira Kurhajcova SVK 6-1, 6-4
#191 Ivana Lisjak CRO d #212 Jennifer Hopkins USA 6-3, 7-6(10)
US Open, Doubles Final, Sun Sep 11
losers: $200,000 - champs: $400,000
s6 Lisa Raymond USA & Samantha Stosur AUS d s14 Elena Dementieva RUS & Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
Flavia & Elena
|
Samantha & Lisa
|
US Open, Mx Doubles Final, Thu Sept 8
losers: $70,000 - champs: $150,000
Daniela Hantuchova SVK & Mahesh Bhupathi IND d Katarina Srebotnik SLO & Nenad Zimonjic SCG 6-4, 6-2
US Open, Girls Singles Final, Sept 11
s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d s7 Alexa Glatch USA 6-3, 6-4
 Victoria launching a backhand at Alexa
US Open, Girls Doubles Final, Sept 10
s7 Nikola Frankova CZE & Alisa Kleybanova RUS d s2 Alexa Glatch USA & Vania King USA 7-5, 7-6(3)
 Finalists Vania King & Alexa Glatch, champs Nikola Frankova & Alisa Kleybanova
US Open, Withdrawals/Non-entries
#19 Vera Zvonareva RUS l ankle sprain
#54 Jennifer Capriati USA r shoulder
#90 Michaella Krajicek NED r knee tear
#252 wc Chanda Rubin USA l ankle inflam?
 Hi, I'm Jean Harlow for Tarn-X...
|
, possibly starting in 2006. The Sunday start, extending the events to 15 days, would allow the tourneys to
, because about 5 million viewers would watch opening day, instead of 1.2 million. The only real problem with the idea is the effect it will have on tourneys the week preceding the Slams. Although those events already have Saturday finals, players might be even more inclined to skip them than they have been already.
The courts will be blue at Flushing Meadows for the 2005 US Open, and also for the 10 "US Open Series" events preceding the American Grand Slam tourney. The
it is going to blue courts because they make it easier for both players and fans watching on TV to see the ball.
