Thursday, August 31, 2006
US Open Day 3: Azarenka win was no fluke
by Pierre Cantin
Wow, yesterday was quite a good day in Flushing Meadows, I got back very late and was just too exhausted to write anything really. Even now, I do not have that much time so I will not post photos that I took in this post. Hopefully tonight I'll be able to do that.
So I got at Flushing Meadows, there was not much practicing going on so I sat in on the Azarenka practice... while I was there, I was asked about 5 times who she was, she was hitting some pretty solid shots, I would answer her name and also said she was playing later and looked like she had a good shot at Myskina (seems I was right hey?).
When matches started, I went on grandstand to see the Ana Ivanovic match as she faced Vera Dushevina, it was actually not that great of a match in the first set, Dushevina is a strange and streaky player and not much was going for her. Ivanovic was going for big shots and mostly hitting them, missing others, but Vera was just unable to enter the match... I'm not shocked it went 3 sets just because Ana's level did not seem that high.
After, I headed to see Viktoriya Kutuzova, she was playing Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, she was ok, she impressed me by having a lot more control over her shots than last year, she was trying to wait for the right moment to attach, I thought she wasn't agressive enough in the match though, sure she didn't need to be though... So either she knew that and played to win this match, or it could prove a bit of a problem today...
Then Alona Bondarenko, she was having quite a battle against Ahsha Rolle and I didn't see enough to see why it was so tough, but anyway, she was thrilled to win the match, looked more like relief than anything else (it was 2 sets but she had to make a nice comeback to win in 2).
Then, I saw a small bit of the Martina Sucha vs Anna Chakvetadze but as the Myskina-Azarenka match resumed, I headed over there. Both players started off pretty much as they had left it, Myskina got the early break to level the match but clearly she was having big problems with Azarenka's game. It honestly looked like they had a similar game but Victoria is significantly more agressive so Myskina was having a hard time staying in the points. The only thing going for Myskina (actually 2), were that Victoria was not serving very well, not consistently, and also, Myskina was clearly better on big points. After taking the opening set, Azarenka looked ready to roll and it was unfortunate to have Myskina injur her foot at 2-1 I think in the second... I think given the fact that she was being outplayed with no injuries, she probably knew she was not going to comeback but she stayed on the court with her injured left foot to finish the match... Azarenka continued to put shots in both corners and eventually won the match... I'll be back to see her today for sure but if she plays the same way, she could have a few more matches ahead of her in this tournament (could she even dream of the quarterfinals?).
I saw bits of Safina and then headed to grandstand, where I saw Pierce by Vesnina and Golovin vs Harkleroad. The first match was not that great, I'm not sure what happened but Vesnina had a good start and after that she was awful, she was making so many errors, not getting points to last anywhere near as long as she would have wanted, etc...
Then, Harkleroad vs Golovin, which was actually a great match, both players played well, I was really impressed by Harkleroad, she had quite an agressive game, hits with a lot more pace and power, and it is unfortunate for her she didn't pull this off, she certainly was playing well enough, she had the crowd on her side, she however complained of being "leg tired" towards the end of the match so that didn't help...!
Finally, I saw Daniela Hantuchova's match against Bethanie Mattek, it was an ok match, I don't think Daniela played incredible really, but she fought hard and advanced in 2 sets... which is pretty good...
So I've gotta get going now, a huge day of tennis lies ahead!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Day 2... ruined by rain!
Hello everyone!
Long day today but it was still a good one... we got there early simply because despite what we expected, when we got up, there was no rain in sight... sure, forecasts had rain every hour of the day planned but they could have been wrong right? So we headed to Flushing Meadows, and waited in line for the 10AM opening time.... And guess what, when the doors opened, it started raining...! We still rounded courts and there were a few players practicing but nothing major... And then, it rained, rained, rained... everytime it seemed like it was getting better, rain would come back pounding! Finally towards the end of the afternoon, some matches had the time to start, I watched the start of the Gael Monfils match and then when court #7 was ready, as Anastasia Myskina and Victoria Azarenka started their match, I was impressed by Victoria when the match started and during the practice, she looks a lot more solid than last year when I saw her play... She took a 1-0 lead and led 40-30 on her serve when the match was stopped again... We then waited for hours, hours and hours, talking to many people trying to figure out if the match would resume today or not. The US Open, usually organised so perfectly, certainly had some misses today, information was tough to get, few announcements were made, and information given by different parties conflicted a lot...but anyway, I can't wait to see that match and many others tomorrow, I think Myskina will have to be very solid to reach the 2nd round...
Talk to you tomorrow with more to say:)
Pierre
Monday, August 28, 2006
Jelena Jankovic overcomes Dulko, umpire
Hello to all of you and welcome to first daily summary of my US Open journey. Today was the first day of the tournament (excluding qualifying) and it is always a special feeling to be there at the opening with other true tennis fans. That is even more true when, like this morning, it is raining. You know people in line with you are probably as excited about seeing the courts, hearing the balls being hit in all directions and just feeling the uncomparable "Grand Slam" excitement.
So we headed inside, saw some players practice and I did take a few photos, but it didn't take too long for the rain to intensify and within a few minutes, all players were back inside, all fans hiding in all of the different possible places to escape being completely wet (and yes there are many possibilities!). It lasted for over an hour but that was fine, I was near the courts, had a tennis ball and good company, what more could you ask for? Ok, well after that, I was ready to see some tennis, from the moment they started to work on some courts, it took a very long time to get them ready for action, or so it seemed.
Then matches finally started, I headed first to see the start of the match between Iveta Benesova and Jill Craybas, I actually beleived this match might take a while and just wanted to get a few shots before the match started so I quickly left... I was pretty surprised to see the match was so quick, it beats me what happened to Benesova, she can be so unpredictable, but still, 6-0 6-2??? Needless to say the photo in this post was taken before her match...
Then I headed to see Vera Zvonareva against Marta Domachowska, Marta had a lot of support from the crowd as could have been expected, and she was really close but in the end she came up a bit short, she was just not maybe consistent enough. And also, when she saw her opponent Vera lose her patience and lose her mind a bit, I think Marta should have let her at least a chance to beat herself, while today I'm not sure Marta really tried to change her game plan when that happened. Certainly the end of the first set was a big factor, and Marta played a strange point while down 3-2 in the tie-break, she went for a huge return, one like she had not tried earlier in the set, not sure why she did it, but she missed and that certainly didn't help her...
During that match, I also tried to see parts of the match of Shahar Peer, a player I've been liking more and more, I don't think she had much opposition today, she was just so much more determined than her opponent... it was a no-match.
After all those matches, while I was wondering around, I did see some practices, Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova among others, nothing special, Ana looks really relax which is a good sign because with all the added pressure she is currently experiencing, it could have been difficult to deal with but it looks like its no problem...
After that match I headed to see the match between Stephanie Dubois and Severine Beltrame, I had never seen Beltrame play and I must say I'm very impressed, she was not consistent throughout the whole match but mostly, she played very solid tennis. I know she didn't have much opposition (I didn't feel like Dubois had any weapon over Beltrame), but still Severine was impressive, especially her backhand, a lot of variety, power, and nice slices. I think her Wimbledon quarterfinal was perhaps not a fluke, I'll be curious to see her play again, see how she can play against tougher players and how consistent she is from one match to another...
Then, I went to see Aravane Rezai and Anne-Lena Groenefeld's match end, it was a high intensity battle, I saw about the last 30 minutes, it was a great battle, wow...Both players looked exhausted in the 3rd set, especially the young French qualifier... and she had lots of problems closing out the match, she was getting match point after match point after match point and never being able to convert. Then, finally, she got one, such drama... it was "overruled"...!! Lucklily for her and her fans, she followed right away with a winning point to pull off the upset against the German, very nice player...
I then proceeded to see a bit of Lucie Safarova's match, no problem there, she looked in control, so I headed to see Maria Kirilenko, I was a bit disapointed to see was wearing the same clothes as in Australia (different colour but still), ok that's superficial on my part;) So anyway, it was an ok match against Julia Schruff, I did not see that much, but it wasn't that impressive from what I saw... She was making too many errors and was not being tested that much!
Match of the day: Dulko vs Jankovic
For so many reasons, this was the best match of the day! Gisela Dulko and Jelena Jankovic put on quite a show, it was an impressive display. I think Jelena deserved to win and was the better player but as soon as she stepped her agressivity level down a bit, Dulko would fire back. In that first set, Dulko was back to the girl who was heading towards the top 20 a year ago... ! It was nice to see. Both players gave so many examples of their talent, and I wish I could talk more about the match but since it's too late, I'll cut it short... In the first part of the match, Gisela was clearly robbed on many calls, with no overrules, she was very annoyed (with reason, and I rarely say this), but then things switched and some bad calls started going the other way, Jelena was very aggravated, she could just look up, then started complaining, and finally when she was up 5-4 in the third set, she just lost it, asking the umpire to call a supervisor because she wanted a referee change, showing line judges how to look at the line, asking the crowd to confirm she was right (she was), asking Gisela if she agreed some bad calls had gone to both players (Gisela agreed), it was crazy... Honestly, I don't blame Jelena, it wasn't out-of-line, it was as bad of an umpire had been in a long time in matches I saw... only problem is that I think it really took out Gisela's rythm and in the end, she made a few errors (and a double fault) to lose the match, Jelena explained her actions to Gisela afterwards (Gisela seemed disapointed not upset)... Anyway, it was the best match I've seen both in terms of quality of play and level of entertainment... quite a show... way to go Jelena for standing up, on this occasion, you were entirely right...
Just a quick word, I finished
with Mirza, who seemed to be playing solid tennis...:)
Tuesday Schedule
Hello everyone, a quick post to let you know where I'll be heading tomorrow (if rain permits):
Matches I have to see
Golovin vs Harkleroad
Myskina vs Azarenka
Hantuchova vs Mattek
Kutuzova vs Martinez Sanchez
Chakvetadze vs Sucha
Matches I'd like to see
Murray vs Krendrick (ATP)
Bondarenko, A vs Rolle
Mathieu vs Goodall (ATP)
Safina vs Beygelzimer
Matches I'd like to peak on
Dushevina vs Ivanovic
Petrova vs Fernandez
Radwanska vs Yan
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Monday Schedule:)
Hello everyone, a quick post to let you know where I'll be heading tomorrow:
Matches I have to seeBenesova vs Craybas
Zvonareva vs Domachowska
Kirilenko vs Schruff
Dubois vs Bremond
Matches I'd like to seeStosur vs Safarova
Dulko vs Jankovic
Matches I'd like to peak onRubin vs Vaidisova
Jidkova vs Kirkland
Gasquet vs Simmonds (ATP)
Sprem vs Mirza
Arvidsson vs Martinez-Granados
Should be a great day:)
Friday, August 25, 2006
2006 US Open Preview
Hello everyone and welcome back to my columns. For the past few years, I have been writing a preview for grand slams but also writing daily reports from the US Open. Good news, I'm back and as I'm leaving for New York City tomorrow, I'll be writing my columns and posting photos as well! I will be attending the first 6 days of the US Open and will thus bring you photos and comments from those. I have been fortunate enough this year to complete my "career slam" when i went to Melbourne to see the Australian Open. But I am now more than ready to head back to New York for what has always been one of my very best events.
I have now arrived in New York and after a day of shopping and walking around the city tomorrow, Monday morning I'll start my journey in Flushing Meadows, one that will include 6 days of tennis so hopefully the entire first 3 rounds of the ladies singles draw.
A lot of interesting matchups in the first round, I will comment on a few of them and do my little predictions report on here, which of course will be in competition with Todd Spiker's Backspin column as well! Starting Monday, I will also be writing reports after each day of tennis and also will publish some of my best photos in this article:)
So may this be a great week of tennis!
1st round matches of interest:
-Maria Sharapova(3) def Michaela Krajicek: I really hope to see this match (I won't go if it's on Arthur Ashe though, Krajicek is talented, has lots of fans that can create quite an atmosphere, Sharapova will win in 2 but not easy...
-Elena Vesnina def Mary Pierce(13): Vesnina has been playing better and better and Pierce has simply not practiced enough...
-Anastasia Myskina(11) def Viktoriya Azarenka: Azarenka is talented, Myskina not playing her best and has foot problems, this could go to 3 sets..
-Nicole Vaidisova(9) def Chanda Rubin: Interesting match for fans as they'll see Chanda back, but not a problem for Nicole...
-Severine Bremond def Stephanie Dubois: Huh? Yes you read right... Unfortunately, out of nearly 10 visits in New York, I think it's the first time a girl from Quebec (where I live) makes it to the main draw...! Go Steph... but she'll lack weapons against Bremond...
2nd round matches of interest:
-Daniela Hantuchova(17) def Serena Williams: tough match to call but just because of lack of play, I'll pick Dani
-Tatiana Golovin(27) def Agnieszka Radwanska: Tatiana could be tested here, experience or lack of experience from Poland's upcoming star will give Tatiana a pass to the next round...
-Lucie Safarova def Anna-Lena Groenefeld(15) - Safarova has lots of talent, it's time she put on a big win
Predictions starting 3rd round:
Mauresmo(1) def Dechy(31)
Ivanovic(16) def Hantuchova(17)
Safina(12) def Kutuzova
Hingis(8) def Fedossova
Sharapova(3) def Likhovtseva(32)
Vesnina def Li(24)
Chakvetadze(23) def Myskina(11)
Petrova(5) def Golovin(27)
Kuznetsova(6) def Zheng(29)
Vaidisova(9) def Jankovic(19)
Safarova def Kirilenko(20)
Dementieva(4) def Zvonareva(33)
Schnyder(7) def Bartoli(26)
Srebotnik(22) def Davenport(10) - it's more like predicting Davenport will not play at the Open...
Peer(21) def Schiavone(14)
Henin-Hardenne(2) def Sugiyama(28)
4th round:
Ivanovic(16) def Mauresmo(1)... would be quite a win for Ana
Hingis(8) def Safina(12)
Sharapova(3) def Vesnina
Chakvetadze(23) def Petrova(5)
Vaidisova(9) def Kuznetsova(6)
Dementieva(4) def Safarova
Schnyder(7) def Srebotnik(22)
Henin-Hardenne(2) def Peer(21)
QF:
Ivanovic(16) def Hingis(8)
Sharapova(3) def Chakvetadze(23)
Vaidisova(9) def Dementieva(4)
Henin-Hardenne(2) def Schnyder(7)
SF:
Sharapova(3) def Ivanovic(16)
Henin-Hardenne(2) def Vaidisova(9)
Final:
Henin-Hardenne(2) def Sharapova(3)
Have a great week of tennis, and I'm looking forward to writing back on Monday about what I will have seen:)
