And Then There Were Eight at the US Open
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Sep 5, 2006 | Print
| 
NEW YORK — First there were one hundred and twenty eight, and now just eight of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players are left standing in the 2006 US Open. A few predictable faces are still playing on the grounds of Flushing Meadow - after all, who would dare to predict that Amelie Mauresmo, Justine Henin-Hardenne, and Maria Sharapova would not have made the quarterfinals? Lindsay Davenport is as happy as the rest of her American fans that she reached the quarterfinal, but she has an old foe, Justine Henin-Hardenne, that will prove a very worthy opponent.
All in all, eight women - Amelie Mauresmo, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina, and Tatiana Golovin are through to the quarterfinal round which begins today at 11:00AM ET.
I have not seen much of Dementieva over the past several days, but I did watch her entire match yesterday against Aravane Rezai. Dementieva kept the double-faults to a minimum, but it looked as if she was having some trouble with her movement. She was sporting tape all across her left thigh, and her mother did confirm to me that she was having some trouble with it. It clearly was not hampering her too much, as she still notched a straight sets win, but Jelena Jankovic is going to be much tougher to defeat then Rezai.
Jankovic is starting to once again capture the form that led her to a career high of No. 17 in the world, and her last two matches have been huge tests for the twenty-one year old. I watched her come back from behind against Vaidisova and Kuznetsova in three tough sets, and although Dementieva won their last meeting in Los Angeles, Jankovic may have a chance at reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal.
Even though Amelie Mauresmo has since proved that she can keep her head in the game with two Grand Slam titles, last night against Serena Williams only stood to reinforce that she is playing her best ever mental tennis. She had only beaten Serena twice out of their eleven meetings, but she came back from being behind 0-6 in the second set to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open for the fifth time in her career.
Dinara Safina is making only her second appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinals, and can be a dangerous floater in the draw, as Maria Sharapova learned at Roland Garros earlier this season. I think Safina is playing well, but she has not faced a seeded player at all during this event. Mauresmo and Safina have played some close matches in the past, with Amelie leading 2-1, but after Mauresmo outlasted Serena in last night’s thriller, I just do not see her falling to Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals.
Lindsay Davenport was more than willing to chat with the media yesterday about how well Justine Henin-Hardenne is playing. Most players shy away from praising their opponents too freely, especially only hours before a meeting, but Davenport had no qualms about telling us that Justine is the most complete player on tour right now.
Justine may be a complete player, but she has not been playing as well as she would have liked during the past ten days. She trounced Shahar Peer in straight sets this afternoon, but her third round match against Ai Sugiyama revealed that this year’s three-time Grand Slam finalist may not be as invincible as previously thought.
Davenport, on the other hand, has been playing well, especially given the fact that she could not move her arm just two weeks ago. When asked why she won five straight matches against Henin-Hardenne, only to lose the next seven, Davenport just shrugged it off with a laugh and said, “I played her when she was like 16 or 17.” The only test that Davenport has had so far was in the third round against Katarina Srebotnik where she was forced to save two match points. Not only did it test her physical game, but also proved that Lindsay has the mental stability to try to make yet another deep run for a fourth Grand Slam singles title.
Tatiana Golovin does not have the best of memories of her last meeting against Maria Sharapova. Just when it looked like she was going to take charge of the tough, three-set match at the NASDAQ-100 Open in March, Golovin slipped on the baseline and severely injured her left ankle. She spent several weeks on the injury list, but she is back and playing some of her best tennis in months at the US Open. She outlasted a cramping Nadia Petrova in the third round, and cruised past Anna Chakvetadze yesterday to set up her quarterfinal debut at a major. Apart from their stormy match in April, Sharapova has defeated Golovin twice in the past.
I watched the first set of Maria’s match last night against Na Li, and the Chinese star actually was able to break Maria’s serve and take an early lead. Sharapova did manage to recover and win the match in straight sets, proving that she still is a legitimate contender for the title. She has only surrendered fifteen games over the past ten days, and should be able to clear Golovin off the court in two.
Be sure to post your thoughts and picks in the comments!
On a side note, this is my last post from New York, and I’d like to thank all of you for your support and encouragement over the past several days. As usual, we will still continue to provide you with the latest news and commentary as the final Grand Slam of the season winds to a close.
If you enjoyed this tennis article, please sign up for a free subscription!
Nexty | Sep 5, 2006 | Reply
What is this?
Nexty | Sep 5, 2006 | Reply
Ame will win staights, Lindsay and Maria after long and hard-fought matches in 3 sets will get their tickets for the semis…
Jankovic crushed Dementevia in staights
Aaress | Sep 5, 2006 | Reply
Nexty - that first comment is actually a “pingback”. That site linked to this article and sent my server “ping” just to notify me that they are displaying a link.
momofan | Sep 5, 2006 | Reply
Now now Nexty, let’s not jinx our dear Amelie. I’m hoping and praying but she will have to play very well to defeat Dinara because Dinara has had a great summer and will not tire out like Serena did. Plus, Dinara beat Amelie once on carpet (Paris 2005) But I have complete faith in my girl and I’m sure she has EVEN MORE now that she’s finally gotten that second win over Serena.
ALLEZ AMELIE! (GET YOUR SERVE BACK WOMAN)
I hope Tatiana can finish what she started in Miami. That match is too painful to relive.
sapphisto | Sep 5, 2006 | Reply
LOL, well said, Momofan!
If she can come out like she did last night against Serena - or even better, like she did in the third set, with that fierce focus that had my jaw dropping (ok, I was drooling) - and stay in that mindset for the whole match… it’ll be straight sets.
Amelie has definitely turned a corner, and it’s a beautiful thing to see her dig deep and have that belief in herself. That final point last night against Serena was gorgeous. *drool* And when they replayed it a few minutes ago - she knew as soon as she hit it that it was the winner - her whole face lit up in a grin, and then she went bouncing all over the court. YES!
But, yes, she needs to brush up on her serve!! LOL. Has anyone noticed she’s been trying out a much more aggressive return, too? I’m thinking that’s intended for Davenport, should they meet again….
I think we have to have faith - in Loic as well as Amelie. They make a pretty good team, n’est-ce pas?!
ALLEZ AMELIE!!!