Preview of Day Seven at the 2007 US Open
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Sep 1, 2007 | Print |
Now that the bottom half of the draw has been blown wide open because of Saturday’s upsets, five title contenders remain and all of them are headed to the courts on Sunday.
Justine Henin, Serena and Venus Williams, and Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic remain the favorites for the ladies’ title, but unfortunately, all but one of them is guaranteed to be defeated by the end of next Friday.
The most intriguing matches on Sunday will be featuring the Williams sisters.
Serena kicks off the start of the day’s action at Arthur Ashe Stadium by taking on Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli. Serena received an excellent look at Bartoli’s game only weeks ago at SW19, at least that was before Venus shut her down in straight sets for her fourth Wimbledon title.
Headed into the match, Bartoli has nothing to lose and needs to recapture the form that led her to the final at her last Grand Slam and stunned Justine Henin in three sets. Anyone know if Pierce Brosnan is in town?
Shortly after Bartoli is finished with her match, the person who handily defeated her at Wimbledon will be taking to the court against fifth seed Ana Ivanovic. Again, Venus is heading in as an underdog - at least that is what the rankings would imply.
The last time she faced a player ranked fifth in the world was Svetlana Kuznetsova on the way to winning Wimbledon and she cruised past her 6-3, 6-4. Ana Ivanovic’s confidence is much higher than Kuznetsova’s presently, but expect Venus to still score the win in three sets.
Jelena Jankovic remains on track for yet another semifinal meeting with Justine Henin, and although Sybille Bammer’s 2007 season has been the best of her career, the Tour’s top mother is in for a tough match against the agile Jankovic. But, Jelena’s biggest weakness is her mental game, and if Bammer can get in Jankovic’s head and seize the advantage early on, she may be able to pull an upset.
The final ladies’ fourth round match of the day will be between world number one Justine Henin and fifteenth seed Dinara Safina. Safina has played impressively to set up a meeting with the top seed, but if history repeats itself, the Russian may be in trouble. Out of their three previous meetings, Safina has never managed to win a set.
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Bob | Sep 2, 2007 | Reply
Bartoli defeated Henin in 3 sets
Aaress | Sep 2, 2007 | Reply
Thanks Bob - it has been changed.
Venusfan | Sep 2, 2007 | Reply
well if we’re picking out mistakes Venus beat Kuznetsova 6-3 6-4. sorry to be picky! loving your work Aaress!
Aaress | Sep 2, 2007 | Reply
: ) Thanks Venus Fan!
Don’t worry about being picky. Seriously, I would rather have readers that spot the mistakes, because that proves that the articles are being read!
Plus, that only goes to show how informed and dedicated you are to tennis.
Darryl Thompson | Sep 2, 2007 | Reply
Jankovick over Venus Williams? I don’t think so!!!
Justine beating Serena 3 times in one year? No way!!! Prepare yourself for an All-Williams Semi with the winner having a VERY easy victory in the final. Truth is whoever enters the final from the top half will win the US Open in straight sets. This final the fans lose because (so we are told) it was just the luck of the draw that the only tough player in the bottom half was Sharap-ova (smells fishy to me)…