Melanie Oudin will attempt to keep her US Open Cinderella run alive on Wednesday with a night session showdown against ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki.
Kateryna Bondarenko and Yanina Wickmayer are also bidding to reach Friday’s semifinal round.
1. Kateryna Who?
Kateryna Bondarenko is not a name you see every day in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, at least not in the singles draw. Kateryna, the younger half of the Bondarenko doubles duo, is playing the best tennis of her career and prior to Flushing Meadows this season, she had never been past the third round of a major. When she is not on-court, Kateryna can often be seen with her Chihuahua named Princess in tow.
2. The Other Belgian
It has been a while since the world saw two Belgians dominating at a Grand Slam, although this time, Justine Henin is sitting on the sidelines. Henin’s countrywoman Yanina Wickmayer has joined Kim Clijsters in the latter rounds of the US Open and is eager to spark memories of the good ole’ days in Belgian women’s tennis when two players were competing for success on the sport’s biggest stage.
3. The Legend’s Ball
The 29th annual “Legends Ball,” an event which benefits the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, will be held on Friday, September 11, beginning at 6:30 pm at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.
The star-studded guest list includes tennis legends Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Jimmy Connors, Stan Smith, Guillermo Vilas, Donald Dell and Tracy Austin; tennis dignitaries like Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe; and celebrity tennis fans such as Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts and Miss USA Kristen Dalton.
4. Pick Your Coach
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour web site is hosting a poll about players who could one day be coaches. If given the option of having Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, or Elena Dementieva as your coach, who would you choose?
5. Two Teams Into Semifinals
Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs powered into the US Open women’s doubles semifinals on Tuesday with a solid 6-2, 6-3 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova. Joining them in the semifinals as well was the Russian squad of Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova, who bested their compatriots Elena Vesnina and Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
6. The Best on the Planet
Melanie Oudin and Kim Clijsters are topping the headlines, but Serena Williams is looking more ominous with every match she wins. She’s thrown down the gauntlet at the US Open and I’m inclined to agree with James Martin that “there is no better player on the women’s tour right now than Serena Williams.”
7. Twitter Talk
We asked our followers on Twitter yesterday about whether it would be more remarkable for Kim Clijsters or Melanie Oudin to win the US Open. Here are a few replies:
“Oudin winning would be more remarkable as she’s young & came out of nowhere – Rookie. We all know Kim is a great player.” (@OddOneDesigns)
“If Melanie wins the title, it will be the most remarkable event on the tour in years. This Cinderella girl deserves it!” (@Katakimiku)
“Kim Clijsters b/c I think Oudin is a darling but she’s not at the point to carry top tennis consistently at this point imo” (@ohworldgirl)
8. Mixed Doubles Final
Co-ranked world number one doubles player Cara Black will contest the 2009 US Open mixed doubles final with her partner Leander Paes. Facing Black and Paes in Thursday’s championship match will be the unseeded pairing of Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott.
9. Dazzle Your Desktop
Official US Open computer desktop wallpaper has been posted on the US Open web site. Fans can choose between seven beautiful designs available for download.
10. Sayonara, Ai
Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama has announced that she will likely retire at the end of the 2009 season. Her last event is scheduled to be at home in Tokyo at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2009 US Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours.
