FLUSHING MEADOWS, New York—Arthur Ashe Stadium was packed on Monday afternoon as two of the biggest U.S. Open contenders, Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova took to the court. As play started, the wind was whipping around, but wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been over the weekend. Regardless, it didn’t stop either player from hitting long, hard rallies from the baseline.
Wozniacki stepped onto the court in her black and yellow Stella McCartney/Adidas dress with matching yellow nail polish. She had only played Sharapova twice before, and had never beaten her. In fact, the last time they played was in 2008 in Rome (on clay). Wozniacki took an early lead in the first set, and before anyone could blink, she was serving for the set at 5-3, and won it 6-3. “I knew that I had to be ready for the first ball. I knew she was going to try to attack me from the beginning,” said Wozniacki.
During the first game of the second set, some of the fans got a rare treat. Both players had mishits, resulting in two balls flying into the stands, which gave two fans match-played, Grand Slam tennis balls to take home. (eBay, anyone?) Sharapova quickly rebounded and took the lead in the second set with an ace, bringing it to 2-1, but it was short lived. Wozniacki tied it up at 2-2.
Sharapova started to mix up her game a little bit in the second set, incorporating some killer drop shots, which seemed to work to her advantage. Sharapova’s net game also seemed to be working. She won 16 out of 18 net approaches, which allowed her to capitalize on some points. Wozniacki on the other hand, chose to stick to the safety of the baseline, which is common for her game. One of the funnier moments of the match (according to Wozniacki) was when she tripped, fell backwards and dropped her racquet while attempting to run backwards from the net to reach a lob.
Wozniacki continued to increase her lead in the second set, bringing it to 5-3. Before she could close it out, Sharapova managed to save a match point, but had already racked up nine double faults, and 36 unforced errors. Sharapova lost the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. “She served really well today,” said Sharapova. “She used the wind really effectively, you know, especially when she was playing against the wind. She was able to use many things to her advantage.”
Caroline Wozniacki has only lost 10 games since the start of the US Open. She still has to get past a few more hurdles, but it’s looking more and more like she has the potential to win her first Grand Slam title, and take over the No. 1 position in the process.
Paula Vergara is a freelance tennis journalist, covering the WTA and ATP tours. Paula’s publishing credits include On the Baseline Tennis News, Tennis.com, USTA New England Magazine, and Bob Larson’s Tennis News. Paula is also a member of the United States Tennis Writers’ Association. To view her work, visit www.paula-vergara.blogspot.com.
