The 2008 US Open women’s semifinals will take center stage on Friday in Flushing Meadows.

Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, and Dinara Safina will vie for two coveted berths in Saturday’s championship match.

Aaress’ Picks for Friday

Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[2]
It’s down to the final four at the US Open and not only is a major title on the line, but also the No. 1 ranking. One of the quartet could walk away with the trophy, while another could potentially steal away the top spot. Or, one superheroine can walk away with the package deal.

Both of the semifinals will be hard-fought, but this one is the toughest to call. Elena Dementieva has had a marvelous summer, but so has Jankovic.

This one will come down to who can deal with the pressure the best. Jankovic needs to reach a Grand Slam final to receive a validation stamp on her 2008 season, while Dementieva knows that the clock is ticking on her chances of winning her first Grand Slam. At nearly twenty-seven, Dementieva is well aware that time could quickly run out.
Elena Dementieva in three sets

Dinara Safina (RUS)[6] v. Serena Williams (USA)[4]
While I was watching Serena vs. Venus on Wednesday, the thought crossed my mind of how good it is to see Serena wholly committed to the sport. Memories of last year’s Australian Open started to return, and although Serena has had less drama this year in Flushing Meadows, we clearly know that her trip to NYC will be a failure in her own mind if she does not leave with the trophy under her arm.

Dinara Safina is a tricky customer, especially as she has been blessed (or cursed) with the Safin unpredictability. Serena holds a 3-1 lead over Dinara in their previous meetings, and that one loss came on clay, which is arguably Serena’s worst surface. These two have only met at the US Open once in 2002, where Serena cruised with a 6-0, 6-1 victory. It will not be near as easy for Serena on Friday in the semifinals, especially if Safina brings her best game to the world’s biggest stage.
Serena Williams in three sets

Please go here to view the complete schedule of play for Friday.

She Said What?

Venus Williams about her future singles and doubles plans with Serena:
“For the record, I’m aiming for the 2016 Olympics. We’ll be playing doubles. I’ll be here for a long time still grinding and earning titles and making life hard for anyone and everyone.

What Else is Happening in Flushing Meadows?

Inclement Weather Advisory
Tropical Storm Hanna might affect the women’s final on Saturday.

Paes and Black win U.S. Open mixed doubles title
India’s Leander Paes and Zimbabwe’s Cara Black won the mixed doubles title on Thursday.

USA Television Schedule for Friday

All times are Eastern.

Men’s Doubles Final/Women’s SF - CBS - 12:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Don’t forget to enter On the Baseline’s Pick the Winner’s contest! The entry deadline for Friday’s featured match is 10:00 am ET.

Dementieva handily defeated Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday.

The Russian No. 3 cruised into the final four at Flushing Meadows in seventy-six minutes. Dementieva, who has a storied history of serving woes, hit only two double-faults and served with an 80% first serve percentage.

Dementieva will face second seed Jelena Jankovic in the semifinal round.

Former world number one Jelena Jankovic defeated Austria’s Sybille Bammer in two sets 6-1, 6-4. She holds a 4-3 career match record against Dementieva. However, Dementieva won their last meeting in three sets on clay in Berlin earlier this year.

The first two women’s quarterfinal matches will take place on Tuesday at the US Open.

Second seed Jelena Jankovic will face Sybille Bammer and Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva is set to play Patty Schnyder.

Sybille Bammer (AUT)[29] v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[2]
Jankovic has not looked picture perfect over the past ten days, but the second seed keeps getting the job done every time.

I half-expected to see a mother in the quarterfinals of the US Open, but I was not thinking of Sybille Bammer. At the age of twenty-eight and seven years after giving birth to her daughter Tina, Bammer has reached her first major quarterfinal. While an upset is not completely out of the question, Bammer needs to play the best match of her career to get past Jankovic, who has her heart set on reaching her third Grand Slam semifinal of the year.
Jelena Jankovic in two sets

Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. Patty Schnyder (SUI)[15]
This match will probably be much closer than the other quarterfinal match on Tuesday. Patty Schnyder is always a tricky opponent and her loopy, left-handed forehand has been known to baffle players better than Dementieva.

Dementieva and Schnyder have a long history of facing each other, but Dementieva currently leads their head-to-head record 8-7. Given the way that Dementieva has played of late, it will be tough for Schnyder to tie that statistic on Tuesday.
Elena Dementieva in three sets

Please go here to view the complete schedule of play for Tuesday.

She Said What?

Dinara Safina after her round of sixteen win:
“Every day is a happy day. Why it has to be? Doesn’t matter. When you wake up it’s already happy.”

What Else is Happening in Flushing Meadows?

US Open Sets First Week Attendance Records as Bigger and Younger Crowds Fill Stadium to Capacity
An all-time attendance record of 423,420 was set for the first week of the 2008 US Open.

Mauresmo Broken Seven Times in Poor Showing Against Pennetta
Amelie Mauresmo was broken seven times in her fourth round match against Flavia Pennetta on Monday.

USA Television Schedule for Tuesday

All times are Eastern

Monday’s Match of the Day - USA - 2:00 am - 4:00 am (taped)
Men’s 4th/Women’s QF - USA - 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Men’s 4th/Women’s QF - USA - 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Don’t forget to enter On the Baseline’s Pick the Winner’s contest! The entry deadline for Tuesday’s featured match is 10:00 am ET.

The round of sixteen officially begins on Sunday at the 2008 US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Sunday’s biggest showdown is between Jelena Jankovic, the highest ranked player alive in the tournament, and one of the Tour’s rapidly rising stars, Caroline Wozniacki.

Aaress’ Picks for Sunday

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[21] v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[2]
I spoke with my colleague Paula Vergara earlier today and she said that the press has been buzzing about Caroline Wozniacki’s amazing run to the fourth round. Hot off her title last Sunday at the Pilot Pen, Wozniacki has not dropped a set at this year’s tournament. She scored a solid 6-4, 6-4 win over her friend and fourteenth seed Victoria Azarenka on Friday, setting up this intriguing round of sixteen encounter with Jelena Jankovic.

The eager Danish teenager will head into Sunday’s showdown as the underdog, but their last and only meeting went to three nail-biting sets earlier this season at Wimbledon. Since then, Jankovic has had a stint at No. 1 and Wozniacki has played the best tennis of her career. Experience will rest on the side of Jankovic, but because she is so injury-prone and inconsistent, I think this one will end with Wozniacki triumphing in three sets.
Prediction: Caroline Wozniacki in three sets.

Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. Na Li (CHN)
Na Li just missed the Beijing Olympic podium after being beaten by two Russians in the semifinals and bronze medal match. Ironically, she never faced Dementieva, the eventual gold medal champion. In a stroke of the draw, Na Li now has a chance to face Dementieva two weeks later at the US Open.

I picked Dementieva for the runner-up trophy ten days ago and thus far nothing has changed my mind. Suddenly, the confidence of winning a big title has pushed Dementieva to play the best tennis of her career on the world’s biggest stage. Now that the draw has been blown open by the exits of Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova, this might be Dementieva’s best chance to take home her first major title.
Prediction: Elena Dementieva in three sets.

Please go here to view the complete schedule of play for Sunday.

She Said What?

Venus Williams when asked if she wished that tennis were a team sport:
“No, I like running it solo. If I have to play, I want to play with Serena doubles, because you can’t lose with her.”

“The part I like about tennis is that you work the hardest and you can choose to get better, and you can mold yourself into a champion.”

What Else is Happening in Flushing Meadows

Onto Asia
World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic has put her US Open loss behind her and is headed for Europe and the Tour’s Asian fall circuit.

USA Television Schedule for Sunday

All times are Eastern.

Men’s 3rd/Women’s 4th - CBS - 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Men’s 3rd/Women’s 4th - USA - 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Don’t forget to enter On the Baseline’s Pick the Winner’s contest! The entry deadline for Sunday’s featured match is 10:00 am ET.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour World No. 1 ranking is once again up for grabs at a major tournament.

A record six women, including Serena Williams, headed to the US Open with an opportunity to leave as the best player in the world.

For Williams, it has been five long years since her last stint in the top spot. Kim Clijsters replaced her as No. 1 on August 11, 2003 and since then, Serena has longed to once again see her name at the top of the computer rankings.

The point differential among the top six seeded players was so close that each of them had a chance to leave Flushing Meadows as the heir apparent to the top spot.

At the beginning of this week, six players had a chance at becoming No.1 after the US Open – Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.

Svetlana Kuznetsova no longer has a chance at becoming No.1 because Ivanovic won her first-round match. Kuznetsova is defending 700 points from last year’s US Open’s runner-up finish.

A title at Flushing Meadows would automatically give Ivanovic, Jankovic, or Williams the No. 1 ranking.

If Ivanovic reaches the finals and Jankovic does not advance past the semifinals, Ivanovic will remain No.1, regardless of the outcome of the finals.

Current No. 2 Jelena Jankovic and No. 3 Serena Williams must reach at least the semifinals to have a chance at becoming No.1.

Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva would have a chance at becoming No.1 only if they reach the finals. Dementieva is defending the least amount of points (90 = R16).

Should Safina win the singles title, she would become No.1 if Jankovic does not advance past the semifinals and Ivanovic does not advance past the quarterfinals. (Safina is in the same half of the draw as Ivanovic and Serena Williams.)

If Dementieva wins the singles title and Ivanovic does not advance past the semifinals, she would become No. 1. (Dementieva is in the same half of the draw as Jankovic.)

The United States Tennis Association announced the 2008 US Open main draw on Thursday at The New York Times Center in New York City.

All the best players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour are headed for Flushing Meadows, with the notable exception of Maria Sharapova. The 2006 champion has withdrawn because of a shoulder injury.

The top half of the draw contains world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Venus Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Amelie Mauresmo.

Former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic is leading the second half, along with Svetlana Kuznetsova, Beijing gold medalist Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Anna Chakvetadze, and Lindsay Davenport, who is playing in her first US Open since giving birth to son Jagger in 2007.

Venus and Serena Williams could potentially meet in the quarterfinals, spoiling an opportunity for an all-Williams championship match.

First Look at the Top Eight Seeds

(1) Ana Ivanovic (First Round: Vera Dushevina)
Ana Ivanovic heads to the US Open as the top seed for the first time in her career, but her run might be spoiled early by a thumb injury, which also forced her out of the Olympics. According to Ivanovic’s official website, she has brought her doctor with her to Flushing Meadows.

Ivanovic is assured of remaining in the top spot until the end of the two-week tournament, but the Serb needs a solid run to help her stay ahead of the three or four women aiming to end the season as No. 1. Ivanovic has a very difficult draw that could include a third round meeting with Amelie Mauresmo.
Prediction: Quarterfinals

(2) Jelena Jankovic (First Round: Coco Vandeweghe)
Unlike her younger countrywoman, Jelena Jankovic still has some unfinished business to settle this season. This is her last chance to reach a Grand Slam final in 2008, an achievement needed to help justify her rise to number one.

Jankovic has an uncanny ability to choke or get injured in big matches, something that must stop if she wants to be considered a serious contender. She lost nine straight matches to Justine Henin, but since Henin retired, Jankovic has not come close to winning the first major of her career.
Prediction: Semifinals

(3) Svetlana Kuznetsova (First Round: Qualifier)
Champions come and go, rankings rise and fall, and Svetlana Kuznetsova remains a consistent presence at the top of the women’s tour. That is not to say that Kuznetsova has been playing the best tennis of her career, because she emphatically has not. She lost in the opening round of the Olympics to Na Li last week and has only won two matches since Wimbledon.

Kuznetsova, the 2007 finalist at the US Open, is in the weaker half of the draw and should be able to make a decent run into the second week. Lucie Safarova lurks as a potential second round opponent, but Safarova is currently stuck in a slump of her own.
Prediction: Quarterfinals

(4) Serena Williams (First Round: Kateryna Bondarenko)
Fate dealt the Williams sisters a cruel blow because after Maria Sharapova withdrew, Venus and Serena landed in the same quarter of the draw. After the brilliant all-Williams final at Wimbledon, it’s hard to get excited for a Venus vs. Serena quarterfinal. Still, this is tennis and we are talking about the Williams sisters–not the most consistent of players–so it will be wise to take this just one match at a time.

Kateryna Bondarenko is not as dangerous as her sister Alona, but the younger Bondarenko sibling will head into this match with a score to settle. Venus and Serena cost the Bondarenko ladies a spot in the Beijing Olympic doubles final, something that is not easily forgotten. If Serena is sluggish in her opening match, unlikely given that she burned off any lingering rust last week in Beijing, Kateryna might be able to win a few games.
Prediction: Champion

(5) Elena Dementieva (First Round: Akgul Amanmuradova)
After Venus Williams denied her the gold medal eight years ago in Sydney, Elena Dementieva finally tasted a major triumph Sunday at the Beijing Olympics. Could this give her the motivation to take her career a step further by winning a Grand Slam? That is anyone’s guess, but I still believe that Dementieva has a major victory deep inside her.

The time is ripe for a Dementieva victory, especially with the absence of Henin and Sharapova. She has an excellent draw and could easily reach the quarterfinals against Svetlana Kuznetsova–if her erratic countrywoman makes it that far. Jelena Jankovic lurks in the semifinals, but after playing six matches in a row, Jankovic might be walking wounded again.
Prediction: Runner-up

(6) Dinara Safina (First Round: Qualifier)
The one blip on Dinara Safina’s stellar summer results was the Beijing Olympic final, albeit she did push Dementieva to three sets. She reached her first major in May at the French Open and although that was on clay, Safina is an agile all-court player, more than capable of winning a major on hard courts.

Safina is in the star-studded first half of the draw, but not in the same quarter as Venus and Serena. Given the uncertain status of Ivanovic’s thumb, Safina would be favored to emerge out of the top quarter and into the semifinals.
Prediction: Semifinals

(7) Venus Williams (First Round: Samantha Stosur)
Out of all the top seeds, Venus Williams was handed the toughest opening match on paper. Australia’s Samantha Stosur is a former No. 1 doubles player, and a very capable foe in singles. Instantly recognizable by her ever-present sunglasses, Stosur could be capable of upsetting this year’s Wimbledon champion in the first round.

Venus has remarkably never lost at the US Open before the fourth round, but if she starts tentatively, history might be rewritten by the comeback Australian.
Prediction: Quarterfinals

(8) Vera Zvonareva (First Round: Barbora Zahlavova Strycova)
Zvonareva helped complete Russia’s sweep of the Olympic medals in Beijing by beating Na Li for the bronze medal. This season has been a remarkable comeback for Zvonareva. She has completely turned her career and on-court demeanor around, proving that she has what it takes to battle the best players in the world.

The Czech Republic’s Barbora Zahlavova Strycova is an unfamiliar face to many fans, but the twenty-two year-old enjoyed solid results as a junior, including two Australian Open singles titles.
Prediction: Quarterfinals

Other must-see first round matches include (23) Lindsay Davenport vs. Stanford champion Aleksandra Wozniak, (24) Shahar Peer vs. Na Li, and (32) Amelie Mauresmo vs. Nathalie Dechy.

To view a real-time copy of the 2008 US Open draw, please visit www.usopen.org. On the Baseline’s live coverage of the tennis season’s final Grand Slam begins next week!

Dementieva’s countrywomen, Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva, won the silver and bronze medals.

Dementieva snapped Safina’s two tournament win streak after a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory in the gold medal match. Safina had defeated Dementieva five times in their previous seven meetings.

The United States’ Venus and Serena Williams won their second Olympics doubles gold medal together on Sunday. The sisters defeated Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-0.

Two of Russia’s biggest stars, Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina, will compete for the Olympic gold and silver medals.

Dementieva, the runner-up and silver medalist at the Sydney Games in 2000, has longed for an opportunity to add the biggest sporting trophy to her collection of nine career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles.

An opportunity was denied her at the 2004 Games in Athens, where she lost in the first round to Australia’s Alicia Molik. Dementieva has also come up short in her Grand Slam pursuit with two difficult losses at the French Open and US Open in 2004 to her countrywomen Anastasia Myskina and Svetlana Kuznetsova, respectively. Again, Dementieva’s fate involves a tense meeting with one of her compatriots.

Dinara Safina has been the most consistent player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour over the past several months, even reaching the French Open final in June. While the change has been clearly reflected in her performances and three new career titles, one of the biggest evidences of Safina’s improvement is her ranking. Over the past couple of weeks she has risen to three new career-highs, most notably her new ranking of No. 6 on last Monday.

Keys to Sunday’s Gold Medal Match:
Safina = Positive Outlook, Aggressive Service Returns, Keep Momentum From the Start
Dementieva = Perseverance, High First Serve Percentage

Because of rain delays the championship match has been moved to Sunday, the same day as the men’s gold medal match.

Three Russian players have weathered the field at Beijing, assuring Russia a medal in the event. Dinara Safina heads into the semifinals as the favorite against China’s Na Li, who has played some of the best tennis of her career over the past week. She handily defeated Venus Williams in straight sets during the quarterfinals, giving her home crowd much to cheer about on the Olympic Green.

Safina is riding a two-tournament win streak on hard courts in the United States and is eager to translate that momentum into a major victory in China. She reached the final round at the French Open in May, an experience which boosted her oft-fledging confidence.

The second semifinal of the day is an all-Russian affair between Elena Dementieva and Vera Zvonareva. Both players have struggled mentally over the years, but both have performed admirably thus far in the competition.

Elena Dementieva has come this close to a gold medal before, though she lost the final to Venus Williams in 2000. While she was happy to walk away from Australia with a silver medal around her neck, winning gold would be the biggest moment of her career.

Prediction: Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva

Rain delayed most of the day’s action on the Olympic Green before play was finally halted early Friday morning.

Elena Dementieva, a silver medalist at the Sydney Games, knocked out Serena Williams in three sets 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

It was a surprising upset for Williams, who appeared to be in control during the early part of the match, only to lose momentum after two uncharacteristic double-faults gave Dementieva an opportunity to break serve for the second set.

Na Li scored one of the biggest wins of her career in front of her home crowd with a straight sets win over Venus Williams. The 2008 Wimbledon champion lost 7-5, 7-5.