U.S. Open Capsules: No love lost: Sharapova blanks Capra 6-0, 6-0
NEW YORK (AP) — Maria Sharapova knows the story all too well: An unknown American kid shows up at the U.S. Open, upsets a seeded player, gains some buzz and belief, then gets a shot at Sharapova in the third round.
In 2009, that kid was Melanie Oudin, who beat Sharapova en route to the quarterfinals.
In 2010, that kid was Beatrice Capra and, well, let's just say that Sharapova fared a little better this time around.
Overwhelmed by the stage, the circumstances, the 25 mph wind that knocked the neon lime visor off her head during a point, and — most of all — a solid Sharapova, the 18-year-old Capra didn't win a game, let alone the match. Instead, 2006 U.S. Open champion Sharapova set up a fourth-round showdown with No. 1-seeded Caroline Wozniacki by blanking the 371st-ranked Capra 6-0, 6-0 on Saturday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"This was a new day," said Sharapova, the first woman to win love-and-love at the U.S. Open in the third round or later since Martina Navratilova did it in the 1989 quarterfinals. "And what happened last year — I didn't really want to go into the match thinking about it."
On her very first serve of the afternoon, Capra nearly sailed the ball all the way to the opposite baseline. That might have been a result of nerves and the ever-swirling wind, which made the U.S. flag above the stadium flap loudly and caused four midpoint stoppages in play when debris rolled onto the court. Plenty of brown, concession-stand napkins and one plastic sandwich bag floated out of the stands; even two white towels made like tumbleweed.
"This is probably the toughest conditions we're going to get," Sharapova said.
Actually, other than whiffing on one serve return, Sharapova handled the conditions rather well; others did not. Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, the 2008 runner-up at Flushing Meadows, shanked one serve straight up in the air off the top of her racket frame and finished with 41 unforced errors in a 6-2, 7-6 (1) loss to No. 31 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.
"You get frustrated with the wind," Jankovic said, "because you want to hit balls in (a) certain direction, and they go everywhere except where you want them to go."
There were no such surprises in men's action. Five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer reached the fourth round by beating Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3, 6-3; No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic had no trouble getting past American wild card James Blake 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3 at night; No. 5 Robin Soderling, twice a French Open finalist, defeated Thiemo de Bakker 6-2, 6-3, 6-3; No. 19 Mardy Fish outlasted 32-year-old Arnaud Clement, the oldest man left, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Fish now takes on Djokovic for a berth in the quarterfinals.
Also, No. 13 Jurgen Melzer beat 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-1; No. 21 Albert Montanes advanced when qualifier Ken Nishikori quit in the second set with a groin injury, two days after winning a grueling five-setter; and No. 17 Gael Monfils picked up a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4 win over Janko Tipsarevic, who knocked off 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick in the second round.
Asked to describe the weather, Monfils said: "Awful. I mean, for me: awful."
Capra, who's from Ellicott City, Md., and trains at the Evert Academy in Florida, acknowledged struggling with the wind. She also acknowledged feeling jitters, and who could blame her, really? She won a U.S. Tennis Association playoff in August to earn a U.S. Open wild card; not only was this her first Grand Slam tournament — it was her first tour-level, main-draw event, period.
She became the lowest-ranked woman since 2002 to reach the U.S. Open's third round by beating 95th-ranked Karolina Sprem in the first round, then 18th-seeded Aravane Rezai in the second.
And now she found herself going up against the 23-year-old Sharapova, someone Capra said she looked up to "when I was younger." They never had met until Saturday.
So what was that like?
"Before the match, she would just walk past me and kind of, like, give me a glare, which is kind of intimidating," Capra said. "After the match, when we shook hands, she was really nice."
Oudin, who knows Capra from her junior days, sent a text message after the victory over Rezai, offering advice.
"I should have talked to Melanie before the match, because I was wondering — I was like, 'Was Melanie this nervous before she played?'" Capra said. "I didn't get the chance to, but I probably should have."
Then again, the Capra of 2010 is not exactly the Oudin of 2009, a player who already had risen to 70th in the rankings before the U.S. Open, thanks to a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon that summer.
And, to be fair, the Sharapova of 2010 is not exactly the Sharapova of 2009, either.
"She doesn't give you anything," noted Capra, whose exit leaves Venus Williams as the only U.S. woman in the field. "Even though she's beating me that badly, she's still so focused."
A year ago, Sharapova was still figuring things out after having right shoulder surgery in October 2008, still working her way back into match shape after missing the start of the season.
Against Oudin, Sharapova double-faulted 21 times, more than any woman had in any tour match all year.
Against Capra, Sharapova double-faulted five times, but otherwise was in strong form.
"I mean, I could have done better, and, you know, it was close in some of the games," said Capra, whose parents, sister, grandparents, aunt and two friends were in the stands. "Plus, when you're, like, losing that bad, it's just in your head, like, 'Just please let me win one game.'"
That's what 2009 U.S. Open runner-up Wozniacki's opponents might have been thinking: She has won 36 of 39 games so far, including Saturday's 6-1, 6-0 victory over Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan. That followed a 6-0, 6-0 shutout — known in tennis as a "double bagel" — in the second round.
Other women advancing Saturday included No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, the runner-up at Wimbledon in July; No. 11 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, who beat No. 23 Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-4 at night; and No. 15 Yanina Wickmayer, who lost to Wozniacki in the 2009 semifinals in New York.
The three games Wozniacki has lost so far this year are the fewest through three completed matches at any Grand Slam tournament since Mary Pierce dropped only two at the 1994 French Open.
"I have been feeling good out there," Wozniacki said, the understatement of the week. "It just says something about how I've been playing, and the level I've been playing on."
Federer wins, talks about Nadal’s shot at history
NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Federer remembers how it felt when he was trying to complete the career Grand Slam, when every trip to Roland Garros was more than merely big, but a chance to make history.
In other words, he remembers what it felt like to go through what his rival, Rafael Nadal, is going through for a second straight year in New York.
After Federer's windblown-but-routine 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Paul-Henri Mathieu at the U.S. Open on Saturday, attention turned to the bigger picture — Federer, Nadal and their places in tennis history.
Federer finally won the French Open in 2009, making him the sixth man to win all four major titles. Before that, he lost in the final at Roland Garros in 2006, '07 and '08.
Nadal, who has never been to the final at the U.S. Open, won his first Australian Open title in 2009. Now, he needs to win it all at the U.S. Open to cap his career Grand Slam.
"I guess it's somewhat similar," Federer said. "I won the other three Grand Slams rather quickly, as well, like he did."
Federer needs three more wins to reach his seventh straight U.S. Open final. Nadal has lost in the semifinals in his last two trips to Flushing Meadows. His third-round match this year is set for Sunday against former top-10 player Gilles Simon.
Federer owns a record 16 major victories, while Nadal has eight. Nadal is five years younger, so he has time, but in Federer's opinion, he'll almost certainly need at least one championship in New York if he's ever going to be in the conversation about the greatest tennis players ever.
"Clearly, he has a chance because he's young enough," Federer said. "Obviously, I guess he would need to win the U.S. Open to put himself there. He's won the Olympics, done some amazing things. So, he'll have a shot at it, I'm sure."
Nadal, who defeated Denis Istomin in a tense, three-set win that ended late Friday, said it's way too early for him to think about his place in history — or about the so-called pressure to break through at the U.S. Open.
"For me, just to be here and have a chance to win the fourth is just an unbelievable thing," Nadal said. "When I was younger, seven years before or six years before or three years before, I never really thought I really could do that."
-- Eddie Pells
Djokovic eliminates Blake in straight sets at Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic reached the U.S. Open's fourth round for the fourth consecutive year, eliminating American wild card James Blake in straight sets.
The third-seeded Djokovic beat Blake 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in a wind-whipped Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night. Serbia's Djokovic made only 13 unforced errors — 18 fewer than Blake.
"It's a big mental struggle, when you have such a strong wind, to find a way how to try to play good tennis," Djokovic said, "especially if you have somebody across the net who is so aggressive, taking everything early and playing a risky game."
In the fourth round, Djokovic will face another American, 19th-seeded Mardy Fish, who edged Arnaud Clement of France 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Saturday.
After having knee surgery in September 2009, Fish set about changing his diet and trimming his body, and he's lost more than 30 pounds to get down to about 170.
"He's playing maybe his best tennis at this moment," Djokovic said. "He's moving really well. He's serving as good as he served always. He has a lot of talent. He's recognizing the moment, coming to the net. He has a lot of variety in the game. I guess I have to be on the top of my game to be able to win."
Djokovic was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2007, and made it to the semifinals in 2008 and 2009 — losing to Roger Federer every time.
Blake is a two-time quarterfinalist at Flushing Meadows, but not since 2006. Once ranked in the top five, the 30-year-old Blake is now 108th after a series of injuries and poor results, and he said he plans to take the next six weeks off.
As for his longer-term future in the sport, the 30-year-old Blake said that he aims to play in the 2011 U.S. Open and hopes Saturday night's match wasn't his last in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"If it was, you know, I competed my heart out. I did everything I could," Blake said. "But I think I got more in me, and I think I'm going to be back there. Maybe more night matches, some more excitement for the crowds, some more good times. You know, I definitely believe that. I hope it comes true next year."
Notebook: With improved play, Kanepi into U.S. Open 4th round
NEW YORK (AP) — Kaia Kanepi found there is such thing as being too aggressive.
The Estonian climbed to 18th in the world in May 2009, then tumbled to 140th less than 12 months later. She lost in the first round at 11 straight tournaments at the end of last year.
But just as quickly as she lost her form, Kanepi has regained it. Her sizzling summer continued Saturday when she upset fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic in the third round of the U.S. Open.
The 31st-seeded Kanepi won 6-2, 7-6 (1) at blustery Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was just her second win in 10 tries against opponents ranked in the top five.
"Last year I just started losing and losing and the confidence went down and I didn't know what to do," she said.
What she did was focus on becoming more patient. Kanepi had 19 winners and 37 unforced errors in the difficult conditions Saturday, compared with 13 and 41 for Jankovic.
"I'm still aggressive but not that much and not with every shot I hit," Kanepi said.
Kanepi advanced to the fourth round at the U.S. Open for the first time. She had to go through qualifying just to play at Wimbledon, then reached the quarterfinals. At Palermo in July she became the first Estonian woman to win a singles title.
The 25-year-old has moved up more than 100 places in the rankings since May 10.
Jankovic reached her only Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open in 2008, but she lost in the second round last year. The Serb struggled with the wind Saturday, at one point hitting a serve so badly the ball flew straight up into the air.
"I had a hard time serving," she said. "You toss the ball, and it was all over the place. And then you hit the ball one direction, it goes another. You're just getting ready to hit the ball and just moves away from you. So it was really hard out there. But she handled the wind a lot better than I did. She was the better player today."
Kanepi can't stand the wind, either. But on a day when both players took turns venting their frustration, she made the fewer mistakes. She had a chance to serve out the match in the second set but was broken. In the tiebreaker, though, Kanepi had no trouble closing out the victory.
"I don't think it was because of the wind at 5-3," Kanepi said. "I think it was because of the head."
RUSSIAN IDOLS: As a young tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki admired a Russian star for her glamorous image off the court.
Sorry, Maria Sharapova, it wasn't you.
"Well, to be honest, Kournikova was always for me the girl that I wanted to be like her," the U.S. Open's top-seeded woman said after she advanced to face Sharapova in the fourth round.
"I thought she was very pretty; she was handling everything really nicely. You saw her everywhere in the commercials. I think I would more go for Kournikova."
Wozniacki and the 14th-seeded Sharapova lost one game between them in straight-set wins Saturday in the third round. That sets up a tantalizing matchup pitting a three-time Grand Slam champion seeking to prove she's all the way back from injury against a 20-year-old chasing her first major title.
Anna Kournikova, of course, never won a Grand Slam singles championship. So Wozniacki looked up to other players for on-court inspiration. Sorry, Maria, it was Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis.
PROUD PAPA: Rafael Nadal's third-round opponent at the U.S. Open, Gilles Simon of France, got his wish: an afternoon match Sunday, rather than a night match.
Simon had a son born Thursday back home in Europe, and he's eager to go see the baby. After winning in the second round, Simon said he hoped he would face Nadal during the day, so that if he loses, he can make it to the airport in time to catch a flight. Playing at night wouldn't have allowed that.
When Simon's concern was relayed to Nadal, the U.S. Open's top-seeded man said: "Really? If he wants, I'll buy him the tickets."
Simon and Nadal — whose first two victories in the tournament both came under the lights at the end of the day — were scheduled for the third match in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, when play starts at 11 a.m.
-- Rachel Cohen
Harrison-Oudin fall in mixed doubles
NEW YORK (AP) — America's dream team in mixed doubles, Melanie Oudin and Ryan Harrison, has lost to the top seeds in the second round of the U.S. Open.
Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber defeated Oudin and Harrison, 5-7, 6-1 and 10-3 in a third-set tiebreaker Saturday night.
The 18-year-old Oudin carved out a place in U.S. Open lore with her run to the quarterfinals last year. The 18-year-old Harrison made it to the second round this year where he fell 8-6 in a fifth-set tiebreaker Friday.
Things looked promising when they broke Huber's serve late in the first set to take the lead. But Bryan and Huber overwhelmed the Americans from there, taking only 32 minutes to win the second set and third-set tiebreaker.
U.S. Open Glance
NEW YORK (AP) — A look at Saturday's play at the $22.7 million U.S. Open tennis championships:
WEATHER: Mostly clear and very breezy. High of 81.
ATTENDANCE: Day: 37,388. Night: 23,946. Total: 61,334.
MEN'S SEEDED WINNERS: Third Round: No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 3 Novak Djokovic, No. 5 Robin Soderling, No. 13 Jurgen Melzer, No. 17 Gael Monfils, No. 19 Mardy Fish and No. 21 Albert Montanes.
MEN'S SEEDED LOSERS: No. 22 Juan Carlos Ferrero.
WOMEN'S SEEDED WINNERS: Third Round: No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, No. 11 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 14 Maria Sharapova, No. 15 Yanina Wickmayer, and No. 31 Kaia Kanepi.
WOMEN'S SEEDED LOSERS: No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, No. 23 Maria Kirilenko and No. 25 Alexandra Dulgheru.
TOP PLAYERS ON COURT SUNDAY: Men, Third Round: No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Gilles Simon, No. 4 Andy Murray vs. No. 25 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 12 Mikhail Youzhny vs. No. 18 John Isner, No. 14 Nicolas Almagro vs. No. 20 Sam Querrey. Women, Fourth Round: No. 2 Kim Clijsters vs. Ana Ivanovic, No. 3 Venus Williams vs. No. 16 Shahar Peer, No. 5 Sam Stosur vs. No. 12 Elena Dementieva, No. 6 Francesca Schiavone vs. No. 20 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
STAT OF THE DAY: By reaching the third round of the U.S. Open, Beatrice Capra earned $50,000, more than tripling her career total entering the tournament of $15,541.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Before the match, she would just walk past me and kind of, like, give me a glare, which is kind of intimidating. After the match when we shook hands, she was really nice. She said, 'Great tournament. Keep up the hard work.' I think she's a really nice person." — American wild card Beatrice Capra, on Maria Sharapova, who beat Capra 6-0, 6-0 on Saturday.
SUNDAY ON TV (All Times EDT): CBS, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (live); Tennis Channel, 7-11 p.m. (live), 11-Mid (highlights).
ON THIS DATE: Sept. 5, 1949: 21-year-old Pancho Gonzales wins his second straight U.S. title, defeating Ted Schroeder 16-18, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. The 67 games is a record for a men's final. Shortly thereafter, Gonzales turns pro and doesn't appear at Forest Hills again until the advent of the Open era in 1968.
