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U.S. Open Capsules: Wozniacki wallops 2006 champ Sharapova at U.S. Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Grit was not going to be enough to get Maria Sharapova through this one.
Not with nine double-faults, including three in a row.
Not with a total of 36 unforced errors.
And certainly not with No. 1-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark across the net Monday in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, doing "what she does best," as Sharapova herself put it: getting to nearly every ball and hammering it back, stretching points on and on and on until her opponent misses the mark.
It added up to a 6-3, 6-4 victory for 2009 U.S. Open runner-up Wozniacki over Sharapova, who has failed to make it even as far as the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows since winning the 2006 title.
"I felt like I was playing well out there," Wozniacki said, then made sure everyone understood a key concept by adding, "I made her do those errors."
Indeed, she did. Rare is the opponent who can trade powerful baseline groundstrokes with three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova and figure out a way to put her on the defensive, but that's exactly what Wozniacki managed to do as early evening shadows crept across the blue court in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"When she had the opportunity to step in," the 14th-seeded Sharapova said, her voice a barely audible monotone, "she took it and went for her shots."
It's the first victory for Wozniacki in three career meetings against Sharapova, but they hadn't met since 2008. In that time, the 20-year-old Wozniacki has grown as a player and built a huge supply of confidence, thanks to her Grand Slam final debut in New York and, most recently, her 18-1 record since Wimbledon.
"I've improved a lot, not only physically, but also I believe in myself more. I believe I can do it," said Wozniacki, who is ranked No. 2 but received the top seeding at the U.S. Open because No. 1 Serena Williams withdrew. "Also, I think I can mix up my game a little bit more."
Wozniacki has lost only 10 games so far; no one has conceded fewer en route to the U.S. Open quarterfinals since 1999. But here is what might be the most remarkable statistic of all: After making only 10 unforced errors against Sharapova, Wozniacki has made 40 in four matches, and her opponents have made 123.
"Obviously," Sharapova said, "she's at the top of her game."
Wozniacki carries a 12-match winning streak into her quarterfinal against 45th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova, who eliminated 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 7-6 (4).
The 5-foot-3 Cibulkova, a semifinalist at the 2009 French Open, was treated for a left leg problem between sets but still managed to scurry around, covering ground, to improve to 2-8 against top-15 players this season — with both victories against the 11th-seeded Kuznetsova, who double-faulted 10 times Monday.
Asked to assess Wozniacki, Cibulkova said admiringly: "She's really consistent, and she can keep the level that she's playing the whole match."
The other quarterfinal on that side of the draw will be No. 31 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia against No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, who overwhelmed 38th-ranked Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-1, 6-2 Monday night. Zvonareva, the runner-up at Wimbledon in July, reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time.
Earlier, Kanepi did the same by coming back to defeat 2009 U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 0-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1.
After getting off to a terrible start against the 15th-seeded Wickmayer, Kanepi turned the match around completely, then explained of her play down the stretch, "I was, like, in the zone or something."
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic might have said the same about his own play Monday, when he reached the men's quarterfinals at the U.S. Open for the fourth consecutive year by outclassing No. 19 Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Fish's exit leaves one U.S. man in the tournament, No. 20 Sam Querrey, who is in fourth-round action Tuesday against No. 25 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.
Serbia's Djokovic, the 2007 U.S. Open runner-up and 2008 Australian Open champion, next faces No. 17 Gael Monfils, a 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 winner over Richard Gasquet in an all-French matchup.
Another quarterfinal will pit five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer against No. 5 Robin Soderling, a two-time French Open finalist whose upset of Federer in that round at Paris this year ended his record streak of reaching the semifinals at 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
Federer reached the quarterfinals at a 26th major in a row by beating No. 13 Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in Monday night's last match.
Sweden's Soderling hit 15 aces and did not face a single break point after the first set of his 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win against No. 21 Albert Montanes of Spain.
Sharapova accumulated eight break points against Wozniacki, but converted only one.
"That's pretty bad, to say the least," Sharapova acknowledged.
Still, considered one of the toughest competitors on the women's tour, Sharapova rarely departs quietly, and she ratcheted up her trademark, high-octave shrieks right along with her skilled shotmaking Monday.
"I knew that she wasn't going to go away," Wozniacki said. "I knew she was going to hang in there and keep fighting till the end."
Sharapova saved Wozniacki's first match point with a gutsy volley winner while serving at 5-3 in the second set. That was part of some strong net play: Sharapova won 16 of 18 points when she pushed forward, but that efficiency would not suffice.
Sharapova delivered 12 of the match's first 15 winners. But she also was responsible for 12 of the first 15 unforced errors.
When Wozniacki served for the first set, Sharapova held a break point at 30-40, and they played a 24-stroke point that ended with Sharapova pushing a backhand long. Later, on Wozniacki's third set point, there came a 26-stroke exchange that concluded with — yes, that's right — another errant backhand from Sharapova.
"That's great tennis, when there's good rallies. I think it's good for the crowd, as well," Wozniacki said. "It just feels great when you feel like you're hitting the ball right — it's in the middle of your racket. The ball does whatever you want it to do."
Federer beats Melzer to reach U.S. Open quarters
NEW YORK (AP) — With another straight-set victory out of the way at the U.S. Open, Roger Federer can start thinking about a rematch with Robin Soderling.
Five-time champion Federer beat 13th-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 Monday night to reach the quarterfinals at a 26th Grand Slam tournament in a row and set up an intriguing matchup. Next up for the second-seeded Federer is No. 5 Robin Soderling, the man who ended his streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals with an upset in this year's French Open quarterfinals.
"He's always been a dangerous player," Federer said in an on-court interview. "This is obviously a tough draw for me in the quarters, playing Robin."
With rock-star couple Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale sitting in his guest box Monday, and before a full house that included New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and actress Cameron Diaz, Federer delivered a crowd-pleasing performance that included 41 winners. Before heading to the locker room, Federer met Rodriguez for the first time.
"Haven't lost a set, so obviously, I'm very happy," Federer told the crowd. "It doesn't matter too much how you play, really. I'd love to play wonderful every time I come on the court. Guys make it tough. They play and make it the way you don't want it to be."
As if he needed any extra help, Federer got some from the net in the second-set tiebreaker, twice hitting balls that hit the tape and trickled over to end points.
"It's a pity that I didn't win at least one set. I think I deserved the second set. I think I was the more dangerous player," said Melzer, a semifinalist at this year's French Open. "You couldn't be more lucky in a tiebreaker than was in this tiebreaker."
The first net-cord point came at 1-1, when Federer hit a forehand approach shot as he moved forward. The ball danced along the top of the net before falling over. Melzer threw his head back in dismay. The second came at 4-4, off a forehand return, and Melzer wouldn't earn another point in that set.
When Federer, owner of a record 16 Grand Slam championships, smacked a cross-court forehand winner to close the tiebreaker, he screamed, "Come on!" — and Melzer looked up at his entourage and yelled, too.
"I wasn't happy with my fortune. Let's put it that way," Melzer said later.
Federer's take? "Tiebreakers are always crucial," he said.
Recovering quickly from that, Melzer broke serve to open the third set. But his 1-0 lead lasted only briefly, because Federer broke right back to 1-all, then again to go ahead 4-2.
Federer and Melzer, both 29, have known each other for more than a decade, and they even played doubles together as juniors. But they never faced off as professionals until this summer at Wimbledon, where they also played in the fourth round — and Federer also won in straight sets.
Now Federer will take on another familiar foe in Soderling, who advanced earlier Monday by eliminating No. 21 Albert Montanes of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Looking ahead, Soderling said: "It's always a very nice feeling to play against the world's best. It's matches like that you train for. It's matches like that I've been dreaming of playing since I started playing tennis — playing at the big courts in the big tournaments. It's very fun."
Federer owns a 12-1 career record against Soderling, but that lone loss came in their most recent meeting, at Roland Garros on June 1. Before that, Federer had won 117 matches in a row — 117! — in the first five rounds at major tournaments, dating to a loss to Gustavo Kuerten in the third round at the French Open on May 29, 2004 (Federer advanced twice when opponents withdrew).
Federer has won 44 of his past 45 matches at the U.S. Open, the only defeat coming in last year's final against Juan Martin del Potro.
Soderling will try to hand Federer another rare loss.
"Well, I played him so many times; I know his game and he knows mine," Soderling said. "I'm pretty sure how I need to play to have a chance to win."
-- Howard Fendrich
Kanepi beats Wickmayer in 3 sets at U.S. Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Noticing Maria Sharapova won 6-0, 6-0 the other day, Kaia Kanepi mentioned to her trainer that the last time she was the victim of a double bagel she was 13.
It was looking as though she had jinxed herself when she failed to win a game in her first set against Yanina Wickmayer on Monday in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
"I thought, 'Wow, I need to take a game,'" Kanepi said.
Taking the match wasn't part of the thought process. She did win a game, then another, then another — and all of a sudden, Kanepi had a three-set victory and a spot in the quarterfinals.
The 31st-seeded Kanepi beat Wickmayer, a 2009 U.S. Open semifinalist, 0-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1.
"She played really good tennis first set," Wickmayer insisted. "I won the set pretty easily on the score, but all the games were pretty tough and I had to fight for every point. I knew second set was going to be a tougher one. Had my chances in the second set and didn't take them."
The 15th-seeded Wickmayer was up a break in the second set but couldn't close out the match. Kanepi broke back, then found herself facing two more break points at 4-4.
"I had nothing to lose, so I just went for a powerful serve," Kanepi said.
The player who had all of three aces in her first three matches served aces on the next two points. After four deuces, and saving two more break points, she won the game.
Upon winning the second-set tiebreaker, Kanepi dominated the final set.
"I think I was like in the zone or something," she said. "I was just fighting every point. I tried to relax, also not think about the win."
Kanepi hadn't made it past the third round at the U.S. Open before this year. It's the best showing not just for herself but for her country: No Estonian had ever advanced this far in the Open era.
Now Kanepi is seeking her best performance at any Grand Slam, after she lost in the quarterfinals at the 2008 French Open and at Wimbledon this year. Kanepi, who upset fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic in the third round, next faces seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva.
Wickmayer had only five unforced errors in the first set; she had a total of 37 in the last two. The 20-year-old Belgian hasn't been past the fourth round at a Grand Slam since her semifinal appearance at last year's Open.
"She was hitting very hard and near the lines," Kanepi said of Wickmayer's first-set play. "So everything just worked for her. I didn't think I hit so bad. Just a little bit tight, a little slow, and she played very well."
-- Rachel Cohen
Notebook: Fish thinks Ashe hurt him in loss to Djokovic
NEW YORK (AP) — Mardy Fish wished he'd had a chance to get used to playing in windy Arthur Ashe Stadium during this U.S. Open before facing Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.
Then again, the 19th-seeded American encountered plenty of other problems in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 loss to the third-seeded Djokovic on Monday.
"He certainly had the advantage," Fish said. "I haven't played on that court in two years. Man, is it different from playing on Louis Armstrong and Grandstand. There's not hardly any wind outside, and it's windy in there, really windy."
Djokovic was playing a fourth consecutive match in the 23,000-plus-seat main stadium at Flushing Meadows, the sort of scheduling that comes with being a past Grand Slam champion, a highly ranked player and someone who has reached at least the semifinals at the past three U.S. Opens.
"For him to play every match in there, and sort of get used to that, I think, certainly helped him. Didn't help me at all," said Fish, who warmed up in Ashe about three hours before Monday's match. "It took me a while just to get used to sort of the conditions."
Added Fish: "For whatever reason, I don't know why they haven't put us on there."
It's a familiar refrain: Another American, 20th-seeded Sam Querrey, wondered aloud last week about why he hadn't been placed on Ashe in the early rounds. He gets his moment in the spotlight Tuesday, when he plays Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka for a quarterfinal berth. Querrey is the only U.S. man left in the field.
John Isner, another American, played on Ashe on Sunday night, when he lost his third-round match.
As Fish acknowledged, his exit had plenty to do with Djokovic, who was the 2007 U.S. Open runner-up and 2008 Australian Open champion.
"He plays defense as good as anyone, and so he's better than me at it, for sure. That was the case. I tried to get to the net," Fish said. "I had some chances. I just didn't execute, generally. He played great."
Fish tried to serve and volley. He tried to sneak into the net in the middle of points. He tried to hang back along the baseline for lengthy groundstroke exchanges. None of it worked, and Djokovic wound up with a 30-13 advantage in winners.
"It's (a) very encouraging fact at this stage of the tournament that I'm raising my game and feeling more comfortable on the court," said Djokovic, who next plays 17th-seeded Gael Monfils of France.
FRENCH FAMILIARITY: Gael Monfils appeared to be moments away from dropping the second set against Richard Gasquet in an all-French fourth-round match at the U.S. Open on Monday.
"He show me at that time he was not that good mentally," Monfils said. "He show me he was — I won't say weak, but it was like shaky a bit."
The 17th-seeded Monfils wound up winning 6-4, 7-5, 7-5, and he — not Gasquet — will be France's first U.S. Open quarterfinalist since Arnaud Clement in 2000. Monfils used his familiarity with Gasquet to his advantage.
"He doesn't really like pressure," Monfils said. "He don't like a lot of crowd around, the crowd involved. He don't like (to) see the opponent show emotions."
Well, as it happens, Monfils is a player who likes to show his emotions, get fans involved and put pressure on his opponents with his excellent defensive skills. Monfils went down a break in the third set, but after seeing the mistakes Gasquet made in tough spots in the second, he was confident he'd come back.
Gasquet led 5-2 in the third set, and had a chance to serve it out at 5-3. Instead, Monfils won the last five games of the match.
The tournament was still a productive one for the 38th-ranked Gasquet, who upset sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko in the second round. Gasquet, a former top-10 player, missed more than two months last year after testing positive for cocaine — a penalty he successfully appealed, saying the drug inadvertently entered his system when he kissed a woman at a nightclub.
This was Gasquet's first fourth-round match at any Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon in 2008.
SHORT STUFF: At 5-foot-3, Dominika Cibulkova is the shortest woman left in the draw. She's proud to be petite — especially after advancing to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
"OK, I'm short, but, you know, I'm really quick," she said. "I can be fast on the court, and I have no problem with the low balls. I still can play fast and step into the court, so I really like the way I'm short.
"Maybe I could be little more centimeters taller for my serve, but it's still nothing I really struggle with. So I'm happy the way I am."
At No. 45, Slovakia's Cibulkova is also the lowest-ranked woman left. She upset 11th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time major champion, 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Monday to reach her first quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows.
Her best Grand Slam result is reaching the semifinals at last year's French Open. The champion of that tournament was Kuznetsova, who also won the 2004 U.S. Open.
Cibulkova's next opponent is Caroline Wozniacki, who stands 5-10 and is seeded No. 1.
"Everyone is different. Everyone has their strengths, their weaknesses. You know, someone is short, someone is tall," Wozniacki said. "I think it really doesn't matter when you're on court."
-- Howard Fendrich
U.S. Open Glance
NEW YORK (AP) — A look at Monday's play at the $22.7 million U.S. Open tennis championships:
WEATHER: Sunny and beautiful. High of 78.
ATTENDANCE: Day: 37,388. Night: 23,828. Total: 61,216.
MEN'S RESULTS: Fourth Round: No. 1 Roger Federer defeated No. 13 Jurgen Melzer, No. 3 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 19 Mardy Fish, No. 5 Robin Soderling beat No. 21 Albert Montanes and No. 17 Gael Monfils beat unseeded Richard Gasquet in straight sets. No. 2 Roger Federer faced No. 13 Jurgen Melzer in the night match.
WOMEN'S RESULTS: Fourth Round: No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki defeated No. 14 Maria Sharapova, No. 7 Vera Zvonareva defeated unseeded Andrea Petkovic, unseeded Dominika Cibulkova beat No. 11 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 31 Kaia Kanepi beat No. 15 Yanina Wickmayer.
ON COURT TUESDAY: Men, Fourth Round: No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 23 Feliciano Lopez, No. 8 Fernando Verdasco vs. No. 10 David Ferrer, No. 12 Mikhail Youzhny vs. Tommy Robredo, No. 20 Sam Querrey vs. No. 25 Stanislas Wawrinka. Women, Quarterfinals: No. 2 Kim Clijsters vs. No. 5 Sam Stosur, No. 3 Venus Williams vs. No. 6 Francesca Schiavone.
STAT OF THE DAY: Maria Sharapova committed 36 unforced errors compared to just 10 by opponent Caroline Wozniacki.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I know my game and I know myself, so I knew I could make it. I could beat everybody in this tournament. You know, I was just waiting for a moment, and I'm happy it's here." — Dominika Cibulkova, who beat former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to advance to the quarterfinals where she'll meet No. 1-seed Caroline Wozniacki.
TUESDAY ON TV (All Times EDT): Tennis Channel, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (live), 11-Mid (highlights); ESPN2, 1-7 p.m. (live), 7-11 p.m. (live).
ON THIS DATE: Sept. 7, 1991: 17-year-old Monica Seles wins her first U.S. Open women's singles title, defeating 34-year-old Martina Navratilova in straight sets.
Elsewhere
Patrick McEnroe resigns as U.S. Davis Cup captain
NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick McEnroe resigned as U.S. Davis Cup captain Monday, saying his 10-year tenure will end after the Americans' playoff against Colombia this month.
McEnroe led the United States to a Davis Cup title in 2007. This year, though, the Americans must win in the playoffs to secure a spot in the top tier of the Davis Cup, the first time they have found themselves in that position since 2005.
The younger brother of seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe said he wanted to dedicate his time to his family and his other jobs. Already a TV analyst, he was hired two years ago to run the U.S. Tennis Association's program to develop elite players.
"Player development is really a consuming job," McEnroe said. "An exciting job, a job that I love, but it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort."
McEnroe mentioned Jim Courier and Todd Martin as obvious candidates for the position. Courier, a four-time major champion, said while calling the U.S. Open for CBS on Monday that he'd be interested.
The 2007 title was the Americans' first since 1995, ending the longest drought in U.S. Davis Cup history. McEnroe's record is 16-9, second only to Tom Gorman's 18 wins.
"No regrets. It was a great run," McEnroe said. "Obviously I wish we could've won more. But I wanted to accomplish a couple of things when I took over, which was obviously to get the players that were passionate about playing, No. 1, molded into a team, give us a chance to be competitive every year."
Under McEnroe, the lineup of Andy Roddick, James Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan played in 10 consecutive Davis Cup events.
"Patrick changed the culture of Davis Cup in the United States, creating a true team environment and a sense of camaraderie that the U.S. has never before seen," Jim Curley, the USTA's chief professional tournaments officer, said in a statement. "He has been a champion of the competition in every sense of the word, and elevated the stature of the event in this country."
McEnroe said Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, John Isner and Ryan Harrison will represent the U.S. in Colombia. Because of the altitude in Bogota, he wanted to bring an extra singles player in case somebody struggled to adjust.
Mike Bryan said he and his brother had talked to McEnroe about the options and were supportive of the decision. McEnroe said his ideal doubles team would be Fish and Isner, but that will depend on how healthy both are and how everyone handles the altitude.
"I saw him evolve from a rookie Davis Cup captain to a great Davis Cup captain," Fish said.
"He always was really straightforward, sometimes brutally straightforward as far as where I stood, and I also respected that," Fish added.
-- Rachel Cohen
