June 27, 2005
Quarterfinalists Determined at 2005 Wimbledon
Top seed Lindsay Davenport was put to the test against Kim Clijsters while
defending champion Maria Sharapova cruised in straight sets as the stars of
the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour were all in action on Monday in the fourth round
at Wimbledon.
Davenport, the 1999 Wimbledon champion, survived a tough challenge from No.15
seed Clijsters, prevailing 63 67(4) 63 to reach her seventh quarterfinal in
her last seven appearances at the All-England Club.
The American made a late charge in winning the first set, breaking
Clijsters's serve twice en route to taking the last three games. There were
no breaks of serve in the second set, but Clijsters was in trouble serving at
4-5, making a wild backhand error at 30-all then saving a match point on a
missed backhand by Davenport before evening it up at 5-all. The Belgian ended
up blasting a service winner on her first set point in the tie-break to take
the match to a final set. Davenport regrouped in the third, breaking serve
twice en route to a 5-2 lead. Although Clijsters did manage to break back in
the next game, she fell apart on serve, quickly going down 0-40 and hitting
her fourth double fault of the match on Davenport's third match point.
"I wanted to keep the points short, I wanted to just go for shots, and I
stuck with it the whole time," said the big-hitting Davenport, who has now
reached the quarterfinals in each of her last seven appearances at this
event. "Eventually it paid off. I knew it was going to be a really tough
match... I was really ticked off about not winning the second, and I was
trying to keep my cool, which I thought I did a good job with.
"It was a big match, a match that I was looking forward to for the whole
tournament when I saw the draw. I knew that it was going to be a tough one to
get by."
Davenport has now defeated Clijsters twice in a row after losing six straight
matches to the Belgian, most recently a three-set defeat in the final at
Indian Wells earlier this year. The American turned the tables on their
rivalry recently at Roland Garros, winning in three sets in the fourth round
after being down a set and a break.
"Besides being a great tennis player, one of her best attributes is that she
wants it more than anybody out there, and I knew that... I thought, 'Okay,
I'm not going to give in.'," said Davenport on her thoughts before Monday's
match against Clijsters. "The players that were running me out of the game in
2002, 2003 and a little bit of 2004, I'm happy that I have been able to
mentally overcome those barriers with all of them."
Clijsters, who won back-to-back Tier I titles this year at Indian Wells and
Miami and came into Wimbledon having claimed the title at the Tier II grass
court warm-up event in Eastbourne, said that she tried her best, but
Davenport was just too good.
"I was really focused out there today," said the former No.1. "I'm very happy
with the level. A lot of people that I've seen after the match, everybody is
saying this should have been the final, which is a very nice compliment. I
went to Eastbourne a week early, trained really hard there... Got really
focused. And I think it's paid off. Like I feel like I'm improving every
match that I've played here. I'm just going to try to keep doing the same,
try to get positive things out of this.
"I just have to keep working hard. Hopefully I can get my seeding up so that
I don't have to get these kinds of matches in the fourth round."
Waiting in the quarterfinals for Davenport is reigning US Open champion and
No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, a 64 63 winner over 43rd-ranked Magdalena
Maleeva of Bulgaria. Kuznetsova, who celebrated her 20th birthday today,
played clean, aggressive tennis throughout the match, hitting 33 winners to
just 20 errors and winning 90% of her net approaches. The Russian will be
making her second quarterfinal appearance at the All-England Club on Tuesday,
having reached the final eight in 2003, losing to Justine Henin-Hardenne. She
has split two career meetings against Davenport, winning in three sets in the
US Open semifinals last year, and falling in straight sets in the semifinals
at Tokyo [Pan Pacific Open] earlier this season.
In much less dramatic fashion, Sharapova won her 21st straight grass court
match with a 64 62 victory over No.16 seed Nathalie Dechy. The 18-year-old
Russian, who is seeded No.2 at this event, was impressive on serve throughout
the match, winning 77% of points on her first delivery, and not facing one
break point. She also served up six aces, including on set point in the first
set, bringing her tournament tally to 19 with just three double faults. She
has now dropped just 17 games en route to the quarterfinals.
"As the match went on, I think I played better and better," said Sharapova,
who won four straight games from 1-all in the second set to take complete
control of the match, eventually closing it out with a service winner on her
first match point at 5-2. "She was playing really well the first six games,
and I was making a few errors when I shouldn't have, but still felt like I
was in it, still felt pretty confident on my serve. In the second set, I just
didn't make as many errors."
Last year at the All-England Club, a 17-year-old Sharapova powered her way to
her first Grand Slam title, defeating former champions Davenport and Serena
Williams in the last two rounds to become the youngest Wimbledon champion
since Martina Hingis won as a 16-year-old in 1997.
"It's so hard to compare it to last year," said Sharapova, whose meteoric
rise up the rankings has seen her move from No.15 in the world heading into
last year's event to No.2 this fortnight. "Last year, I was in a totally
different situation... I was happy to be in the second week of a Grand Slam.
This year I'm expecting myself to be in the second week of a Grand Slam."
Next up for Sharapova will be No.8 seed Nadia Petrova, who fought off a
valiant challenge from 62nd-ranked Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic,
winning the match 67(5) 76(7) 63. Peschke fought back from a break down in
the second set to force a tie-break, holding match points at 6-5 and 7-6, but
Petrova held on to take the match to a third, where she raced out to a 3-0
lead, eventually serving the match out at 5-3. With the victory, the
23-year-old Russian reached her fourth career Grand Slam quarterfinal, her
first at the All-England Club. Petrova has faced Sharapova just once before,
with Sharapova prevailing in three tough sets in the second round at Los
Angeles in 2003.
Also advancing on Monday was No.3 seed Amelie Mauresmo, who defeated No.13
seed Elena Likhovtseva 64 60. Mauresmo hit 22 winners to just 13 unforced
errors, won 15 of her 19 net approaches, and broke the Russian's serve six
times en route to victory. The 25-year-old Frenchwoman has now lost just 15
games en route to her third career quarterfinal at the All-England Club,
having made it all the way to the semifinals in 2002 and last year, losing to
Serena Williams both times.
"I'm pretty satisfied about today's match, even though the beginning wasn't
my best tennis," said Mauresmo, who hit all 13 of her errors in the first set
before stepping it up, hitting nine winners to no unforced errors in the
second set. "The most important thing is the way I finished, the way I really
found my rhythm in that second set. Also at the end of the first set, I was
able to make the difference."
Mauresmo will next face No.9 seed Anastasia Myskina (pictured), who came from
the brink of defeat to oust No.6 seed Elena Dementieva 16 76(9) 75. Myskina
hit just one winner and sprayed 19 unforced errors to drop the first set, and
was down 3-0 and 4-2 in the second before playing her way back into the match
with her trademark flat, accurate groundstrokes. She broke Dementieva's serve
in the 12th game of the second set to take it to a tie-break, where she
showed nerves of steel, saving match points with Dementieva up 7-6 and 9-8
before closing it out. After blowing a 3-0 final-set lead, the 23-year-old
Russian gained a crucial break of serve at 4-all, but failed to convert on
two match points in giving the break back. She gained another crucial break
at 5-all, however, and served the match out at love to reach her first
Wimbledon quarterfinal despite hitting a total of 52 unforced errors.
"Today I was really nervous at the beginning because we have had a lot of
matches against each other and we know each other really well, so I was
thinking a lot during the points," said Myskina, who has now won eight of her
12 encounters with Dementieva. "Then I just got used to it for the rhythm,
for the game, and realized that it's really nothing special, that I just have
to play my game."
Myskina held her nerve when it mattered most, saving the two match points in
the second set tie-break. This wasn't the first time she kept her composure
in a big match with Dementieva. Last year, she defeated her compatriot in the
French Open final to become Russia's first female Grand Slam champion.
"One point and maybe I would be a loser today, but I was really calm in the
tie-break," said Myskina, who has now reached at least the quarterfinals at
each of the four Grand Slams. "I knew I had to return to her backhand. Even
though her backhand has improved a lot, it's still the weaker side, I think."
Mauresmo and Myskina have faced each other six times previously, with
Mauresmo holding a 5-1 lead, including the last three straight. In their only
previous grass court encounter, Mauresmo prevailed in straight sets in the
third round here in 2002.
Also advancing on Monday were No.12 seed Mary Pierce and No.14 seed Venus
Williams. Pierce smacked 27 winners to just 11 errors in a 63 61 rout of
No.26 seed Flavia Pennetta to reach her 13th career Grand Slam quarterfinal
and first at Wimbledon since 1996.
"I feel that I'm on the right path. I feel like I'm actually improving every
day. I'm very happy," said Pierce, who recently reached her fifth Grand Slam
final at Roland Garros. "It's actually a gift from God, because I wasn't sure
I was going to be able to play again. Being injured, not being able to be
physically fit and in shape to play my game was very difficult for me. And
now I'm able to do that. So I'm very, very happy with that."
Pierce will next face Williams, a two-time Wimbledon champion, who had an
even easier time in defeating 85th-ranked compatriot Jill Craybas 60 62,
losing just 10 points in her seven service games and smacking her fourth ace
on her second match point. Afterwards, she twirled, smiled and waved to the
crowd on Court Two, the same court where Craybas ousted her sister Serena,
also a two-time champion here, in the third round on Saturday.
"I just wanted to play well, just keep my level rising for each round," said
Williams, who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since last year's
French Open with her 400th career match win. "It's probably a really big
challenge mentally to play both Serena and I in a row. So, I guess I had a
good position to be second sister.
"I think my game is good, and I feel like that I'm raising to the next level
if things get tight in all my matches. I have had some close sets, and I am
able to step it up in gear, especially if I get a high percentage of first
serves in, too."
Pierce and Williams have played nine times before, with Williams holding a
6-3 edge. However, in their last meeting, it was Pierce who emerged
victorious, defeating the American in straight sets in the round of 16 on the
hard courts of the Athens Olympics last year.
The appearance of Mauresmo and Pierce in the quarterfinals marks the first
time in the Open Era that two Frenchwomen have reached the final eight at
Wimbledon. It is the second time this year that two Frenchwomen have reached
the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam, with Mauresmo and Dechy making it that far
at the Australian Open in January. Prior to that, it had been since the 1999
Australian Open that two Frenchwomen had made it that far in any Grand Slam,
with Mauresmo and Pierce taking the honours at that event.
In doubles, No.2 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber advanced to the
quarterfinals with a 61 75 victory over No.15 seeds Emilie Loit and Barbora
Strycova, No.7 seeds Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama defeated No.9 seeds
Anabel Medina Garrigues and Dinara Safina 62 61, No.8 seeds Anna-Lena
Groenefeld and Martina Navratilova defeated No.10 seeds Shinobu Asagoe and
Karatina Srebotnik 63 63, and No.11 seeds Bryanne Stewart and Samantha Stosur
ousted No.6 seeds Janette Husarova and Conchita Martinez 76(8) 67(5) 61. On
Saturday, the unseeded pair of Vera Douchevina and Shahar Peer reached the
quarterfinals with a 57 63 75 win over No.17 seeds Els Callens and Emmanuelle
Gagliardi.
The remaining three third round doubles matches will take place on Tuesday,
featuring No.4 seeds Petrova and Meghann Shaughnessy against Ana Ivanovic and
Tina Krizan, No.5 seeds Likhovtseva and Vera Zvonareva against Marion Bartoli
and Milagros Sequera, and the unseeded tandem of Kuznetsova and Mauresmo
against Lisa McShea and Abigail Spears.
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