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Djokovic, Wozniacki, Zvonareva move into semis
Source: Agencies |
September 9, 2010, Thursday
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THIRD-SEEDED Novak Djokovic beat No. 17 Gael Monfils 7-6 (2), 6-1, 6-2 yesterday to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year.
Djokovic awaits the winner of the night quarterfinal match between No. 2 Roger Federer and Sweden's Robin Soderling.
With swirling winds topping 32 kph in Arthur Ashe Stadium, 2008 Australian Open champion Djokovic was the more aggressive player against Monfils, and won 40 of 59 points at the net.
"It might be the case that (I've) developed," Djokovic said. "Over time, you get experience playing in the different conditions, different situations."
Monfils showed off his speed and athleticism, sliding across the hard court as though it were made of clay. But he also tried to get too fancy on one point, jumping and bringing his racket around his body and through his legs, when a regular swing would have sufficed. His attempt at a trick shot landed in the net.
"I thought, 'Please, don't make it," Djokovic said. "I have been experiencing that too many times."
Monfils, meanwhile, was not amused one bit by the how hard it was to handle the wind, which kept changing directions and carried shots this way and that.
"I was completely lost," Monfils said. "Can't serve. Can't really use my forehand. You run for what?"
The wind clearly affected play all day, and there were about a half-dozen points that were stopped because debris - brown napkins; plastic bags; players' towels - wound up near the court during top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki's 6-2, 7-5 victory over 45th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova in the last women's quarterfinal.
"This felt like playing in a hurricane or something," said Wozniacki, who is 19-1 since Wimbledon and has won her past 13 matches.
In Friday's semifinals, the 2009 US Open runner-up will face 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva. She was perfectly steady - in her mind and with her strokes - and beat 31st-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-3, 7-5 in yesterday's first singles match.
A year ago in New York, during a fourth-round loss, Zvonareva wasted six match points and threw a tantrum right there on court. She bawled. She slammed her racket against her leg. She begged the chair umpire to get her a pair of scissors so she could cut tape off her knees.
Yesterday, No. 7 Zvonareva was calm and composed, letting Kanepi make mistake after mistake, 60 unforced errors in all. Zvonareva finished with only 28.
Zvonareva is a win away from her second Grand Slam final of 2010 yesterday after the Russian won her quarterfinal match by getting balls back and watching her 31st-seeded opponent self-destruct. Estonian Kanepi, a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon this year, made 60 unforced errors as she struggled with the blustery conditions.
"In these conditions, the most important thing is to find the right balance," Zvonareva said. "It's between keeping the ball in play and going for your shots, and I think I was able to find that balance."
Kanepi and Zvonareva combined for a total of 88 unforced errors and only 28 winners yesterday.
The tone for the match was set early, when the players traded service breaks right away to make it 1-1 and combined for 12 unforced errors and one winner through the first two games.
"It was tough for both of us," Zvonareva said. "We tried to show our best today and sometimes we had some ridiculous rallies."
The first women's semifinal was set up on Tuesday, when a pair of two-time winners at Flushing Meadows, No. 2 Kim Clijsters and No. 3 Venus Williams, each won.
The only man to beat Djokovic at the past three US Opens was Federer - in the 2007 final, and the 2008-09 semifinals.
Federer and Soderling had played 13 times previously, and Federer won the first 12. But Soderling won their most recent meeting, in the quarterfinals at this year's French Open, ending Federer's streak of reaching at least the semifinals at 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
Djokovic awaits the winner of the night quarterfinal match between No. 2 Roger Federer and Sweden's Robin Soderling.
With swirling winds topping 32 kph in Arthur Ashe Stadium, 2008 Australian Open champion Djokovic was the more aggressive player against Monfils, and won 40 of 59 points at the net.
"It might be the case that (I've) developed," Djokovic said. "Over time, you get experience playing in the different conditions, different situations."
Monfils showed off his speed and athleticism, sliding across the hard court as though it were made of clay. But he also tried to get too fancy on one point, jumping and bringing his racket around his body and through his legs, when a regular swing would have sufficed. His attempt at a trick shot landed in the net.
"I thought, 'Please, don't make it," Djokovic said. "I have been experiencing that too many times."
Monfils, meanwhile, was not amused one bit by the how hard it was to handle the wind, which kept changing directions and carried shots this way and that.
"I was completely lost," Monfils said. "Can't serve. Can't really use my forehand. You run for what?"
The wind clearly affected play all day, and there were about a half-dozen points that were stopped because debris - brown napkins; plastic bags; players' towels - wound up near the court during top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki's 6-2, 7-5 victory over 45th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova in the last women's quarterfinal.
"This felt like playing in a hurricane or something," said Wozniacki, who is 19-1 since Wimbledon and has won her past 13 matches.
In Friday's semifinals, the 2009 US Open runner-up will face 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva. She was perfectly steady - in her mind and with her strokes - and beat 31st-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-3, 7-5 in yesterday's first singles match.
A year ago in New York, during a fourth-round loss, Zvonareva wasted six match points and threw a tantrum right there on court. She bawled. She slammed her racket against her leg. She begged the chair umpire to get her a pair of scissors so she could cut tape off her knees.
Yesterday, No. 7 Zvonareva was calm and composed, letting Kanepi make mistake after mistake, 60 unforced errors in all. Zvonareva finished with only 28.
Zvonareva is a win away from her second Grand Slam final of 2010 yesterday after the Russian won her quarterfinal match by getting balls back and watching her 31st-seeded opponent self-destruct. Estonian Kanepi, a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon this year, made 60 unforced errors as she struggled with the blustery conditions.
"In these conditions, the most important thing is to find the right balance," Zvonareva said. "It's between keeping the ball in play and going for your shots, and I think I was able to find that balance."
Kanepi and Zvonareva combined for a total of 88 unforced errors and only 28 winners yesterday.
The tone for the match was set early, when the players traded service breaks right away to make it 1-1 and combined for 12 unforced errors and one winner through the first two games.
"It was tough for both of us," Zvonareva said. "We tried to show our best today and sometimes we had some ridiculous rallies."
The first women's semifinal was set up on Tuesday, when a pair of two-time winners at Flushing Meadows, No. 2 Kim Clijsters and No. 3 Venus Williams, each won.
The only man to beat Djokovic at the past three US Opens was Federer - in the 2007 final, and the 2008-09 semifinals.
Federer and Soderling had played 13 times previously, and Federer won the first 12. But Soderling won their most recent meeting, in the quarterfinals at this year's French Open, ending Federer's streak of reaching at least the semifinals at 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
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