Friday 3 September 2010

Women's US Open - Aza and Rad out, JJ hangs in

The 2nd round of the Women's US Open came to a close on Thursday with both Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska exiting the competition. It was Azarenka who departed in the most dramatic of circumstances as she collapsed on court against Gisela Dulko at 5-1 down after evidently struggling throughout the whole first set. It was later revealed that Azarenka was suffering from mild concussion after a fall in the gym prior to the match. This was such a disappointment because things were looking good for Azarenka and she was definitely a contender for her first grand slam title. However she will have to wait till 2011 to have another crack at a grand slam. Agnieszka Radwanska, the number 9 seed was also involved in a shock loss as she went down 2-6 6-1 6-4 to China's Shaui Peng. Once again Radwanska has failed to bring her best tennis to a grand slam and it remains to be seen whether she will ever better her QF appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Two other seeds to fall in the 2nd round were Aravane Rezai and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Rezai was extremely ineffective against the American wildcard Beatrice Capra who pulled off a huge shock coming through 7-5 2-6 6-3 meanwhile Patty Schnyder defeated MJMS in straight sets however in only her third game back since injury, this was not a major upset for MJMS.

The remaining seeds in the draw all came through and progressed into the 3rd round. Caroline Wozniacki crushed Kai-Chen Chang, 6-0 6-0 and both Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova progressed with 6-1 6-2 victories. Svetlana Kuznetsova was impressive as she used her all-court game to defeat a talented Anastasija Sevastova, 6-2 6-3. Francesca Schiavone blitzed her way into the 3rd round for the loss of just 4 games as she passed Maria Camerin and Elena Dementieva also progressed in straight sets against Sybille Bammer, 6-3 6-4. Vera Zvonareva and Venus Williams both had tougher matches but progressed in straight sets; Vera overcame the dangerous yet error flowing Sabine Lisicki 6-1 7-6 in a match where breaks were more common than service holds. Venus had to overcome an impressive challenge from Rebecca Marino coming through 7-6 6-2 showing her best tennis in a superb tiebreak. Flavia Pennetta and Yanina Wickmayer also sailed through against tricky opponents; Pennetta beat Szavay 6-1 6-4 and Wickmayer ousted Goerges 6-4 7-5. The highest seed to have a 2nd round struggle was Jelena Jankovic who fought yet again in 3 sets to defeat Mirjana Lucic, 6-4 3-6 6-2. It was a poor match laden with errors but Jelena came through and she will now have to improve her game considerably if she is to progress any further in the competition.

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