[外電]Mauresmo Wins Williams Clash; Quarterfinals Set
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/newsroom/?ContentID=749
September 4, 2006
FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY, USA - From the day the draw was made, tennis fans all
over the world were salivating at the prospect of a fourth round duel between
Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams. Both players battled their way through
to the much-anticipated encounter, and on Monday night the two put on a
display much more suited to the later rounds, with Mauresmo toughing out the
first set and regrouping after a disastrous second set to prevail, 64 06 62.
From the beginning, Williams was was the aggressor, pounding big serves and
groundstrokes to gain the upper hand, while Mauresmo was content rallying
from the baseline, and mixing things up with choice ventures to the net. The
opening set couldn't have been closer; the two women each won 29 points. But
after they traded breaks of serve mid-set it was Mauresmo who gained the
decisive break in the last game to take the set.
Williams regrouped at the very beginning of the second set, taking control of
the rallies and forcing Mauresmo into numerous errors, dropping just nine
points in 23 minutes in evening things up at one set apiece. The match began
looking like the players' head-to-head, which was lopsided, 9-1, in favor of
the American.
But Mauresmo recomposed herself early in the third set, staying even with
Williams then gaining an early break and never looking back; she ran off the
last four games of the match from 2-2, winning a critical 35-ball rally early
on in that streak to seemingly demoralize Williams. The Frenchwoman,
currently the world's No.1 player, finished off the former world No.1 in
spectacular style, feathering an unreachable backhand drop volley on match
point.
"The experience I've got really helped me tonight," stated Mauresmo, who,
since her most recent encounter with Williams has captured two majors and
returned to No.1. "It's starting to show a little bit on the court. Being
able to keep my composure in these key moments probably makes a huge
difference."
"I played more consistently in the second set, but I got down an early break
in the third, and just fell apart after that," said Williams, a two-time
former US Open champion who had taken out Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic
in the first week. "I felt a hundred percent today going in and I was
actually excited about the match. I could have come out on top if I had made
a few more shots and been a bit more consistent, maybe had a little more
fire. I just wasn't focused out there. I wasn't pumping and jumping and the
whole nine."
Remaining Top 4 seeds join Mauresmo in quarters
Mauresmo's win meant that the top four seeds would all feature in the
quarters. The top-seeded Frenchwoman was joined on the winners' list Monday
by No.2 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne (whose dominating victory over Shahar
Peer can be read about here), No.3 seed Maria Sharapova and No.4 seed Elena
Dementieva.
Sharapova overcame some spotty play in her match-up against No.24 seed Li Na,
recovering from a 4-1 first set deficit to win, 64 62. The Russian has been
on fire this summer, winning the Tier I in San Diego, reaching the semis in
Los Angeles and now her third Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season here.
"After 4-1, I kind of relaxed and made her hit an extra ball; when I broke
her I gained a bit more confidence, started serving better and took more
time," stated Sharapova. "I don't feel I can go into every match and play
great. There will be a lot of days where I might start slow. But, I won the
match not playing great.
"Definitely wasn't my best performance so far, but as the tournament gets
going, I know it's only going to be tougher, that I need to step it up. But
I'm happy I got through. I'll just get a good rest tomorrow and then be ready
for my quarters."
Dementieva overcame eight double faults and the aggressive game of surprising
fourth round opponent Aravane Rezai of France to win, 75 64, and reach the
quarterfinals here for the fourth time. The Russian was a runner-up here in
2004 and a semifinalist on two separate occasions, in 2000 and last year.
Davenport, new faces round out quarterfinal line-up
The aforementioned quartet will face some tough opposition in the
quarterfinals, including one multiple Grand Slam champion and former No.1. A
No.10-seeded Lindsay Davenport reached her 10th consecutive US Open
quarterfinal on Monday with a routine 64 64 victory over No.7 seed Patty
Schnyder, then spoke about her upcoming quarterfinal clash with
Henin-Hardenne.
"She's been a very tough opponent for me the last few years," said Davenport,
who is 5-6 lifetime against the Belgian, having lost their last six meetings.
"I played her a lot at the beginning of her career and I think over the years
she's improved her forehand, her confidence. She is obviously unbelievable at
offense. She's so quick and digs out a lot of balls too. It's a hard mix
because if I don't hit the ball deep she'll take advantage, and if I do, she
gets a lot of balls back. I'm gonna have to think of something else, a little
different than I've done. I know I've lost to her a number of times in a row."
Three younger stars also won through to their first US Open quarterfinals,
two of whom are going to be making their Grand Slam quarterfinal debuts.
No.12 seed Dinara Safina, who was a first-time major quarterfinalist at
Roland Garros, ousted Virginie Razzano, 60 75; No.19 seed Jelena Jankovic
extended her dream run with a 67(5) 63 62 win over No.6 seed Svetlana
Kuznetsova; and No.27 seed Tatiana Golovin moved past No.23 seed Anna
Chakvetadze, 63 62.
Safina meets Mauresmo, Jankovic takes on Dementieva and Golovin battles it
out with Sharapova.
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