By Tennis Panorama News
FLUSHING MEADOWS, New York – Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer move on through, Francesca Schiavone and Mardy Fish ousted on day 8 of the US Open.
Serena sails through wind and Ivanovic
Not even the wind could stop Serena Williams from dominating Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the US Open.
“I thought she played really well, said Williams. “I think we could have both played a little bit better ’cause of the conditions. But I think we were just both trying to do our best.”
Today was kind of wind(y), said Ivanovic. “I mean, it was really gusty out there, and in the wind it’s always gonna be even tougher. In those kind of conditions, serve is the shot that it’s gonna go away from both players because of the conditions. You know, it did a bit. My serve broke down little more than hers did. I still created lots of opportunities and I felt I was stepping up a lot, and I just felt that was the biggest difference today.”
“My goal is always just to win the tournaments and the ranking will come, said Williams, ’cause for me it’s about titles and stuff like that. You know, the ranking will be there. I’ll get there. You can’t take the ranking with you when you retire, but you can definitely take the titles and the trophies.
“I’m still here in the tournament, so that’s pretty good. You know, I just came in here, you know, just trying to do my best. I definitely don’t want to peak too soon.
“I think my movement has been pretty good, but other than that, I can improve a lot of the different things.”
“As I said even before the match,“ noted Ivanovic, I think she’s the favorite for the tournament. She’s been playing really well, and it’s gonna be tough, you know. But also, you know, the conditions are different and every match is different, so you have to raise your level. She’s doing that, so, yeah, I think she has good chance.”
No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki rallied from 6-7, 1-4 to stop Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 moving on to the quarterfinals.
Djokovic stops Dologpolov after a “crazy” tiebreaker
Number one Novak Djokovic survived an epic 16-14 first set tiebreaker to win in straight sets 7-6 (14), 6-4, 6-2 over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
“It was an interesting first set, said Djokovic. “I think it was exciting for the crowd to watch because it was very close. But I think it was game wise an ugly first set because I wasn’t happy with the way I played. You know, he was changing pace a lot. He was always sending me a different ball. It was really hard for me to adjust to it because of the conditions that we played in. So that’s why it was crucial for me to win the first set. You know, after I felt a bit more relaxed and I served well when I needed to, you know, played okay, played enough to win. ”
“I think he wear me out in the first points and I was a bit tired,” said Dolgopolov. “When I was serving for it on 4-1, I got an unlucky call. I mean, I was leading in points and attacking. One unlucky call, and then it turned around and it was a tough tiebreak for me. You know, I was trying to play steady because I saw he wasn’t comfortable with the rhythm. You know, I wear myself out, as well, for the match. I mean, it was a really tough tiebreak.”
“But in the end it was more mental just to hang in there, commented Djokovic. “Try to play right shots at the right time. This is one of the longest tiebreaks I ever played. It was certainly exciting to be part of it. But, you know, I knew that I need to win that set. Yeah, I had a lot of opportunities. I missed a lot of easy balls. I think I wasn’t moving well at the start. But, you know, on the brighter side, I lift up my level better in next two sets.”
“There is this expectations from the top players to get far in any event, especially Grand Slams noted Djokovic. “And I’ve been carrying this burden, let’s say, for a while because I was top three in the last four years and I know how it feels to get on the center court in any Grand Slam. I know how it is to play the top guys in the big tournaments. I’ve got this, you know, necessary experience in order to know how to start a match and play well. But, you know, with this experience and with the success that you have over the years, you obviously have a certain psychological advantage over your opponents in the opening rounds especially. You know, after, it gets tougher because you’re playing top guys, and that’s where just a couple points decide the winner.”
Djokovic will face Serbian countryman Janko Tipsarevic in the quarterfinals.
Tipsarevic defeated Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 in 3 hours and 43 minutes.
Roger Federer glided past Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 in the evening session to earn a berth in the quarterfinals against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. Tsonga upset Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Pavlyuchenkova ousts Schiavone
No. 17 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova advanced to her second Grand Slam quarterfinal on Monday in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win over seven seed Francesca Schiavone.
“I tried to be excessive aggressive” said Pavlyuchenkova. ” I tried not to let her play her game, because she’s very smart and she makes me run a lot. She puts a lot of spin, so, you know, as soon as I slowed down my rhythm, my power, she’s just there and she controlled the point.
“Definitely I was a bit nervous at the start. After I got a little bit angry because I had some chances, and I was just — like I felt like I wasn’t playing good enough, you know. After I got angry, especially with my serve; it wasn’t going well. Then I thought, Okay, the match in three sets. If I lose the first set nothing gonna happen. I’m gonna continue fighting. Then and it was a bit kinda easier mental of me, because, you know, I was set and 4-1 up in the French and I lost. She’s always coming back, so I thought maybe I try to do the same thing here.”
At 20 she is the youngest woman left in the US Open draw and will face Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. “I don’t know what to say much about her, said the Russian. She’s just awesome and a great athlete and she’s showing so good tennis so far. So I don’t know what to say really. I’m just gonna go out there and – I’m gonna say that I don’t want to go out there and enjoy just being on the center court playing against Serena. I would like to do well, try to fight, and with my effort I try to beat her, you know. But of course I respect her a lot, as well. She’s just great.”
Seeds Advancing
Women
Singles – Fourth Round
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (15) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 67(6) 75 61
(17) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (7) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 57 63 64
(10) Andrea Petkovic (GER) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 61 64
(28) Serena Williams (USA) d. (16) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 63 64
Doubles – Third Round
(1) Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) d. Hsieh/Voskoboeva (TPE/KAZ) 63 61
(15) Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. (2) Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) 46 75 62
(3) King/Shvedova (USA/KAZ) d. (WC) Pegula/Townsend (USA/USA) 64 62
(5) Kirilenko/Petrova (RUS/RUS) d. (12) Martínez Sánchez/Medina Garrigues (ESP/ESP) 62 63
Hantuchova/Radwanska (SVK/POL) d. Kudryavtseva/Makarova (RUS/RUS) 63 46 62
Men
[1] N Djokovic (SRB) d [22] A Dolgopolov (UKR) 76(14) 64 62
[3] R Federer (SUI) d J Monaco (ARG) 61 62 60
[11] J Tsonga (FRA) d [8] M Fish (USA) 64 67(5) 36 64 62
[20] J Tipsarevic (SRB) d J Ferrero (ESP) 75 67(3) 75 62
Seeds Upset
(17) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (7) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 57 63 64
[11] J Tsonga (FRA) d [8] M Fish (USA) 64 67(5) 36 64 62
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