Womens Blowouts as Five Seeds Bake Bagels at US Open
Posted on September 1, 2005Maria Sharapova mastered the blustery conditions Wednesday in her opening-round match at the US Open, blowing past Dally Randriantefy 6-1, 6-0 in her quest to re-take the No. 1 spot during the Flushing Meadows fortnight.
The 6-foot-2 Sharapova blistered the 5-foot-5 player from Madagascar, showing no sign of the pectoral muscle issue that troubled her entering the US Open.
"It's good that I ate some chocolate cake last night," said the model-thin Sharapova, dropping some funny after the match. "I'm glad I put on a few pounds. Otherwise, I might have blown away out there."
No. 4 seed Kim Clijsters held off a first-set challenge from Fabiola Zuluaga before rolling the Colombian 7-5, 6-0.
Clijsters led 4-1 before dropping four straight games, then ran through the last nine games to win in little over an hour.
"I lost a little bit of my footwork. I wasn't as on my toes anymore," Clijsters said. "At 5-4, I started to be a little more aggressive again. I think I wasn't being aggressive enough anymore at 4-1. That made her come back into that first set."
No. 8 seed Serena Williams had an easy time with Catalina Castano, punishing the Colombian 6-2, 6-2 while adorned with more than $50,000 worth of diamond jewelry. After the match Serena clapping for herself after announcing she would donate $100 for every ace she delivers for the remainder of the year to the Gulf Coast hurricane relief effort.
"I've always considered myself a philanthropist," Serena said.
Serena is now one match away from a meeting with No. 10-seeded sister Venus, who dropped four games in easing past Russian Maria Kirilenko.
After her match Serena bristled at the notion that the bling, the fashion and cosmetics design, the reality show, the (fill in the blank) come before tennis in her life.
"I love tennis," Serena said. "Quite frankly, I'm tired of people saying I put tennis third and last in my life. If I did, I wouldn't be here playing. I wouldn't be here practicing. I could be at the beach. I could be retired. I could be drinking lemonade with my legs crossed in the sun on the beach. I'm not doing that. I'm not in Saint-Tropez."
Other seeded winners Wednesday were (9) Nadia Petrova (d. Nakamura, bagel in the second), (20) Daniela Hantuchova (d. Ma. Emilia Salerni, bagel in the second), (25) Francesca Schiavone (d. Laine), (26) Nicole Vaidisova (d. Zheng, bagel in the second), and (30) Ai Sugiyama (d. Pastikova from a set down).
Two seeds were sent home on the day with Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi (d. (18) Ivanovic from a set down) and Israel's Shahar Peer (d. (33) Douchevina in three) victorious.
Unseeded winners into the third round were India's Sania Mirza (d. Camerin in three), Germany's Julia Schruff (d. Raymond), Croatian Ivana Lisjak (d. Bychkova), American Laura Granville (d. Pratt in three), and France's Marion Bartoli (d. Perry, bagel in the third).
Scheduled for Thursday are (7) Henin-Hardenne vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, (2) Davenport vs. Parmentier, Sesil "The Mouth" Karatantcheva vs. (3) Mauresmo, (15) Dechy vs. King, Srebotnik vs. (12) Pierce, Smashnova vs. (23) Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin, (17) Jankovic vs. the 15-year-old American Glatch, Craybas vs. (29) Chakvetadze, (32) Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues vs. Sun, Cho vs. (27) Gisela "Sgt." Dulko, (31) Groenefeld vs. Razzano, (24) Asagoe vs. Linetskaya, Martina "Nurse, Hand Me a" Sucha vs. (11) Schnyder, (13) Myskina vs. Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier, (6) Dementieva vs. Diaz-Oliva, and (19) Likhovtseva vs. Maleeva.
The 6-foot-2 Sharapova blistered the 5-foot-5 player from Madagascar, showing no sign of the pectoral muscle issue that troubled her entering the US Open.
"It's good that I ate some chocolate cake last night," said the model-thin Sharapova, dropping some funny after the match. "I'm glad I put on a few pounds. Otherwise, I might have blown away out there."
No. 4 seed Kim Clijsters held off a first-set challenge from Fabiola Zuluaga before rolling the Colombian 7-5, 6-0.
Clijsters led 4-1 before dropping four straight games, then ran through the last nine games to win in little over an hour.
"I lost a little bit of my footwork. I wasn't as on my toes anymore," Clijsters said. "At 5-4, I started to be a little more aggressive again. I think I wasn't being aggressive enough anymore at 4-1. That made her come back into that first set."
No. 8 seed Serena Williams had an easy time with Catalina Castano, punishing the Colombian 6-2, 6-2 while adorned with more than $50,000 worth of diamond jewelry. After the match Serena clapping for herself after announcing she would donate $100 for every ace she delivers for the remainder of the year to the Gulf Coast hurricane relief effort.
"I've always considered myself a philanthropist," Serena said.
Serena is now one match away from a meeting with No. 10-seeded sister Venus, who dropped four games in easing past Russian Maria Kirilenko.
After her match Serena bristled at the notion that the bling, the fashion and cosmetics design, the reality show, the (fill in the blank) come before tennis in her life.
"I love tennis," Serena said. "Quite frankly, I'm tired of people saying I put tennis third and last in my life. If I did, I wouldn't be here playing. I wouldn't be here practicing. I could be at the beach. I could be retired. I could be drinking lemonade with my legs crossed in the sun on the beach. I'm not doing that. I'm not in Saint-Tropez."
Other seeded winners Wednesday were (9) Nadia Petrova (d. Nakamura, bagel in the second), (20) Daniela Hantuchova (d. Ma. Emilia Salerni, bagel in the second), (25) Francesca Schiavone (d. Laine), (26) Nicole Vaidisova (d. Zheng, bagel in the second), and (30) Ai Sugiyama (d. Pastikova from a set down).
Two seeds were sent home on the day with Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi (d. (18) Ivanovic from a set down) and Israel's Shahar Peer (d. (33) Douchevina in three) victorious.
Unseeded winners into the third round were India's Sania Mirza (d. Camerin in three), Germany's Julia Schruff (d. Raymond), Croatian Ivana Lisjak (d. Bychkova), American Laura Granville (d. Pratt in three), and France's Marion Bartoli (d. Perry, bagel in the third).
Scheduled for Thursday are (7) Henin-Hardenne vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, (2) Davenport vs. Parmentier, Sesil "The Mouth" Karatantcheva vs. (3) Mauresmo, (15) Dechy vs. King, Srebotnik vs. (12) Pierce, Smashnova vs. (23) Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin, (17) Jankovic vs. the 15-year-old American Glatch, Craybas vs. (29) Chakvetadze, (32) Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues vs. Sun, Cho vs. (27) Gisela "Sgt." Dulko, (31) Groenefeld vs. Razzano, (24) Asagoe vs. Linetskaya, Martina "Nurse, Hand Me a" Sucha vs. (11) Schnyder, (13) Myskina vs. Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier, (6) Dementieva vs. Diaz-Oliva, and (19) Likhovtseva vs. Maleeva.