Henin Receives Scare, Vaidisova Upset at US Open
Posted on September 2, 2006On Thursday at the US Open, Martina Hingis succumbed to the mental and physical rigor of playing back-to-back matches after a rain delay at the US Open. On Friday No. 2 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne looked condemned to the same fate after dropping the first set against Ai Sugiyama before flipping the switch for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory to advance into the fourth round.
"I didn't have the feeling that I was moving well at the time, and I lost my intensity," Henin-Hardenne said of the first set, with the match played in pre-rain breezy and chilly conditions. "The conditions were pretty difficult. She kept fighting. She's been pretty solid. That's why she came back in the match. I understood I had no more choice than to win the next two, and so I had to be very focused on every point. Then I played very, very solid tennis at that time."
Other seeded winners on the day were (4) Elena Dementieva (d. fellow Russian (33) Zvonareva), (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. fellow Russian Rodionova, bagel in the second), (19) Jelena Jankovic (upsetting (9) Vaidisova from a set down), and (21) Shahar Peer (upsetting (14) Schiavone in three).
"Sometimes, I was feeling she hits it and she doesn't know where it's going," Jankovic said of the baseline slugger Vaidisova. "Especially because it was windy, but I hung in there."
France's Arvane Rezai had the lone unseeded upset on the day, taking out (20) Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-1.
Later in the day (20) Marion Bartoli led (7) Patty Schnyder 6-0, 1-3 when rain stopped play, and the night session featuring (10) Lindsay Davenport vs. (22) Katarina Srebotnik was cancelled due to showers that are forecast into Saturday.
Saturday's scheduled highlights at the US Open are (3) Sharapova vs. (32) Likhovtseva in an all-Russian, Serena vs. (16) Ivanovic, (5) Petrova vs. (27) Golovin, (1) Mauresmo vs. Santangelo, and (13) Pierce vs. (24) Li.
"I didn't have the feeling that I was moving well at the time, and I lost my intensity," Henin-Hardenne said of the first set, with the match played in pre-rain breezy and chilly conditions. "The conditions were pretty difficult. She kept fighting. She's been pretty solid. That's why she came back in the match. I understood I had no more choice than to win the next two, and so I had to be very focused on every point. Then I played very, very solid tennis at that time."
Other seeded winners on the day were (4) Elena Dementieva (d. fellow Russian (33) Zvonareva), (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. fellow Russian Rodionova, bagel in the second), (19) Jelena Jankovic (upsetting (9) Vaidisova from a set down), and (21) Shahar Peer (upsetting (14) Schiavone in three).
"Sometimes, I was feeling she hits it and she doesn't know where it's going," Jankovic said of the baseline slugger Vaidisova. "Especially because it was windy, but I hung in there."
France's Arvane Rezai had the lone unseeded upset on the day, taking out (20) Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-1.
Later in the day (20) Marion Bartoli led (7) Patty Schnyder 6-0, 1-3 when rain stopped play, and the night session featuring (10) Lindsay Davenport vs. (22) Katarina Srebotnik was cancelled due to showers that are forecast into Saturday.
Saturday's scheduled highlights at the US Open are (3) Sharapova vs. (32) Likhovtseva in an all-Russian, Serena vs. (16) Ivanovic, (5) Petrova vs. (27) Golovin, (1) Mauresmo vs. Santangelo, and (13) Pierce vs. (24) Li.