King Gives U.S. Women Hope with Bangkok Break-out
Posted on October 14, 2006BANGKOK, Thailand -- Three Sony Ericsson WTA Tour veterans and one of its promising future stars all survived the unpredictable weather Friday to claim spots in Saturday's semifinals at the Tier III PTT Bangkok Open.
The most dramatic victory of the day went to No.9 seed Severine Bremond, who twice battled back from the brink of defeat to oust the highest-ranked woman remaining in the draw, No.5 seed Eleni Daniilidou, 46 76(5) 63.
Having lost their only prior meeting relatively easily, Bremond looked to be on the verge of another defeat, as Daniilidou broke to go up 5-3 in the second set. But the 27-year-old Frenchwoman kept the pressure on, breaking back, saving a match point in the next game, and finally rallying back from a 5-1 deficit in the tie-break to push the match to a third set. Despite a rain delay that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours, Bremond kept her cool and closed it out, earning a spot in her first semifinal.
"To be honest, I couldn't tell you about the match point and the tie-break; I can barely remember them," Bremond said. "I just kept telling myself to focus on the points, then to be more aggressive, and that's what turned it around."
Bremond had been 0-5 in quarterfinals prior to this tournament, including a career milestone at Wimbledon, where she reached that round at a Grand Slam event for the first time. She also cracked the Top 50 recently. It has been a good second half of the season for the seasoned Frenchwoman.
"I'm very excited. Although I did reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, this is still very special. The most important thing for me right now is to rest, I've played all three set matches and doubles as well. I'm tired right now!"
Awaiting Bremond in the semifinals will be Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn, an easy 60 62 winner over Austria's Sybille Bammer Friday. Tanasugarn pummelled the crafty Bammer with solid, flat groundstrokes to win in just 54 minutes and reach her first semifinal since Tokyo [Japan Open] in 2004, over two years ago.
"I want to thank my fans for their support -- it really lifted me up," Tanasugarn said. "Even after thunder and heavy rain, so many people stayed and supported me. It was a fantastic feeling."
Bremond and and Tanasugarn will be playing for the first time.
"I know Bremond's playing well," Tanasugarn added. "She's up-and-coming and her form has been good ever since Wimbledon. It's going to be tough but I am excited to be in the semis of Bangkok; I'll play my game and fight hard."
Shaughnessy, King set up all-American affair
The other semifinal will feature a pair of Americans, one a veteran and one a talented teenager, but both in the hunt for a berth in the Bangkok final.
Meghann Shaughnessy, the No.6 seed and a two-time Tour titlist already this season, took out last week's Tokyo [Japan Open] runner-up Aiko Nakamura, 62 64, to reach her third semifinal of the season. The 27-year-old has been to this round twice before in 2006, winning titles at Rabat and Forest Hills.
"Nakamura has been playing well, reaching the final last week in Tokyo, so today was a good win for me," Shaughnessy said. "I tried to dictate with my serve and return, so that she didn't run me around too much."
Seventeen-year-old Californian Vania King had the most comprehensive victory of the day, ousting No.8 seed and doubles partner Jelena Kostanic, 61 61. It was no contest from start to finish, as the confident teenager dictated play with her solid groundstrokes and sharp court movement. It took one hour, 13 minutes.
"I'm playing really well," King said. "Playing Kostanic was very strange. We warmed up together today before the match, talked about it and decided we had done that every day this week, so why change? I felt a little awkward to play aggressive against her then I thought I'd be pretty insulted if she didn't play her best against me so I just went out there and played."
Shaughnessy and King will also be playing for the first time.
"She must be doing something right," Shaughnessy added. "She's young. and an up-and-coming American; I hope my experience comes through. I'm feeling very confident, playing well and it'd be nice to win a third title this year. Tomorrow's going to be tough though and I'll have to concentrate on that."
"I've never played her before," King said. "I know she's a good player and she's been very highly ranked, also she's had a pretty good year. Like every match I'll stick to my game and if I play this well, it'll be a good match."
-- WTA
The most dramatic victory of the day went to No.9 seed Severine Bremond, who twice battled back from the brink of defeat to oust the highest-ranked woman remaining in the draw, No.5 seed Eleni Daniilidou, 46 76(5) 63.
Having lost their only prior meeting relatively easily, Bremond looked to be on the verge of another defeat, as Daniilidou broke to go up 5-3 in the second set. But the 27-year-old Frenchwoman kept the pressure on, breaking back, saving a match point in the next game, and finally rallying back from a 5-1 deficit in the tie-break to push the match to a third set. Despite a rain delay that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours, Bremond kept her cool and closed it out, earning a spot in her first semifinal.
"To be honest, I couldn't tell you about the match point and the tie-break; I can barely remember them," Bremond said. "I just kept telling myself to focus on the points, then to be more aggressive, and that's what turned it around."
Bremond had been 0-5 in quarterfinals prior to this tournament, including a career milestone at Wimbledon, where she reached that round at a Grand Slam event for the first time. She also cracked the Top 50 recently. It has been a good second half of the season for the seasoned Frenchwoman.
"I'm very excited. Although I did reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, this is still very special. The most important thing for me right now is to rest, I've played all three set matches and doubles as well. I'm tired right now!"
Awaiting Bremond in the semifinals will be Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn, an easy 60 62 winner over Austria's Sybille Bammer Friday. Tanasugarn pummelled the crafty Bammer with solid, flat groundstrokes to win in just 54 minutes and reach her first semifinal since Tokyo [Japan Open] in 2004, over two years ago.
"I want to thank my fans for their support -- it really lifted me up," Tanasugarn said. "Even after thunder and heavy rain, so many people stayed and supported me. It was a fantastic feeling."
Bremond and and Tanasugarn will be playing for the first time.
"I know Bremond's playing well," Tanasugarn added. "She's up-and-coming and her form has been good ever since Wimbledon. It's going to be tough but I am excited to be in the semis of Bangkok; I'll play my game and fight hard."
Shaughnessy, King set up all-American affair
The other semifinal will feature a pair of Americans, one a veteran and one a talented teenager, but both in the hunt for a berth in the Bangkok final.
Meghann Shaughnessy, the No.6 seed and a two-time Tour titlist already this season, took out last week's Tokyo [Japan Open] runner-up Aiko Nakamura, 62 64, to reach her third semifinal of the season. The 27-year-old has been to this round twice before in 2006, winning titles at Rabat and Forest Hills.
"Nakamura has been playing well, reaching the final last week in Tokyo, so today was a good win for me," Shaughnessy said. "I tried to dictate with my serve and return, so that she didn't run me around too much."
Seventeen-year-old Californian Vania King had the most comprehensive victory of the day, ousting No.8 seed and doubles partner Jelena Kostanic, 61 61. It was no contest from start to finish, as the confident teenager dictated play with her solid groundstrokes and sharp court movement. It took one hour, 13 minutes.
"I'm playing really well," King said. "Playing Kostanic was very strange. We warmed up together today before the match, talked about it and decided we had done that every day this week, so why change? I felt a little awkward to play aggressive against her then I thought I'd be pretty insulted if she didn't play her best against me so I just went out there and played."
Shaughnessy and King will also be playing for the first time.
"She must be doing something right," Shaughnessy added. "She's young. and an up-and-coming American; I hope my experience comes through. I'm feeling very confident, playing well and it'd be nice to win a third title this year. Tomorrow's going to be tough though and I'll have to concentrate on that."
"I've never played her before," King said. "I know she's a good player and she's been very highly ranked, also she's had a pretty good year. Like every match I'll stick to my game and if I play this well, it'll be a good match."
-- WTA