Tearful Serena Ousted at US Open
Posted on September 5, 2007
Djokovic Wins, Nadal in Trouble at US Open
No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic kept his first Slam title bid alive Tuesday with a 7-5, 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-1 win over No. 23 seed Juan Monaco at the US Open.
Djokovic will next face No. 17 seed Carlos Moya, with the former No. 1 topping Slam neophyte Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-5, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4.
"I think he would be great player in couple of months, maybe couple years," Moya said of Gulbis. "He hits the ball very hard. It's going to be very good for sure."
No. 20 seed Juan Ignacio Chela also moved into the quarters with a tough five-set win over unseeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-4.
"I think I break in the first game and then I think he play better than he was playing," Wawrinka said. "It was really tough for me to continue on this way. It was very difficult for him and for me. I think we play a good level, but he play very well at the end of the fifth set, so I think he deserve to win."
At 1:15 a.m. EST on Wednesday morning, No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal trailed Spanish countryman David Ferrer two sets to one.
Scheduled for Wednesday are (4) Nikolay Davydenko vs. (10) Tommy Haas, and (1) Roger Federer vs. (5) Andy Roddick.
Serena Slammed by Henin, Holds Back Tears at US Open
What do you do when you've got the ego of Serena Williams, but you've been dominated in your last three Grand Slam meetings with world No. 1 Justine Henin?
Serena fought off tears Tuesday night when she hustled off the court after a 7-6(3), 6-1 loss to Henin, who the American also came out on the short end against this year in the French Open and Wimbledon quarterfinals.
In her post-match interview Serena gave a rare nod to her opponent.
"No, I just think she played better," Serena said, before attributing her opponent's play to luck. "I just think she made a lot of lucky shots, and I made a lot of errors. I don't think my level dropped."
When a reporter asked if a drop in level wasn't equal to making errors, Serena replied, "I guess it is in a way, maybe my level did drop. I definitely made a lot of errors. I think she just played a little bit more aggressive and started hitting really, really hard balls."
When asked if she lost the match rather than Henin winning it, Serena replied, "I think that's usually the case with me, that it's for me to win or lose...I really don't feel like talking about it, to be honest. It's like I don't want to get fined. That's the only reason I came. I can't afford to pay the fines because I keep losing."
On tap for Wednesday at the US Open are (6) Anna Chakvetadze vs. (18) Shahar Peer, Agnes Szavay vs. (4) Svetlana Kuznetsova, and (3) Jelena Jankovic vs. (12) Venus Williams.
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Paola Suarez has announced her retirement...James Blake is 1-10 career in five-set matches...Maria Sharapova says she's not prepared to be a role model: "It's tough being a role model, because when I was growing up I never had a role model, because I never believed anyone was that perfect. You don't know what's going to come with fame until you actually get there and those things come to you and you actually explore them. But you really don't know until you actually get there."...The Hopman Cup exhibition has signed a deal to stay in Perth for another six years...From Tennisnews.com: "U.S. Open quarter finalist Andy Roddick serves up his favorite songs on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Celebrity Shuffle. A sneak preview of what listeners will learn about the tennis star: Roddick's favorite bar song -- Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline and Come on Eileen from Dexy's Midnight Runners. Roddick's surprising guilty pleasure -- Lionel Richie's You Are. The song Roddick must see performed live before he dies -- Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. Other artists on Roddick's play list include U2, The Killers, Dave Matthews Band and many more."...From the LA Times' Lisa Dillman: "You've got to draw the line somewhere. Bethanie Mattek, a Miami resident who was raised in Neenah, Wis., wasn't entirely sure if she would ever don a black cat suit, the way Serena Williams did at the U.S. Open in 2002. "I'll give her a lot of props for wearing it," said the 22-year-old. "I don't know if I would wear it." That's interesting coming from the envelope-pushing Mattek, who did it again Monday, wearing an outfit showing extra cleavage by virtue of a push-up bra, which created a moment of concern before the match from her doubles partner, Sania Mirza of India. "She asked me if I was going to spill out," said Mattek, who assured Mirza that she wouldn't. "It's really tight, nothing was moving at all." Oh, by the way, the 16th-seeded Mattek and Mirza upset No. 2 Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, in the third round. So there will be another close-up moment for Mattek, who has plenty of items in her wardrobe arsenal, mentioning "a leopard-print look." Interestingly, she was fined $1,000 for wearing a cowboy hat at the Open in 2005, yet there's been nary a word from officials this year."...U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe assessing the Swedish team for their semifinal meeting following the US Open: "I think they're a little up in the air. [Robin] Soderling pulled out of the Open. He has a wrist problem, from what I understand. I'm not sure if he's going to be able to play. I really don't think -- we probably won't know 'till the last minute. Obviously, Thomas Johansson will obviously play. Andy [Roddick] beat up on him pretty good here. The Swedes have a great history in Davis Cup. They always play well, usually play above their ranking, where they are. We're certainly expecting a tough match. You have [Jonas] Bjorkman, who will certainly play the doubles, maybe even play singles as well. I just think it depends. Soderling would certainly be their No. 1 guy. With him somewhat injured, I think they have a few more question marks."