The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Serena Williams and Patty Schnyder crash out of Cincinnati Open

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Monday, Jul 24, 2006

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Serena Williams and Patty Schnyder crash out of Cincinnati Open

CINCINNATI: Serena Williams's first tournament in six months ended in the semifinal stage on Saturday as Vera Zvonareva ousted the seven-time Grand Slam champion from the $175,000 WTA hardcourt event.

The unseeded Russian made short work of Williams, needing little more than an hour to post a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

It wasn't the ending Williams had hoped for in her first outing since the Australian Open in January. After her long layoff battling a chronic knee injury — an absence that saw her drop to 139th in the world — Williams had won her first three matches here without dropping a set.

But she never looked like challenging Zvonareva, losing the first five games of the opening set and going down a break early in the second.

Error-prone Serena

She said 34 unforced errors — to Zvonareva's six — were her undoing. "I think the results are customary for somebody who makes that many unforced errors. I think I was just off today. Every forehand, I think I was aiming at the ball kids or the umpire instead of the court," Williams said.

Defending champion Patty Schnyder was also toppled on Saturday, falling in three sets to Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik. She wrapped up the 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) victory when Schnyder double-faulted on match point.

"To be in the final, I feel very honoured," said Srebotnik, who is seeking her first title of the year. "My goal, to be honest, was just to win the first and second rounds," she added.

Zvonareva, herself a former top 10 player who has fallen to 50 in the world, won her only previous meeting with Srebotnik, on clay in 2002.

Meanwhile, Sania Mirza and Marta Domachowska of Poland stormed into the doubles final setting up a title clash against top seeds Maria Elena Camerin and Gisela Dulko.

The third-seeded pair thrashed Chan Chin-Wei of Taiwan and Tetiana Luzhanska of Ukraine 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals. Camerin and Dulko tamed Emma Laine of Finland and Hana Sromova of Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2.

Sania, whose singles challenge ended after she went down to Patty Schnyder, will stake claim on her second doubles title this year and third overall. She last won the doubles title alongside Lizel Huber of South Africa as second seeds at the Bangalore Open in February.

Sania, who is at her career best 33rd rank in the doubles, will be making her fifth final appearance with 2-2 win/loss WTA Tour career record.

Blake downs Malisse

James Blake fought his way into the Indianapolis championship final against fellow American Andy Roddick with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win over Xavier Malisse. Former World No. 1 Roddick reached his first final in 2006 with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over compatriot Robby Ginepri.

Roddick will be hoping to win his first trophy since his triumph in Lyon last October. He holds a 6-1 record over Blake, his poker-playing partner.

But Blake will take confidence from a semifinal win last month at Queen's Club, London, into the final.

"It helps to know that I've beaten him in the past when it comes to a tight situation. I'm most concerned about his serve. He hasn't been broken yet this week. If I get my chances, I want to be sure and take them," Blake said.

Blake weathered the storm against Malisse as the Belgian levelled at a set apiece before the American regained control in the third set.

Roddick needed just 66 minutes to claim his sixth win in seven ATP meetings against Ginepri, who he first played aged 12.

Twice former champion Roddick dominated on serve, with Ginepri praising the effort as the best he has ever faced from his friend. Roddick never faced a break point, fired eight aces and notched 21 winners against Ginepri.

Djokovic triumphs

Serbian teenager Novak Djokovic defeated fourth-seeded Nicolas Massu of Chile 7-6(5), 6-4 in the Priority Telecom Open final on Sunday to win his first ATP title.

The 19-year-old broke Massu in the second game of the first set but the Chilean broke back in the seventh game to send it to a tie-breaker.

Djokovic and Massu traded breaks to open the second set, before the third-seeded Serb made the key break in the seventh game.

Massu, ranked No. 9 in 2004 before falling out of the top 50 last year because of injuries, won the clay-court event in 2003. Djokovic is the first Serb to win the Amersfoort title, and did it without dropping a set.

The results:

At Cincinnati (WTA Cincinnati Open): Singles: Semifinals: Vera Zvonareva bt Serena Williams 6-2, 6-3; Katarina Srebotnik bt Patty Schnyder 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6). Doubles: Semifinals: Maria Elena Camerin & Gisela Dulko bt Emma Laine & Hanna Sromova 6-2, 6-2; Sania Mirza & Marta Domachowska bt Chan Chin-Wei & Tetiana Luzhanska 6-0, 6-1.

At Indianapolis (ATP RCA Championships): Semifinals: James Blake bt Xavier Malisse 6-3, 2-6, 6-1; Andy Roddick bt Robby Ginepri 7-5, 6-3.

At Palermo (WTA International): Semifinals: Anabel Medina Garrigues bt Lucie Sarafova 6-4, 6-4; Tathiana Garbin bt Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-2.

At Amersfoort (ATP Priority Telecom Open): Final: Novak Djokovic bt Nicolas Massu 7-6(5), 6-4.

At Stuttgart (ATP Mercedes Cup): Final: David Ferrer bt Jose Acasuso 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4. — Agencies

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