The Hindu : Sport : Kuznetsova, Roddick make it to last eight

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Tuesday, Sep 04, 2007
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Kuznetsova, Roddick make it to last eight

Sania-Mattek score upset win; Venus overpowers Ivanovic; Nalbandian beaten

NEW YORK: Former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova moved smoothly into the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Monday, profiting from a bottom half of the women’s draw that has been blown wide open.

The 22-year-old Russian, who was an upset U.S. Open winner in 2004, defeated fast-rising 18-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-3.

Meanwhile, Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek stunned the second-seeded pair of America’s Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur of Australia 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the third round of the women’s doubles.

Kuznetsova will next meet Agnes Szavay of Hungary, who defeated Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine 6-4, 7-6(1) in another early fourth-round tie.

Kuznetsova is the highest-ranking player left in a lopsided lower section of the draw which has seen the early departures of defending champion and second seed Maria Sharapova and seventh seed Nadia Petrova, both Russians.

Kuznetsova, one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour this year, had little to do in the first set as Azarenko dug her own grave by spraying her groundstrokes wide and long.

Azarenko started to find her touch to break the Russian’s serve at the start of the second set, but Kuznetsova replied by stepping up her own game to level.

The Russian then cracked a crosscourt forehand winner to break for a second time in the eighth game of the set

A nervy Kuznetsova let four match points get away on her serve in the following game, but converted at the fifth attempt with a deft serve and volley.

Szavay, who has emerged only in the last few months with a WTA tournament win in Palermo, was the more solid in a tight first set against Vakulenko, who at 24 was by far the oldest player left in the bottom half of the draw.

Both players though struggled to hold on to their serves in the second set which went into a tie-break. Vakulenko won the first point in that but then Svazay reeled off seven points in a row to reach the last eight in what is only her third appearance in a Grand Slam tournament.

Berdych retires

U.S. fifth seed Andy Roddick advanced to the quarterfinals in the men’s section on Monday when Czech ninth seed Tomas Berdych retired with the American leading 7-6(6), 2-0.

Roddick, who won his only Grand Slam title at the 2003 U.S. Open, will next face the winner between Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Swiss World No. 1 Roger Federer.

On Sunday, Venus Williams kept the pressure on No. 5 Ana Ivanovic and beat the Serbian teen 6-4, 6-2. Through four rounds, the Williams sisters — both two-time U.S. Open champs — have won every set. That kept them on track for a family reunion in the semifinals. “We have one more step,” Venus said.

Seeded 12th, she frustrated Ivanovic and let the 19-year-old beat herself. Ivanovic won only two points at the net and missed several more. After putting a shot into the mesh, she kicked the ball over the net and later slammed her racket.

Familiar match-up

Next up, Venus will play No.3 Jelena Jankovic, who defeated No. 19 Sybille Bammer 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, while for Serena, it’s a familiar match-up.

She will face No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals at a third consecutive major, having lost to her at the French Open and Wimbledon.

The day’s biggest surprise came in the final match, when 88th-ranked Ernests Gulbis of Latvia easily ousted eighth seed Tommy Robredo 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Gulbis, who turned 19 on Thursday and is the lowest-ranked man left in the draw, came to New York having lost in the first round at 10 of his 11 tournaments in 2007.

Nadal advances

Men’s matches on Sunday were in the third round, and No. 2 Rafael Nadal advanced without a hitch in his step — his taped-up knees have been bothering him — or his game, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-1.

Next up for Nadal is a fellow Spaniard, No.15 David Ferrer, who was one point from defeat before coming back to eliminate 2002 Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5.

Winners included No. 3 Novak Djokovic, No. 17 Carlos Moya, No. 20 Juan Ignacio Chela, No. 23 Juan Monaco and an unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka, who followed up his victory over Marat Safin by defeating Robby Ginepri of the United States 5-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Moya also won in five sets, edging Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, while Djokovic got past Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 at night.

“Hopefully I play even better the next round,” Djokovic said. — Agencies

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