Thursday, April 30, 2009

Jankovic wins thriller in Stuttgart

I was not able to tune into this match until it was 5-all in the first set, and I had to stop watching it at 3-all in the third (work keeps getting in the way of my tennis viewing). Needless to say, I was very disappointed to have to leave the screen, for this match was as exciting as I had expected it to be. Both players took advantage of every break point afforded them; Jelena Jankovic broke five times, and wild card Sabine Lisicki broke four. It was thrilling, at times, to see the angles created by both players, and it was impressive to see how far Jankovic has come since the beginning of the season. She won this match--7-5, 5-7, 6-3--with the crowd solidly behind her opponent, and her opponent has plenty of which to be proud.

Top seed Dinara Safina defeated Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-2. Hantuchova had won their last three contests, though Safina had won the only other time they played on clay. Second seed Elena Dementieva defeated Agnes Szavay 7-6, 6-1, Agnieszka Radwanska defeated qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 6-3, and Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

There were also two upsets. Flavia Pennetta, who is obviously turning her season around, upset 6th seed Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-2, and Marion Bartoli upset 7th seed Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6, 6-4. This means, of course, that Wozniacki and Dementieva will not meet in Stuttgart. Wozniacki defeated Dementieva in both Miami and Charleston.

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