(Rank/Seed)
My prediction was correct- (5/2) Kvitova beat (14/7) Kirilenko to win the title in New Haven 76(9) 75, despite having recently lost to Kirilenko at the Olympics
First Set
It was very close, 3 breaks a piece and every time Kvitova pushed ahead, Kirilenko came back. Kvitova missed out serving for the set at 6-5 and was forced to play the breaker. Each time Kvitova pulled ahead, Kirilenko came back, from 4-6 down, to 7-6 (set point) up. Kvitova whacked a forehand return winner to save that and ultimately edged the set on her 5th set point!
Second Set
Kvitova looked to be struggling as she fell behind 2-5 in the set, but Kirilenko seemed to tire from there on in and Kvitova's greater consistency pulled her through the next five games and set point down to win the match
Kvitova had already clinched the US Open series, but this win has solidly confirmed her as one of the favourites behind Serena heading into the US Open. She's now won 12 of her last 13 matches and picked up 2 titles in 3 weeks. Good work for someone who had traditionally struggled on American hard courts
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Friday, 24 August 2012
Kvitova vs Kirilenko in New Haven Final
The semifinals were a mixed bag in New Haven with one expected result and another perhaps more surprising one
(Rank/Seed)
Kvitova continued her brilliant, if somewhat unprecedented US hard court form to destroy (10/4) Errani 61 63
Kirilenko upset (8/3) Wozniacki in a sense, as Wozniacki retired trailing 75 with her knee injury. So close to the US Open, it seems a wise decision, yet denies Wozniacki the elusive opportunity to join the likes of Evert, Navratilova and Graf in winning 5 successive events at one particular tournament. Her winning streak lasted 20 matches in New Haven!
Kirilenko leads the head to head 3-2 against Kvitova and considering that she won their last meeting in the Olympic quarterfinals just weeks ago in straight sets without losing serve, she could perhaps be considered the favourite. However, Kvitova's form this US Open series has been exemplary and she has the power to dictate the match up. I'm going with Kvitova on this one, but who knows, I was wrong last week!
(Rank/Seed)
Kvitova continued her brilliant, if somewhat unprecedented US hard court form to destroy (10/4) Errani 61 63
Kirilenko upset (8/3) Wozniacki in a sense, as Wozniacki retired trailing 75 with her knee injury. So close to the US Open, it seems a wise decision, yet denies Wozniacki the elusive opportunity to join the likes of Evert, Navratilova and Graf in winning 5 successive events at one particular tournament. Her winning streak lasted 20 matches in New Haven!
Kirilenko leads the head to head 3-2 against Kvitova and considering that she won their last meeting in the Olympic quarterfinals just weeks ago in straight sets without losing serve, she could perhaps be considered the favourite. However, Kvitova's form this US Open series has been exemplary and she has the power to dictate the match up. I'm going with Kvitova on this one, but who knows, I was wrong last week!
Wozniacki Hits 20!
Once again, the favourites carried on moving through the draw in New Haven and booked place in the semifinals
(Rank/Seed)
Kvitova beat (17/8) Safarova 63 63, dominating on serve and clinching the 2012 Emirates US Open series
Wozniacki beat (13/6) Cibulkova 62 61, despite injuring her knee in the second set. Wozniacki's unbeaten New Haven streak extended to 20 matches, but now the injury looks set to jeopardise her chances of winning 5 in a row
Errani beat (11/5) Bartoli 64 62, surprising in one sense regarding power, but not regarding this years form
Kirilenko beat Govortsova comfortably 61 62
(Rank/Seed)
Kvitova beat (17/8) Safarova 63 63, dominating on serve and clinching the 2012 Emirates US Open series
Wozniacki beat (13/6) Cibulkova 62 61, despite injuring her knee in the second set. Wozniacki's unbeaten New Haven streak extended to 20 matches, but now the injury looks set to jeopardise her chances of winning 5 in a row
Errani beat (11/5) Bartoli 64 62, surprising in one sense regarding power, but not regarding this years form
Kirilenko beat Govortsova comfortably 61 62
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Seeds Still Solid
The seeds played brilliantly in the 2nd round to move into the quarterfinals, with all but one of the top 8 seeds moving forward
(Rank/Seed)
2/1 A. Radwanska retired down 60 21 to Govortsova with the shoulder injury that had hampered her through Cincinnati
5/2 Kvitova continued her fine form, beating Gibbs 62 64 at night
8/3 Wozniacki struggled early on, but pulled through against Arvidsson 76(4) 62 to extend her winning streak in New Haven to 19 matches
10/4 Errani beat Suarez Navarro 64 63
11/5 Bartoli survived a disastrous loss of 9 straight games to win the last 6 and win against Stephens 61 06 63
13/6 Cibulkova beat comeback queen Petkovic 64 61
14/7 Kirilenko received a walkover from Barthel
17/8 Safarova beat Zheng 64 60
(Rank/Seed)
2/1 A. Radwanska retired down 60 21 to Govortsova with the shoulder injury that had hampered her through Cincinnati
5/2 Kvitova continued her fine form, beating Gibbs 62 64 at night
8/3 Wozniacki struggled early on, but pulled through against Arvidsson 76(4) 62 to extend her winning streak in New Haven to 19 matches
10/4 Errani beat Suarez Navarro 64 63
11/5 Bartoli survived a disastrous loss of 9 straight games to win the last 6 and win against Stephens 61 06 63
13/6 Cibulkova beat comeback queen Petkovic 64 61
14/7 Kirilenko received a walkover from Barthel
17/8 Safarova beat Zheng 64 60
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
No Upsets in New Haven
The tour's moved on to the New Haven Open and I will now not only be covering the results of the top 10 players, but also the top 20! The 1st round's complete and there have been no upsets so far!
(Rank/Seed)
(8/3) Wozniacki (the defending champion) extended her unbeaten streak in New Haven to 18 matches in beating Makarova 63 63. She's aiming to become only the 4th woman in the open era, behind such names as Evert, Navratilova and Graf to win 5 successive tournaments at one particular event!
(10/4) Errani beat Mattek Sands 64 75, recovering from 2-5 down in the 2nd set
(11/5) Bartoli beat Robson 63 63
(13/6) Cibulkova beat Medina Garrigues 75 63
(14/7) Kirilenko beat Peer 62 62
(17/8) Safarova was leading Lepchenko 63 41 when Lepchenko retired with a wrist injury
(Rank/Seed)
(8/3) Wozniacki (the defending champion) extended her unbeaten streak in New Haven to 18 matches in beating Makarova 63 63. She's aiming to become only the 4th woman in the open era, behind such names as Evert, Navratilova and Graf to win 5 successive tournaments at one particular event!
(10/4) Errani beat Mattek Sands 64 75, recovering from 2-5 down in the 2nd set
(11/5) Bartoli beat Robson 63 63
(13/6) Cibulkova beat Medina Garrigues 75 63
(14/7) Kirilenko beat Peer 62 62
(17/8) Safarova was leading Lepchenko 63 41 when Lepchenko retired with a wrist injury
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