Dementieva Advances As Davenport Makes Disappointing Exit
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Elena Dementieva escaped herself and left Lindsay Davenport in despair.
The 23-year-old Russian with the shaky sidearm serve survived a match point last night before pulling off a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (6) victory to reach the U.S. Open semifinals a year after she lost in the final.
Dementieva, seeded no. 6, tossed in 12 double faults, but her fearsome groundstrokes proved too much for Davenport, who was uncharacteristically wild. Davenport moped and muttered throughout the match, baffled that her forehand failed time and again. The 29-year-old American finished the night with 56 errors and had to swallow a fourth deflating defeat in this year’s Grand Slam events.
“Bottom line is you’ve got to play better than that in a quarterfinal,” Davenport said. In the most telling statistic of the evening, Davenport won 68% of points off Dementieva’s second serve, but lost 67% on her own.
At the outset, it seemed that Davenport would not even put up a fight. Dementieva raced through the first set in 27 minutes, her serve holding steady and her service returns knocking Davenport backwards.
Against Dementieva, however, a match is never out of reach. As well as the Russian strikes the ball, she can serve just as poorly. She double faulted 19 times in one match this tournament and Davenport knew it was only a matter of time before she would have her chance to pummel a few 68 mph softballs.
Davenport broke early in the second set and broke again to close it out. In the third set, she seemed in position to win. After going down a break at 4-3, she broke back and took the lead at 5-4.
While Dementieva’s service troubles are clearly mental rather than physical, one cannot question her competitive spirit or toughness. Any player would be justified in hanging her head if, after seven years as a professional, she could not predict the trajectory of her service toss. But Dementieva keeps her chin up and slugs away, no matter if she double faults on break point to send the final set into a tiebreak, as she did last night.
Befitting of a match with numerous ups and downs and inexplicable mistakes, Dementieva took a 5-3 lead before falling behind 6-5.With the match slipping away, she belted a forehand winner into the opposite court. Then she surprised Davenport with a drop shot to earn a set point.
Needing one more serve, Dementieva found the box, setting up a backhand winner.
***
The weekend before the U.S. Open began, there was one player whom Nick Bollettieri wanted to talk about more than any other. A chat about American teenager Donald Young, or a fantastic prospect from the Czech Republic, Nicole Vaidisova, was all well and good, but the longtime coach had other priorities.
“Don’t discount Mary Pierce,” he said. “She’s going to go far.”
Almost two weeks later, Bollettieri’s on again, off again pupil has fulfilled that promise, and she is in no mood to stop now. By the way she played yesterday, she might find herself that last woman standing on Saturday evening.
Pierce smothered no. 3 seed Amelie Mauresmo in their quarterfinal match, pinning the Frenchwoman well behind the baseline and barreling toward the net behind booming strokes. The 30-year-old Pierce, one of the original Big Babes of tennis, is playing as well as she ever has. After a surprise trip to the French Open final earlier this year, Pierce will make her first stop at the semifinals of the U.S. Open tomorrow, in which she will face Dementieva.
To get to this point, Pierce has traveled a remarkable road. She arrived on tour as a promising slugger in 1989 at the age of 14. Six years later, she won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, then waited another five years before she won in Paris, her adopted home. Through those years, Pierce’s ranking fluctuated and her father, Jim, was banned from the tour for abusive behavior. She sustained wide-ranging injuries, too. Not until the last year has Pierce shown any semblance of the form that made her a threat for more than a decade.
“Women’s tennis is a lot tougher now that it was 10 years ago,” Pierce said. “So for me to be competing in the top now means I need to be stronger and faster and better than before.”
Pierce certainly seems to be all those things. She hits some of the most penetrating shots on the tour, and though she will never beat people with her quick ness or agility, she holds her own around net the by dint of deadly approach shots. When on her game, Pierce wins most points in three strokes: serve, approach to a corner, and easy volley.
While Justine Henin-Hardenne, the 2003 champion, could not find her form against Pierce earlier in the week, Mauresmo could not keep Pierce away from her. In one game in the first set she fired four passing shots past Pierce, but otherwise Mauresmo spent more time moving backwards than forwards. Mauresmo, who had beaten Pierce in their last four meetings, including two this year, said her opponent was a different player now that she was healthy, confident, and strong from her many hours in the gym.
“There’s no comparison,” Mauresmo said. “She goes for every shot.”
***
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS As the U.S. Open approaches championship weekend, four men fight for the final two spots in the semifinals. During the day, Lleyton Hewitt takes on Jarkko Nieminen. Then at night, Roger Federer squares off against the man who knocked him out of the 2003 Open, David Nalbandian.
If you are in the mood for doubles, four of the best in the game – Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi against Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett – open the day inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The winner will meet twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the doubles final.
Several top juniors are in action, too, as Americans Donald Young and Alex Kuznetsov play on Court 11.