Chinese Peng beats another former world No. 1

Chinese Peng beats another former world No. 1

Peng Shuai of China returns the ball during her third round match of women’s singles against Maria Sharapova of Russia at China Tennis Open Tournament 2009 at National Tennis Centre in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 7, 2009. Peng won 2-0.(Xinhua/Luo Xiaoguang)
After upsetting former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, China’s shock specialist Peng Shuai stunned another former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova on Wednesday, advancing to the quarterfinal of the ongoing China Open tennis tournament.
In the first set, both players tried to focus on the baseline. Peng succeeded in breaking in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. The 23-year-old accomplished another break in the eighth game, winning the first set by 6-2.
Peng maintained her stable performance in the second set, breaking to lead 5-2. Sharapova fought back to 4-5, and survived two match points in the 10th game. However, Peng refused to let got he third match point, finishing her break to claim the victory 6-4.
Sharapova, winner of three Grand Slam titles, made too many unforced errors, while Peng Shuai secured her victory through her solid defense.
Peng will next play the winner between Petrova and S. Williams in the quarterfinal.

Serena Williams reclaims top ranking

Serena Williams reclaims top ranking

Serena Williams returned to the top of the world with a routine win at the China Open in Beijing yesterday but Andy Roddick and Jelena Jankovic plumbed the depths when their title defences ended in their opening matches.

Serena Williams reclaimed her No. 1 ranking with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in the second round.

Based on pre-tournament calculations, Williams moves to the top ranking by finishing better than current No. 1 Dinara Safina at the tournament. Safina lost to local wildcard entry Zhang Shuai in the second round on Monday.

The WTA reported that Safina’s upset loss made No. 226 Zhang the lowest ranked woman ever to defeat a No. 1. Julie Coin of France held the previous record, having a No. 188 ranking when she beat then No. 1 Ana Ivanovic at last year’s US Open.

Williams needed just over one hour for the relaxed victory in which she fired three aces and conceded just one double fault.

“It feels pretty good. I’m really excited, I guess,” Williams said. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, but I’m obviously happy to be there because I feel like I’ve been working so hard all year and just happy to be back.”

Williams has spent a total of 72 weeks as No. 1, including from February 2 to April 19 this year. The American said her focus for the rest of the year would be the WTA Tour Championships in Doha at the end of October.

“This a tough part of the year. It’s kind of toward the end and everybody’s bodies are starting to ache, you’re really fighting and you just do your best,” she said.

Former No. 1 Maria Sharapova rallied to keep her impressive comeback alive with a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Sharapova, who last week won the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo for her first tournament victory since returning from a 10-month injury layoff, recovered from a 2-5 deficit in the final set, winning five games in a row as ninth-ranked Azarenka struggled to find a response.

After winning the second set tiebreaker, Azarenka broke Sharapova three times to take a commanding lead. The tide turned in game eight, when Sharapova won a break of her own and then made a stand that proved too much for Azarenka.

“I knew that if I just kept steady and maybe I got an extra ball back and kept going for it and being aggressive, maybe good things will happen,” Sharapova said. “And today they did, and I certainly felt like I stepped it up when I needed to.

“I realized I certainly don’t want to be going home. I don’t want to be leaving China that soon, so I just went for it. I kept being aggressive and I stayed positive — I think that gets you a long way.”

China’s Peng Shuai upset defending champion Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a further setback for the Serb’s hopes of playing at Doha. Jankovic is currently No. 8 in the rankings and only the top eight qualify.

Jankovic, who retired in last week’s Tokyo final, said her arm and wrist continued to bother her, especially in the third set.

“I couldn’t hit the ball hard enough,” she said.

Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia beat Melinda Czink of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3.

In men’s play, defending champion Andy Roddick crashed out to Polish qualifier Lucasz Kubot 6-2, 6-4, while top-seeded Rafael Nadal opened his campaign with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Cypriot wild card Marcos Baghdatis.

“I was trying stuff out there and nothing seemed to be working too well,” Roddick said.

Marat Safin enjoyed support from the Chinese fans on his way to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jose Acasuso of Argentina. James Blake of the United States downed Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in another first-round match.

Sharapova wins Azarenka 2-1 at China Open

Sharapova wins Azarenka 2-1 at China Open

 

Maria Sharapova of Russia returns the ball during the second round match of women’s singles against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at China Open 2009 in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 6, 2009. Sharapova won 2-1.(Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

Safin wins China Open first round

Safin wins China Open first round

Marat Safin of Russia returns the ball during the first round match of men’s singles against Jose Acasuso of Argentina at China Open 2009 in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 6, 2009. Safin won 2-0.(Xinhua/Chen Jianli)
Marat Safin beat 51st-ranked Jose Acasuso in the first round of the China Open tennis tournament on Tuesday.
Safin broke Acasuso’s second serve game and led 3-1. Neither side was able to break since, and Safin ended the first set 6-4.

Marat Safin of Russia hits the ball during the first round match of men’s singles against Jose Acasuso of Argentina at China Open 2009 in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 6, 2009.(Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

In the second set, Safin managed to break at the first and seventh games to take down Acasuso 6-2.
The 29-year-old Russian, ranked 59th in the world, kept perfect form by powering a number of aces in his serve games. Breaking for three times, he didn’t meet many difficulties on his way to victory.
At the news conference after the match, he said he is satisfied with his performance.
“I just tried to move on in a proper way,” he said. “In the second set I avoided silly mistakes.”
Safin also said that he planned to retire in Paris months later.

Nadal happy with his aggressive style of playing

Nadal happy with his aggressive style of playing

There have been a lot of worrying talk about Rafael Nadal’s fierce style of playing which could force the Spaniard out of action at an early age, but the 23-year-old shrugged off the injury scare and said he is happy with his game.
“I started being professional tennis player at 16 years old and I have had seven years under my belt already. I think that’s a very long career, and lots of players start at 21 and finish at 29,” said Nadal, attending his second China Open here in Beijing.
“I’ve played the last five years without going out of number one or number two, except one week this year, so if you’re not fit and your body is not in good conditions it’s impossible to be five years in the top two. Everybody said that in 2005 but now it’s 2009 and I’m still at the same number.
“I have aggressive style of game, but I think no one can choose what style to play. I do all in my hands to play my tennis, sure I would love to serve like Kalovic and volley like Federer, but my game is another. I’m happy with my game. With my game I have a very good career right now.”
Nadal seemed to reach his peak last year by winning the long coveted Wimbledon trophy and the world number one ranking after the Olympic success.
The season of 2009 started strong for the bull like youngster who claimed the Australian Open for the first time, but it did not take long before he lost the top ranking to nemesis Roger Federer and the injury talk became the media hype again.
“It’s been a more difficult year for me because I had an injury of the knee and then the abdominal injury during the U.S. Open,” said the Spaniard, who provided butterflies in the stomach to the China Open organisers with his possible pull-out.
The U.S. Open was his last tournament where the injury-hit player lost to eventual champion Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina in the semifinals. He then took nearly one month off for treatment and holiday, sidelined from the Thailand Open and the Davis Cup matches.
China Open, which has just been elevated in both ATP and WTA events, will be his buildup tournament before the Shanghai Masters which follows heel.
“After one year like this, you are always a little bit scared, but I try to work hard to stay fit and that’s what I’m going to do in all my career,” he added.
Nadal, the 2005 China Open winner, will meet Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, the 2006 China Open winner, in the first round of the 2.1 million U.S. dollars ATP tournament.

Chinas wildcard holder downs world No.1 at China Open

China’s wildcard holder downs world No.1 at China Open

World number one Dinara Safina of Russia reacts after losing a point during her second round match against Zhang Shuai of China at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing October 5, 2009. [Agencies]
Wildcard Zhang Shuai from China made the biggest news at the ongoing China Open tennis tournament, beating world No. 1 Dinara Safina in the second round on Monday.
The 20-year-old, only ranked 226 in the world and spending much of her time playing the ITF events, battled two hours to outlast the Russian 7-5, 7-6(5) for a berth in the last 16 and the biggest-ever victory in her career.
Zhang, who even didn’t have her image added on the WTA official website, looked a little nervous at the start, committing double fault in her first serve game.
Safina, still looking for her first Grand Slam title to underline her credentials, broke Zhang at love in the sixth game to lead at 4-2, but the Chinese girl started to hit top gear and play solid game from the baseline, breaking back to level the match.
Zhang pushed hard and forced Safina into some uncharacteristic errors before the Russian dropped serve again to hand in a 7-5 first set loss.
Safina never felt comfortable in the second set while Zhang seemed to play a game much above her level.
After trading break, the match headed for a tiebreak where Zhang, capitalising on her opponent’s unforced errors, stormed to a 4-0 lead.
The 23-year-old Russian managed to pull within 4-3 but the momentum was not at her side.

Zheng Jie knocked out of China Open

Zheng Jie knocked out of China Open

China’s tennis star Zheng Jie failed to live up to home fans’ expectations as she lost to Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round of the China Open on Sunday.

China’s Zheng Jie returns a shot to Svetlana Kuznetsova from Russia during China Open women’s singles first round competition in Beijing, Sunday, October 04, 2009. The world No. 6 Russian beat the Chinese hopefull 7-6 (3) 7-5. [Xinhua] 
Kuznetsova, the tournament’s sixth seed and reigning French Open champion, fell behind early in both sets, but outlasted Zheng, 7-6 (3), 7-5, on center court at the Olympic tennis center.
The 26-year-old Zheng had never beaten Kuznetsova, who won the China Open in 2006, in four previous meetings.
Top seed Dinara Safina of Russia was to face Italy’s Roberta Vinci, and second seed Serena Williams was set to battle Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
In other first round matches on Sunday, Russian seventh seed Vera Zvonareva beat Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-2, and Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder brushed aside Poland’s Urszula Radwanska 6-4, 7-5.
The men’s main draw gets under way on Monday, with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick leading the charge.

Stosur becomes first seed casualty at China Open

Stosur becomes first seed casualty at China Open

Australia’s Samantha Stosur was upset by Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in the opening round of the China Open WTA tournament on Saturday, becoming the first seed casualty at the elite tourney.

Seeded 15th at the $4.5 million tournament, Stosur, 25, had the chance of advancing, starting to hit groundstrokes like a master and capitalising on her opponent’s unforced errors in the second set, winning at 6-4 despite losing the first 6-4.
Cornet, who broke into the top 20 last year, called up her trainer at the break, serving to turn around the situation. The 19-year-old teenager finally hit her stride in the decider, winning at 6-3 to round up the two hours marathon.
Coming up next for Cornet will be either her compatriot Aravane Rezai or Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.

Tennis: Venus advances at China Open

Tennis: Venus advances at China Open

Venus Williams dug deep to advance to the second round of the China Open on Saturday in Beijing, where she won Olympic doubles gold with sister Serena last year.

Venus Williams of the US returns a shot to Vera Dushevina of Russia during their first round match at the China Open tournament in Beijing, October 3, 2009.  [Agencies]
Williams, the world number three and third seed here, came onto centre court at the Olympic Tennis Centre with all guns blazing, but then had to battle back in the second set to defeat Russia’s Vera Dushevina, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1).
The 29-year-old American, sporting a hot pink mini-dress from her Eleven fashion line, dictated play on the first night of main draw matches — for better and for worse.
She punished Dushevina in the first set with heavy ground strokes and big serves, breaking her twice for the easy early lead.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner then lost her concentration in the second set, quickly falling behind to the 23-year-old Russian 0-4 on a series of mishits and double faults.
Williams stormed back, reeling off five straight games including three service breaks to get to 5-4. But again she faltered, allowing the set to go to a tiebreak before closing it out.
“It got away from me. I started making a few too many errors out there,” Williams told reporters after the match.
“I was still just focused on winning the set, and focusing on not giving too much more away,” she added. “I was just confident that if I kept getting games, I’d make her uncomfortable and make her start thinking about it.”
The WTA and ATP — identifying China as a key strategic marketplace — have upgraded the tournament here to be a cornerstone of the two tours, meaning that many of the sport’s biggest names are in town.

On Sunday, top seed Dinara Safina will face Italy’s Roberta Vinci in the first round, while second seed Serena Williams will take on Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
Maria Sharapova, who won the Pan Pacific Open in Japan on Saturday, has a first round bye in the 4.5-million-dollar event.
In other first round action here on Saturday, French teen Alize Cornet upset Australian 15th seed Samantha Stosur in three tough sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
The 19-year-old Cornet, ranked 51st in the world, broke Stosur in the 10th game to take the first set 6-4, but the 25-year-old Australian veteran, the world number 15, battled back in the second to even the match at one set all.
Cornet did not fold under the pressure, making just nine unforced errors throughout the match to Stosur’s 23 and sealing the victory 6-3 in the third.
Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, the 10th seed, fought back an early challenge from Chinese wild card entrant Han Xinyun to win in straight sets, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2.
The pair traded service breaks several times in the first set to bring it to a tiebreaker, during which the Italian used her experience to best advantage, taking some of the pace off and forcing a forehand error to win the set.
Pennetta, a US Open quarter-finalist, took charge of the match when she broke Han for a 3-2 lead in the second set and never looked back, closing out the match with an overhead smash.
Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Austrian Sybille Bammer, 7-5, 6-1, and Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak rallied to defeat France’s Aravane Rezai in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5).
Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, the 11th seed, withdrew from the tournament, citing illness.
The men’s main draw gets under way on Monday, with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick leading the charge.

Kuznetsova confident of China Open 2009

Kuznetsova confident of China Open 2009

Kuznetsova, a beaten finalist here last year, said she could perform better this year.
“I wish to play well this time,” she said. “I had great memories in China Open. There were a lot of fans and they always supported me. It also has good organization every year. So it’s very nice to come back and play tennis here again.”
Kuznetsova warned Chinese youngsters to think twice before deciding to become professional.
“They have to decide by themselves,” she said. “But if you want to become a professional tennis player, you have to give up a lot of things.”
“You have to think twice before making the decision.”