NEW YORK (AP) — Neither her words nor her play
indicated that Serena Williams was distracted one bit Thursday at the U.S.
Open.
She would have been forgiven if they had, of
course, given that her older sister Venus withdrew from the tournament 24 hours
earlier and revealed a recently diagnosed immune system disease.
Focused as ever, Serena absolutely overwhelmed
Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-1 to reach the third round,
showing precisely why many consider her the favorite to win a fourth
championship at Flushing Meadows and 14th Grand Slam title overall.
How was it to set aside Venus' situation?
"It really wasn't that difficult, to be
honest. I mean, she wants me to do the best; she wouldn't want me to
suffer," Serena said. "So now, if anything, it should motivate me
more."
If that's so, look out. She's lost three games in
two matches this week. She's won 14 matches in a row and 29 of her last 30 on
hard courts. On Thursday, she hit 10 aces, erased the only break point she
faced, compiled a 25-5 edge in winners and made only 10 unforced errors in a
powerful display that lasted all of 49 minutes.
"Did you guys see the match? Or was it too
quick?" Krajicek asked reporters.
That was part of a pattern in Arthur Ashe Stadium
on Day 4 of the year's last Grand Slam tournament: Winners Serena, Novak
Djokovic (two), Roger Federer (seven), Caroline Wozniacki (two), and Francesca
Schiavone (two) combined to lose a total of 14 games in five matches.
As Djokovic left the court, he said a fan told him:
"Hey, listen, I paid 100 bucks. You're staying an hour and a half on the
court. That's a lot to pay for a ticket. Give me something so I get back home
with a happy face. Give me a racket or something."
Djokovic won the first 14 games, sending reporters
scrambling to find the last "triple bagel" at the U.S. Open (for the
record, Ivan Lendl won by a shutout in 1987). Berlocq finally did win a game —
earning a standing ovation in the process — but Djokovic won the match 6-0,
6-0, 6-2.
Tennis fans who wanted some drama needed to watch
Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion and U.S. Open runner-up,
outlast No. 7-seeded Gael Monfils 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 at a packed
Louis Armstrong Stadium. At 4 hours, 48 minutes, it was the longest match of
the tournament.
Before the last game, fans treated both men to a
standing ovation.
"They love this kind of match," Ferrero
said.
As short as the top-ranked Djokovic's 1½-hour
encounter was, at least he put on a show while improving to 59-2 in 2011. He
repeatedly toyed with his opponent, Carlos Berlocq of Argentina, including a
back-to-the-court, between-the-legs shot to win a point in the last game.
Djokovic then cupped a hand to his ear, as though telling fans, "Let me
hear you!"
Serena didn't pull out any trick shots, but she
sure was good.
"Sometimes when you're on the court against
her, you just think, 'OK, she misses a few balls.' ... But she doesn't miss a
lot. It's just tough to keep the same level as her," said Krajicek, the
younger sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek. "I mean,
nobody hits as hard as her. Nobody. Not even her sister."
Venus, who won the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001, said
in an interview Thursday with ABC's "Good Morning America" that she
"absolutely" plans to return to tennis and is relieved, after years
of misdiagnosis, to know exactly what's been making her feel
"debilitating" fatigue.
"I know she's a fighter, and she's really
strong. She's great," Serena said. "I think she's really happy now
that she knows what it is, after all this time."
"As people say: To win the U.S. Open, you have
to beat top players. It doesn't matter when and where," said Azarenka, a
semifinalist at Wimbledon. "To sit and complain, 'Oh, my God, I got her in
the third round?' No. I have to go out there, compete and try to beat
her."
While no one was surprised to see the 28th-seeded
Serena move on — her ranking fell after she missed nearly a year with her own
series of health scares — she was joined by a larger-than-lately contingent of
countrywomen. Two Americans ranked outside the top 100, 18-year-old Sloane
Stephens and 21-year-old Vania King, knocked off seeded players to give the
host country five women in the third round for the first time since 2004, when
eight made it.
"We're ready to go to the top, baby," a
smiling Stephens said, clapping three times for emphasis.
The 106th-ranked Stephens, who lives in California,
beat 23rd-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel 6-1, 7-6 (4). Stephens, who hit one ace
at 119 mph, never won a Grand Slam match until this week, is the youngest woman
left in the draw, and already has plans for her prize money.
"Now I know for sure when I get home after the
season's over, I'm getting a car. That's the only thing I'm really looking
forward to now," she said. "My mom wants me to get a truck. I want to
get a small car. It's very confusing."
Two years ago, when she was 16 and playing in the
U.S. Open junior tournament, Stephens left New York to attend the funeral of
her father, 1988 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year John M. Stephens, in
Louisiana, then flew back that night and played a match the next morning.
"The emotions and everything was crazy,"
Stephens said. "For me, today was really crazy, as well. But it's totally
different."
The 103rd-ranked King, a 22-year-old who splits
time between Florida and California, eliminated No. 29 Jarmila Gajdosova of
Australia 6-2, 6-0.
Now things get even tougher: For a spot in the
fourth round, Stephens will face 2008 French Open champion and former No. 1 Ana
Ivanovic of Serbia on Saturday, while King takes on current No. 1 Caroline
Wozniacki of Denmark.
Ivanovic advanced when her opponent, Petra
Cetkovska, withdrew because of a quadriceps injury. Wozniacki lost her serve in
the opening game, then rolled off 12 of the next 13 to defeat Arantxa Rus 6-2,
6-0 on Thursday night.
"I'm American, so I know I'll get some support
out there," King said. "But she's No. 1 in the world, so she will, too."
The other two American women are in action Friday,
with 19-year-old Christina McHale meeting No. 25 Maria Kirilenko of Russia in
Arthur Ashe Stadium at night, and 21-year-old Falconi taking on No. 22 Sabine
Lisicki, one of four Germans still in the field.
The highest-seeded U.S. man, No. 8 Mardy Fish, got
to the third round for a third consecutive appearance in the U.S. Open by
beating Tunisian qualifier Malek Jaziri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
"I haven't really been tested that much. I
can't do anything about that," said Fish, who has dropped 13 games through
two matches. "I can't do anything about who I come up against."
Not much Dudi Sela could have done Thursday, eight.
His task? Facing 16-time major champion Federer. The result? Federer won 6-3,
6-2, 6-2, taking 52 of 60 points on his serve.
"It's tough to play him, especially when
you're not at your best and on center court," Sela said. "On Court
25, maybe I'd have a bigger chance. I had no chance."
Neither, it turned out, did half the players in
Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
(AP
Photo/Mike Groll)
