Blake put through hell in New Haven
Saturday, August 25, 2007
THIRD-SEEDED James Blake barely survived the third round, then booked a semi-final berth here on Thursday at the Pilot Pen Tennis US Open warm-up event.
On a busy day that saw three of the top four men's seeds tumble, Blake hung on by the skin of his teeth.
In his matinee third-round clash with Argentina's Agustin Calleri, the 2006 runner-up, the American staged a remarkable comeback, saving three match points at 4-5 in the second set before prevailing 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 in two hours before a partisan crowd.
Blake returned to court a few hours later to dismantle Spain's Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-2 in 60 minutes in the quarter-finals.
"That's a long workday," Blake said. "A lot of work for me. Luckily my work is fun.
"I easily was just one first serve from being out of here and on my way to Flushing Meadows. Now I'm still in it, I feel great and I feel kind of lucky to be still at the tournament and still alive."
The double-duty was made necessary after rain washed out all but four matches on Tuesday.
Blake now faces fifth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, a 6-4, 6-3 quarter-final victor over fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon.
Earlier, Simon had upset top-seeded and defending champion Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-4 in what he described as "a perfect performance".
"I played like crazy. I was in the zone. Everything I was doing was unbelievable," Simon said. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to maintain the same level against Paulo. I ran out of gas."
Davydenko, who is seeded fourth at next week's US Open, which starts on Monday in Flushing Meadows, looked listless after coming off a tough battle against US teenager Donald Young.
In the other semi-final, Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic is slated to meet unseeded American Mardy Fish. Karlovic fired 28 aces to send Russian Igor Andreev home 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) while Fish overpowered Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-3, 6-3.
In women's action, Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, the third seed, was humbled by sixth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 39 minutes.
"It was a tough battle," Dementieva said. "Even though the score looks easy, it was not. I had to fight hard. It could have gone either way."
The 25-year-old Dementieva recovered from a 0-4 deficit in the first set.
"She really played great," Bartoli said. "I have nothing to be ashamed of. I played against the better player. Overall, I was happy with my performance. I think I'm in pretty good shape for the US Open."
Dementieva now meets fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the top seed, who advanced without breaking a sweat.
Kuznetsova was up 6-2 when Italian Francesca Schiavone retired due to a left ankle injury.
The other semi-final will pit Hungarian teenager Agnes Szavay against Greece's Eleni Daniilidou. The 18-year-old Szavay, a qualifier, fashioned another match of sheer mastery on Thursday, thrashing eighth-seeded Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine 6-1, 6-4, one day after shocking second-seeded Daniela Hantuchova.
The hard-hitting Daniilidou edged fourth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 1-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-2, saving two match points along the way in the second set tie-breaker, the last one on a shot that hit the net cord and fell on the other side.AFP
On a busy day that saw three of the top four men's seeds tumble, Blake hung on by the skin of his teeth.
In his matinee third-round clash with Argentina's Agustin Calleri, the 2006 runner-up, the American staged a remarkable comeback, saving three match points at 4-5 in the second set before prevailing 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 in two hours before a partisan crowd.
Blake returned to court a few hours later to dismantle Spain's Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-2 in 60 minutes in the quarter-finals.
"That's a long workday," Blake said. "A lot of work for me. Luckily my work is fun.
"I easily was just one first serve from being out of here and on my way to Flushing Meadows. Now I'm still in it, I feel great and I feel kind of lucky to be still at the tournament and still alive."
The double-duty was made necessary after rain washed out all but four matches on Tuesday.
Blake now faces fifth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, a 6-4, 6-3 quarter-final victor over fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon.
Earlier, Simon had upset top-seeded and defending champion Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-4 in what he described as "a perfect performance".
"I played like crazy. I was in the zone. Everything I was doing was unbelievable," Simon said. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to maintain the same level against Paulo. I ran out of gas."
Davydenko, who is seeded fourth at next week's US Open, which starts on Monday in Flushing Meadows, looked listless after coming off a tough battle against US teenager Donald Young.
In the other semi-final, Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic is slated to meet unseeded American Mardy Fish. Karlovic fired 28 aces to send Russian Igor Andreev home 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) while Fish overpowered Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-3, 6-3.
In women's action, Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, the third seed, was humbled by sixth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 39 minutes.
"It was a tough battle," Dementieva said. "Even though the score looks easy, it was not. I had to fight hard. It could have gone either way."
The 25-year-old Dementieva recovered from a 0-4 deficit in the first set.
"She really played great," Bartoli said. "I have nothing to be ashamed of. I played against the better player. Overall, I was happy with my performance. I think I'm in pretty good shape for the US Open."
Dementieva now meets fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the top seed, who advanced without breaking a sweat.
Kuznetsova was up 6-2 when Italian Francesca Schiavone retired due to a left ankle injury.
The other semi-final will pit Hungarian teenager Agnes Szavay against Greece's Eleni Daniilidou. The 18-year-old Szavay, a qualifier, fashioned another match of sheer mastery on Thursday, thrashing eighth-seeded Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine 6-1, 6-4, one day after shocking second-seeded Daniela Hantuchova.
The hard-hitting Daniilidou edged fourth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 1-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-2, saving two match points along the way in the second set tie-breaker, the last one on a shot that hit the net cord and fell on the other side.AFP
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