Jankovic Defeats Arvidsson in U.S. Open

Jelena Jankovic’s leg cramped so badly, she couldn’t take another step.

Luckily for the No. 2 seed in the U.S. Open, the agony occurred during her post-match run on the treadmill. Anyone who watched could clearly see she left about everything she had out on the court.

Jankovic outlasted Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 Wednesday on yet another uncharacteristically mild August day in Flushing Meadows. She planned to take a 10-minute run on the treadmill but lasted only three when pain flared in the area of a knee injury sustained at Wimbledon.

“I couldn’t go anymore,” Jankovic said. “My leg was straight and I couldn’t bend it. The muscle was in spasm and I had a lot of pain.”

Treatment with ice and stretching and massaging loosened her leg enough for her to go back to the locker room to take a shower before she spoke to reporters in a much more comfortable setting.

Until then, it was Arvidsson who made her life difficult for the better part of three hours.

Jankovic bent over her racket, leaned against a back wall with a towel pressed to her face, and sprawled on her stomach in the middle of center court. Then she gutted her way into the third round.

The combination of not being in match condition following the injury and an array of hard forehands and well-placed drop shots by Arvidsson left Jankovic fighting to get her wind during the 2-hour, 44-minute match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“That was a really tough one,” said Jankovic, who has reached the fourth round in the first three Grand Slam events this year. “As you can see, I am completely out of breath. She really pushed me to the limit.”

Jankovic twice served for the win in the middle set against Arvidsson, yet couldn’t put her away — even with a match point in reach. Jankovic held off Arvidsson in a back-and-forth third set when both had trouble holding serve.

When Arvidsson fired long on the final point, Jankovic had her third service break of the third set and eighth overall. There was suddenly a spring in her step as she waved and blew kisses to the crowd.

Even with the squandered chances, Jankovic still had an opportunity to advance without going the distance. She jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second set tiebreak before losing six straight points. Jankovic extended the set by winning two points on her serve, but fired wide as she approached the net — drawing an exuberant “Yeah” from Arvidsson.

Several times, Jankovic hunched over and leaned on her racket but didn’t appear to be in distress. The Serb, ranked No. 1 earlier this year, lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon after injuring a knee in the previous match.

If anything ailed her other than fatigue Wednesday, it wasn’t evident in the decisive third set when she raced to a 3-0 edge. Jankovic doubled over again when a fortuitous shot by Arvidsson crept over the net after it smacked the cord in the fourth game, but that appeared more out of exasperation than discomfort.

After a drop shot eluded her dive, Jankovic dropped to the court face down and stayed there for several moments. If anything, it gave her a brief rest.

“I was just tired and I couldn’t get up,” Jankovic said. “I was just trying to come back to normal position where I could just stand up and regroup again and play the next point.”

The only worry she had at that point had to do with her bright yellow outfit that matched nicely with the deep blue court.

“I thought I was going to get my dress really dirty. That was my biggest concern,” she said. “I would have loved to take a nap on the court because I was really exhausted. But you know, the rules are the rules. I had to keep going.”

While Jankovic escaped an early exit, No. 8 seed Vera Zvonareva couldn’t. Zvonareva was upended by Tatiana Perebiynis 6-3, 6-3 in the tournament’s biggest upset yet.

No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova shook off an early break and rallied to a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over Sorana Cirstea. Fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva advanced over Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-1. No. 12 Marion Bartoli of France, No. 14 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and No. 15 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland also won.

Former champ Lindsay Davenport, the No. 23 seed, beat Alisa Kleybanova 7-5, 6-3.

No. 25 Francesca Schiavone was knocked out by Anne Keothavong 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, and Zheng Jie of China eliminated No. 26 Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-4.

Kuznetsova, the 2004 champion and No. 3 seed this year, trailed 4-2 in the opening set before getting back on serve and eventually forcing a tiebreak that she dominated against her inexperienced opponent. She cruised to a 5-0 lead in the second and closed out the match in 1 hour, 13 minutes.

“Here you feel special, like I’ve made it here,” Kuznetsova said. “It’s an amazing feeling. ... I just play much more confident.”

Roddick takes Fast Train to 2nd Round

Andy Roddick played like he couldn’t wait to catch the No. 7 train back to the city, grabbing his ticket and leaving Fabrice Santoro on the platform 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, in his most impressive performance this summer. As one would expect from a guy who plays “banger tennis”, he put on a serving clinic (averaging almost 130 mph on first serves) and a detonating forehand whenever he had the opportunity.

I was thoroughly impressed with Roddick’s complete performance in the last men’s match of the U.S. Open first round. The scattergun shots that often plague his game never appeared. He simply was magic against the player known as the Magician. The 35-year-old Santoro, was appearing in his record setting 65th major. Roddick was just too good.

Concerned
Before the match started, I felt that if he were to lose it would be a disaster. He is the face of American tennis; the 2003 tournament winner. If you ask people to name an American tennis player, they will say Andy Roddick. In truth, he was better. He was composed, very businesslike. He just got the job done. All in all, it was an impressive show on a sold-out night. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him so controlled, so solid. He played like he had a goal and knew how to achieve it.

Tournament preparation
Andy decided to play three U.S. Open Series events instead of going to Beijing in hopes of readying himself to duplicate his 2003 success, and he looked bad. I don’t know if it was the shoulder and neck injuries that had tormented him earlier this year, but it was almost as if they still existed because the best he did was reach the Countrywide Classic final in Los Angeles where Juan Martin Del Potro, the story of the summer hard courts season, ambushed him 6-1, 7-6.

2003 champion
His victory five years ago may have come about because the rest of the men’s field hadn’t really formed. Roger (Federer) was becoming Roger. He wasn’t there yet, and you have to remember the reality of the match, (not to take anything away from Andy), but he was fortunate to get by (David) Nalbandian on a couple of disputed calls in the semifinals.

Surprised
Yes, I’m surprised that he hasn’t done better. He’s an attractive champion. Some may say he’s cocky and recently his results don’t hold up for him to be that way, but everyone does know him. And while he has had injuries this year, he lost early in Australia and didn’t play Paris. At Wimbledon, he lost in the second round to Janko Tipsarevic. All in all, it hasn’t been an impressive year. He is very competitive, and is probably very discouraged, though he wouldn’t admit it. It almost seems time may be running out for him.

Does he need a coach?
Though he has played for some time, I still think he needs direction. I thought (Jimmy) Connors helped him. His backhand got better. He hit through the ball and used his hands rather than muscle the shot. But, because of his grips, he still had trouble volleying. The guy who got him to No. 1 (Brad Gilbert) was dismissed and so was his brother John, who worked with him part of the summer. He’s here with Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, but though he is still young, he has been through so many coaches, I wonder if he knows what he wants to do.

Gulbis next up
This was a very important match for him. Though he is through, Ernests Gulbis, the explosive Latvian is his next opponent, and he is really tough. Though I don’t want to be pessimistic, I don’t know if he will get through. If he doesn’t, the road will be a bit easier.

Can he resurrect his career?
If he’s going to do it, this is the place, and now is the time. He is popular. The crowd loves him. After the tournament, the season’s practically over. He goes to Spain to face Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer in the Davis Cup — on clay. And, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. While he is the leader of the team, sort of the fraternity president, playing against Russia in last year’s final, he wasn’t spectacular. The Russians, in truth, weren’t really competitive.

However ...
Andy has been at the top and knows what it takes. Should he be able to pull it together and recapture that form, the game would benefit because there’s only one A-Rod.

Roddick Wins in US Open Match

Battling a shoulder injury throughout the summer, eighth-seeded Andy Roddick won his first U.S. Open match in straight sets over Fabrice Santoro on Wednesday.

Roddick, who skipped the Beijing Olympics to recover from his injury, beat Santoro — the oldest man in the draw at 35 — 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

The match ended with Santoro thinking Roddick had tried to hit him with the ball. Roddick said that wasn’t the case and he would try to seek out Santoro to clear the air.

Roddick blasted 41 winners past the overmatched Frenchman, including 15 aces. The American lost just four points on his first serve the entire match.

“I felt good. That’s the best I’ve felt in four, five months,” Roddick, 25, said in a courtside interview.

“Something about this place always gets me energized.”

The third night traditionally showcases the first men’s match of the second round, but this year that was saved until Thursday. All women’s matches Wednesday were second-round pairings.

Also on Wednesday, No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic shook off an injury to his left ankle in the third set and beat Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Djokovic rolled the ankle while going for a shot on the right sideline in the fourth game. After receiving on-court treatment, he wrapped up the match with a break of Clement’s serve.

Fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the No. 19 seed, moved on with a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win over Santiago Ventura; and No. 18 Nicolas Almagro beat Frank Dancevic 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Serena Serves Notice at US Open

With a sound first-round victory in straight sets Tuesday over Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko, Serena Williams showed that not only is she capable of winning her third U.S. Open singles title, but is also a legitimate threat to become the world’s top ranked women’s player again.

Williams and older sister Venus — who recorded an easy win Tuesday night in her opening-round match vs. Australia’s Samantha Stosur — are among a handful of women’s players capable of winning the wide-open singles draw and becoming No. 1 in the overall rankings. (Maria Sharapova is in New York City but not playing in Flushing Meadows due to a right shoulder injury.)

And frankly, it would be a fitting way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Open Era if a player of Serena’s talent took back the top spot in the rankings with a title run in Flushing Meadows.

Is Serena committed to winning?

Yes. And I have not questioned Serena’s commitment to tennis throughout the 2008 season.

What’s more, Serena — who recently won Olympic gold with Venus in doubles play — has consistently stayed in good physical shape too. Although, it was unfortunate she hurt her knee in the semifinals at Stanford. And I was shocked when Serena lost to Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik in the third round at the French Open in May. With Justine Henin retired, I thought Williams was ready to make a serious push towards the No. 1 ranking.

Serena and Venus were often subjects for criticism because both were spending so much time away from tennis. Venus was designing clothes and Serena was in Hollywood appearing in TV shows.

As for Serena, her off-the-court endeavors (and injuries) affected her play in 2006 as she fell to as low as No. 140 (from No. 11 earlier in the season) in the rankings. But due to Serena’s obvious talent, rankings don’t really mean much, especially when you consider that she started last season at No. 81 and crushed Sharapova in the Australian Open final.

Venus looms in quarters
Now, a possible quarterfinal meeting between Venus and Serena is certainly interesting.

Although each has won eight matches against the other, Venus has the upper hand given that she captured her fifth Wimbledon title with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Serena in July. It was, in my opinion, the most competitive match to date between the two sisters.

But first, Serena must advance past unranked Russian Elena Vesnina in Thursday’s second-round play. And the world’s No. 71-ranked player should not prove a difficult challenge for Serena.

Serena is being aggressive and serving well
Again, I was thoroughly impressed by Serena’s play on Tuesday as she needed less than an hour to finish the victory, and did not give Bondarenko a chance to get into the match.

Bondarenko, on the other hand, felt pressure to do something special because Serena was doing everything so well. The Open champ in 1999 and 2002 was very patient until she got the shot she wanted and then added a little speed. She was not allowing the Ukrainian — ranked No. 46 in the world — to even breathe.

Williams served six aces, and was clocked at 113 mph. Serena’s serve technique has always been good. It’s so smooth and she has great timing. She is also one of the best returners in the game, if not the best.

During rallies with Bondarenko, Serena stayed on her front foot and moved forward, and played aggressively into her shots. When she is not sharp, Serena tends to linger around the baseline, and plays many shots by using her back foot.