Showing posts with label crashes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crashes. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
Serena crashes out in French Open thriller
Updated May 30, 2012 07:58:51
Serena Williams has crashed to the worst grand slam defeat of her career after she slumped to a dramatic and thrilling 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 French Open loss to France's world 111 Virginie Razzano.
It was the 30-year-old American's first ever exit at the opening round stage of her 47-event grand slam career and her earliest loss at a major since she was knocked out of the Australian Open second round by sister Venus in 1998.
On a night of unbearable tension on Philippe Chatrier Court, Williams saved seven match points in the ninth game of the nerve-jangling deciding set.
"I'm disappointed, but that's life, things could be worse," said Williams, who missed last year's Roland Garros as she battled life-threatening blood clots in her lungs.
"I've been through so much in my life. I'm not sitting here happy. I've gotta figure out what I did wrong and not do it again. I fought until the end.
"I made so many errors today which is not the game that I have been playing in the past. There is no excuse.
"I just didn't play at all the way I have been practising.
"I just felt I couldn't get a ball in play. When I did, I just felt like I was hitting late and, I mean, how can you hit late on a clay court?"
Razzano was overjoyed by her astonishing triumph.
"I didn't think too much. I know I have unlimited resources. I dug very deep and I knew nothing was lost, even when I had cramps (in the last game), even when I was not feeling well," she told a courtside interviewer.
"It's the most beautiful victory in my career.
"You (the crowd) gave me your energy. I'm gonna have to rest. Thank you all for your support."
Williams had had the late evening match in her hands when she led by a set and 5-1 in the second set tie-break as she looked set for a routine win.
But Razzano, the darling of the Paris crowd after playing the 2011 French Open just five days after the death of her fiance from a brain tumour, then reeled off the next six points of the breaker to level the match.
Amidst rising tension and emotion, Williams, a 13-time grand slam title winner, appeared to cry as she sat in her courtside chair ahead of the final set.
She then fell to pieces on the court, slipping two breaks down to trail 4-0.
Williams then had to regather herself when umpire Eva Asderaki, with whom she had angrily clashed during her 2011 US Open final defeat against Samantha Stosur in New York last year, ordered the first point of the fifth game to be replayed.
Razzano served an ace to lead 5-0, but the drama did not end there.
Williams clawed her way back to 3-5 and had a break point when Asderaki punished Razzano for hindrance for a third time for letting out a loud yelp.
She saved it and went to match point which she squandered on an eighth double fault.
A second break point, as the French girl cramped, was saved before another match point quickly followed, this time wasted through a nerve-wracked wild forehand.
In total Razzano saved five break points and on her eighth match point, Williams went long and Razzano celebrated an epic win after three hours and three minutes of action.
Razzano will face Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus for a place in the last 32.
AFP
Tags: tennis, sport, france First posted May 30, 2012 05:46:08Sunday, May 13, 2012
Djokovic crashes out, vows no return to blue clay
Updated May 12, 2012 09:26:13
World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic has crashed out of the Madrid Masters, vowing never to return to play on the tournament's controversial blue clay.
Meanwhile, Samantha Stosur lost out to Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka in a tough encounter in the women's draw.
Hradecka stunned the fifth-seeded Stosur to win 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (8-6) as she rained down 19 aces to book a semi-final berth with Serena Williams.
Djokovic lost 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 to Serbian compatriot Janko Tipsarevic, his quarter-final defeat coming a day after an equally frustrated world number two Rafael Nadal had lost to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
"I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real clay courts," said the top seed Djokovic, who beat Nadal a year ago for the trophy.
"They can do what they like, I won't be here next year if this clay stays."
Nadal also insisted that he, too, would not play the Madrid tournament if the blue clay remains in place in 2013.
In other women's results, Serena Williams thumped Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-3, while top seed Victoria Azarenka saw off China's Li Na with a battling 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win to also reach the semi-finals.
The Belarusian world number one will now play Agnieszka Radwanska, the Polish fourth seed, who saw off American qualifier Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 6-4.
On the men's side, third seed and 2009 winner Roger Federer became the only elite survivor after another effortless performance in a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of fifth seed David Ferrer.
The Swiss star will next play Tipsarevic, whom he has beaten four times.
"I missed some opportunities late in the match, and he hung in there," Federer said.
"The surface is quick and anything can happen. I'm happy to win but I've got a tough semi-final coming. It's unusual to have only one of the top four guys here, but I'll take it."
Federer stands 26-3 on the season, playing for the first time after a six-week break.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion could move to second in the world behind Djokovic should he win the title on Sunday.
Earlier tournament supremo Ion Tiriac had been forced to apologise for the anger felt by the players towards the blue surface.
"The court is slippery and I apologise," the former Davis Cup player said.
"We wanted to make sure that we had no player injuries, no ankle problems. As a result, the court experts rolled the base with too much pressure. When the blue sand was put on top it was unable to meld with the base, creating the slippage."
But Tiriac said that after striking a maintenance deal with the city of Madrid, the blue courts will remain in place year-round at the Caja Magica and will eventually be as comfortable to play on as traditional red clay.
Djokovic saved three match points in the penultimate game against Tipsarevic on Friday - the first two with aces - as he held on for 3-5.
But Tipsarevic came through for the upset on his fourth chance a game later as Djokovic lifted a backhand out.
"Janko played a great match. It was one of his best events. I hope he can go all the way. I missed chances in the opening games on return," Djokovic added.
"Any time I had a chance, he delivered his best shot. You cannot predict the court here, anything is possible."
Tomas Berdych brought Verdasco crashing back to earth as the sixth seed produced a 6-1, 6-2 quarter-final win over the Madrid-born 15th seed.
The Czech will next play Argentine 10th seed Juan Martin del Potro, who put out Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-4, just a week after winning the title in Estoril.
ABC/AFP
Tags: sport, tennis, spain First posted May 12, 2012 08:13:17Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Dellacqua crashes to earth in Hobart
Updated January 10, 2012 21:15:26
Casey Dellacqua was handed an unwelcomed reality check from top seed Yanina Wickmayer in the second round of the Hobart International.
On the comeback trail after two injury-ruined seasons, the Australian crashed 6-1, 6-1 to the Belgian world number 29 in little over an hour.
Dellacqua had declared herself ready for an assault deep into the Australian Open reminiscent of her fourth round effort of 2008 after some stunning results on the second-tier ITF tour and a strong first round victory over Galina Voskoboeva on Monday.
But the 26-year-old could not get going against the powerful former US Open semi-finalist, spraying her attacking shots and revealing her frustration in her body language.
Dellacqua has an Australian Open wildcard but will need to improve massively to again reach the heights that took her to a career-high number 39 in 2008.
Wickmayer, who reached number 12 in 2010, will now meet Romanian Simona Halep in a quarter-final on Thursday.
AAP
Tags: tennis, sport, hobart-7000 First posted January 10, 2012 21:13:45Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Dokic crashes out in Auckland
Updated January 02, 2012 23:05:46
Australia's Jelena Dokic was made to pay for a series of unforced errors in her first-round defeat at the WTA event in Auckland.
Dokic, who has been battling a shoulder injury, posted 52 errors on the statistics sheet in her 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 loss to German Mona Barthel.
"It was a close first set. It could have gone either way," Dokic said.
"Maybe if I had won the first set, it might have been different."
Meanwhile, top seed Sabine Lisicki moved swiftly into the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the French wildcard Virginnie Razzano.
But the German, the world number 15, had problems with her serve that will be of concern as she builds up to the Australian Open, managing a 41 per cent first-serve success rate in the first set before improving in the second.
The only other seed in action in Auckland on the opening day saw the fourth-seeded Flavia Pennetta survive a tense encounter with Romanian Sorana Cirstea to squeeze into the second round with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) victory.
AFP
Tags: tennis, sport, new-zealand First posted January 02, 2012 23:01:50Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Li crashes out, Serena sparks sexism row
Updated June 24, 2011 09:44:00 Chinese superstar Li Na became the first major casualty at Wimbledon overnight as defending champion Serena Williams triggered a sexism storm over court scheduling.
Newly crowned French Open champion Li was humbled in the second round by German wildcard Sabine Lisicki, losing 3-6, 6-4, 8-6 after squandering two match points in the decisive set.
The Chinese third seed, whose success at Roland Garros earlier this month has been hailed as a milestone for Asian tennis, struggled to cope with the power of her big-hitting 21-year-old rival.
Lisicki, who collapsed in tears on Centre Court after clinching the win, reeled off 17 aces and several serves that topped 120 miles per hour (190kph) throughout the match, leaving Li powerless to respond.
"From the first point until the end of the match, every serve was like 117mph. It's impossible for women," Li said afterwards.
Lisicki, whose career suffered a huge setback in 2010 when a serious ankle injury sidelined her for four months, will tackle Japanese qualifier Misaki Doi for a place in the last 16.
"I always had a very good serve and it's one of the best in women's tennis I think," Lisicki said. "It's very good to have a weapon like that."
Li's exit was the only major upset on a fourth day where wet weather again caused headaches for schedulers.
Williams meanwhile booked her place in the third round after coming from behind to defeat Romanian teenager Simona Halep 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
But Williams appeared to accuse tournament organisers of sexism after being unimpressed with the decision to schedule her match on Court Two.
She insisted that reigning men's champion Rafael Nadal and second seed Novak Djokovic - who have won fewer Wimbledon titles between them than her - would never be moved away from Centre Court or Court One.
"They like to put us on Court Two, me and Venus, for whatever reason. I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe one day we'll figure it out," said Serena.
"They (Nadal and Djokovic) are never moved across. Actually, Venus and I have won more Wimbledons together than a lot of the players or by ourselves in doubles even.
"I don't make it a big issue, but I think at some point maybe I should."
The rain delays meant several of the women's second round matches will now be played on Friday, including top seed Caroline Wozniacki's match against Virginie Razzano and fifth seed Maria Sharapova's tie with Briton Laura Robson.
In the men's draw, Djokovic cruised into the third round as former champion Lleyton Hewitt was denied an upset in a thrilling five-set duel with fifth seed Robin Soderling.
Serbian second seed Djokovic - who has lost only one match all year - maintained his red-hot form with a ruthless straight sets dismissal of South Africa's Kevin Anderson, winning 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two hours.
"I served well, I played well, I returned really well. That was the key," said Djokovic, who faces Cypriot number 32 seed Marcos Baghdatis in the third round.
While Djokovic blasted his way into the last 64, Sweden's Soderling was given a punishing examination by Hewitt on Centre Court before finally prevailing 6-7 (5-7), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
Soderling now faces either Australian youngster Bernard Tomic or Russia's Igor Andreev in the next round.
The shock result of the day saw Lu Yen-Hsun down Serbian 13th seed Viktor Troicki.
Lu, a quarter-finalist in 2010, won 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4 and will face French 15th seed Michael Llodra of France for a place in the last 16.
Another John Isner marathon briefly looked possible at Wimbledon before the towering American was bundled out in the second round by Spain's Nicolas Almagro in four sets.
Isner returned to Court 18, which now boasts a plaque to commemorate last year's record-shattering 11-hour epic win against Nicolas Mahut, but was beaten 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
Isner had beaten Mahut in a much-hyped rematch in the first round but was never able to make much impression against the hard-hitting 16th seed Almagro.
- AFP/Reuters
Tags: sport, tennis, united-kingdom First posted June 24, 2011 06:41:00Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wozniacki crashes out in Paris
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Top seed Ferrer crashes out in Nice
Updated May 20, 2011 09:37:00 Spanish top seed David Ferrer has been knocked out of the Nice ATP clay court event, going down 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov in the quarter-finals.
The 22-year-old Ukrainian had been beaten by Ferrer three times previously, including in the Acapulco semi-finals earlier this year, but he gained revenge with victory in one hour and 52 minutes.
Dolgopolov will face Victor Hanescu in the semi-finals after the Romanian went through courtesy of Dutch lucky loser Robin Haase pulling out with an ankle injury with the score at 6-2, 2-0.
World number 12 Nicolas Almagro cruised past fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-4 and faces Czech second seed Tomas Berdych who dismissed Latvian wild card Ernests Gulbis 6-1, 6-4.
- AFP
Tags: sport, tennis, france, united-states First posted May 20, 2011 09:38:00
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