Kim Clijsters demolishes Ana Ivanovic in 59 minutes to advance to US Open quarters

Ana Ivanovic at the 2010 US OpenIn the Kim Clijsters vs. Ana Ivanovic fourth round US Open encounter all eyes were on Ivanovic as she was supposed to show that her confidence and form really are back. However, the Serb fell to the Belgian defending champion 6-2 6-1 in just 59 minutes.

After taking the first set, Clijsters raced to a 4-0 lead and soon wrapped up the match in which Ivanovic held serve only once. The former world No.1 Ivanovic admitted that the nerves crept in again and all we can hope for is that it was just a temporary failure in her recent improving form.

Venus Williams was challenged by Shahar Peer in the first set of their fourth round match, but the American had an easier time in the second set to win 7-6(3) 6-3. The third-seeded Williams will next face French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, who defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-0 to reach her first US Open quarterfinal since 2003. (photo: © Neal Trousdale, sources: Ana Ivanovic's official website)

Caroline Wozniacki loses just three games en route to US Open fourth round

Caroline Wozniacki

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki has lost a total of just three games to advance to the fourth round of the US Open. In the first round the last year’s runner-up defeated Chelsey Gullickson 6-1 6-1, then in the second round she double-bageled Kai-Chen Chang in 47 minutes, and today she defeated Yung-Jan Chan 6-1 6-0.

Wozniacki’s opponent in the fourth round will be former champion Maria Sharapova who didn’t let American hope Beatrice Capra win a single game and advanced with a 6-0 6-0 victory. However, the match lasted more than an hour, 73 minutes. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Jankovic runs out of luck at US Open, Kanepi through

Jelena JankovicFourth seed Jelena Jankovic was lucky to scrape through her first two rounds of the 2010 US Open, winning 6-4 4-6 7-5 against Simona Halep and 6-4 3-6 6-2 against Mirjana Lucic, but fell in straight sets in the third round to seed No.31 Kaia Kanepi, despite having a very good opportunity to take the match to the decider.

Jankovic lost the first set to Kanepi 6-2 in 32 minutes and found herself one game from defeat when the Estonian was serving at 5-3 in the second set. However, Jankovic won three games in a row and was serving to win the second set. Still, the comeback proved to be brief and Kanepi broke Jankovic to force a tiebreaker in which she quickly earned a 6-1 lead before converting her first match point. Final score: 6-2 7-6(1).

By reaching the fourth round of the US Open, Kanepi has recorded her best result at the tournament. Her next opponent will be either Patty Schnyder or seed No.15 Yanina Wickmayer. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

US Open 2010 women's tennis fashion

Women's tennis fashion is attracting a lot of attention, especially at Grand Slams when clothing sponsors and players try to showcase the best they have. So let's see what they've come up for the 2010 US Open.

I'll start with adidas, my overall favorite, as they always make outfits that have a glamorous touch but can also be easily worn at everyday practice.

Daniela Hantuchova in adidas Women's Fall adilibria Dress at US Open 2010Ana Ivanovic in adidas Women's Fall adilibria Dress at US Open 2010

Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic are sporting pink adidas Women's Fall adilibria Dress.

Dinara Safina in adidas Barricade Top and Skort at the 2010 US OpenMaria Kirilenko in adidas Barricade Top and Skort at the 2010 US Open

Russians Dinara Safina and Maria Kirilenko are cled in adidas Barricade Top and Skort.

Caroline Wozniacki in Stella McCartney Tennis Performance Dress at the 2010 US OpenElena Dementieva in red Yonex at the 2010 US Open

Caroline Wozniacki is looking great in Stella McCartney Tennis Performance Dress, contrasting nicely with Tennis Performance Bra Top. Elena Dementieva and Yonex once again failed to impress with design and fellow blogger C Note, who saw the dress live at the US Open, said that it even looks two sizes too big on Dementieva.

Maria Sharapova in the Nike Striking Court Day Dress at the 2010 US OpenMaria Sharapova in the Nike Maria Sharapova NYC Dress at the 2010 US Open

As usual for a Grand Slam, Maria Sharapova has two versions of a Nike dress – one for day matches and a darker piece for night. When we reviewed the dresses from the photos prior to the Open they looked somewhat questionable, but when seen on Sharapova they are a perfect match. You can see the dresses closer here and here.

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Beatrice Capra earns best career victories and No.3 ranking in Yahoo trends

Beatrice Capra at the 2010 US Open

Beatrice Capra is an 18-year-old American ranked 371st who reached the third round of the US Open with victories over Karolina Sprem in the first round, her first Top 100 win, and seed No.18 Aravane Rezai in the second round, her first Top 20 win. The victories made Capra an instant celebrity, at least according to Yahoo, as she was ranked third in their trending box Friday morning.

Yahoo trends Beatrice Capra

Capra is playing her first senior Grand Slam. She won the US Wild Card Playoffs and thus entered the main draw. She trains at the Evert Academy and Chris Evert has been her mentor.

Seed No.14 and 2006 US Open champion Maria Sharapova will be Capra’s opponent in the third round. American Melanie Oudin also faced Sharapova in the third round of her surprising run to the 2009 US Open quarterfinals. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Hantuchova wastes chances, Dementieva advances to round four

Elena Dementieva at US Open 2010Russian 12th seed Elena Dementieva advanced to the fourth round of the US Open after surviving the first set against seed No.24 Daniela Hantuchova and then moving through the second set much more easily for a 7-5 6-2 win. Dementieva converted all six of her break points, three in each set, while Hantuchova was serving for the first set and permitted Dementieva to recover.

Hantuchova hasn’t really defeated Dementieva since 2005 and they have played six times since then (I said "really" because Hantuchova did score one victory over Dementieva, but it was when Dementieva retired, this year in Dubai).

Dementieva’s opponent in the fourth round will be fifth seed Samantha Stosur who defeated 37th-ranked Sara Errani 6-2 6-3. Stosur had a pretty solid victory over Errani and the Italian has now fallen to 0-15 against Top 10 players.

Dementieva won all four meetings with Stosur on hardcourts and is 4-1 lifetime against the Australian. Dementieva was finalist at the US Open in 2004, and played the semifinals three times, while Stosur has never before been further than the second round of the US Open. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Melanie Oudin stopped in US Open second round, Kim Clijsters safely through

Melanie OudinAmerican Melanie Oudin, who came out of nowhere to reach the quarterfinals of the 2009 US Open, found it hard to carry the burden of high expectations and fell to the recently-married Alona Bondarenko in the second round this year. The 18-year-old Oudin made 38 unforced errors during her 6-2 7-5 loss to seed No.29 Bondarenko.

Second seed and defending champion Kim Clijsters had an easy task against Sally Peers, a 19-year-old qualifier ranked 201. Clijsters advanced to the third round with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Grand Slam debutant Peers, who recorded a 6-0 6-1 win over Aleksandra Wozniak in the first round.

Third-seeded Venus Williams struggled early in her match against 193rd-ranked qualifier Rebecca Marino, but beat her 7-6(3) 6-3.

French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur, seeded fifth, reached the third round of the US Open for the first time, even though it’s her seventh appearance at the tournament. Stosur defeated Anastasia Rodionova 6-1 6-4.

Sixth seed Francesca Schiavone, 2010 French Open champion, quickly won her match against fellow Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-2 6-1. Schiavone has now lost a total of just four games to advance to the third round of the US Open. (photos: © Neal Trousdale)

Ivanovic storms past Zheng, Azarenka collapses at US Open

Ana Ivanovic at US Open 2010Victoria Azarenka at US Open 2010

Ana Ivanovic needed just 56 minutes to beat seed No.21 Zheng Jie and advance to the third round of the US Open.

The world No.40 Ivanovic is building on the momentum started in Cincinnati recently, which was abruptly interrupted by a left foot injury. Luckily, Ivanovic is not showing signs of it and she displayed impressive form to avenge the 2008 Wimbledon defeat to Zheng, who then became the third-lowest ranked player to beat a reigning world No.1.

Tenth seed Victoria Azarenka could not bear the hot weather in New York and 34 minutes into her second round match against Gisela Dulko, while trailing 5-1, Azarenka collapsed and had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair and was later transported to the hospital. Also, it didn’t help that Azarenka was wearing an all-black dress in the sun (the dress  Serena would have worn hadn’t she withdrawn).

Dulko, who is now through to the third round, commented on the weather conditions: "It's really hot, really humid. You sweat so much, sometimes it's impossible to hold the racquet."

Update: It has been revealed that heat was not the main reason for the accident, but Azarenka's fall in the gym that happened before the match.

Here's Azarenka's statement:

I was warming up in the gym prior to my match against Gisela Dulko when I fell while running a sprint. I fell forward and hit my arm and head. I was checked by the medical team before I went on court and they were courtside for monitoring. I felt worse as the match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy. I also started having trouble seeing and felt weak before I fell.

(photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Maria Sharapova overcomes Jarmila Groth in US Open first round

Maria Sharapova at US Open 2010Seed No.14 Maria Sharapova dropped the first set against Jarmila Groth in the first round of the US Open but fought back to eventually win 4-6 6-3 6-1.

The world No.60 Groth, who reached the fourth round at this year's French Open and Wimbledon, wasn’t able to challenge the former champion Sharapova all the way and in the third set Groth's meltdown was evident.

Groth committed considerably more unforced errors than Sharapova, 48 compared to Sharapova’s 17. Groth scored 24 winners to Sharapova’s 19, but 13 of those came in the first set.

And just a quick fashion note – the Nike day dress which looked questionable in the picture looks awesome on Sharapova, it perfectly follows the shape of her body and now there’s absolutely nothing that I don’t like about the dress.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki played the last match of the night and scored her 14th straight win in the first round of a major with a 6-1 6-1 victory over American wildcard Chelsey Gullickson. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)


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