Wozniacki ends mid-season slump at New Haven Open

At the tournament where Caroline Wozniacki is aiming for her fourth straight title the Dane rebounded from her US Open lead-up crisis by a convincing 6-3 6-0 victory over Slovenian Polona Hercog. At the last tournament before the New York Grand Slam, Wozniacki finally won a match, while at the preceding events of Toronto and Cincinnati the world No.1, who will be top seed at the US Open, suffered opening round losses.

To make things more interesting, Wozniacki's opponent in the quarterfinal of the New Haven Open will be home favorite Christina McHale, who upset Wozniacki 6-4 7-5 last week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Wildcard McHale has already made news this week, having beaten sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round and then rolling past Carla Suarez Navarro in the second.

Additional info: Adidas yesterday sent me this official photo of Wozniacki's US Open dress. So, it will definitely be the white version of the dress, and not the light yellow dress. Also, they sent me the behind-the-scenes video of Wozniacki's photo shoot for Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2011.

New Haven stadium evacuated during Jelena Jankovic's match

During the third game of the first-round match between Jelena Jankovic and Elena Vesnina, the Yale University campus, venue of the New Haven Open, was shaken by an earthquake which originated in Richmond, Virginia. The main stadium was evacuated as a precaution.

Spectators felt three waves of shaking and players' water bottles were upended. The earthquake was also felt at Flushing Meadows, where the US Open starts next week.

Play has resumed and the world No.43 Vesnina defeated Jankovic 6-4 2-6 6-4. Over the weekend another victory slipped away to the 12-ranked Jankovic, when she lost the Cincinnati final to Maria Sharapova. Vesnina's opponent in the second round will be Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Was it a coincidence that the stadium started shaking during the match of our Drama Queen? :)  (photo by our reader Tony)

Christina McHale upsets Svetlana Kuznetsova in New Haven

American Christina McHale made big news last week at the Western & Southern Open with her upset of world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the second round and at this week's New Haven Open the 19-year-old has already attracted attention again – she upset two-time Grand Slam and 2007 New Haven champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round.

Wildcard McHale was trailing 4-2 in the first set against the sixth-seeded Kuznetsova before winning three straight games and later taking the set 7-5. The second set featured six breaks of serve, four by McHale. Final score: 7-5 6-3.

Let's mention that this was not the first victory of McHale over Kuznetsova. They played each other this year at Indian Wells and McHale won 7-6(4) 7-6(7).

McHale is ten places higher ranked that last week. She's risen from No.76 to No.66.

Reminder: Caroline Wozniacki, that I mentioned in the beginning of the article, is looking for her fourth successive New Haven title this week. (via ESPN, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Caroline Wozniacki wins third consecutive New Haven title

Caroline Wozniacki win Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale

Caroline Wozniacki remained undefeated at the Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale (13-0), winning her third consecutive title at the tournament with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 win over Nadia Petrova in the final. It’s the Dane’s second title of the week, as she won the rain-delayed Rogers Cup final against Vera Zvonareva on Monday.

The top-seeded Wozniacki was leading 6-3 2-0 when Petrova took charge and won the second set of the New Haven final. Then in the third set Wozniacki established a 4-1 lead and although Petrova managed to come closer, to 4-3, Wozniacki played two good games to close out the match.

Wozniacki now heads to the US Open, where she is top seed, with four WTA titles this season, which is more than any other player on the Tour has won. Her first opponent at the US Open will be American wildcard Chelsey Gullickson, who is unranked. (via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Caroline Wozniacki one win away from third title at New Haven

Caroline WozniackiThis is the third time Caroline Wozniacki is playing at New Haven and she still hasn’t lost a match here, improving to 12-0 with a 1-6 6-3 7-6(5) triumph over Elena Dementieva in this year’s semifinals.

The top-seeded Wozniacki will play eighth seed Nadia Petrova in the final of the Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale. Wozniacki is 2-1 lifetime against Petrova, with both the wins coming this season, at Indian Wells and Charleston. The one encounter Wozniacki lost was two years ago and she had to retire.

Wozniacki is occupying the top spot in the final Olympus US Open Series standings for 2010, meaning that the US Open title would bring her an additional $1 million. Wozniacki was runner-up at last year’s US Open, and this time she’ll be No.1 seed.

Additional info: A couple of days ago Wozniacki said how she would like to take a class or two at Yale, probably online. It would be a nice addition to her life, so that not everything revolves around tennis. She wanted to carry that idea out this year, but her professional obligations prevented her from doing so. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)


Page 3 of 512345