2013/05/25

Sharapova Continues Stunning Form to Reach Semifinals in Melbourne

 

SharapovaseoC

By Jaclyn Stacey

(January 22, 2013) MELBOURNE PARK, Australia – Maria Sharapova stormed into the semifinals of the Australian Open after crushing fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-2 in 66 minutes.

 

Sharapova didn’t manage any bageled sets in the match but was still very impressive and completely dominated her opponent. She has dropped just 9 games for the duration of the tournament.

 

“I thought today was going to be a really good test. She’s beaten quality players over the course of last week, and I know that she’s capable of playing really good, you know, with deep hitting. Also a lefty, which is a bit tricky. So, yeah, I thought I handled that pretty good and was able to keep my focus all the way through the match.”

 

Sharapova hit 22 winners and won 83% of her first serves in play on her way to the quick victory.

 

She will meet Li Na in the semifinals and leads their head-to-head 8-4.

 

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve beaten her the last few times that we’ve played, but they’ve always been really good matches, really tough matches. I certainly expect it in the next one.”

 

“She’s had a great start to the year and playing really well. She was, you know, the most-improved player towards the end of last year as well, so that will be hopefully a high-quality semi.”

 

Sharapova has yet to be troubled during the tournament and was asked if it worries her knowing she hasn’t had to surpass any big challenges going into the semifinal.

 

“Well, going into the match, my goal is not really to be tested. I don’t know how else to put it. If I do come into a situation where I feel like I have to pull through or I’m not playing my best tennis or she’s up and I have to find a way to win, then that’s what you have on that given day.”

 

“Do I want to be in that position? Absolutely not.”

 

Jaclyn Stacey is a Melbourne based freelance journalist covering the Australian Open tournament as media for Tennis Panorama News.  Follow her Australian Open updates on @TennisNewsTPN. Follow her personal twitter @JackattackAU.

 

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Makarova and Soares win US Open Mixed Doubles Title

 

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Brazil’s Bruno Soares won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title by defeating fourth-seeded Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 6-7,  6-1, 12-10 on Thursday.

Makarova and Soares decided to play the tournament at the last minute.

 

Here is there post-match interview:

An interview with: EKATERINA MAKAROVA and BRUNO SOARES

Thursday, September 6, 2012

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

 

Q.  How you both are feeling right now?

BRUNO SOARES:  I’m very, very happy.  Katia?

EKATERINA MAKAROVA:   Me, too.  I have,  I don’t know, have something different feeling.  (Laughter.)

BRUNO SOARES:  Best feeling.  It’s good.

 

Q.  Can you tell us a little bit more about how you two ended up actually been playing together at the tournament this time?

BRUNO SOARES:  We played twice, couple times.  We know each other.  I was actually sad to play with Gajdosova, Australian girl, that I have been playing with her.  Katia actually asked me and I was sad.  I told her that unfortunately I couldn’t do it and she decide not to play.  But couple minutes before the sign‑in, I thought I was out with Gajdosova, and I started like being for Katia, because with her I would be in.  Five minutes to go, I’m here in the referee’s office and I find out Katia is practicing in the park.  So I had to run ‑‑ actually, my coach did that.  He went running all the way over there and talked to her and called me like 30 seconds to go and said, You can sign.  So very last minute, 11:59, I signed us in.  I guess it work out.

 

Q.  You seemed much more relaxed on court than Bruno.  The end of the first set seemed a little bit nervous, and also at the match tiebreak.  You hold things much better than him.  Did you feel that?

BRUNO SOARES:  The whole tournament.

EKATERINA MAKAROVA:  Actually, no, I didn’t feel that.  I think I was more nervous than Bruno in this match, for sure.  The tiebreak first set and the final tiebreak, I don’t know, maybe I seem like too good, but inside I was really nervous.  Like when it was 8‑4 for sure I started to be tight.

 

Q.  Did you expect that you can win such hard player as won Raymond who had brothers Bryan?

BRUNO SOARES:  Yeah, we knew we were pretty good team.  When we saw the draw, they made very tough for us.  We didn’t know really what to expect against Mike and Lisa Raymond.  Katia played them at Wimbledon.  It wasn’t that good, but it was grass.  It was different surface.  We just came to play, tried to do our best.  After the first match we played really good, and we talked to each other and said, If we keep playing like this, for sure we’re going to have a chance to win the title.  That’s what happened.  We had an amazing second round, and after that we knew it was just a matter of keep playing good.  We knew we were gonna have a chance.

 

Q.  Bruno, what’s her best shots, the best things she has on court?

BRUNO SOARES:  Well, I think, I mean, overall she’s very solid.  She serves well; she’s lefty; she’s got good hands; good volleys.  But in mixed, one thing that really helps us is because she returns really well.  So I think we managed to keep putting pressure even when the guy is serving.  That’s very important in mixed.  I mean, give us more room to work on our serve because we don’t serve that big.  I’m not a huge server, so I have to work a lot on my serve, as well, and Katia, too.  So when we’re returning good I think it adds a lot to our service game.  That’s for me the best thing because she keep putting pressure, I move forward the net, and that works well for both of us.

 

Q.  Same question for you, too.

BRUNO SOARES:  What do I do good?

EKATERINA MAKAROVA:  Volleys, it’s definitely volleys.  Because I just returning, and then Bruno did everything else, like close all the court.  (Laughter.)  So I think in mixed for sure, like moving when the guy is moving really good and volleys.  I’m like I’m just standing there on the baseline.  (Laughter.)

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‘Oz and Ends’ – Dead Spots and Macaroni

Dead spot on Hisense

Lendl on ESPN

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7492195

If Ivan Lendl s not on twitter yet, someone needs to convince him. He’d be funny.

 

Don’t call her Macaroni

 Serena Williams conqueror Ekaterina Makarova in her post-match news conference.

Q.  Does your last name mean anything?  Sounds a little bit like macaroni in Italian.

EKATERINA MAKAROVA:  I know, but I don’t like it.  When sometimes you are playing, the crowd, they start, Macarena or Macaroni, I don’t like it really, so…

 

Q.  You don’t like the macaroni or…

EKATERINA MAKAROVA:  No, the Italian food, I really like it (smiling).  I don’t like how they call sometimes.  Because in Russia, it’s really popular family name.  The international people, they didn’t understand.  That’s okay.  I’m used to it.

 

Q.  You look a little bit like Gwyneth Paltrow.  Do you know her?

EKATERINA MAKAROVA:  I know her, but I don’t think that we look similar.  You like strange questions (laughter).

 

Dating a golfer

Q.  (Question off mic.)

ANA IVANOVIC:  We just, you know, just support each other and try to be there for each other as much as we can.

 

Q.  You ever talk to Caroline about dating a golfer?

ANA IVANOVIC:  Well, I don’t think either of us plays really well.  You mean playing golf or…

 

Q.  No, dating a golfer.

ANA IVANOVIC:  No, she did ask me like what kind of shoes should I take to walk on the course.  Just the most comfortable ones.

 

Q.  Kukushkin is coached by his wife.  If Kim was helping you this week, what do you think she’d be telling you?

ANDY MURRAY:  I mean, she’s been around tennis pretty much her whole life, so she at least has an understanding of it.  To be honest, I have very few conversations with her about tennis.  To be honest, it’s not really necessary.  You just get the, Well done, or, Bad luck.  That’s pretty much it.

I’m sure she would be okay.  She might be better than most because her dad’s been a coach for a long time, so she understands a little bit.

 

 

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Serena Williams Upset in Fourth Round of Australian Open

MELBOURNE PARK, Australia – Five-time champion Serena Williams was stunned in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday by Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3 in Rod Laver Arena.

“I think she played really well,” the 12 seeded Williams said of her opponent ranked 56th in the world.  “She went for broke on a lot of her shots.  I made 37 errors.  That kind of tells the story of the match.”

Williams appeared sluggish throughout the match. “It was definitely hot out there….. I guess I just didn’t move the way I wanted to.  I tried,” said Williams.

Williams  was asked by media if she would have played this tournament if it has not been a Grand Slam to which she replied, “No, no way.  I probably shouldn’t have played.  But no way. “

“I never blame any injury that I have because I feel like, uhm, she played really well and she deserved the win today.  I look forward to our next match.  I feel like I definitely can play so much better.

“And that’s good.  Like if I felt like I couldn’t play better, then that would be a problem.

In response to the loss, “Oh, I always think about things that I can do better next time around,” noted Williams.  “That’s usually how I kind of respond.  I’m thinking already about practicing as soon as tomorrow, you know, trying to figure ‑‑ I can just think of a hundred things I can do.

“So, like I said, it’s a good thing I’m in that position as opposed to saying I couldn’t do any better.”

Williams said the she will be playing Fed Cup the first weekend in February when the US faces Belarus in Worcester, Massachusetts.

A happy Makarova spoke about the match,”I’m surprised because she’s a great player and it’s really tough to play against her.  But, I don’t know, I just feeling so good and so focus.  So I played my game, and that’s it.  I won against Serena.  That’s amazing.”

“I played her in Beijing and I really afraid her because she’s a great player and it’s really tough to play against her.  But this time, I don’t know, yeah, I felt so comfortable.

“I really like thought that I could beat her.  So, yeah, maybe in my head that helped me.”

Makarova will face the winner of the Maria Sharapova – Sabine Lisicki match in the quarterfinals.

 

Karen Pestaina for Tennis Panorama News.

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Kourtin’ Karen’s Scoreboard for the Australian Open – Day 8

15-0

Beatdown of the Day

Murray masters Melzer. Andy Murray destroyed Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals where he’ll face newcomer Alexandr Dolgopolov.

15-15

No Wozniacki Media Pranks Today


30-15

The Clock has Struck Midnight for Raonic

David Ferrer ended the Cinderella story of 20 year-old  Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic with a tight  4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win. Ferrer will meet fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

30-30

Routine Win of the Day

Rafael Nadal (©Ben Solomon/Tennis Australia)

Rafael Nadal took it to 2010 Australian Open semifinalist Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-4, 6-. Nadal prevented Cilic from ever getting into the match.

News Conference of the day:

Q. Do you find it distracting when everybody is calling out, I love you, Rafa?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, I feel fantastic (laughter).

Q. Are you able to block it out?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, I heard everything. But is nice (smiling).

Q. What about when the girls whistle at you and take pictures of you when you’re changing your shirt?

RAFAEL NADAL: That’s a very good feeling (smiling).

Q. Could you tell us more about this Armani campaign? Was it a good experience? What do you think of the pictures?

RAFAEL NADAL: Was a long experience, but very good experience, no? Is always nice to know different worlds. The fashion world is something that I didn’t know before.

Yeah, was a good session of photos, long one. But hopefully the result are satisfactory, so… I worked very hard, seriously (laughter). So, yeah, was nice. A different experience and I enjoyed.

Q. Do you find you sexy on the picture?

RAFAEL NADAL: I’m not the right person to say. I always watch myself so so. But what do you think? Do you like it?

Q. Yeah, I do.

RAFAEL NADAL: I happy if I like it (smiling).

Q. You say it was long. How long were you one next to the other?

RAFAEL NADAL: Was different shootings. We talked enough about that in the past.

40-30

What Surgery Aga?

Agnieszka Radwanska (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

Agnieska Radwanska looked to be out of the Australian Open back in late 2010 when she had surgery on the foot for a stress fracture. She decided to play Malbourne and now she’s on her way tot he quarterfinals. Radwanska saved two match popint before  disposing of Shuai Peng 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.

Deuce

Hey Makarova

Kim Clijsters (Getty Images)

Kim Clijsters was not stellar but took care of business with a 7-6(3), 6-2 victory over Ekaterina Makarova.

Advantage

Zvonareva Kvitova

Vera Zvonareva (Getty Images)

(2) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Iveta Benesova (CZE) 6-4, 6-1

Petra Kvitova (Getty Images)

(25) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (22) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Game, Set, Match and Upset of the Day

Alexandr Dolgopolov (Getty Images)

It was a Dolgo Day Afternoon for No. 4 in the world Robin Soderling. Alexandr Dolgopolov defeated No. 4 seed Robin Soderling 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. Soderling appeared to have lost control of his serve and groundstrokes in the middle sets while his opponent’s movement and forehand took over. Next up for the Ukrainian in the quarterfinals – Andy Murray.

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