YOUZHNY THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countryman, Mikhail Youzhny, has defeated the Australian superstar Lleyton Hewitt in the 4^th round of the ongoing US Open. Youzhny won the match in 5 sets by 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5.

This was a great opportunity for Hewitt to make it to the final 8 at Flushing Meadows after a long gap of 7 years. He seemed to be doing that with ease as he was ahead by 5-2 at one point of time in the decider. He was even serving for the set in the 9^th game, but, things suddenly fell apart for him towards the end. He lost the last 5 games on the trot and ended up getting knocked out of the tournament.

Talking to the reporters in the post match interview, Hewitt said, “I tried everything I could and that’s all you can do.”

“I think he was the one who played better during crucial moments. He didn’t hand me easy points.”

When asked if he thinks that he would be featuring at Flushing Meadows after a couple of years, Hewitt said, “I don’t have any idea how long I will continue mate.”

On the other hand, Youzhny was delighted with his outing. The Russian said, “It was a tough match. I need to recover from it quickly though as I have to face another great player in the next round.”

“I think I am in a great frame of mind at the moment and I am up there physically too. It’s definitely a good time to hit top form.”

In the quarter final round, Youzhny will take on the no. 1 player in the world Novak Djokovic who made his way into the final 8 with a clinical win over Marcel Granollers of Spain.

SHARAPOVA TURNS TO CONNORS

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Sharapova, has announced that she has appointed the former American player Jimmy Connors as her new coach.

Sharapova hasn’t been at the top of her game off late. In the recently played Wimbledon Championships, she suffered a shocking defeat in the second round.

After that, the Russian superstar decided to part ways with her Swedish coach Thomas Hogstedt and secured the services of Connors.

This is not the first time that Connors is going to coach a professional tennis player. He has already worked with the American superstar Andy Roddick for a couple of years.

Connors was a real superstar when he was playing the game. He won a total of 8 Grand Slams in his career out of which 5 were the US Open. He won the Australian Open once and the Wimbledon Championships a couple of times.

Connors was a fantastic hard court player. There were times when he looked absolutely unbeatable on hard courts. So, it’s the perfect time for Sharapova to get him as her coach. The hard court season is coming up and the 60 years old American can help Sharapova a lot at this point of time.

Announcing the appointment of Connors as her new coach, Sharapova said, “I am delighted to inform you all that I have decided to hire Jimmy Connors as my new coach.”

“Jimmy is well known to me. We have worked together earlier as well. Just before the Australian Open in 2008, he had helped me for a few weeks.”

“I am looking forward to working with Jimmy on a permanent basis. It will be wonderful to be guided by a great player like him. Hopefully, our partnership will prove to be a successful one.”

Sharapova is expected to be back in action in the upcoming Stanford Classic hard court tournament.

WILLIAMS BEATS SHARAPOVA

Serena Williams has defeated Maria Sharapova of Russia in the final of Mutua Madrid Open. Serena won the match in the straight sets by 6-1, 6-4. This was Serena’s 12^th consecutive win against Sharapova.

Serena had come into this match under a bit of pressure. Had she lost this match, she would have been replaced by Sharapova as world no. 1. But, the American superstar didn’t let the pressure get better of her. She showed fantastic composure and outplayed her Russian opponent.

This is the 50^th WTA title won by Serena in her career.

In the post match interview, Sharapova said, “It’s always disappointing to lose in the finals. I was pretty slow in the first set. I served quite a few double faults and you can’t afford to do that against a player like Serena.”

“In the second set, I got the early breakthrough, but, I couldn’t capitalize. To be honest, my performance was pretty mediocre today.”

Serena was off to a flying start in the match. She broke Sharapova’s serve in the second and the fourth game of the first set and managed to get ahead by 5-0.

Sharapova held her serve in the 6^th game, but, that was not going to help. The Russian player required at least a couple of more breakthroughs to turn things around, but, she couldn’t do that. Serena served out the 7^th game and won the opening set by 6-1.

In the second set, Sharapova had a great start. She got a breakthrough in the very first game and then, with a serve hold in the next game, she took a lead of 2-0. The next three games went with the serve and at the end of the 5^th game; Sharapova was leading by 3-2.

But, after that, Sharapova suddenly lost her rhythm. She dropped her serve twice in the next five games and lost the second set by 4-6.

CLASS SHINES THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Sharapova, has defeated Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic in the second round of Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2013. Sharapova won the match in three sets by 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3.

This was a nail biting encounter, but, at the end, Sharapova’s experience and class proved to be too much for the Czech player. With this win, Sharapova made her way into the final 8.

This was Sharapova’s first win over Safarova on clay courts. Before this, these two players had met on clay court three years back and in that match, Sharapova was defeated.

In the post match interview, Sharapova said, “It was never going to be an easy match. I was playing against a player who always plays well on clay courts. So, I knew that I would be tested and the same happened. Thankfully, I managed to get through somehow.”

“I played poorly in some parts of the match; no doubt about that. I should have finished the match in the second set, but, I couldn’t. So, there is surely some work for me to do.”

In the first set, both the players got one breakthrough each in the first 8 games and the scores were equalized at 4-4 at the end of the 8^th game.

Sharapova got another breakthrough in the 9^th game to get ahead by 5-4 and then, with a serve hold in the 10^th game, she finished the set off.

In the second set, both the players broke each other twice in the first 12 games and the set went into the tie breaker. Safarova stunned the Russian player with her improvisation in the tie breaker.

Sharapova lost the tie breaker and the match got extended into the third set.

In the final set, Sharapova was at her peak. Some fantastic forehand shots came off her racket and her opponent had no clue whatsoever about how to tackle that onslaught.

Sharapova got a breakthrough in the 6^th game to take a 4-2 lead. She calmly held her remaining serve after that and walked away with a tight win.

In the quarter final, Sharapova will face Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

SHARAPOVA THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Sharapova, has defeated Klara Zakopalova of Czech Republic in the fourth round of the Sony Open. Sharapova won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 6-2.

Sharapova has moved into the final 8 with the help of this win.

After the match, Sharapova said, “I think I played a bit more aggressively than the last match. Also, the conditions were a bit cooler today, so, that also helped. I am glad that I am in the final 8 of this competition again.”

In the quarter final, Sharapova will face Sara Errani of Italy who reached the quarterfinals with a win over Ana Ivanovic.

Sharapova has so far played three matches against Errani and has won all those matches.

Sharapova started with a bang and with a couple of serve breaks, she raced to a lead of 4-0 in the opening set. Zakopalova held her serve for the first time in the 5^th game and then, she got a breakthrough in the next game to bring down the lead to 2-4. But, that’s all for her in the set. Sharapova wrapped up the set with a breakthrough in the 7^th game and a serve hold in the 8^th game.

Both the players started the second set with a serve hold and the scores were levelled at 1-1 at the end of the second game. Thereafter, Sharapova got two consecutive breakthroughs i.e. in the 3^rd and the 5^th game and took a lead of 4-1.

Zakopalova broke back in the 6^th game to make it 4-2. That was the last game won by her in the match.

Sharapova got yet another breakthrough in the 7^th game and then, with a serve hold in the next game, she secured her win.

This was Sharapova’s 5^th win against Zakopalova in 6 matches.

KIRILENKO THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Kirilenko, has defeated Sabine Lisicki of USA in the final of the PTT Pattaya Open which was played at Thailand. Kirilenko won the match by 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(1).

In the last year’s tournament in Thailand, Kirilenko was defeated in the final by Daniela Hantuchova, but, the Russian player didn’t let that happen again. She lost the opening set, but, thereafter, she played excellent tennis.

Kirilenko had a great start in the opening set. She broke Lisicki’s serve in the third game of the first set and then, served out the fourth game to take a lead of 3-1.

Kirilenko failed in continuing her lead till the end of the set. Her serve was broken in the sixth game and the scores got equalized at 3-3. In the next five games, neither of the two players dropped her serve and at the end of the 11^th game, Lisicki was ahead by 6-5.

Kirilenko needed to serve out the 12^th game to extend the set into the tie breaker, but, she couldn’t do that. She dropped her serve for the second time in the set and lost the first set.

In the second set, Sabine Lisicki held her serve in the first game, but, thereafter, she was taken apart by Kirilenko. The Russian player won six games in a row with three consecutive serve breaks and sealed the second set by 6-1.

Kirilenko started the final set in an aggressive mood. She won the first three games consecutively with a breakthrough in the second game. However, Lisicki made up for that blow by breaking Kirilenko’s serve in the ninth game. Both the players held their serve in the remaining three games which took the set into the tie breaker.

In the tie breaker, Kirilenko was at her best. She was so dominating that her opponent managed to win just one point in the tie breaker. With a couple of great backhand shots, she finished off the match and won the title.