French Open: Serena Williams out, Nadal into the semis
Another World Number One Down
Wow! This is definitately exciting to the core. After the upset of World number 1 and the biggest shocker till date Roger Federer going out in the quaterfinals against 5 seed Robin Soderling and ending hs 23 successive semi-finals streak, it is time for women’s world number 1 player to bow out of the French Open.
Serena Williams lost to 7th seed Samantha Stosur in the quaterfinals yesterday; 6-2, 6-7, 8-6.
The great pain!
A match that lasted for close to 2 and a half hours. The battle was tough and no one dared predict the winner till the very last point. After coming back from one set down in the 4th round against Justin Henin, Stosur was here to stay. But, this time she took the lead against the world number 1 Serena. After leading the match, she let the second set slip away from her in the tie-breaker. In the final set both players displayed their true champion spirit and with no tie breaker in the final set, the set went on over 6 games each. But, it was Stosur’s nerves that stayed calm as Serena pulled a wide in the 14th game, which booked a place for Stosur in the semi finals. Serena wasn’t in her element yesterday as she hit 46 unforced errors compared to Stosur’s 24 unforced errors. She struggled on her serve as well as she gave away 9 double faults.
Another shocker came in the form of 3 seeded Novak Djokovic, who lost to 22nd seed Jurgen Melzer. This match was an absolute ripper as Novak won the first two sets with complete ease (6-3, 6-2). But, the game turned around really quickly as Melzer won the third set convincingly; 6-2. The fourth set was an epic to watch as it didn’t seem to get over at all. The set alone lasted for 1 hr and 19 mins. The forth set also was up and close till the 9th game of the set, where the number 3 lost his serve. With Mezler serving to win the match, the last game had to be dramatic and so it was. Novak hit a forehand shot to chip the line but was over ruled and the point went in the favor of the 22nd seed. With 15 all and luck not favouring the third seed, he battled till the very end, till he pulled one wide and gifted a perfectly one- sided match to the opposition. Melzer looked in better shape in the 5th set as novak looked tired and exhausted. The match lasted for 4hrs and 15mintues ending 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4.
Pumping in the power
However, as always Rafael Nadal sailed into the semi-finals of the French Open to battle it out for his 5th French Open title. It was an all Spanish affair when he had to play his fellow mate 19th seed Nicolas Almagro. Almagro has been at his best and he definiately have the jitters to the world number two. With the first two sets going to the extreme, it looked like the game should swing in anyones favor. But, Almagro let the both the sets slip away in the tie breakers giving Nadal a two set lead in the match. With the match lasting for 2hrs 35 minutes, I wonder how long it would have gone if it had been a five setter match. The world number two won the match in three straight sets 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. In spite of Rafa winning the match, there is no denying that Almagro is a player to watch out for in the future.
Women’s number 4th seed Jelena Jankovic defeated Yaroslava Shvedona 7-5, 6-4. With the only Serb remaining in the French Open, and Samantha Stosur as her semi-final opponent, Jelena has to be nothing but at her supreme best if she wants to win the tournament.
The semi-finals are not only going to be thrilling to watch but also interesting. With the world numbers ones out of the tournament and all the players at their extra-ordinary playing level, it is difficult (and might I say very risky) to predict a winner. With Soderling playing like never before and Nadal in the running for his fifth and without dropping a set. The competition is mesmerising.
Is it going to be a new world number one? Or is Rafael going to regain his world number one ranking? Will Samantha win her first grand slam title or is it going to be the Russian Elena Dementieva? Keep tuned in to Sportkeeda to find out.
Semi-final line up:
Men:
Dark Horse
2. Rafael Nadal vs. 22. Jurgen Melzer
5. Robin Soderling vs. 15. Tomas Berdych
Women:
5. Elena Dementieva vs. 17. Franscesca Schiavone
4. Jelena Jankovic vs. 7. Samantha Stosur