TENNIS US OPEN – As if the women’s draw could not get any more open, heavy rains washed away two more top. Both Jankovic and Safarova were dismissed in straight sets by opponents who were looking for their first ever quarterfinal appearance in a major. Jankovic lost to 17-year-old Belinda Bencic and Safarova to Shuai Peng. From New York, Cordell Hackshaw
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As if the women’s draw could not get any more open, heavy rains washed away two more top seeds by the end of Day 7 play. Both Jelena Jankovic (9) and Lucie Safarova (14) were dismissed in straight sets by opponents who were looking for their first ever quarterfinal appearance in a major. Jankovic lost to 17-year-old Belinda Bencic 6-7 3-6 and Safarova to Shuai Peng 3-6 4-6. The more experienced Jankovic looked to be in the driver’s seat in the first half of the match but in the end, the teenager was the one who played the big points like a tour veteran. Peng on the other hand took complete control of the match against Safarova from the get-go and never relinquished her hold.
With the heavy rains and lightening passed, Safarova and Peng matchup was moved to Court 5 from its originally slated venue on Grandstand. Peng raced out to 3-0 in the opening set before Safarova was able to get on the scoreboard. She knew the importance of the early lead as she lost to Safarova in their last four encounters. This lone break would be all Peng needed to stay ahead as she maintained the lead to take the set 6-3 in 35 minutes. Safarova would fail to convert on the single break point she saw in that set. Unfortunately for her, it would be the only break opportunity she would have for the entire match.
In the 2nd set, it would be more of the same. Peng broke early, in the 3rd game and held serve to take the win 6-3 6-4 in 71 minutes. Peng was clean and efficient throughout the match with 9 aces and 17 winners to 7 errors. Safarova was mostly steady but having made 21 errors particularly during those two service breaks, made her life very difficult. She was also unable to make any impact on Peng’s serve. “The last couple of times I was in the fourth round I would always lose to good players, like Maria and Kvitova, I had two match points against Radwanska once, and I went to a third set with Kirilenko and Pennetta. I didn’t win, but I got a lot of experience from those losses,” Peng said after the match.
However, the real golden story of the day is the surprise victory of Belinda Bencic over Jankovic. Jankovic came into this tournament in excellent shape and through her first three rounds here, she looked very much like the player who made the 2008 finals. With so many of the top seeds being dispersed, many imagined that Jankovic could make another run for the title. Bencic is also receiving much attention as she is coached by 5-time major champion Martina Hingis’s mother and former coach, Melanie Molitor. However, the Swiss teen is standing out in her own right as she has showed herself to be mentally tough through her last two rounds where she too like Peng, knocked out two seeded players.
Coming into this match, Jankovic was the only remaining player in the women’s draw who had not had her serve broken. However, after breaking Bencic to open the match, she could not consolidate and she was broken for the first time. Jankovic remained persistent and broke Bencic again to lead 3-1. Yet that previously impenetrable service came under serious attack by Bencic. Jankovic was broken two more times serving for the set at 5-4 and 6-5. Therefore, the set had to be decided by a tiebreak. Again, Jankovic took the early lead but could not maintain it. Bencic fought her way back to 6-5 and despite being unable to convert on her first set point, she did so on her second after 72 minutes; 7-66 Bencic.
In 2nd set, Jankovic’s concentration began to break down. She continued to let the missed opportunities in the 1st set linger. She was impatient and constantly gesturing in fits of agitation. Bencic continued to be aggressive on the big points and soon had a 4-2 lead. Serving to stay in the match at 3-5, Jankovic was broke for the 6th time to hand Bencic the win 7-6 6-3.
After the match, Bencic stated, “I definitely didn’t feel any pressure because it was my first time on the Arthur Ashe in the night session. So I really just tried to enjoy it. I think she had all the pressure because she needed to win.” Jankovic definitely cracked under the pressure particularly for an experienced player. More problematic for Jankovic was the fact that her serve had very little impact on Bencic. Jankovic was able to get 70% of her 1st serves in but only won 48% of the points and even less, 46%, on her 2nd serve. This gave Bencic numerous opportunities to break her and thus secure the win. Both Bencic and Peng will play for a chance at a first major semifinal.