Just a quick update from yesterday’s action down at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, California just outside San Diego. Of course the biggest news, though not a shock upset, was the late night dismissal Alisa Kleybanova gave top seed Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-2 after Jankovic was up early in the first set. Earlier in the day, second seed Sam Stosur managed to keep American hopeful Melanie Oudin at bay while Dinara Safina’s comeback tour took a detour when she faced Poland’s top player. All this early action begs the question, is it too early to start picking favorites for the U.S. Open?
Jankovic was up 4-0 in the first set before Kleybanova, who lost early in Stanford, pulled back to 5-5 before closing out the set. The Russian jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second set and for a moment it looked like Jankovic would get back on serve after she managed to grab some break points. But Kleybanova held on to finally take the set and match. Later, Jankovic cited her ankle, which she injured in Potoroz, as still being an issue for her, but confirmed she would still play Cincinnati next week.
Stosur, who reached the semis of Stanford last week losing to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka, could have faced Azarenka in the second round this week had the Russian not pulled out the event. Stosur, who’s never beaten the Russian, probably breathed a sigh of relief when she learned the news she’d be playing the feisty young American Melanie Oudin instead. But Oudin gave Stosur a good test as the Australian’s sub par serving allowed Oudin to stay with the world No. 5. However, Stosur managed to hold serve at the key 5-4 games in each set, including blasting several aces in the end, to take the match 6-4, 6-4.
Finally, Dinara Safina’s mini-comeback came to end as she lost to No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanksa 6-1, 6-3. Safina was down 5-1 in the second set before charging back to force Radwanska to serve out the match. Radwankska will now take on Shahar Peer in the quarterfinals.
Jankovic and Safina will now look to Cincinnati to build some momentum for the U.S. Open although an early loss there could spell trouble for their rankings as they are defending a lot of points for reaching the finals there last year. For Safina, who was the top seed at last year’s U.S. Open, any more early round losses this summer could drop her out of the top 30 and make her a vulnerable unseeded player once the draw is cast for New York.
(Just a reminder that I will be in San Diego to cover the Mercury Insurance Open with Global Village Tennis News. Be sure to visit both of our sites and follow me on their Twitter handle (@GVTennisNews).
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Hey Erik, was this a very solid match for Kleybanova in your opinion, or was it a bad one for JJ? Regardless, it’s a huge win for Kleybanova. She must be smiling pretty wide!
Well I didn’t see or hear the match, just followed it on Twitter, lol. But not surprised as Kleybanova can be a tough match for anyone. JJ said her ankle was bothering her but I can’t say that that was a major factor.
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