Joe Soriano
O.J. Lewis#1 Woman Ousted by Fellow Russian #13 Safina
June 3rd 2008 09:12
Dinara Safina upset World #1 Maria Sharapova on Monday.
#1 Woman Ousted by Fellow Russian #13 Safina
Monday had one huge surprise as far as the numbers go, but as I stated in the article about Maria Sharapova’s match with Evgeniya Rodina, “If she (Sharapova) plays like this in the next few rounds she might not be around for very long in Paris.” It took Dinara Safina two tie-breaks and three sets to do it, but she upset the #1 ranked woman in the world. Safina is no stranger to upsets though, she was the last player to actually beat Justine Henin in a match. Sharapova eeked out a win in the first set tie-break 7(8) – 6(6), but Safina went on to win a second set tie-break and then win the third set easily 6-2. Sharapova actually cut down on her doubles faults from previous rounds and committed just seven of them in the match, but she still had 39 unforced errors. She also converted just 4 of her 7 break point chances. Safina moves onto the quarterfinals to face fellow Russian #7 Elena Dementieva who needed three sets to get past countrywoman #11 Vera Zvonareva.
The other two women’s matches scheduled for Monday were suspended and will continue Tuesday amongst quarterfinal action.
On the men’s side there was no big upset, but unseeded Frenchman Gael Monfils did knock off #28 Ivan Ljubicic in four sets and moves onto to play #5 David Ferrer in the quarters. Also moving on to the quarterfinals were #24 Fernando Gonzalez who defeated American Robby Ginepri, and World #1 Roger Federer. Federer had to work hard for this win over France’s Julien Benneteau. He did win in straight sets, but by scores of 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.
Be sure to tune in today for the lower half of each bracket, as those that played Monday have the day off on Tuesday. Can unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro upset an ailing #3 Jelena Jankovic? Can Ana Ivanovic avoid the upset against #10 Patty Schnyder? On the men’s side… Can Rafa cruise to an easy win over #19 Nicolas Almagro? And Can #3 Serbian Noval Djokovic send home unseeded upstart Ernests Gulbis? Well my answers are: Yes, Yes, Yes, and a big No. That is right, I am picking the stunning upset of Ernests Gulbis beating Djokovic in, let’s say four sets. If for no other reason, to give John McEnroe a break on trying to figure out how to pronounce Djokovic for the rest of the tournament. I like the idea of an exciting match between Rafa and Gulbis. Anyway, what do I know, you will have to watch to see how it turns out, or come back later today to read right here what happens.
| Winners | ||
| Roger Federer SUI (1) | 6, 7, 7 | |
| v | Roger Federer SUI (1) | |
| Julien Benneteau FRA | 4, 5, 5 | |
| Fernando Gonzalez CHI (24) | 7(7), 6, 6 | |
| v | Fernando Gonzalez CHI (24) | |
| Robby Ginepri USA | 6(4), 3, 1 | |
| Ivan Ljubicic CRO (28) | 6(1), 6, 3, 2 | |
| v | Gael Monfils FRA | |
| Gael Monfils FRA | 7(7), 4, 6, 6 | |
| Radek Stepanek CZE (21) | 6, 2, 6, 3, 3 | |
| v | David Ferrer ESP (5) | |
| David Ferrer ESP (5) | 4, 6, 1, 6, 6 | |
| Ernests Gulbis LAT | 6, 7(7), 6 | |
| v | Ernests Gulbis LAT | |
| Michael Llodra FRA | 4, 6(4), 3 | |
| Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA (18) | 4, 3, 4 | |
| v | Novak Djokovic SRB (3) | |
| Novak Djokovic SRB (3) | 6, 6, 6 | |
| Jeremy Chardy FRA | 6(0), 6(7), 5 | |
| v | Nicolas Almagro ESP (19) | |
| Nicolas Almagro ESP (19) | 7(7), 7(9), 7 | |
| Fernando Verdasco ESP (22) | 1, 0, 2 | |
| v | Rafael Nadal ESP (2) | |
| Rafael Nadal ESP (2) | 6, 6, 6 | |
| Winners | ||
| Maria Sharapova RUS (1) | 7(8), 6(5), 2 | |
| v | Dinara Safina RUS (13) | |
| Dinara Safina RUS (13) | 6(6), 7(7), 6 | |
| Vera Zvonareva RUS (11) | 4, 6, 2 | |
| v | Elena Dementieva RUS (7) | |
| Elena Dementieva RUS (7) | 6, 1, 6 | |
| Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4) | 6, 2 | |
| v Play Suspneded Monday | Will resume Tuesday | |
| Victoria Azarenka BLR (16) | 2, 2 | |
| Petra Kvitova CZE | 3, 6 | |
| v Play Suspneded Monday | Will resume Tuesday | |
| Kaia Kanepi EST | 6, 3 | |
| Flavia Pennetta ITA (26) | 3, 2 | |
| v | Carla Suarez Navarro ESP | |
| Carla Suarez Navarro ESP | 6, 6 | |
| Agnieszka Radwanska POL (14) | 3, 6(3) | |
| v | Jelena Jankovic SRB (3) | |
| Jelena Jankovic SRB (3) | 6, 7(7) | |
| Katarina Srebotnik SLO (27) | 2, 4 | |
| v | Patty Schnyder SUI (10) | |
| Patty Schnyder SUI (10) | 6, 6 | |
| Petra Cetkovska CZE | 0, 0 | |
| v | Ana Ivanovic SRB (2) | |
| Ana Ivanovic SRB (2) | 6, 6 |
| 56 |
| Vote |
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