Wow… what a day in Istanbul! Sharapova and Azarenka won a + 3 hours drama, Kvitova retires for a viral illness. Serena smashes a racket to then recover from a nasty 1-4 deficit with Li Na
Sharapova – Radwanska 5-7 7-5 7-5
This was an epic 3 hours and 12 minutes encounter. The battle lasted 36 games with 11 breaks in aggregate. Maria Once again was struggling with her second serve to commit 10 double faults (when is this going to finish for the Russian?). Finally the world no.2 made it.
“Today was an example of not playing my best tennis at all, fighting through it, hanging in there, and getting it done,” Sharapova said.
The good news is that Maria does not have to play the next day. This will give some room to recover.
Azarenka – Kerber 6-7 (11) 7-6 (2) 6-4
This was a 3 hours and 6 minutes fight, Vika’s never die attitude paid off once again. The Belarus lost an incredible tiebreak in the opener at 11 (!) to face 2 match points in the second set when she was 4-5 down. She saved both in great fashion with a terrible inside-out forehand and then a gripping backhand down the line. In the third set she failed to close the match when she was serving on a 5-3 lead… but she was just 1 break away and she got it on the successive game.
“It was definitely a great fight,” Azarenka said. “I’m more proud of the way I handled and stayed in that match.”
The bad news for Vika is that she has to play the very next day. The horrible news is that her opponenet is Serena!
Serena Williams – Li Na 7-6 (2) 6-3
This was another match packed with breaks. Serena lost 5 service games out of 11, Li Na lost 6 out of 10 (!!!). Serena couldn’t contain her rage when she committed 2 double faults in the forth game of the 1st match to smash her racket (and receive the warning). Then back on track, she rallied from 1-4 down to win the match in straight sets.
“I guess I got angry and I wasn’t able to control myself,” she said. “But sometimes I play better after I get really angry. I think most of my serves were either in the net or out. I lost serve today more than in all of Wimbledon.”
Kvitova retires
Unfortunately Petra had to retire from a viral illness. She will be replaced by Sam Stosur.
