US Open - Women: Dementieva, Jankovic crash out

Eurosport - Fri, 04 Sep 21:18:00 2009

Fourth seed Elena Dementieva and fifth seed Jelena Jankovic both suffered stunning defeats on a day of upsets at the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.

Melanie Oudin celebrates a point against Elena Dementieva, TENNIS - 0

The Russian, one of the favourites for the title after an impressive summer, was out-hit and outplayed by the 17-year-old Melanie Oudin (pictured), who handed Dementieva her joint-earliest ever exit at Flushing Meadows with a 5-7 6-4 6-3 defeat.

Dementieva looked to have weathered an early storm when she took the first set but the world number , who reached the last 16 at Wimbledon, stormed back to level the match.

Oudin had the trainer on after three games of the final set to treat a thigh strain but she held her nerve to set up a meeting with 29th seed Maria Sharapova, who blitzed American teenager Christina McHale 6-2 6-1.

Sharapova had some problems serving but overpowered the 17-year-old McHale, a wildcard form nearby New Jersey ranked 381 in the world, with crisp groundstrokes from both wings.

Jankovic, playing with a heavy heart against a free-spirited opponent, was beaten 6-3 6-7 7-6 by Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.

The 24-year-old Jankovic, last year's runner-up, learned before the match that her grandmother had passed away in Serbia.

Jankovic battled the big-hitting Shvedova for two hours and 40 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium before falling.

Shvedova, who plays a huge forehand and two-fisted backhand, was on the attack throughout against the former world number one, registering 45 winners to 27 for the counter-punching Jankovic.

The 21-year-old advanced to the third-round against Gisela Dulko of Argentina, who downed Alyona Bondarenko 6-4 6-0

She won a second-set tie-breaker 7-4 to force a third set and held two match points at 6-4 in the decider before her 55th-ranked opponent took the last four points, sealing victory with her sixth ace.

Volatile top seed Dinara Safina flirted with an early exit for a second successive match but held on to defeat Germany's Kristina Barrois 6-7 6-2 6-3 and reach the third round.

World number one Safina had 15 double faults and 38 unforced errors during a two-hour, 13-minute match under sunny skies in Louis Armstrong Stadium. The Russian was aided by her unseeded opponent's 43 unforced errors.

In the third round the 23-year-old Safina, seeking her first Grand Slam title, will meet 72nd-ranked Czech Petra Kvitova, who beat Italy's Tathiana Garbin 6-1 6-3.

Six of eight higher-ranked players lost in Safina's section, the last of them 23rd-seeded Sabine Lisicki, who left the court in tears and a wheelchair.

Aussie qualifier Anastasia Rodionova ousted Lisicki 6-3 3-6 7-5 but the German twisted her left ankle on the final swing of the match and crumpled to the court screaming in pain. She was wheeled off still wiping her eyes.

In contrast former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 6-4 6-2 in just 63 minutes.

The French Open champion was not at her best, committing 30 unforced errors, but was still too good for world number 95 Sevastova.

Sevastova, 19, had reached round two thanks to her first Grand Slam win and did have two break points to level up at 5-5 in the first set.

But after taking the opener, 2004 Open champion Kuznetsova eased through the second and now awaits Israel's Shahar Peer, who beat Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-2 6-0.

Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki was close to pulling off a perfect victory when she beat Croatian Petra Martic 6-1 6-0 to set up an intriguing clash against Romanian 24th seed Sorana Cirstea, a 6-4 5-7 6-4 winner over Canada's Stephanie Dubois .

China's Zheng Jie beat France's Alize Cornet 1-6 6-3, 6-3 to reach a third-round match with Russian 13th seed Nadia Petrova who was a 6-4 7-6(3) winner over France's Julie Coin.

Watch day five at the US Open LIVE from 4.45pm on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521); Also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe.

Reuters

Comment 43 - 62 of 62

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  1. how can you say that women tennis is boring,when theres­ always upsets,compared to men tennis that FEDERER and­ NADAL have totally dominated,...

    From easy, on Fri 4 Sep 8:37PM

  2. Idiot and Prat! to sender 60

    From Bempah A, on Fri 4 Sep 8:06PM

  3. IDIOT and PRAT!

    From Bempah A, on Fri 4 Sep 8:03PM
  4. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I would love to bed JJ now that she has some free time­ on her hands but 1st I would need to turn the lights­ out or cover her face with a paper bag, lol.

    From sanchez.santos, on Fri 4 Sep 5:14PM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    ha ha ha one more serbian clown is out

    From Dido, on Fri 4 Sep 4:16PM

  6. Thanks sanchez.santos for your glittering summary of­ the situation, Ray V I am sorry but you are clearly­ delusional, the same for unzwa "Jankovic played­ her normal game" actually you musn't watch her­ play normally, she was a shadow of herself with­ understadable reasons, looked and played listlessly,­ this is not "normal" Jankovic play, I am­ shocked she almost won playing so badly :X and yes Igor­ K she will be back after spending time with her family­ refreshed hopefully x

    From opera.aria, on Fri 4 Sep 3:59PM

  7. if you know jelena then you when she is going to lose.i­ knew on her face when she step out on the court that­ something is not ok.
    and comentator on espn said when­ oudin beat elena:serena and venus who?this is new­ champion!
    very ugly comment ,how he could compare 17­ old player with girls who have 17 or 18 grand slams?

    From milos, on Fri 4 Sep 3:59PM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Igor remember I tipped JJ to win this GS I hope it was­ the kiss of death, lol.

    From sanchez.santos, on Fri 4 Sep 3:35PM

  9. Ray don`t question JJ so easy ! this girl can beat­ anyone when in top form..she will shine again !­ remember this

    From Igor K, on Fri 4 Sep 2:54PM

  10. I was watching 2nd and 3rd set of JJ against Schvedova.­ And just couple of hours ago I was reading article­ where Marat Safin asked everybody to leave his sister­ alone. And it come to the point of critisism from side­ of S.Williams and Jankovich. And then commentator said­ (and I never thought about it) that JJ ALSO was #1 in­ 2008 and ALSO never won a Grand Slam. And I didn't­ remember she complaining year ago that it's unfair­ to become number one without Grand Slam. So after­ realizing it yesterday - today I have a bit less­ respect for her.

    But match was great. Specially 3rd­ set!

    From Mia, on Fri 4 Sep 2:52PM

  11. Match summary. Who says that women's tennis is­ boring! Yesterday, Jankovic played her normal game, but­ Vedova, Shedova, Shvedova (sorry I have been struggling­ with that name) played better. Hopefully, she can make­ it to the top five. Well said, but it's not easy -­ many girls from that area have fallen by the wayside on­ the way to number one spot.

    From unzwa, on Fri 4 Sep 2:41PM

  12. Thank God I dont bet anymore, I had that typical­ punters 'certainty' that the title was JJ's­ this year because she should have won it last year and,­ I thought she was mentally ready and had a perfect­ preparation this year round. Alas divine intervention­ robbed her of her grandmother and derailed her chances,­ sods luck indeed and sincere commiserations. I hope she­ will emerge from the emotional journey of the immediate­ future and claim the title next year as I only see her­ at her best on the US hard courts. Good luck gurl. I­ predicted a good year for Melanie but that was one big­ scalp she took so much early than I thought possible.­ Still I expect Lena's class and talents will always­ be there for future accolades in the short term future.

    From sanchez.santos, on Fri 4 Sep 2:27PM

  13. I had ALMOST put money on Dementieva to win after her­ results in Montreal, so glad I didnt now.....

    From Jude, on Fri 4 Sep 2:11PM

  14. i advice you never ever put your money on JJ. She is­ past her prime

    From Ray V, on Fri 4 Sep 2:02PM

  15. Bang goes my twenty, as I had a tenner each on Jankovic­ and Dementieva reaching the semi finals.

    From Doh, on Fri 4 Sep 1:54PM

  16. I feel a chinese empire will emerge in the hard courts­ of US Open. They are quiet while making their way up.

    From Ray V, on Fri 4 Sep 1:23PM

  17. Keep it up­ Shvedova. Great players speak with­ conviction and that is very evident of her...and­ she­ is not only speaking for herself but for the rest­ of­ the upcomers. JJ isnt affected by the loss of a­ family­ member. She played great but her opponent played better­ during the entire match.

    From Ray V, on Fri 4 Sep 1:18PM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    who cares?

    The womens game is completely pants, 2­ overgrown ogres hitting the ball as hard as they can­ with little or no skill or brain work involved.

    From xcomveteran, on Fri 4 Sep 1:06PM

  19. Girl who beats Azarenska, Dementieva, Safina, Kim­ Listers in ten days, and with style diserves more­ repsect.. people don't be unhuman to JJ.. She is­ emotional girl, and family member lost surely hurts !­ It was obvios on the cort that she couldnt1 play­ tacticaly good, looking really sad. Svedova all­ compliments, she used soft balls throu the midle by­ Jankovic very well. Congrats to her ! JJ could go far­ on this AO, cose was in good form.. she'll be back.­ don't question her knowledge.. she will shine again­ GO JJ !

    From Igor K, on Fri 4 Sep 12:20PM

  20. Dementieva is a mental midget thats just embarrassing­ to lose like that.Jelena its good she lost because she­ is a @#$%.

    From susan, on Fri 4 Sep 11:58AM
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