TheSportsCampus

< Prev		Next >

The quarterfinal match up everyone was looking for when the draw was announced last Friday is now here. Bank of the West Classic No. 2 seed Venus Williams will face Maria Sharapova on Friday night in one of the most anticipated quarterfinals in Bank of the West Classic history.

All four seeded players in action on Thursday at the 2009 Bank of the West Classic punched their tickets to the quarterfinal round despite being tested along the way.

Top seed Serena Williams, No. 2 Venus Williams, No. 4 Jelena Jankovic and No. 8 Marion Bartoli all hung on for victories on Thursday, resulting in a star-studded quarterfinal field that features five seeded players in addition to three-time Grand Slam singles champion Maria Sharapova.

But it wasn't easy for any of the top seeds. Serena Williams started the day with a 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over left-handed Hungarian Melinda Czink. After looking strong in the first set which she clinched thanks to a break in the fourth game, Williams trailed the entire second set until prevailing from set point down in the tiebreaker.

Speaking after her match Serena was quick to criticize her own form, "I was just off today, and really I've been off this whole week. Hopefully I can get on track. In the second set, I just wanted to focus on winning the next point. I made some key errors, although it was good that I ended up winning that sixth game (during the second set) because it helped me at the end."

She did however shower some praise on her opponent, who now at 26, is practically a tour veteran, "She served really well toward the end especially, and started mixing it up and serving big. I definitely could have returned better but this was still good practice."

Meanwhile, elder sister Venus cruised to a 6-1 win in the first set and looked to be in complete control midway through the second frame with a 5-3 lead. But Alla Kudryavtseva won back-to-back games to tie the set at 5-5 before Williams swiped the next two games for a 6-1, 7-5 triumph.

Venus, looking forward to her clash with Sharapova said, "I feel like that is a really good matchup for me and I always enjoy playing against Maria. It's going to be a good match. The key for me is just to continue to play the way I do and execute my game the best I can."

The third match of the day pitted Bartoli against 17-year old phenom Melanie Oudin in what ended up playing out as yet another competitive match. Trailing 5-3 in the first set, Oudin knotted the match at 5-5 before Bartoli won back games to claim the first set and hung on 6-4 in the second set. The entire contest took just under two hours to complete.

Jankovic squeaked out a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sabine Lisicki during the night session. Lisicki ambushed Jankovic with a quick first set win, only to see the tournament's No. 4 seed surrender just six games over the next two sets.

The rest of the quarterfinals draw is exciting too: No. 3 seed Elena Dementieva battles unseeded Daniela Hantuchova in the opener, top seed Serena Williams faces Samantha Stosur and former world no.1 Jelena Jankovic tangles with No. 8 seed Marion Bartoli.

Results:

Serena Williams (USA) def. Melinda Czink (HUN) 6-3, 7-6(7)
Venus Williams (USA) def. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 6-1, 7-5
Marion Bartoli (FRA) def. Melanie Oudin (USA) 7-5, 6-4
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) def. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4

Soran Cirstea (ROU)/Maria Kirilenko (RUS) def. Julie Coin (FRA)/Marie-Eve Pelletier (CAN) 6-3, 6-3
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)/Nadia Petrova (RUS) def. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Anastasia Rodionova (RUS) 6-4, 4-6, (12-10)

 

File Photograph Copyright: Constatini (Italian Open)

Check out our tennis photo gallery