Schiavone batters opposition, races to semi final at Tokyo
Italian Francesca Schiavone has had a particularly successful run this year. Emerging as the victor at both Barcelona and the French Open tournament, her first Grand Slam victory, the 30 year old seems to be keeping up her winning streak at the 2010 Toray
Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Schiavone, who is the fifth seed at this exclusive women’s event, was awarded a bye in the first round, moving her directly to the second. Her first match of the tournament was against Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru, in which she defeated her opponent in straight
sets, 7-5, 6-3. The first set still left some doubt as to the victor, but Schiavone removed all concerns with a 6-3 victory in the second set.
Her second match was against Japanese tennis legend Kimiko Date Krumm, who at the age of 40, shattered expectations this year with her defeat of Maria Sharapova in her first round and her victory over Daniela Hantuchova, due in part to her own performance
and to Hantuchova’s retirement due to a shoulder injury. Schiavone beat Date Krumm in straight sets, with an easy 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Schiavone’s latest victory was far more challenging than her previous matches. The French Open champion took over three hours and three sets to defeat the unseeded Kaia Kanepi from Estonia in the quarter finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. With this victory,
Schiavone cemented a place for herself in the semi finals of this Tokyo event.
It was a difficult match for the Italian, who went down in the first set from 1-3, saving two set points at 4-5 at the tenth game to win the first set. She conquered five consecutive games before Kanepi lost a point with a backhand to the net, awarding Schiavone
the set at 7-5. However, she fell behind in the second set once again, managing to save herself temporarily but failing due to her own backhand error, resulting in Kanepi winning the set at 4-6.
In the final set, both Schiavone and Kanepi traded break points thrice, leading to a tie at the final set with a score of 5 all. At this point, Kanepi double faulted on an advantage point against Schiavone, giving the Italian the opportunity to take the
game to 6-5. Now at match point, Schiavone took the game’s lead with a 40-15 score, before Kanepi hit her forehand into the net.
After the match, Schiavone commented to reporters, “I really tried to take the points. I didn't wait for a present. I thought if I want to win it, I have to go to the net, to be aggressive, because she played so good. "To make the difference, I had to work
a little bit more than she did."
Francesca Schiavone’s next match will be against World Number 10, Elena Dementieva. Dementieva, seeded seventh at this WTA tour event, has so far defeated Flavia Pennetta, Yaroslava Shvedova and US Open finalist Vera Zvonareva (second seed at the Toray Pan
Pacific) at the quarter finals to reach the semis.
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