Wimbledon 2010: Day 7 proves rough for the women’s draw
There was relative calm in the women’s draw during the first week of the Wimbledon Championships 2010. The first week saw a number of top ranked women seeds exiting the championship which included Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, Israel’s Shahar Pe’er, and Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic to name a few. But with the start of week two, the domino effect has set in, and many seeds have fallen victim to the surprising tennis skills of the up and coming talent. Manic Monday saw many top seeds tumble out of the tournament before even making an appearance into the quarterfinals. As a result, many players will be making their first entry into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. On one hand, this may result in the top women tennis players having an easy route to the finals. But on the contrary, even more surprises may be in store in the coming days.
The women’s draw is now way open after the third and fourth seed were shown the door. Third seed Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark was playing on Court two, which is also known as the Graveyard of Champions. This proved to be true as Wozniacki was shamelessly beaten by the twenty-year-old Czech Republic player Petra Kvitova. In just forty-six minutes, Wozniacki was shown the door. Petra’s game was so overpowering that Wozniacki only managed to win two games in the entire match. After the sixty second ranked Kvitova thrashed Wozniacki, she made a place for herself in the quarterfinals for the first time in her career. Kvitova has had a good tournament so far. She was responsible for beating seeded player Victoria Azarenka from Russia with ease. Among Kvitova’s other conquests in the tournament was former semi-finalist Zheng Jie from China. With this win, Kvitova has sent a signal out to the remaining players that she is in devastating form. Wozniacki looked weak throughout the match as she won just thirty percent of the points in her first serve as compared to a blistering eighty-six percent for her opponent. She faces an even lower ranked opponent in the shape of another surprise Kaia Kanepi from Estonia.
Court Number one opened its matches with an all-Belgian encounter. It was a battle between comeback queens Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne. It was the much anticipated match on Day seven and it did not prove to disappoint the fans. This was the third time that both these compatriots met after coming out of retirement and the result was the same. Clijsters prevailed over Henin. The match started with Henin being the dominant force, with Clijsters nervous and shaky. Henin was serving and volleying successfully in the opening set with Clijsters committing error after error. Clijsters mistimed shots which barely landed in the court which cost her the first set. Henin won the first set 6-2. But Clijsters gained form after her first set loss. Her game started picking pace and slowly but surely she regained composure. Her shots became more accurate and her serve helped her win set two 6-2. The third set was the same with Clijsters being the dominant force and finally showing Henin the door. After eighty-eight minutes, the seventeenth seed was dumped out of Wimbledon and Clijsters continued her dream run into the quarterfinals.
Another seed to perish was fourth seed Jelena Jankovic. Her back troubles became an obstacle on her path to victory. But her opponent Vera Zvonareva from Russia proved too good for her even before her back pain kicked in. Zvonareva blistered through the first set 6-1. The second set opened with Jankovic losing her game due to untimely double faults. She was 0-3 down before she retired hurt and exited the tournament at this stage for the fourth time. Eleventh seed Marion Bartoli also joined the list of seeds exiting the tournament. She was sent packing by Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova. Maria Sharapova's Wimbledon dreams were halted for yet another year by the overpowering Serena Williams 7-6 and 6-4.
With new faces making their appearance in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2010, it will prove to be an exciting road ahead for those seeds that have secured their place including Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters.
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