Canadian Open
Singles – Semifinal: (5) Petra Kvitova def. (7) Caroline Wozniacki 3-6 6-2 6-3
The weather here seemed to be bothering Petra Kvitova — it was damp from the start, which may have aggravated her asthma. It ended up raining after the second set. It made for a long evening, but she made it through. She is now just behind #5 Samantha Stosur; win the final and she takes the #5 ranking. Caroline Wozniacki will stay at #8 — and her loss here pretty well ends her chances of climbing in Cincinnati.
Singles – Semifinal: (10) Li Na def. (16) Lucie Safarova def. 3-6 6-3 7-5
If you think the scoreline here was strange, you should have seen the way they got there. Early in the third set, the chair umpire awarded Li Na a point she hadn’t won — and neither player said anything. It didn’t seem to bother Lucie Safarova, who went up a couple of breaks in the third — but then let Li get things back to 5-5! And she blew the next game also, and pretty soon, it was over. Li moves past Sara Errani to take the #9 ranking; Safarova, who would have been #17 had she managed to serve this out, will have to settle for #19.
Doubles – Final: Jans-Ignacik/Mladenovic def. (3) Petrova/Srebotnik 7-5 2-6 10-7 (Match TB)
Katarina Srebotnik really does seem to be under a jinx. She hasn’t won a title since Sydney. Nadia Petrova is in a drought, too — her last title was Miami — but she did just in an Olympic medal, so perhaps she isn’t as unhappy.
The real question, though, is what is next for Jans-Ignacik/Mladenovic. Jans-Ignacik won Strasbourg earlier this year, but that was an international event, and it was on clay. This is her first Premier title, and her first on hardcourt. A big week! And even bigger for Mladenovic, who to this time had never won anything bigger than a $50K Challenger. We have a feeling we may see this team again.