Game, Set, Match News
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Twice in this match, Li Na seemed to just vanish for a few points. One was in the last game of the first set. Having blown a 5-2 lead, she served for the tiebreak, had game points, and couldn't make it through. In the fourth game of the second set, same story: game points, but no game. Those two failed game points cost her the match.
Not much to say about this except that Kei Nishikori waited until about two hours before his match to pull it. We'll have to see if he can play Davis Cup. The loss means that he will leave here at #18. Djokovic has now had two walkovers and has played only three matches here!
For most of the first set of this, Rafael Nadal was holding fairly easily and Milos Raonic was struggling. Then, out of the blue, Raonic had a break point in game ten, and Nadal double-faulted, and that was the set.
When Maria Sharapova went up 3-1 in the first set, we couldn't help but think, "Waitaminit, wasn't she just getting her serve plastered?" Yes, she was, but somehow she had saved all the break points (four in just two service games), and Serena had blown one.
This was a very long, very tough battle -- it really does seem as if Caroline Wozniacki is coming back to life. Coming back enough, at least, to have put herself in the Top Fifteen. But she had a lot of help -- Li Na made 32 errors in the first set, as against just one winner for Wozniacki.
One match doesn't really tell us what a player's form is like -- but this really seemed typical of how Andy Murray in 2014. Although the real issue here may have been how wound up he got about a particular point.
The five leading women's seeds all won, led by Serena Williams, who beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-1. Williams was finally satisfied after some patchy performances on court. "I was really struggling my first two matches, so I just wanted to have a better performance today," the world number one said.
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Based on current rankings, these seedings should have been reversed -- Sloane Stephens came in ranked #16, Caroline Wozniacki #18. But you would never have known it! And, because Stephens was defending 140 points and Wozniacki only 80, that will reverse -- Stephens will fall to no better than #18, with Wozniacki probably #17 and with the chance to go higher.
Another small but solid step toward the Top Four for Roger Federer. It's getting close to certain he'll make it; the only two players who could catch him are David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych, and Ferrer needs a final (one more win by Federer and Ferrer would need a title); Berdych already needs a title.
Mathematical memo to Maria Sharapova and her entourage: During the first two sets of Sharapova's match with Lucie Safarova, she was winning 34% of second serve points. At the same time, she was putting in 64% of first serves, and winning 70% of those points. Had she fired a first serve on her second serve, she would have double-faulted dozens of times but would have won 45% of second serve points.
Andy Murray got off to a really slow start -- a sign of his lack of a coach, perhaps? At least he managed to pick up his game. He'll need a lot more that this to avoid falling to #8, though. Matthew Ebden added only a few points, but that may well be enough to take him above #65.
The second set of this was frankly pretty ugly, but Caroline Wozniacki survived. She's still only #17 in safe points, though, and will need a lot more to go any higher. Monica Puig will be around #55.
The score makes this look closer than it was -- Roger Federer lost only three points on serve (he won 94% of first serve points, 92% of second serve points). Ivo Karlovic did pretty well on serve, too, but you knew he was doomed if it came to a tiebreak. For a guy who wasn't sure he would play, Federer certainly looks solid...
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