Patience was a necessity, as winning did not come easy. The contest was very evenly matched with several sudden momentum swings. Radwanska the elder isn’t a power player, but she knows how to use power against an opponent. She’s also a very strong defensive player and shows off some great variety and touch at net. When she is in control of a point, she is able to mix up the pace to set up a winner or draw an error. Agnieszka’s best asset, though, may be her mind. Rarely expressing frustration, she digs in and stays tough. That can discourage many a challenger. Today, however, it wasn’t enough.



This was the only match beset by injury, too. Late in the third set, Radwanska took two spills on the court, during two points in a row. The first cost her a service break; the second appeared to really rattle her. While her movement seemed unaffected, mentally she lost a step and then, the match.


Cirstea, on the other hand, had injured the plantar fascia (the tissue supporting the arch) on her right foot during the first set tiebreak. Told by the trainer that it couldn’t get any worse than it was and that she could continue playing as long as she could handle the pain, the Romanian forged ahead focusing on getting some free points off her serve. “My foot was a little hurting and I had to fight a little bit at the end… I have to try and stay in the match and just try to play a bit more aggressive so I can finish the points earlier,” she commented.


All I Want for Christmas is a Return of Serve – Samantha Stosur d. Jie Zheng, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

“She play unbelievable good,” was all Jie Zheng could say after enduring an Australian onslaught of blistering groundstrokes, crisp volleys and high-kicking serves from Sam Stosur. Zheng raced out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, only to watch it quickly disappear once Sam got her groove on. After toughing out the first set, it only became more difficult for her to win points on the Stosur serve.


“I like playing on hard courts; it’s my favorite surface,” Sam commented afterwards. “Everything’s becoming a little more consistent now with my game.” Zheng observed the same, noting the Aussie’s serve and forehand had always been solid but today even her weaker shot, the backhand, was firing on all cylinders.

And patience, once again, proved to be the best virtue for the winner. “I needed to try and calm down a little bit. I was getting really frustrated,” Sam said when asked how she turned things around being down a set and a break to Zheng. “She loves pace and the harder you hit it the better she hits it back at you and twice as fast so I just tried to slow things down a little bit and recompose myself.”



AAAAAHH!-ve Maria – Maria Sharapova d. Urszula Radwanska, 6-4, 7-5

Sharapova looked strong considering she’s only had a few weeks of match play under her belt after a long sabbatical to rest and heal her shoulder. Her booming serves were hands down the biggest of the day consistently falling in the 100–110 mph range. With the crowd firmly in her corner, tonight the Russian reminded us all of what she’s capable, how hungry she is for it, and that she will find a way to win even while littering the court with errors. No matter how you feel about her, Sharapova is good for tennis.


For her part, the younger Radwanska did not appear the least bit intimidated by the former World No. 1. Her run to the quarters was impressive, as she took down seventh seed Dominika Cibulkova in the second round, but there is still much work to be done for the Pole. Urszula has a bigger first serve than her big sis, Agnieszka, and solid groundstrokes, but she lacks the calmer temperament and some of that finesse.

Frequently frustrated and talking to herself, she also has a powder-puff second serve that only gave Sharapova plenty to attack. Radwanska fought hard but could not consolidate on her breaks of serve and a second set lead, despite a downpour of double faults coming off the Russian’s racquet. Luckily, she does have an older sibling who immediately left her seat after the loss and followed her little sister to the locker room to commiserate.


And where did those 13 double faults Maria served come from? “(In the first set,) I really just went after my serve and really jumped in the court and in the second set I kinda just stopped doing that and my arm was kind of lagging behind instead of really going up and going after each serve,” Maria explained. “I knew that I was doing a good enough job on my return game so that no matter what happened, if I stayed positive, I knew I could win the match.”


And a Pennetta in a Semi - Flavia Pennetta d. Vera Zvonareva, 6-4, 6-2

As if both women wanted to be home before midnight, the final match of the day was also the fastest. The first set was almost over before Maria Sharapova even made it to the interview room. In the second, Flavia flew through points by aggressively going after her shots and nailing winners off both sides. Vera was constantly on the defensive and, when she did play offensively, she looked rushed, resulting in a steady stream of errors.

This stadium court does seem to favor Flavia, the runner-up last year. Will it find her holding the trophy this summer?


More photos from the 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships.
Photos: Danielle Lescure