Pilot Pen Wrap-up, Saturday, August 28th

Coverage

2010

Pilot Pen Tennis

Saturday, 28 August 2010 20:39

Pilot Pen Wrap-up, Saturday, August 28th

Written by Jack Cunniff

O wozniacki-mk-082810-art ne of the more popular pastimes among tennis fans is playing “what if.” What if Monica Seles hadn’t been stabbed? What if Bjorn Borg didn’t retire at age 26? What if Serena Williams had decided to go through a McDonald’s drive-through instead if visiting the “broken glass” restaurant and hurting her foot a few weeks ago?

In looking forward to the 2010 Pilot Pen Women’s Final, several “what if” angles come to mind. What if the weather in Montreal last week was sunny and dry, and Caroline Wozniacki hadn’t been forced to play her semifinal and final Rogers Cup matches on Monday of this week? What if Ana Ivanovic hadn’t rolled her ankle in Cincinnati two weeks ago, opening up a spot in the Pilot Pen draw for another wildcard, Nadia Petrova? What if Varvara Lepchenko had held her nerve when leading Petrova ,6-1, 5-2 in the First Round of the Pilot Pen? (Spare a thought for Lepchenko, who ended her week by losing her second round U.S. Open qualifying match.) Such is the merry-go-round of professional tennis, which is why “what if” can be such an entertaining activity.

There are no definite answers to the “what if” game, and results will ultimately be all that matters. Seles ends her career with nine Grand Slam titles, Borg ends his with 11, and Serena remains at 13 until her foot heals. And, as Wozniacki and Petrova took the court for the Women’s Singles Final, all of the circumstances framed earlier in the week were brushed away, and new scenarios were created.

With her wins in New Haven and Montreal, Wozniacki achieved the almost impossible, winning two singles titles in six days

What if the players converted their break point opportunities? In the opening set, the two women held a total of 12 break points between them, but only one was successfully converted. Wozniacki took a 4-2 lead when Petrova’s forehand sailed long on break point in the sixth game. In the opening set, Petrova struck 16 winners to Wozniacki’s 13, but hit double the amount of errors, 22 to 11. The one break point that Wozniacki converted made the difference, and she took the first set, 6-3.

What if it had been an overcast day? Starting the second set, both players started to struggle on serve as the sun wreaked havoc with serves, lobs, and high balls. When Wozniacki broke at love for a 3-2 lead, it appeared she would soon be victorious. But Petrova cleaned up her unforced errors, and swept the final four games to even the match, 6-3.

What if Petrova had stayed healthy? At the start of the third set, Petrova tweaked her back, and called for the trainer when down 0-2. She later admitted the back problem “made a big difference; it made me lose my service.” The Russian showed signs of life serving four consecutive aces to close to 2-4. But Wozniacki’s composure, an underrated asset in her arsenal, kept her in the lead. She served out the match, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. With the win, Wozniacki collects her third straight Pilot Pen championship, and remains undefeated in New Haven (13-0).

Petrova was upbeat about this week's results, saying she gained the confidence and match play needed for the US Open

Perhaps the biggest “what if” facing New Haven is the end of the fifteen year tenure (1996-2010) of Pilot Pen as the title sponsor. In a nice touch, Ron Shaw, CEO Emeritus of Pilot Pen, spoke to the crowd during the Women’s Singles trophy presentation to explain the financial decision of Japanese-based Pilot Pen Corporation to end their sponsorship of the event. Tournament Director Anne Worcester is leading a team to identify a new title sponsor, but the future of the event is in question while the search continues.

Stakhovsky improved his ATP World Tour Finals record to 4-0

Around the grounds…

In her victory speech, Wozniacki explained that brother Patrick, a professional football player in Denmark, could not be in the U.S. because he’s preparing for the local version of Dancing with the Stars… When asked in her press conference if she had ever before hit four consecutive aces in one game, Petrova said she hadn´t: “Wish I could do that more often. Save me a little bit of energy.”… Sergiy Stakhovsky took the Men´s Singles title, beating fellow surprise finalist and 15^th seed Denis Istomin,3-6, 6-3, 6-4… Wimbledon finalists Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau won the Men’s Doubles Final, 6-4, 7-5, over the pair of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi…The Women’s Doubles title went to Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, who finished off the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis by beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 7-5, 6-0.

MORE PHOTOS FROM SATURDAY'S FINALS

Photos by Mariya Konovalova