Peng Shuai is off to build an impressive record for the year, so far leading Wozniacki by one match for most wins of the season. She continued her run with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Sania Mirza, the last Qualifier left in the draw. Mirza’s best shot is her forehand, which dominated the first set. But Mirza’s weapon is also prone to breaking down. In the second set, Peng was steady in the rallies while Mirza began to misfire on the forehand. In the third set, Peng was very successful in attacking Mirza’s serve and won all of Mirza’s second serve points. Peng credits her successful start to the year to the fact that she is much happier now that she is not battling injury or illness.
Christina McHale, ranked 97th in the world, pulled off two upsets in a row this week, beating the No. 8 seed Alisa Kleybanova and No. 10 seed Daniela Hantuchova, but was stopped by Jelena Jankovic in their quarterfinal encounter. Jankovic, a veteran player eight years older than McHale, played a very solid match and won 6-2, 6-0. The first three games lasted 20 minutes with multiple deuces, but, once Jankovic went up a double break in the first set, she raced to the end. Jankovic was much more solid defensively than McHale and served very well. She was also very consistent in attacking McHale’s serve. Jankovic said she has been working on her serve and is happy to be getting more free points off of it. Eighteen-year-old McHale, the youngest woman in the Top 100, said she knows she still has a lot to learn. About her Serbian opponent, McHale said that she, “got to all of my balls and didn’t have a problem with it… it’s just, like, a whole different level that I have to, you know, work on more aspects of my game so that I can compete with the top players like that.”
Elena Vesnina and Julia Goerges met on the green clay last year in Pointe Verde Beach in a match that Vesnina won easily in straight sets. This Friday, though, Goerges raced ahead to take the first set, 6-2, in 30 minutes. Goerges has a good first serve with great pace, but her second serve is very vulnerable and Vesnina easily attacked it. Goerges won only 38% of her second serve points in the third set. The last two sets of the match were much closer than the score indicates. Goerges was zero for nine in break point chances in the third set and two for twelve in break points in the entire match. Many of the games went to deuce and Vesnina ended up winning only five more points than Goerges in her 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Looking Ahead to the Semifinals and Fed Cup
McHale and Goerges will head to Germany next week for the Fed Cup World Group Play-off round, where they could meet for the first time in their careers. Wickmayer will head back to Belgium for the Fed Cup Semifinal.
Meanwhile, this Saturday, Wozniacki will meet Jankovic in the first Semifinal. This will be Wozniacki’s third straight semifinal appearance at the Family Circle Cup. In 2009, she made the Final, losing to Sabine Lisicki. Jankovic leads the head-to-head with the Dane, 4-1, but this will be their first meeting on clay. Wozniacki won their last match in straight sets in Dubai this year.
Peng and Vesnina will face each other in the second Semifinal. Peng leads the head-to-head, also 4-1, but Vesnina’s one win came in that match at Pointe Verde Beach in 2009. Both are vying for their first final appearance of the year.
