| Women Seek To Be Semi-Tough |
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| Written by Mark Preston | |
| Thursday, 06 September 2007 | |
 Four of women’s tennis’ top talents take to the great stage of Arthur Ashe Stadium today, as the women’s semifinals of the 2007 US Open unfold. At the start of this event, 128 names filled the lines of the women’s draw—today, the deal is two pair. Justine Henin takes on Venus Williams; Svetlana Kuznetsova faces compatriot Anna Chakvetadze. Four major talents, two wins away from one major title.Top-seed Henin has been the picture of perfection to this point, reaching the semis without the loss of a set. The only time she has come close to being tested was in the quarters, when Serena Williams pushed her to a first-set tiebreak (for which Williams was rewarded with a 6-1, second-set thrashing). The women’s No. 1 has won six tournament titles this year, including her third consecutive Roland Garros championship. At 25, Henin is making her ninth consecutive US Open appearance, winning here in 2003 and reaching the final last year. From day one, Henin has played like a woman with her sights set on Saturday night. Her penetrating ground game has been especially lethal here, as she’s pounded opponents off both sides and covered the court like blue. If there’s a hole in her game, no one has yet been able to find it. And some pretty fair players have looked. No. 12-seed Williams will certainly continue to search. She, too, has been a dominant force to date, her first-set loss to Jelena Jankovic in the quarters the only group of six she’s dropped so far in this fortnight. Indeed, Williams has made a tough stretch run look easy, completing the sweep of Serbian stars Ana Ivanovic, the No. 5 seed, and No. 3-seed Jankovic to reach this point. Williams hasn’t been back to the final here since she won back-to-back US Open championships in 2000 and 2001. Of course, since winning Wimbledon in 2005, she had not been back to any Grand Slam final until winning again at the All-England Club this year. Williams’ last few seasons have been abbreviated by injury, but her roll across the lawns of London declared her once again as a major threat at the majors—a declaration she’s emphatically reinforced with her play here. This will be a good one, a second-Saturday sort of showdown on a Friday afternoon. The last woman to take out both Williams sisters at a Slam was Martina Hingis at the 2001 Australian Open, which gives you some idea of how tough a task that can be. But few are tougher than Henin; few have her unique combination of poise, power and court presence. Williams holds a staggering 7-1 lead in their career meetings, but the two haven’t crossed paths since the Australian Open of 2003. Henin is a better player now. She won’t make mistakes—and she’ll capitalize on every minor miscue made by her opponent. This goes three—Henin goes on. From day one, it seemed apparent that a supremely talented Russian woman would emerge from the bottom half of the draw. As it turns out, that assumption was pretty precise. While defending US Open champion Maria Sharapova faded early, both Kuznetsova and Chakvetadze have continued to sparkle, making crystal-clear their belief that they belong among the game’s best. No. 4-seed Kuznetsova, champion here in 2004, was the first Russian woman ever to win the US Open title, and she is looking very much like winning seven matches here again is within reach. She came here fresh off a win at the US Open Series’ final stop in New Haven and has continued her hard-court sprint through these two weeks. Kuznetsova, 22, also has finished runner-up at four events in 2007, including second-place hard-court finishes at Doha and Indian Wells. Her steady, effective ground game is perfectly suited for these cement floors, and her even demeanor allows her to absorb these surroundings and remain absolutely unflappable. No. 6-seed Chakvetadze is a coming talent who may just have arrived during this event. The 20-year-old has this year reached the quarters of the Australian Open and Roland Garros, beat Venus Williams in the quarters of San Diego, and won two hard-court events this summer—at Cincinnati and Stanford. Chakvetadze has not dropped a set to this point, playing an effective, efficient ground game that’s more steady than overpowering. Still, she hasn’t yet faced a player the caliber of her countrywoman to date. Chakvetadze can’t out-run, out-hit or outlast the tireless Kuznetsova, who is 2-0 in their career meetings—one win on grass, one on clay. The two Russians have never met on a hard court and certainly have never met with so much at stake. This is another that goes the distance. Kuznetsova loses a set but wins her way to Saturday night. |
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