RG.11- Mid-Round Conquerors, Queens & Jesters

As the finish line approaches, the highs and lows get even more extreme.

=MID-ROUND AWARDS - 3rd-QF=
TOP PLAYER: Ana Ivanovic/SRB
...but what will AnaIvo do when and if she meets up with some true resistance? (RU: Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS)
RISER: Dinara Safina/RUS
...meet the new Dinara, apparently not the same as the old Dinara. (ALSO: Jelena Jankovic/SRB)
SURPRISE: Kaia Kanepi/EST
...from the looks of her play in the 1st against Kuznetsova in the QF, not to mention her wins over Anna Chakvetadze and Anabel Medina-Garrigues, Kanepi might be heard from again. (ALSO: Casey Dellacqua/Francesca Schiavone, AUS-ITA)
VETERAN: Anabel Medina-Garrigues & Virginia Ruano-Pascuel, ESP/ESP
...the #10-seeds are suddenly the doubles title favorites. (ALSO: Katarina Srebotnik/SLO & Flavia Pennetta/ITA... even if the Associated Press did wrongfully, I think, refer to them as "journeywomen" the other day)
FRESH FACE Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP
...is it too late to add her to a prediction list for "first-time champions" in 2008? (ALSO: Victoria Azarenka/BLR & Petra Kvitova/CZE)
DOWN: Serena Williams/USA
...over you-know-who only because some people were picking her to win the title eleven days ago. (ALSO: Maria Sharapova/RUS & Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM-USA)
COMEBACK: Elena Dementieva/RUS
...well, at least until Safina turned the tables. (ALSO: Patty Schnyder/SUI)

BEST MATCH: 4th Rd. - Safina d. Sharapova 6-7/7-6/6-2
...as Marat goes one direction, Dinara passes him on the way up. In this La Petit Taureau+1 year at Roland Garros, how often will Sharapova re-live her two failed match points in this one?
BEST COMEBACK/WORST CHOKE: QF - Safina d. Dementieva 4-6/7-6/6-0
...and here we thought Elena was past this sort of thing. She led, with ease, 6-4/5-2 and held two match points.
MEGA ZOMBIE QUEEN: Dinara Safina twice came back from two match points down in back-to-back matches to reach her first career slam SF.
CRASH & BURNERS: Serena and Venus Williams were both dumped out in the 3rd Round on the same day, marking only the second time in a slam in which they both played that neither reached at least the 4th Round.
BIGGEST QUESTION: What WOULD have happened had Venus pushed for her 3rd Round match with Flavia Pennetta to be suspended mid-way through the 2nd set due to darkness?

Of course, "Mademoiselle Opportunity" will end up being the player who in the final survivor in the Land of Opportunity.



=DAY 11 NOTES=
...Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva switched places in their SF matchup today. Safina was suddenly "Punch-Sober," while Dementieva reverted back to her old "Punch-Drunk" days.

For the second straight match, Safina charged back from a huge deficit to win the match. Against Sharapova, it was a 7-6/5-2 hole, and two match points down. Against Dementieva it was 6-4/5-2 hole, and two more match points down. As previously, Safina's opponent contributed mightily to what happened, but Safina's steady play and new-found steel will likely played a great deal in her opponents' back-to-back collapses. After all, just showing an absence of fear in such a situation is often half the battle.

While Sober Safina's 2nd set survivals have been impressive, her 3rd set routs have been even more so. Against Sharapova, she never let the Supernova off the mat in a 6-2 close-out. Against Dementieva, she didn't even allow a game, bageling the wilting (mentally, as much as anything) veteran when many expected that it would be SHE who would be at the physical advantage in the decider.

...three of the four women's semifinalists can ascend to #1 in the WTA rankings for the first time in their respective careers by winning the title on Saturday. Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated Kaia Kanepi today, MUST win the title to do it, while both AnaIvo and JJ can do it with a win OR by simply reaching the final and having Kuznetsova NOT become the ultimate champion. In other words, in Safina defeats the Contessova in the all-Hordette SF, then the all-Serb SF winner will be the new #1 on Monday whether they win the title or not.

...as it should be, the final four on the women's side all have legitimate links to Justine Henin. Ivanovic was RU to her at last year's RG final. Kuznetsova was RU in '06. Jankovic was 0-9 against her. And Safina was the last player to beat her, in Berlin last month. Ah, signs.

...Roger Federer doubled his nearest Open Era competitor (Ivan Lendl with 8) by reaching his sixteenth consecutive grand slam SF. Look out Ivan, Novak Djokovic has five straight.

...BOGDAN WATCH: Romanian teen Elena Bogdan, the #10 seed, joined countrywoman (countrygirl?) Simona Halep in the Girls QF by knocking out Serbia's #7-seeded Bojana Jovanovski on Day Eleven by a 1-6/7-5/8-6 score.

...Spanish vets Anabel Medina-Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, the #10 seeds, upset #1-seeded Cara Black/Liezel Huber in the Doubles SF, advancing to the final against unseeded Casey Dellacqua and Francesca Schiavone, who knocked out Oz champs the Sisters Bondarenko.

...as noted above, the junior QF are set and the combined final sixteen include players from fourteen different countries. On the Boys side, the eight remaining guys are from eight different nations. The only two nations with multiple survivors? Russia and Romania.

...and, finally, the first edition of Backspin Time Capsule, featuring the 1987 Roland Garros final between Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, has been posted.



*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#10 Medina-Garrigues/Ruano-Pascual (ESP/ESP) vs. Dellacqua/Schiavone (AUS/ITA)
*MIXED DOUBLES SF*
#1 Srebotnik/Zimonjic (SLO/SRB) vs. Zheng/Bhupathi (CHN/IND)
#3 Azarenka/B.Bryan (BLR/USA) vs. #2 Peschke/Vizner (CZE/CZE)
*GIRLS SINGLES QF*
#1 Melanie Oudin/USA v. #10 Elena Bogdan/ROU
Nathalie Mohn/FRA v. Lenka Jurikova/SVK
#9 Simona Halep/ROU v. #13 Ksenia Lykina/RUS
#6 Polona Hercog/SLO v. #2 Arantxa Rus/NED
*BOYS SINGLES QF*
#1 Bernard Tomic/AUS v. Guido Pella/ARG
#14 Grigor Dimitrov/BUL v. #12 Jerzy Janowicz/POL
Evgeny Donskoy/RUS v. Yang Tsung-Hua/TPE
Cho Soong-Jae/KOR v. #2 Cesar Ramirez/MEX



*GRAND SLAM SEMIFINALS - 2005-present*
9...Maria Sharapova (3-6)
8...Justine Henin (7-1)
5...Kim Clijsters (1-4)
4...ANA IVANOVIC (2-1)
4...Amelie Mauresmo (2-2)
4...JELENA JANKOVIC (0-3)
3...SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA (2-0)
3...Venus Williams (2-1)

*2008 SLAM SEMIFINALISTS*
=BY NATION=
4...SERBIA (2-Ivanovic/Jankovic)
3...RUSSIA (1-Kuznetsova/Safina/Sharapova)
1...Slovakia (1-Hantuchova)

*2008 RG SLAM SEMIFINALISTS - M/W*
=BY NATION=
3...Serbia (Djokovic-Ivanovic-Jankovic)
2...Russia (Kuznetsova-Safina)
1...France (Monfils)
1...Spain (Nadal)
1...Switzerland (Federer)




TOP QUALIFIERS: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez/ESP & Yanina Wickmayer/BEL
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Ana Ivanovic/SRB
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): Ana Ivanovic/SRB
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st- Sharapova d. Rodina 6-1/3-6/8-6
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th- Safina d. Sharapova 6-7/7-6/6-2 [Shar. 2 MP]
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #15 Nicole Vaidisova/CZE (1st-Benesova)
UPSET QUEENS: The Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: The Czechs
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP (QF)
IT GIRL: Dinara Safina/RUS
MADEMOISELLE OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: Elena Dementieva/RUS
CRASH & BURN: Serena Williams/USA (3r- lost to Srebotnik)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Maria Sharapova/RUS [2 pts. from 1st Rd. loss]
LAST PASTRIES STANDING: Alize Cornet & Emilie Loit (both 3rd Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR: xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx





All for Day 11. More tomorrow.