NEW YORK – Aided by her opponent’s 36 unforced errors, including nine double-faults, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark grabbed a spot in the US Open quarterfinals Monday where she was joined by seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia and two surprises – Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova and Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
Wozniacki, who reached the final here a year ago, outslugged former US Open champion Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-4 in a hard-hitting, error-filled baseline battle in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I felt like I was playing well out there. I made her do those errors,” Wozniacki said after her 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Cibulkova, at 5-foot-3 (1.61m) by far the smallest competitor still remaining in the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, knocked off 11th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 7-5 7-6 (4); Kanepi beat 15th-seeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 0-6 7-6 (2) 6-1; and Zvonareva crushed Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-1 6-2.
In the quarterfinals, Wozniacki will play Cibulkova and Kanepi will meet Zvonareva. The bottom half of the draw pits defending champion Kim Clijsters, the second seed, against fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur, while two-time US Open winner Venus Williams, seeded third this year, will face sixth-seeded Francesca Schiavone, the reigning French Open champion.
“I knew I could win, but I knew it was going to be tough,” Wozniacki said of her battle against Sharapova. Time and again the two traded booming ground strokes from the baseline, moving each other from side to side, probing for an opening and usually finding none. These long points – many of them over 20 strokes long – usually ended in an error as each player, but especially Sharapova, tried to go for a little too much.
“I was doing whatever I felt like was working out for me,” Wozniacki said of the slugfest. “So I had some feelings and I was going for those shots I felt like I could go for.”
For Sharapova, it was like playing a backboard.
“I don’t think I did enough,” said Sharapova, who captured the title at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006. “And that really allowed her to stand, you know, far back behind the baseline and keep retrieving balls. And that’s just what she does best.
“When she had the opportunity to step in, she took it and went for her shots. Then I was on the defense.”
Sharapova was her own worst enemy. She double-faulted on three consecutive points to give Wozniacki her first service break of the match.
In her first three matches Wozniacki had lost a total of three games, so dominant was she. Sharapova matched that in the opening set. In the second set the two battled evenly until Wozniacki took charge in the seventh game to break serve, thanks to another double fault from Sharapova.
“I knew that I had to be ready for the first ball,” Wozniacki said. “I knew she was going to try to attack me from the beginning. I knew she was trying to be aggressive. For me it was important to keep as many balls in the court but still try to move her around and try to dictate as well.”
Cibulkova also tried to be aggressive. It was a tactic that worked for her.
“I was really pumped for this,” she said. “I know my game and I know myself, so I knew I could make it. I could beat everybody in this tournament.”
Kuznetsova, who also won the French Open in 2009, grabbed early breaks in both sets, only to have Cibulkova rally. The Slovakian, who is ranked 45th in the world, the lowest ranked player still in the draw, captured the first set when Kuznetsova double-faulted at break point in the 12th game.
Cibulkova served for the match, but Kuznetsova staved off two match points. The Slovak dominated the tie-break to reach a Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal for just the second time.
“It’s the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam, so we’re going to fight for every point,” Cibulkova said.
After a horrendous first set, Kanepi grabbed a quarterfinal berth in her second straight Grand Slam tournament. She trailed 6-0 1-0 and was facing two break points on her serve when she finally put on display the game that had eliminated fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic in the previous round.
“I had a little luck,” Kanepi said. “I was 15-40 on my serve and I served two aces. I said to myself, ’15-40, just go for it.’ I relaxed. Then the match started turning around from my side.
She broke Wickmayer twice in the second set and dominated the tie-break. The third set was a romp.
“I think she played really well” in the opening set, Kanepi said of Wickmayer. “She was hitting very hard and near the lines. So everything worked for her.
“I didn’t think I hit so bad. Just a little bit tight, a little slow, and she played very well.”
Wickmayer agreed.
“I played a really good first set, but I felt she was not far,” Wickmayer said. “I mean, she played really good tennis first set. I won the set pretty easily on the score, but all the games were pretty tough and I had to fight for every point.”
Advancing to the quarterfinals in men’s singles were Gael Monfils of France, third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia and fifth-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden winner the early matches. The night’s final match pitted second-seeded Roger Federer against Austria’s Jurgen Melzer.
Monfils became the first Frenchman in 10 years to reach the US Open quarterfinals when he beat compatriot Richard Gasquet 6-4 7-5 7-5. Djokovic raced past American Mardy Fish 6-3 6-4 6-1; while Soderling held off Albert Montanes of Spain 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-3.