NEW YORK – There were a lot of clattering among seeded players at the US Open on Friday – and one big bang.
Gone is former champion Maria Sharapova, the third seed this year and one of the favorites. The Russian beauty bombed on this far-off-Broadway production, falling to Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 6-3 3-6 6-4.
“I just want to enjoy this moment now,” said Pennetta, whose fourth-round opponent will be China’s Peng Shuai.
In day matches, Monica Niculescu of Romania ousted 27th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic to grab a spot in the fourth round, while in men’s second-round play, Donald Young shocked 14th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (7) 3-6 2-6 6-3 7-6 (1); Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn ousted 17th-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 3-6 6-3 1-6 6-2 7-6 (5), and Argentina’s David Nalbandian eliminated 30th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic 6-4 1-6 6-3 6-2.
“I made way too many unforced errors,” said Sharapova, who had 60 unforced errors in the 2-hour, 29-minute battle on Arthur Ashe Stadium court. “I didn’t feel comfortable with most of my game today.”
The hardest-working player in women’s tennis, Pennetta handed Sharapova her first third-set loss of the year. Last year, Pennetta played 137 matches combined in single and doubles, the most of any player on the WTA tour.
The two have split their four career meetings, but it was the Italian’s second straight triumph over the former world number one. Pennetta also beat Sharapova in three sets in Los Angeles two years ago.
“I think she played really smart,” Sharapova said of her conqueror. “That’s her gamer, and she makes you hit a lot of balls. Even when I had balls in the middle of the court I just didn’t do much with them. I thought I could have done a lot more.”
Although seeded third, Sharapova came into the year’s final Grand Slam tournament as one of the favorites to annex the title she first won in 2006. She also had a chance to rise to number two in the WTA rankings.
All that’s gone now.
“It’s disappointing,” Sharapova said. “It’s disappointing to lose in the middle of nowhere. It’s disappointing to lose in New York. Losing isn’t fun for anyone because we work to win. We don’t work to try to lose.
“So when we’re faced with a position where, you know, we can win and we didn’t in the end, it’s tough. But it’s all right.”
Besides Peng, a 6-4 706 (1) winner over 19th-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany, other women in early matches who gained fourth-round berths included Angelique Kerber of Germany, No. 2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia, No. 22 Sabine Lisicki of Germany.
Young was the world’s top-ranked junior in 2005 when he was just 16 years 5 months old, the youngest boy to gain that honor. And he won the Wimbledon Boys’ title in 2007. But that was before he suffered a long period of first-round losses.
This year, the left-handed American has once again seemingly found his winning game, posting upset victories over Andy Murray, Jurgen Melzer and Marcos Baghdatis in the run-up to the US Open. Now, with his second-round win over Wawrinka, Young has equaled his best Grand Slam tournament result. He reached the third round at the USA Open as a wild card in 2007.
“This year I’ve had the biggest wins of my career and I put together matches in a row,” Young said. “It was quite tough for me to put together two, three (matches) in a row.
“That’s a big thing. I could win one match and not another. When you put matches together in a row against players of this caliber, it gives you confidence and you feel like you belong.”
In the fifth-set tiebreak, Young ripped off the first six points as Wawrinka’s game disintegrated into a slew of unforced errors. Young then slammed a forehand wide before Wawrinka buried a backhand into the net on the second match point.
Argentina’s Juan Martin de Potro has returned to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the first time since he beat Roger Federer in the final two years ago. Last year the Argentine was sidelined following wrist surgery.
For the second straight match del Potro has had an easy time, sailing through in straight sets. His second-round victim was fellow Argentinean Diego Junqueira, 6-2 6-1 7-5. Primarily a clay court player, Junqueira was playing on a hard court for the first time this year.
“I played better than my first round,” said del Potro, referring to a 6-3 6-1 6-1 win over Italy’s Filippo Volandri. “I was more confidence with my forehand, especially in the beginning of the match, and always is important go through.
“So doesn’t matter if you play good or not the first round if you win. Now I’m in the third one, so I need to improve, I need to be more confidence with my serves and forehands.”