By Blair Henley
Maria Sharapova ran into a brick wall named Caroline Wozniacki on Monday afternoon and couldn’t find a way to break down the top-seeded Dane’s seemingly endless supply of deep, solid groundstrokes. Wozniacki calmly handled Sharapova’s power, delivering a decisive 6-3, 6-4 win.
The first sign of trouble for Sharapova came when she double faulted three consecutive times to go down 1-3 in the first set. She double faulted again on game point at 3-3 in the second set, giving Wozniacki the break she needed. By the end of the match, Sharapova had a total of 33 unforced errors, while Wozniacki committed just 10.
As expected, Sharapova used her considerable firepower to whip out almost 30 winners, but Wozniacki’s consistency and fitness proved to be the biggest weapons on Arthur Ashe today.
During her on-court interview after the match, Wozniacki thanked the crowd and her father, who is also her coach, for their support. And when asked how she will prepare for her next match against Dominika Cibulkova, she flashed a smile and said, “I’ll think about that a couple of hours before the match.”
Unlike the bottom half of the women’s draw where the top seeds prevailed, there were multiple upsets in the top half including Cibulkova’s 7-5, 7-6 win over No. 11 seed and 2004 champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova. Cibulkova, ranked 45th, didn’t need much to take out the seasoned Russian – Kuznetsova had 10 double faults and 42 unforced errors.
“I think she plays good, but my level is higher, and I have to win these matches,” Kuznetsova said. “I played against myself, not her.”
Cibulkova, the lowest ranked player to advance to the quarterfinals, has never been past the third round at the U.S. Open.
Kaia Kanepi of Estonia will be another new face in the quarters at Flushing Meadows. After losing her first set 6-0 to No. 15 seed Yanina Wickmayer, Kanepi clawed her way back, finishing the match 7-6, 6-1 in the final two sets. She will play next play Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva who defeated unseeded Andrea Petkovic.