World number one Caroline Wozniacki began life at the top with an injury scare on Friday, while Ivan Ljubicic completed a cull of seeds when he beat Andy Murray on yet another smoggy day at the China Open.
|Last Updated: Oct 09, 2010, 01:05 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Beijing: World number one Caroline Wozniacki began life at the top with an injury scare on Friday, while Ivan Ljubicic completed a cull of seeds when he beat Andy Murray on yet another smoggy day at the China Open.
Second seed Murray joined Robin Soderling (third) and Nikolay Davydenko (fourth) on the scrapheap after being thumped 6-3 6-2 by Croatia’s Ljubicic in the quarter-finals.
Ecstasy turned to agony for Wozniacki less than 24 hours after she was crowned world number one when she crumpled to the ground clutching her left knee in tears while leading Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic 7-6 3-1.
The 20-year-old overstretched as she smashed a backhanded return but after taking an injury time out to get her knee strapped, she showed her champion’s instinct to reach the semi-finals by shunting aside Ivanovic 7-6 6-4.
“I felt pain when I jumped down on my knee. Not very nice thoughts went through my mind,” Wozniacki told reporters.
“It was a bit of a scare. But I have had treatment and it feels better.
“It was a great feeling this morning to wake up and knowing I was the world number one but on the court it didn’t feel different.”
Oxygen Box
Air quality was so bad at the Olympic tennis centre for the third day running that top seed and champion Novak Djokovic offered a solution to the problem.
“A box of oxygen or something on the bench would be great, but we don’t have it. I guess I will have to get used to it,” he said after securing a semi-final place with a 6-3 6-2 win over Frenchman Gilles Simon.
“The bad air obviously does irritate you a little bit. We had so many long rallies and it’s hard to recover when you don’t have fresh air,” added the Serb, who is the only one among the top four seeds to reach the last four.
However, an ATP spokeswoman said: “We have not received any complaints from our players about playing conditions here in Beijing.”
The gloomy conditions have seen the floodlights turned on early to help players and spectators see through the haze on the showcase courts.
But that did not help the cause of Murray, Soderling and Davydenko.
A hapless Murray failed to muster a single break point.
“I made a lot of mistakes and it was hard to get into my rhythm. He served very well. I made quite a lot of mistakes, so a combination of the two probably didn’t help that much,” said the world number four.
Soderling was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Spain’s David Ferrer and Davydenko handed a 7-6 6-4 defeat by lofty American John Isner.
Unseeded Isner now faces Djokovic.
French Open winner Francesca Schiavone offered no excuses after she narrowly avoided the humiliation of a whitewash when she was thrashed 6-0 6-2 by second seed Vera Zvonareva.
“Vera played well and it was tough for me. I’m struggling a bit with injury but that was not the reason why I lost,” said the Italian.
China’s Li Na, seeded ninth, used the sparse but expectant home crowd to silence Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 7-6 6-3 and now faces the in-form Zvonareva in Saturday’s semi-final.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.