Right OK so this post will cover the ladies semi final matches at the 2014 US Open which would determine the finalists for the final slam of the season. So let's get to it...
So the first match was between former 2009 finalist, Caroline Wozniacki and the surprise of the tournament, the Chinese No.2, Peng Shuai who had never made this far into a grand slam before and never had even won a WTA singles title either so the match promised to be an intruiging one. And right enough the matche itself was of pretty high quality for the most part, particularly in the first set where both ladies traded some intense baseline rallies and there were beaks aplenty with Peng Shai eventually having an opportunity to serve for the first set at 6-5. However the nerves of the occassion got to Peng who then got broken and play went into a tiebreak which eventually went the way of the Dane, Caroline to get her half way toward reaching her 2nd US Open final. In the 2nd set things got tight again but Caroline managed to get an early break however it didn't matter in the end as Peng was forced to retire due to severe cramps and heat illness, which enabled Caroline to reach her 2nd major final at the US Open with a 7-6, 4-3 ret result.
Well it was a shame the match ended the way it did as it was for the most part very competitive and entertaining to watch, with nerves on both sides, but it seemed inevitable that Caroline would be the one who would eventually get through. And its great to see Caroline Wozniacki back in the final of another major as it proves that she is no one trick pony in reaching major finals and just maybe she will have a chance of winning this title although there are no guarantees of course. But for me Caroline has always been a very talented player who's tenacity and ability put her way ahead of quite alot of the other female competitors in the field, which was especially the case when she the was the world no.1. However Caroline has had her struggles even at the top of the game in trying to win a major as she in some cases she would get overpowered by her opponents and has always struggled against the big hitters such as Sharapova or Serena Williams. And I always equated her in a way to Andy Murray as a player (pre Ivan Lendl of course) who has all the talent in the world to win a major but has never been able to win one. But if Caroline can somehow come through this one then it could well change everything for her for the better and she could go on to win more in the future so I will keep fingers crossed for her.
As for Peng Shuai well it was a real shame to see her very impressive campaign at the US open come to an end in such an abrupt fashion as the poor girl was barely able to stand up in the 2nd set as she desparately tried to cling on and break Caroline's serve to level the match at 4-4. And after recieving a medical timeout in the end it was no use and Peng was forced to retire and due to her condition they ended up having to take her off court in a wheelchair! So it just shows you how severe the on court conditions must be over there in New York during the extreme heat of their summer, which also a reflection of what happened to some other players during the tournament one of them in particular being Andy Murray. So here's hoping for Peng Shuai that she will recover OK and continues to improve her form for the remainder of the season.
So now onto the second ladies semi final which was between Serena Williams and Ekaterina Makarova of Russia (Makarova that is, Serena isn't Russian!). Makarova has been a bit of an upset artist at the US Open as she scalped Victoria Azarenka in the quarter finals and she has even secured a victory over Serena herself a year ago at the Australian open so threatened to be a danger to the World No.1. But.... this time Serena had no such trouble against the Russian as she was clearly intent on revenge for her loss in Melbourne a year ago and she blasted Makarova off the court and dropped just four games on her way to victory as she reached the final with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 win.
So this sets up the ladies final between Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki and it promises to be quite a cracker if it is anything like their previous two meetings on the WTA tour, both of which were very close three set battles won by Serena. But this is a grand slam final however and things are a bit different here as the stakes will be even higher than before. So who will win???? Well I have to say it will be Serena as she has looked in top form throughout the tournament and is yet to drop a set going into the final and no one has dare to even take her past four games in a single set! So it remains an extremely daunting task for Caroline to try and pull off a major upset here (no pun intended!) but you never know until the match is under way. And in order for Caroline to win she will need to play the match of her life and play at her very defensive and aggressive best and also hope that Serena is a bit off her game as well. So for me I think Serena will win it in straight sets but I think it could be quite a tight close encounter as long as Caroline keeps serving well then just maybe we could see two tiebreak sets even. It is possible that Caroline could also extend the match into a deciding set but if Serena is right on top of her game then there will be no chance of that. But the match lies ahead and time will tell and let's just hope its a good win and personally I would love to Caroline win her first major to vindicate her status as a top player and prove that she has got what it takes to win a slam so I wish her all the best and will keep my fingers crossed.
So that's it for now and I will be back soon with the results for the ladies later but next up is the men's...
See you in a bit.
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