Match Reports
Summaries of Thursday's quarterfinal action in New Haven:
The players were scheduled to take the court at 1:00 pm, but were delayed by rain until 3:30 pm, and showers continued to interrupt play throughout the afternoon. While the official match time was just over two and a half hours, the two players did not complete their match until shortly before 8:00 om. It was difficult for either woman to get into a rhythm, and, unfortunately, injury played a role in the final result. Li took the first set, courtesy of three Pavlyuchenkova double faults in the tenth game. After a lengthy weather delay at the start of the second set, Pavlyuchenkova gained the momentum. She won a marathon ninth game with eight deuces, and broke Li to force a third set. With Li serving at 1-0 in the third set, the match was interrupted again. In this instance, it was a medical timeout by Pavlyuchenkova, who sought treatment for a twisted ankle. With the Russian unsure about her movement, Li raced to a 5-0 lead. Li thought she won the match when Pavlyuchenkova framed a shot on match point, but chair umpire Lynn Welch ordered that the point be replayed. A linesperson had started to call Li's ball out, then corrected the call, and Welch believed this was a hindrance to the players. A frustrated Li dropped the next two games before securing the win, and advancing to her sixth semifinal of 2011.
Summaries of some of Wednesday's second round play in New Haven:
Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Elena Vesnina, 6-2, 7-6(5)
This was an interesting match of two players who rely more on placement of shot than power. Medina Garrigues jumped in front of Vesnina quickly, easily taking the opening set 6-2 and leading with a break in the second set, 4-2. But Vesnina, the 2009 New Haven Finalist, rallied behind crowd support and staved off match points in the twelfth game to force a second set tiebreak. Medina Garrigues' condition for the tiebreak was questionable because three points earlier, on a match point, she injured her knee and fell to the court. She took a medical timeout for treatment, and was then able to edge the Russian in the tiebreak. After the match, Medina Garrigues admitted she would have likely retired if the match went to a third set. She is hoping to be able to play in Thursday's Quarterfinal against third seed Francesca Schiavone, whom she defeated in all four previous career meetings.
All-Access Hour
Sunday, the WTA All-Access Hour offered the media an opportunity to talk with three of the tournament's top four seeds, Caroline Wozniacki, Marion Bartoli, and Na Li.
Immediately preceding the roundtable was a special announcement. First Niagara Bank, the presenting sponsor of the New Haven Open, would donate $10,000 to breast cancer research if Wozniacki, Bartoli, and Li participated in the Pink Ribbon Run. The Run features a pink treadmill located on tournament grounds, and for each mile walked or run on the treadmill, donations are made to two charities: The Susan G. Komen Connecticut affiliate and the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven. Wozniacki also announced she will donate $5,000 to the cause on behalf of the WTA.
