New Haven Open (2)
Saturday's Roller Coaster
Saturday's Singles Final which featured third seed Petra Kvitova and seventh seed Maria Kirilenko, had an odd energy. The first set was slightly lethargic, although certainly competitive, as both players produced good shots. The match was on serve until 5-5, when Kirilenko had a problematic game on her serve and double-faulted on break point, seemingly handing Kvitova the set. However, the Czech was nervous in the next game and played loosely to let Kirilenko, who fought hard, back into the set.
For the first time since 2007, "Sweet Caroline" will not be blasting from the Stadium Court at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale during the Singles Final. The four-time New Haven Open champion, Caroline Wozniacki, was forced to retire down after losing the first set of Friday's Semifinal to 7th seed Maria Kirilenko. It was just the fourth set Wozniacki has lost in New Haven in five years, and her match record here is 20-1.
A knee injury that flared up during the Dane's quarterfinal encounter with Dominika Cibulkova caused too much pain for Wozniacki to continue. "I felt it from the start," she said. "But, you know, it just started to get a bit worse." She said she decided to play the Semifinal after doctors advised the injury would not get worse, in order to try to give it her best shot and to avoid disappointing the spectators. But it was too painful and pointless to continue.
