Tennis Player World

The 4th seeded Novak Djokovic reached the US Open semifinals for the third year in a row by defeating the 10th seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on Wednesday 7-6 (2), 1-6, 7-5, 6-2. In a very close game Djokovic made a show of his skills, pulling off a great performance in the quarterfinals at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match was expected to be a close battle between the Serbian and the Spaniard, an expectation satisfied in the first set. It was a much-disputed challenge for both players; Djokovic played better but committed two unforced errors that ended the set in a tiebreak. The Serb, however, was able to overcome Verdasco and take victory in the first set. The second set proved easy work for Djokovic, who won 6-1. But Verdasco was not yet out of the game. After some soul searching, the Spaniard was able to win the third set, breaking the Serb’s serve thanks to a strong forehand derive and forcing a fourth and decisive set. The situation might have been grim for Djokovic, but the Serbian player managed to win easily with 6-2. Verdasco seemed to have pain in his stomach, struggling with his serve throughout the match; he took a medical timeout but the rest did not save him. Djokovic was able to take advantage of the situation and break the Spaniard’s serve at the end of the third set to take the victory. On the women’s side, teen sensation Melanie Oudin was upset Wednesday by 9th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark, who crushed the American in two sets, 6-2, 6-2. The 17-year-old Oudin was left out of the competition, the first major tournament of her career. Her shakiness in the first set cost her the match; she dropped 14 of the first 18 points, a setback from which not even she could return. American hopes were set on the young player, who had upset four veterans during the tournament, including Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementievea; she also became the youngest quarterfinalist in the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999. “This has been a great experience for me. I had a great run here,” the 70th-ranked Oudin said in an interview after the match. “I hope to come back next year and do even better.” Oudin is not used to the kind of attention she received over the week; she passed quickly from being an under-the-radar tennis player to an extremely well-known one, even shaking Sharapova’s hand after beating her. She became a great surprise this year. Even in the match she lost, Oudin never gave up. She did, however, commit 43 unforced errors against 20 by Wozniacki, who leads the women’s tour in match victories this year. 19-year-old Wozniacki became the first Dane to reach a semifinal in a major tournament. She will face Yanina Wickmayer from Belgium on Friday for a spot in Saturday’s final.

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