When Italian clay court specialists Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci practice
with each other to prepare for their semifinal women’s doubles match
Thursday, no one has to wonder if there will be any hard feelings from
Vinci, who was just eliminated from singles competition by her best
friend and doubles partner 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday afternoon in their
quarterfinal match on Louis Armstrong.
They practice against one another, they practice with each other, the play against one another and they play with each other, and throughout they remain friends. At the end of Wednesday's match, the reigning Roland Garros doubles champions and world No. 1 doubles team exchanged a lengthy hug at net and Errani, who is always smiling and bubbly, had a tempered celebration on her side of the court, knowing her victory was her best friend's loss.
“Yeah, it was very difficult match, I think. Quarterfinal with your best friend, of course, is difficult,” Errani said after the match. “We know each other very well. We played together many times. So was also strange to see her on the other side of the net. Normally also when you walk on the court, we go together, we speak. Today was a bit strange, but sometimes happens.”
The women made history together on court Wednesday, as this was the first time Italy had two women in the quarterfinal at any Grand Slam in the Open era. This was the first time Vinci ever made an appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. For Errani, who is having a banner year, this is the first time she advanced past the third round here and the first time she’s reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam hard court tournament. She was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open, the runner-up at the French Open and she bowed out of Wimbledon in the third round earlier this year.
“Yeah, it's the best year of my life, of course,” Errani said. “I'm playing very good. Also that my ranking is very high. I just try to think playing the matches, go on the court, and try to fight the best as I can and that's it.”
Though the 20th-seeded Vinci played some solid net points against her friend and doppelganger in a matching pink and black outfit, the junkballer's serve failed her, only getting 45% of her first serves in and she had a tough time overcoming the 25-year-old Errani’s powerful forehand.
After a one-sided first set, Errani looked poised to take out her friend in the second set in record time, breaking Vinci immediately in the first game of the set. But Errani’s game went missing after that break, while Vinci's game flourished and she broke Errani back by playing some athletic points at net.
Neither woman could convincingly hold serve in the second set, exchanging breaks twice until they were back on serve. With Vinci serving at 4-4, her serve, which had been spotty throughout the match, failed her and she allowed Errani to take the final break and serve for the match at 5-4.
When asked about what she’s the most proud of considering her incredible career this year, Errani said, “everything. Of course, No. 1 in the world with doubles with your best friend is amazing. Maybe the best.”
At 5-foot-5, Errani is a compact, athletic tennis player, who plays a European-style all court game. The major weakness to her game is her serve, which, against Vinci in the quarterfinals, never clocked in at a speed faster than 93mph. Her average first serve speed was 80mph.
Not a power server, Errani, who is now ranked 10th in the world, out plays and outsmarts her opponents with tricky drop shots, well placed winners and athleticism at the net. She can turn on a powerful baseline game when need be and often runs around her backhand to slam winners down the line.
She’ll face the winner of Wednesday night’s quarterfinal match between Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic.
“I'm in semifinal for something. I won many matches. I'm playing good,” Errani said when asked about the prospect of facing Williams or Ivanaovic. “I have to just going on the court and try to make my game as the best as I can, how I have to do all these days. So I will try and we will see.”
They practice against one another, they practice with each other, the play against one another and they play with each other, and throughout they remain friends. At the end of Wednesday's match, the reigning Roland Garros doubles champions and world No. 1 doubles team exchanged a lengthy hug at net and Errani, who is always smiling and bubbly, had a tempered celebration on her side of the court, knowing her victory was her best friend's loss.
“Yeah, it was very difficult match, I think. Quarterfinal with your best friend, of course, is difficult,” Errani said after the match. “We know each other very well. We played together many times. So was also strange to see her on the other side of the net. Normally also when you walk on the court, we go together, we speak. Today was a bit strange, but sometimes happens.”
The women made history together on court Wednesday, as this was the first time Italy had two women in the quarterfinal at any Grand Slam in the Open era. This was the first time Vinci ever made an appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. For Errani, who is having a banner year, this is the first time she advanced past the third round here and the first time she’s reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam hard court tournament. She was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open, the runner-up at the French Open and she bowed out of Wimbledon in the third round earlier this year.
“Yeah, it's the best year of my life, of course,” Errani said. “I'm playing very good. Also that my ranking is very high. I just try to think playing the matches, go on the court, and try to fight the best as I can and that's it.”
Though the 20th-seeded Vinci played some solid net points against her friend and doppelganger in a matching pink and black outfit, the junkballer's serve failed her, only getting 45% of her first serves in and she had a tough time overcoming the 25-year-old Errani’s powerful forehand.
After a one-sided first set, Errani looked poised to take out her friend in the second set in record time, breaking Vinci immediately in the first game of the set. But Errani’s game went missing after that break, while Vinci's game flourished and she broke Errani back by playing some athletic points at net.
Neither woman could convincingly hold serve in the second set, exchanging breaks twice until they were back on serve. With Vinci serving at 4-4, her serve, which had been spotty throughout the match, failed her and she allowed Errani to take the final break and serve for the match at 5-4.
When asked about what she’s the most proud of considering her incredible career this year, Errani said, “everything. Of course, No. 1 in the world with doubles with your best friend is amazing. Maybe the best.”
At 5-foot-5, Errani is a compact, athletic tennis player, who plays a European-style all court game. The major weakness to her game is her serve, which, against Vinci in the quarterfinals, never clocked in at a speed faster than 93mph. Her average first serve speed was 80mph.
Not a power server, Errani, who is now ranked 10th in the world, out plays and outsmarts her opponents with tricky drop shots, well placed winners and athleticism at the net. She can turn on a powerful baseline game when need be and often runs around her backhand to slam winners down the line.
She’ll face the winner of Wednesday night’s quarterfinal match between Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic.
“I'm in semifinal for something. I won many matches. I'm playing good,” Errani said when asked about the prospect of facing Williams or Ivanaovic. “I have to just going on the court and try to make my game as the best as I can, how I have to do all these days. So I will try and we will see.”
SOURCE: Dana Czapnik, WEB OFFICIAL, US OPEN.
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