Bloomberg News
Caroline Wozniacki advanced to her first Grand Slam final in five years as Peng Shuai was forced to retire from their U.S. Open match with severe cramping.
Wozniacki, the No. 10 seed from Denmark who is seeking her first Grand Slam title even though she once was the top-ranked player in the world, was leading unseeded Peng of China 7-6 (7-1), 4-3 on a steamy afternoon in Arthur Ashe Stadium before Peng was unable to continue, first delaying play for 10 minutes and then collapsing on the court before the match was called.
'You're out here and you want to battle and finish it off properly,' Wozniacki said in a courtside interview. 'I just feel sorry for Peng, because she played really well.'
Wozniacki will play either top seed and two-time defending champion Serena Williams or 17th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova in the Sept. 7 final.
'I have goosebumps right now' Wozniacki said of her own fortune. 'It's incredible to be back.'
Playing on a humid, windy 85-degree Fahrenheit (29-degree Celsius) day at New York's National Tennis Center, the first set remained on serve until Peng broke Wozniacki to take a 4-3 lead. Peng, however, was unable to consolidate the break, dropping the next game to snap a streak of 40 straight service holds that began during the second round of the tournament.
Peng, who plays two-handed on all of her groundstrokes, broke Wozniacki's serve again to go ahead 6-5. Again her own serve was broken, forcing a tiebreaker that Wozniacki controlled to move a set ahead.
Peng Injury
Peng moved ahead 2-0 in the second set and then lost the next four, beginning to show the effects of leg cramps. She asked for an ice bag during a changeover while down a break and trailing 4-3 in the set. At 30-30 with Wozniacki serving, Peng had trouble even lining up for the next point, taking a 30-40 lead when Wozniacki double-faulted. A trainer then entered the court as Peng was unable to continue. After a delay in which she could not stand on her own, Peng was helped to the nearest exit.
'Ladies and gentlemen, for the moment Peng Shuai is receiving evaluation,' the chair umpire announced, later calling for a three-minute medical timeout as Wozniacki practiced her serve.
Peng returned, with the delay lasting 10 minutes, 40 seconds, and Peng not being penalized a point. She survived six more points, extending the game, before collapsing on the court.
'Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately due to injury Peng Shuai has to retire,' the chair umpire said. 'Game-set-match, Wozniacki.'
Standing Ovation
Peng received a standing ovation as she was taken out of the stadium in a wheelchair.
Tournament Director David Brewer said in an interview with CBS that Peng had suffered from 'heat illness' and that she was resting comfortably after the match while receiving treatment. He also said no rules were broken by USTA officials, who allowed the match to continue and no points to be taken from Peng despite the lengthy delay.
'The rules stipulate what we can and cannot do for evaluation and treatment,' Brewer said. 'They, as far as I could tell, were followed by the letter.'
During the second set, Wozniacki was given medicine to treat a viral illness, CBS reported.
'I've been in bed the last few days and I'm feeling healthy now,' Wozniacki said after the match.
Williams-Makarova
Williams, a 32-year-old from the U.S., is looking to add to her 17 Grand Slam titles, including five at the U.S. Open, while Makarova, a 26-year-old Russian, is making her Grand Slam semifinal debut.
Williams's last U.S. Open defeat came in the 2011 final, where she fell in straight sets to Australian Samantha Stosur. Since then she's won 19 straight matches here, beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in each of the last two U.S. Open finals.
Regardless of whether Williams advances to the final, she'll maintain her world No. 1 rank for a 205th week when the tournament ends, a tally that ranks fifth behind Steffi Graf (377), Martina Navratilova (332), Chris Evert (260) and Martina Hingis (209).
Makarova, like Peng and Williams, didn't lose a set en route to her first Grand Slam semifinal. A left-hander, she was 0-4 in Grand Slam quarterfinals before beating Azarenka 6-4, 6-2 two days ago.
(A previous version of this story corrected the broadcaster to CBS.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net Rob Gloster
Posted by Unknown on Friday, September 5, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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