Jankovic, Kuznetsova, Dementieva reach third round in Flushing
Tennis Betting Lines
08/27/2008 -
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic,
former champion and last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Olympic
gold medalist Elena Dementieva were a trio of second-round winners Wednesday
at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded Jankovic went the distance to sneak past Swede Sofia
Arvidsson 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 in 2 hours, 45 minutes.
Jankovic, who held the No. 1 ranking for one week just two weeks ago, appeared
to be cruising on Day 3, up a set and serving for the match at 5-4 in the
second, but Arvidsson had other plans.
The Swede won a second-set tiebreak despite falling behind 0-3 in the extra
session. Arvidsson won six straight points to grab a 6-3 advantage in the
tiebreak and would force a third set three points later.
Jankovic ultimately prevailed in a very tight third set, and converted on her
second match point of the day when Arvidsson misfired long on one final two-
handed backhand.
The 23-year-old Jankovic piled up nine double faults, while Arvidsson uncorked
54 unforced errors and had her serve broken eight times. The Swede broke the
Serb's serve on six occasions.
Jankovic will face Chinese Jie Zheng in the third round.
The third-seeded Kuznetsova, meanwhile, was tested in the first set before
cruising to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 decision against Romanian Sorana Cirstea at the
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The three-time major finalist Kuznetsova captured her lone major title here in
Flushing four years ago and lost to Belgian Justine Henin in last year's Big
Apple finale.
Kuznetsova will meet 28th-seeded Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik in the third
round, as Srebotnik advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Austrian Yvonne
Meusburger.
Fifth-seeded Dementieva ran her current winning streak to eight matches with
a 6-2, 6-1 pasting of France's Pauline Parmentier. Dementieva, who lost to
Kuznetsova in the 2004 all-Russian U.S. Open finale, is fresh off her gold
medal-winning performance in Beijing two weeks ago.
Up next for the two-time major runner-up Dementieva will be Britain's Anne
Keothavong.
A big surprise came when Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis ousted eighth-seeded
Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3. The Top-10 star Zvonareva was a bronze
medalist in Beijing.
Also winning Wednesday were former Open champ Lindsay Davenport of the United
States and 12th-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli. Davenport, a three-time
major champion, including a U.S. Open title back in 1998, bested Alisa
Kleybanova of Russia, 7-5, 6-3, while Bartoli downed Virginia Ruano Pascual of
Spain, 6-4, 6-2.
Fourteenth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus had little trouble with Czech
Iveta Benesova, 6-2, 6-3 and No. 15, Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder, cruised
into the round of 32 with a 6-3, 6-3 pasting of 17-year-old Russian Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova.
Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, the 21st seed who titled in New
Haven last week, trounced Italian Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1, 6-2, and
No. 29, Austrian Sybille Bammer, disposed of France's Aravane Rezai in
straight sets, 6-1, 7-5.
Mild upsets came when Keothavong took out 25th-seeded Italian Francesca
Schiavone 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and Zheng dismissed 26th-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina
Garrigues 6-1, 6-4.
Additional second-round wins came for Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova, Chinese
Na Li and Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
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Pacific-10 Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Stanford
 Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State
 It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do:
Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.
Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.
Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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