NEW YORK, 8 September 2004 — Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne crashed out of the $17.8 million US Open on Monday losing 6-3, 6-2 in a stunning fourth round upset to unheralded Russian Nadia Petrova, as upsets continued to decimate the women’s ranks yesterday.
After Venus Williams was sent packing by Lindsay Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo jinx in the Grand Slam continued as she came a cropper against Elena Dementieva yesterday.
“She played well, she served well and took her opportunities,” Henin-Hardenne said. “I wasn’t feeling powerful and strong like in the past. I was nervous. It just wasn’t my day.”
Petrova posted one of the biggest upsets in Open history as Henin-Hardenne is the first top seed to lose before the quarterfinals since Billy Jean King was ousted in the third round in 1973. King was forced to retire in the third set suffering from heat and illness.
Henin-Hardenne will also surrender her world No. 1 ranking this week. The other two highest seeds prevailed on Monday, as No. 5 Davenport and Svetlana Kuznetsova registered straight-set victories in their fourth round matches.
The 22-year-old Petrova moves on to face compatriot Kuznetsova, who beat France’s Mary Pierce 7-6 (7 5), 6-2. “I am very satisfied,” Petrova said. “I played great. My shots, my serve was working. I was consistent and I am happy with myself.”
Petrova hammered 16 winners and put 67 percent of her first serves in play in the one hour, 24 minute match. She clinched the win with an ace, her second of the match.
Henin-Hardenne said it was hard to regain that match toughness after the long layoff. “I miss this kind of situation with a lot of pressure,” she said. “In Athens everything was so different because there was less pressure. It was my coming back. I need more matches and more tournaments until the end of the year to be ready for next season.”
This is also the earliest exit for a defending women’s champ in nine years. The 1994 champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, of Spain, was ousted in the round of 16 the following year by Mary Joe Fernandez.
Henin-Hardenne had four double faults and made 30 unforced errors. “I didn’t have confidence in my game,” she said.
Henin-Hardenne’s loss opens the door for Davenport to seize control of the women’s side of the draw.
Andre Agassi, Davenport and Henman marked an injury-interrupted Labor Day on Monday by marching into the quarterfinals. Veteran American Agassi set up a mouthwatering clash with Roger Federer while Henman joined the top-seeded Swiss player in reaching the last eight for the first time when his opponent, Nicolas Kiefer, withdrew through injury in the fifth set.
Davenport then outslugged Venus in a battle of the former champions to extend her winning streak to 21 matches.
Twice former champion Agassi, 34, trounced Armenian Sargis Sargsian 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, and now meets world No. 1 Federer, who progressed without hitting a ball when Andrei Pavel, the 16th seed from Romania, pulled out with a back injury.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Agassi told reporters after taking only 90 minutes to dismiss Sargsian. “There’s nothing more you can ask than to play a big event against the best player. It’s time to bring the best tennis. His (Federer’s) forehand is just a nasty shot. He does a lot of things well and a few things really great, so it’s going to be a tough match.”
Henman will meet 22nd seed Dominik Hrbaty for a place in the semifinals after the Slovakian came back from two sets down to put out Belgian Olivier Rochus 2-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. Davenport, with four WTA Tour titles under her belt since her semifinal defeat by eventual champion Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in July, edged out Williams 7-5, 6-4 in a repeat of the 2000 US Open final won by Venus.
Venus, seeded 11th, made 42 unforced errors before Davenport clinched victory on her fifth match point to reach the quarter-finals for the eighth year in succession. “I definitely have worked harder since last November than I ever have, spending a lot of time in the gym, with the trainer,” Davenport said.
“After that first (tour) win in Stanford (California, in July), it just seems like all the confidence came back to me after winning a close title match. I’ve just kind of gone with it since then.”
Davenport will now play Japan’s Shinobu Asagoe, the last unseeded player left, who reached her first grand slam quarterfinal with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 win over Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou.
Ninth seed Kuznetsova became the second Russian in the last eight when she ended the run of twice former grand slam champion Pierce, 7-6, 6-2.
Mauresmo’s grand slam jinx struck again yesterday when she was edged out 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 by Russian Dementieva in the quarterfinals. The defeat also dented Mauresmo’s hopes of climbing to the top of the rankings for the first time.
Second seed Mauresmo twice led by a break in the second set but sixth seed Dementieva shrugged off 15 double faults and a stomach upset to reach the semifinals for the second time.
In a match containing 14 breaks of serve, Dementieva showed huge mental strength and despite squandering a 2-0 lead in the third set, she held her nerve to win the final-set tiebreak 7-1 and take her place in the last four. The Russian now plays either twice former champion Serena Williams or Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals.
Australian Lleyton Hewitt reached the quarterfinals yesterday with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over unseeded Slovak Karol Beck.
he Australian, who won the 2001 title at Flushing Meadows, was pushed in the first set but broke serve in the ninth game to take charge.
The fourth seed strolled through the second set and continued his domination in the third to maintain his flawless progress through the draw. Hewitt will play either Germany’s Tommy Haas or Czech Tomas Berdych in the last eight.
Whatever happens over the next week the 23-year-old is guaranteed a financial windfall after winning the US Open Series, which rewards players for their results during the hardcourt season leading up to the year’s final major.
Hewitt, who won back-to-back titles at Washington and Long Island as well reaching the final at Cininnati, will increase his earnings here by 50 percent.
Roddick Qualifies for Masters Cup
Defending US Open champion Andy Roddick has qualified for the end-of-season Tennis Masters Cup, tournament organizers announced yesterday. Roddick, who plays Spain’s Tommy Robredo in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, joins world No. 1 Roger Federer as the first two players to book their place in the eight-man tournament that begins in Houston on Nov. 13.
The top seven finishers in the ATP Champions Race qualify for the Masters Cup, with the eighth place going to a grand slam champion who finishes between eighth and 20th. If no player fits that category the eighth placed player will qualify. The six remaining places are not likely to be decided before the Masters Series events in Madrid and Paris.
