This final week before the US Open has been so busy with tennis fashion updates that I couldn’t manage to catch up with the Connecticut Open, but now I’m pleased to refresh my blogging flow with a report about the semifinal between Lucie Safarova and Lesia Tsurenko.
Even though Safarova is fourth seed at the Premier-level event and Tsurenko is ranked much lower than the Czech at 46, Safarova actually played one more match than the Ukrainian en route to the semis, including an almost-three-hour quarterfinal battle against Dominika Cibulkova.
After steadily going a double break up and taking the first set, Safarova continued the dominance all the way to the middle of the second set, when Tsurenko, considerably lagging behind at 1-4, started troubling the world No.6, crawling back and even saving a match point at 5-4 to force a tiebreak. However, Safarova managed to earn her second match point in the tiebreak and finished the job 6-2 7-6(4). Tsurenko will very soon have a chance for revenge, as Safarova is her first-round opponent at the US Open!
Tsurenko had an awesome week in New Haven, entering the draw as a lucky loser when top seed Simona Halep withdrew from the tournament and eliminating two big-name players, Barbora Strycova and fifth seed Karolina Pliskova.
Safarova’s next opponent will be the winner of the semifinal between second seed Petra Kvitova and third seed Caroline Wozniacki. (photo: Jimmie48)
