Casey Dellacqua and Francesca Schiavone are the first duo through to the women’s doubles semifinals at Australian Open 2009 after their quarterfinal win over Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Patty Schnyder.
The Australian-Italian pair looked like they were headed for a quick exit when they lost the first set 6-0. But they dug in and clawed their way back into the match, eventually taking it 0-6 7-5 6-1 in one hour and 40 minutes.
“We didn’t get off to a good start, obviously, losing 6-0,” said Dellacqua after the match. “[Then] we kind of woke up a little bit and switched on and did what our coaches told us, and then got through that second set and we were on our way.”
Groenefeld agreed with Dellacqua’s assessment of the comeback: “They started to play much better and get a lot of balls back and they didn’t miss so much anymore. You have to give credit to them, because it was really good what they did,” she said.
Despite the slow start, Dellacqua said she felt the pair played well together.
“I’ve been playing some good tennis, and Francesca and I have played well together. It’s great to be in another Grand Slam semifinal.”
The win puts the 2008 French Open finalists into the semifinals for the second time in only their second major together.
In the semis, they will meet Venus and Serena Williams, who had to work for their 6-2 4-6 6-3 win over 16th-seeded pair Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng.
The 10th-seeded Williams duo faced a formidable challenge in the second and third sets, but their sustained attack and power proved too much for Hsieh and Peng.
The sisters, who won the Wimbledon women’s doubles last year, showed their dominance early in the first set. Pouncing on their opponents’ shots and returning them with pace, they easily took out the first set in 28 minutes.
The second set proved a different affair. Settling into the match and showing improvement returning the Williams’ serves, Hsieh and Peng began to engage in longer rallies. Showing great court coverage, they scrambled to return shot after shot, forcing the American duo into a number of unforced errors. They also demonstrated great touch, pulling off some great lobs and volleys en route to securing the set 6-4.
Seemingly in a slump, the Williams duo were unable to break the Hsieh/Peng momentum at the beginning of the decider, and found themselves trailing 1-3. However, after a poor service game by their opponents, they got an opportunity to break serve, and capitalised on it. The Williams sisters then utilised their powerful serves to take the match in an hour and 48 minutes.
In the other women’s semifinal, Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama, who knocked out the top-seeded pair of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the semis, will play Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo for a spot in the final on Friday.
There are no Australian men left in the doubles after Paul Hanley and Jordan Kerr were bundled out in the third round by No.4 seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes in straight sets, 6-2 7-5, at Rod Laver Arena last night.
No comments posted
