Francesca Schiavone made history by beating Caroline Wozniacki at the French Open on Tuesday, becoming the first Italian woman in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.Schiavone, the No.17 seed, played perfect clay court tennis to oust the No.3-seeded Wozniacki, using high balls to keep Wozniacki back and bringing out the flat down-the-lines and crafty angles to finish the points. The Italian got herself more and more fired up as her plays became more aggressive, and by the end she was even serving and volleying - she finished the match with an unreturnable backhand volley then a glorious overhead winner on match point.
"In this moment I'm here but I'm not here," Schiavone said after her 62 63 quarterfinal victory. "I'm so happy. I was focused and didn't let my level drop. All the years I've worked are showing now. Maybe it's a little late for others, but it's better late than never. And the tournament is not finished yet."
Schiavone, who turns 30 in about three weeks, is also the first woman from Italy to reach the semifinals here in 56 years, since before the Open Era began. Silvia Lazzarano reached the semifinals on the terre battue way back in 1954.
Schiavone had been to Grand Slam quarterfinals before but had never gone further. She made it that far at the 2001 French Open (losing to Martina Hingis), the 2003 US Open (losing to Jennifer Capriati) and Wimbledon last year (losing to Elena Dementieva). She lost all those in straight sets.
It was also Schiavone's first ever win over a Top 5 player at a Grand Slam - and by virtue of her results this fortnight, she will crack the Top 10 on next week's rankings, just the second Italian woman ever to rank among that elite (Flavia Pennetta was the first - and Pennetta will also return to the Top 10 next week).
"She was playing better than me today. I was always one step behind and couldn't dominate the way I wanted to," Wozniacki said. "I knew she was playing well. You're not playing badly when you go that far in the tournament. She's a difficult player to play against because she mixes the balls up a lot."
Awaiting Schiavone in the semifinals will be No.5 seed Elena Dementieva, who rallied back to beat No.19 seed Nadia Petrova, 26 62 60. Going into the match the pair was tied 7-7 in their head-to-head with Dementieva winning the last four, and she extended that streak to five in a row. The Russian moved into her ninth career Grand Slam semifinal, with a 2-6 record in her previous eight (she reached finals at the French Open and US Open in 2004).
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Singles - Quarterfinals
(17) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. (3) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 62 63
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (19) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 26 62 60
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