Unseeded Russian Elena Vesnina rallied from a break down in the deciding set to upset former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 on Friday and advance to the final of the New Haven Open in a match that was moved from a 13,000-seat stadium to an indoor college court.
Trailing 2-0 against the Frenchwoman in the third, the world No.32 reeled off six games in a row to book a final showdown against Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, who beat third-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-1.
Mauresmo, who defeated top-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals, struggled on serve and piled up seven double faults but heaped praise on her opponent in the final warm-up event for next week’s US Open.
“She [Vesnina] was more consistent throughout the match and on the big points,” Mauresmo told reporters. “She has improved a lot lately and it shows. Her whole game has improved”
With a steady rain falling, a tropical weather system looming, and the US Open on the horizon, tournament officials made the decision on Friday evening to play the women’s semi-finals inside Yale’s newly renovated Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center.
About 300 fans squeezed into the building, leaning over a balcony that overlooked the courts or standing on adjacent courts.
Mauresmo said this was unique for a WTA event.
“You know what, it’s been long time that I’m on the tour, but I don’t recall any circumstances like this, that we had to play indoors like this, not being able to at least have a little window, being rushed with the time also,” she said.
Instead of a video screen, the score was kept by hand on a tin scoreboard hung from a net normally used to separate the courts inside the hanger-like building.
“I was so focused on the match, I didn’t really think too much about the other things,” Wozniacki said. “I like to play indoors, so I didn’t mind playing indoors. The most important thing is that I won. All the other things really doesn’t matter.”
Wozniacki and Pennetta broke the other’s serve to open the match.
Wozniacki broke again on the final game of the first set.
The two traded breaks again early in the second set, before Wozniacki took control with breaks in the fourth and sixth games, and then served out the match.
“I didn’t serve very well today,” Pennetta said. “It’s a little bit different play indoor to outdoor. The ball was always like really near my head. I didn’t jump a lot today”
“She played a great match. She was very focused and very aggressive from the beginning. I had my chances, but I didn’t make it,” she said.
Vesnina was frustrated early, committing a flurry of unforced errors in the first set. But she composed herself enough to win three straight games and was serving for the set at 5-4. Mauresmo broke her in the 10th game, held serve and broke again to take a one-set lead.
“She was just playing with me like a pussy cat, one corner to other corner,” Vesnina said. “I was running. So she was playing with me very easy, you know. Then in the second set, I just start to be more aggressive and I just change my serve.”
Vesnina dominated the rest of the way, using pinpoint placement in the corners. She broke Mauresmo twice in the first five games of the second set, and broke her again in the final game to win the set 6-1.
Frequently chastising herself, Vesnina broke Mauresmo’s first two serves in the third set and cruised from there.
The men’s semi-finals were rained out on Friday. Tournament officials hoped to get both those matches played yesterday, as well as both finals.
But forecasts predicted heavy rain and high winds, fueled by tropical storm Danny.
Tournament spokesman Matt Van Tuinen said officials could move more matches indoors, or postpone some until today, when the weather is expected to be better.
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