8:16 am | Saturday, August 18th, 2012
Novak Djokovic, from Serbia, hits a forehand shot against Marin Cilic, from Croatia, during a quarterfinals match at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, in Mason, Ohio. Djokovic won 6-3, 6-2. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
MASON, Ohio— Only one of the Williams sisters is heading to a semifinal, and it’s not the one with the long winning streak. Serena Williams lost that — and her cool — at the Western & Southern Open on Friday.
Williams had her 19-match streak ended by Germany’s Angelique Kerber, a 6-4, 6-4 defeat that marked the first time she’d even lost a set since her title at Wimbledon. The third-longest winning streak of her career didn’t end quietly.
She flung her racket at the ground, picked it up and slammed it on the court again as the second set slipped away.
“I probably need a break,” she said.
While Serena fumed over missed shots, older sister Venus had another jump-for-joy day. She reached the semifinals of a tournament for the first time this season by beating Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4.
On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro won in straight sets, setting up a rematch of their bronze medal match at the Olympics. Del Potro won that one.
After all of her summer success on Wimbledon’s grass, Serena Williams is having a tough time getting readjusted to hard surfaces. One of the best stretches of her career included single and doubles gold medals at the Olympics in London.
She came into Friday’s match with a 64-4 record in the summer hard-court season over the last two years. Against Kerber, her game fell apart.
She missed so many easy shots that after she hit an overhead that landed in the court, she smiled and raised her arms in mock triumph.
Her sister thinks the last few weeks have caught up with her.
“She’s played so many matches since Wimbledon,” Venus Williams said, as her sister struggled on the court. “I don’t think anyone has played as many matches and played as successfully as her.
“I think some rest is in order for her.”
Wearing an Olympics shirt after her match, Serena Williams agreed she needs a little time to get recharged for the U.S. Open.
“I’ll be better in New York, I promise,” she said.
First, she’s going to stick around to watch her sister’s resurgence. Venus Williams raised both arms and jumped — kicking up her heels — after winning a three-setter for the third time in the tournament, an indication she’s learning to manage an immune system disorder that leaves her tired.
“For me and everything that’s gone on in my life, it’s a huge achievement and I want to take it further,” she said.
The men’s side features an Olympics replay on hard court. Del Potro beat Djokovic on Wimbledon’s grass to win his bronze, the first of four medals for Argentina.
“He won that match,” Djokovic said. “It happens. You lose, you win, but the most important thing is to try to move on and become even better and even stronger from those experiences. And try to win.”
Del Potro has been nursing a sore left wrist that he’ll have examined before the U.S. Open, which he won in 2009. He beat France’s Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 6-3 to reach the semifinals.
The right-hander missed most of the 2010 season while recovering from surgery on his right wrist. The doctor who performed that surgery will look at the other one following the Cincinnati tournament.
“The good thing: I’m not getting worse, so I can play,” he said. “But anyway, I want to wait (for) what the doctor says because I have experience on my other wrist.”
Djokovic reached a Masters semifinal for the second straight week by knocking off Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-2. He won the Rogers Cup in Toronto last Sunday.
The Serb was fresh on Friday, having spent only a half-hour on court the previous day. Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko had to quit after losing the first set 6-0 on Thursday night because of a sore shoulder that interfered with his serve.
“It was my best match so far here in this tournament,” Djokovic said. “Came in the right moment, really.”
Top-ranked Roger Federer was scheduled for the night match.
Rain interfered with two singles matches Thursday night, forcing tournament organizers to juggle the schedule.
Sixth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki was down a set to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova when the rains came. Pavlyuchenkova finished off a 6-4, 6-4 win Friday morning, then had eight hours to rest before playing a quarterfinal match against fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova.
No. 9 Li Na’s match against Sweden’s Johanna Larsson was postponed before they could take the court Thursday night. Li needed only 64 minutes to win 6-2, 6-2 on Friday morning, leaving her less than seven hours to get ready for her quarterfinal match against top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
Tags: Cincinnati semis , Juan Martin Del Potro , Novak Djokovic , Olympics , Serena Williams , Western & Southern Open tennis tournament
Related Stories:
Olympics: Italian Molfetta wins heavyweight taekwondo gold
Serena Williams wins 6-0, 6-0 in US Open 4th round
After epic, Djokovic regroups for Berdych test
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
Copyright 2012 INQUIRER.net. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. To subscribe to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper in the Philippines, call +63 2 896-6000 for Metro Manila and Metro Cebu or email your subscription request here.
Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer's day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer's Reader's Advocate. Or write The Readers' Advocate: c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94
| POS | COUNTRY | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
| 1 | United States | 46 | 29 | 29 | 104 |
| 2 | China | 38 | 27 | 23 | 88 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 29 | 17 | 19 | 65 |
| 4 | Russia | 24 | 26 | 32 | 82 |
| 5 | South Korea | 13 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| 6 | Germany | 11 | 19 | 14 | 44 |
| 7 | France | 11 | 11 | 12 | 34 |
| 8 | Italy | 8 | 9 | 11 | 28 |
| 9 | Hungary | 8 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| 10 | Australia | 7 | 16 | 12 | 35 |
The men's Philippine Basketball team is the first country to ever score 100 or more points in the 1948 Olympics after clobbering Iraq,102-30.
The largest delegation the Philippines has ever sent to the Games was 53 in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
John Baylon, a nine-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, and Jerry Diño were the last Filipino Olympic qualifiers in the discipline Judo, having vied in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Mary Antoinette Rivero's tie for fifth place in Taekwondo is the closest any Filipino athlete came to a medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
With only eight athletes in six sporting events for the London Games, this will be PH's smallest delegation since 1996.
The Philippines holds the record for winning the most medals without a gold haul with seven bronze and two silvers for a total of nine.
The Philippines is the first country to compete and win an Olympic medal among Southeast Asian countries.
Arianne Cerdena won a gold in bowling at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but Cerdena's gold was not included in the medal tally since bowling was considered only as a demonstration sport.
The Philippines last reached the final round swimming 80 years ago when Jikirum Adjaluddin and Teofilo Yldefonso ended up in the final six in the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
The Philippines participated in the Winter Olympics three times, in 1972 (Juan Cipriano and Ben Nanasca, alpine skiing), in 1988 (Raymund Ocampo, luge) and in 1992 (Michael Teruel, alpine skiing).
The Philippines has only won medals in three events since joining the Olympics in 1924.
Harry Tañamor, the only Filipino predicted to win by the Sports Illustrated in its Olympic Preview edition, bows out in the first match up in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Philippines has not won a medal since Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco settled for silver in boxing via a controversial decision during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The Philippines will shoot for its first gold medal in six of the following events in the 2012 London Olympics: Athletics, BMX, Boxing, Cycling, Shooting and Swimming.
Teofilo Yldefonso is the first Filipino to win a medal and the only one to take home multiple medals. He finished third both in the Men's 200 meter breastroke during the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.
The Philippines is the first nation in the tropics to ever participate in the Winter Olympic Games.
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, though not competing, carries the Philippine flag at the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
1972 was the last year the Philippine men's basketball team, which then paraded William 'Bogs' Adornado, Danny Florencio and Yoyong Martirez among others in its line up, has qualified for the Olympics.
Men's boxing has for medals in the Olympics with Anthony Villanueva, silver in the Featherweight Division of the 1964 Games in Tokyo; Leopoldo Serantes, third in 1988 Seoul; Roel Velasco, third in Barcelona; and his brother Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco, second in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The Philippine basketball team wound up fifth place—best finish for an Asian country in the Olympics to date—in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the first time basketball was played as an Olympic sport.
Is this US-based Filipina gymnast bound for the Olympics? 