Pavlyuchenkova Breaks Through Against Schiavone
NEW YORK (AP) -- In a match where nobody's serve was safe, No. 17 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova made it to her second Grand Slam quarterfinal Monday with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win over former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
The three-set match included 16 service breaks over 31 games and, appropriately enough, ended when Pavlyuchenkova hit a forehand winner on match point to break Schiavone's serve for the ninth time. The players combined for 21 double-faults.
Pavlyuchenkova reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal earlier this year at the French Open and led Schiavone 6-1, 4-1 there before Schiavone rallied big-time for a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory. Schiavone, the 2010 French champion, made it to the final at Roland Garros this year where she lost to Li Na.
This time, it was the Russian's turn to rally after losing the first set.
At 20, Pavlyuchenkova is the youngest woman in the top 50 and the youngest woman left in the U.S. Open draw. Her next match will be against either Ana Ivanovic or Serena Williams, who played an afternoon match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
American Mardy Fish, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki and Novak Djokovic and five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer had later matches Monday.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 runner-up, was locked in a protracted match with 20th-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Tipsarevic took a two-sets-to-one lead after more than three hours of back-and-forth from the baseline.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
