Posted on 06/29/2010 11:50:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
WIMBLEDON, England — Before Venus Williams started her quarterfinal here, the ranking of her opponent, Tsvetana Pironkova, seemed inconsequential.
Then Yen-Hsun Lu knocked Andy Roddick from the tournament late Monday, and he shared two important things with Pironkova — a high-profile American opponent and a world ranking of 82. From this strange coincidence, sprang another upset.
Before this tournament, Pironkova had won all of one match at Wimbledon in her career. On Tuesday, she captured her fifth victory this fortnight, a 6-2, 6-3 dismantling of Williams, the second-ranked player in the world.
Her anticipated semifinal with Kim Clijsters, the No. 8 seed, failed to materialize on either end. Shortly after Pironkova toppled Williams, Clijsters also lost, to Vera Zvonareva, the No. 21 seed from Russia, who lost the first five times that she met Clijsters, yet prevailed in their latest match, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Zvonareva and Pironkova will meet Thursday in the semifinals, two unknowns scrapping for a final ticket.
“Right now, women’s tennis is at a very high level,” Zvonareva said, in way of explanation for the upsets. “There is a lot of good competition.”
For Williams, it felt like 2006 all over again, another bad omen. Over the last decade, at least one Williams sister advanced to every Wimbledon final, and four times, both did. In every year, that is, except 2006, when Amélie Mauresmo topped Justine Henin.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Venus, I’m from Mars. Buh-bye.
Tsvetana Pironkova is a racist.
Hmmm... So I don't know anything about professional tennis, but I would guess that in any sport, any player who advances to an event like this probably shouldn't be considered "inconsequential."
Well, crap. Guess the match I’m watching is time-delayed. I can turn it off now.
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