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USTA ALLEGHENY MOUNTAIN DISTRICT NEWS
- From: Tom Benic
- To: ALL
Riske Credible in 1st Round Loss to Veteran Pro Kuznetsova in Australian Open
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 1:13 AM
Hi All,
Unless you set your alarm for Ali Riske’s 1st round match at the Australian Open (3:15 a.m. Monday, Pittsburgh time) you may not know that her 6-3, 6-2 loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova was a credible showing but a disappointing loss nonetheless. Three weeks in Australia to be “one and done” in the Open is a tough way to earn a living. A tip of the hat for a gutsy performance nonetheless.
Riske, the 20 year old from Peters Township who turned pro 18 months ago, did get to play on “Show Court 3” and the match was televised locally and on the www.ESPN360.com internet “live feed.” But it was much too late in the day for even the Australians to watch, with rain clouds rolling in, — and much too early in the morning for all but the most dedicated in the U.S. to witness. (The match was stopped briefly twice due to rain and there couldn’t have been 50 people left at the end of the match in the small stadium that held nearly 1,000 when Mardy Fish won his 5-setter on the same court much earlier in the day).
Kuznetsova, 25, the first Russian to win the U.S. Open singles (2004) and 2nd Russian to win the French Open(2009)appeared to announcers, and former pros, Doug Adler and Elise Burgin to be in the best physical condition of her lengthy 10-year pro career. She was absolutely dominant at the start of the match, much faster a foot than either announcer had seen before and exhibiting the superb shot-making and power tennis that got her to a No. 2 international ranking earlier in her career. Adler predicted that she would go quite far in the tournament, despite her current #22 seed.
Riske was a virtual unknown to either announcer, although they had heard of her spectacular performance in Birmingham, England last summer in the run up to Wimbledon, when she beat No. 15 in the world Wickmayer and then took Sharapova to three sets in the semi-finals. They appeared eager to see what kind of a game the young rookie had and analyzed every aspect of it. Adler joked before the match that at first glance it looked to be a mismatch, citing Kuznetsova’s 10 years of experience and $15 million in earnings to Riske’s $120,000. “Riske may have to borrow some money from Kuznetsova,” Adler joked.
When Kuznetsova jumped out to a 5-1 lead, Adler understandably was talking about who she would play in the 2nd round.
But then Kuznetsova made some mental errors and Riske settled down, winning 4 of 5 games in the middle of the match and was up 2-0 and serving in the second set. Adler and Burgin were bubbling about this exciting turn of events and praised Riske’s determination and confidence, despite what they saw as obvious flaws in her game, particularly her inconsistent forehand. They liked the fact that despite Kuznetsova’s power game Riske was “good at absorbing the pace” and aggressively chased down every ball, usually “gets to the ball early and her balance is very good.
Then the match turned quickly in Kuznetsova’s favor. Riske, serving at 30-all and up 2-0 in the third game, made a weak approach and then, on the next point, aggressively came to the net against Kuznetsova’s strong backhand and “paid the price” as Adler said.
Kuznetsova took control, ripping solid ground strokes, pouncing on Riske’s serve and taking advantage of Riske errors.
Down 2-4, Riske served stronger in Game 7 and was up 40-15, but then two unforced errors and two winners by Kuznetsova, including a passing shot with Riske coming to the net, ended that rally. Kusnetsova served out the win, 6-3, 6-2.
Kuznetsova had 28 winners to 8 for Riske and made 23 unforced errors to 27 for Riske. Kuznetsova only got in 38 percent of her first serves, to 78 percent for Riske, but Riske only held serve twice in the match.
“A good experience for the young American,” Adler concluded at the end of the match. “And things to work on.”
Tom
From: usta@ustamailing.com
To: fbmircrawford@aol.com
Sent: Fri, Jan 14, 2011 3:15 pm
Subject:
Your CTA and NJTL Registration Has Been Approved!
Highland Park Tennis Club Inc.
Account ID: ####
Registration Type: CTA and NJTL
Expiration: 12/31/2011
Username: fbmircrawford@aol.com
Dear Highland Park Tennis Club Inc.,
Thank you for registering your organization as a CTA and NJTL with the USTA. Your registration has been reviewed and approved by the USTA National, Section, and District/State offices (if applicable).
As part of this network, you will receive benefits like discount insurance and access to grants and resources for your organization and participants. Periodically, we will email you with latest benefits, however, for the most current news and offerings, please visit and bookmark www.usta.com/cta or www.usta.com/njtl.
If you need to update your contact information, visit the registration site at ct.usta.com/ctanjtl/ and login to make changes.
Your contribution to raising the profile of tennis within your community is invaluable. Thank you for your hard work and commitment to growing the game of tennis!
Sincerely,
David Slade, USTA/CTA National Manager
Dan Limbago, USTA/NJTL National Manager
Questions? Email ctanjtl@usta.com
For latest news and information on the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) Network, visit: www.usta.com/njtl.
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