Toronto: And That Makes Two!

by Doni1212

For the second time this summer, Serena Williams has captured a U.S. Open Series title. After firing four non-consecutive aces in the last game, Williams defeated Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-2 to capture the Rogers Cup title. The road to this victory was more difficult than the previous one in Stanford as Williams was challenged by several opponents along the way. In the second round, Julia Goerges was able to take Williams to a tiebreak in the second set before Williams was able to close her out winning 6-1, 7-6 (7). The next two matches for Williams were three set affairs against Zheng Jie and Lucie Safarova. Although Williams lost the first set in both matches, she was able to prevail by making adjustments and imposing her game. In the semifinal against Victoria Azarenka, Azarenka gave it her all but still was only able to win six games losing 3-6, 3-6. The final match against Stosur was even through the first eight games as both women held serve with ease. The turning point came in the ninth game when Stosur was up 40-15 on her own serve. At 40-15, Williams cracked a booming forehand crosscourt return winner off of a first serve and this seemed to rattle Stosur as she lost the next two points to set up a break point for Williams. Although Williams did not break at that first opportunity, she was successful on her second chance when she broke after a series of deep penetrating groundstrokes that set up a forehand volley to the open court. The rest of the match was routine for Williams as Stosur lost a little confidence on her serve and Williams grew bolder on the return. Williams finished with a ninth ace that she fired down the T to win her second Rogers Cup title. Williams is now ranked #31 in the world and is back in first place in the U.S. Open Series Standings.


What are the other notable stories of the 2011 Rogers Cup? The fascinating stories of the countless number of upsets of the top women of course! Before the event began, the fans were anticipating several early match-ups between the top players as the entire Top 20 was there and the draw was packed like the early second week of a slam. The first disappointment came when Venus Williams withdrew after the draw was released with a viral illness. The second letdown was when one of the most anticipated matchups, ( Kim Clijsters vs. Serena Williams in the third round), did not happen. This match-up did not take place because Clijsters retired after she won the first set in her second round match against Jie because of a tear in her left abdominal muscle. She will be unable to defend her title next week in Cincinnati and her U.S. Open participation remains in doubt.


The defending champion of the Rogers Cup and world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, looked anything but during her second round loss to the Italian, Roberta Vinci. Vinci constantly interrupted the pace of the ball with her low backhand slice and drop shots and took the first set 6-4. After Vinci lost some of her rhythm at the start of the second set, Wozniacki took advantage, stormed to a 5-1 lead and a third set seemed inevitable. Vinci, however, was not to be denied a straight sets victory and stormed back with similar play as that of the first set and took the second set and the match to defeat the defending champion in her very first match of the Series on her favorite surface 6-4, 7-5. Other seeds to lose early and in straight sets in Toronto included Jelena Jankovic, Petra Kvitova, Daniela Hantuchova, Ana Ivanovic, Vera Zvonareva, Francesca Schiavone, Maria Sharapova, and Li Na.

Next Up: Cincinnati!