2010 US Open: Dulko and Pennetta reach quarters
2010 US Open: Dulko and Pennetta reach quarters
Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta rallied for a 6-7 6-1 6-2 win over Monica Niculescu and Shahar Peer. Dulko and Pennetta have now reached at least the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slams this season, in addition to winning titles in Montreal, Bastad, Rome, Stuttgart and Miami.
Dulko and Pennetta had six set points in the first set, three at 5-4 and another three in the tie-break, but failed to convert. They came back with a vengeance, taking the next two sets in just over an hour to move into the quarters.
“At 5-4, 40-15 we waited for their mistakes a little bit, and they didn’t make them,” Dulko commented afterwards. “After the first set we calmed down a bit and just started thinking about our game. It was good from there.”
Dulko and Pennetta have won five titles this year, four of them at the Premier level. “We have a very good relationship. We are friends, we go to dinner, we get along, we spend a lot of time together,” Dulko said about Pennetta. “We understand each other on the court too. We complement each other.”
Former world No. 1 Cara Black teamed with Australian nastasia Rodionova to defeat Germans Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Rodionova is Black’s seventh partner since she split with longtime teammate Liezel Huber in April. Now playing their fourth tournament together, the Australian and Zimbabwean will face a tough test in the quarterfinals against Wimbledon finalists Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva.
Also advancing were Yung-Jan Chan and Jie Zheng and Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy, who will meet for a spot in the semifinals.
Mattek-Sands double-dipped by teaming with Daniel Nestor to advance to the mixed doubles semifinals. The unseeded pair of Kveta Peschke and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi is also through to the final four.
