US Open Day 5 - Murray and Stosur win epics

I thought I should just acknowledge two fantastic matches last night; Andy Murray came from two sets down to defeat Robin Haase, 6-7 2-6 6-2 6-0 6-4. I watched the final set, which was fantastic entertainment and easily the best tennis I have watched this week. Murray raced into a 4-0 lead but Haase hit a hot vein of form smacking some crunching winners past Murray. Both players were fist pumping away and there was a definite air of tension between the two of them. In the end, Murray just had enough to get across the finishing line. In the other great match which I couldn't watch... Sam Stosur defeated Nadia Petrova in the longest Women's match in US Open history, 7-6 6-7 7-5. The match took three hours and sixteen minutes, and Stosur wasted several match points throughout the encounter but eventually came through. Stosur will now play Maria Kirilenko in the 4th round and my prediction of a Stosur/Lisicki Quarter-final is still on :)))

Murray will play Feliciano Lopez in the next round

US Open Day 5 - Peng & Pennetta to clash, Sharapova out

Peng Shuai came through a tight encounter with Julia Goerges, 6-4 7-6. The first set was a close affair but Peng was the more consistent player; Goerges as usual, was spraying too many balls. It was a pretty average match for a set and a half but it came alive towards the end of the second set as Goerges fought off four match points (1 at 5-4 and 3 at 6-5) producing some stunning winners in the process to force the second set into a tiebreak. However after fighting so well to get there, Goerges was strangely subdued in the tiebreak and went totally off the boil. Peng eased to victory closing the match out with an ace down the T. So many players would have got tight wasting 4 match points, but Peng held her nerve superbly to wrap this match up in two sets.

Come on Peng... make the semis!!!

Peng will now play Flavia Pennetta who caused an almighty upset by beating the number 3 seed, Maria Sharapova, 6-3 3-6 6-4. Sharapova once again struggled with her serve and made 60 unforced errors in a disappointing performance. Normally she can find a way through but Pennetta played a superb match and kept battling hard despite letting a 4-1 lead in the third set go to 4-4. However the turning point came at 4-4 30-30 when Pennetta produced an exquisite drop shot to draw Sharapova into the net and create the winner. Pennetta did not lose another point in the match as Sharapova's serve deserted her in the final game. This totally smashes this section open and I am really hopeful now that one of my favourites, Peng Shuai can make the Semis!

Pennetta played a superb match, which came as a big surprise following a terrible summer hard court season

Monica Niculescu demolished Lucie Safarova, 6-0 6-1 in what was a dreadful performance by the Czech. Safarova struggled in the first set to deal with the crafty, Niculescu who used her unusual, yet effective forehand slice to good effect. It is almost a chop on the ball but it worked well at rattling Safarova. At the end of the match, Niculescu was barely getting her pedestrian serves over the net but Safarova continued to make errors and was unable to find a way to make winners past Niculescu. Monica Niculescu will now play Angelique Kerber in a somewhat surprising 4th round match-up!

Safarova played a terrible match, one that she will want to erase from memory!

Vera Zvonareva beat Anabel Medina Garrigues in a tight two set match, 6-4 7-5. Zvonareva never seems to impress in her matches but always manages to find a way to win. I must admit I am not a fan of Zvonareva; I find her pretty boring to watch and would like to see her go out soon because there is no way she should be number two in the world! She will next play Sabine Lisicki who played a stunning match to demolish Irina Falconi, 6-0 6-1. Lisicki is playing with a great deal of confidence but she will have to bury some demons against Zvonareva; she has lost their last two encounters in three sets but I fancy her to beat Zvonareva this time round.

Zvonareva will play Lisicki in an exciting 4th round match-up... come on Lisicki!

US Open Day 4 - JJ, Petko battle through

Jelena Jankovic moved into the third round with a straight set victory over Jelena Dokic, 6-3 6-4. Jankovic started the match slowly and went down an early break. However she quickly found her form to win five straight games from 1-3 down. JJ served extremely well throughout the first set and was surprisingly aggressive in her play as she stepped into the court to hit 11 winners to Dokic's 2. Near the end of the first set, Jankovic called the trainer citing a back complaint. Jankovic must be winning the prize for "player most likely to call the trainer", but she did seem to be struggling as the match grew on!

Dokic went 3-1 ahead in the second set as JJ started to feel the effects of her injury. However Dokic could not maintain the lead as she was let down by her serve, which folded as the match went on with a total of 15 double faults. After a number of sloppy games from both players, Jankovic tightened her focus and managed to hold her serve before breaking thanks to another double fault from the inconsistent Dokic. JJ wrapped the match up on her second match point as Dokic went long again. Jankovic will be relieved to have finished this match in two sets but i'm slightly concerned that her injury may hamper her chances of progressing further. JJ will next play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in an exciting third round encounter after Pav beat Petra Martic, 6-4 2-6 6-4.

Andrea Petkovic survived a major scare as she fought past Zheng Jie, 3-6 6-3 6-3. Petkovic had to battle back from a 6-3 3-0 deficit as Zheng dominated the early proceedings with her powerful groundstrokes. Petkovic was very sluggish to start with and was making many uncharacteristic errors; it seemed that her knee injury was affecting her play. However Petkovic is known for being a fighter and she managed to battle through winning six games on the bounce in the second set.

Zheng went up an early break in the third but could not consolidate it as she started to make more errors and was taken apart on the serve by Petkovic. The win reminded me a little of Petkovic's win over Jarmila Gajdosova in Cincy; Petkovic was way short of her best but she found a way to win. Petkovic will next play Roberta Vinci in what is likely to be another testing encounter for the German.

Petkovic kissed her knee at the end of the match. In her current form and injury situation, Vinci will fancy her chances in the next round

In other matches, an all Spanish third round match was set up between Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Carla Suarez Navarro. Soler Espinosa took advantage of her good draw as she eased past Kaia Kanepi, who was playing her first tournament since Wimbledon. Suarez Navarro recovered from losing the first set to beat Li Na's conqueror, Simona Halep. I'm very happy to see Suarez Navarro back winning again; she is such a talented player and delightful to watch with her one-handed backhand.