TENNIS in DEPTH.

Teenager Yanina Wickmayer has advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Kateryna Bondarenko at the U.S. Open.

The unseeded 19-year-old joins fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters in the semis and is guaranteed to face another teen — American Melanie Oudin or No. 9 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Ranked 50th, Wickmayer had never made it past the second round at a Grand Slam.

The game was never as close as the score would suggest, and despite the derision from the ESPN commentators providing the play by play, Wickmayer showed little sign of nerves or temper in her win. She demonstrated a great deal of composure, good point construction, and an excellent second serve. It was her serve which gave her the edge over Bondarenko.

If by some miracle, maybe be an injury or some other disaster,Oudin defeats Wozniacki in the other quarter final, there would be litle doubt that Wickmayer would beat the upstart American.

She rallied to win the last five games of the second set Wednesday to close out the 52nd-ranked Bondarenko of Ukraine.

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These two breakouts have played three times in the past 18 months, and four of the seven sets have been settled by a tie-break, which augurs well for a match befitting the occasion today. Regardless of the outcome, both will be propelled up to the low 30s in the rankings – 19-year-old Wickmayer is currently at a career high of No.50, while 23-year-old Bondarenko is No.52 – with whoever progresses to the semis knocking on the door of the Top 20. But that won’t be foremost in their minds out on the biggest tennis stage on the world. Career-best form has already carried them past higher-rated opponents, and with confidence mounting, both have a right to dream of making it all the way to the final. Neither is afraid to go for her shots, and neither is spooked by the net, although Wickmayer is perhaps more inclined to come forward in singles than former Australian Open doubles champion Bondarenko is. The spoils will go to the player who believes just that little bit more.

Bondarenko leads 2-1

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Caroline Wozniacki, Kateryna Bondarenko, Melanie Oudin and Yanina Wickmayer are the four unlikely particpants in the top half of the Womens draw at the 2009 US Open. One of these young ladies will make it into the final with a 50% chance of winning their first Grand Slam title.

Wozniacki is #9 in the world, and has more wins than the other three combined. At 19 she has become a remarkably mature and patient player, and her big match experience might just be enough to get her to the final. Her biggest hurdle will be Wednesday’s meeting with fan favourite Oudin.She remarked, half jokingly, that she hoped that at least one or two people in the crowd might be cheering for her. Of the four, Caroline Wozniacki has the most consistent game, the best first serve and the most powerful ground strokes. She usually keeps her head in tight situations, often comes from behind to eke out a victory, and is unlikely to collapse under the pressure of the situation. This is bad news for Oudin who has been the beneficiary of two meltdowns in her previous matches.

So little is known about Wickmayer it is difficult to see her defeating Bondarenko, who is playing the best tennis of her career.

The bottom half of the draw has by far the toughest veteran players, headed up by defending champion Serena Williams. If she makes it to the final she will have had two tiring wins against Pennetta and most likely Clijsters, and she may not be at her best going into the final. It kinda levels the playing field for an upset!

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The 52nd-ranked Ukrainian took just 47 minutes to rout the 40th-ranked South American who had eliminated her older sister Alona 6-4, 6-0 in the second round on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.

“I watched that match,” the younger Bondarenko said, adding that she had received some advice from her sibling on how to play Dulko but adding, “It’s kind of a family secret.”

 Bondarenko, who is coached by her parents, will seek a semi-final berth against the winner of a later match between 72nd-ranked Czech teen Petra Kvitova, who ousted world No 1 Dinara Safina, and Belgium’s 50th-rated Yanina Wickmayer.

With Safina and fifth seed Jelena Jankovic ousted from their upset-filled quarter of the draw, at least one unlikely upstart Cinderella will emerge for a fairy-tale trip into the last four on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.

Bondarenko, who saved a match point in her first match before ousting Serbian 11th seed Ana Ivanovic, made her case for the storybook spot by ripping Dulko, who had been the top-rated woman remaining in their quarter.

Bondarenko romped through the first set in 22 minutes, winning 8-of-9 points on Dulko’s second serve and taking advantage of 11 unforced errors.

The second set was just as lopsided. Bondarenko roared to a 4-0 lead, saved a break point in the fifth game with a backhand volley winner on the way to holding and broke to finish the rout.

Bondarenko, 23, won her only tour career title in Birmingham last year and became the first player from her homeland in the last eight of a Slam.

She will pass her prior career high of 37th in the rankings, passing her sister for top family honors for the first time since 2006.

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Ana Ivanovic’s miserable season continued on Tuesday as she lost in the first round of the US Open.

The 11th seed crashed out to Kateryna Bondarenko, going down 2-6 6-3 7-6 (9/7) after holding a match point.

Ivanovic, who has changed her service motion to protect a problematic shoulder, battled back from 1-4 down in the final set but could not force victory in the ensuing tie-break.

The former world number one said: “I created a lot of chances for myself, and I’m really disappointed that I made a few mistakes in the important moments and my forehand let me down on a few occasions and obviously it hurts.”

Defeat means Ivanovic has failed to go past the last 16 at any of the Grand Slams this season and her ranking will now fall even further from its current position of 11.

Asked why her form had dipped so badly over the past 12 months, she said: “I don’t really know.

“When I started to not maybe have the results that’s expected I was going to have, that’s when my mind games play. That’s when I started to think and analyse everything that’s been happening and trying to, you know, fix something that maybe wasn’t broken.

“So now I’m really back to basics and back to what I was doing. It feels a lot better. I mean, I’m practising really good. I’m really happy. I just feel I need some time.”

However, the Serb, who held the world number one spot last summer after winning the French Open, is determined to fight her way back to top.

She added: “I have to accept it and try to put this year behind me, and try to learn from it.

“I have no doubt I have potential now to be back in the top.”

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Ana is set to take on world No.52 Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday. The match is scheduled as the fifth and last of the day on Louis Armstrong stadium and is set to take place sometime after 6pm local time. 

It will be the third meeting between the pair, with Bondarenko leading the head-to-head series 2-0. They first met in 2004 in the final of the girls’ singles competition at Wimbledon. Two years ago Bondarenko again prevailed in three sets, this time in an indoor match in Stuttgart.

“She’s a very tough opponent, especially for a first round match,” said Ana. “I am going to have to make a positive start and be aggressive. I’ve been in New York for more than a week now and I’m looking forward to getting on the court and competing.

“The crowds here are great. They are always loud and cheerful so it’s a great place to play.

The 21-year-old has been plagued by a series of niggling injuries in recent months. She is eager to put them behind her and play a series of matches. “I want to go out there and enjoy it,” she said.

“I’m still trying to find my rhythm and tomorrow will be another opportunity for that.”

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Once again Venus Williams takes a page out of Serena’s book and fails to show up for a tournament that is not a Grand Slam. Facing the easier of the two Bondareko sisters looked to be a stroll in the park for the #3 player, but surprise surprise….Venus lost! The score was 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 in favour of Kataryna Bondarenko, for the biggest win of her career. If the Williams sisters are out to prove that they only play lesser events to fulfill a WTA obligation, then they have proved their point. It is not fair to the crowd, the other players or the tournament organisers.

Ana Ivanovic defeated Magdalena Rybarikova 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday to advance to the second round of the Rogers Cup.

The 11th-ranked Ivanovic rallied from a sluggish start. The 21-year-old Ivanovic, still seeking her first WTA Tour title of the season, overcame seven double-faults in the win over the 47th-ranked Rybarikova.

“I felt my movement, my shots, everything was working well, but I was trying to play a little too safe, I think,” Ivanovic said. “She’s a good player, and she was playing really aggressive and dominant.”

Ivanovic will play Lucie Safarova, who defeated Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 7-6 (3). Alla Kudryavtseva defeated Julie Coin 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (6).

Aleksandra Wozniak, the lone remaining Canadian in singles, will face Alisa Kleybanova later Tuesday. Wozniak also will play doubles after her singles match.

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