US Open Day 12 - Sveta survives

Day 12 at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre promised to be an exciting one, from the viewpoint of entertainment and of potential profit.

It was ladies semi-finals day and make or break for my pre-tournament bet on Svetlana Kuznetsova. She really had to make the finals in order for me to profit, but first up today was the men’s doubles finals and I thought I may as well get in the mood with a quiet wager to see how my fortunes were shaping up.

I know enough about doubles to have realised that 2.2 against Aspelin & Knowle was decent value for the title over the Czech pair, Dlouhy & Visner, and so I invested in the Swedish/Austrian partnership, who obliged in straight sets for a deserved victory and a good start to the day.

I was undecided over whether to lay some of my wager on Kuznetsova off to ensure a profit, prior to the match with Chakvetadze and in the end decided it would be best just to let it ride and see what transpired.

What transpired was an incredibly nervy start from both players on a very warm, but windy afternoon in Flushing and it almost turned into a nightmare for me and for Kuznetsova.

I was an absolutely dire opening set from the number four seed, littered with unforced errors and it looked like I’d done my chips. The Betfair site had gone down right at the end of the first set, so I couldn’t amend my position when I badly needed to, so I was marooned with a large green on Kuznetsova, who posted a shocking 21 unforced errors in that opening set, which went to Chakvetadze by 6-3.

Chakvetadze had done nothing to win the first set, other than to put the ball in the court and leave the rest to Sveta’s badly misfiring ground strokes, but Anna threw in two double faults of her own to go a break down in the second set and followed it up with another shocker to go double break down. Chakvetadze had temporarily lost the plot and another break meant that the set was Sveta’s by 6-1, due to the number six seed’s 17 unforced errors.

This match became even more bizarre when the match was suspended due to excessive heat on Arthur Ashe court and both players needed to reach for the Valium and sort themselves out, because this was terrible tennis.

I was fortunate enough to be courtside in Melbourne at the Australian Open in January this year, when play was suspended and I recall that it was in excess of 50 degrees that day on court in the Rod Laver Arena and it’s just not possible to play in that sort of heat. Perhaps that explains the dire quality of tennis.

The decider began with, surprise, surprise, a couple of breaks and this match was taking years off my life. I reached for a beer in an attempt to relax, before witnessing the twelfth break of serve in this haphazard encounter and Sveta was 3-1 up.

The Betfair site was suddenly back and fortunately for me I was in profit in time to watch Chokevetadze (sorry Anna, but it’s true) collapse from a set up with break points to lose 12 out of the next 13 games for a poor defeat.

It brings to mind the classic Barry Davies quote, slightly amended, “where is Anna Chakvetadze? (pause) And quite frankly, who cares”.

Back on an increasingly windy Ashe, Venus Williams brought out the old family bathroom break trick with a twist. This time, Venus went for one after the warm-up, which could easily be construed as gamesmanship. Amazing how these urgent toilet requirements can happen in a big match.

It didn’t help her, as Venus was broken in the opening game and went on to lose a great set of tennis in a breaker, after breaking back and forcing Henin to go the distance.

It was a wonderful set of tennis; both players playing at their best, with the Belgian just having the edge, which she took into the second, when she broke Williams early on.

Suddenly, from nowhere, Venus broke back and then had another three break points at 3-3, but she failed to take advantage and it appeared that the chance had gone.

Williams received a visit from the trainer during the interval and then it was Henin’s turn to have three break points. She took the last of them with a Williams unforced error and served for the match at 5-3.

Somehow, Williams broke back and this match was living up to my expectations – I hoped for a third and final set, but more unforced errors meant a 7-6, 6-4 victory for the Belgian and she now looks nailed on for the title on today’s performances.