Is Court 2 Really the Graveyard?

It was for Andy Roddick on Monday, but I think if you asked Yen-Hsun Lu, he would tell you the exact opposite. The folklore says that Court 2 is the Graveyard of Champions. Former champions like Serena and Venus Williams, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi have all gone out to lesser known opponents on this outside show court. However, I wouldn’t necessarily say that the court had anything to do with the unlucky outcome of the match. I was certainly shocked to see Andy Roddick exit the tournament on Monday but Tuesday offered significantly more shocking defeats on the women’s side, none of which occurred on Court 2. Let’s take a look at what happened in today’s women’s quarter final action.

Vera Zvonareva def. Kim Clijsters: Kim Clijsters kicked off her comeback with a bang winning the 2009 US Open. Since then, she’s posted reasonable performances, but I was pretty shocked by her exit to Zvonareva. Clijsters looked in charge at the beginning of this match, winning the first set 6-3. I should note, that in February of last year, Vera Zvonareva was ranked 5^th in the world and Kim Clijsters wasn’t even playing tennis, so this isn’t really as shocking a victory as we all might think it is. Zvonareva may be ranked 21 now, but that is mostly due an ankle injury that plagued her for most of 2009. I’m guessing she’s recovered at this point and I give her excellent chances against Tsvetana Pironkova. I’m not 100% convinced though, because we all know what Pironkova is capable of…

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Venus Williams: Venus Williams has won Wimbledon 5 times as well as 2 US Open titles. Tsvetana Pironkova comes from Bulgaria, a country that doesn’t even have grass courts. She has never made it past the second round of any Grand Slam tournament and hasn’t won a single WTA title. Clearly you all pegged Pironkova to win this right? I can’t even imagine what the odds were on this one. To make matters even worse, Venus barely put up a fight, losing 6-2 6-3. Maybe there’s something about players ranked 82, as both Pironkova and Lu, the man that took out Roddick, are ranked 82 in the world. Who knows? Or, maybe Williams was having the odd off-day at Wimbledon, but this upset will most likely be the most surprising of the tournament.

Finalist: Vera Zvonareva – I have some doubts that Pironkova will be able to keep this momentum going. Generally an upset this incredible is followed by a let down.

Petra Kvitova def. Kaia Kanepi: Honestly, I’d never heard either of these names before this tournament and was shocked to find out that Kanepi was a Top 20 player as late as last year. I watched as Kanepi held match point after match point and self destructed. However, props to Kvitova for capitalizing on the opportunity. She was just as likely to choke as Kanepi but had no problem closing out the match when it came down to it. What’s Kvitova’s prize for fighting back to valiantly: a semi-final match against 12 time Grand Slam winner, Serena Williams. Fate’s funny that way. Sorry Kvitova.

Serena Williams def. Na Li: No surprises here. Serena managed to bring some order back to the day. She looks in fine form and, like I said, I would not want to be Petra Kvitova.

Finalist: Serena Williams

Champion: Serena Williams