US Open: Women's Quarterfinals

As the rain falls in New York City, let's take a moment to look at the women's quarterfinalists and look back a bit at the early rounds of the tournament.  Only two of the top 8 seeds have backed up their seeding so far but you through Serena in there and say three of 8.  Sharapova, Kvitova, and Li were major disappointments early in this tournament, leaving us with a draw in shambles and the potential for some blowout matches later this week.  If you would have told many of the pundits that Wozniacki and Zvonareva would be the only two top 8 seeds, they probably would have laughed in your face.  But here they are, the world no. 1 is one win from making her 3rd straight semi at the Open while it is now easy to Vera playing in her second straight US Open final, and 3rd slam final in the last 6.  However, only Serena is yet to drop a set is still the prohibitive favorite in the draw.

US Open Women's Quarterfinalists
1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) - 5th major quarterfinal (3rd at the US Open), 3-1 record (2-0), last '11 Aussie Open
2) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) - 5th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 4-0 record (1-0), last '11 Aussie Open
9) Samantha Stosur (AUS) - 4th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 2-1 record (1-0), last '10 US Open
10) Andrea Petkovic (GER) - 3rd major quarterfinal (1st at the US Open), 0-2 record, last '11 French Open
17) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) - 2nd major quarterfinal (1st at the US Open), 0-1 record, last '11 French Open
26) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) - 3rd major quarterfinal (3rd at the US Open), 0-2 record (0-2), last '09 US Open
28) Serena Williams (USA) - 32nd major quarterfinal (9th at the US Open), 19-12 record (5-3), last '10 Wimbledon
Angelique Kerber (GER) - 1st major quarterfinal

Serena is the only major champion remaining in the draw, but Wozniacki, Zvonareva, and Stosur have all been runners-up.  Petkovic has been to 3 major quarters this year, which leads the tour.  Wozniacki, Zvonareva, and Stosur were all the quarters at the US Open last year, while none of the ladies made the last eight at the last major, '11 Wimbledon.

Li and Kvitova were dismissed in round 1 but only two other seeds (Hantuchova and Martinez Sanchez) lost their opening match, and then 7 seeds lost their round 2 match.  It's been a nice tournament for young Americans with McHale, Falconi, and Stephens all making the 3rd rounds (King too though she's not quite as young).  Also Keys and Vandeweghe won one match each, so perhaps these ladies can continue to improve and help the state of American tennis, which doesn't look great after the Williams retire.  Kerber did have a fairly cushy draw to the quarters as Radwanska was the only seed she beat, but nevertheless she is here while her more accomplished compatriots Lisicki and Goerges will be watching on TV.  I did have my eye on her last year but she's been pretty bad this year until now.  Speaking of being bad this year, Pennetta and Stosur have both overcome poor seasons to reach the last eight, while even Wozniacki and Zvonareva could be considered slumping prior to New York.

Matchups today and tomorrow:
-Woznaicki vs Petkovic
-Pavlyuchenkova vs Williams
-Pennetta vs Kerber
-Zvonareva vs Stosur