Ladies are pushing out gentlemen

In Seoul and Beijing, the Russians reached the quarterfinals

Several tennis tournaments are taking place this week. In Beijing and Seoul, the women's competition is entering the quarterfinal stage, while the men's competition is nearing completion in Bangkok.

To the disappointment of Russian fans, the favorite of the tennis public, Marat Safin, failed immediately at the start of the tournament. In the first round he lost to the German Philipp Pechner - 6:4, 7:6 (7:4). Let us remind you that it was because of these competitions, in order to rise higher in the ATP world rankings, that Safin missed the semi-final match of the Davis Cup, where our team lost to the Argentines on the road - 2:3. Commenting on this decision, the captain of the Russian quartet noted that Safin’s current form would not allow him to show his best game. The only place where he could help was the doubles match, but even without Safin the Russians won it in Buenos Aires.

Tarpishchev’s words about Safin’s not very good athletic form were confirmed by the tournament in Bangkok. After the lost match, the tennis player admitted that he felt uncomfortable on the court. “Unfortunately, I was unable to pull myself together at the right moment and win. The opponent was better than me,” Marat said. In turn, Pechner spoke of Safin as follows: “He was my idol. I rooted for him when he won the Australian Open. Safin is a great tennis player, but a little crazy. At this tournament, in a match with him, I managed not to miss his shots and serve well. I played this match smartly."

Following Safin, another Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili did not advance beyond the second round. He could not resist the Swede Robin Soderling - 1:6, 3:6.

While the ranks of domestic male tennis representatives are thinning, our compatriots continue to move forward through the tournament brackets in Beijing and Seoul. However, due to an injury, the winner of the recent tournament in Tokyo, Marat’s younger sister Dinara, missed the competition in Beijing. But her colleagues on the national team are performing quite successfully. The heroine of the recent Fed Cup final, Svetlana Kuznetsova, reached the quarterfinals of the Beijing tournament, defeating Alla Kudryavtseva in the Russian match - 6:2, 6:3. Kuznetsova was also accompanied by Olympic bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva, who celebrated her success in Guangzhou this weekend. This time, in the second round, the Muscovite beat Italian Francesca Schiavone - 7:6 (7:5), 6:2.

Thus, the names of all eight participants in the 1/4 finals of the Beijing tournament became known. These are two Serbian tennis players Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, Russians Kuznetsova and Zvonareva, two Slovaks Dominika Cibulkova and Daniela Hantuchova, Spanish Anabel Medina Garrigues and Chinese Zheng Jie. The latter caught a cold on the eve of the tournament, but nevertheless did not refuse to participate in the competition. According to the Chinese woman, she dreams of winning at home. However, Jie's rivals have completely different plans.

World number two Jelena Jankovic said at a press conference that she does not intend to prove to anyone that she can play tennis. The reason for this answer was the question of why Jankovic has not yet won a Grand Slam tournament in her career. Apparently, this provoked the athlete, who this season reached the final of the US Open for the first time.

Her compatriot Anna Ivanovich was more friendly. The athlete did not hide the fact that she is only now gradually getting into shape, having recovered from an injury. Ivanovich admitted that she reached her peak during Roland Garros, which she won, and at Wimbledon she was simply devastated in every sense. In August, I was injured inappropriately. But now the pain is less bothersome, and she is very happy to be able to play again.

Meanwhile, at another women's tournament in Seoul, Maria Kirilenko became the second Russian woman who managed to make it to the quarterfinals after Ekaterina Makarova. Kirilenko beat Czech Lucie Safarova - 6:3, 6:3. Our third tennis player Anastasia Pivovarova did not find worthy arguments in the game with Estonian Kaia Kanepi - 1:6, 1:6.

Olga ERMOLINA