US OPEN 2008: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

By Mad Professah

The 2008 US Women's Quarterfinals are now set. After correctly predicting all four of the 2008 French Open Women's quarterfinals but only two of the four 2008 Wimbledon Ladies quarterfinals here are my predictions for the last major women's quarterfinals of the year.

Amelie Mauresmo FRA (32) Flavia Pennetta ITA (16) vs. Dinara Safina RUS (6). This should have been an opportunity for former #1 Frenchwomanto show that she could still be a force to be reckoned with at a major but instead she committed 40 unforced errors (including 14 double faults) as she lost 6-3 6-0 to the Italian player who clinched her first major quarterfinal. Safina, who has made it to the final in six of the last seven events that she entered, has been the hottest player on the WTA Tour all summer long but has recently been complaining of extreme exhaustion.Pennetta is playing the best tennis of her long career but so is Safina. There's nothing that the Italian does that the Russian does better and that should be enough to get "Marat's little sister" to her second major semifinal of the year. PREDICTION: Safina in 2 sets.

Serena Williams USA (4) vs.Venus Williams USA (7). This should be the best match of the tournament. Even though I predicted before the tournament that it was unlikely to occur, I'm thrilled that it has. Hopefully, the match will be a reprise of their intense Wimbledon Ladies' final this summer won by Venus(or the still unseen third-set tiebreak thriller in the Banagalore semis never shown on American won by Serena). However, it should be remembered that their first several matches were very ugly affairs. It should also be remembered that the sisters are currently tied 8-8 in their career head-to-head, although Serena beat Venus in 5 consecutive meetings at Grand Slams, she has not been able to do so since. I'm not sure if these statistics are known by either of the players but it does give us insight into how closely matched the two sisters are. Regardless, I do think that Venus will have a slight mental edge, although Serena is probably playing slightly better. In the end I think that tennis is at least fifty percent mental, and tennis between siblings must be even more so. I'm just happy to see a Williams in a major semifinal for more than a single time in a calendar year. PREDICTION: (Venus) Williams in 3 sets.

Elena Dementieva RUS (5) vs. Patty Schnyder SUI (15). This will probably be the ugliest quarterfinal of the four. Patty Schnyder has the game to drive anyone crazy, but Dementieva is coming off winning the Gold Medal in Singles at the Beijing Olympics and has already beaten the Swiss player twice already in 2008. Unless someone tells her that Jankovic has already lost and that she has an open path to her second US Open final in five years, Dementieva should be able to advance to her fourth career US Open semifinal surprisingly easily. PREDICTION: Dementieva in 2 sets.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (2) vs. Sybille Bammer AUT (29). Despite having the #1 ranking almost within her grasp thanks to the disturbing collapse of her countrywoman Ana Ivanovic, Jankovic barely got past the hard-hitting young Dane Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round, advancing 3-6 6-2 6-1. Sybille Bammer is one of the few mothers on the tour and has a rare serve and volley game. However, Jankovic has only lost to Bammer in 7 matches, including a tough 3-set match at last year's US Open in the 4th round. This year, Jankovic will be prepared to get the job done in two. PREDICTION: Jankovic in 2 sets.