By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, July 3, 2016
CoCo Vandeweghe powered past Roberta Vinci, 6-3, 6-4, while Svetlana Kuznetsova fought off Sloane Stephens, 6-7 (1), 6-2, 8-6, to reach the Wimbledon round of 16.
Photo credit: Getty
On a traditional day of rest at Wimbledon, American women worked toward reunion.
CoCo Vandeweghe preceded Serena Williams on Centre Court facing the woman who spoiled the world No. 1's Grand Slam dream last summer.
Vandeweghe powered past US Open finalist Roberta Vinci, 6-3, 6-4, taking a major step toward a potential quarterfinal rendezvous with the reigning champion.
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"I never really doubted myself the possibility of beating good players, beating players in a big tournament," Vandeweghe said. "I've never doubted the capability of doing it. You have to prove it. You have to prove it and do it in every tournament, or a majority of the tournaments.
"I think that's what I've been doing a better job in the last two years of playing, is beating the better players for a majority of the time, not a flash‑in‑the‑pan sort of moment. That's all I can ask for is to improve and try and become the best tennis player I can be."
Pushed to the edge by compatriot Christina McHale in round two, Williams annihilated Annika Beck, 6-3, 6-0, reeling off seven straight games to seal her most imposing win of the tournament.
The top seed tore into the fourth round for the ninth time in the last 10 years, joining sister Venus Williams, Madison Keys and Vandeweghe as one of four Americans advancing to the round of 16.
Eighteen American women occupied the main draw when the tournament began and four of those 18—Vandeweghe, Serena Williams, qualifier Julia Boserup and Sloane Stephens—played for the fourth round today.
Stephens built a 5-2 lead over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final set only to see the Russian rouse herself and roar back for a 6-7 (1), 6-2, 8-6 triumph to earn yet another major rematch with the top-seeded Williams.
More than three years after Stephens stunned Serena en route to the Australian Open semifinals, she shows flashes of the athleticism, court coverage and jolting forehand but continues to struggle to find closure in major matches. Since reaching the 2013 Wimbledon quarterfinals, Stephens has stalled a bit failing to advance past the fourth round in 13 consecutive majors.
In contrast, Vandeweghe is a menacing front-runner on grass.
Imposing on serve, Vandeweghe won 24 of 28 first-serve points mixing the spins, speeds and height of her serves to prevent the crafty Italian from gaining any return rhythm.
Returning Vandeweghe's kick serve that bounded shoulder-high was a confounding challenge for the 5-foot-4 Italian.
Even when Vinci did manage to put returns back in play, Vandeweghe applied her all-court aggression to snuff out exchanges. Repeatedly stepping into the court, Vandeweghe won 14 of 17 trips to net, shrinking space for Vinci to explore.
Vandeweghe, who opened grass-court season winning the 's-Hertogenbosch title without surrendering a set, raised her record to 4-0 against Top 10 opponents this season, including a three-set win over former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska on the grass of Birmingham last month.
"She's a great player, especially on this surface," Vinci said. "She has a good serve. She hit every single shot. Today, she played a good game. She played better than me, especially with the serve.
"She's so strong. The return she's always close to me. It was tough for me today. She played better than me."
The 2014 Wimbledon doubles champion with Sara Errani, Vinci has a smooth transition game and is comfortable closing at net.
Vinci used her court craft, comfort level in the frontcourt and her ability to apply touch and angle to extend points and torment Serena Williams shocking the world No. 1 in the 2015 US Open semifinals to deny her bid for the calendar Grand Slam.
On the faster grass, the 27th-seeded Vandeweghe was overwhelming scoring her 11th victory in her last 12 grass-court matches.
Vandeweghe, who fell to Maria Sharapova in the 2015 Wimbledon quarterfinals, will face another powerful Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, tomorrow with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line.
The 21st-seeded Pavlyuchenkova won 17 of 20 trips to net and did not drop serve powering past 11th-seeded Swiss Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3, 6-2, in 78 minutes to reach the round of 16 for the first time in 10 appearances at SW19.
In their lone prior meeting, Vandeweghe hammered eight aces and Pavlyuchenkova dumped eight double faults as the Americans squeezed out a 7-6 (7), 7-5, victory in their lone prior meeting in Miami two years ago.
While Vandeweghe was off the court in 67 minutes, Kuznetsova and Stephens were pushing each other all over the court in a frenetic final set.
In the third game of the decider, Kuznetsova was hit with a coaching violation warning against her coach, which annoyed the Russian, who stated her case on the ensuing changeover.
"You did not hear what he said. He didn't say anything," said Kuznetsova, who lost focus after that tiff for a bit.
When she's swinging freely, Stephens' forehand is a major weapon. She hit two forcing forehands early in the sixth game then coaxed a pair of forehand errors breaking for 4-2 in the final set.
Stephens served for the match, but Kuznetsova wasn't done.
Dancing around her backhand, Kuznetsova lashed a forehand pass down the line breaking back for 4-5.
Swiping the sweat off her forehead with her wristband, Kuznetsova fought back from 0-30 down working through a tense hold for 5-all.
As the drama intensified, Kuznetsova's extended grunts of exertion amplified.
Variety is an asset of the woman who collaborated with Francesca Schiavone in the longest women's Grand Slam match in history, a four hour, 44-minute epic at the 2011 Australian Open. Kuznetsova slid a slice short in the court dragging the American forward for an awkward forehand to earn triple break point. Two points later, Stephens misfired on a backhand as Kuznetsova broke for 7-6.
On match point, Kuznetsova cracked the ball into the corner. Stephens made a tremendous running forehand to extend the point, but her diagonal backhand skirted the sideline.
Still, the climax didn't come as Stephens challenged.
Gazing up at the sky as if seeking some divine influence, Kuznetsova smiled when Hawk-Eye showed the ball had indeed narrowly missed the mark.
The pair shared an extended embrace in a mutual sign of respect and Kuznetsova handed Stephens her Wimbledon towel as a parting gift.
"I got all respect for her. I think she does the same for me," Kuznetsova said. "When I was coming to the net, I had no thoughts. My thoughts was Hawk‑Eye call. I was praying it to go out. I was not sure what I saw. And then I saw her like having hands like that, so definitely I hug her. Great, great sportsmanship.
"I think it's great example for the next generation, you don't have to have hate for each other. It's all about peace, not war. We have to show it, because sometimes they mix sport with politics. It's very important that we show for next generations that, you know, it's out of that, you know. Give good example."
The heart-felt hug concluded a gripping encounter that is a prelude to what could be another fierce major clench with Serena Williams.