Justine Henin (BEL)[1] vs. Serena Williams (USA)[8]. For the third Grand Slam in a row the showdown between Serena Williams and Justine Henin is the most anticipated match of the tournament. In fact, some people have wondered if Henin hadn't skipped this year's 2007 Australian Open would the result have been different? I don't think it would have been, but I do hope that Serena is 100 percent fit for this meeting, unlike their Wimbledon clash where Serena claimed (afterwards) a thumb injury which took her out of the entire summer hard court season. Last time, I predicted that the American would overpower her opponent on the faster surface of grass, earning her revenge against Henin's victory in Paris. That didn't happen. In New York, as in Melbourne earlier this year, Serena has been playing better tennis with every round played. Justine has served up a bagel to every opponent she has played in New York while cutting through her draw like a diminutive scythe. Justine has held a match point against Serena on a hard court (after bagelling her!) but still managed to lose that championship match at the Sony Ericsson Open earlier this year. When it gets tight late in the third set at night on Tuesday both women will remember that match, and it will help the American come through victorious in front of the New York night time crowd. PREDICTION: S. Williams in 3 sets.Jelena Jankovic SRB (3) vs. Venus Williams USA (12).
This sparkling quarterfinal matchup should probably be the standout match of the four quarterfinals. These two played an amazing semifinal match at the Charleston clay court tournament (which Jankovic won 7-5 in the third set tiebreak) and Jankovic also took Venus out at this year's French Open when they split sets and then Venus ran out of gas and lost the third set 6-1. Of course those losses were both on clay. Venus went on to win this year's Wimbledon title on grass and there's no way she's going to run out of gas on the hard courts at the United States Open. Still, Jankovic has beaten Venus the last three times they have played so the American will be looking forward to getting revenge and a potential all-Williams semifinal Friday night. PREDICTION: V. Williams in 3 sets.
Agnes Szavay HUN vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4). This matchup is a repeat of the Pilot Penn final the week before the U.S. Open in which the Hungarian teen had won the first set when she injured her lower back and had to withdraw 6-4, 0-3. This gave Kuznetsova her first title from four finals reached in 2007. The "most talented of the Russians" is the only player left in the bottom half of the draw to have previously won a major title (the 2004 US Open) and recognizes this is a golden opportunity to reach her third major final. She'll have to get through two younger and (probably hungrier) players to get there. I think she'll do it.PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 2 sets.
Anna Chakvetadze RUS (6) vs.
Chakvetadze came into the open as the hottest player on tour, despite the fact that Maria Sharapova had placed first in the US Open Series hard court season (All from winning the Acura Classic, her only title of the year). Unfortunately, for the WTA's "It Girl" she ran into a young, talented player in Agnieska Radwanska of Poland who knew she had the game to beat any player on tour, even the defending champion, and did so, to the delight of millions of tennis fans everywhere. Shahar Peer is a very tough customer, as Nicole Vaidisova found out in the 3rd round, in what was one of the best matches of the tournament so far 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) ). After Vaidisova, Peer took out the young Polish giantkiller in straight sets the very next round. Peer served for the match against Serena Williams in Australia earlier this year in a thrilling quarterfinal but ended up losing 8-6 in the third. PREDICTION: Chakvetadze in 2 sets.
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