Wonderful match! I had hoped Schiavone would be able to put up a good fight and she very nearly took it (I agree with Northernboy). I think Schiavone has to be considered a favourite for the French. She's looking less and less like a one hit wonder. That game she played today would have been deadly on clay.

And kudos to Caroline for toughing it out. To me it looked like she had an abrupt mental change in the second set when she removed the bandage from her leg. I had gotten the feeling she was caging, falling back on the "injury" as an excuse, "Francesca was just too good today" I could almost hear her saying in her presser. I was thinking, this girl is a pathetic #1.

But suddenly, she totally turned it around. She ripped the bandage off and then hit a screaming inside out backhand. And I thought, "Whoa, now this is what I'm talking about!" Intensity. Desire. Will to win. Fight!! And no more excuses. She did not give up... hit 7 winners in the second set - which is high for her.

I loved the contrast provided by her clothes: all frilly with underlayerings of pink - she didn't look like she could turn it around - she looked like the sacrificial lamb before Schiavone's warrior woman. But Caroline showed the heart of a killer. She started bashing and running. She started to look like a warrior herself. Loved that! a warrior dressed in pink and white - like a killer easter bunny.

I've been soft on Wozniacki till now, but seeing her grit out that tough win in the face of all that emotion and furor from Francesca was music for the soul. Caroline might actually have the goods to win a slam. Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to some more blood and guts from Wozniacki.

and btw, Steve, brilliant analysis, as usual. Keep it coming!

I do hope Caroline goes all the way. Na Li is a good, powerful player, but Caroline has got advantages over her as well and I do believe she is much improved since this time last year. Just hope she will be recovered from her injury enough that she can play at the top of her game. Still, even if she does go on to take the gong, I don't believe it will shut all of her detractors up. But at least their complaints will ring a little hollow.

Seriously... Are you people believing that Schiavone is clean ?

Steve,I thought Schiavone's losing that service game at love was a sign of a) thinking ahead to the W, and that b) the thinking ahead was an early sign of tiredness. Given a fresh set of wheels, you'd expect Schiavone to treble her effort to seal the break. Instead, four unforced errors signified a tired mind, and the mind is the first body part to get tired.

if fran had kept it together and wasn't so tired, Caro was going home.

Caro hasn't impressed me yet.

Why this bias against Djokovic? Don't any of you see any of his matches? I still have to see a Racket Reaction of him. Insert 'rolleyes' here. And his was the match of the day, not Fed-Wawra. He dismantled Berdych in an incredible way and he's probably the most in-form candidate to win the trophy along with Muzza. Why nobody is talking about him? Does he have to upset Fedderer in the semis again to get some attention from the press? jesus...

@Vincent:
Are you serious? Frankie is clean -- and fabulous!

"if fran had kept it together and wasn't so tired, Caro was going home."

If and if and if.
The fact is that Caro had the mental strength and cleverness to win the match.

I want some of that magic tape that cured Caro's *injury* in about 5 minutes... marvelous stuff.

Caro dosen't IMPRESS me one bit.
She is boring and one-dimentional player.
I cannot wait for het to leave the AO...Li Na will do just that.

Fran was simply fantastic and beautiful to watch.She has an array of shots which the up and coming players cannot dream of adding to their limited arsenal.

I feel for Fran,she had the match...but I hope...too, she'll be back,stronger!

"Step by step, I never fly, so one step. I have 10 years more."

10 yrs more? Great if she is still competing then!

Woz just passed, barely. Tougher test tomorrow

Is there another player on the WTA tour as appealing as Schiavone? Watching her last stand in the third set was almost spiritual. What a competitive spirit. And this, after the ESPN commentators were bemoaning how many of the (male) players had just given up before their matches were even over: Lopez, Tipsy, Melzer, and Wawrinka, to name just a few.
Why would anyone accuse Schiavone of using PEDs? How mean-spirited and (sadly) a sign of the times to attribute a triumph of will to cheating.

Woz is such a pusher, very boring to watch.

Has anyone seen Woz run foreword for a drop shot? She does a weird looking bull run and looks like a cow on ice. She moves effortlessly at the baseline but coming foreward is another story. If I was playing her I would play her short and make her take shots in the baseline.

While it was sad Franni lost, the fact that even in the third
set she never gave up an competed to the end was great to see. Perhaps
some of the male players might want to watch a tape of her third set and
see how a true athlete who cares about the game continues to play each and every point. You know who you are!!

weeeeellllll i think woz is so hot!!!!

Li Na! Li Na! Li Na! Li Na!

I think everyone needs to give Caro some more credit, she let Fran dismantle herself...and helped her along the way. While Caro doesn't blast someone off the court she slowly shoves them off. I think it's great to watch someone pull it together like that and play a solid match.

Wozniacki's last opponent before Schiavone played the drop shot a lot. Didn't work, Caroline is fast. People should show some respect.

That was a good match between Caro & Fran. A little like their YEC match when Fran won the 1st set and Wozniacki dug in and won the next two. In this one, Schiavone was more tired, and the 3rd set looked a foregone conclusion.
Wozniacki now in 2 slam semifinals in a row, and in between them, champion in Beijing and Tokyo, YEC finalist.
Even if Wozniacki is not a great #1, she is a solid top 5 player.

I totally agree with charles. Wozniacki's game isn't too exciting, but her fighting spirit continues to impress me. I remember seeing Dementieva rip her apart in the first set of the tokyo final last fall, only to lose in 3. And of course the same thing happened with Schiavone in the year-end championships.

To those who still aren't impressed by Wozniacki's performance so far in Oz: before this year, Caro had never been past the 4th round here. Isn't it just the teensiest bit impressive that this year, after suffering a handful of embarrasing losses in warm-up events, and with all the pressure-building, skepticism, and backlash in the media, she's managed to come through to the semis? for the first time? while dropping only 1 set?

And as for aesthetic considerations regarding the beauty/excitement of her game, just remember that she's improved considerably over the past two years and is even now only 20, so there's lots of time for more improvement. I think she deserves a break!

I usually value your writing integrity and really enjoy reading your blogs but I'm starting to get a little tired of your Wozniacka bias-you don't like her, we get it- and diminishing her #1 status. Yes, we all know it hurts that there are no Williams sisters (or any US sisters for that matter) in the top 5, but taking away from Caroline's achievement of becoming the #1 player in the world because, hypothetically, there is someone else out there (no names mentioned) who would be the "non-paper #1" player if she were playing is unfair.

@ Bobby

I would be more impressed if Wozniacki had a solid win to make it to these semis and did not have to use a cheap injury timeout to take advantage of Schiavone. Schiavone clearly had tired legs coming in but was working on adrenaline to keep going. Making her stop while she was in a groove clearly made her legs even more tired, as any athlete would know a long pause is a killer for sore legs. Without the injury timeout I think schiavone wins this match in straights

to "K", who wrote:
"Has anyone seen Woz run foreword for a drop shot? She does a weird looking bull run and looks like a cow on ice. She moves effortlessly at the baseline but coming foreward is another story. If I was playing her I would play her short and make her take shots in the baseline"

On the contrary. Very few players manage to get all those drops over the net as Caro does. She is extremely alert and fast, so I think you are completely wrong.

All I know is that Francesca Schiavone is even more of an inspiration to me than she was after Roland Garros last year. Incredible athlete and competitor.

OMG, I have watched Caroline thru some of her worst losses. She has persevered, worked hard, and plays exceptionally well for someone her age. She is a pleasure to watch and I find her games as exciting as watching Rog. My 2 favs plus Nadal. THese are the heated games to watch.

Oh yah, BTW, have you not ever had an injury and just found that the bandage or wrap was far more irritating than the actual injury.. Not a cheap trick to try and avoid playing. Caro does not have a pattern of doing those things like Djokivic used to do. Give the woman her just rewards for excelling in her sport. Hats off to Caroline and am hoping she goes all the way to the end with this and comes up the slam winner....

Caroline has one of the nicest personalities in the game. She is a figther if ever ther was one. What is wrong with you? In the old days the good guys were the ones that fought the evil ones that were mauling justice by brute force.
I love her game. I hope she will winn the AO.

Woz, by the objective, quantifiable, approved-by-the-WTA player rating standards is the #1 player in the world, without debate. Steve, you diminish your credibility when you call her the "paper #1." She didn't invent the points system, and to infer that she's not qualified to be #1 because she hasn't won a major is utterly ridiculous. Sure, her game is a bit dull (but it sure is effective) and she's not captivating to watch, but don't demean her because she's yet to win a major. That's all for today.

As several poster have aptly stated, Schiavone's loss of the break with 4 hitting-her-wall points had more impact than anything Wozniacki was doing. I generally respect Tignor because he reports as he sees things; but very disappointed to see him following the ESPN party line and giving credit where it's not due.

TEN MORE YEARS!!! I hope... what an inspiring lady. With Francesca, you can sense a belief that maybe wasn't there before. I thought she made a lot of errors because she didn't use her footwork in the second set.

Wozi is a good player, but what was that medical timeout -??? a little cheating - ?

Francesca's game is a beauty to behold. For me, she lost it (those 4 or so mistakes in a row in the mid of 2nd set were painful) rather than Woz won it. Woz is definitely NOT why i watch tennis - just watched a re-run of the match - the way Francesca played on those 3 MPs on Woz's serve were better than Woz has done in the entire match (tournament? her entire tennis career?). what a shame...

"Told she was No. 4 in the world, she let out a grunt of happiness"
Steve, is that paper or non-paper no.4 in the world? Just checking!

"I would be more impressed if Wozniacki had a solid win to make it to these semis and did not have to use a cheap injury timeout to take advantage of Schiavone. Schiavone clearly had tired legs coming in but was working on adrenaline to keep going. Making her stop while she was in a groove clearly made her legs even more tired, as any athlete would know a long pause is a killer for sore legs. Without the injury timeout I think schiavone wins this match in straights"

A Sharapova fan. Hmmmmm....I wonder why they hate Wozniacki so much. Maybe because Woz embarassed her in straight sets? Enough said.

Love you Frannie/Franci Until the French!

Robert, I agree with you. Wozniaki used mental tactics...injure time out.

Schiavone gave the match to Caroline. Wozniaki started making excuses early in the 2nd set. Taping of the leg and looking tight. If Schiavone had of been as fresh as Woziniaki, the match would have ended in two sets. Schiavone took the risks versus allowing herself to be worn down by drawing out every point to 25 rally points. She went for the gutsy shots toward the sidelines and couldn't get the ball inside the lines. She made errors and her errors gave the points to Wozi. Wozi didn't cause the unforced errors. Wozi got lucky. Let's see if she can win against Li Na and better yet, Kim Clijsters.

Wozi is another Jankovic and Safina in the making. A human backboard that will soon wear down. You've got to be able to win slams and beat the best to deem yourself #1....Clijsters, Williams', and Henin to earn the coveted title.

@Robert

A sharapova fan wouldn't like Wozniacki because they would obviously favor an aggressive style player. But when Wozniacki wins a couple slams beating players like Serena and Justine in straight-sets finals maybe I'll appreciate her a little more

Caroline is a fantastic player and she never stops to fight and always believes to the very end that she can win the match.
For me she is the number 1 in the world. She makes me proud to be a dane.
Tignor admit that your a fan of another player and admit that "your glasses is coloured"

Schiavone has, once again, showed class and honoured the sport...
She outplayed by 14:1 I would say a player (in Wosniacki)by amazing and top class shots and overall play. I do not know a tennis player who could get so few winners over a match like Wosniacki does match after match. It does not matter the ranking but how exciting is to watch a execute a play. And Schiavone is a master. A contrast of night and day between the two players. Brava Schiavone...

I am very disappointed this morning to not find much written about the way Schiavone played yesterday. Everybody was expecting her to lose easy after a record setting match just 2 days ago but she fought well and hard. She did not just go away after being two sets down in the 3rd but instead managed to break Woz back. That was courage under fire. It's how a player handles losing and lose that defines her, and she was truely inspirational yesterday.

Bravo Francesca Schiavone!

It is not Wozniacki's fault that Sharapova can't hold her sreve conistently or that Henin is out and Serena is injured. An ugly win is betterthab a pretty loss any day.

I totally admire teh guts and fight that Schiavone displayed last night. zure she outplayed Caroline for a set and 1/2, but when Woz started playing Francesca could not stay the course. surely youy may not like Woz's game but don't try to diminsh her achievements. she is the #1 player and she earned it by beting the opponet shse has fcaed, she didn't steal.

I'm tired of being reminded by the media that she has not won a slam as yet. Everybody who follows tennis knows it. Time to move on. Enough already.

I really wonder, why some of you people are so frustrated with Wozniacki? She is strong hitter when needed, always steady, quick, what is necessary to win, elegant, and she is winning! She is not mental case of multiple personality disorder real or ad hoc devised on purpose to distract or psychologically crush opponent, as many girls do on the court. If this is a cause to call her game boring, then you lost perspective. I did not hear her grunting and shouting not once, with every ball like Sciavone did? Sciavone is good, but obviously not as good as Wozniacki. Heating herself up the way Sciavone did is entertaining, but alas, proved unsuccessful. Wozniacki won. Wozniacki is better. End of the story. Anybody calling her " paper #1" should have his or her head examined. Crushing psychically 20 years old girl by denying her obvious achievements is at least highly rude. Please- you have to understand that idols like Venus, Serena, and few others are in age prohibiting steady best performance. Date Krumm supposedly eat only sea weeds, therefore can stay on court. Somebody has to play on week to week basis to promote tennis- and this is and will be Wozniacki, Zwonareva, Kvitova, Wickmayer etc. Be happy to have such a competitor like Wozniacki, do not spit on gem! Come on, recognize real tennis champion. Wozniacki boring? You grow up with imaginary friend.

I found it sad that Wozniacki had to to a backpaddle kangaroo press conference.

What's the world come to?

Who was "offended" this time, kangaroos?

the more time goes on, the more it's becoming painfully obvious how crafty Nadal is to play media (and the players, as you mentioned in the other article) with his "poor" English, boring answers, etc.

After Wozniaki's (who I think is a poor man's Jankovic, minus the better mindset) "sorry" presser, I actually don't feel sorry for journos in the least. They've created the monster, and Nadal has tamed it so well...brilliant!

That small Italian fellow put up a tough fight.

Lol.

Wasn't he sporting a moustache at the French Open? Looks like he shaved it off.

Here come the trolls. Losers, go back to your caves.

Mens Sana: Wasn't he sporting a mustache at the French Open?

Shaveione

I always try to see Wozniacki matches but they turned out absolutely bored. I just don't see what is great about her. Oh yes, she's good looking and, and, and...
On the other hand, Schiavone, was just amazing, she played a very long match and still she was giving the best of her. Her will was awesome and her game was very superior of the WTA's number one.
I saw the match and I have the impression that Wozniacki just won this game because of the Schiavone mistakes, just as simple as that. And if you see the match's statistics you can notice that Schiavone had much more winners than Wozniacki.
So Schiavone might not be as good looking as Wozniacki, but what this Italian woman doesn't have of prettiness, she exceeds with so much more talent than the current WTA's number one.

The Italian fellow was too distracted by Wozniacki's arresting beauty.