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I went to the US Open for the night session on Wednesday. When I entered the grounds I rushed over to the courts to see if Lina was playing her mixed doubles match, and was ecstatic to see her still in the first set on Court #13. Krasnoroutskaya/Nestor is the #5 seed in this mixed doubles event, and they were playing Hantuchova/Ullyett in a very competitive first round encounter. I had never really seen any of Lina before, on TV or live, so this was a wonderful experience for me. Krasnoroutskaya definitely impressed me with her baseline power. That forehand was one of, if not the most lethal shot in that tennis match. She's got some quick hands up at net and came up with some impressive reflex volleys. Her serve was also very effective and I don't think she was broken once during the entire match. It was very nice to see Lina smiling and having a good time out there on the court; she seemed the most relaxed of the four. Daniela seemed to be the most on edge, constantly complaining about line calls and muttering to herself. But it was totally a pro-Daniela crowd out there on Court #13. I couldn't help but laugh at a couple of older women talking about how cute Dani's necklace and outfit looked on her. Isn't this a tennis match, not a fashion show? :lol:
I came just before the start of the second set, from 5-4 in the first. It was Ullyett's serve that was broken at 4-4 in the first, thanks to some smart play and solid returning from Lina and Daniel. The second set was speeding along on serve when all of sudden Nestor found himself on trouble on serve at 4-5. Two sloppy misses at net from Kraz put her team down set point, but Nestor was able to get the first serve in and that was too much for Dani. On the next point, however, Ullyett hit this loopy return that Nestor misjudged and let bounce instead of putting away, and it landed on the line. Set point #2 for Ullyett/Hantuchova, to take it to a final set. But on this point Lina was able to redeem herself for earlier net misses by forcing Ullyett into an error with a powerful volley placed at his feet. A couple more first serves and Nestor was out of trouble. Now they saw their chance to break and close out the match with Hantuchova serving. On both of her return points, Lina crushed return winners down the line, first off the backhand and then off the forehand. Daniela and Kevin looked stunned, knowing that those returns were just too good. Kraz played beautifully that game and was able to win the break for her team; the only break of that set. Next game, she served it out comfortably for a 6-4, 7-5 win.
I took tons of pictures of Lina and Daniel together, so hopefully I can upload them onto the internet soon.
I came just before the start of the second set, from 5-4 in the first. It was Ullyett's serve that was broken at 4-4 in the first, thanks to some smart play and solid returning from Lina and Daniel. The second set was speeding along on serve when all of sudden Nestor found himself on trouble on serve at 4-5. Two sloppy misses at net from Kraz put her team down set point, but Nestor was able to get the first serve in and that was too much for Dani. On the next point, however, Ullyett hit this loopy return that Nestor misjudged and let bounce instead of putting away, and it landed on the line. Set point #2 for Ullyett/Hantuchova, to take it to a final set. But on this point Lina was able to redeem herself for earlier net misses by forcing Ullyett into an error with a powerful volley placed at his feet. A couple more first serves and Nestor was out of trouble. Now they saw their chance to break and close out the match with Hantuchova serving. On both of her return points, Lina crushed return winners down the line, first off the backhand and then off the forehand. Daniela and Kevin looked stunned, knowing that those returns were just too good. Kraz played beautifully that game and was able to win the break for her team; the only break of that set. Next game, she served it out comfortably for a 6-4, 7-5 win.
I took tons of pictures of Lina and Daniel together, so hopefully I can upload them onto the internet soon.
