Agnieszka Radwanska suffered a huge defeat at the US Open Monday night. A tremendous fight from 2013 US Open junior champion Ana Konjuh held her end before defeating the fourth seed twice winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium to make the quarterfinals for the first time in any major. The 18-year-old had such a huge serve on the forehand that was clearly too much for the fourth seed to handle.
This was the second major the two met and with the current being a more important spot for the two of them, gaining a hand on the match was key. Konjuh knew the importance of it when she put Radwanska in a challenge pushing the match to three sets before the world number four took the victory. The Pole took care of Caroline Garcia in the third round winning it in straight sets while allowing five games.
The Croatian had a second three setter in the tournament getting past Varvara Lepchenko after a dismal second set finishing strong. With her being able to get the best of Radwanska, she’ll push the envelope by any means to get herself into a quarterfinal spot in any major for the first time.
The two began to feel each other out to start the set. Radwanska got clean through her opening serve while Konjuh showed signs of struggle. The start of being on a large stage was difficult for the 18-year-old Croatian giving up the break to the top seeded Pole. She came back to fight on the returns delivering big shots to get ahead on the break. A second break point opportunity paid off to get her on the board smacking the ball out of the reach of Radwanska.
Her second service game became a sign of control and growth to take on the world number four. She attacked hard to get out 40-0 and evened up with a big hit that forced an error out of Radwanska. After the fourth seed got an important hold, she hoped to break the monotony and get gap open on the young Croatian. Her opponent knew well of the consequences of that holding strong on defense before capping a solid rally with a backhanded winner.
Radwanska continued to see the strong opposition as she found herself in a deuce draw. Konjuh battled for another break and got it after two breaks that gave her the lead and the chance to open the door wide for her own benefit. She took it with her use of big the forehand, holding to two game points and a 5-3 lead for the set.
Finding herself in a corner, Radwanska knew she had to prevent going down on her own serve. She got to 40-0 hunting for the important game point. Konjuh gave her one tremendous fight in a rally before a lobbed shot just fell long of the baseline ending the dramatic moment. The ball was back in Konjuh’s hands with the obvious pressure of closing out the set.
It was the moment for the fourth seed to get back in and save herself from going a set down. She gained hold on deuce, lost it and watched the 18-year-old get the upper hand by winning set point that came on a smash followed by an unforced error by Radwanska ending 43 minutes.
Knowing that she needed a huge response in the second set, Radwanska held her end much like she did in the first. What she didn’t expect was the hold from the Croatian who was obviously on fire carrying so much confidence with her. The pressure was on the Polish superstar to keep up her own end of the game and wait for Konjuh to break. She clearly had high hopes as Konjuh
had control of her serve in the eighth smashing a shot across the net. She was a stunning force on court serving near 70 percent yet scored nearly 90 percent for points against the fourth seed.
The young Croatian added a sour note to Radwanska’s service smashing the returns adding pressure during the rallies. It helped her to two break points capturing it on the second try smashing another shot in the open side. The serve was back in Konjuh’s hands going for one of the biggest upsets in her career. Before she could start, a loud feedback from the PA scared everyone including the Croatian. “I just said to myself to stay in the game and don’t rush,” Konjuh said to ESPN’s Rennae Stubbs.
She rallied back to stay on point, gaining two match points before an unforced error gave her the massive victory after 1 hour and 19 minutes. “I remembered at Wimbledon I had two match points and I couldn’t let the opportunity go so I just went for it this time,” she said after the match.
It was the fifth time that the Polish star couldn’t make it out of the fourth round suffering one of the toughest losses at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. “Aga is an incredible player and I’m happy to have the opportunity to play her again and this time I got revenge so I’m really happy,” Konjuh said.
She’d get the chance for a first semifinal spot going against Czech star Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday. “We’ve practiced a few time so I know how she plays,” she said. “So it’s gonna be a tough match but I’m gonna give my best as always and hope it’ll be a great match.”
Photo by: Don Emmert/Getty Images
Photo by: Don Emmert/Getty Images
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