Young, blond and talented. Maria Sharapova isn’t at the U.S. Open, but Flushing has found a suitable replacement.
Camila Giorgi, a dashing Italian with the game to back up her good looks, shocked sixth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki last night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, moving into the fourth round of a grand slam for just the second time in her young career.
Before one of her five match points, one fan yelled: “I love you, Camila.”
The diminutive 21-year-old Giorgi capped the upset, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory, with a whistling crosscourt forehand that was met with explosive cheers and whistles from the capacity pro-Giorgi crowd.
Ranked 136th in the world, the 5-foot-6 Giorgi reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon last year and the third round a few months ago there. She had to advance through qualifying at the Open, before getting through the first two rounds without dropping a set.
Against the highly ranked Wozniacki, Giorgi was the aggressor. She went for the kill after dropping the first set, ripping home 46 winners, albeit with 45 unforced errors, and Giorgi also won 27 of 34 points at net.
“It’s amazing, this match, especially for the first time here in this court,” Giorgi, who now lives in Miami, said in her on-court interview. “The crowd was amazing, too.”
She will meet countrywoman Roberta Vinci, a quarterfinalist at the Open a year ago, in the fourth round.
* Great Britain’s Daniel Evans’ first tournament in Queens came to an end last night, in a 7-6 (8), 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 loss to No. 19 Tommy Robredo. The 179th-ranked man in the world, Evans shocked 11th-seeded Kei Nishikori in the first round.
* The U.S. Open set another record with yesterday’s day-session crowd of 38,070 — highest total ever.
* Young American prospect Jack Sock, ranked 86th, blew a 1-0 lead in sets to fall to 18th seed Janko Tipsarevic The Nebraskan mishit a lot of balls in the final three sets, committing 48 unforced errors.
“I felt great physically actually, we stepped up his game,” Sock said. “His experience showed.” His showing is hardly a grave disappointment because of his age, 20.
“You got to be patient. I’m not going to be top 10 in one week.
* How much has doubles sunk in profile. Rafael Nadal was asked about the potential accomplishment of the Bryan brothers one step from winning a calendar-year Grand Slam?
“They already won the first three?” Nadal asked. Yeah, they have.