Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who turned 26-years-old yesterday, has a strategy for playing against world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki today.
She’s planning on going after Wozniacki with everything she’s got to throw out there, including the kitchen sink. She’s also hoping to have something of a home court advantage – she once lived in the Miami area and her family still resides in Boca Raton, although she and hubby, Justin, call Phoenix, Ariz. home.
Be assured, however, that Mattek-Sands is no fool. She can bring her brand of aggressive tennis to the court, and she can have a stadium of cheering fans, but it still won’t be easy to topple the red-hot Wozniacki.
“You just gotta go into the match knowing you’re not going to get free points,” Mattek-Sands said. “After knowing that, you’re going to grind every point. For me, I’ll stick to my same game plan. I’m gonna play aggressive…. It will be a tough match, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Clearly, Mattek-Sands isn’t living in a fantasy world. She knows as well as all the other women on the WTA Tour that Wozniacki is a tough nut to crack. Proof, you ask for! Proof you’ll get.
Wozniacki might not – at least not yet – be a wunderkind at the majors, but she’s certainly a genius at other events. She’s already won two titles this season – Dubai and Indian Wells. So, at 20, she has 14 titles in her collection.
The Grand Slam events haven’t been kind – her best result was the 2009 U.S. Open final where she lost to Kim Clijsters in straight sets. Last year, her best major showing was the U.S. Open semifinal, and at this year’s Australian Open she lost to Li Na in the semifinals.
Mattek-Sands is quite the character and after beating Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-1, 6-4 to earn her shot at Wozniacki she was heading off to her birthday bash, which was a race car school at the Miami Speedway.“I always wanted to do it…..I like going fast.”
While Mattek-Sands might hope to keep the birthday celebrations going today with a win against Wozniacki, it’s more than likely she’ll be going fast -- to just playing in the doubles event here.
In men’s action, Sony Ericsson Open fans will have an opportunity to behold America’s next hope – Ryan Harrison. The 18-year-old Harrison is in the men’s draw courtesy of a wildcard from the Sony Ericsson Open. His first assignment this tournament – he’s hoping he won’t flunk – will be to take on German veteran Rainer Schuettler.
Harrison is one of those teens that seem to have the right package to succeed – he’s got a well-rounded game and he’s got attitude. At last year’s U.S. Open, Harrison became the first teen since Andy Roddick to beat a top 20 ranked player when he upset No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic in the first round. FYI: Roddick did the deed at the 2001 U.S. Open against Alex Corretja.
More recently, as in at Indian Wells, Harrison showed quite a bit of gumption in taking out the ATP Tour’s newest sensation, Milos Raonic of Canada 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4.
For his part, the No. 87 ranked Schuettler has a fancy history behind him, but is not playing at the level he once did. At 34, he was the oldest player to end the 2010 season ranked in the top 100. He’s been a top 100 candidate 11 of the last 12 years. And he was an Australian Open finalist in 2003.
This is the type of match that is tailor-made for Harrison to show off his muster. The kid will be center stage on stadium court, in a late night match with a crowd that should belong to him. Harrison is ranked No. 130 and is flirting at joining the top 100 club. This match will help Harrison to reach that goal.
PRONTO PREDICTIONS:
Samantha Stosur (Australia) v Jie Zheng (China): Stosur is quite the savvy Australian and is the current pride and joy of Australia. This Sheila won’t disappoint her Down Under fans today.
